After having an amazing time on the Wish earlier this year, we took our second Disney cruise in May (to Alaska)! Mr. Vacationista and I have been on Alaskan cruises before (not with Disney), but it was Little Vacationista's first time. I was most excited to go back to Skagway Fish Company and couldn't wait for the colder weather.
Vancouver
Our trip started with a flight to Vancouver. We landed in the early afternoon and grabbed an Uber to the hotel. Because we were only staying for one night before the cruise, we decided to book the Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel. It's literally connected to the cruise terminal so you can't get any more convenient than that! The hotel itself was in a great location (did I mention connected to the cruise terminal?) and had great waterfront views. The downside was that it was very, very busy. Lines for check-in were long and they almost ran out of capacity to store our bags because our room wasn't ready yet when we arrived (luckily we combined some bags so it worked out). Despite the crowds, I would definitely recommend it for a pre-cruise hotel because of the convenience.
Our first stop after checking in was dim sum at Kirin restaurant. It was an easy 10-minute walk from the hotel. After lunch, we headed over to Stanley Park to visit the Vancouver Aquarium. Little Vacationista loves ocean life and enjoyed the aquarium. Then it was back to the hotel to check out the rooftop pool. After some swimming, we went next door to Miku. Food was good but not great, views were fantastic. We got gelato at Uno Gelato and then called it a night.
The next morning, we had a few hours before our boarding time for the Disney Wonder. We had breakfast at the hotel, which had a view of the Disney ship! Then we decided to walk around outside to get pictures of the ship.
We headed over to FlyOver Canada (also at Canada Place), which is a Soarin-like ride but you're flying over Canada. Then it was time to head back to the room to check out. Luggage transfer was super easy - we called the bell desk and they sent someone up to grab the luggage. Then they transfer the luggage over to the ship for you. We ended up tipping about $5 per bag for the service.
Embarkation
We arrived at the cruise terminal right around our port arrival time (make sure to check-in at midnight when your check-in opens if you want an earlier port arrival time!). Embarkation was pretty uneventful (a good thing) and then we were on board the Disney Wonder!
We decided to do a sit-down lunch after we boarded so we headed over to Tiana's. The three sit-down restaurants on board are Tiana's Place, Animator's Palate, and Triton's (Little Mermaid theme). You rotate through these for dinner (different menus each night), and usually one of them is open for a sit-down lunch each day. You can also head up to the buffet at Cabanas. There are a few options on the pool deck outside Cabanas where you can find pizza, burgers, bowls, etc. but we rarely ate there (except for grabbing ice cream from Eye Scream) because it was too cold outside.
After lunch, we explored the ship for a bit and then headed over to check out our balcony cabin once it was available.
The size of the room was pretty similar to the room we had on the Wish, but the decor was definitely more nautical and older than on the Wonder.
After the muster drill, it was off to the Sail-a-Wave party. Because we were on a Silver Anniversary sailing, we saw Mickey and friends in their special Silver Anniversary outfits.
Our first dinner was in Animator's Palate.
After dinner, Little Vacationista and I went to get pedicures overlooking the ocean. Super expensive but great views! Then it was off to bed.
Day at Sea
Our first full day was a day at sea. I am not a fan of sea days because everything on the ship gets very crowded. We even had trouble finding seating in Cabanas (buffet) on sea days. This wasn't as big of an issue on the Wish because there was plenty of outdoor seating. Unfortunately, if you are on an Alaska sailing, it is cold and no one sits outside which means difficulty finding indoor tables.
If you are looking for a good specialty coffee (additional $), I highly recommend the Cove Cafe (next to the adult pool). That was my first stop every morning of the cruise.
For our first sea day, I had booked the Royal Gathering (free) and Royal Court Tea (expensive). If you are interested in these, you have to go online to book them as soon as your booking window opens. If they are sold out, keep checking back because spots will open as others cancel. The Royal Gathering involves meeting and taking pictures with a few princesses. The day we went we met Cinderella, Tiana, and Belle but the princesses can change. Because you need reservations (even though it's free), the lines move pretty fast. The Royal Court Tea is a tea party with princesses where kids get a bunch of different presents including a doll, purse, autograph book, bracelet, etc. Cinderella, Belle, and Rapunzel were at the tea party and there is a "show" as you are having your tea.
I'm glad we tried the Royal Court Tea but I wouldn't do it again. On the Wish, they had Olaf's Royal Picnic in place of the Royal Tea and I think I liked that show better.
Dinner was at Tiana's where there's a live band and Tiana and Louis (the crocodile) stop by. The evening show was the Golden Mickey's, which was one of my favorite shows on the Wonder.
Glacier Viewing Day
Technically another day at sea, but you are cruising the inside passage to the glacier so the views are amazing. And Mickey and friends dress up in their Alaska gear and take pictures on the decks.
Note they do have an excursion you can book where you take a smaller boat to get closer to the glacier. I had originally booked it but decided to cancel because I didn't want to miss the character photos in their Alaska outfits. It's a popular one so book early if you want to do that one.
Back to the pictures, which may be the main reason I booked this cruise. Get there at least 30 minutes early to wait in line. They will close the lines. Each of the characters have multiple time slots and we literally just stood in lines to take pictures with characters all day.
Sadly, they will move the pictures to the covered deck if it starts to rain (which happens often in Alaska). So we didn't get the amazing views with Minnie.
If you have your heart set on pictures with characters in their Alaska gear, do it on glacier viewing day. They will wear the gear on some of the other days as well but you won't get the amazing backgrounds! Just be prepared for the long waits because it will take all day.
Tonight was the Freezing the Night Away Frozen Deck Party. Cute but definitely not as good as Pirate night on the other ships (the Wonder doesn't have a Pirate night, it has the Frozen night instead).
Skagway
Yay, back on land! Skagway was our first port and we had booked the Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp and Salmon Bake. The reason I booked this was because of the exclusive Disney characters that stop by the excursion. Liarsville is a little historic "town." Activities include gold panning (Donald and Goofy stopped by to help), a puppet show, and s'mores by the fire.
The visit to Liarsville is followed by a salmon bake lunch. The lunch was the highlight of the excursion. Everything was delicious, especially the chicken, salmon (get the sauce), and the cake with the powdered sugar. Pretty low-key activity but definitely not the highlight of our trip.
After the excursion, we did some shopping in town then headed over to the Skagway Fish Company even though we had just eaten lunch at the excursion (my favorite restaurant in Alaska!). Get the king crab, it's soooo good. The crab is just fresh and sweet and delicious. Then it was back to the ship.
One of my favorite activities on the ship were the animation classes and we always went to them after getting back on board from the ports. They teach you to draw a different character each time. I especially loved the ones that took place in French Quarter Lounge where I could order a specialty latte (but skip the beignets cause they were not good).
The cool thing about Disney cruises is that they play new release movies on the ship. This evening was the big release of the live-action Little Mermaid. We actually skipped it because we were so tired and because we knew it was on the theater schedule the rest of the week.
Juneau
After skipping the Little Mermaid the night before, we decided to check it out the next morning before our excursion. I got there early in case it was crowded and we basically had the theater to ourselves.
After the movie, we went to the meeting point for our helicopter and dog sledding tour. Mr. Vacationista and I have actually done a similar excursion in the past. I loved it then and still loved it this time. Definitely one of the priciest excursions, but always the highlight of my cruise. After a short bus ride, we got our gear and boarded the helicopter to check out the amazing views.
After a scenic ride, we made it to Dogworld where the camp was. Then it was about a 20- minute dog sledding adventure on the glacier.
We said thanks to the pups and then boarded the helicopter back. Then took a bus back to the port. Back on the ship, we checked out a slime making class in the kids club and then had dinner at Animator's Palate.
Ketchikan
Our last port was Ketchikan. We spent some time walking around and shopping before heading to the Lumberjack show. We booked the Disney Exclusive show, which included Goofy coming to kick off the show. The show itself was pretty entertaining and high energy. We all enjoyed it! Back onboard, I dragged the fam to bingo for the first time (can't believe I waited this long to play). And I had some beginner's luck because I actually got a bingo and won some money!
Day at Sea
Our last day on the ship was another day at sea. I tried to play bingo again (the final jackpot) and they sold out of tablets right before I got to the front of the line (even though I showed up 30 minutes early to wait in line). Don't miss the character dance party or the final farewell. Tons of characters come out (even the guy with the hook from Tangled) and you get to meet them and dance with them - one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Debarkation
We had breakfast on debarkation day and then were off the ship, back to the airport, and back to DFW with no delays!
Overall
If you're looking for an Alaskan cruise, I would definitely recommend Disney. A few final thoughts:
The ship itself is one of the older Disney ships. I honestly loved the Wish ship so much more because it was newer, grander, and just had really cool spaces throughout the ship. But, I still had a great time because I love Alaska, there was a ton to do, and the 7-night sailing actually allowed us to have a bit more downtime compared to our 3-night whirlwind on the Wish.
Entertainment is the reason I love cruising with Disney. The Golden Mickeys and the Frozen musical (the theater show, not the deck party) were both really good. I didn't like Dreams as much but it was still good. The dance parties, character meet and greets, animation classes, Disney trivia, magicians, etc. were all top notch. You can do as much as you want or as little as you want!
Alaska is beautiful and I will always love visiting. We had spectacular weather on our sailing (chilly but little rain), which definitely made it even more magical. Little Vacationista even keeps asking me when we can go back on an Alaskan cruise.
In typical Disney fashion, expect lines. Get there early if you want good seats for shows or if you want to meet characters. Book activities right when your booking window opens because they will sell out.
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