Trip Report Mexican guy Freezes in Alaska (aka Disney Wonder Alaska trip)

Cesar R M · Oct 10, 2014

SKAGWAY TIME!!!

Late night at 12:00 am, I had to go downstairs to request my passport and VISA to fully do the tour (enter Canada then back to Alaska).
My favorite CM of The wonder(Borja from Spain) was manning the place, so it was a breeze to get the papers out and ready.
After a short sleep.. I was completely freezing in my bed!
I was completely tugged as a taco the entire night! D:

We arrived VERY EARLY to this town.

We were not alone. As when we were approaching Skagway's port, the Grand Princess, Star Princess and Oosterdam were already docked.

Since we had the "best of skagway" package. We had to move quickly to get ready.
So.. after a quick shower and ready to go.

We were obviously starving.

So we went to get something quick at Deck 9. Lots of wind and very cold... so we munched as fast we could, returned to clean our teeth and then departed to the Wavebands, where our group were calling for each group.

Panorama: Starboard side

Port side on Deck 3:

It was a total craziness for us, as we couldn't understand what was going on. Lots of groups were departing consecutively and my broken english didnt help.
Someone gave us a hand who spoke a bit of Spanish and told us when to go.
So, after a few minutes later. We finally picked up our stamps, and followed a group ready to go.

The Wonder facing Skagway next to the Oosterdam

Where a young guy with a very spiffy bear was waiting for us in a bus.
Funfact, all the tours were done by young men in their 20's with very picturesque beards. Not to mention.. noone of them were from Alaska.
"Imported Meat" they said.

Anyway, as the tour departed. They were explaining the hours, the way to go..etc..

The Tour was pretty simple, go up the town of Fraser in the Canada part of the Yukon road via BUS.
Then take the train back down to Skagway.

The Route was very good at first, very good views.. tons of trees, waterfalls. But it was very hard to take photos with a gigantic reflective glass (aka the windows of the buses).

Then the higher we got, the denser the fog was. After 30 minutes or so of going ahead on the road.. the place looked like Silent Hill, the game.
FOG EVERYWHERE.
And extremely dense, the guy had to turn all the warning lights of the bus and slowdown as he laboriously moved around. The view range was.. at most.. 20 meters or less.
It also blocked almost every good part of the trip, waterfalls, bridges.. all obscured!

It was really disappointed by the tour so far!

We continued on.. gigantic bridges.. nothing.. pure white.. and due of the fog, the guy could not stop in the narrow road to take photos of a gorgeous waterfall.
I was getting ed off at this point :/

Thanks god a few minutes later, The bus reached a small area in the high mountain, with very low clouds but you could see a lake and a gorgeous scenery made by river, rocks and very short plants.

Nothing but White...

Opposite view. Lake and River.
Note the tiny trees!

Better view of the lake and the river.
Sorry for the spots, It was raining.

The interesting thing is.. just a mile or two away.. and the clouds formed a dense wall that blocked the entire view (look at this photo right side)
So no surprise they called this area the WHITE PASS mountain.
because its either filled with fog, or snow.
ALWAYS WHITE! hah

Thanks god we could see something like this!

Also, it was funny to see that some jokers used their time to stack the little rocks.
and formed small towers.

Anyway, we only had 5 minutes and we were signaled to return.
In fact, I was the last and the bus was awaiting for me and a couple.

Then, once on board...we were in route to Fraser.

We crossed more bridges and then we arrived to what looked like a tiny town. The Train tracks were easily visible. The Station was tiny and simple. and the only offices and houses seemed to be for the Canadian and American customs officers.

The officer came in, asked for our papers, we did show them.. got stamped.. and we were good to go!
Funny thing is: I tough we were gonna go deeper into the Yukon road, but then the Bus did a 180 turn and returned to the Fraser train station..

Fraser's station was right next to a big lake. Unfortunately, It started to rain... hard.
So had not much time to take photos in a proper way.

The clouds of course.. were dangerously low. A few more meters lower and we could have ZERO visibility.

and we boarded.
We're good to go!

Unfortunately, there aren't that many photos as I wanted from the train trip.

Since it was raining, our window was mostly full of dropplets..
and the fog was again as intense as the Silent Hill Game.

Of course, I still managed to catch some gems...

unfortunately, the best parts.. (the areas behind and after the tunnels and the giant bridges..) were completely covered in Fog, we could not see ANYTHING.
barely we could see the next train car!.

After an almost 30 minutes constant disappoint, The train descended enough for the fog to clear.
I was still annoyed that I could not get some of the fantastic waterfalls (you could hear the roar over the noise of the train!) other times, the train moved too fast to get a proper waterfall shot.

Of course, things got interesting when we got on one of these micro towns exclusively dedicated for workers of the White Pass Railroad train and some added hikers!

the train did stop a few times to change tracks and pick up workers I think.

Then we were on our way!

After a few minutes.. It was clear we were getting close to Skagway, as we started to see the Car route on top of us.
The fog was clearing, but still covering the high part of the mountains.

And We also went a few times above the river that cuts Skagway.

Finally, we got to the train load and unload area, including the old gold processing buildings (some of them which were completely crumbling)

We then waited until the Train stopped, and continued our way to the Liar's Ville area..

NEXT, LIARS VILLE.

SharonD · Oct 10, 2014

You are having a busy day in Skagway. That's one stop we haven't done yet. Great photos.

Cesar R M · Oct 11, 2014

SharonD said:
You are having a busy day in Skagway. That's one stop we haven't done yet. Great photos.

yeah, the Best of Skagway pretty much does the most "famous" stuff from skagway.

Cesar R M · Oct 11, 2014

Liar's Ville.

An imitation town based on the times of the Gold rush fever.
Including the shacks, the food, the clothing, structures and camp sites.
Its supposed to mimic a town classic of being full of bandits and liars. People who pretty much sold stuff, lied and got advantage of those who recently arrived to start as gold finders.

A good description was also "so named town for the journalists dispatched to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush who fabricated tall-tales from this very location."

The first thing that our bus driver talked, was about the size of the dogs.
The dogs in Liar's ville are "ancient" in dog terms.
One of them being almost as big as a pony, chubby and very lazy! (also incredibly snuggly!)

They pretty much were all "aaaom.. booring" all the time we were at the Village.

You pretty much reach via Bus via a private road, circle the area... park.. then see a girl or man with costume of the date. Telling the introduction to Liar's Ville and the Gold Rush.
Then they give you these classic old day prostitute elastic band. So they can identify each group (eah bus features different band color). Then we're good to go!

They first invite you to eat (we were very hungry!).
It was a buffet with Rice, chicken, Salmon, salads and soft drinks. The chicken was definitively delicious.
sorry guys! no photos. Was too busy eating

An old man that looked like the grandpah from the Duck Dinasty, was singing songs accompanied with a Banjo and an accordion(at same time lol)

After eating, they directed us to the other side of the villge, where they did show the classic encampment tents and buildings of the date.

And of course, live music with similar musical instruments of the gold rush times.

After a few minutes of live music.
Guests were asked to either wait in the campfire (for those who were cold, like my mother lol)
or just head to the mini theatre. Where they told stories, songs and jokes about people from the time.
Some of these jokes were definitively raunchy. So kids were told to wait by the campfire for 'smores and marshmallows.

Once the show was over, you were instructed on how to goldpan.
After the instructions, you head to some very big reservoirs (like those used to redirect water and to feed horses). And every pan was already set to use with a bunch of dirt, rocks..etc..

Panning isnt easy, specially when the water was clearly at 1C or so.. Almost freezing!
I couldn't handle more than 10 minutes of panning.. hilariously the bus driver was an expert!
And in less than 1 minute, he helped me find 4 chards of gold.
One lucky guy got 8 chards, including a big one (supposedly worth 200 USD ).

After finishing, we were encouraged to go to the bathrooms in the area and to head to the Bus after saying good bye.

After that, Our bus driver headed to the Panoramic view zone on top of one of the mountains of Skagway, facing the town.
Hilariously, our bus driver said that the zone is very expensive. The Beverly Hills of Skagways or so he said.
Mansions of rich guys were clearly visible on the entire mountain range.

Anyway, check this panorama of what you will see in this viewing area.

The ships in the docking area:

Our ship.. THE WONDER

Then we were back in town to Skagway. We had a small visit to the famous RED ONION SALOON.
Which was extremely popular during the gold rush. Also claimed to be haunted due of the people who were murdered or died.

Drinks were included in the trip. We funnily "boarded" the Saloon from behind. So anyone who still had decency.. wouldn't have his reputation damaged

Then we were given a tour of each room, their story, the techniques they used, how they got paid in gold. And how busy the place was! (they had nonstop service every half hour or so they said lol )
even some rooms were still sporting some of the old plasters.

The showcase included a gorgeous female full suit, of pure silver threads.
Of the same lady that supposedly "appeared" randomly in the house.
The place was definitively TINY.
There were like 4 rooms only in the upper area.

So I cant imagine how it would be during its heyday.

Then we were given half hour to roam the town and then back to the Bus.
The bus will NOT WAIT for those who were late. No biggie as the Wonder was right infront of us in town.

So I decided to first go urgently to an sports store. Found one explicitly for mountain and hiking.
I bought a decent pair of gloves.. (they were pretty cheap) and Went my way.
My mother in the other hand, bought an expensive watch to replace her broken one.
One model instantly made my mother tear a bit, as it was very similar to the model my late father gave her years ago. She ended purchasing that model.

She bought it and we went our way to the ship!

One thing for sure was.. the trip back to the boat was definitively longer than expected.

I also was thanking god for reminding me to purchase the gloves, as the big winds attacked us like daggers.

We went back to our room to rest a bit after a lot of walking before getting ready for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY show. I already seen this movie 2 times, but oh gods.. so good!

After the movie, we were ready for Animator's Palate!
I loved that restaurant and how everything changed color... and of course.. the finale with Wizard Mickey!

After that, We went back to our room.
and took one last panorama before leaving Skagway in route to Juneau.

and of course.. the Grand Princess left around an hour before the Wonder.

I then decided to go back to meet with Stitch.. say whatever you want.. but he is one of my most favorite characters ever!

Heres Stitch with a random kid. Stitch ended hugging Plush Stitch. It was adorable!

Then after recovering my manlyness, I went with our friend Borja at the Help Desk, to return our Passport and visa to safekeeping.

After that, I went back to our room where this fellow was waiting for us.

Next Day... Juneau!

MinnieM123 · Oct 12, 2014

Cesar, what a great trip! The photos, all by themselves, really tell a story. The scenery is beautiful. Too bad you had so much fog one day, but that's bound to happen, occasionally. I'm also enjoying your commentary from each place that you and your mother visited. Your TR has made for very interesting reading this morning. Glad you're sharing your wonderful experiences with all of us.

Cesar R M · Oct 14, 2014

Juneau

We arrived to Juneau not so early, but we were still worried. The clouds were very similar to what we seen at Skagway, very dense on top, foggy and kinda rainy.
So we went prepared with a poncho, gloves and my raincover-aparatus for my camera.

As we live in Puerto Vallarta, We get to see Whales a lot. So not exactly interested in these tours.
So, we decided for 2 different tours: first the Dog sled camp and then the Mendenhall Glaciar + Mount Roberts combo.

"Fat panorama" of Juneau's Harbor.

After taking a panorama or two, and taking a very quick breakfast at Parrot's cay again.. We took the bus (It was raining softly).

Panorama of the city of Juneau

For a small trip of 15 to 20 mins. The dog camp is behind a few mountains near the area of Mount Roberts (you still had to cross all the way to the other side). And it involved moving trough a pretty rough patch.
Including passing over the remains of a Mine (there is a tour for the mine but at the moment it was blocked due of the heavy rains).

The Tour driver also explained most of the equipment used which was still in display as you go towards the dog camp.

Unfortunately, the rain finally slammed hard when we were in the Bus after 10 minutes of travel... Right as we crossed to the back of the mountain... And we could not see much.

The Valley

The views were obviously stunning with the mix of rain (when the fog let you see), but could not take photos to save my life.
I also missed a gigantic (and I mean enormous) waterfall in the trip, no photo of that

Also, due of the weather, not a single animal was on sight lol, not even birds of any type.

The dog camp is pretty much in the center of a small valley, with a big river ahead and some waterfalls on every side due of the rains.

The Dog Camp and the Sled for training

As soon we reached, we were diverted into a small room, where we were divided into 2 groups. We were about 15 people plus a few kids, not too many.

so, each musher or dog trainer lead us to see relics, artefacts and photos of older sleds, the mushers and their dogs. Including some pretty old looking sleds. Also there were some newer sleds used for competition. And they explain their usual routes.

Now, the interesting bits. This camp is for training young dogs. To get them started to teach them to pull sleds. And to aclimate them to the cold, rain..etc.. Specifically training them FOR SLED DOG RACING.
Most of the trainers are also people who at first are "volunteers" as they learn and then get a sponsor.

The dogs of course..they are pretty small compared to the dogs you'd expect and see on TV... still very strong. They are young but trained constantly.

The "tourist" dog sled.

And of course, as of expected... the whole place smells AWFULLY LOT OF WET DOG.
dogs are very very smelly so if you dont like dog smell, dont go lol.

Anyway, a group of 10 dogs can pull 8 people + the musher in the tiny car. I'm surprised how strong some dogs are..

Special bonus for these two guys..

The Twins

they are twins.. sons of a Pro racing dog and being trained for the same.
They are very young, yet adorable, energetic and hyperactive!
And as usual, each dog has their own behavior. There were some very friendly dogs that after smelling you.. they were all "I just met you and I LOVE YOU!", others were a bit more cautious

So, after meeting our group of sled dogs. They chained them to the car, we got ready with our ponchos, camera..etc. and we were good to go!.

The trip itself isnt very long. Id say the sled only goes for around 1 mile + 5 mins stop + 1 return mile.
I honestly wanted it to last more, but it was raining HARDER and the guys infront were not amused that much (they were getting hit square by the rain lol)
So our musher decided to pull back circling, were the next step was to check some puppies that will be trained in the future.

They were absolutely adorable and snuggly! (but very smelly!)

It was also funny to see the mother dog pushing their babies towards the guy who was in charge of baby dogs!
like she was so proud of her babies!.

After 15 mins or so of petting, hugging and photos. It was time to go back!

Thankfully the rain was slowing down And once we arrived to the Wonder, the rain had almost stopped.

We had some time to clean up, wash some stuff and change.. Because in some minutes more, it was time to head to Juneau's Glacier.. the Mendenhall Glacier.

So, We went to deck 9.. I got some chicken tenders from Pluto's Dog House, and my mother a sub from Goofy's Galley.
After finishing, brushing our teeth..etc.
It was time to go!
(my gloves smelled awful like dog lol)

The trip this time was longer, but the road was a breeze(highway quality following the river)
We passed thru most of Juneau, the city areas, the airport area and then the Mendenhall protected area.

As soon you get close, you will instantly see the cheer size of the Mendenhall Glacier.
Unlike the Sawyer's Glacier at Tracy's Arm, Mendenhall is completely surrounded by greens and a gigantic waterfall (The Nugget Falls).

The place is also amazing for photographers, as there extremely well developed view points.

There are also recorded tours, information posts..etc..etc..
Only thing you will expect to do is.. WALK A LOT.
Also, your main enemy will ALWAYS BE TIME.
The Nugget falls for example, are at the end of a trail that takes around 30 mins at a medium speed pace.
But if you go too fast, you will miss the wildlife if you're lucky (including bears, eagles, squirrels and badgers)

By the time we arrived to the entrance of the park, the weather finally improved.. infact.. it went from COLD to HOT (id say we were at 20Celsious at Mendenhall's park)

Entrance area

The Mendenhall Glacier Spot #3

Lake front Panorama right where Spot #3 is.

The Trail!

The trail itself isn't hard to navigate. Just dont expect concrete roads all the time.
There are areas where the road itself is pure dirt and as several poodles or water creeks crossing over it. So, get good shoes or confy/worn shoes/tennis. Very likely that you might get wet.. specially in the Nugget Falls area.

The variety of plantlife is clear.

Rivers and Creeks on the road

There are many areas where you can take perfect photos of both Nugget Falls and the Glacier.

Spot #5 - Nugget Falls road.

Then we got closer to the Nugget falls.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of water coming down the mountain in different areas near the falls. Causing the normal road to be completely flooded.
Some people made a makeshift bridge with rocks, but they were no stable. No way in hell I was gonna risk my camera and lenses trying to cross.

Still pretty close to get good photos.

There was also some gorgeous ice chunks from the glacier.

And this panorama shows the cheer size of The Nugget falls.

Theres the small road towards Nugget Falls. the place where the man in blue is. is completely flooded.

So, after a few photos, we decided to return. We had limited time.
So I decided to walk fast but still looking everywhere to see if I could find wildlife.

and by cheer luck, caught this guy who was munching happily on a nut!!

SQUIRREL!!

Pretty sure there were eaglets as well, but I couldn't catch them very well with my camera.. and they were VERY FAR.

Funny thing, as we were returning, the was a very old lady from our group. That was making a lot of effort and walking all by herself.

She caught with us in the entrance mere 5 minutes after we reached... Very strong lady! (she was in her 90's for sure, I'm surprised the family that was with her was not following her!)

Anyway, since we still had time, we proceeded to go to the #2 viewing spot.
And after much waiting, we finally seen.. EAGLES!

and Birdies!

At this moment I thanked god for buying that 50-300mm lens. It helped A LOT.
but I might upgrade for something with even more reach in the future heh!

Another Panorama! this time from spot #1 right at the entrance of the Mendenhall Glacier area.

Cesar R M · Oct 14, 2014

And of course, a closeup of the huge icechunk taken from the other side.

Then this bigboy (or girl) decided to be extremely photogenic.
Perched himself and posed for the photos!

sorry for the low quality of the photos, he was very far and this is a very cropped image.

The fog and low clouds mostly cleared too...
so I could take photos of the mountain areas as well!

And another ice chunk, slowly melting

Ending with a shot of the Glacier.

*edit*
To those who want to visit Mendenhall Glaciar area.. Get the big tour, seriously.. 3 hours is too little to see. theres 3 trails and the 30 minute one to Nugget Falls is THE SHORTEST ONE.

To properly visit this place, you need.. id say 5 hours in the minimum. Specially if you like to take photos and see a lot.

Next: Mount Roberts Tram!

Cesar R M · Oct 14, 2014

Bonus post before moving to Mount Roberts:

The photogenic Eagle at Mendenhall Glacier Park:

Cesar R M · Oct 17, 2014

Mount Roberts

Nothing much to do other than wander near the funicular/tram station.

As the place was densely packed with Fog and was raining.
Not to mention we had not much time + the fact that there were warnings about Bears being seen nearby recently.

The Tramway:

On top, our first stop that instantly caught our attention...
Was the Eagle on display. The Eagle unfortunately was found shot, With a damaged eye and wing.
Thus incapable of flying or hunting ever. So they decided to take care of it.

Still es me off that despite warnings everywhere of "NO FLASHES, TURN OFF CAMERA FLASH". Dumb Tourists were firing flash after flash until the keeper (who was by the cage) told them to drop it.

The flashes caused the Eagle to start turning around to look at us.

Our next stop was the little Store, We tried to find something exclusive. But I was serious disappointed that again.. another store in Alaska that had almost everything MADE IN CHINA.

There was a very nifty view point (see above photo) , that had a panoramic view of the area.
It was very cloudy as you notice.. The cloud base was exactly where the Tram started (around 20 meters higher than where the above photo was taken).

It unfortunately started to rain again.. had to gear up with my anti-rain kit for my camera and my umbrella.

I really wanted to walk around the area, but you could see barely a thing after 50 meters away.

Also, we only had like 20 mins to "enjoy"the area.
If I had more time I would go walking all the way to Mount Robert's Peak.
But Weather and time again hampered me.. *fist shake at clouds*

The clouds got my insult and obscene fist shake.. because it started to rain .. HARD.

So, after walking abit in the close ring trail around Mount Roberts base, I decided to head back to meet with mother again and to get ready to go down to Juneau.

But I could not find her anywhere!
I started looking everywhere in the area, to the store, back to the eagle, back to the main store, coffee shop.. restaurant.. NADA!. I even took a peek at the video room.

So I went to the bathroom and headed out again.. and she was on the first store again :|

Anyway once things got calmed a bit ( I was getting very nervous of losing her.. as she does not know english)
We went our way back to the Tramway to go down.
In the way down we spotted a few Eagles nested right next to the tramway (sorry no photos, too blurry)

And once down, I got my long lens and took a photo of this fellow.

Fellow who was definitively photogenic (stayed there for like 20 mins. He definitively wasnt far)

Close up!

After that, I decided to store my camera on my bag and went shopping for cheap trickets for my Cousins and family back to Mexico.. (sadly, again.. too much cheap stuff from China)

Cesar R M · Oct 17, 2014

Back to the Wonder...

Once on board, It was time for the churning something to eat...
I'm unsure what we got here. I think I I went back to eat a HotDog from Pluto's then we headed to our room to rest a bit.

The ship then started to leave Juneau.

Funny that now.. there were Eagles everywhere!!!

And some Picturesque Houses in Juneau's front.

Once the ship cleared the Juneau area and back to the Sea, It was showtime!
We were ready to go to Toy Story the Musical.
Very funny, but musical wise We still preferred Dreams and Golden Mickey's.

Then we headed to Dinner, I think it was time to eat in Parrot's Cay.
It was also Pixar's Pals menu in 3d

So. I went for Emeryville Cocktail (which was good)
Al's Miso Chicken soup (which was so so)
Then went for the Geri's Oven Baked Warm Water Lobster, which was of course.. very good!
Then we ended with a Sweet Temptations.. I ended eating most of the chocolate truffle and the Opera Slice.

After thanking our servers, It was time for bed (at least for my mother) because I went to see what the buzz (pun intended) was about the Pixar Pal's Party.

The whole thing is just a small danceoff where characters from Pixar movies are introduced, then they dance with specific songs.
Each character rotate of position in the atrium, letting the kids (and adults lol) dance with the characters as they move on.

But first.. the Chandelier!

Remy and his Brother waiting to be introduced.

Enter Flick, Id say he was the best dancer.. moving everywhere!!!

Dug and Rusell as well!

The party lasted around 30 minutes of pure dance, serpentine and beachballs!

Then returned to my stateroom to see this fellow waiting.

NEXT DAY: KETCHIKAN

stillgoofy · Oct 18, 2014

Cesar R M said:
The infamous "Black iceberg"

This icechunk was pitch blank in some areas. very intersting to see.. but also scary.
It floated and hit the directional propellers of the wonder (aka bow thrusters) when the Wonder was manoeuvring side to side to let the visitors view the glacier from the ship.

It clearly had rocks, dirt and what looked like... ash.

It was also pretty big, id say it was 9 meters long x 2 meters sideways, and who knows how deep it was.

Harbor seals chilling on both sides.

There were big chunks of ice floating on each side as well.
This one was interesting, As most of the top areas melted or broke apart, but the part below the water was like a solid raft.

The clouds also cleared a bit, letting me take some zoomed photos of the snowy mountains behind the glacier.

Some closeup and cropped picture of the closest harbor seals.
Kinda hard because the ice was moving, the wonder was moving and THEY were moving and flopping around.

Wideshot from Deck 3, This time from starboard.
View attachment 68857

And of course, the glorious shot with yours truly.

Note about this picture, the daughter of the man on the left. took this photo. She had the same camera as me and got a nice shot!.
Also note that right behind me, on the right... There is the black ice!

View attachment 68861
Thats it!

So the ship started to rotate again, so I decided to go up to Deck 10 to continue shooting.
I just got there, opened the door of the middle funnel elevator zone and then I seen a small line of people going into the door on the right of me (port side of the ship). And then instantly felt someone was pushing my coonskin's hat's tail again, I turn around... it was Goofy!

I got then in line and got my photo taken. Goofy was very playful and loving my Hat!
The photographer also went nuts and took a lot of photos!
View attachment 68862
So good!

I thanked the CM and Goofy and went my way to take more photos of the front.
View attachment 68924

The Wonder then started to rotate one last time. It definitively was time to return!
We slowly started to leave the Glacier Area!

View attachment 68925
View attachment 68926
After this photo was taken, I decided to go back a bit around the Funnelvision middle funnel on Deck 10 to take more photos.
Then I noticed a small group moving with rythm.
It was Mickey! He had just left the Palo's door and was coming my way.
The interesting part was: Mickey and his helper CM were definitively not static! they were walking everywhere on each side of the ship. I followed them for around 10-30 seconds to get my picture taken! ( I ended being this picture taken on the port side, the inverted of last photo)

View attachment 68863

This Mickey was very active!, dancing, pointing. Way more interactive and happy looking than the others!
props for the CM!

View attachment 68945

We finally left the Glacier area and we started to move backup.
The clouds had moved higher (still covering most of the mountain)
Letting me take a lot of photos!

Bonus Video: Dancing Mickey!

I of course decided to head to my stateroom as my hands were almost completely frozen.
But could not stop taking photos! so nice sceneries and waterfalls!
View attachment 68946
View attachment 68947
View from Stateroom 7620

As you will notice, I love to take photos of waterfalls... So expect a lot of them!

Waterfall Compilation:

OK, I knew we were on the same cruise but never knew we were literally neighbors. We were in the room right next to you, 7622. Small world.

Cesar R M · Oct 18, 2014

stillgoofy said:
OK, I knew we were on the same cruise but never knew we were literally neighbors. We were in the room right next to you, 7622. Small world.

definitively, I think we walked past each other a few times. I remember seeing you two near the elevator zone.

Disneyfalcon · Oct 21, 2014

You got some great pictures on the train despite the rain! It's beautiful!

Yay for successful, if brief, gold panning!

I can't believe that dog picture. So. Many. Dogs. The dog camps we visited didn't look like that. That's awesome!

Great eagle pictures. We were like you and were so excited every time we saw them. Then on a bus ride one day we realized they were everywhere!! Everywhere! Just about anytime we saw something stark white in the trees it was one of their heads. And when you start looking for the white, you realize how many there are!

I can't believe ya'll were right next to each other! That's so funny!!

Cesar R M · Oct 21, 2014

Ketchikan:

Unlike other days, we arrived to Ketchikan later than usual. The Weather looked a bit muddy but way more clear than the other days.
Clouds were also moving faster with bigger holes. leaving the sun hit from time to time.

Panorama of the Dock at Ketchikan

It also was our Character breakfast!

Goofy was the first!

Then Captain Mickey! (Me making faces lol )

Then Pluto ( My mother was particularly fond of Pluto!)

And of course.. Minnie!

Then we headed to Wavebands again for our Tour.
In this town we selected the "Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary + Crab Feast"

The Bus did a very short tour of the town area (which is really small) then we headed for the small drive (around 15 minute via Bus) to the Rain Forest Sanctuary.

The Rainforest Sanctuary actually has many different tours, depending on the time selected..
From 2 hours to 8 hours.
Simple walking tours (the one we selected), Canopy type, long walking type..etc..
We unfortunately had no luck with Bears, but I managed to catch Salmon jumping + Eaglets.

I also loved how the forest really looked old.. full of big trees and moldy trunks.

Some trees were mentioned to have 300+ years.

Our Guide

Also, we seen the usual "bear houses", where the Bears sleep. Most of them were tree trunks that fell and made cozy homes.

One of the Oldest Trees

After walking around and the Guide explaining us about the trees, the reserve, the type of plants and other things.
We headed to a clearance next to the river, It also had elevated wood platform (filled with birds and bird poop lol) where you could safely watch Bears, an old wood cutting mill and a Hatchery for Salmon.

The Hatchery

There were a lot of Salmon! just not that many jumping upwards.
I still managed to catch one mid jump!!

and chubby birds too!

The Guide also mentioned how the small cove sometimes fills with seals. Unfortunately despite my constant vigilance, there was noone in the inside (there were some in the outside, out of my camera reach)

After leaving the elevated area, We were headed to meet some critters.. first a Reindeer (they had 3), you could feed them lettuce! And these gorgeous guys!

Cesar R M · Oct 21, 2014

The Reindeer:

Of course, When you visited the old Mill.. you could see an Eagle Nest in the opposite corner.
Supposed to be constantly visited for years by a pair of eagles.

The Nest unfortunately, had no mature eagles, only two eaglets.

For those who cant figure out:

Once we left the area for the Reindeer, We were lead into an area where we meet this lady and her eagle.

She also explained the story of the eagle and the bird behind her.
The eagle was hurt and was recovering. The other bird unfortunately.. never managed to learn to feed and live by herself. So she was pretty much "domesticated".

After that, we were lead to meet the Master Carver. He was making a 5 meter tall Totem and explained a lot of truths and myths regarding the totems.

He even had a FAQ in the back wall to prevent dumb questions.

No photos of him as he requested.

Then we headed to another area, where this gigantic fellow was also recovering.

She was HUGE! Ids say she was almost as big as me...and equally robust~!! ( I am 1.75 meters tall just fyi)

We then headed to the parking lot to say our goodbyes to our Guide and we headed into the gift shop before boarding the bus for the CrabFest.

We took the bus and after 10 minutes, we were in the George Inlet Lodget,
Where they also do tours for Whale watching, Crab fishing..etc..

The building itself was lodged right infront of the water, we had to go town in some taaaaaaaaaaaall staircase.
The staircase even featured a system to move crab traps quickly up and down.

Anyway.. We were moved into a small area of the Lodge where they had bathrooms, decently set bar, table with everything needed to eat crab.

The young girl who was in charge of giving us service.. first gave us tips on how to properly and quickly break the parts of the crab, and eat the meat.
We shared seat by some young lady and her mother (hilarious considering It was me and my mother).
We chatted a bit on the best way we could, Very nice fellows id say!

After a few minutes, we were good to go!
Crab was flying everywhere.. I think we had the biggest tower in the end..
The lady next to me was actually giggling and laughing(just like us because our really tall mountain of crab parts..)

Anyway, after a nice stuffing.. It was photo time!

Funfact, there was another pair of Mexicans in this group. We only noticed when they were speaking spanish after they left the restaurant area.
We shared photos before having to go up to return to Ketchikan's town.

Cesar R M · Oct 21, 2014

Town of Ketchikan

There was not much to do here... but a lot to watch store wise.
Aas almost all the area was full of trinkets stores. (and almost everything made in china lol)

We roamed around just to know the place, watched a few stores... some going bankrupt, but most clearing inventory for the end of the tourist season.

Of course, we HAD to get a photo of that "welcome to ketchikan" thingie.

Again, We managed to meet the pair of Mexicans in this area, and they graciously took the photo for us.

Downtown's Totem.

Most of the time in this town was used to look for things to buy.
I bought mostly little things, like salt shakers, magnets..etc..
My mother bought a wall clock and some windpipe ornament thing that is hard to describe.

After we were done, it was time to return to the Wonder.

We honestly didn't cared about the show of the day.. So we just went with the flow visiting the ship's areas again.

We had today's dinner at Triton's, where the theme was "Taste of Alaska".

I decided to go for the Creamy Velvety Fish Soup, but guess what.. I'm not even sure if I had the Juniper-spiced elk tenderloin or the marinated sirloin steak lol.

then I had the Taste of Alaska sweet temptations which I shared.

We honestly were still full after eating so much crab!!

Then it was time to go to bed, where our Host already had this little guy ready for show!

NEXT.. LAST DAY.. SEA DAY

Cesar R M · Oct 28, 2014

Sea Day and Return to Vancouver.

This day was of course, populated by the "Til We Meet Again".
Where everyone was to say goodbyes.
There were a big meet and greet in the lobby most of the day until night (constant character rotation)

Anyway, the day started very late, We didnt feel like waking up early. The ship was moving pretty fast. But what interested me was how there were a big line of ships. Small yatches, cargo boats..etc.. all lined up one after another, even seaplanes!

Ships lined up.

So, after a loooong shower (damn, it was good to rest and take it calm after running on tours)

We went directly to breakfast at Beach Blanket, We had the quick buffet line and went to roam the ship.

Note the ships lining in the background.

Cesar R M · Oct 28, 2014

Strange fort-like building in one of the islands in the way to Vancouver

As the hours passed... We honestly didn't do much other than roam the ship, I watched and recorded the entire Disney Character Dance (similar to the Pixar's dance party, but with the main Disney characters).
So for the kids to give a final "good bye" to their favorite characters.

But of course.. We went to see the show DISNEY DREAMS an enchanted tale. Which for me was the best of the shows..
The chorus for the Circle of life was definitively the best. The lady had such pipes!!

We honestly were tearing at the end. The fact that the entire theatre lightens up like magic is awesome!

And of course, we had our last dinner at animator's palate for the final show. Where everyone displayed the flags.. showing how the DCL crew is truly multinational.

The Food was also fantastic.

The Crawfish and Lobster Bisque was one of my favorites, definitively the best soup I had in the DCL Cruise in the Wonder.

After the soup, I ordered the Yatchsman Steakhouse with Pepper and Wine reduction.

But since the soup was so good, I refused to get deserts and asked for extra soup.. yummy! :9

After thanking our servers and giving them the tip.
We had a photo with them.

Thank you André and Claudia!

After the food, my mother went right straight to our room. I decided to then move to record the "Til We Meet Again" dance party.

Which ended with a gigantic Meet and Greet! (wishing they had given meet and greets after the dance show of Pixar's lol)

After taking the final photo! and thanking them (thank you guys! for everything!)

It was finally time for sleep, Where I gave our stateroom Host his well earned tip.

Also found that we still had not received our coloured disembark tags... our host graciously had to run loops to find some of them.. We added them to our bags, left them outside as per the instructions.. and to bed we went!

The next day, we arrived VERY EARLY (7:00 am) at Vancouver.. plus with the 2 hour difference.. It hit us hard. ( we woke up when the ship was already making the last turn before getting into Canada Place's pier)

So we hurried up, packed our things and waited for our number. (We ended with Red-Mickey for disembark)
It approximately took us 1 hour to finally get our number and leave.

The disembark process was pretty easy.. wait for your number.. get scanned out.. leave zone.. get to Customs.. retrieve your papers (Visa and Passport) then pick up your bags and get a taxi/shuttle.

We found out that the Taxi was almost the same price as the shuttle lol. So for those coming.. GET A TAXI lol.

Anyway, due of the nature of our flight. We had to depart very early in the morning from Vancouver to Calgary. So we stayed in the Sandman Signature hotel.
It was very well placed, had good restaurants. The rooms were very good internally despite the tower looking old.

I then went with my coworker to buy a bag for my Surface Pro 3. So we went hunting everywhere and then to dinner to a noodle restaurant.

After saying good byes and stuff.. I finally returned to the hotel and scheduled our Shuttle to the airport.

On the next day, we were in a hurry to get out.. We were scared (since I'm deaf I cant hear the wake up calls) and my mother oversleep, we barely made it to the outside on time.
Hilariously.. a lot of airflight crew were waiting there all cranky (shuttle was late by 10 mins) and there was noone in the hotel desk.

So, left our "express check out" paper in the desk.. and as we did it.. the shuttle arrived.
Unfortunately.. 2 of our bags's telescopic holder broke when we tried to move them. , It was a huge shore to pack them correctly and make them fit in the shuttle. yikes!

Then after a short trip in each terminal of the airport:
We were the last leave the shuttle... The entrance they left us was kinda tricky, as we had to go up then down then take elevator.
Not easy considering 2 of our bags had no telescopic handle (ouch my back!)

And then, the wait time started.
We arrived to the airport's terminal 30 mins before our flight.. and it was almost completely empty. only 5 people were waiting infront of us. But there was noone of the airline crew. All places were empty (help centres, checking, even security! it was deserted).
After 30 mins and only 5 mins to board.. the employees started to arrive. the movement was slow as a lot were packed. As the line moved on, a child vomited and they had to reroute the line. And since everything was taking too long.. a huge bulk of crew opened more check-in areas to get to the plane.

Anyway.. made it .. scanned..etc.. and we rushed to get to our plane's gate.
a lot of people were waiting already.. gate in which we waited.. and waited and waited.. then we found that that day.. there was an intense snowstorm in Calgary that dumped record levels of snow. Thus all flights were delayed to calgary.

Decided to buy some food before leaving.. then we were cleared to board 1 and half hour later.

The flight was enjoyable and quiet. Not much to complain.
We managed to see Calgary completely covered in snow!. What a huge change from mere 7 days before!.

There were some scary parts, like a WestJet plane with more than half meter of snow piled in their wings! other with their wings encased with a transparent ice sheet! disturbing to see!

Our plane arrived finally to the gate and we had to rush to disembark.
We were even more rushed since there was a gigantic line on customs, and it moved so slow!

We tough we could get some snacks but then I remembered that Calgary had another hour difference than our clocks.
So we were even more in a rush and had to run to our gate. We arrived in the nick of time.. as our plane was in the last call before closing the doors.

And here comes the fun part...
It started to snow again! first time EVER that I see snow drop!
Then, the flight was delayed mere minutes after they closed the door and after they removed the bridge.

So we had to wait inside the plane as the snowstorm cleared.

After 1 hour or so..The snowstorm cleared. The plane was soaked in first blue chemical then green by a small truck, truck that sported a giant shower rod thingie.
It showered plane after plane. Infact, right after the planes were showered.. all planes were started to move backwards from their gates and then to leave all lined up in the taxyway. (Id say nearly 40 planes were all ready to go in green goo!)
Then one after another, departed.

The flight home was uneventful. I spent more sleeping as I had attained a cold in the last day at vancouver!

We arrived safely, went thru customs where my brother was waiting for us.
After spending in temps lower than 20C most of the time..
the huge heatwave coming as we left the airport terminal was insane! (33C that day with 100% humidity).
It was only time to return home and unpack!

And that's it!

thank you for reading my report!

Also sorry for not having any picture of the last day or the snow.. It seems I lost the picture of the planes in snow :/

Longers · Oct 28, 2014

Thank you for sharing this report with us. It was great to hear about your cruise and see your amazing photos. And thanks for your clear explanations of how cold it was!

Cesar R M · Oct 28, 2014

Longers said:
Thank you for sharing this report with us. It was great to hear about your cruise and see your amazing photos. And thanks for your clear explanations of how cold it was!

Thank you for reading!

Also, please note that I'm Mexican and I'm used to 25C to 35C temps year along.
So, getting to Tracy's arm at like.. 0 to 5 Celsius is freezing for me! :hilarious:

Trip Report Mexican guy Freezes in Alaska (aka Disney Wonder Alaska trip)

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