2018 The Wonder of Alaskan Cruise

[ZapperZ]

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It was a fun bus ride, because we stopped at several locations, either due to their significance, or because they had an amazing photo op. Here are a few more.

This desolate-looking place was our last photo op stop before we reached the train. Most of the trees no longer grew at this elevation. But the view was still spectacular.

I took a panoramic shot of this place.

We reached the place to transfer to the White Pass train for the ride back down.

Hugging the cliff, the trip down alternated between gasping at the view, and white-knuckling at the sheer drop right outside of your train window. Here, the tracks curved enough that I could snap a photo of part of the train.

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[ZapperZ]

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More scenes from the train ride.

Man, it was a spectacular train ride. Next time, I'll ride it on the way up, and then take the bus ride back down. Doing it this way gave a different perspective, and a different view. The bus ride was great because we had a few stops along the way to take really good photos.

I'll post some more stuff about this train ride because we also captured video footage both on our camcorder and on a GoPro.

When we reached Skagway, we were met once again by Paul and our bus. It was a short ride back to the center of Skagway, and to our ship.

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[ZapperZ]

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I took more pictures from the ship. It was spectacular how the ship juxtaposed against the majestic background.

This was my most favorite spot for my late afternoon tea that day. I mean, c'mon! It couldn't get anymore spectacular than this!

We had an amazing time in Skagway, and I'm dreaming of coming back here again.

Our dinner that evening was back at Animation Palette. And it was the character-drawing night! I'll show you the crazy thing I drew. I've done this several times, and it is always a lot of silly fun!

It was an amazing day.

Zz.

 

[ChuckElias]

Skagway was my favorite port. Thank you for the spectacular pictures!

 

[ZapperZ]

Day 5 was Juneau, the state capital of Alaska. The Wonder pulled in very early in the morning. A lot of people have very early excursion in Juneau, since the ship was going to be there only till 12:30 pm. We had an early breakfast to get ready for the day.

Our excursion was a 2-parter. Start at the Mendenhall Glacier park, and continued on to Mount Roberts tram. So we started the morning by boarding our excursion bus to the Mendenhall Glacier park.

I snapped a panorama shot of the view of the glacier from a distance.

This is more of a closeup view.

We decided to take the 1-mile hike that got us right close to the glacier, and a better look at Nugget Falls.

Here's a panorama view of both the glacier and the falls.

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[ZapperZ]

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Wish we could stay longer, but we had another part of the excursion to do before the ship sailed away. So we boarded our bus again and were taken to the tram going up Mount Roberts.

The view going up was, of course, spectacular, especially seeing where we could get free salmon tasting!

Once at the top, the first thing we noticed was .... oh my god, it was VERY windy!

But other than that, there trails and things to learn. They had a captive raptor on display. It was injured and they rescued it.

This gentleman was diligently carving on the side of a tree. I think he had been working on it for a couple of days, and told us that if it weren't for the high winds, he could have finished it in a couple of hours.

We walked around the area to mostly check out the view. Wish we had time to walk along the trails they had there, but we just didn't have the time. So here are shots from the top of Mount Roberts.

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[Jedi Stitch]

Good morning! It’s a cloudy and chilly morning in Vancouver.
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We had no solid plan today. But I’ve heard of the Capilano park, and after reading @Tiggerish ’s recommendation, we decided to do that today.

Zz

Vancouver has a sight line law for building along any street. We live in Seattle, have been kicking around the cruise Idea.

 

[ZapperZ]

... cont.

Soon it was time to take the tram back down. This should give you more perspective on how high up we were.

We got back to the ship, had lunch, and then rushed to another talk about what we might encounter later in the day. While the itinerary stated that we were to to go Tracy Arm, the captain had the prerogative to change that depending on conditions.

After the talk, with us still not knowing exactly where we will go, I decided to chill out on Deck 4, and watch the scenery. Can never get tired of the view.

Along the way, I spotted from a distance what looked like remnant of a glacier. Not sure if it was or not, but I snapped photos of it.

More scenery, and I think we must be getting somewhere, because I was started to see floating ice on the water.

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[ZapperZ]

... cont.

WE INTERRUPT YOUR VIEWING OF THE GORGEOUS SCENES OF ALASKA'S INSIDE PASSAGE TO BRING YOU THE PIXAR PALS PARTY.



So while The Wonder was sailing along to its destination, the Pixar Pals Party took place in the Atrium. I only had to go one deck down and got in the middle of the party. Here are snap shots that I took.

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[ZapperZ]

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NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM

Where were we? Oh yes, Alaska and the Inside Passage.

I changed strategy once I noticed the floating ice, thinking that we were getting close to our destination. So I went up to Deck 11 to get a better view. Needless to say, the top deck was already quite busy with people.

We were also starting to see a lot more ice debris on the water. So we are definitely getting closer.

I'll give you the punch line here. We later on found out that we did not go to Tracy Arm, but instead went to Endicot Arm Fjord. So welcome to Endicott Arm!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Dawes Glacier at Endicott Arm.

It was spectacular. The Wonder did a 180-degree turn and many of us got very good views of it. We also found out later that the ship could have gone closer, but because of the ice debris, the ice wall at the glacier was caving and unstable. So the captain got us as close as he could, but not as close as he normally would if the ice was not caving.

Still, who's complaining?!

It certainly was the highlight of the day. After that, the ship zoomed to our next and final port-of-call, Ketchikan.

Zz.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

I'll start my recap of the trip with our first full day in Vancouver before we embarked on the cruise. This was the day after we arrived. The highlight of the day was a visit to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, which I highly recommend (if you're not scared of heights).
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We were greeted with lots of amazing totem poles. I didn't get to read all the details of the totem poles because, frankly, I was itching to get onto the suspension bridge.
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The main attraction to the park is of course, its namesake. It is 450 ft long, and I don't know how high, but it looked pretty high. The pictures do not give a clear sense of height, but if you've been here, you know how high it was, and it was exhilarating.

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The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie The 6th Day was filmed in Vancouver. The the Corporate HQ Building was the Library, and the scene where the car goes careening over the cliffs was filmed their in Capistrano Park. I am Loving your Trip Report.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

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But the bridge isn't the only major attraction there. After we got across, we did the forest canopy walk. This is where you walk from one platform high up in the trees to another via a series of suspension bridges. These are not suspended as high as the main suspension bridge, but there were still up there. At various locations, there are plaques and info about various trees and natural fauna of the place.

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To be Honest, I kept expecting you to get a picture of an Ewo

 

[ChuckElias]

Wow! You had a private viewing of Endicott Arm!! I'm so jealous. We saw Tracy Arm, which was amazing, as well, but we shared it with about 8 other cruise ships. This is spectacular.

 

[ZapperZ]

To be Honest, I kept expecting you to get a picture of an Ewo

Ewo? Or do you mean Ewok from "Empire Strikes Back"?

Zz.

 

[joanna71985]

The scenery pictures are stunning!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Ok, the floating ice is extremely cool but REMY! I never knew he did a meet and greet!

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, so maybe this is a bit of a rant, and I may offend some people, but what the hey....

When we were at Juneau and then sailing to Endicott Arm, we were told a few times that many of the fauna and flora there thrived not only due to soil and the abundant rain, but also due to the exceptionally clean air. In fact, it was boasted that many parts of Alaska have some of the cleanest air in the world.

It was, therefore, ironic that, while we were sailing toward Endicott Arm, and as I was standing with other people on the port side of Deck 11, the aroma of cigarrette smoke came waffling through the air. The jaw-dropping scenery was accompanied by the putrid smell of cigarette.

The problem was that there was a smoking section on Deck 10 on the port side of the ship. Since there was a set of stairs that connects that particular addiction corner to Deck 11, the lovely smoke easily escaped upward and bathed us with its smell. To make it worse, this was located towards the front of the ship. So while the ship was in motion, the wind naturally blew the smoke over a larger area of the top deck.

So here we were, in one of the most pristine part of the world, with the cleanest air, and we still could not escape cigarette smoke, something we encounter regularly in ordinary civilization. It was sad that something like this could not be enjoyed without such pollution, especially considering the location.

Why the smoking section is towards the front of the ship, and allows the smoke to chimney out to Deck 11, is beyond my understanding.

Zz.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

Ewo? Or do you mean Ewok from "Empire Strikes Back"?

Zz.

Yes, sorry Ewok is correct from Return of the Jedi. Those cat walks in the trees reminded me of the Ewok Village.

 

[ZapperZ]

Yes, sorry Ewok is correct from Return of the Jedi. Those cat walks in the trees reminded me of the Ewok Village.

Ugh! I got the movie wrong. So we're even.

Zz.

 

[ChuckElias]

Why the smoking section is towards the front of the ship, and allows the smoke to chimney out to Deck 11, is beyond my understanding.

Zz.

Are you sure that the smoking section was on Deck 10? I always thought it was in Quiet Cove on Deck 9. Maybe they've relocated it since I was on board. Nope, I just checked the DCL website and this is from their FAQ:

Booking & Reservations – Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Are there designated smoking areas on board?
A. In an effort to provide an enjoyable cruise experience for all our Guests, smoking (including the use of electronic cigarettes) is only permitted in the following designated areas of the ships:
Disney Magic and Disney Wonder

• Deck 4, outdoors, starboard side from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
• Deck 9, forward, portside, any time

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I think they want the smoking section where adults can go easily and where it will be away from children (which I can appreciate). That means it has to be in Quiet Cove. They try to put it in a corner so it's away from as many people as possible. Unfortunately, it's near a stairwell and the smoke naturally goes to the decks above it. I find smoking to be gross, personally, so I totally understand your reaction. But honestly, unless you make the entire cruise non-smoking, you're going to notice it somewhere. At least DCL doesn't have a casino that connects to the rest of the ship, so that you smell the smoke throughout the Atrium or something like that.