CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2004
Hi All,
As there has been a call for more trip reports on the main DCL page I thought I would write one for our upcoming Alaskan cruise. We will be setting sail on 6/1/15 from the beautiful city of Vancouver and we are getting really excited!
Our cast of characters...and some of us really are characters...
Me - 50, "Retired" SAHM looking for adventure
DH - 49, Engineer and nature lover
DD - 22, Free Spirit
DMom (My Mother) - 80 years young
DDad (My Father) - 81 years young
DFriend - a last-minute substitution for DS20 who moved to Florida to work for Disney and does not yet have any vacation time. Alaska was on her bucket list so who better to bring along with us!
We booked this cruise on the day bookings opened. DH and I did this itinerary in 2011 for our 20th anniversary and were excited to book it again for a family trip. Planning was going along wonderfully and then...DS decided to move to Florida to work for Disney. It was the perfect choice for him and one that he has been very happy with, but it meant that he would have to give up the trip. I'll be honest, I was really sad about it for a while. Finally I just decided that he is 20 and will have lots of opportunities to see the world and if he was good with the decision I would be too. We invited a dear friend to join us because Alaska has always been on her bucket list and that also helped me get over my sadness.
So now we were set with our final group of travelers and the planning got back underway. Here is our basic itinerary...
Fly to Seattle and spend a few days there.
Drive to Vancouver and spend a few days there.
Board the Disney Wonder and sail to Alaska
Drive back to Seattle and fly home.
DH and I flew in and out of Seattle for our 2011 cruise and it was great. It saved us several hundred dollars (even when factoring in transportation) and it allowed us to see a bit of Seattle and more of the Pacific Northwest. The trip up and back was very easy and only took about 3 hours each way. We're used to driving straight to WDW (about 20 hours) so 3 was easy peasy! With our larger party this time, flying into Seattle was a no-brainer. We saved at least $300 per person on airfare and the rental car each way will only be about $200. That gives us a savings of $1400 and the opportunity to see more of Seattle.
In Seattle we plan to visit the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, take a Duck tour and take a day trip to the town of Leavenworth (Google it...it's beautiful!). We also must go to the original Starbucks. Not only is DD a fan but DS was an opening team member for the new Trolley Car Cafe in Disney Hollywood Studios. He can't join us on the trip but we'll make sure to bring him an original-store Wish You Were Here mug.
In Vancouver we will use the Hop On Hop Off trolley to get around/learn about the city and we hope to visit Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown and the waterfront area. We are also hoping to fit in a trip to the Capilano Suspension Bridge but we will have to see how that goes.
On the cruise we plan to do the following in each port...
Skagway - We'll be renting a minivan and using Murray's Guide to drive the Klondike Highway
Juneau - Enchanted Taku Glacier Flightseeing and Salmon Feast
Ketchikan - Wilderness Explorer and Crab Feast
On board we plan to do Palo Brunch, a Mixology Session, see a couple new-release movies (Tomorrowland and Avengers: Age of Ultron), attend the naturalist presentations and lots more!
So that's the plan. I've started the basic pre-packing, finished most of my fish extender gifts, etc. Others on our sailing have started getting their cruise documents so it's all getting very real. We leave in just over a month and it will be here before I know it!
As there has been a call for more trip reports on the main DCL page I thought I would write one for our upcoming Alaskan cruise. We will be setting sail on 6/1/15 from the beautiful city of Vancouver and we are getting really excited!
Our cast of characters...and some of us really are characters...
Me - 50, "Retired" SAHM looking for adventure
DH - 49, Engineer and nature lover
DD - 22, Free Spirit
DMom (My Mother) - 80 years young
DDad (My Father) - 81 years young
DFriend - a last-minute substitution for DS20 who moved to Florida to work for Disney and does not yet have any vacation time. Alaska was on her bucket list so who better to bring along with us!
We booked this cruise on the day bookings opened. DH and I did this itinerary in 2011 for our 20th anniversary and were excited to book it again for a family trip. Planning was going along wonderfully and then...DS decided to move to Florida to work for Disney. It was the perfect choice for him and one that he has been very happy with, but it meant that he would have to give up the trip. I'll be honest, I was really sad about it for a while. Finally I just decided that he is 20 and will have lots of opportunities to see the world and if he was good with the decision I would be too. We invited a dear friend to join us because Alaska has always been on her bucket list and that also helped me get over my sadness.
So now we were set with our final group of travelers and the planning got back underway. Here is our basic itinerary...
Fly to Seattle and spend a few days there.
Drive to Vancouver and spend a few days there.
Board the Disney Wonder and sail to Alaska
Drive back to Seattle and fly home.
DH and I flew in and out of Seattle for our 2011 cruise and it was great. It saved us several hundred dollars (even when factoring in transportation) and it allowed us to see a bit of Seattle and more of the Pacific Northwest. The trip up and back was very easy and only took about 3 hours each way. We're used to driving straight to WDW (about 20 hours) so 3 was easy peasy!
With our larger party this time, flying into Seattle was a no-brainer. We saved at least $300 per person on airfare and the rental car each way will only be about $200. That gives us a savings of $1400 and the opportunity to see more of Seattle.In Seattle we plan to visit the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, take a Duck tour and take a day trip to the town of Leavenworth (Google it...it's beautiful!). We also must go to the original Starbucks. Not only is DD a fan but DS was an opening team member for the new Trolley Car Cafe in Disney Hollywood Studios. He can't join us on the trip but we'll make sure to bring him an original-store Wish You Were Here mug.
In Vancouver we will use the Hop On Hop Off trolley to get around/learn about the city and we hope to visit Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown and the waterfront area. We are also hoping to fit in a trip to the Capilano Suspension Bridge but we will have to see how that goes.
On the cruise we plan to do the following in each port...
Skagway - We'll be renting a minivan and using Murray's Guide to drive the Klondike Highway
Juneau - Enchanted Taku Glacier Flightseeing and Salmon Feast
Ketchikan - Wilderness Explorer and Crab Feast
On board we plan to do Palo Brunch, a Mixology Session, see a couple new-release movies (Tomorrowland and Avengers: Age of Ultron), attend the naturalist presentations and lots more!
So that's the plan. I've started the basic pre-packing, finished most of my fish extender gifts, etc. Others on our sailing have started getting their cruise documents so it's all getting very real. We leave in just over a month and it will be here before I know it!
Last edited:
