North to Alaska - DCL 2018

RefillableMug

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Hi, everyone! I'm so excited to start my very first trip report! We just got back from the first sailing to Alaska of the 2018 season aboard the Disney Wonder (7 nights). So let's get started!


My name is Braxton and I'm from Birmingham, AL. I just recently graduated with a degree in real estate finance and am currently working as a part-time tutor with Chegg. But my most favorite thing is Disney. My family usually goes to Walt Disney World once or twice a year. We also took a Disney cruise to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream the first week of May 2015. After other cruises with Carnival, it’s safe to say that Disney Cruise Line is the best in the industry. This trip was a dream for my dad after his retirement, but we decided to take it early to celebrate my graduation and everyone's recent birthdays. My all-time favorite movie is the original Beauty and the Beast with my all-time favorite character being Gaston of course! I LOVE Epcot and every attraction there-- especially the World Showcase, a tribute to all nations, but mostly America! My all-time favorite attraction now rests in peace: The Great Movie Ride. I'm still not happy with Disney's decision to shut it down, but maybe it will be for the better of Hollywood Studios. So now my favorite WDW attraction is Epcot's American Adventure (partly because of the FANTASTIC Voices of Liberty- you know you're addicted when you know each singer's part to each of their many songs). My favorite WDW resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge. I really love anything and everything Disney-- the movies, the songs, the characters, the parks. My cousin calls me The Disney King because I'll win in any round of Disney Trivia. I've even defeated the World Champion in Disney Trivia on the app Quiz Up! I also love collecting cups and popcorn buckets from the Disney Parks-- often found on my weekly trip to the local thrift stores for the small price of 59 cents. Other favorites of mine include musical theatre, films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, studying creation science, reality television, and church activities.


hTKPtJ



Also accompanying me on the Alaskan cruise were my mom and dad. My mom is the true Disney fan among the two-- and the reason for my love of the company. She was on the 2015 cruise with me while my dad decided to stay home. He's addicted to work and wants to do nothing but mow the lawn and watch YouTube videos of Kubota tractor engines and Southern Gospel music on his beloved iPad. Crazy, right? He actually told me last week on the cruise that he prefers Mickey cartoons to the Disney movies. So maybe we're slowly turning him into a fan. Also, he's not that great at posing for pictures, so he may look like a nutcase in half our photos. Anyway, my mom's Disney favorites include Magic Kingdom and all of its classic attractions, Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Zootopia, Rizzo the Rat, and Must Do Disney with Stacey (Stacey is a favorite of mine as well)! At home we have two cats, Sebastian (an yellow tabby) and a black cat named... Black Cat! Very creative, huh?


gRTsDJ



hb64tJ



(Sebastian with his lei from Ohana)

bzqTnd



(Black Cat)​


As with any big Disney trip, we started with the planning. We actually booked this cruise in June 2017, so we had about a year to do plenty of research and get pumped up about our voyage to the Last Frontier. Most of my research came from some of the tours and restaurants' Trip Advisor pages and several YouTube trip reports. However, I did find that there wasn't as much advice or detailed write-ups like there is for Walt Disney World. So, hopefully this trip report will be of great help to you in all your planning. As I do for my many WDW trips, I make a big book on Microsoft Publisher outlining all my plans including my reservation numbers and detailed daily schedules to help keep everything in one place. Also, I am a BIG fan of making window decorations for my WDW resorts, so I took advantage of this great opportunity to work on a bigger canvas-- my stateroom door. Below is a pic where I tested out my display on my fridge before the trip. I find the clipart online, trace them out, and color in with Sharpies. I find it very relaxing-- I LOVE to color! I'm already starting to design my next door/window and I don't even have a trip planned, so if you don't have the time to make your own display, I would love to do that for you in my spare time, LOL! I bought an inexpensive roll of ProMAG self-adhesive magnets from Michael's-- the stateroom doors are magnetic (tape or any other sticky material is not allowed).


iseSfy


So, thanks for coming along on my first trip report! Next time I'll cover our very first day- the flight to Vancouver, Canada!
 

Attachments

  • upload_2018-5-30_16-5-41.png
    upload_2018-5-30_16-5-41.png
    221.3 KB · Views: 13
  • upload_2018-5-30_16-6-0.png
    upload_2018-5-30_16-6-0.png
    124.1 KB · Views: 11
  • upload_2018-5-30_16-6-10.png
    upload_2018-5-30_16-6-10.png
    116.5 KB · Views: 11
  • upload_2018-5-30_16-6-29.png
    upload_2018-5-30_16-6-29.png
    118 KB · Views: 11
  • upload_2018-5-30_16-7-4.png
    upload_2018-5-30_16-7-4.png
    163.8 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
Looking forward to hearing about your trip. I'll check back to see if the pictures are up.
 
So, I'm not sure what happened to the pictures, and going forward without any pictures would be extremely boring. So, I'll just give some of the tips and tricks I picked up along the way.
  • Be sure to do your research on all the ports before you leave so you'll know the best port adventures and attractions You'll want to make the most of your time in Alaska.
  • Take the ship's Walking Tour on the first day so you'll know where everything is
  • "Be the onion" - the coldest day was the Glacier Day. Bundle up! Cast Members walk around the deck offering complimentary hot chocolate, pea soup, and blankets. The best views of the glacier was on Deck 10, in my opinion. We had an inside stateroom- meaning no window or balcony. We wanted to be able to see on both sides of the ship.
  • Security and customs was easier than I thought. All you need to show is your passport and Key to the World card. Disembarkment Day was a breeze. You simply leave the ship when the color of your provided luggage tag is called and hand your completed customs card to an agent. So much easier than at Port Canaveral.
  • I'm not sure if it's possible, but you may want to request I Kadek and Tong as your server and assistant server in the main dining rooms. They were fantastic! Kadek knows that you want the best bang for your buck and encouraged us to order everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) from the menu.
  • The main highlights of each port include:
Skagway: White Pass & Yukon Route Railway; Skagway Brewing Company
Juneau (my favorite of the ports): Gold Rush Dogs Tour; Mendenhall Glacier & Nugget Falls Trail; Tracy's King Crab Shack (a Disney employee
recommended Vera's); Salmon Hatchery
Ketchikan: There's a lot of shopping here, including Walmart, which provides a free shuttle from town (a favorite of the ships' crew members)-
however, the van can only hold 14 people, so the line can last for hours. We ended up getting a cab back to the ship with a local (about $14)
  • One mistake I made was not booking a whale watching tour. We decided to see them on our own- we saw one, and that was from the Juneau bus station, which provides free transportation from the port to town (otherwise a 1-mile walk). We did, however, see other creatures on our own: eagles, seals, porpoises.
  • The prices at the ports' shops are INCREDIBLE. Though most of the merchandise is made in China, the prices are LOW. You'll want to wait to buy all your cold weather gear off the ship. Of course, there are Disney Alaska-specific items you will want to purchase aboard the Wonder. But, stores like the Alaska Shirt Company, The Outlet Store in Ketchikan, and Skagway's White Pass store have great merchandise for ninety-nine-cent store prices.
  • The rotational dining room menus are different each night (Cajun, Scandinavian, Frozen, American, French, etc.)
  • There are 3 shows on the Wonder: The Golden Mickeys, Frozen: A Musical Spectacular (a must-see), and Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic (my least favorite- I was told it hasn't changed since its debut in the '90s). Other nights' main shows included comedians, musicians, and a movie. On our sailing, the entertainers included The Beverly Bills (an Andrews Sisters tribute), juggler Matt Baker, musician John Charles (plays requests- anything and everything), magician Billy Kidd (who I had seen on CW's Masters of Illusion) and the premiere of Solo (some of the entertainers performed in the club Azure in order to present an encore of Frozen & Disney Dreams in the Walt Disney Theater)
  • The dress code in the main dining rooms is simply no swimwear. I wore shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes most nights- and that's what most other people had on. Formal night isn't mandatory- I wore a polo and khaki pants while others wore tuxedos. It's your choice.
  • Be sure to book a character breakfast and to secure tickets for the character greetings when your time to book activities opens up.
  • Save some cash for shopping at the ports of call- they have to pay high fees for credit cards and prefer cash.
  • Your dining options are limited throughout the day, meaning that the buffet isn't 24/7. The buffet, Cabanas, runs for breakfast, closes, and then reopens for lunch until 2 pm. It reopens as a table service restaurant for dinner. The burger and pizza stations on Deck 9 are open late. You also have the option of 24/7 room service.
  • All soft drinks are FREE at Cabanas, the self-serve station on Deck 9, and at the table-service restaurants. Take a cup holder they give out at fast food restaurants so you can take lots of cups back to your stateroom.
  • My favorite tip of them all- POG!!! My all-time favorite drink, which can be found at WDW's Ohana and Tusker House. Ok, so it's used to make some sort of non-alcholic drink at the lounges but you can ask for JUST THE JUICE. The first time you ask for it, they'll think you're crazy (it's really a concentrate)! But, just ask for it with water on the rocks and they'll understand. The menu says it's an orange & passion fruit juice, but a waiter confirmed that it does contain the guava as well.
I'm sure I left something out. Be sure to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them!
 



GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top