Tips, advice, or insider info needed for Alaska cruise.

CB2@disney

CB2@disney

Active Member
Original Poster
I tried looking up this info on other threads but it kept bringing me to threads about actual tipping cast members so I thought I'd just ask my questions on this thread. Thanks.

So, I'm and waiting for the Alaska schedule for 2014 to come out. Keeping my fingers crossed that they do release some trips. The trip will be for my son (12) and myself. This will be our second cruise ever and our second cruise with Disney. Before we did the Bahama (3 days) on the Dream. So, I'm interested in what I can find out about: the older ship (I think it may be the Wonder), the speical things I need to know about a longer trip (7 days), and about the Alaska cruise itself.
Some big question I have are: do you have to do the formal dress and if so how formal are we talking? Again...me and a 12yr boy. Are there things to do on the ship? My son will want to do the pool and find other kids to play video games with. I'm not a sunbather or swimmer so are there things for grown ups to do besides the pool and the spa? What excusions in Alaska are worth getting off the ship for. Not a big hiking fan. Finally are there things I should bring on this cruise that I wouldn't need to bring on the other curise? Plus any info you can think to give would be wonderful.

Thanks for any and all info.
 
Disneyfalcon

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
CB2@disney said:
I tried looking up this info on other threads but it kept bringing me to threads about actual tipping cast members so I thought I'd just ask my questions on this thread. Thanks.

So, I'm and waiting for the Alaska schedule for 2014 to come out. Keeping my fingers crossed that they do release some trips. The trip will be for my son (12) and myself. This will be our second cruise ever and our second cruise with Disney. Before we did the Bahama (3 days) on the Dream. So, I'm interested in what I can find out about: the older ship (I think it may be the Wonder), the speical things I need to know about a longer trip (7 days), and about the Alaska cruise itself.
Some big question I have are: do you have to do the formal dress and if so how formal are we talking? Again...me and a 12yr boy. Are there things to do on the ship? My son will want to do the pool and find other kids to play video games with. I'm not a sunbather or swimmer so are there things for grown ups to do besides the pool and the spa? What excusions in Alaska are worth getting off the ship for. Not a big hiking fan. Finally are there things I should bring on this cruise that I wouldn't need to bring on the other curise? Plus any info you can think to give would be wonderful.

Thanks for any and all info.
Click to expand...

You are going to love the Alaska cruise CB2! We loved ours. I do think it will be repeated for 2014, and out soon.

The Wonder is smaller than the Dream, but still a lovely ship. The restaurants and clubs will all be different, but you'll see lots of similarities. Good ones!

There will be a formal and a semi formal night. You'll see everything from tuxes and long dresses to sports coats and shirt and ties.

There's a ton to do. Your son will definitely find other kids in the clubs. We swam in Alaska and the water temperature was perfect. There will be lots of activities for you too! Many of them will be similar to some of the activities from the Dream.

The Alaska excursions are some of the best there are. There are some great whale watching excursions. We loved zip lining and kayaking. The trips to the glaciers are awesome.

You'll want to bring warm layers. The afternoons can be quite warm, and the mornings and evenings are chilly.

I've got a trip report from the Alaska cruise somewhere if you're interested! :)
 
ChuckElias

ChuckElias

Well-Known Member
Hi! I think you'll love the Wonder in Alaska. The Wonder is definitely smaller and different from the Dream, but it definitely has some great features that you'll like. So here's a few things that might be helpful to you in planning your Alaska cruise.

The first thing that anybody should know, IMHO, when they visit Alaska is that southeastern Alaska is part of the only temperate RAIN FOREST in the northern hemisphere. Expect at least one completely rainy day on your cruise. For my 10th anniversary Alaska cruise, it rained 5 of the 7 days. When we went back a couple years ago, it only rained two days.

It's also not very warm, even in the middle of July. (It's Alaska, after all, right? :) ) It's good that you're not a beach/pool kind of person. I would suggest packing for low- to mid-70s, tops. And then also bring a few things that will keep you warm. If you go right at the beginning or right at the end of the cruise season, expect it to be considerably cooler than mid-70s.

Even though the Wonder is smaller and older than the Dream, its child facilities are still top-notch. Your 12-year-old will love the Oceaneer's Lab and the activities for his age group. There is, of course, the video arcade as well.

As for how to dress, take a look at a couple of old threads, these may be helpful to you:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=735120

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=734907

The bottom line is that on Formal Night, you will see some people in tuxes and other people in shorts and t-shirts. My wife and I like to get dressed up, but there are plenty of people who don't. The dress code in the rotational restaurants is a recommendation; I've never seen anyone turned away for how they were dressed.
 
TrolleyFollower91

TrolleyFollower91

Well-Known Member
I went on the Alaska cruise in June of 2012. It was my first ever cruising experience and I absolutely LOVED it. I think everyone covered the ship and formal nights really well. Of course, it's the only Disney Cruise I've been on so I can't compare it to the other ships. I thought it was beautiful and big, yet still small enough to easily find your way around.

Alaska has some great port adventures! I went with my 73-year old grandma, so we had to cater a lot of our excursions around her mobility. I'm 21, so as much as I would have loved zip-lining I couldn't make my grandma go :). We ended up doing a lot of the "best of ____" tours. It was a great way to see the ports and we went to a lot of family-friendly sights. Booking port adventures through Disney is expensive, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and we ended up feeling like it was worth every penny. Even though the tour groups aren't run by Disney, we felt that they were extremely friendly and knew their Disney audience. Plus, we knew that the boat wasn't going to leave without us if our tour ran long :).

I can't really talk about the teen clubs (due to our ages!) but our room was next to the Vibe and all the teens seemed to be having a lot of fun. They were always playing video games, listening to music, and I think we were even asked for a paper clip and yellow post-it note in a scavenger hunt!

Alaska is beautiful- I wanted to move there when I came home. You will absolutely LOVE it!! And in my opinion, you can't get classier than Disney!
 

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