Shanti
Momketeer
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2015
There are undoubtably a lot of right ways to vacation in Alaska, and they have to do with personal interests, tastes, available time, energy, and budget. I'm a hardworking single mother from Texas with a 13 year-old, high-functioning autistic son. I wanted us to see the beauty of Alaska on this trip, but also have a very comfortable and fun vacation experience with minimal stress. And we did: it was an extraordinary trip in which almost everything went right. I want to share what worked for us on our trip, in case it helps anyone else who is still planning:
- We chose to do a round-trip cruise: We could have seen even more on a one-way cruise or a cruise/land combo, but keeping the cruise round-trip kept the flight costs reasonable, and doing a cruise-only trip helped keep the trip simple & low-stress.
- We chose to cruise on DCL: I considered a Glacier Bay itinerary on a few different lines, but my son really wanted Disney despite the more limited itinerary. I was happy to oblige him as we'd had 3 great prior DCL cruises & knew what to expect in terms of ship layout, entertainment, dining, etc. That made it a bit like cruising in a home away from home. The Wonder is very beautiful, and of course the available DCL activities, entertainment & characters kept us almost constantly entertained. The service and food were good. There were three days on this cruise in which we spent all day on the water, so really loving the shipboard experience was an important part of this trip.
- We chose to sail in a navigator's verandah: This was a decision I'd agonized over pre-cruise, & again there is no one "right" solution to this, but for us, the navigator's verandah was worth the extra cost over an inside or porthole stateroom for this cruise. We were on deck 5 starboard aft, and always had wonderful views. It was very special to be able to relax in the stateroom & look out at the astonishing beauty of Alaska at any time, and to step out and feel part of the environment, as well. We did that a lot. We cruised in early June & it was chilly, and I dislike being cold, so being able to use the verandah for regular short intervals rather than always hanging out on open decks made a big difference to me. The Wonder's navigator's verandah has a huge opening to look out through, and I loved the nautical touches (map, weather gauges, compass). The NV was a big price break over a full verandah, and I don't feel we missed anything by having an NV rather than a full verandah.
- We cruised in early June: We saw lots and lots of snow-capped mountains. As Texans, we never see that at home, and it was really beautiful and made the extraordinary landscape that much more special. We also saw a lot of waterfalls on the mountains, as the snow was gradually melting during this transition to summer. Despite pessimistic forecasts in the week prior to the cruise, we were very fortunate to experience idyllic weather for almost the entire trip: crystal-clear visibility and no rain on our glacier day, same in Juneau, and we actually had warmth & blue skies in Ketchikan! Skagway was slightly drizzly for an hour or so midday, but that was it as far as rain was concerned on this trip. We were rarely bothered by mosquitoes during our nature hikes. The only downside of early June was that we saw minimal land wildlife, but wildlife viewing had not been a serious goal of ours for this cruise. We did see a few bald eagles.
- We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel for one night before the cruise: We booked this on our own & selected a waterfront-view, which allowed us to watch the Wonder sail into port, and then the Wonder docked right in front of us all morning! Wow! We had the Fairmont arrange a town-car to pick us up from the airport, and that expense combined with the awesome waterfront room cost about the same as a standard room booked via DCL plus their bus transfers. They also transferred our luggage to the ship for us. So while this room was a splurge, we got a lot more value by booking it independently.
- We saw Fly Over Canada: Staying at the Fairmont Waterfront made seeing this the morning of the cruise very easy, as it's within walking distance. The Wonder was docked right next to it, so we had great views & excitement looking at her as we walked to & from the attraction that morning. Don't skip Fly Over Canada if you like Soarin' at WDW. It's almost the same ride, except that it's Canada-themed. The visuals are great and we loved it.
- We decorated our stateroom door and participated in a Fish Extender exchange: I really love doing this. It's one of those personal things that makes a cruise feel cozy & homey to me. Decorating the door makes our stateroom super-easy to identify (although our Olaf did have a "twin" a few doors down that I stopped at a few times without thinking). My son and I both like giving, and we tend to deliver our FE gifts on the first day or two, and then enjoy finding surprises in our FE throughout the rest of the cruise. We're happy to get anything: it's interesting and touching to see what people think of to give.
- We didn't spend all of glacier day on deck 10: We did explore deck 10 & its views that day, as well as deck 4, and we also enjoyed our verandah. There is so much to see that we didn't feel the need to stake out any one spot. We were at the glacier for a long time: it was impossible to miss.
- In Skagway, we independently booked a Jewell Gardens glassblowing excursion: this unique experience of making our own glassblown ornaments ended with our glass ornaments being mailed to our home after they cooled at their shop for a few days. Booking it directly from the vendor cost only half as much as it would have via DCL. It was easy to get there: we chose to take the SMART Bus there, but we walked back, and took a detour to the gold rush cemetery and Reid waterfall, both of which the nice manager of Jewell Gardens told us about. We also had lunch there, which was nice.
- In Juneau, we made no advance excursion reservations, though we followed a basic plan: We walked off the ship (when we felt like it, not when an excursion required us to), and took the free shuttle into town, and there we bought a bus transfer to Mendenhall Glacier (this is really easy to do: a line of vendors sells them & will hawk them as soon as you get off the free shuttle into town). We were immediately bused to Mendenhall by a lively & knowledgable driver, and dropped off to enjoy the glacier at our leisure, knowing that a bus would return on every hour & half-hour to take us back to the port. So we had all the time we wanted, hiked to the waterfall which is close to the glacier, took a ton of photos, etc. This was one highlight of the trip. Mendenhall Glacier is big and its surroundings are beautiful. After returning to town, we took Mount Roberts Tramway up the mountain, enjoyed the views & hiked the mountain trails at the top. Another special & beautiful experience.
- We ate lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack in Juneau: This was so easy as it's right downtown by the shuttles, and it's delicious. We happened to sit at the same table as a former Tracy's waitress who kindly showed my son how to cut open his crab leg. I had the bisque & garlic rolls. We both liked the food.
- In Ketchikan, we independently booked a floatplane trip to view the Misty Fjords: My son loved this. I have extremely sensitive ears that all small planes bother, so I should have stayed off, but I wanted to be there for my son. It was a special experience, even though the views weren't icy like I'd hoped. We chose Island Wings, and they were a top-notch provider. I felt we were safe with such an experienced pilot, who also took the time to give my son advice about how to prepare for a career as a pilot, and Island Wings ensures that every passenger gets a window seat. Again, this experience was much less expensive than a flightseeing tour would have been via DCL.
- We did the DCL post-cruise Vancouver excursion: This is the only DCL-excursion we did this cruise, and we only booked it the day before disembarkation, after hearing a cruise director announcement for it. This was a good excursion. We met in D-Lounge and disembarked as a group, then boarded a comfy motor coach for a city tour which included a brief stop at Stanley Park, and a 75-minute stop at the Capilano Suspension bridge. That was a wonderful way to see the city easily & comfortably, to get to Capilano "without really trying", and the amount of time we had at Capilano was ample to explore. We really enjoyed that experience. The tour bus then dropped us off at the airport. This cost $99 pp, which I thought was reasonable for DCL given that the price included the city tour, the Capilano admission, and the transportation to the airport with all of our baggage. It was a nice few hours and a great way to gently transition from cruise to reality.
- We stayed at the Fairmont Airport Hotel for one night after the cruise: We booked this ourselves & I chose a gold-level runway-view room, because my son wants to be a pilot. This room was the bomb. My son was captivated by the landings & airplane operations outside, the room was quite luxurious, and we had lounge access, which spared me having to pay for dinner, breakfast (they gave us free room service for a full breakfast since we departed prior to lounge opening), sodas or snacks. The splurge was so worth it! And staying at the Fairmont the night before departure meant that all we had to do was take the elevator downstairs and get in line at the airport. No transportation needed, so we didn't have to get up as early as we would have otherwise for this big travel day.
- We visited Van Dusen gardens after the cruise: After settling into the airport hotel midday (yes, they even had our room ready at 1pm), we headed back into Vancouver to experience this gem, which was worth the special trip. To get there & back, we took taxis, which cost about $45 USD total round trip, and the cost was worth the ease of not having to figure out & use public transport. The Van Dusen gardens are huge and have so many kinds of plants and trees that I had never seen. It ranges from traditional rose gardens to Oriental gardens to prehistoric-looking woods, to ponds covered with water lilies, to a European-style hedge maze that's fun to explore. We spent a few hours there & I could have spent more, but my son was getting eager to return to the hotel room & enjoy the planes, and we both were just a bit tired after the big day.
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