We had the most WONDERful time on the Disney Wonder ship cruising to Alaska! It was a 7-night cruise, leaving from Vancouver on May 27, and cruising to Icy Straight Point, Juneau, and Ketchikan. The trip was filled with beautiful Alaska scenery, wildlife, lots of Disney princesses and characters, delicious food, Broadway quality entertainment, fun Disney trivia and activities, and great family time!
Sunday, May 26- Travel Day
The trip started off with a scary adventure as our plane from Lexington took off right as there was a really bad thunderstorm brewing. It was the worst turbulence I have ever experienced on a plane- the kind where all the passengers are gasping and thinking they were going to die. It was a terrible way to start the trip! The rest of the flight was thankfully smooth and we had a 4 hour layover in Atlanta that was actually pretty entertaining. We enjoyed people watching and watching one plane after the other take off. We were curious how many planes come and go from the Atlanta airport in one day- the answer is 2000 flights, making it the busiest airport in the world. We ate dinner at Five Guys and then boarded a WestJet plane to fly to Vancouver. That flight wasn't fun either but for different reasons. It was hot and stuffy and way too small of a plane for a 5+ hour flight. Hannah and I passed the time by having a Liv & Maddie marathon. We landed in Vancouver a little late and then had to hike through the whole airport to get to customs and baggage claim. We were exhausted at this point. By the time we took the shuttle to our hotel it was 11pm local time, which was 2am to us. Long story short- you have to really want to go on this Alaska cruise because the trip out there is no picnic. It was totally worth it because we had an amazing time, but the time difference is tough to deal with and the trip is just long and exhausting.
Monday, May 27: Embarkation Day
We had a lazy start to the day in the hotel. Stephen got us McDonald's for breakfast, which is a little different in Canada. The menu wasn't quite the same and we noticed little changes like they have paper straws and no Honey Mustard. We took an Uber to the cruise port, which was about a 30 minute ride. Overall we weren't really too impressed with Vancouver as a city and preferred the Seattle cruise port over the Vancouver one. It probably didn't help that the weather was mostly dreary in Vancouver. The check in at the cruise port went so smoothly and the best surprise was after we got through security and to the waiting area, we didn't even have to wait!! They let us board the ship right away!
We wasted no time and went right up to Cabana's for lunch and had it outside on the deck overlooking the city. Stephen and Hannah enjoyed playing some basketball on the sports deck and then we headed down to see if our stateroom was ready, and it was! Stephen surprised us with chocolates and sparkling cider in the room and official Disney Cruise Line robes! Hannah and I chilled in the room for a bit while Stephen went to what would become our favorite hang out spot for the week- The French Quarter Lounge. It was just a floor up from our room and decorated to look like it was from The Princess and the Frog movie. They made really good chai lattes there and going along with the New Orleans theme- they had the best beignets.
We had dinner at Tritons that night. We were disappointed when we got there to find out that we didn't have a private table on this cruise, instead we were seated with another family. Well, it turned out to be so much fun! Our cruise friends were from California and had a daughter named Chloe who was Hannah's age and they had a blast together at dinner every night. We even met up with them at the shows and some of the special events so Hannah and Chloe could be together. It was an unexpected part of our trip that ended up being so special and fun. Our waiters at the restaurant were great and did fun magic tricks for the kids on the first night. They were joking around and brought out birthday cakes for all the kids and sang Happy Birthday to them even though it wasn't even anyone's birthday.
What we had for dinner: Stephen: Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp appetizer, French Onion Soup, Chateaubriand-Roasted Filet Steak, me: Breaded Deep Fried Brie appetizer, Oven-Baked Salmon Royal, and desserts were the Grand Marnier Souffle, and Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee.
After dinner we headed to the top deck for the Disney Sail Away Party. It's all the Disney characters dancing and getting the crowd pumped up, all against a majestic mountain backdrop. It was an interesting juxtaposition- Mickey and Minnie and pop music on the boat, and breathtaking snow covered mountains in the distance!
Tuesday, May 28: Day at Sea
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Cabana's- mickey waffles, muffins, bacon, donuts- so many good things! Then Hannah had an appointment for the Royal Gathering and got to meet Cinderella, Ariel, and Belle. After that we hit up Mickey's Mainsail to check out all the exclusive Disney Alaska merchandise. We bought A LOT of stuff on the cruise ship. After our shopping spree we did a Goofy drawing class and then attended a seminar lead by a naturalist who told us all about the Alaskan wildlife we might see. Hannah liked learning about all the birds and puffins and she even talked to the naturalist after the presentation to ask her what kids can do to help with preserving the habitats for the animals.
The weather on this day was the best we had all week with a little sunshine peeking through and temps still pretty decent. We ate lunch at Cabana's outside and then we headed to Disney Tunes Trivia. We didn't do too well at that one but it was still fun. We had some ice cream cones on the deck and then did a little rest time in the room. Stephen and Hannah watched The Princess and the Frog on the outside movie screen called the Funnel Vision. They were feeling adventurous and there were several people in the pool and going down the water slide even though it was at best in the upper 50's- so they joined in :) Hannah loved the water slide, and I think Stephen enjoyed the hot tub the most. I stayed in my hoodie on the deck and took pictures!
That night we had dinner at Animator's Pallet. It's such a fun restaurant where all the artwork on the walls slowly comes to life throughout the dinner. It all starts out as black and white drawings and by the end the screens are all in color and the characters are animated. We even got a surprise visit from Mickey from Fantasia at the end of dinner. We had delicious truffle pasta for our appetizer, cheddar potato soup, pork chops with sun dried tomato risotto and fudge cheesecake for dessert. So yummy!
After dinner we went to The Golden Mickey's Show. It was phenomenal. The Disney shows are unmatched in production quality and they wow us every time. They spare no expenses in costumes and sets and special effects. The Golden Mickey's was an awards show that took us through lots of classic Disney movie songs from Snow White, Princess and the Frog, and a funny Cruela Devil from 101 Dalmations. I think that one was Hannah's favorite. I loved the scene they recreated from Tangled, singing 'At Last I See the Light' with lanterns projected all around the theater. It felt like we were in the scene. Other songs included were from The Lion King, and Tarzan with the actors spinning around on ropes, and a really cool scene from The Little Mermaid with Ursula's tentacles coming up from below the stage and the projections on the walls looked like they were tearing down the theater. It was such a cool show and the actors were all so talented.
Wednesday, May 29: Glacier Viewing
We woke up early to a view of mountains outside our window. Breakfast at Cabana's was Churro Waffle day! On our last cruise they only made the Mickey churro waffles once, but on this one we got a surprise later in the week when they made them again! They're delicious! The weather was unfortunately not great on this day, with several periods of rain off and on. We spent some more time shopping at Mickey's Mainsail and then had lunch at Pete's Boiler Bites (burgers and fries). Stephen braved the weather much more than Hannah and I did and it paid off for him because he saw some whales and a puffin. Hannah and I went to an Olaf drawing class and we also got family pictures with Mickey and Minnie in their Alaska outfits. Then we went to Frozen Trivia and we came so close to winning! We got 19 out of 20 questions correct. After trivia we went to the lobby to watch a May Pole decorating show for Frozen Night. The menu for Frozen night was all Arendelle inspired so it was basically German food!! I had spaetzle and pork tenderloin for my dinner and it tasted authentic. It was my favorite meal on the cruise. After dinner we went to the Freezing the Night Away show on the deck with our cruise friends. It was awesome with lots of fun Frozen songs and then a beach party with Olaf and it ended with a ton of fake snow being blasted out over the crowd. After that we went to the theater to watch a magician. He was alright, but poor guy following the Golden Mickey's from the night before just didn't stand a chance. Hannah loved it though!
Thursday, May 30: Icy Straight Point
We went on a whale watching excursion in Icy Straight Point. It was great! We saw a brown bear, bald eagles, sea lions, otters and several humpback whales. The scenery was also gorgeous with snowy mountains all around us. After the excursion we went back to the ship for a quick lunch and then we headed back out for the second part of our excursion- a gondola ride WAY up this mountain. I was instructed not to look down ;) We had amazing views at the top looking down on our tiny cruise ship below. We came back down and skipped rocks on this rocky beach, which was Hannah's favorite part of the whole day. Our dinner that night was at Tiana's and it was delicious. I had a warm cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon tartlet for an appetizer, and oven roasted turkey with rosemary stuffing and gravy for dinner. Stephen had the Louisiana Hot Crap dip for an appetizer and lime marinated jumbo shrimp and a New York Sirloin Steak with truffle-layered potatoes for dinner. Dessert was Baked Alaska. They had a live jazz band playing Disney songs and the alligator Louis from The Princess and the Frog danced with the kids. There was no show tonight so we got some extra sleep!
Friday, May 31: Juneau
We doubled up on breakfast and ate at Cabana's and then went to Happy Hour at the French Quarter Lounge and got lattes with Olaf in the foam and yummy beignets. Then we took a shuttle to Juneau and our plan was to take another shuttle to the Mendenhall Glacier. Stephen and I did this ten years ago and the tickets for that shuttle ride were $5 a person. Well, in ten years that price had gone up to a hefty $80 a person so we said 'no thanks, y'all are crazy and that glacier is almost melted away anyway' so we changed our plans and our plan B was so much fun!! We took a tram ride 1,800 feet up a mountain where we hiked the most beautiful nature trail called the Mt. Robert's Alpine Loop trail. It was another 150 feet in elevation and so high up that it was above the tree line. There was still some snow on parts of the trail! We learned about the hemlock trees and that their trunks were curved because of the weight of the snow on them when they were young trees. Those trees were over 450 years old! The views were beautiful and the pictures don't do it justice at all. We loved it so much that we hiked the trail a second time.
Then we headed down and back to the ship to have a nice sit down lunch at Tiana's. We had delicious pimento cheese burgers and 'Ring-a-Ding sundaes'-Dulce Leche with chocolate ice cream and chocolate chips. Then we headed back off the ship into Juneau to do a little shopping. We came back to the ship to do a little rest time and then we had dinner at Triton's. Stephen had lobster and I had chicken alfredo which was SO good, and we all had Lava Cake for dessert. After dinner Hannah had her picture taken with Daisy Duck and then we went to the Frozen show. We had seen it before on our last cruise but it was even better than I remembered it. The actors were so good and the songs of course are wonderful and there were fun special effects like confetti and more snow being blasted out over the audience. Such a great show and experience. I wish they would let you take pictures or video so we could capture some of the magic of the shows, but you just have to soak it up and see it for yourself!
Saturday, June 1: Ketchikan
We started the day at French Quarter Lounge and then we ran into Goofy out on the deck just wandering around! He even took some pictures with us. Cinderella was just wandering around too and she took Hannah by the hand and walked her to the balcony to get pictures. She was so sweet with her. She was so nice and complimented Hannah's new otter earrings that she bought in Icy Straight Point. Usually the characters all have set times where they are available for photos so it's always fun when you catch them just walking around the ship not during their official photo times. After a breakfast at Cabana's we headed out to Ketchikan and went straight to the best shopping spot in Alaska- the Tongas Trading Company. We got lots of apparel and souvenirs. We also went to a candy shop that was creatively named Ketchi-candies. Then we had an excursion to a lumberjack show. It was pouring down rain on the way there but we stayed pretty dry in our rain gear. The show was very entertaining and we had a lot of fun. Our dinner that night was at Animator's Pallet and we got to animate our own characters. Afterwards Chloe and Hannah got their picture taken with Minnie Mouse in her evening wear. That night the show was a ventriloquist. Hannah loved the show. Stephen and I would have chosen to go to bed early instead ;)
Sunday, June 2: Day at Sea
Our last day at sea was filled with fun activities on the ship. Hannah made a memory scrapbook page at the French Quarter Lounge. We were surprised with Mickey churro waffles at breakfast again so that made our last day more sweet :) We did Disney villains trivia, which was very challenging and then we went to a dance party with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Chip and Dale. We ran into Chloe there so she and Hannah got to dance together. Then Hannah and I went to a towel folding class and learned how to fold a swan, a dinosaur and a monkey. That afternoon Hannah had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She had the nicest 'fairy godmother apprentice' who was so sweet with her and asked her all kinds of questions about herself and the cruise. She even left her a glittery note on our stateroom door that evening. Hannah loved having her hair done all fancy and she looked so grown up! That night was the Mardi Gras party at Tiana's and we all got bead necklaces and the kids danced around the restaurant. It was really fun. The weather was awful but they kept us so busy on the ship it didn't really matter. We were cruising the Inside Passage but it was so foggy and rainy we couldn't really see much.
The show that night was called Disney Dreams and it was beyond excellent like the other two shows. It was a medley of so many great Disney songs including Under the Sea (complete with bubbles being blown out over the audience), Part of Your World, Cinderella-A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, an amazing performance of The Circle of Life, Rapunzel- When Will My Life Begin and I Have a Dream, and Aladdin-Prince Ali and A Whole New World with a flying carpet. There were lots of cool special effects in this show as well like when Cinderella's dress changes behind a pyrotechnic flash of light, and Peter Pan flies across the stage. It was another amazing Disney show!
Monday, June 3: Vancouver
Sad day! We arrived in Vancouver back at the port. We got off the ship and walked a block to The Auberge Hotel (a splurge) and to our surprise we got to check in at 8am already! We had planned to just leave our luggage and explore the city but we were so relieved when we could get in the room that early already. It was a beautiful suite overlooking the harbor. We could even see our cruise ship from our window! Stephen enjoyed watching all the float planes take off and land. We chilled at the room for a bit and then we took an Uber to Stanley Park. It was really pretty. Then we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. The highlights were their outdoor exhibits where they had otters, sea lions and seals. It was really cool to see otters up close after we had seen them in the wild earlier that week during our whale watching excursion. They are so cute! We enjoyed mermaid ice cream cones outside and then walked around the park a little more before heading back to the hotel. It was a nice way to spend the day before our long trip home the next day. It was the best vacation and I'm so glad we were able to show Hannah such a beautiful part of the world. Now on to planning our next Disney cruise... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment