°o° °o° °o° 9/11/09 DCL Announcement Discussion Thread °o° °o° °o°

[mrsklamc]

It is not cold in AK in the Summer.. We went on this same route in July and it was quite nice for swimming. There was a retractable roof but it was always open.

Also, this is just the very southernmost tip of Alaska.

 

[smeecanada]

Things are quite under construction in Vancouver because of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Actually the port is gorgeous.

The OP was commenting on Ballantyne Pier which is a Port facility to the right of Canada Place - it is not gorgeous - it's just a converted wearhouse facility. Royal Caribbean was using this facility this past summer. We didn't know that we weren't sailing out of Canada Place until we got our cruise documents. There were 5 cruise ships in that day. Hopefully, with DCL sailing on a Tuesday - we should have the nice facilities of Canada Place.

 

[macfinn]

very disapointed........NO NEW YORK?????? what gives every other line leaves out of NYC..and disney has hude store there....oh well...maybe in the future....

 

[smeecanada]

Van Couver is a great city. I took and alaska cruise about 5 years ago and really enjoyed it. Not sure about it being a family destination though. Alaska isn't like the carribean where it's warm and there are beaches to sit at and sip fruity drinks all day. IT's very different. You go to see the scenery and get a glimpse of wildlife. There were only a few families on our cruise, mostly older adults with binaculars aimed at the water alot. Our ship did have a covered pool but it was hardly in use. I will say it was one of the most memborable trips i have taken but be warned it was expensive. We had what would equate to a catagory 6 room for two people for seven nights and back then it was a bit over 8000 dollars. that didn't inclulde airfare and anyextras onboard. so be prepared to shell out bucks but I have to admit it is well worth the cost. and if you love wildlife it's work the trip. especailly the whale watching in juneau.

Vancouver is a great place to visit with kids especially in the summer. The Vancouver Aquarium, Science World, Stanley Park, Granville Island and Grouse Mountain are all in easy access to downtown. Plus, if you time it right at the end of July there is the fireworks competitions in English Bay.

We just did Alaska with RCL - beginning cost before things got discounted was around $5000CDN. 2 adults and 2 teens for around a CAT8 equivalent to DCL. Alaska is different than the Caribbean - yes there are no sandy beaches - it's rocks, but there is wildlife. You are basically going on a 7 day whale watching trip. We saw humpback whales feeding 20 feet off a city dock in Icy Strait. Seals, bears, eagles, etc. We didn't do any ship excursions - very easy to do your own. Just hop over to Cruise Critic and start researching. When you start reading the ship excursion list some of them will be down right expensive - helicopter rides to glaciers etc. There are quite a few of us who have gone to some of the places who will be able to help people out with planning.

 

[smeecanada]

I think we could do a 7 night Alaskan cruise with Holland AND add extra land days in Alaska for less that what DCL is going to charge for the cruise alone. I'm not saying NOT to cruise with Disney... it's our favorite way to vacation! I'm just saying you may get more of an Alaskan vacation for your hard earned money with another cruise line.

We just did Alaska this past summer with RCI. Having only done DCL for cruises, I asked many people which cruise line to go on because of the kids. Just about everyone said go Princess or Royal. We were told repeatly not to go on Holland America because it is geared to the older age group not for kids. My first choice was Princess, however due to various reasons ended up on RCI.

So, please before you make your decision ask around for cruisers who have done Alaska for more info about Holland America if you are taking kids.

Hope you have a great cruise - which ever way you go - Alaska is beautiful and worth seeing.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

I'm sorry, I'm sure that this has been posted about a million times, but I can't seem to find out WHAT TIME do bookings open up on September 28?

For some reason I have 9am eastern time in my head, but can anyone tell me the confirmed time? I will be one of those calling in the first minute!

 

[ldg1146]

I was anxiously waiting for the annoucement about the new itineraries, but must say I am a little disappointed. We cruise a lot (14 DCL, 5 HAL, 3 RCCL, 1 The Big Red Boat). Was hoping that DCL will be our cruiseline for our ALaskan cruise, but since they are doing a rnd trip and not adding the Land portion that HAL/RCCL/others have I doubt that we will book on DCL for Alaska.

When we sailed on the 2 Panama Canal cruises & the Med cruise it was soooo exciting to be on the Magic!

 

[ldg1146]

We AGREE with you--like you we are DCL fans! Had 14 cruises with DCL, but also 5 with HAL and 3 with RCCL. Actually booked the Baltic with DCL, but cancelled after looking at HAL's 20 Baltic cruise for June, 2010, and finding the price about $2000 less with a comparable cabin. We haven't booked the Baltic yet, but have every intention of doing so. Maybe we will see you in the Baltic!

HAL is very elegant! Great food! Wonderful entertainment! Beautiful ships! Servers & Staff that are well trained and personable! ALL THE THINGS THE DCL IS, BUT less expensive in some markets. We do miss the enthusiasm that the comes with the Disney Characters & Kids.

 

[disfaninca]

I'm sorry, I'm sure that this has been posted about a million times, but I can't seem to find out WHAT TIME do bookings open up on September 28?

For some reason I have 9am eastern time in my head, but can anyone tell me the confirmed time? I will be one of those calling in the first minute!

I was thinking it was 8am eastern, but not sure either.

 

[Marty Moose]

Welcome to our world- it's costing DH and me $1100 to fly to Orlando in Feb for our 4 day Wonder cruise. airfare for us from CA to FL is always high

I'm excited now we'll have the chance to not pay an arm and a leg to fly to just GET to a Disney Cruise ship, much less then adding the cruise fare to our expense. Though cruising to Mexico doesn't sound all that appealing to me, but I know I can get flights to Seattle a lot cheaper than I can to MCO

Oh yeah...I priced airfare from SFO to MCO for my mom (in case DH can't make our cruise in Jan) and was shocked! Where do you fly out of? I know when I fly out to So. Cal to visit my father, I always fly into San Diego. It's always much cheaper than LAX or John Wayne, etc. CA is always tricky for me! lol I actually flew from PHL to SD once, transferring planes at SFO and it was $200 cheaper per person than if I had flown from PHL to SFO alone! Where's the logic in that?!

 

[dizneyfan23]

Has anyone been able to confirm that Gold & Paltinum CC Members will be able to book on Sept. 21st???? Or will we have to wait until Sept. 28th as well????

 

[mrsklamc]

I was just looking at something unrelated on Southwest's website and noticed that they are in the beginning stages of codesharing with a Canadian airline called WestJet. If I am reading right you can now book limited flights to Canada through Southwest's website but they aren't fully codesharing yet. If you intend to take a cruise out of Vancouver in 2011 this would be worth keeping your eyes on as you try to price airfare.

 

[pillow]

I am planning on booking the Panama Canal sailing in Jan 2011. Bookings open the day I get off of this cruise (we are gold...). Since it will be PST, I will miss the first few hours of booking. Do you think I should put it in the hands of a TA? Depending on the price, in both cash and DVC points, I might book it using points (and save the cash for the Dream inaugaural). If it is a points cruise, I will have to go through DVC and book it myself. I'm hoping that won't be too late by the time I get off of the ship.

Marilyn

Marilyn, you might want to consider renting your points (they go for around $10 pp), and then booking the cruise with cash. Some folks don't want to fool with it, but I have found you can save many many points/cash that way.

Jodie

 

[KelsiesMommy]

Oh yeah...I priced airfare from SFO to MCO for my mom (in case DH can't make our cruise in Jan) and was shocked! Where do you fly out of? I know when I fly out to So. Cal to visit my father, I always fly into San Diego. It's always much cheaper than LAX or John Wayne, etc. CA is always tricky for me! lol I actually flew from PHL to SD once, transferring planes at SFO and it was $200 cheaper per person than if I had flown from PHL to SFO alone! Where's the logic in that?!

Depending on where we're heading we fly out of LAX or LGB... we live 2 hrs north of LA and for convenience sake we'll be flying out of Bakersfield in February- in Jan 08 we flew home into LAX and the Interstate that links straight home was cosed due to ice/snow- so we dn't want to run into that again!

 

[JoiseyMom]

very disapointed........NO NEW YORK?????? what gives every other line leaves out of NYC..and disney has hude store there....oh well...maybe in the future....

Ummm...maybe because other cruise lines have more then 3 ships in their fleet???

 

[pillow]

My prediction based on current summer pricing is that for a family of 4 in an cat 9 room, it will cost between $7,000 - $7,500 (without insurance). I looked at summer Bahamas pricing and Europe pricing - figured out how much per night those trips are - and then averaged them and multiplied by 7 nights. OUCH!

Shore excursions will be sky high up there. Hopefully, it will be easy to book activities on our own.

Jodie

 

[JoiseyMom]

Has anyone been able to confirm that Gold & Paltinum CC Members will be able to book on Sept. 21st???? Or will we have to wait until Sept. 28th as well????

Yes you can..but phone only!!

 

[triplefigs]

We are seriously considering the 6 day Repo from LA to Vancouver. With kids, how long would you suggest we need for Vancouver to tour? The day we get off the ship enough and fly home the next day from Seattle?

When will prices be released? Any guesses for the Repo (2 Cat 9's)?

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

We are seriously considering the 6 day Repo from LA to Vancouver. With kids, how long would you suggest we need for Vancouver to tour? The day we get off the ship enough and fly home the next day from Seattle?

When will prices be released? Any guesses for the Repo (2 Cat 9's)?

Depends on what you want to do with them here. In one day you could go to granville island and the kids market and then maybe hit one other attraction, like stanley park/van aquarium or the train in stanley park.
I think it depends on how much touring you plan to do.

 

[m&m's mom]

I have never understood the "Alaska ia not for kids" statement.
Our DD's were 7 and 9 when we went in 2006 and it is still their favorite destination.
There was so much for the kids to do. Hiking, whale watching, glacier trips, dog sledding and a whole bunch more I forgot.
A large group of my family (31 of us ranging in age 74 to 4) were on a RCCL cruise. Everyone had a great time! Believe me, no one was bored at all.
My DD's are so excited they are going back. I think the negative statements of kids and Alaska are from people who have never gone there with their kids.
BTW- RCCL, Radiance of the Seas only had an adult pool covered and the kids still swam and I hit the outdoor hot tub many times.