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Alaska – it’s not called The Last Frontier for nothing (that alone is a great reason to go there!) – Have you ever thought about visiting Alaska? I can tell you from personal experience – for our family, it was unlike anyplace we’d ever seen before! In the best possible way. We probably wouldn’t ever have gone except for one thing – we’d always said…if Disney Cruise Line ever goes to Alaska, that’s one trip we cannot miss!

When Disney made the big announcement that the Wonder would be heading to Alaska in 2011, we booked as soon as possible. For us, one of the early season cruises worked best with our schedules – this meant that we missed seeing bears and the salmon season, but we wouldn’t have changed a single thing. What a “Wonderful” trip we had! Just in case it’s on your bucket list or even if you’ve been toying with the idea a teeny bit – I’d like to try to help you decide if a trip to the Land of the Midnight Sun is right for your family…

Top 10 Reasons to Visit Alaska Aboard Disney Cruise Line:

10. The Daylight – We got so much out of every day and night! We enjoyed those super long daylight hours. How strange it was to eat dinner and go to a show then stroll the deck after 10:00 pm to enjoy the view!

9. The Air – This may seem strange, but I’ve mentioned in previous posts about Alaskan excursions that the air is so clean and clear it feels like you must be breathing the freshest air on Earth.

8. The Ship – Obviously we love Disney, but the Wonder is near and dear to our hearts! The service, the comfort, the entertainment, the special touches – on the day the ship visited Tracy Arm Fjord (the one destination you stay ON the ship to enjoy), there was an on-deck barbecue so no one had to miss a moment of the action at lunchtime!

7. The Adventures – The list of excursions is staggering. We zip-lined, whale watched, and explored the Mendenhall Glacier. We explored Misty Fjords by boat and learned so much! Regardless of age, health conditions, individual tastes, and budget – there is something for everyone. Even the view from the ship is simply breathtaking.

6. The Ports – Each town we visited (Vancouver, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan) had a charm all its own. The history could be felt in the air. Small enough to explore on foot, we strolled through each port and took in the unique sights of each and fell in love with them all.

5. The Souvenirs – We bought several items (okay, it was more like a huge bunch) – a couple-few (as we like to say around these parts) in each port. Excellent prices! We bought a crazy amount of tee-shirts because the designs and styles were terrific and the prices were incredibly reasonable. I’ve worn the heck out of mine and they’re still holding up great!

4. The Wildlife – You can see whales from the ship. We saw many! You actually see seals float by on their own tiny icebergs. Bald eagles are everywhere and we even saw tiny jellyfish in the water on one excursion. While sled dogs are not actually “wildlife” – we saw some of those, too!

3. The Glaciers – You can look at them in pictures, but nothing compares to seeing (in person) the spectacular shades of blue within a glacier’s face or the feeling of that cool, fresh air growing steadily colder as you get closer to the glacier!

2. The Unexpected – Surprises are everywhere! On the ship when Disney characters pop up unexpectedly for great photo ops, waterfalls loudly rushing down cliff faces – so close to the ship you feel as though you could reach out and touch them. Those seals, whales, and eagles are just waiting to be spotted! It takes “expect the unexpected” to a new level.

1. Discovering it all as a Family! When we traveled, Megan was 20 and Joseph almost 16. Meg was too old for the teen club and Joe wanted to spend a bunch of time there (meeting other kids from all over the world and taking part in the teen activities) – we worried about the situation making Megan the odd girl out, but NO! We had so much fun! We hadn’t had an opportunity to spend this much one-on-one time with our little girl since before her brother came along. Joseph joined us for every excursion and for dinner and the show each evening. We had plenty of time together as a family, but I have to say – the time with Megan was especially memorable for me. For you – there are a ton of onboard activities for guests of every age from toddler to…well, at my age, I prefer the term “mature traveler”…you get the idea.

There you go! My own top 10 reasons to visit Alaska on Disney Cruise Line. Have you cruised Alaska? What did you love the most? Is an Alaskan cruise in your future? Tell me!

Juneau, 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) before 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 June) 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).

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.

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.

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 like 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.