Kicking off the 2017 Alaska Season! May 22-29, 2017 Alaska cruise on the Wonder (complete 7/14)

some of the Cast Members had a look of "why is it so hard is it to herd people" on their faces, so I think there was maybe some sort of glitch/holdup down the line and the flow of people was backing up. It soon got sorted out and we got through customs without taking too much time.

After our experience in Vancouver, I think the confused look on the CM faces is more a matter of the fact that THEY have no idea how people are supposed to get off the ship. Our debarkation morning was definitely NOT a study in Disney efficiency. Every person we talked to had a different story and at least two cast members were giving flagrantly wrong information to people.

P.S. When you leave for a long vacation, it might not be a bad idea to turn off the water to your house, or at least to the potties. We had a flush malfunction (whoever was last out the door on our way TO the cruise), and the flapper didn't close properly. Thankfully, the water all went down the drain instead of onto our floors and carpet, but 10 days of running water is not inexpensive

Oooh. That stinks. I'm glad there wasn't damage but what a bummer.

Thanks for your report!
 
Thanks for your post about the Skagway snowshoe excursion. It's been my plan to sign up for this excursion (we're on the first Alaska cruise next year). Planning for Palo that night; hope we won't be too tired.

It was super fun-- and being on the first cruise of the season should be fine, as far as snow (fingers crossed).
We were done by 4, at the latest, so you should have time to clean up and be ready (and hungry) for Palo on that night!
 
Oh yikes! When I had a toilet malfunction, I called the utility service and they gave me a reduced rate for that usage since it was sort of not our fault. You might ask!

I should have called, but since I figured having the flapper stick was technically our fault, and then all the family stuff going on, I just sucked it up and paid the bill. Lesson learned! I'll keep that in mind, though, just in case!
 
More photos from the Glacier Explorer excursion:
Waterfalls--
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The excursion boat brought us close to that last waterfall and allowed ample time for taking pictures.
There was a naturalist or two on board, providing narration and information, and the crew were helpful when asking questions. Since we chose to remain outside almost the entire excursion, however, we didn't hear too much.

Seeing the various effects of the glaciers carving the rocks was quite interesting.
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And here are a couple more photos of the Wonder following us toward the glacier.
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And finally, the Dawes glacier comes into view. Ta-dah!! So enormous.
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You can't even tell how large this glacier is from that shot. The 'tracks' that look like monster truck tracks are moraines, which is where debris piles up from the glacier movement. You'll see in later shots that they are huge.

The excursion boat is allowed to get to 400 meters (about 1/4 mile) from the glacier face.
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(sort of a wonky shot, but you can see this exposed rock on the left is where the glacier used to cover)
Fascinating!! I feel like I am right there with you!!!
 


Loved your trip report! Just booked this cruise for May 27, 2019 with the same category verandah!
 

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