Disney Wonder to Alaska – June 2014

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We were onboard the Disney Wonder to Alaska on the 7 day sailing starting June 2, 2014. This was our favorite cruise so far, which I didn’t think the Mediterranean cruise could be beat. But this was so much more relaxing then the Med cruise and the itineraries were so easy.

We arrived into Vancouver, BC on May 31st to get a couple of days of sightseeing in before the cruise. We fell in love with Vancouver.  What a gorgeous city and so easy to get around. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites downtown. It was clean, reasonably priced and offered a free shuttle to the port (we did have to pay for a taxi from the airport to the hotel).

The day of boarding, we got to the port early and checked our bags with the porter and went out to the pier and had lunch and walked around. We ate at Bellaggio’s, which is located right at the pier and provided a great view of the ship.

Boarding Day - Vancouver

Once onboard, we quickly noticed that this was not a cruise filled with kids. I would say the majority of the passengers were couples, which seemed a little odd for a Disney cruise.

Day 2 was a day at sea and the water was pretty rough in the morning.  The crew stated it is typical on the first day of the Alaska trips. There were a few green faced crew members. But it vastly improved by the afternoon. Since I laid down from feeling queezy, I missed the vast amount of whales around the ship. Our friends stated there were so many they couldn’t count. Just my luck.

Day 3 was supposed to be Tracy Arm Fjord day, but instead, we visited Endicott Arm, which is supposed to be a very rare opportunity. Absolutely beautiful.

Endicott Arm Fjord

Endicott Arm Fjord

Endicott Arm Fjord

Endicott Arm Fjord

Seals

Day 4 we visited Skagway. We booked a tour with Chilkoot Charters and Tours for the White Pass Summit Rail and Bus excursion.  I highly recommend our guide, Alyssa. She was outstanding. She is very knowledgeable and personable. The excursion brought us by a shuttle up to Canada and then we returned via a historic looking train. The train was fun and a nice relaxing way to take in the views.

White Pass Summit Rail

White Pass Summit Rail

Day 5 our next stop was Juneau. Being the planner that I am, this day was making me a little nervous because we had nothing planned.  It turned out to be a fantastic day. Disney provided a free shuttle into town (a 5-10 minute bus ride), which dropped us off at the base of the tramway. We bought tickets to take the tram to the top combined with the Mendenhall Glacier shuttle. After returning to town from visiting the glacier, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Juneau.

Mount Roberts Tramway

Mount Roberts Tramway

Views From the Top of Mount Roberts

Views From the Top of Mount Roberts

After getting off the tram, we got on the shuttle to the glacier and walked the Nugget Falls Trail. We wish we had the entire day to spend here.  It is absolutely beautiful.

This sign was a little unnerving and turned out to be true.

Bear and Her Cubs

Bear and Her Cubs

 

Day 6 we were in Ketchikan. Up to this point, we had perfect weather – until this day. It was pouring rain, which we were told is typical weather. We didn’t do much in this port. But we did book the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show Excursion through Disney.  It was cute and kept us dry, but not a huge deal. They do a great job of getting the little kids involved in the show.

Alaskan Lumberjack Show

Alaskan Lumberjack Show

Day 7 another sea day. This was truly a relaxing day. A scheduled spa visit and brunch at Palo. But the highlight was finally whale spottings. I was beginning to think we went all the way to Alaska without a chance to see a whale.

Overall, this was a fabulous cruise and definitely one that we will be doing again.

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