Back in 2012, my family sailed on a 7-Night Cruise on the Disney Wonder. Instead of embarking out of the Port of Vancouver, back then, our cruise left from the Port of Seattle. Our itinerary included sailing to Tracy Arm and then port stops at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. We had one at sea day before we reached Tracy Arm to view glaciers from the ship. We were in a 5B verandah on the forward starboard side of the ship. Our twins were eight years old when we sailed. Here are excerpts from my trip report journal from that sailing. I hope you find them helpful if you decide to cruise with younger children. We loved the Alaska cruise on the Wonder so much that we sailed seven years later (this time out of Vancouver) when our girls were fifteen!
Day One: Boarding the Wonder. But first: Sleepless in Seattle!
Our Disney cruise officially starts when we board the Disney Wonder at Seattle’s Smith Cove Pier. We spent three nights in Seattle beforehand. I am so glad we arrived early. My husband, Steve, had been to Seattle numerous times on business, but the other three of us had never been before. Seattle is a beautiful city. No rain for us while we were here; it was in the low 80s every day. We stayed in the Seattle Sheraton which is in the heart of downtown and very convenient to Pike Place Market and the waterfront. We got lots of exercise walking around and then recharged our batteries with some yummy seafood. Some Seattle highlights included walking around the Olympic Sculpture Garden, looking at the beautiful flowers for sale at Pike Place Market, visiting the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center (we bought our tickets beforehand online), and going over to Bellevue to hang out with some dear friends.
As we walked around our hotel on the morning of embarkation, it was easy to spot people who are going on our Disney cruise. Or, maybe I should say that it was super easy for other cruisers to spot us. We wore black t-shirts with “Midnight Sun Mouseketeers” emblazoned across our chests! Although we tried to pack reasonably, we did have to pack fleece jackets, sturdy shoes, mittens, and other cold-weather gear. We ended up with four large duffle bags, one medium bag, a camera backpack, and my carry-on. Our duffle bags were easy to spot as we purchased Hawaiian print luggage from Lands End. The bags have a lifetime guarantee and they collapse down easily to store underneath the bed on the ship. The other great plus with this type of luggage is that they are on wheels and so manageable that even our eight-year-olds could help. My tip for the day was best summarized in two words: packing cubes. We used four different colors of packing cubes in all different sizes for our clothes and other essentials. It was so efficient to lift them out of our bags and directly into the drawers in our stateroom.
Our taxi ride from the hotel to the pier only cost us $10 — super quick and inexpensive. We could have purchased Disney transfers from the hotel but we opted to get to the ship on our own. We arrived at Smith Cove Pier at 9:45 am, went through security, and got all checked in promptly afterward. Our boarding number was three, meaning that we would get to board the ship soon. We were fifth in line to also get our children, Hope and Skye, their Kids Club wristbands. I had done all of the paperwork for this beforehand online so this process also worked seamlessly.
When we boarded I made a beeline to Guest Services to try to get tea party tickets for our twins. We did that tea party activity on an earlier Disney cruise and our girls loved having tea with Alice and the Mad Hatter. While I attempted to get tea party tickets, Steve and the girls headed up to the pool deck to take a plunge in the Mickey Pool. They wanted to enjoy some pool time because it might be the last day of warm sunshine that we will see for a while.
My journal now goes into "while we are cruising" mode. Let the fun to Alaska on the High Seas begin!
Day Two: At Sea Towards the Glaciers
Our first "At Sea" day. We will be covering a lot of ocean and inside passage water as we cruise north toward the glaciers. It is great to have this time to sleep in and explore the ship. Our time out in the Pacific was a bit rocky so we were all glad to have some seasickness medicine. I strongly urge anyone contemplating cruising to look into this before your departure. On previous cruises, I tried sea bands, patches behind the ear (prescribed by a doctor), and over-the-counter sea sickness tablets. This time, we took our medicine and had no issues at all!
In the morning, Hope and Skye were so thrilled to go to the Kids Club to make some morning crafts. When Skye was ready to leave earlier than her sister, the youth counselors simply called us on the wave phone and we went and retrieved her. Skye was eager to go to an animation class to draw Mickey Mouse. While she went to the class with her Dad, I attended a presentation about shopping in the ports. Disney has a personal shopping guide on all four ships to give cruises lots of great information about where to buy souvenirs, high-end jewelry, and other gifts from reputable companies. She even hands out coupons for free gifts that you can get at various stores in the ports of call. After the shopping presentation ended, I stopped by to check in on Hope and she shooed me away!
The rest of our day was so enjoyable. Tonight was formal night and we got a chance to get all dressed up in our formal attire. Captain Thord held a reception in the atrium and DCL photographers snapped some great pictures that we could examine later up in Shutters Shutters is the area where the photos are located and where you can purchase various packages. Afterward, we had a great meal in Tritons Restaurant, and then we went to the Walt Disney Theatre to watch the Golden Mickey Awards. It is so amazing to watch Broadway-style theatre productions on board the cruise ship and this particular production is a family favorite.
We had such a great day on the Disney Wonder. Tomorrow will be another fantastic day at sea as we cruise northward to see the glaciers.
Day Three: Our At Sea Day Going Through Tracy Arm Fjord
As I write this on my lounge chair on deck 10, the sun is shining, my kids are sipping some yummy hot chocolate, and everyone is looking at the breathtaking scenery that is all around us. Life couldn’t get any better than this!
Sunrise in Alaska was at 5:38 am. Once the children woke up we headed down to Parrot Cay for a character breakfast. The kids had their autograph books handy for Mickey, Chip, Dale, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy to sign. Afterward, we dropped the kids (at their request) off at the Oceaneer Club so that they could meet up with their new friends and partake in the Junior Ranger program. Later on, they will head up to the Sports Deck for secured programming called Base Camp, a program unique to the Disney Wonder’s Alaska cruises. It allows children to enjoy the beautiful scenery while also participating in fun activities with the Youth Activities team.
One of the wonderful special programming touches Disney provides is to hire experts to come on board to enlighten passengers about the area where we will be cruising. On this cruise, Disney hired Alaskan naturalist Scott Foster, who has lived in Juneau since 1974. Yesterday, we attended a lecture on kayaking, and today we went to one on the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush. After we left the lecture we walked out on deck four and saw orca whales flipping their tails in slow motion in the sparkling water. It was quite a sight. A few minutes later the captain announced over the loudspeaker that a pod of whales was following us.
Now we are entering Tracy Arm. It is a fjord located in the Tongass National Forest. The mountains that we are cruising by right now are about 7,000 feet high. At the end of the fjord are the twin Sawyer Glaciers, North Sawyer and South Sawyer. All along the way we see breathtaking scenery with mountains rising from the water directly up to the clouds. The water is a beautiful green color and some of the icebergs that pass us by have an incredible blue coloring. As the Wonder approaches the glacier, we see hundreds of seals sunning themselves on the ice. Eagles are soaring overhead. And up on the craggy cliffs are three mountain goats that are moving in and out of spruce trees.
Everyone is having a unique experience out on the decks. It is warm enough that some people are actually swimming in the heated pools. It does seem kind of strange to see swimsuits and mittens being worn all on one deck! One of my girls, Hope, wanted to go to Base Camp and she is having a great time playing dodgeball and other games with her new friends. My other daughter, Skye, is more content to hang by our side and give high fives to some of the Disney characters who keep walking by. She has spotted Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and even the two bears from the Brother Bear movie.
And while Disney frivolity is certainly afoot, we keep experiencing amazing scenery around every bend. Words fall short to describe the glacial beauty of Tracy Arm. It is so incredibly humbling to take in the divine majesty of Sawyer Glacier.
My family is on an emotional high after spending such a wonderful day cruising through Tracy Arm. Alaska is breathtakingly beautiful. I highly recommend booking a Disney cruise to this truly majestic place.
Day Four: Cruising North to Skagway
Today, we will be enjoying our first foray off the ship in the port of Skagway, which is located at the northernmost tip of the Inside Passage. Our scheduled port adventure is a White Pass Railway excursion with an attached youth-exclusive activity. We met our group in the Walt Disney theatre bright and early at 7:30 am. We woke up early because we were so excited to get off the ship and do some exploring of Alaska’s beautiful interior.
Our excursion was a relaxing railroad ride into the Yukon. Skye and Hope were excited because they would be with some other friends they had made in the Oceaneer Lab and the Oceaneer Club who were also on the train. All of the kids on this excursion rode in a car with their parents on the way up. But once we reached the summit (where we briefly entered Canada before we turned around and went back down), the Disney youth counselors then escorted the kids to their own private car for some crafts and games.
The historian in me can’t resist adding a little history here. The narrow gauge railroad route we were traveling on was connected to the Gold Rush fever. The Klondike Gold Rush began when the precious mineral was discovered in 1896 at a site along the Klondike River. Once news leaked out, miners rushed from all over the world to the gold fields. One main route they took was first by foot (with a ton of gear) over the White Pass Trail. The Yukon Route Railroad was built to make the journey easier. The White Pass and Yukon Route rise from sea level to over 3,000 feet at the summit.
On our ride up, the conductor gave the kids their own personal binocular sets that they got to keep afterward. Everyone was in a good mood as the train chugged through town and started the long ascent up the White Pass. Along our route, we saw traces of the trail used by miners who hoped to strike it rich during Alaska’s gold rush. Our route was 40 miles long from start to finish, and we experienced plenty of steep grades along the way. I can’t imagine what it was like for those gold rush hikers of more than a century ago who traveled over treacherous terrain in the pursuit of fortune.
The scenery out of our windows was so beautiful. Peaks all around us stretched to the sky. Waterfalls were common sights along the way. Tip for the day: if you book this excursion on a future cruise, the best side to be on is the left side going up and the right side going down. Don’t panic, however, if you are seated on the wrong side as when the train reaches the summit, the conductor makes all the passengers switch sides so that everyone can experience the best views on at least one leg of the trip.
If you ask my kids what was their favorite part of the train excursion, they would say it was when they rode in the Youth Car on the way down. The kids got to hang out together, they danced with flashlights when the train went through dark tunnels, and they generally had a rollicking good time with their youth counselors. While the kids were being entertained, their parents were handed glasses of champagne or sparkling cider to enjoy.
When we got back to the historic downtown of Skagway it was full of tourists as several cruise ships were in port. The restaurants were bursting at the seams and the shops were jam-packed too. We wandered around a little bit, went into the train museum, and then decided to forego the crowds. We walked the half mile or so back to the Wonder, marveling at how beautiful the ship looked against the background of snow-capped peaks. The ship wasn’t crowded at all, so we grabbed some food at Beach Blanket Buffet. Our kids even swam in the heated pool with some of their new friends.
Some people booked two excursions for Skagway. We were glad we only chose one as we found plenty to do on the ship. We swam in the heated pool, watched the premiere of “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” attended a Disney cruise trivia session, and enjoyed a snack from room service that we took out on our verandah. This was another great day in Sunny Alaska!
Day Five: Whales, Eagles, And Bears in Juneau
Our port of call today is Alaska’s capitol city of Juneau, which happens to be the largest state capitol in the area in the United States. It is also the only state capital that is only accessible by air or by ship. If you want to drive to Juneau from elsewhere, you are out of luck! Juneau is the only capital in the United States that borders another country (Canada). Thus far, our cruise weather has been incredible — surprisingly not a single drop of rain has landed on us yet. We have about seven hours to spend in Juneau with all ashore time at approximately 6:30 am and all aboard at 2:00 pm.
The Disney port adventure planned for today is called the Whale Watching and Science Adventure. Our excursion met in Wave Bands and after everyone in our group arrived, we headed off the ship for our grand adventure. Led by a naturalist guide and his helper, the plan for the next five hours was to help NOA A (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) with some ongoing research while we were also having some great fun observing some sea creatures, sea birds, and other wildlife.
The first part of our trip led us out to the waters of Stephens Passage where we would view whales, eagles, porpoises, sea lions, and sea birds in their natural habitat. Three other families from the Wonder were on our safari vessel, so our group was fortunately quite small. Our tip for the day: remember to bring your binoculars to Alaska. We were so glad we did as there has been great stuff to be seen through them since the beginning of our cruise.
After listening to a safety talk by Captain Tim, we were on our way out into open water. Our naturalist guide, Ranger Scott, told the children that they would help him be on the lookout for the European Green Crab, which is an invasive species in the area. The children were also tapped into service to pull a research trap out of the water to see what sea dwellers could be found under the water. Ranger Scott’s little helpers also assisted him by taking measurements of the water temperature, salinity, and plankton levels. They then recorded their findings on special sheets that would be sent to various project leaders at NOAA.
We also were charged to be on the lookout for whales, seals, and porpoises. We went by several sea lions that were on a buoy sunning themselves. As we went further out we were thrilled to observe some Dall's porpoises that started playing and jumping around our boat. Captain Tim also pointed out an eagle's nest high up in the Sitka spruce. Oystercatchers, scoters, and gulls flew by us as we kept our eyes peeled for large forms in the water.
And then along came the whales! Our group was fortunate to have the opportunity to observe a pod of humpbacks that were feeding. An important way to identify humpbacks is by the markings on their tails. The children assisted Ranger Scott by recording whale tail sightings. Whales that had been given such nicknames as Flame, Flash, Sasha, and Barnacles, slowly lifted their tails out of the water while we watched on. In all, we spotted 10-15 different whales on our excursion. It truly was an awesome sight, scanning the water for whale spouts; once spotted, we then observed the massive whales dive down into the ocean. The naturalist did not recognize one whale tail. He had not seen it before, nor was it in the local whale tail catalog that is brought along on every whale-watching expedition. We plan on researching it when we return home (on the NOAA website), and sending our photograph to the scientist at NOAA who is working on the project.
Our time on the water was so incredible. Our excursion was not over yet, as more adventures awaited after we got off the boat we headed for Mendenhall Glacier. The Glacier is twelve miles long from its origin on the Juneau ice field to its end at Mendenhall Lake. Once we arrived at the park entrance, Ranger Scott enlisted the help of the children once again. This time, the kids took more temperature and salinity readings of a creek where salmon were spawning.
The kids were also charged with watching for bears. While we were hiking, a mother bear and two cubs made a special appearance. The two bear cubs headed up a tree when they spotted us! Their bleating calls for their mother were sounds we will never forget. Our half-mile hike took us to Mendenhall Lake, which was full of large chunks of white ice floating in the sunshine. After an informative talk about glaciers by Ranger Scott, our group reluctantly returned to our van for the short trip back to town.
Our time in Juneau was so worthwhile. We had an amazing time and learned all kinds of interesting things. Don’t just think if you get on a Disney cruise it is all about eating and entertainment. Some of the excursions pack in a lot of educational material. The Alaska Whale Watching and Science Adventure gets a huge thumbs up from my family!
Day 6: Flying High Over Ketchikan and the Misty Fjords
Our port of call today is Ketchikan. It has the reputation of being the Salmon Capital of Alaska. It also is known for being one of the rainiest spots on our planet. Not so on the day we visited Ketchikan — we enjoyed sunny skies the whole time we were there. Our grand adventure today is to go up in a privately chartered float plane to see the Misty Fjords. During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, Misty Fjords became a national monument, meaning that this national treasure will be forever preserved and protected.
Our float plane trip to the Misty Fjords was wonderful and one that will be forever recorded in our brain cells as a “never forget this” trip. We used Island Wings, which had been highly recommended on several reputable travel sites. Our family and another family from the Wonder were met at the port. We were then driven a short distance to where several companies docked their float planes. We were up, up, and away in fairly short order after first getting a safety lesson from our pilot, Michelle. As we flew through Misty Fjords, Michelle pointed out some breathtaking sights. We peered through our small windows to view amazing landscapes. Huge snow-capped mountains stretched up to the heavens. As we looked down, green islands popped out of nowhere. Mountains and water were everywhere. It reminded us of the Rock Islands of Palau, with the difference being that we were seeing Sitka spruce and hemlock instead of palm trees!
Our pilot landed the float plane on a high mountain lake so that we could stretch our legs and see the Misty Fjords from another perspective. We were high up so it was a bit chilly, however, Michelle mentioned that it was unseasonably hot for this time in August. Tip for the day: if you take a float plane excursion in Ketchikan, the best time to go is early in the morning. Our wonderful pilot said that the craggy granite mountains would heat up during the day, causing thermals that would mean a bumpy ride back for those going later on in the day. We saw so many unbelievable views out of our small windows on the plane. The pictures that are attached to this essay only tell part of the story. You really need to go up, up, up, to see the sheer majesty of this incredible place. All of us on the plane were so humbled by what we saw.
Our float plane trip lasted for two hours. Afterward, we explored the charming town and ventured up to Creek Street to do some window shopping. We passed a pub, listened to our growling tummies (and some whiny “mommy and daddy we are hungry voices”), and decided that food ruled over souvenirs so we made a u-turn back to the pub. Afterward, we slowly made our way back to the Wonder. Once we boarded, the children wanted to swim, so we all headed up to Deck Nine for some family time in the sunshine. Are we really in Alaska instead of back home in Virginia?
Our weather on this cruise has been unbelievable. We have yet to experience a single raindrop on this cruise. Will our luck hold? Stay tuned!
Day 7: Bound for Victoria
Today finds us spending most of our day at sea until we reach Victoria around 6 pm. This is our last day on the Wonder and we are feeling a bit blue that our awesome Alaskan cruise is nearing the end. Instructions about how to handle our luggage arrangements and port-to-airport transfers greeted us on our stateroom bed when we returned from breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, Steve and I only sipped coffee as we watched the kids down their muffins, fruit, and cereal. We had ten o’clock brunch reservations at Palo and were saving room for that culinary extravagance.
Fast forward a few hours: our Palo brunch was wonderful. We were seated in the private dining room with several other cruisers we had met beforehand on a meet board. One of the people in our party was booked in the Walt Disney suite and was able to work with the stateside concierge to book our party in a private room. We spent some enjoyable time together in Palo’s private room, savoring some delicious food and exchanging stories about our excursions and our experiences on board the ship.
Afterward, we went to the Oceaneer Club and the Oceaneer Lab to retrieve Skye and Hope. We had to pry them out of those two venues, which is an indication that the youth activity counselors were doing a wonderful job getting the kids involved. A few hours later, the girls headed back to the Lab to practice for a program called Friendship Rocks. Friendship Rocks was something that our children had never done before. It is basically a small sing-along that all of the Kids Club children perform on the stage of the Walt Disney Theatre in front of their parents. The counselors also show a video of some of the special moments the kids shared together in the Club, in the Lab, and also up at Base Camp on Tracy Arm Day. Oh yes, Mickey and Minnie also make an appearance at Friendship Rocks too!
The weather, though sunny, was windy and much colder today. That didn’t stop our kids, and many others, from enjoying the heated pools and hot tubs while parents (like me!) wrapped up in blankets on the lounge chairs and watched a movie on the jumbotron. I spent some time blogging about our cruise on my iPad too. After watching the kids for a while with Steve, I excused myself and headed back to the stateroom to pack. We needed to have all of our luggage we wanted to check directly to our final destination out in the hallway by 10:30 pm. I preferred to get most of it done well ahead of time so that it was another thing that could be checked off of my “why bother to worry about this anymore” list.
The rest of our day flew by. We went down to Mickey’s Mates and Treasure Ketch so that Skye and Hope could add to their pin collection, plus get some for their friends too. We also added to our growing Disney cruise attire by getting some really cool Alaska itinerary shirts. We also couldn’t resist buying a Minnie Alaska doll! The shops locked their doors to customers right after we left because we were approaching Victoria and there is a rule that the Disney shops must be closed within a certain number of nautical miles of a port. Tip for the Day: on the last day before disembarkation, get your Disney shopping done early as it gets very crowded. The same tip holds true for getting your photos orders completed early in the day at Shutters before it gets too crowded later on.
We chose to stay on the ship when we reached Victoria. The small amount of time in this port (barely four hours in the evening) simply didn’t appeal to us, nor did having to take a shuttle from where we docked into downtown Victoria. Instead, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner on board in Animator’s Palate and enjoyed the service of our wonderful server Roland and assistant server Freddy. We let the kids play one last time in the Lab and Club before we turned their wristbands in. While the children were playing, Steve and I enjoyed a stroll around the top decks (it was windy and chilly). We then retrieved the children and returned to the stateroom to tuck them into bed.
Our weary children fell asleep before their heads barely hit their pillows. Steve and I then decided it was time to place our luggage (except for the essentials we would need in our carryons) outside of our stateroom door. When we peeked out the door a few minutes later, lo and behold, all the luggage had already been magically whisked away.
It is hard to believe that our wonderful Alaskan Adventure is coming to an end. Stay tuned for debarkation day when we say goodbye to the Disney Wonder and offer some parting thoughts.
Day 8: Debarkation Day in Seattle
This morning is our last one on board the beautiful Disney Wonder. So many magical memories have occurred on board this beautiful ship. Debarkation morning is always a sad time for departing passengers. We woke up early and peeked outside our verandah to see the docking process underway in the Port of Seattle. Our stateroom looked very bare, given that all our luggage except for our carry-ons had been removed the night before.
After we double-checked all of the drawers, closets, and the closet safe, we grabbed our belongings and headed down to breakfast. We spotted our stateroom host as we were leaving and gave him a big hug and a thank you for everything he had done to make our vacation a truly magical one. Our stateroom was spotless and the children loved all of the towel animals he made for them every night. We felt that our Wonder staff (the stateroom host, dining server, assistant server, and head server) went above and beyond, and wanted to give them a nice gratuity for their great service to us during our vacation week.
We then headed down to Animator’s Palate for our final breakfast Our family had grown attached to our head server, Roland, who was from India, and our assistant server, Freddy, who was from Colombia. Both of them had truly gotten to understand our dietary needs and had turned our dining experience into something over-the-top wonderful. It was very hard saying goodbye to them. We will definitely request them again.
Afterward, we headed off the ship. Because we had checked in ahead of time and also purchased transfers to SEATAC, all we had to do was to walk off the ship, show our passports and our customs card to the appropriate officials, and then hop on a Disney bus headed to the airport.
Goodbye Disney Wonder! We had a great time walking your decks and hope our cruise paths will cross again.
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