The Wonder in Alaska the last Frontier Completed 10-09-22

[KGmomoftwins]

Travel Day August 21 wondering if we make it on time!

Hello Alaska people here we are myself, DH, and twin girls! Well after planning this trip for over 2 years and all the worry and stress we got home around 3am this morning after disembarking the wonder on August 29. Spoiler alert it really is as amazing as everyone says. I’m still in awe and can’t believe we actually had this experience. Just a heads up if you want to hear about helicopters, float planes, adult evening entertainment, or trains this is not the trip report for you.

Pre cruise testing not that it matters any more…. We used Inspire 145 dollars for the 4 of us one appointment did all 4 at once 8:15am Saturday done by 8:37. Super easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our travel actually began around 5pm on Saturday evening with a drive to Syracuse NY Hampton Inn North. We were going to do the Park, Stay and Ride package. When I called the hotel I informed them our flight back did not until 11:45pm and we would actually be gone total of 9 days. They said that would be fine. Well go to check in and that’s not the case they are going to charge me extra beyond several days and the shuttle will not pick us up that late we will have to take a cab and the hotel will then reimburse us. I think oh ok. We go up the room which was very Hampton like and clean inform my husband and he goes no way that’s ridiculous. Cabs are pretty hard to come by in upstate NY.

We slept fine and got up at 3:45am and got to the airport pretty close to 5am having now driven ourselves and parking there (thank goodness we did this as you will see later). Our flight as United and we connected in Chicago. Once we made it through security I wanted to get the breakfast for the girls but all of humanity was at the dunkin. The little store had pre-packaged Otis muffins and yogurt so that’s what we did. Plus I travel with a lot of snacks! Uneventful flight we landed on time! We had a 12 minute walk to our next gate and only about 15 minutes until that plane started to board. We hustled and made it. We get all boarded to be told we were waiting for the Robert the co Piolet to show up! Well thankfully about 30 minutes later he did. Our flight crew was awesome on this flight! They talked to the girls about Alaska and while we were waiting for the piolet passed out OJ. We also made time up in the air and landed pretty close to our 11:30am time. The Vancouver airport is seriously beautiful with the little stream and bird noises it calms you before you reach the chaos of immigration. We had to wait in line about 10 minutes for a kiosk I scanned all of our passports and took our photos and then off to an agent. He asked how long we were staying, where we were staying, and our plans after the cruise then said welcome to Canada and handed our receipt keep this out and handy as you will need to turn it in. I said wait don’t you need my ArriveCan QR code receipt he said nope it was linked to your passports. Our bags were waiting after meeting with the agent. We got them and headed out everyone was being funneled through one line and it was pandemonium. We needed to hand the receipt to a person at the end of the line and we needed to dig this out the girls and I got separated from husband because someone ran over his foot with a cart got yelled at but we made it through.

Waiting for us was Suni from KJ Limo service he had a sign with our name and a very special parking spot right out front. Cost was 125 USD this included tax and tip. We could have done a cab, or uber, or skytrain but I know my family and for them this was easiest. The car was a very nice Cadillac escalade and Suni was so very nice! I decided to check my email just in case for the random testing and guess what I won the lottery!!! I was picked for random Screening first I needed to create a mycare compass account through life labs. They give you a Registration ID this is very important when you get to the pharmacy. We get to the Pacific Rim and head to the reception the lady was so nice! I explained about the random testing she knew right where I needed to go called them up and got me an appointment. Since it was Sunday they closed at 4pm it was now a little after 1pm. She said the room was not ready yet but they had a car that could take just me or all of us to the Shoppers Drug Mart at 1125 Davie St. So nice! The pharmacy was a bit rough the people who worked there were so very nice! I had to fill out paper work and needed to write the mycare registration ID twice on it. Weirdest test ever they had me put the swab in my mouth to moisten it first and then up my nose. The guy did it and actually timed each nostril.



So now we are about 15 minutes away from our reservation at Cardero’s everyone is starving and we are in a part of Vancouver I had not planned on. Thank you to the very nice local that pointed out a hotel down the street a bit and said we would be able to grab a cab there I asked about Uber and she said a cab was better here. Sure enough we got one and were on our way.

We were seated right away with a beautiful view. Total calming affect. Now you can sit outside but I think the view is better inside. The tables are very spaced out and they still have the plexi dividers up.



John was our server and he was excellent! They had my favorite wine Robert Mondavi Cab. They also had a nice childrens menu.





Dh started with mussels from the opposite coast of Canada by us lol! He said they were the best he had ever had and in fact order 3 more after this.



We both took John’s recommendations I had the fish and chips DH the fresh grilled BC halibut. Children had chicken fingers and pasta all of which was delicious and super fresh. I liked the fish and chicken fingers were not greasy.





FYI no ranch dressing here. Then time for dessert brownie sundae and lemon ice box cake. The lemon cake was so good but the crust was so hard I could not get a fork through it. Did not matter the rest stood on it’s own.








We really enjoyed this meal and it really was very reasonably priced. Bellies full we headed back to the Pacific Rim as they had called to let me know that our room was ready.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

The Fairmont Pacific Rim

We headed to the front desk and they gave us our keys I had booked this 2 years ago! I booked a city view high floor. We were floor 19 room 20 or 1920. They price I paid including tax was 428 USD. I kept checking Pan Pacific for a cheaper rate but I’m so glad I stuck with this! The room was beautiful, 2 queen beds, and the service was excellent! The beds were so comfortable and the bathroom was AMAZING!

View from our room!

The room was very clean, with a nice refrigerator, 2 comfy robes, and lots of charging capabilities. They had our luggage waiting for us.





By now it was 4pm and exhaustion was setting in. We rallied and hit the beautiful pool for about an hour. Went back to the room the girls enjoyed the bathtub and I enjoyed the shower. I hit the button that turns on a light outside the room for do not disturb so we missed turn down service and I'm pretty sure everyone was asleep by 6:30 which was good and not good. We slept solid until about 4:30am.....

 

[Timon]

I'm leaving soon for my second Alaska cruise but I am here for this! I'm glad you wrote a trippie!

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Wow that cake!!

 

[KGmomoftwins]

August 22 Embarkation Day the Wonder of 10

Well our day started super early going from East to West. Unfortunately DH had a work commitment at 8am EST. He setup shop at the desk after making some expresso in the room. At around 6am the girls and I headed out for walk to see the wonder come in. DH joined us are 6:30. It was spectacular and they were so excited. There were very few people out. The one thing I noticed as we walked along the waterfront from the Orca was the amount of garbage that was on the ground and benches. Very sad as we loved Vancouver and thought it was a beautiful place. Being in Canada we had to stop at Tim Hortons in the mall across from the Canada Place. The girls each got the Birthday special donut, I got a maple drip, and DH a honey Cruller OMG I get the hype this place was fabulous. Everyone was hungry though for a real breakfast so we opened the Botanist up at 7am. It was ok. I enjoyed my steel cut oatmeal and girls enjoyed theirs. DH not so much he got the avocado eggs benedict and it was drowning in too much avocado. It was a beautiful restaurant and good service.






I apologize I thought I had pictures from Timmys and Breakfast but I don't. If my husband does I will add them in. Also about cameras we both have iphone 11, a cannon, and then a 4k video camera of some kind lol my husbands area takes amazing video and hopefully I can figure out best how to post some in here. The coffee setup in the room was neat with the water in carafe as they are very environmentally conscious at the hotel which I love. Anyways after breakfast poor DH had to work again so the girls and I headed out. The valet guy wish I could remember his name as he was awesome. Gave us a great map of Stanley park and got a Fairmont car to drop us off at our starting point the aquarium. He also gave us 3 waters thank goodness because it was HOT! Our driver told us that even though it says 10am for the aquarium they would start letting us in at 9:30. He dropped us off around 8:15am and we headed off on the trail across from the aquarium. Continued in next post....

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Stanley Park Big Trees, Pacific Ocean, and Sea Lions OH MY

Ok so we are walking on this path through the woods 3 gals alone not another person in sight and I'm not going to lie I was a bit nervous.


We walked down the seawall to the girl in wet suit we actually found some stairs and walked on the beach not sure if this was ok but there was no one to tell us no. When we reached the little splash pad we veered off the the left and walked under the lumberjacks arch. we found a play ground and the girls were so happy we played until just 9:30.


We checked into the Aquarium at 9:30 and it cost 80USD for the 3 of us. This was a really nice small aquarium where we were able to see it all in 1.5hrs that we had. There was also no one there! Shout out to the nice Vancouver mommy who told us all about the otters! The girls could have watched them all day. She also said we were so very lucky the place was dead.
The girls really loved it here and the workers were so nice! We had someone tell us all about the sea lions. Only sad thing was the penguins were not out their pool was being refilled.

I had to drag them out at 11. I went out and there were no taxis so I opted to try the uber. Car came in less than 5 mins super clean lexus very fancy. Cost was 9USD however he dropped us off at the wrong Fairmont! I thought maybe I made a mistake when putting it in uber but nope he did. No worries we stopped at the Rexell Drugs got some more hand sanitizer and 3 packs of 6 Evian bottled water (DH likes bottled). As we were walking back we noticed the gelato place was opening up right by our hotel we stopped and of course got some why not it was 2:30 our time back home and it was birthday day!!! It was delicious real authentic gelato. We went back up to the room check was at noon and our PA was 12:30. I rearranged some bags DH had also stopped at the BC liquor store and got a 12 pack of Stella I had wanted him to get 2 bottles of wine and a 6 pack but whatever! I checked out through an email link and we headed downstairs. Once again they provided the Fairmont SUV to drop us off at port! I seriously loved this hotel and wish we had kept our original plan in coming in on Friday but I'm glad we got to experience a little bit of Vancouver. I would 100% stay here again.

We went underneath and got dropped off at 12:15 we gave out luggage away and they let us go up the elevator to check in. I had printed the paperwork with the QR code I had one and DH had one. We kept this out the entire time as they scanned it several times. First they scanned it gave us all a wrist band and sent us over to some chairs to do the ArriveCan app. Super easy to leave this area you had to show them your new QR code. Pro tip delete your old one before you arrive. Then you go to the desk they scan it again and check ID they gave each of the girls the cutest Pluto figurine because it was their birthday. This made them so happy! Then we walked a long hallway to security no line! We stopped got some pictures taken if you see Chad tell him we said hi! We were bein announced by 12:40!!! I cried they wished the girls happy birthday and gave them pins. Goofy was there to greet us and they waved and he waved. I cried. Ok I have to get back to reality now but will finish embarkation day later tonight!

 

[KGmomoftwins]

We made it on board I still can’t believe it! The Wonder is a seriously beautiful ship and it was honestly perfect for the girls with the Little Mermaid ocean theme. They totally picked up on the fact that the chandelier was the flower that Ariel puts in her hair. We immediately went to our muster station E (oh they were trying to funnel everyone into Azure but I totally knew we had everything under control). I took the picture in the app gave the CM our name and cabin number and off we went. Everyone was feeling the time change and was a little bit hungry so we decided to go to Tianas for lunch. Just a heads up we did not step foot in Cabanas at all this trip as I was afraid this would be where we catch COVID. To be honest we did not miss it as all. We were seated immediately and our server was Lucina from Brazil. She was also a server that was in our same dining rotation and she was adorable and always said hello to us. It was at that moment I remembered I could check the app and see our dining rotation. We would be at table 82 with Animators, Tianas, Tianas, Tritons, Animators, Tianas, and Tritons. I was pretty excited about this our last cruise we started at Animators and it just feels special plus Tianas would be nice for formal night. We decided to have a light lunch since it was late. We both just ordered the Chicken and Seafood gumbo plus DH got the smoked salmon and one girl got kids Mac and Cheese the other a burger. That soup was really really good. The chicken was moist the seafood in it was tasty. It had a little jalapeno diced up in it that gave a nice flavor. My husband said the salmon was super fresh.


I also want to point out the service was excellent and before our orders were taken they asked if we had an allergies which we do not. It was now 1:30 and I wanted to check and see if the stateroom was open and put some surprise birthday magnets on our door with out the girls seeing. I snuck out and that hallway was open! We were room 6548 and I cannot describe how much I loved this room and location. I slapped the magnets on and hustled back to get my family. They were so excited to go the room and they could not believe we had magnets they said Tinkerbelle left them! I let them open the envelope with our Key cards. On the bed were our silver lanyards and the infamous sling bag! Also there were certificates that said Magical moment one for each girl wishing them happy birthday and of course more buttons! I had also pre-ordered the earful surprise and it came with a really nice card holder that turns into a photo frame. The card said Happy Birthday love Mickey Minnie and the gang.

You can see the cure Pluto they got when we checked in. These flowers stayed gorgeous all week I was sad to leave them. Our stateroom host Greenville kept them full of water. He was great. Being the awesome mom that I am I had the swim suits in my bag and DH and girls changed and headed up. The pool was kind of busy and they did 2 runs on the waterslide with virtually no wait. I really liked the camera that was at the bottom so I could see when they got on and get the camera ready. It was 88 degrees and very hot and sunny out. The third time down there was a bit of a wait.

DH opted out of this run for ice cream. He was super happy this trip because there was always a CM manning the station you could not get your own. He made friends with her lol. After this last run down we decided to go back to the room get dressed and deliver some FE pixie dust. I decided once again not to do this but at the last minute decided to make some can koozies with cricut vinyl for the adults and then the eye spy card game for kids. We dusted 9 cabins in total and it was fun walking the ship. We also did a tour of the kids club at this point as it was open house. They seriously loved the frozen theme. Our luggage had arrived at this point and DH was awesome and unpacked it all while we were doing the pixie dust and kids club. We then headed up for the sail away party and here is where the evening went downhill. It was really hot and crowded. Like I mean a ton of people the most we have seen in one place in like 3 years. It was also loud and they started to flip out a little that we were moving. So we went back to our verandah and watched. This is a good time to point out that on one side of the verandah was a solid wall. The opposite side was the normal one that can be removed. We also had a clear glass so we could look down from our seats. What I absolutely loved about the Wonder deck 6 vs. the Fantasy deck 6 is the life boats are tucked away you can't see them! Pic in next post

 

[KGmomoftwins]

At first I though the wall was weird but it offered so much privacy and I think a little bit more space too!

We watched us go under the bridge which was so cool. Then it was time for our first dinner. We headed to Animators and our table was on the aisle which was nice we were not packed in like sardines. Also on either side of us were tables set for 2 and the chairs were in the middle of those tables giving us more room. Interesting fact the table on the one side of us the couple that was there we never saw again it was empty until the next time we were in Animators and it was a different couple then empty again for the rest of the cruise. The other side was the same couple and they were lovely and we chatted with them a bit. Our head server was Steve from Australia, Ronald Head sever from Philippians, and I'Gede pronounced "I good day" assistant from from Indonesia. Let me say best team ever and I mean team they worked so good together I was not sure who the head an assistant was until day 3. Steve too was super hands on he has been with DCL for 17 years and basically said he would be on the Wonder when it went to his home country our last night on. I'm going to apologize as I have no dinner pictures because this is where DD1 lost it. So dinner was AMAZINGLY good for DH and I we had the pasta pursettes and the Filet cooked perfect unfortunately for DH this would be the best steak for him the entire trip. Our table no lie was shaking so bad our seat were vibrating that it was uncomfortable. Then the show starts and all is going ok DD1 is freaked out about the table shaking and the ship sinking and then the montage starts with all the scary disney parts and she gets up to leave the restaurant. I quick run after her luckily another amazing server stopped her and asked why she was crying. I explain I'm hugging her and rubbing her back and the server was so reassuring its going to get happy and Mickey is coming. She walked us back to the table and Mickey came over and did a chin up to her. It was magical but she could not do the vibrating so her and I left. I felt terrible because it was her birthday. Ronald was awesome DH said and sent a dessert back to the room for me he said it was the best that night the blueberry crumble the Alaskan specialty. It was seriously soooo good order it even if you're like me and don't like blueberries.

I usually like a decaf tea with dessert and DH had forgotten to ask. So I decided to go up to the Cove with my coffee card in hand from 3 years ago! Now one of the best experience I had on the Fantasy was the cove. I make coffee at home always so these lattes and teas are a big treat for me. The CM that was working was probably one of the rudest human beings I have ever come in contact with. She made a big deal about how she was going to charge for this and I could get regular old tea at the station I said I know I have my coffee card from the last cruise I know how it works and I like the decaf tea here. She goes on again about that same thing at this point I just want to be like make my darn tea. She does and then she makes fun that I saved the card for so long. I think oh she's just having a bad day so I add a tip on and ask if she will be here in the morning. She goes absolutely not I will be sleeping so I replied oh night owl shift then and she legit rolled her eyes. I saw her 2 more times this trip and she was no better.

I drank my tea back in the room and then the girls wanted to pop into the gift shop. It was not busy I think it must have been close to 8. Funny story I said no stuffies this trip well we came home with 3. They are really good girls one picked out the otter the other the orca with the Alaska sweater, I got the pink Alaska t-shirt, pin which is really big and heavy but super cute it even has two clasps holding it on, and the blanket.

I go to check out and lucky I said something about the Disney Visa discount and they said I needed to actually bring in the card or bring the card to guest services and they would put a sticker on my key to the world card. Last time we cruised it was pre-printed on the cards. They were kind enough to hold my items while I ran and got my card for the stateroom. I left the girls there to shower and get ready for bed. I went back and purchased my items they were so nice and apologized saying they had changed the way they did it for whatever reason.

Good night Day 2 at sea tomorrow

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Day 2 at sea Aug 23 Fairy Godmothers and Characters

I forgot to mention yesterday that when we went to the kids club for open house we picked up the girls bands. I had done all the kids club stuff including secret word so just needed the bands. The CM said because the girls were now 10, I could sign a waiver and they could go to edge. We opted to not do this mostly because there is a big difference between 10 and 14. Also unfortunately there were 2 groups of boy gangs on this cruise. One was full of tween probably 12-14 they had horrible language, fight club on the stairs, and my husband saw them one day torturing the poor ice cream girl. The other group was older teen boys and they were just down right horrible. The girls also could do self-checkout this cruise which we allowed with the two exceptions they must tell the CM to message us that they were leaving and go straight back to the stateroom. They did this every time good girls!

We got up super early 6:30 but had slept really well. Only weird thing was I did use the bathroom in the middle of the night and I swear I could hear music playing in there it was the weirdest thing. I got ready and went up to the cove and got a black Americano for DH and a Vanilla Latte for myself plus 2 cinnamon buns and 2 chocolate croissants. The cove opened at 6:30am each day. We enjoyed these on the verandah the clear winner was the chocolate croissants the cinnamon buns were kind of crunchy. A little disappointing as they were really good on the Fantasy.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Day 2 at sea Aug 23 Fairy Godmothers and Characters Continued
At 7:30 we headed to the atrium to get the stickers to put on our key cards for the Disney visa. There was no wait at guest services. We took some pictures with the statue and then Tritons opened at 8am from breakfast. We were seated immediately and this was my favorite restaurant the mural the blue swirl ceilings so pretty. I’Gede was there and he muscled his way in to get us! DH had the eggs benedict he said they were very good. I had the French toast which was also very good but the changed the hash browns not as good. Go back to the triangles! That bacon is the best!!! DH also got a serving of vegetables. Sorry this is taking so long I'm struggling with photos and I know that's what they people want



Service was really fast and we were done by 8:30 girls were itching to go to the club but they did not open until 9. Luca was just starting to play in Bueno Vista so we watched for 30mins poor DH wanted to stay he had not seen it before so we did a bit longer and then I headed to Scott Foster talk Welcome to my home at 9:30 in Azure. I really enjoyed his presentation he was funny had great stories about living in Alaska. I also appreciated his devotion towards teachers which is why he originally went to Anchorage. He made it 1 year and well I’m going into year 15. After I had about 30 mins until our next activity so I went and enjoyed our balcony with DH. We spent so much time out here! I was comfortable in t-shirt and jeans today.


We went and picked the girls up from the club and headed to BBB, which was really hard to find. Honestly I don’t know if I can tell you how we got there. We had an 11am appointment for both girls. The boutique had seats for 4 and was empty. There were about 6 CM waiting for us. Both girls were already wearing outfit we brought from home one was Jasmine the other Elsa. I loved how they one CM said well seeing you have outfits already why not just the castle package which has doubled since the last time we sailed. 99.95 USD for each girl. At least they had a new hairstyle which was a curly bun with a really cute flower headband crown thing. They had two different colors of flowers and one picked one the other the other color so that was nice. The fairy godmothers in training were excellent and the girls and I think daddy too had a really great time. It’s a lot of glitter! With the castle package they also got a really cute shirt that says Best Day Ever with a sparkle crown on it, a cinch bag which are upgraded from the ones before a bit more sturdy, the nail polish, makeup, and a small bottle of really nice shampoo. Now all dolled up it was time for a quick lunch from the grab and go by the pool. We ate it back in the room. Those chicken strips were awesome. DH said the burger was just ok but DD loved them. DH also had the shawarma he first tried a brat and felt bad it was so bad he could not eat it. I ducked into the cove to get dessert and my friend was there and no lie she ignored me forever and finally another CM who had been waiting on several people came over and got my cupcakes and rice Krispy treats. These were all very good I love those little chocolate cupcakes. I also brought our dishes back up to the pool area it seemed Greenville was very busy and I did not want him to have to take care of dishes I could very easily take care. That was one thing I noticed over the course of the week people thinking they could just leave dishes wherever they please.



Then we spent the next hour seeing characters. We saw Spiderman, Thor (who was awesome), princess daisy, princess Minnie who told the girls she picked the flowers in our stateroom just for them, and snow white who was adorable. Poor DH I think I forgot to mention about 2 weeks before the trip he fell and broke a rib and during this time he went up and enjoyed the hot tub and then took a nap. We then went and did a door hanger craft in the French Quarter lounge. We loved it here and Krystal you are awesome! My only thing less glitter glue!!! I’m kind of bummed I missed Scott’s 1pm talk on glaciers but you can’t do it all.

Bowing to the girls as they are princesses he was awesome!

Twirling with daisy we have pictures with Daisey in 4 different outfits this cruise!

The girls headed to the club and I headed to the balcony where I spent the rest of the afternoon with my binoculars watching some really awesome humpback whale behavior! DH joined me for this and could not believe how they kept slapping their flukes over and over in the water. The girls checked themselves out around 4:30 and also got to see the awesome whales and then they watched some TV. I really liked how we just left the door open (I would not recommend doing this on a Caribbean cruise messes with the AC) but it was so nice to have fresh air and the girls would keep looking out as the watched their movie.

Tonight was formal night so we got all dressed up and headed down pretty early 5:10 but we did not have to wait for pictures I wish they had the solid white background up but they did not. The ones next to the statue are my favorite. DH and I also got a glass of wine Chardonnay I think. They also had mock tails for kids but they did not want one.

Tonight was our first night in Tianas and our table was on the aisle again 3 back from the stage really great seat. Table on one side no one and then our elderly couple. Also there was a pole behind which gave us even more space. DH loved this band! As did I but it was loud. DH started with the crab dip which was amazing best app of the week! They even brought him more of the toast because there was a ton of dip left. I had the bacon cheese tartlet which was also very good it had a pile of crispy bacon on top very good. DH also had the spinach soup it was spinachy lol. For dinner we both got the same thing. The Bering sea halibut and it was legit the best meal the fish was cooked perfectly sauce was great. The potatoes were the best ones all week I wish I had more under my fish. Both girls ordered from the adult menu the lighter note strip steak no complaints there. For dessert I got 2 the baked Alaska and the flourless chocolate cake both were really really good. The girls got their birthday cake and the serving team and Luciana came over and sang to them very sweet. DH said nothing called to him but Ronald was not having it. Ronald went to Tritons I believe and brought him back a strawberry sundae DH said it truly was awesome and ate it all. Before leaving Ronald told us to make sure we asked for him at Tritons tomorrow. Also FYI bring that wine on board they dinged us 80 bucks for a bottle of J Lore but at least it would last us tomorrow night and then Skagway. Great dinner. The girls headed back to the room and DH and I sat in the French lounge for a bit listening to a girl at a piano and gentleman play they were so good!


Photo Limit Continued next post

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Dessert!




Heading back to the room we ran into Grennville he loved to chat and was so friendly. I had told him in the morning to leave the bunkbed down and just turn the couch back. He also got extra pillows and an extra blanket for one of the girls who is always cold. I thought the temperature was fine in the room always. As DH was getting ready to go to the hot tub I noticed another sling bag and castaway luggage tag. I asked where did this come from and no one knew it just appeared by magic in our stateroom (found out it was an accident they thought they missed us and brought us another one told us to keep the stuff). DH said no one was in the adult pool area and enjoyed his time girls were asleep as soon as they hot the pillow. I sat on the verandah for a bit it.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Day 3 Aug 24 South Sawyer Glacier/Tracy Arm ICE ICE, 75 degrees, and a meltdown

Last night was rough sleeping for me as I’m the only one who heard the fog horn blowing every couple of minutes for maybe 2 hours. I went up to cove got my mediocre latte maybe I should have stuck with the specialty one they advertise on the menu. DH is black Americano and today we just got chocolate croissants for everyone. Down 3 flights to deck 6 seriously loved this location we did not take an elevator once. We chilled watched the morning show and Golden Mickeys on the tv. We also gained an hour so at 7 I took the opportunity to do a load of laundry. I liked the deck 6 location I had supplies from home so it cost 3 to wash 3 to dry. I switched it over right before we went to breakfast at 8 I was the only one in here.

We asked for Ronald when we got to Tritons and one of the other servers goes Ronald McDonald why do you want him. We said oh we love Ronald! DH got the same as yesterday, girls got Mickey waffles, and I got the Belgium waffle which was really good the strawberry cream and blueberry compote were awesome. They also brought us a fruit plate which got devoured. Not sure how they get such good mango in Vancouver! After breakfast I grabbed the laundry and quick put it away.



Girls wanted to go to the club right away but I wanted to cross fisherman Mickey off our list. We headed up to deck 10 and got in line about 8:45 we were second. Our picture is very foggy! I’m glad we did this now because in the afternoon we wanted to enjoy the scenery and people waited in line for close to an hour. Also on photos I prepaid for all of them and we got 150 pictures but some are annoying because you can see that darn gold circle you had to stand on pet peeve of mine.

After girls walked down alone and checked themselves into the club and they made space goo aka slime with stich and apparently sleep walking goofy came in. They thought they were going to bring the orange goop home I think it made it to day 6 and I tossed it. I headed to Palo (I wish to eat next time!) for the art of the theme show tour. Angelina was our guide and she was awesome! I learned so many tidbits like the mural in Tritons took 9 months to complete and was done by an all women team in Italy. There are over 120 different carpets on the Wonder a normal cruise ship would only have 10. I even saw someone special not fully awake! After I met up with DH in the adult only area and it was getting really warm out. We hung out for a bit at signals we even saw the singer from Tianas go by and I yelled to him you’re awesome love your voice. I think I may have embarrassed him a bit. It was nice to see him out and enjoying himself. We got the girls and then went and did Minnie in her Alaskan outfit and it was adorable. We then got lunch. Each day they had a special sandwich and today our favorite spicy chicken! Girls got ramen bowls. We ate on the verandah. I ordered room service dessert which was chocolate mousse cake, key lime pie, and 2 Mickey bars. It came in under 10mis! The chocolate mousse cake was one of the best desserts this trip! Get it thank me later

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Day 3 Aug 24 South Sawyer Glacier/Tracy Arm ICE ICE, 75 degrees, and a meltdown Part 2
The afternoon was nothing short of spectacular and magical. We somehow lucked out and the weather was 75 degrees and sunny the crew said it was the best weather they have had this season. We alternated between deck 10 and our verandah. With the most time on our verandah. The girls stayed with us the entire time. We kept the door open and they would hang on the couch watching tv then come out or go up on top. Also I highly suggest going to deck 4 gives you a totally different perspective and a close up of seals!!! We were also lucky as it was late in the season for seals but we saw tons.

From our Verandah my iphone we got really close!

Working on my tan if I closed my eyes felts like the Caribbean

What ice sculpture animal do you see?

Deck 10 the height of the mountains on either side is amazing! Our captain apparently prefers Tracy Arm and I feel so blessed and fortunate that we got to experience this place.

 

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From my Cannon on our Verandah. Since it was so warm and sunny we got a show the glacier calved 3 separate times. The white thunder sound is something that myself, DH, and girls will always remember brings tears to my eyes to watch the video and hear their shouts of joy. I have so many pictures and I truly love them all.

Deck 4 perspective

I love this guy! I feel like being on the starboard side and the way the captain turned the ship we were facing the glacier for a really long time. We went up to deck 10 and got some professional pictures in front of it and did not have to wait in line. I then go on the other side of the ship in a line for what I thought was scenic picture but it was scenic plus Pluto and he wears special collar and scarf on glacier day!

Back on our Verandah cannon

Make sure to check out the glacier ice they bring up they put in on deck 9 under the awning by the pool

 

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Day 3 Aug 24 South Sawyer Glacier/Tracy Arm ICE ICE, 75 degrees, and a meltdown Part 3
Now we come to the part of the meltdown. Both girls have pins each trip we've taken they get a pin to remember it. Well they have them on their lanyards. We are waiting in line to see mountain climber goofy and DD1 notices her first pin Rapunzel from 5 years ago in missing. Cue the meltdown crying hysterically the photographer who we've seen a bunch is going we will find it it's ok Goofy will make it better nope not happening. We go back and look by the glacier ice, we go to the kids club, and back to the room no pin. Still crying hysterically we go to guest services no pin but Jorge gets an envelope and puts all these pin in there.

In case anyone needs to know here are the ones they have. Now it's time for dinner and it's frozen night. She has calmed down and tell Ronald and he was so sweet. DD2 got the lighter fare strip steak and lost pin daughter got a very special meal minestrone soup(she said it was better than mine) with grilled cheese and fries. DH and I once again were the same sorry! Those scallops I love it was hot I burned my face but it was so worth it. I want to make those at home. DH also got the carrot soup and he said it was some of the best and most interesting soup he has ever had he is searching for a recipe. We both got the strip loin which was excellent. Then dessert he got the oaken apple pudding cake which he said was great even the cookie on the side, I got the Elsa chocolate raspberry YUMMY, and the girls got the kids brownie cake and ice cream and it was good.







Then it was off to frozen night. The show was cute but to stay away from people we were off to the side a little hard to see it all. Here is where I'm going to knock Disney. Come on you can do better and you used to do better. Bring back the frozen themed chocolates, necklaces, and scavenger hunt. My girls did not know any different but I did. All they really want was to meet Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff seriously you can't add a couple of ticketed meet and greets during the day for this!?

Any ideas? We had a family debate what this is. Goodnight and early morning in Skagway tomorrow!

 

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CM Praise
Before I go onto Skagway I just want to take some time to talk about the wonderful CMs on glacier day. During the pin meltdown at goofy the CM who was in charge of Goofy was so kind I rubbing DD back she's rubbing mine and saying it's ok Goofy will be in his Alaskan outfit on Juneau and Ketchikan days since she did not want her picture taken. Our head sever Steve was great and told the girls all sorts of stories about living in Australia which they loved to cheer them up. I'Gede even folded the napkins into bows and put them on their heads. The winner goes to Liane who was the photographer who witnessed the meltdown. She dropped off a beautiful note and 2 pins for the girls. The note had DH and I in tears. She truly is a wonderful human and the girls sought her out the rest of the week to chat with her and they drew and wrote her a thank you card.

Her thoughtfulness carried us through the rest of the week especially when DD would go to guest services everyday (sometimes twice) to ask about her special pin it was heat breaking but then she would look at her new pin and say it's ok. Liane was on her first contract and will be on the wonder until the end of December and I think she was a bit homesick so show her some kindness. The girls have her card on their dresser with the pins right next to it.

This cracked me up my girls are something else.

 

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Fogaugust 25 Skagway To the Puppies

We were up early this am! I got ready for our room service breakfast that was delivered promptly at 6:05am I got cereal, bagels I liked that the wrapped them in linen napkins to keep them warm and the Philadelphia cream cheese, OJ, hot chocolate for the girls which was Swiss miss packets, and a bowl of fruit. I went up to the cove at 6:25 and was first in line and got coffee and chocolate croissants. We finished this up and headed out at 6:50 we had to hunt for where to get off the ship it was not clearly marked.

View from Verandah

DH could not believe that they were using the life boats to tender people to the dock because of the rock slide

From the Verhandah not sure how much that net will hold back.

Yummy Special K girls had fruit loops.
For those that read my pre trip report I had booked a sled dog through Akaska shore excursions and the Klondike breakfast thought DCL. Well I joined an info group on another site and a lady who did the sled dogs was kind enough to post a video and photos of what the bus ride and unimog up the mountain was like. I knew my family would not be interested in this. I then contacted Sherry Corrington at Skagway Private tours and let me tell you she truly is a lover of her Alaskan land and very kind person. She was a bit more than I wanted to spend but she said rent a car trust me it’s very easy to do what you want to do. So I rented through Avis and thanks to Timon I knew right where to go when we got off the ship. The young man who grew up in Skagway informed me they did have smaller SUVs available because when I booked it just gave me one choice a 4 Runner and he could save me some money cool! I got a Jeep Cherokee I did opt for the extra insurance which probably was not need total cam to 320 USD. It was a nice car although had some scrapes on the passenger bumper that I made sure to point out while he was doing the video of it. He also warned me of rough weather through the pass and not to get to close to cars because rocks get kicked up. He gave me a print out of the car info (hint I stuffed this in my bag should have kept it handy). Girls climbed in the back and were excited heated leather seats not like Mommy’s car at home. Also the girls finally got tall enough and weighed enough to say goodbye to their boosters this spring! That’s when you know you’ve made it as a parent!

Left hand turn out of Avis and then through the rest of town and onto the highway. I did have Murrays Guide and DH was my co-piolet. Also I made a special car bingo for girls so they were eagerly looking for bears, border crossings, suspension bridges, rivers, waterfalls, and much more! We lost cell phone service pretty quick. I have AT&T and DH Verizon (I know his is through work and mine is cheap). Overall my phone was better serviced in Alaska. Let me tell you the weather was scary so foggy I could barely see anything on the road. The plan was head right to Tutshi Dog Sled camp and make stops on the way back and hope the weather cleared like I read in another report .

 

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Fogaugust 25 Skagway To the Puppies
The drive today was a little scary. I could barely see 5ft ahead of me due to the foggy conditions. It was crazy the different weather elements we experienced today. Our first stop was at the Canadian boarder stop. The boarder agent was all business. She wanted license and registration plus passports. I said well it's a rental I can get out and look. She then goes they didn't give you any paper work? Then I remembered said paper stuffed in the bag. I gave this to her and it's what she wanted. She had me roll down the back window asked the girls if we were their parents. Thank goodness they said yes. She then asked if we had any plants or animals I replied no unless you count the children no laugh. Handed passports back and said we were free to go. Next stop Tutshi Sled Dog tours. The lake this kennel sits besides is something so pure. No people, no boats, and no houses just wilderness. The weather had cleared up and we were greeted by 2 guard dogs and this sight.

The only thing my children have told grandparents about since returning is this very special place. We were the only ones here. DH and girls immediately went and played with puppies while I paid. It was 170USD for the 4 of us. FYI they do take cards when it works which is not often. I paid US cash (remember this is BC). They had 12 wee old and 4 week old puppies.

 

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Tutshi Continued Yukon

This is Mini Chia and she was a favorite her mom Chia has raced in the Iditarod. This camp is very authentic and the dogs are so well cared for. Also NO ONE ELSE WAS HERE! Nick and Renee were getting team of 13 dogs ready for us. We were the first ride of the day.


I can't even describe how beautiful this piece of property is. Our ride was a good 20mins long because Renee said they were just itching to run and they train 100 miles a day. We did 2 loops around and both stops we stopped by a pond and some went in for a little dip it was about 59 degrees F. While we were running it was just so quiet and peaceful unlike when the dogs are waiting to run they are loud! Renee also shared with us so much information about the dogs while we were going the names, what eat, how they train them, and the words for right, left, and stop. She loves these dogs and what she does. They even camp here and it is rustic no running water. We made it back to base camp and there was a woman and her mom here now from the ship. They joined us for a look at the mushing gear.


It is hard to imagine carrying all your supplies for a 1,000 mile race in that sled. I also found it interesting that all the vets that are involved with the race are volunteers. At each checkpoint your dogs need to be checked out and if they are deemed unfit you can not swap for another dog you have to run with what you have left. We then can you guess it went back to the puppies!!!

Yes that is my child climbing into the dog house. I was chatting with one of the ladies about doing Murrays guided drive and she goes oh we give a discount for the having the guide I said I know but the version is from 2020 and I just did not think it right to ask. She said oh thank you it has been a tough 2 years even now people are not taking this route like they used to. They were just so amazing they even said if you need to make a stop on your way back to see puppies please do. Nick especially he was from France kept saying you need to go all the way to Emerald lake I was not sure we would make it that far. Really great people here! It was at this point I recognized the van that had brought the other 2 folks from out ship. It was Sherry and I introduced myself and said thank you so much for all the great info another really awesome person!

 

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Carcross
Are next stop was Carcross. The weather was now sunny and about 60. I found town to be kind of depressing like what used to be. Also FYI for anyone going after are cruise Matthew General Store was closing for the season August 28 their daughter is getting married so no ice cream either. We headed over to where the bistro is and even though I had brought plenty of snacks (pre-packaged granola and crackers) every all of a sudden needed to eat. I said why don't we wait till we are back in Skagway but no we are dying of hunger. Service was fast and the girls played on the play ground while we sat at the picnic tables but the food was terrible like really bad. The grilled cheese was the only thing that got half eaten. I'm glad I said let's just order 1 grilled cheese and 1 burger. I was also close to 40USD for this and a beer for DH.

Even the playground was sad.



Our Ride!
Next stop the desert. This really weird ecosystem in the Yukon was a hit. Even DH thought it was so cool. At one point the children had thrown themselves down in the sand and were asking mommy did you bring sand toys. I swear sand in their shoes and jackets for days.


I was going to just turn around here but we came all this way so

There were even people paddle boarding.
We stopped at the Yukon sign


This is a pull off by there much prettier than are people picture of the sign lol.
Then back to Alaska interesting on the way up no one ahead no one behind us. Coming back down lots of cars and busses going up but no one was stopped at either sign.

It really was not cold they were pretending. What a difference in visibility! Photo Next post