Yukon ho! Another 5/21/12 Wonder trip report! - updated 6/26!
- Thread starter mrp4352
- Start date
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
I have to tell you - the second best money we spent on the trip was the upgrade to a waterview room at the Fairmont Waterfront. As you can see - it was worth every penny! We called DCL a couple months out to ask about the upgrade (we were concerned about availability since it was a holiday weekend for our trip) and they put me in contaact directly with the hotel to arrange the upgrade.
Now, I'm afraid you all will have to wait a couple of installments to find out what the best money we spent on the trip was.
big jack 2002
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 24, 2002
Michelle,
We took the train Saturday morning to Vancouver, and, Sunday, we went to the Suspension Bridge. It was misty and trying to rain but we had a great time. I walked across the bridge and climbed to the tree tops....things I thought I would never do. Your pictures from the train look amazingly like ours but we did get a few more pictures of the bald eagles. But, there were four of us taking pictures!!
We stayed at the Blue Horizon which was a wonderful hotel. Seattle was an amazing city, too. We spent a few days there before the cruise. I'm glad you are doing this trip report. I am looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing about the "best" part of the trip!!
Barbara
We took the train Saturday morning to Vancouver, and, Sunday, we went to the Suspension Bridge. It was misty and trying to rain but we had a great time. I walked across the bridge and climbed to the tree tops....things I thought I would never do. Your pictures from the train look amazingly like ours but we did get a few more pictures of the bald eagles. But, there were four of us taking pictures!!
We stayed at the Blue Horizon which was a wonderful hotel. Seattle was an amazing city, too. We spent a few days there before the cruise. I'm glad you are doing this trip report. I am looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing about the "best" part of the trip!!
Barbara
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
Hi Barbara!! I'm jealous of your eagle pictures!
And, on with the trip:
_________________________________________
When we woke up, I went up to the buffet for breakfast and coffee, which we enjoyed in the room. While there, we passed to the Island Princess, she was heading south, Im assuming after an Alaska run.
We went to the 9:30 presentation by Naturalist Doug Jones. He is a native Alaskan and worked as a fishery biologist for years. He opened his presentation with a quote about Alaska from John Muir.
He talked about the path were taking and what we should see along the way. We learned:
the first thing we will see from a whale is the water spout when they breath then if we see the tail, its a humpback or if we see the long body, its an orca.
to look carefully at logs floating by they may be otters! Otters like to float on their backs they carry a rock on their bellies and use it to crack open the shellfish.
Otters have rounded heads and sea lions have pointy noses!
Almost the entire area of the cruise is in the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is designated as wilderness, which means it must remain pristine no roads, houses or any sign of man.
the ship must maintain a certain level of noise so theres no outside music on deck and even the narration Mr. Jones is going to provide tomorrow will be muted.
Skagway has a population of just over 800, but during the high season, there can be three cruise ships in dock, effectively quadrupling the population.
Alaska is so isolated that all goods come up by barge. Fresh fruit and meats are placed into refrigerated freight cars and loaded onto the barge for the trip up. We passed barges with Caterpillar equipment and cars on top of the freight cars. Currently gas is running around $4.49/gallon in Juneau were paying $3.49.
He told of a plane that sustained a fish strike. While climbing after takeoff, the pilot noticed an eagle flying towards them, the eagle saw them and veered away, but dropped his dinner which the plane ran into
After the presentation, we went to Palo for brunch.
Nikoli from Serbia took excellent care of us! As soon as we would start to think we were ready for the next course hed be there! We both enjoyed the gorgonzola on these wonderfully huge crostinis. Mom tried the Cajun spiced tuna tartar and really enjoyed it. We both tried the salmon mousse I loved it and Mom didnt care for it. We shared a pear and gorgonzola flat bread (one of my favorite things), then our main courses. Mom had the chicken parmesan, something she always looks forward to at Palo, and I had the frittata with Italian sausage and vegetables. For dessert, I had several small samples of different things the panna cotta was especially yummy!
After Palo, we slowly wandered around deck 10 enjoying the scenery.
I love this shot of the Wonder with the mountains in the background. (You might see it from a couple different angles sorry about that!)
The Cove Café (coffee bar) from the outside:
And the lanterns I have a fascination with. (We learned on our last cruise that one is always lit both forward and aft.)
And, on with the trip:
_________________________________________
When we woke up, I went up to the buffet for breakfast and coffee, which we enjoyed in the room. While there, we passed to the Island Princess, she was heading south, Im assuming after an Alaska run.
We went to the 9:30 presentation by Naturalist Doug Jones. He is a native Alaskan and worked as a fishery biologist for years. He opened his presentation with a quote about Alaska from John Muir.
To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
He talked about the path were taking and what we should see along the way. We learned:
the first thing we will see from a whale is the water spout when they breath then if we see the tail, its a humpback or if we see the long body, its an orca.
to look carefully at logs floating by they may be otters! Otters like to float on their backs they carry a rock on their bellies and use it to crack open the shellfish.
Otters have rounded heads and sea lions have pointy noses!
Almost the entire area of the cruise is in the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is designated as wilderness, which means it must remain pristine no roads, houses or any sign of man.
the ship must maintain a certain level of noise so theres no outside music on deck and even the narration Mr. Jones is going to provide tomorrow will be muted.
Skagway has a population of just over 800, but during the high season, there can be three cruise ships in dock, effectively quadrupling the population.
Alaska is so isolated that all goods come up by barge. Fresh fruit and meats are placed into refrigerated freight cars and loaded onto the barge for the trip up. We passed barges with Caterpillar equipment and cars on top of the freight cars. Currently gas is running around $4.49/gallon in Juneau were paying $3.49.
He told of a plane that sustained a fish strike. While climbing after takeoff, the pilot noticed an eagle flying towards them, the eagle saw them and veered away, but dropped his dinner which the plane ran into
After the presentation, we went to Palo for brunch.
Nikoli from Serbia took excellent care of us! As soon as we would start to think we were ready for the next course hed be there! We both enjoyed the gorgonzola on these wonderfully huge crostinis. Mom tried the Cajun spiced tuna tartar and really enjoyed it. We both tried the salmon mousse I loved it and Mom didnt care for it. We shared a pear and gorgonzola flat bread (one of my favorite things), then our main courses. Mom had the chicken parmesan, something she always looks forward to at Palo, and I had the frittata with Italian sausage and vegetables. For dessert, I had several small samples of different things the panna cotta was especially yummy!
After Palo, we slowly wandered around deck 10 enjoying the scenery.
I love this shot of the Wonder with the mountains in the background. (You might see it from a couple different angles sorry about that!)
The Cove Café (coffee bar) from the outside:
And the lanterns I have a fascination with. (We learned on our last cruise that one is always lit both forward and aft.)
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
We stopped at the Disney Vacation Club presentation; sadly we didnt win the door prize. We wandered a little on deck 4, then found our way over to bingo. I got to stand twice (you stand up when you only need one number to win), but didnt win. Maybe tomorrow!
One of the barges:
After Bingo, we went back to the stateroom to get ready for the evening.
The evening show was the Golden Mickeys an awards show where Disney movies have been nominated for several categories heroes, friends, and my personal favorite best heroine of a musical set in ancient China, circa the 14th century (Mulan). On the way to the show, I noticed that Goofy had almost no line so we hopped in for hugs and pictures!
We slid into our seats about 5 minutes before show time. Rona Rivers was interviewing guests as they arrived on the red carpet before the show and she asked one little girl who her favorite princess is and received Pluto! for an answer.
After the show, we found the Cadillac Lounge. We chose two lovely leather chairs by a huge porthole and ordered drinks: Mom had the Pomegranate Passion pomegranate liquor, passion fruit puree and Tattinger champagne; I had Le Gran Bleu Grey Goose vodka, Grand Marnier, blue curacao, fresh lime juice and Tattinger champagne. They were both wonderful and yummy!
While enjoying our drinks Mom spotted a spout and the next time, after the spout, there was a tail! She found a humpback! You should have seen everyone in the bar, the sound level went up and everyone was so excited. Our previously serene piano bar was a beehive of activity for the next five minutes!
Dinner was the Golden Mickey menu in Parrot Cay. We had a delightful conversation with the table next to ours shes a professional belly dancer (evidently quite good, her instructor took her to Egypt to dance in a convention that her instructor was helping to teach at) and hes a musician.
Dinner was nice; Mom definitely had the better meal. We both had the fried cheese ravioli and broccoli and blue cheese soup. I had the gnocchi in cheese sauce both were very, very heavy. Mom had the Yachtsman Steakhouse Strip Steak which she said was wonderful!! For dessert she had the crème Brule and I had the triple strawberry sundae (strawberry ice cream with strawberry smoothie poured over the top and strawberry topping. Oh, and Mom had coffee with Baileys and the Baileys came in this really cool glass, it looks like a beaker on a stem. After dinner, I was so tired; we didnt even go out on deck to walk around. Just straight back to the room for bed!
One of the barges:
After Bingo, we went back to the stateroom to get ready for the evening.
The evening show was the Golden Mickeys an awards show where Disney movies have been nominated for several categories heroes, friends, and my personal favorite best heroine of a musical set in ancient China, circa the 14th century (Mulan). On the way to the show, I noticed that Goofy had almost no line so we hopped in for hugs and pictures!
We slid into our seats about 5 minutes before show time. Rona Rivers was interviewing guests as they arrived on the red carpet before the show and she asked one little girl who her favorite princess is and received Pluto! for an answer.
After the show, we found the Cadillac Lounge. We chose two lovely leather chairs by a huge porthole and ordered drinks: Mom had the Pomegranate Passion pomegranate liquor, passion fruit puree and Tattinger champagne; I had Le Gran Bleu Grey Goose vodka, Grand Marnier, blue curacao, fresh lime juice and Tattinger champagne. They were both wonderful and yummy!
While enjoying our drinks Mom spotted a spout and the next time, after the spout, there was a tail! She found a humpback! You should have seen everyone in the bar, the sound level went up and everyone was so excited. Our previously serene piano bar was a beehive of activity for the next five minutes!
Dinner was the Golden Mickey menu in Parrot Cay. We had a delightful conversation with the table next to ours shes a professional belly dancer (evidently quite good, her instructor took her to Egypt to dance in a convention that her instructor was helping to teach at) and hes a musician.
Dinner was nice; Mom definitely had the better meal. We both had the fried cheese ravioli and broccoli and blue cheese soup. I had the gnocchi in cheese sauce both were very, very heavy. Mom had the Yachtsman Steakhouse Strip Steak which she said was wonderful!! For dessert she had the crème Brule and I had the triple strawberry sundae (strawberry ice cream with strawberry smoothie poured over the top and strawberry topping. Oh, and Mom had coffee with Baileys and the Baileys came in this really cool glass, it looks like a beaker on a stem. After dinner, I was so tired; we didnt even go out on deck to walk around. Just straight back to the room for bed!
happenin2you
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2009
I've cruised the Mexican Riviera twice during whale season and now Alaska and I haven't seen a whale. I obviously am not spending enough time watching. Although. on Tracy Arm day, I sat on deck 9 freezing my tush off from 11 am until 4 pm staring out the window and didn't see anything more than an eagle... Maybe the whales knew I was coming and hid?
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
hi all! thanks for the kind comments! I appreciate reading them!
twindaddy, we ended up with a 4c (I believe, I know for sure it was a 4, but I may have the wrong letter. It was 8042.)
And now - part 1 of what should have been Tracy Arm day!!
_______________________________________________
We woke around 7:30, got our act together, then headed to Tritons for a lovely sit-down breakfast! Eric from the UK took excellent care of us and we enjoyed a delightful meal. Afterwards, we bundled up and headed to deck 10 for some sightseeing. And for this Texas girl it is COLD!!!! Cold, cold, cold!!
But the mountains are beautiful. Theyre snow-capped and in the distance, a little foggy.
Mom gave it up after a little bit, but I stayed out another 5 minutes or so for pictures, and then quickly followed her back to the stateroom, by way of the hot chocolate dispenser.
We enjoyed the view from our stateroom for a while, we had the door open, but sat inside in the room where it was warm only going outside when we thought we saw different creatures. And once we did! We saw otter! WooHoo!! (Yes, those little dots in the water are otter heads, thankyouverymuch!)
Click to play the video:
Off to bingo where Im pleased to announce I won! I won the third game on the fifth number called! (It had to be a diagonal line.) $270!
After bingo, we went back to the room for a few minutes, then up to Beach Blanket Bingo for lunch. They were grilling out! I got venison sausage (Yum!) and outside on deck they had grills set up with chicken, steak and salmon. I had both chicken and salmon. The chicken was very good and the salmon was nice, but the fish taste did come back to get you. Mom ended up at Plutos Dog House and got a hamburger. We brought it back down to the room to eat.
While we were out, the Captain came on to announce that Tracy Arm was too icy still and that the cruise ships havent been able to make it all the way down. So he remapped us through the Endicott Arm to see the Dawes glacier.
((Warning it gets a little picture intense for the next bit! No really, it hasnt been that intense before now! ))
Were just about to make a left turn at Albuquerq... Um Endicott Arm Well travel down the river-looking area that comes into view in this video:
We made it up through the ice flows (sadly, we didnt see any bears, eagles or mountain goats). Were surrounded by humongous mountains and the stillness is only broken by the clomping and chair dragging from the pool deck right above us. Actually, I thought it interesting you can hear the water lap on the ice flows. If you close your eyes and pretend youre not wearing 18 layers of winter clothes, youd think you were at the beach from the sounds.
twindaddy, we ended up with a 4c (I believe, I know for sure it was a 4, but I may have the wrong letter. It was 8042.)
And now - part 1 of what should have been Tracy Arm day!!
_______________________________________________
We woke around 7:30, got our act together, then headed to Tritons for a lovely sit-down breakfast! Eric from the UK took excellent care of us and we enjoyed a delightful meal. Afterwards, we bundled up and headed to deck 10 for some sightseeing. And for this Texas girl it is COLD!!!! Cold, cold, cold!!
But the mountains are beautiful. Theyre snow-capped and in the distance, a little foggy.
Mom gave it up after a little bit, but I stayed out another 5 minutes or so for pictures, and then quickly followed her back to the stateroom, by way of the hot chocolate dispenser.
We enjoyed the view from our stateroom for a while, we had the door open, but sat inside in the room where it was warm only going outside when we thought we saw different creatures. And once we did! We saw otter! WooHoo!! (Yes, those little dots in the water are otter heads, thankyouverymuch!)
Click to play the video:
Off to bingo where Im pleased to announce I won! I won the third game on the fifth number called! (It had to be a diagonal line.) $270!
After bingo, we went back to the room for a few minutes, then up to Beach Blanket Bingo for lunch. They were grilling out! I got venison sausage (Yum!) and outside on deck they had grills set up with chicken, steak and salmon. I had both chicken and salmon. The chicken was very good and the salmon was nice, but the fish taste did come back to get you. Mom ended up at Plutos Dog House and got a hamburger. We brought it back down to the room to eat.
While we were out, the Captain came on to announce that Tracy Arm was too icy still and that the cruise ships havent been able to make it all the way down. So he remapped us through the Endicott Arm to see the Dawes glacier.
((Warning it gets a little picture intense for the next bit! No really, it hasnt been that intense before now! ))
Were just about to make a left turn at Albuquerq... Um Endicott Arm Well travel down the river-looking area that comes into view in this video:
We made it up through the ice flows (sadly, we didnt see any bears, eagles or mountain goats). Were surrounded by humongous mountains and the stillness is only broken by the clomping and chair dragging from the pool deck right above us. Actually, I thought it interesting you can hear the water lap on the ice flows. If you close your eyes and pretend youre not wearing 18 layers of winter clothes, youd think you were at the beach from the sounds.
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
We did see an ice flow flip over – Mom heard the naturalist say that if a flow was the glacial blue that meant it had flipped over within the last 4-6 hours. Any longer than that and they look white. We finally reached the glacier around 3:45 – it’s huge. As we arrived at the glacier, the sun came back out. I saw a splash right by the glacier – I think from a calving, but no actual ice falling. We went straight at the glacier and got much closer than I thought we would. Maybe ½ mile, 1 mile away? Then, the captain slowly spun the Wonder so the port side had a straight on view. Then, very slowly, he spun the ship back the way we came so the starboard side also got a nice long look.
And a video sweep of the view from our verandah:
Even the crew were out on the Captain’s lookout for the view!
From there, we headed back up the fjord.
Mom laid down for a nap and I went out to deck four to see if you could tell a difference in the ice flows by being closer. (Note the lovely necklace I’m wearing!! Thank you so much to the Wagner’s for the great fish extender gift!)
It’s a sea monster!!
You could see much more detail on them. While out on deck, I found seals! Just like in the pictures - relaxing on ice flows!
On my way back to the stateroom, I stopped in the atrium to see “Dangerous Catch” Mickey.
Look how smooth the water is – the only movement is our wake.
After a while, we went to play Bingo but sadly, no winning this time. For dinner, we decided to go to Beach Blanket Buffet – it was still a couple of hours until our dining time and Mom wanted their porterhouse steak.
Sadly, the meal was less than stellar. We couldn’t walk between the tables without having to move chairs, the salad bar was hard to reach and the lettuce was white with very little green, our glasses were not addressed until after we had finished our entrees and Mom’s porterhouse had a strange sauce on it and was overdone. Feeling slightly out of sorts after the less-than-satisfying meal, we headed down to the Cadillac Lounge. Where we made the mistake of trying different drinks – both of which look identical – and we’re still not sure if the waitress gave us the right drinks (especially since she came back later and asked us why we had switched drinks – and we hadn’t, we were drinking the ones she gave us) – and neither were especially good. At this point, we decided that maybe it was time to call it a night. We went back to the room, played a little skipbo and watched some classic Disney cartoons.
And a video sweep of the view from our verandah:
Even the crew were out on the Captain’s lookout for the view!
From there, we headed back up the fjord.
Mom laid down for a nap and I went out to deck four to see if you could tell a difference in the ice flows by being closer. (Note the lovely necklace I’m wearing!! Thank you so much to the Wagner’s for the great fish extender gift!)
It’s a sea monster!!
You could see much more detail on them. While out on deck, I found seals! Just like in the pictures - relaxing on ice flows!
On my way back to the stateroom, I stopped in the atrium to see “Dangerous Catch” Mickey.
Look how smooth the water is – the only movement is our wake.
After a while, we went to play Bingo but sadly, no winning this time. For dinner, we decided to go to Beach Blanket Buffet – it was still a couple of hours until our dining time and Mom wanted their porterhouse steak.
Sadly, the meal was less than stellar. We couldn’t walk between the tables without having to move chairs, the salad bar was hard to reach and the lettuce was white with very little green, our glasses were not addressed until after we had finished our entrees and Mom’s porterhouse had a strange sauce on it and was overdone. Feeling slightly out of sorts after the less-than-satisfying meal, we headed down to the Cadillac Lounge. Where we made the mistake of trying different drinks – both of which look identical – and we’re still not sure if the waitress gave us the right drinks (especially since she came back later and asked us why we had switched drinks – and we hadn’t, we were drinking the ones she gave us) – and neither were especially good. At this point, we decided that maybe it was time to call it a night. We went back to the room, played a little skipbo and watched some classic Disney cartoons.
barbbarnes
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
Your pictures are wonderful! I can't believe that there is somewhere so naturally beautiful and we are lucky enough to experience!
Sorry your dinner wasn't has wonderful, it stinks when you are looking forward to something and it's not what you expect.
I love your picture with Mickey too! How were the lines inside the atrium to do pics with the characters in there alaska gear? Did you see them up on deck when you were taking pics?
Thanks again for sharing!
Barb
Sorry your dinner wasn't has wonderful, it stinks when you are looking forward to something and it's not what you expect.
I love your picture with Mickey too! How were the lines inside the atrium to do pics with the characters in there alaska gear? Did you see them up on deck when you were taking pics?
Thanks again for sharing!
Barb
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
We were in the right place at the right time. Had we stepped into Beach Blanketk, I'm sure we couldn't have heard the announcements over the noise - but we were still outside with the 'wipey, wipey' handcleaning cloths, so we stayed to listen.
Thanks for the compliments! The line for Mickey wasn't bad at the time I went by - I waited maybe 5 minutes - I got there just before he did.
I never saw the characters up on deck, and when I asked a photographer about it, she said they had all gone inside already. It was starting to rain, so that may have been why - Mickey would have been fine in his gear, but Minnie's fur trim would have suffered...I should say - we saw the characters, but never planned on going to see them. When we saw them it would be when we were walking by and happened to notice them out and the line wasn't bad. Or like with Mickey - I happened to be walking through the Atrium, saw a fairly short line, checked the board and hopped in when I realized it was Mr. M.
Señor DonDuck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2010
Enjoying your updates. Love the pictures.
Very cool that they were grilling outside.
Very cool that they were grilling outside.
mrp4352
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
Thanks to everyone who's reading along!! I appreciate hearing from you!
I have a point and shoot - anKodak Easyshare Z981. It has a tone of zoom, 26x. I generally leave it on automatic, then use Photoshop Elements 9 for post-processing. But nothing really fancy - straightening the pics, lightening or darkening, cropping, that kind of thing. I love my camera! Thanks, Mom!!
I have a point and shoot - anKodak Easyshare Z981. It has a tone of zoom, 26x. I generally leave it on automatic, then use Photoshop Elements 9 for post-processing. But nothing really fancy - straightening the pics, lightening or darkening, cropping, that kind of thing. I love my camera! Thanks, Mom!!
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