7-Night Alaska DCL Pre-Cruise Report
We’re are setting sail with Disney Cruise Line on the Wonder for the 7-night Alaska itinerary later this summer. As temperatures here are currently frigid, naturally we’ve started daydreaming about visiting the tropical waters (wait…that’s not right) of the Last Frontier. Alaska has been on my travel bucket list for a while, and I’m beyond hyped about finally having a chance to visit.
As much as I know it’s wise to keep my expectations in check before any trip, they are already through the roof for this Alaska cruise. I can’t help it. Alaska just seems like my kind of place, and if this cruise is even half as good as our Norway cruise, we’ll be really happy. I already know we’ll have to make a return trip (one of my long-term travel bucket list goals is visiting all 59 U.S. National Parks, and Alaska is home to 8 of those), so I guess on the upside, at least I don’t expect to cram all Alaska has to offer in during this trip.
To prepare for our Alaska cruise, I’ve already started reading through a couple of trip reports (including Scott Sanders’ excellent report on DisneyCruiseLineBlog.com) and we’ve joined the Facebook group for our cruise. While that’s all great, we figured it’d be a good idea to solicit additional feedback from our readers as you “know” us, and might have a better idea of our likes, dislikes, and preferences.
Prior to our 7-night Norwegian Fjords DCL cruise last summer, we made an off-hand request for reader suggestions, and got a ton of great feedback. We ended up visiting multiple restaurants that you recommended, and doing a few of the port activities. Plus, crowd-sourcing recommendations is way easier for us than combing through dozens of long trip reports and trying to distill others’ experiences into something helpful for us.
Our other reason for posting that we’re setting sail for Alaska via DCL is because we feel like we owe it to you. In our Disney Cruise Line Norwegian Fjords Cruise Report from last year, we talked about the Alaska cruise at length and debated aloud whether we should do a last-minute, end-of-season sailing.
In the final installment of that trip report, we revealed our decision as “it’s too impulsive…even for us, but thanks for the feedback,” which was pretty anti-climactic and disappointing. Although we think we made the right decision at the time, we were still pretty bummed about not being able to visit Alaska. (Speaking of Norway, that’s where the photos in this post are from…it’s the best stand-in for Alaska I have at the moment.)
To ease that disappointment, we ended up booking a short Halloween on the High Seas cruise last fall…that was ultimately cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. You could say it was fate, serendipity, or whatever, but Hurricane Irma was what pushed us over the edge to pulling the trigger on the Alaska cruise.
We ended up paying significantly more for this cruise than the bargain we scored on Norway, but the price was lower than what we would’ve paid if we went last year (thanks to Irma) and good deals on Alaska seem very rare. It’s just such a popular itinerary with relatively few sailings.
It’s a pretty big splurge for frugal travelers like us, but you get what you pay for, and Disney Cruise Line is a premium experience that we love, so we’re able to justify it to ourselves.
Anyway, that’s enough backstory. Here’s what we’re considering thus far for our Port Adventures. Feedback on these or alternatives would be greatly appreciated:
Dog Sledding – We had some initial trepidation about doing this as we questioned whether it was cruel. After learning that the Humane Society of the United States is neutral on dog sledding and other organizations support it, I think we’re comfortable with that. (The only organization I can find that actively opposes it is PETA, but they’re so extremist that it’s hard to take any of their positions seriously because it’s impossible to separate their legitimate concerns from bombastic rhetoric.)
At this point, our big questions are which of the many dog sledding excursions to take, and which third party options are best. Prices for these excursions are all over the place, starting around $150/person and topping $800/person. While the high end of the spectrum is out of the question for us, we could swing something mid-range if the value is “worth it.” This is probably going to be our ‘big’ Port Adventure of the cruise, and we want to do it right.
Glacier Ice Caves & Kayaking – If we for some reason don’t do the dog sledding, this will be our ‘big’ Port Adventure. Sarah has some reservations about the safety, whereas my concerns are more about price. (From my perspective, “crushed by a glacier” seems like as cool of a way to die as any.)
Kayaking – As with the Norwegian Fjords cruise, there are approximately 1,384 different kayaking Port Adventures. As such, this question is more open-ended, and we’re generally wondering which kayaking options past cruisers have preferred.
Hiking – We love to hike, and did would love to find at least one good hike on the Alaska cruise. At this point, it seems like the best option is the Mendenhall Glacier Adventure Hike, but that’s a Port Adventure and is guided…we’re not really interested in anything the excursion offers beyond the transit to the trailhead. We can hike without a guide holding our hands.
EATING! – It should go without saying, but we love to eat. After the infamous “backpack salmon incident” in Norway, I’ve already been ahem “advised” that we aren’t going to be so cheap when it comes to food. We’d love some hole-in-the-wall recommendations for these ports. We’ll eat pretty much anything–bonus points if it’s a regional specialty and outside of the main touristy areas.
Vancouver – After our transit delays last year that put us in jeopardy of missing the cruise, we’re giving ourselves more breathing room on the front end of this trip. While we haven’t booked our flights yet, we’ll spend at least 2 nights in Vancouver, and more than that if airfare prices dictate it. I visited Victoria ages ago and recall loving the city, so hopefully we’ll feel the same way about Vancouver. Any recommendations (from restaurants to points of interest) would be appreciated here.
I think that about covers it, but if you have other recommendations beyond the scope of those requests, by all means, please share them.
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Your Thoughts
Since this post is all about soliciting feedback…do you have any? Any tips for Alaska or Vancouver, no matter how big or small, would be greatly appreciated. The worst we can do is disregard them, and we’d definitely have too many options than too few, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My mom and I took this trip late last summer. Great cruise! Regarding your question on the dog sledding, it depends on what experience you expect to get. If you want the Snow Dog experience, go for the $$$ excursion. I loved the Dog Summer Camp excursion because it wasn’t that. As others have mentioned, this was a fun, relaxed excursion with Alaskan Huskies that love what they do.
Vancouver is a great walking town. Considering my mom is 80+, she had no issues catering to my wanting to walk all over town the Sunday before our trip. Staying at the Fairmont Waterfront was a convenient location to board the Wonder and with a high floor waterfront view we were able to watch the Wonder come in Monday morning. There are plenty of great places to eat and visit from this location. We were able to get a good room rate by liking the Fairmont on social media and watching their postings for the best deal.
Regarding the day at the Glacier, if you want the head on view expect to spend most of your day on the top deck in one spot. I got up there early and my mom brought me food. Disney did bring some food and drinks around as it was a very cold, windy day. Luckily no rain. Once the ship is positioned for the turn then explore the other decks for a different view, as the ship will turn, stop and then turn/stop again so that all outside rooms have had a glacier view.
I plan on doing this cruise again with my husband. I look forward to seeing your choices for excursions and exploring on your own (more to our liking as well).
We did a Princess cruise to Alaska last summer and LOVED it. I can’t wait to see the pictures you bring back!
I say skip the dog sledding unless you’re paying the big bucks for one of the ones on snow. Otherwise you’re looking at ten minutes being pulled by dogs in a glorified golf cart. Sarah might like the puppy snuggle time (my girls did) but for me it was a skippable experience. You’re better off spending the day hiking at Mendenhall or whale watching.
I strongly recommend the White Pass and Yukon Route out of Skagway. You pass through a wide variety of landscapes as you ascend the mountain. There are some excursions that combine the train with a hike (we didn’t do one of those, so I can’t recommend one). Grab a spot on the end of one of the cars so you’re out in the open for pics. Back in town, grab a spruce tip IPA at Skagway Brewing Co. It’s hazy deliciousness.
In Ketchikan, we loved the crab fisherman’s tour. The highlight was a trip out to an island that’s a bald eagle refuge. They were throwing fish out for the eagles and it looked like a flock of seagulls. I got a lot of great pictures of them from the boat.
You guys are going to have a blast. There will be plenty to see without a balcony. Just bundle up and head outside!
Hi Tom and Sarah
We are from Vancouver– grew up there so in that capacity I would have to say that we are experts. ( would like to think so anyway) We also did the DCL Alaska Cruise last year. (SO lovely) First– for places to stay as a splurge I would choose a Fairmont –the are very luxe but I f you want a real person hotel I would recommend the Sylvia — It is an old Vancouver institution and not part of a chain. It is right downtown across the street from the beach and right next to Stanley Park. ( a VERY short cab ride to the port) This is where family says when in town. https://sylviahotel.com Trying to narrow it down to only 2 days in Vancouver is really hard. Of course you should do the usual things like Stanely Park (biking the seawall is really beautiful and gives you great views of the mountains — several rental companies located a block or 2 from the park on Denman Street. Granville Island is always a favourie –it is similar to the Pike Place market in Seattle if you have been there.Lots of food and artisan shops etc.. (get a jelly doughut from Lee’s– a classic for us) Capalano Suspension Bridge is firmly on the tourist route but good — a similar bridge but free is the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge (but need own car to get there so it will depend on your transportation options. If you are interested in First Nations Art I would suggest the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. For a real locals hike check out the Grouse Grind. you can hike up Grouse Mountain and take the gondola down. This is a true HIKE. https://www.grousemountain.com/grousegrind The vis on a nice day from the top are fantastic. (if cloudy/rainy you will ant to make other plans because you won’t see a thing. Anytime of year make sure you pack a waterproof jacket fro Vancouver and Alaska. We get a LOT of rain. Happy to answer any questions if you want to email me. This is just off the top of my head– will come back and write more later.
In Skagway my family and I rented a car and drove up into the Yukon Territory instead of booking an excursion. We made it as far as Carcross and enjoyed stopping for photos and wildlife, petting sled dog puppies, and more. Our total cost for the car was less than the cost of one person to take a similar route through Disney.
We have gone twice and both times we did different excurions to Haines from Skagway. It is such a funboat ride and Haines is beautiful. We’ve done a ATV excursion and a float tour. The deadliest catch boat tour in Ketchikan was a lot of fun. And whale watching in Juneau was fun. We picked a smaller boat with less people and it as definitely the way to go. Have fun, Alaska is beautiful.
Enjoy! I’m far from an expert on Alaska or Vancouver, but would recommend the Butchart gardens on Vancouver Island. (I’m sure you are already aware – the Canadian gardens in Epcot are inspired by these.)
For hiking, there are some nice hikes on the Sea to Sky highway north on Vancouver if you have time to get some in before the cruise.
My husband did a photography-centric excursion with https://joeordonez.com and loved iti in Skagway. You are probably too advanced for the technical aspects, but he took them to some really amazing, off the beaten path places (some in Canada) that resulted in really nice pics.
Also, we very much enjoyed whale watching with Harv and Marv in Juneau. I realize it’s not for everyone, but it was possibly the highlight of the whole trip for us. We saw humpbacks and their calves and a blue whale!
I haven’t done a Disney Alaskan Cruise but I did one on Princess a few years ago (and thanks to a very generous grandmother-in-law am going on a second one this summer).
My mom and I went on the Musher’s Camp and Sled Dog experience in Skagway. Disney lists exactly the same title for one of their excursions and the description looks like it’s the same thing we did. We really enjoyed it. The dogs LOVE it. They were harnessed up when we got there and just wanted to GO GO GO. They were so excited when they were allowed to finally run. The summer is their weight training so these dogs are actually training for Iditarod and other races and pulling a cart full of tourists is great for their weight training. You get to snuggle some puppies afterwards.
Eating – Tracy’s King Crab Shack in Juneau is amazing. Right on the water and so good. It can be pricey but definitely worth it. One of the best meals of my life (and I have eaten at Victoria & Albert’s). If you’re a beer fan my dad and brother did a tour of the Alaskan Brewing Company’s brewery in Juneau they really like. They have a store on the main tourist drag but from there will bus you up the hill to the brewery at various times (my mom and I only skipped out because Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, was speaking on our boat and I wanted to meet her).
Vancouver – I really liked Vancouver. I don’t know how you feel about them but we did a hop on hop off bus there and it was really nice. Not to pricey but got us places. We really liked Granville Island and Stanley Park is really nice as well. Also there was a really good fish and chips place that some googling tells me was Go Fish. Vancouver also has a very large Asian-Canadian population and we had some amazing dinner at a place called Kingyo that was a Japanese fusion restaurant. It was recommended to us by a waiter at the restaurant we’d been to for lunch and it was so good my mom put a whole page for it in our Shutterfly book (which I now got out to make sure I didn’t miss anything)
Hope that helps some! Enjoy! Alaska is amazing.
Fairmont Waterfront if you can afford it– great rooms and service plus you will be right “there.” Get a water view room so you can watch the little seaplanes taking off/landing. The underground food court has great inexpensive food options. Some really interesting healthy options, plus Fatburger. You will want to eat at Fatburger at least twice!
Canada Place is across the street, and Flyover Canada is there. Like the Disney Soarin’ but Canada. You must do it. It’s great.
Take the hop-on-hop-off trolley tour for a great overview of all the best of Vancouver. Buy tickets and board right in front of Canada Place.
Hi Tom, I would really recommend going through an accredited option for your excursions because not all of those outside providers because if the excursion is late and you miss the ship because of them you’re on your own to get to the next port. I really recommend doing your excursions through http://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com as they have a guarantee that if you miss the ship because of them they will get you to the next port on their dime also, Compare the excursion Disney is offering verses shore excursions group and see which has the better deal. Mendehall Galcier is a must see and try your hand at mining for gold!
Highly recommend Capilano Suspension Bridge park in Vancouver. As for hiking, we really enjoyed the Mount Roberts Trail in Juneau – take the tram to the top and then hike up from there (although I can’t compare it to the Mendenhall Glacier trail). We did the helicopter to the Mendenhall Glacier which was absolutely amazing. Finally, this is super touristy but worth it in our opinion – Tracy’s King Crab Shack in Juneau.
Awww, I’m so glad you took animal welfare into account! Animal friends are very important. 🙂 I’d love to go dogsledding, but I don’t suppose there’s an option to spend an hour or two buried in a kennel’s worth of husky puppies…?
The end of the sled dog experience I did in Alaska included some puppy snuggle time!
We loved Vancouver before sailing on the Wonder. Definitely check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, and Granville Island market. Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant is great too and close to the steam clock. We had inside room too and don’t regret it. The Promenade deck was often uncrowded and very peaceful to sit and watch the scenery go by. Grab a blanket and unlimited hot chocolate was super nice to enjoy there!
So we were on the Wonder last year and totally LOVED it! We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront and while a bit pricey totally convenient and they took our bags to the ship and no we did not book through Disney, they told us on check in they do it for anyone. We did the dogsled on wheels, and had a good time, despite the rain and the puppies were adorable. We did the glacier helicopter tour, we made it despite rain and clouds but later that same day they canceled flights so its totally depends on weather. They also took the dogs off the glacier about a week before our trip, again weather. The best weather we had was Ketchikan and we did a float plane which was fabulous with a great pilot. So the layer advice is good, and make sure you bring your rain gear we hit a really rainy week.
In Vancouver go to Granville Island Market. It’s awesome – restaurants, shops, galleries. Amazing seafood. Also there are foot passenger ferries that run to it from downtown depending on where you are staying.
Stoked to read your review. This is on our list and your tips and planning led to an amazing wdw trip last August
If you have a little time before going into Vancouver, I recommend spending a bit of that time on the Olympic Peninsula. My father retired and moved to Port Angeles and the area is gorgeous. Hurricane Ridge, just above the town, has an incredible view of both Victoria and Vancouver Island in one direction with the Olympic mountains in the other. The Hoh Rainforest is worth seeing also, but might be more out of the way and take too much time.
Dog sledding sounds fantastic. Sled dogs love pulling so its truly a win for all involved. An added bonus is that you can practice for this activity at home with Walter. He will definitely provide the supervision that Yosarian will need as he pulls the sled carrying the two of you.
You joke, but literally the first thing I said to Sarah when she asked if I thought it was cruel was along the lines of, “I’ll research it, but I’ll bet anything they love it. Just look at Walter when we put him on a leash–he tries to drag us!”
I hope you went for a stateroom with a balcony! Unlike most cruises, the view is very important while sailing past those glaciers. If you got an inside stateroom, be prepared to spend most of your time out on deck. We did several days at Denali before our cruise, and it was amazing.
We heard this recommendation a lot prior to booking, but the cost difference was too much to justify. I assume it’s like the Norwegian fjords in this regard, and I got up pretty early every mornings to go up on deck.
The Mendenhall Glacier would be a good way to get some hiking in and you don’t need to go through the shore excursions. There are buses set up that run from the port to the glacier. It’s been about five years since I last went, but those buses cost about $14 round trip. They’ll put you off at the visitor center for the glacier. From there you can walk on the boardwalk areas, down to the lake, or take some of the trails to the glacier itself.
Thanks for the tip on that! Sounds significantly better than the $100+ per person through Disney, and preferable since we’d rather not be part of a group.
Frugal? Even An inside cabin is quite Pricy- although quite the best cruise ever, there isn’t anything frugal about sailing Disney cruise line . We have been paying on our 5 night cruise to Cabo for Sept 15th.sailing since last February 2017.
Do either of you work for Disney?
“It’s a pretty big splurge for frugal travelers like us…”
No, neither of us work for Disney.