happymom52003
Active Member
Just curious....anyone know if there has ever been any talk of The Disney Cruise Line adding Alaskan cruises to their itineraries?
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Disney Cruise Line in Alaska?
- Thread starter happymom52003
- Start date
Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
There have been a lot of rumors. It is known that Disney applied for cruise ship access in Glacier Bay. There's only a limited number of licenses given out so that indicates something.
It's hard to say though, because the Magic and Wonder aren't really equipped for the colder weather of Alaska. For instance there are no indoor pools. The new ships might equip themselves but they have signed contracts with Port Canaveral saying they will be based there.
My guess (total guess) is that Disney will not base a ship there, but maybe move one of their ships there in the summer. Won't be until at least 2011 though, 2010 itineraries have just been announced and they're going to Europe in the summer.
It's hard to say though, because the Magic and Wonder aren't really equipped for the colder weather of Alaska. For instance there are no indoor pools. The new ships might equip themselves but they have signed contracts with Port Canaveral saying they will be based there.
My guess (total guess) is that Disney will not base a ship there, but maybe move one of their ships there in the summer. Won't be until at least 2011 though, 2010 itineraries have just been announced and they're going to Europe in the summer.
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I have heard that they did apply for a port permit or something like that for Alaska. Hopefully once the two new ships are finished Alaska will be on the itinerary.
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Thanks for the information. We are thinking of booking an Alaskan cruise for either Summer 09 or 10, but I had the thought that I might be willing to put that trip off for a few years if there was a chance DCL would be adding it in the future. I'd much rather do DCL than the other cruise lines since our kiddos will be going with us.
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shoppingnut
Active Member
Just because you base your ship out of Port Canaveral doen't mean you're not going to move it around to do other sailings from other ports.
None of the other ships that sail to Alaska have indoor pools. An indoor pool isn't something that they tend to build anymore on ships, that is a luxury of the past. The disney ships are more than able to sail to Alaska, they don't need to be equipped with anything special to sail there.
Also, while you tend to think Alaska is cold, in the summer months it is not, it's actually quite mild, generally in the 70's. And, the last time I was there three years ago in June, it was so warm, in the 80's, that they had the outdoor pools open on board and the people in the towns were so hot because none of the stores have a/c, it never gets that warm, it was a fluke.
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Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
Yep I know basing the ship in Port Canaveral does not mean it won't sail to other ports. That's why I said they would probably sail one of the new ships there in the summer.
My husband lived in Alaska for a year with the military and we visited many times. Like you said the warm temperature was a fluke, and can be quite mild. Coastal Alaska can also be quite chilly (We were wearing winter coats and still cold) even in the dead of summer.
Maybe indoor pools isn't quite the right word. I meant pools with retractable covers, which some cruiselines have for their Alaska cruises. The Wonder and Magic pools would be unusable a good deal of the time in Alaska. Which takes away almost an entire deck of activities.
I'm definitely not saying they couldn't sail there, I'm just saying they're not the best ships to go there.
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Celebrity cruise lines have an indoor pool....at least the ship we've been on did. It was a Baltic cruise, but the same ship we sailed on is now in Alaska.
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shoppingnut
Active Member
Okay, wasn't thinking of retractable covers. Still lots of ships don't have them and go there. Since most people spend more time looking for the wildlife and in Alaska you're in a port almost everyday, so not staying on the ship, the pool isn't really that important in the overall scheme of things.
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True. On our Baltic Cruise, we were in St. Petersburg for two days, and it was towards the end of our cruise which was 14 days long, so we were exhausted. So the second half of the second day there, we decided to go back to the ship. We went to the indoor pool area, and there was NOBODY there. Amazing, given how many people were on that ship.
Then the highlight of my trip happened....we were in the hot tob, and John Schneider (aka Bo Duke) got in the hot tub with us. There is a funny story behind this, but I gotta run now!
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Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
I agree on most cruises. But on Disney cruises? With that many kids the pools are always crowded. So they're a pretty big part of it for families.
John Schneider? Well you'll have to tell us about that one!
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shoppingnut
Active Member
I agree on most cruises. But on Disney cruises? With that many kids the pools are always crowded. So they're a pretty big part of it for families.
John Schneider? Well you'll have to tell us about that one!
That's because you're not in port all the time, but in Alaska you tend not to have that many days at sea where you're just lounging around. And on Disney cruises they have the Oceaneer's club for the kids, so there are plenty of activities. I would also imagine if parents are going to take the kids there, the last thing they are going to be doing is sitting at the pool, they will be planning the tours, etc.
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Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
I've been on two disney cruises, loved the kids clubs, and still the pools were packed every day, even on port days. But anyway, I don't want to argue with you.
I think the ships could be better equipped for an Alaska cruise. Hopefully one of the new ones will be.
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shoppingnut
Active Member
I've been on two disney cruises, loved the kids clubs, and still the pools were packed every day, even on port days. But anyway, I don't want to argue with you.
I think the ships could be better equipped for an Alaska cruise. Hopefully one of the new ones will be.
It's just a lively conversation
. Going to Alaska is such a different experience/focus than the Carribbean. Hopefully the new ones will have the sliding roof, it would make everyone very happy because there is always some nut in the water even when it's 50 degrees.
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Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
It's just a lively conversation
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I agree on most cruises. But on Disney cruises? With that many kids the pools are always crowded. So they're a pretty big part of it for families.
John Schneider? Well you'll have to tell us about that one!
You know, I think you are right. I've only been on adult type cruises, but I'd imagine there would be a difference on Disney cruises, regardless of the iteneray. I know that given the ages of our kids, I am quite certain we would use the pool quite a bit, regardless of where we were sailing. If we do go on an Alaskan cruise, it would probably be early summer....so I'd love to be on a ship with an indoor pool in addition to an outdoor pool, just in case it is a bit chilly at times!
About John Schneider....read post # 5 in this thread: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=300649&highlight=celebrities
But for some reason the pic is not there anymore....I'll try to fix that.
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