Disney Wonder Alaska May 30, 2016 - Vancouver, Seattle

courtneydisney

Finding my way "Home"
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
My husband and I are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, and we're TTC, so I thought another trip would be in order before we get locked down for a while. I booked this pretty short notice, but usually I plan at least one road trip a year, I love the planning aspect of a trip, using Google Sheets and Tripit to keep organized. My normal M.O. is to research everything, meticulously plan for every eventuality, and then kind of let it go and try to go with the flow, like my husband - he just carries the bags and asks us where we are now!

We've now been to Disneyland probably a dozen times together, got engaged on the bow of the Dream, and went to WDW right after that. We spent a month traveling around Southeast Asia for our honeymoon, including hitting up both Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland - I've now been to every Disney park in the world!

My husband is a special needs teacher and I'm a nanny of a teacher (who is also my twin sister), so our summers are pretty flexible for travel. It started with just the cruise, flying in and out the same days of embarkation and disembarkation, but it grew...and grew! It's now 15 days, we leave the day after school lets out.

Ok, so here we go:

May 28th-30th, Vancouver - we arrive from SFO on Air Canada ($265 total for 2, Priceline), with only carry-ons - other than bulky cold-weather gear (travel vacuum bags for the win!) and SLR camera gear, we can pack really streamlined. I also didn't pay extra to pick seats - it's only a 2 hour flight. I know, I'm a weird mix of cheap and spendy when I travel.

We pick up an Alamo car ($58 total on Hotwire for 3 days) at the Vancouver airport and drive out to Harrison Hot Springs ($135/night, Hotels.com) for a few days of relaxation before our relaxation. My style of vacation (especially Disney) is usually non-stop - I don't want to miss anything, and it can be exhausting. I've heard the hot springs are nice, and with the US dollar strong in Canada right now, I wanted to take advantage of it. I was originally going to check out Victoria before the cruise, but with the ferry being $100 to take the car there and back, we figured it might be easier to do it afterwards on foot. We're hoping to get onboard as soon as possible - I've not yet experienced a character buffet on DCL, or ticketed meet and greets, so I'd like to get those squared away.

May 30 - drive the 2 hours back from the hot springs, drop the car off at the airport, and take the Skytrain to Canada Place for the cruise! We got an inside cabin for this trip - I know, the verandahs are to die for, but I couldn't justify the $3,000 upgrade cost for it. We can camp out on the open decks for views - I'm bringing a lot of cozy cold weather clothes.

June 1, Tracy Arm - Nothing planned but some photography on the decks, and maybe a Palo brunch to take advantage of the view from there.

June 2, Skagsway - While I would love to do the bus up/train down excursion with Chilkoot, it's hard to justify the cost. I have a side business of making pendants, magnets and keychains online, so if I can make the extra money to cover the cost of excursions by the trip, I might end up booking some before the trip. I've made enough to pay for the cruise beforehand, taking advantage of the Ebates/Raise/Target cards and the Disney Rewards card, so it's a possibility. If not, we can check out the Gold Rush Park and the museum, wander around the town, etc. My husband is very laid back, so he's fine with whatever.

June 3, Juneau - Again, if I can make it happen, I'd love to do the Harv & Marv whale watching excursion, but with the Mendenhall glacier and the Roberts Tram easily accessible on our own, I'd be fine with no excursion here. We're member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, so we've got amazing sea creatures right here anytime we want! We've kayaked among the whales and sea otters outside the aquarium, though I'd love to see some orcas and humpbacks up there! I'm really excited to check out the glacier on our own, and maybe eat at Tracy's Crab Shack or the Red Dog Saloon.

June 4, Ketchikan - Money being no object, I'd love to check out the crab boat and the sea kayaking, but if not, I'm eager to check out the Totem Bight Park, Potlatch Park and Creek Street.

June 5 - Nada, nothing but almost-post-disney-depression!

June 6th, Vancouver - disembarking (noooooooo!), and indulging in one of my favorites that won't really be feasible after having and traveling with kids: dive hotels. I love to check out hotels that might look like William S. Burroughs or Hunter Thompson could have walked into them. Vancouver has a perfect one, in the Patricia Hotel ($200 for 3 nights, Hotels.com), it looks like it could have been used as a set in Drugstore Cowboy! As long as there's no bedbugs and a reasonably comfy bed, I'm all set. It's location is great, too.

June 6-9, Vancouver - we're not really making any plans, other than maybe the Hop-on bus to check out the sights, the Granville market, Victoria, Stanley Park, and of course, Tim Hortons!

June 9-11, Seattle - We are taking the early Amtrak to Seattle ($64 total for 2), leaving at 6:30am and getting into Seattle around 10:30. Wow, Seattle is way more expensive than when we were here a few years ago - even dive hotels are $100+ a night! I booked the Moore Hotel (found it on Google Maps, booked direct, $290 total for 2 nights), which is in walking distance to the Pike Place Market, one of my favorite Seattle places. Again, not too planned - just going to enjoy Seattle.

June 11 - Fly home, using Southwest so we can take advantage of the free checked bags ($189 total for 2). I plan on stocking up on Disney stuff, plus I love collecting papers and stuff for scrapbooking (and then promptly forgetting about it), so I know we'll be traveling heavier on the way home.

Whew - that got wordy! This is my first pre-trip report, I hope I did it right! I included the prices and links 'cause that info is always really helpful for me when I'm planning.
 
Looks like you are going to have an awesome cruise!! We live in Vancouver (just outside) and were booked on the last Alaskan cruise for 2016 but because the CDN $ is so awful right now, we were forced to change to a less expensive cruise. Will miss cruising out of Vancouver, but will hopefully be doing Alaska in 2018.

My only advice to your plan is if you are driving in from Harrison the morning of your cruise leave Harrison EARLY. Like, 6:30am early. There is only one highway going into the lower mainland from there and you will be driving in morning rush hour traffic. It will take more than 2 hours to get to the airport from Harrison on a busy Monday morning.
 
Also research a potential toll bridge to Harrison if you use a GPS. Locals know the "perimeter road" around the toll bridge, to get to the airport. This toll free option is popular on a busy Monday morning. Rental vehicles charge an administrative premium for the toll bridges.

You are brave to go to the Patricia.... the neighborhood is not some place I recommend tourists to spend time day or night.
 
Also research a potential toll bridge to Harrison if you use a GPS. Locals know the "perimeter road" around the toll bridge, to get to the airport. This toll free option is popular on a busy Monday morning. Rental vehicles charge an administrative premium for the toll bridges.

You are brave to go to the Patricia.... the neighborhood is not some place I recommend tourists to spend time day or night.

Is it really that bad? We're from the SF Bay Area, and there are areas of SF and San Jose that I've hung out where people openly sell and do drugs, lots of homeless people and gangs, etc., but I haven't found anywhere as bad yet in our travels.

I saw the alternative route option from Harrison on Google Maps, and if Waze works up there, I'll rely on that - it's saved us countless hours in traffic. Thanks for the tips!
 


Everyone has a different perception on what's comfortable depending on their background. When I drive out of town visitors through the neighborhood.... it's not a place they want to go to. As a result the Patricia has lower rates compared to other hotels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Eastside

This route is the preferred route...
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Harr...8ccac86348084!2m2!1d-123.1815123!2d49.1966913

This route over the Port Mann can mean a $3.15 toll, plus admin charges ($10? $20?) depending on the car rental. https://www.treo.ca/tolls-and-fees/
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Harr...c86348084!2m2!1d-123.1815123!2d49.1966913!5i1

If your GPS finds congestion.... it MAY send you over a toll road. You won't notice it as the toll is collected electronically on your license plate. You'll just see a credit card surcharge a few months later when you return home.
 
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Ok I didn't notice the part about the Patricia Hotel. Um....yeah....I wouldn't stay there even if you PAID me. Sorry but that is NOT a desireable area at all. And the hotel itself? I'd be surprised if it DIDN'T have bed bugs :crazy2:
 
Hi there. I am on this same cruise. I noticed that you are considering the train. There are other companies that do the train that may be more economical. They may not be exactly what you want, but here are a couple links to some that I looked into.
http://alaska-shoreexcursions.com/
http://www.skagwayalaskatours.com/

Also, I wanted to mention that on our previous Wonder Alaska trip, there was a delicious barbecue on the back of the ship. I cannot remember what time that was as we just stumbled upon it for lunch. It is outdoors and it the food gets cold quickly, but the views are worth it.
 


I read about the salmon bake on the Tracy Arm day, I think we're planning on double dipping lunch that day, we've also got reservations for Palo.

Thanks for the links - I'm leaning more and more towards the train/bus combo. I figure that we might not ever come back, so an excursion memory might be justified.
 

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