Personal Photos in this post may not be used without written permission from My Springfield Mommy
Each year, as a gift to ourselves, my family takes a vacation and
creates memories that last a lifetime. Disney is always a forerunner on
our list of potential destinations. My 7 year old son (N) and I are
self-proclaimed Disney "freaks" (and my husband is by proxy). We love
everything Disney. We know that if we include Disney in our vacation, it
will be magical.
By discovering the Disney Cruise Line a couple of years ago, and
taking a leap of faith that we would be entertained and kept safe (we
have food allergies), a whole new world of vacation destinations has
opened up to us with the spirit of Disney right by our sides. This past
June, we took our second DCL cruise on the Disney Wonder to Alaska, a
trip off my bucket list. Alaska is a 'Must See' destination (at least
once) in itself, but adding all that DCL has to offer made everything
even more 'Wonder'ful.
We embarked at
Vancouver's, Canada Place after spending a couple of days seeing some of
what Vancouver had to offer (it was a beautiful, gracious city with
much more to see and do than we had time for). Check in flowed
smoothly, as you would expect from Disney. Immediately after having our
family announced and welcomed aboard, we headed into the main dining
room to have lunch and meet with our head server and our chef. I have a
fatal fish & seafood allergy and N has a Red 40 dye allergy. DCL
takes food allergies very seriously. They reviewed our allergies with us
and determined a plan of action to keep us safe. I actually would order
my next nights meal the day before so they could completely prep it
away from any potential cross contamination. This feeling of security
while dining with DCL is one of the many reasons my family is sold on
DCL for all our future cruises.
Disney Cruise
Line has tons of activities to keep you as busy as you want to be from
the time you step foot on the ship. Once we took care of the
necessities, we were off to explore the ship, check out our room and. of
course join the characters and cast members at the Sail Away party on
deck. Our room was one of Stitch's rooms (#6629) according to N. Since
we were going to Alaska, and the views were an important part of this
trip to us, we opted for a balcony. I am very glad we did--long hours of
daylight let my husband and I enjoy the passing views after N was in
bed and before he woke up.
Our first full day was an "At Sea' day. I fought a bit of seasickness (I am horribly prone to motion sickness), but with the help of some OTC meds and fresh air, I was good to go. N headed off to the Kids Club (he discovered how "awesome" the Kids Club is on our first cruise and even I (an over protective parent) felt safe leaving him in their care) to meet up with some new found friends his own age). I took some time to myself in the Rainforest Room (my splurge) and we took in some Bingo (the only source of gambling on board that I know of) along with several other of the ships constant activities, plus we took time to simply sit and enjoy the views.
Day 2 at Sea, we were scheduled to going into the Tracy Arm to see they traditional Sawyer Glaciers, however because we were the 2nd cruise to Alaska that season, Tracy Arm was still too frozen, so Capt. Gus got permission to take the Wonder into the less traveled Endicott Arm to see the Dawes Glacier. It was amazing, pictures do not do it justice. Disney had an Naturalist onboard to educate us about the different things we were seeing. We were able to witness the Dawes glacier calving (a piece breaking off). And we got to hang out with some of the Disney characters as well.
Day 3--Skagway: We chose to do the Disney Port Adventure Yukon Expedition and took a step back in time, learned the history of the Klondike Gold Rush and saw some breath taking views. We boarded a bus go to the top of the historic White Pass (3292 ft above sea level), crossed into the Yukon Territory of Canada in to the historic town Carcross (Caribou Crossing). We ate lunch and took a ride pulled by Alaskan Huskies who were training for the Iditarod. My favorite view was of the Emerald Lake in the Yukon. On the way back down, we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge train for more breathtaking views.
Day 4--Juneau: The Disney Port Adventure "Best of Juneau" allowed us to combine 3 excursions in one--given that N was only 7 and it being our first trip to Alaska--it was perfect for us. We took a whale watching excursion, where we witnessed lots of wildlife including several Humpback whales. Then we headed to Orca Point for a Wild Alaskan Salmon bake, which my husband and son enjoyed (they had chicken for us non-fish eaters). Next we headed to the Mendenhall Glacier for a close up view of the glacier. We opted to get off the bus in the historic area of Juneau to we wandered through there before heading back to the Wonder.
Day 5--Ketchican: This stop was the first for the chilly, rainy weather we were prepared for in Alaska, so we lucked out on that for sure. At this stop, we decided on the Saxman Native Village and Lumberjack Show Disney Port Adventure. We really enjoyed the comedy (and skill) of the Lumberjack show and my hubby was chosen to participate in the show. The Saxman Native Village was very educational and entertaining. N still talks about some of the things he learned about totem poles. We did a bit of shopping, before heading back to the Wonder.
We spent our final full day at sea, as we headed back to Vancouver, enjoying all that DCL has to offer that day and every day while on board--character meet & greets, pin trading, rotational dining in their Disney themed dining rooms (our awesome wait staff were with us for each of our evening meals) with amazing food (the perfect time to try something new--hubby tried and loved escargot), first viewing of newly released Disney films and amazing Broadway-type productions as only Disney can do. We also scheduled our next cruise (to the Bahamas) while still on board.
For us, the Disney Cruise Line vacations offer the entertainment, education, destinations and peace of mind as only Disney can, to make them an invaluable vacation option. I can guarantee my family will be joining them on many more cruises in the future, including a return to Alaska, the pure beauty of the place must be witnessed in person.
Guest post by Michelle M.
Don't miss the freebies, coupons, and deals, Subscribe Now!
No comments:
Post a Comment