Category Archives: Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Ports – Juneau Alaska Whale Watching

Posted on by

DSCN1684Juneau, Alaska is one of the exciting ports visited on a Disney Cruise Line Alaskan Cruise.  While on the Disney Wonder in 2011, we booked an excursion called “Whale Watching and the Mendenhal Glacier” through Disney for our day in Juneau.  This excursion was interesting, action-packed, educational and still left us plenty of time to explore Juneau.

We met our group early (7:45 am) beforeDSCN1979 debarking the ship and taking a motor coach to a quiet marina where we boarded our whale watching vessel.  We had great weather for most of our cruise, but this day was chilly and overcast with a light drizzle. 

The tour guarantees whale spotting – and we did see a few whales (in the distance) and some seals, but there were not as many whales nearby as we’d hoped for.  I’m not sure if this was due to the time of year (early DSCN1988June) or simple bad luck, but we still enjoyed the experience and took lots of photos.  Our boat was enclosed with lots of windows for mostly unobstructed whale watching and there was a naturalist on board to explain the different types of animals seen on our tour.  I had heard that there were a LOT of bald eagles all around in Alaska and we found that to be absolutely true – we saw young eagles, old eagles, and even eagle nests (HUGE).  DSCN1983 

 

Next we re-boarded our motor coach and headed for the Mendenhall Glacier.  This 12-mile-long glacier has its own visitor center (operated as part of the Tongass National Forest) with many, detailed exhibits to explore.  It provides an excellent place to step inside where it’s dry and warm and learn about both Alaska and glaciers.  DSCN2012

The center also offers excellent glacier viewing areas.  The excursion schedule allowed plenty of time for touring the visitor center and walking outside to see and photograph the glacier.  If we had been there longer, there was a very interesting looking nature trail available for hiking that we would have loved to try.    

DSCN2017

We returned to the pier around 2:00 pm.  This left us time for exploring Juneau and allowed us to take advantage of the great souvenir shopping Alaska offers.  We could not believe the selection of tee-shirts, jackets, and other items at extremely reasonable prices!  The shirts we bought are still being worn regularly and still look great!   

 

This excursion is still available, but is now called “Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest” – it sounds exactly DSCN2027like what we did, but in reverse order.  The current price is $165 for adults and  $94 for children under 10.  If you are planning to visit Alaska on the Disney Cruise Line, this is a reasonably priced tour suitable for the entire family.  There was something enjoyable for all ages.DSCN1997

Disney Cruise Ports – Zip-lining in Skagway, Alaska

Posted on by

DSCN1625

 

Magical Memory Monday – Skagway! Alaskan Cruise 2011

I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed our opportunity to visit and learn about the great state of Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder.  Skagway was the second of four ports on our cruise.  Our departure was from Vancouver (loved!) before the ship visited Skagway, Juneau and finally Ketchikan (more on those another time).  We also spent a day aboard ship in Tracy Arm Fjord which is a destination (allows you to see the Sawyer Glacier), but you stay on the ship to enjoy it.  We booked excursions in three ports (Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan) through Disney Cruise Line, and while all of the excursions were enjoyable, our favorite by far was our adventure in Skagway.

We like thrills, we like action, and only one of us is afraid of heights – so we thought zip-liningDSCN1879 sounded just right for us.   We met with our group on the ship at 8:45 am before heading off on our bus ride which included a short tour of Skagway before taking us to basecamp in Dyea.  The scenery is spectacular and, this may sound weird, but the air is the cleanest, freshest air – more on that in a minute. 

Once we reached the “Musher’s Camp” area, we boarded a Unimog for the upward climb to the zip lines.  A unimog is an open air, all terrain vehicle (Mercedes) that gained its fame during World War II.  Along the way, our driver pointed out the abundant sphagnum moss growing in this scenic rain forest –  he told us that sphagnum DSCN1881only grows where the air and water are both extremely clean.  So as we rode in the chilly air, we all stuck our faces out into the breeze and took deep breaths of the clean air – heading up, up, up towards our ELEVEN zip lines and four suspension bridges which would take us over glacier fed waterfalls and rapids in the incredible wilderness.  FYI:  The moss is extremely think and spongy on the ground – you can actually bounce on it.  If you ever find yourself standing on moss in the Alaskan rainforest, give it a try.  

First we were given our equipment (harnesses, helmets, and gloves) and received anDSCN1892 instructional lecture before practicing on the training line.  This line was short and low to the ground – easy.  We were ready!  Our small group consisted of the four of us along with a mother and her tween-ish son (also from our cruise).  Our two guides, young men both with a great sense of humor, were from other parts of the U.S., just summering in Alaska to work as zip line guides (we thought that sounded like a lot of fun).

The longest line was about 750 feet, but all the lines were a LOT of fun.  Megan is a tiny bit afraid of heights so we thought we might have to, well, ummm….shove her off the platform when her turn DSCN1917came, but she surprised us all with her bravery!  We all had a fantastic time and would do this excursion again in a heartbeat.           

Mammoth Waterfalls & Ultra Zip Line Adventure – was the name of the Disney Cruise Line excursion when we were in Skagway.  I see the name has been changed to Grizzly Falls Ziplining Expedition.  It is listed on the cruise line’s current excursion menu at $169 per person.  If you are booked on an Alaskan cruise, I highly recommend this activity IF you’re traveling without children or if your children are at least 10 years old.

Have you ever cruised or thought about cruising in Alaska?  I’d love to hear about it!

Disney at Home – Ratatouille Wine Print

Posted on by

IMG_1867 (2)

Disney at Home – Favorite Disney Cruise Souvenir

As a family of Disney fans, we don’t have as much Disney stuff around the house as you might imagine.  Oh, don’t get me wrong – visitors to our home figure it out quickly enough, but mostly, our Disney-ness is subtle.  I think.  Maybe.  One piece of evidence – proof positive that we are pretty crazy about all things Disney is an art print on our kitchen wall.

We bought cruise art.  There, it’s true.  I admit it.  It’s hard to resist temptation when, on each of five cruises on Disney Cruise Line (Magic and Wonder), we’ve browsed and admired the Disney art-for-purchase displayed prominently along the walls.  Most of it, thankfully, is not to our taste – but very beautiful, amazing even, just the same.

Then one day we saw IT!  The ONE.  Our browse-’em and leave-’em days were over.  The 1920’s-inspired Ratatouille Wine giclee print was completely irresistible.  It was perfect and we had toIMG_2082 have it.  Again with the emotion-based Disney purchase, but what can I say?  The style and colors were perfect for us.  It was a limited-edition so it might increase in value someday, but that’s not why we bought it.  Sometimes, when you love something, you just have to take a little piece of it home with you.  This picture represented the great times we’ve had on our Disney cruises.  (Plus, we love wine, love Ratatouille, and have a red kitchen)

IMG_4712I look at this picture on my kitchen wall every single day and remember how much we’ve enjoyed our Disney Cruise vacations.  Land-and-Sea Bahamas (Surprise Christmas gift), Western Caribbean (Megan’s senior year), Castaway Cay Double-Dip (Joseph’s best friend Jason came along), Alaska (Spectacular scenery, SO fantastic), and Mediterranean (Trip of a lifetime).  Remy smiling down at me from his perch next to the kitchen table reminds me of them all.  Will we ever buy another piece of cruise art?  Probably not.  But we sure love the one we’ve got!

What’s your favorite Disney Cruise Line souvenir? 

 

 

First Time Disney Cruise? This One’s for You – Fish Extenders!

Posted on by

IMG_0605

Fish Extenders!  Ever heard of ‘em?  No?  Well, if you’re cruising on Disney, you’re bound to see them.  Next to the outside of every stateroom door is a metal fish.  The fish’s main/original purpose in life is that it serves as a place where Disney Castmembers can leave mail for you – excursion information, spa treatment reminders, invitations to kids/teen club events, etc.  What turns this unassuming, ordinary looking, mail gathering fish into something MORE is the addition of a hanging pocketed receptacle called a Fish Extender (aka FE)!

IMG_0606

In order to even want or NEED a fish extender, you first must join a fish extender GROUP.  See…the fish extender is like a Christmas stocking.  Its sole purpose in life is to gather little surprises from other members of your FE group while YOU are distributing little gifts to them as well.  Think Secret Santa on the high seas!  (Which is, I believe, how this whole thing actually started.)  Where, pray tell, does one join a FE group?  There’s one teeny tiny extra step you must take to join.  First you have to find and join an online group where other members of your cruise are meeting up…there are benefits to doing this other than participating in a FE exchange, but I’ll save that for another day.  Anyway back to the group-finding part – the easiest place to find a group is on Facebook.  Enter your cruise in the search box and if a group’s been started, it’ll pop right up.

Once your request to join the group has been approved, you can start interacting with your fellow cruisers.  If a FE group is being put together, you’ll see usually in the group files or a pinned post.  Don’t wait too long to decide about joining.  Usually, the ability to join expires two-to-three weeks prior to sailing to give all the participants time to assemble and pack their FE gifts.

You’ll need a Fish Extender.  I made mine a long time ago and, while humble, it served its purpose well on more than one occasion.  My sewing skills tend to lean toward a combination of hand stitching and hot glue.  But that was before the days of Etsy and Pinterest.  Now you can find FE’s to purchase or get ideas for making your own.  I hear they even sell them on ebay.

About the gifts – small, portable, and inexpensive are the main criteria.  We’ve given bubbles, glow-sticks, candy, Disney party favors, puzzles, Disney magnets (suitable for use as DSCN3596stateroom Door Décor!), pirate-themed items, etc.  We’ve received some awesome stuff:  Disney Pez dispensers/candy, Disney washcloths, pool toys, small items representative of the other participants’ home towns, buttons, pins, and more!  You do not have to give a gift everyday and you don’t have to even give more than one gift – especially if dealing with a large FE group with many staterooms.  Just make sure you at least bring something for everyone participating in each cabin – you’ll know how many adults and children are involved in each cabin (by cabin #) as the FE group is formed.

Then once you sail away from port – let the fun begin!  Kids enjoy not only finding FE gifts waiting for them, they also have a great time “sneaking” around delivering surprises to everyone else.

Have you done an exchange on Disney Cruise Line?  What were your favorite gift items to give and receive?