Disney Alaskan Cruise Vacation

We went on a 7 day cruise with the whole family porting out of Vancouver. We planned this earlier in the year not realizing that these cruises are booked year(s) in advance. Thus, we ended up with rooms on the first deck. Not ideal, but it actually turned out great because our 3 rooms were next to each other and we had easy stair/elevator access to get around. In total there were 11 of us. The hardest was coordinating Amy and Justin's schedules. Amy is free all of July. Justin can't take any time off in July since that's the first month of residency. Luckily we reached a compromise and Amy was able to take off days in June. Unfortunately I had to miss my good friend's wedding:(

Vancouver
The weather was awesome. 60's most of the time. We got there 3 days early to get the chance to sightsee. We ended up doing a hop on/off bus tour. It was an easy way to see the city. It reminded me a lot of San Fran/Chicago. I was shocked at how many Asian folks lived there and was curious as to why there weren't any African Americans. Steven and I went for a jog around the harbor. I love running new cities with great views.

The Cruise
Overall, it was a great first experience for me. We had the earlier dining at 5:45. There are 3 restaurants that they rotate you through. The food was pretty good but I got tired of it fast. By the end of the week we were all craving Mexican food! We always had the breakfast buffet. And if you're me or Justin we took turns eating solo with Ryan at 6:30-7A since he wants to eat the minute he is up and that way we get him out of the room to not wake up Rachel. There was a pizza/pretzel bar, drinks and hot cocoa available all the time, burger/chicken tenders/hot dog 24/7, sandwich/salad/ice cream also available often. Oh, and apparently Disney cruises are the only ones where you can bring your own alcohol. That's one per person, right? Including kids? hahaha We brought a few bottles and bought some wine at the ports. We would bring the alcohol to the evening adult shows and pour under the table. Hey, drinks are expensive!

The rooms were nice. I was surprised how comfortable the King size bed is. There is also a couch that turns into a twin in addition to a bunk on top of it. Worked perfectly for us all. Our three rooms were always open since the kids were going back and forth between rooms.

The kids enjoyed the kid's club. And we enjoyed the kids at the kid's club. Ryan was stuck with us the whole time but we dropped him off at the nursery($9/hr) the one evening we had reservations at the nice restaurant. You get these phones in your room that make it easier for everyone to talk to each other, but we found out that the Disney app is even easier to use from your phone. Anyways, the first time Rachel went to the kid's club we get a text and hour later that she was ready to be picked up.LOL They were really only at the kid's club in the mornings before lunch.

Quite disappointed in the pools on the Disney Wonder. They keep them really warm and when you get out they have these blankets for you. The kids went swimming twice. The second time they closed the pool because a kid threw up.

Alaska was beautiful but I don't quite understand why someone would want to live there? Breathtaking views, small towns. Enjoyed the glaciers when we got into Tracy Arm. We did a 4 hour train ride in Skagway that took us up the mountains. In Ketchikan we watched the lumberjack show. And in Juneau we had some amazing king crab. Other than that Amy and my mom spent a lot of time in jewelry stores and we were entertaining kids.

With dinner at 5:45 there would be shows at 8:30 for the family. These were great incorporating several Disney classics. Rachel and Ryan will never remember it but their facial expressions were priceless. They were amazed by the music and the characters. I can't wait till they are older to take them to Disney Land/World. After that show there were several activities for the adults from comedy shows to how well do you know your partner to karaoke, etc. Justin and I went out twice and left Rachel and Ryan with Mema. They passed out quickly the whole week.

The cruise was a nice alternative to seeing all the Disney characters at a theme park. And, if the kids were acting up we could just step away to the room to have some "quiet time". They saw Micky, Minnie, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, Chip n Dale, Tinkerbell, Jessie and Woody from Toy Story, Mike and Sully from Monster's Inc, Russell from Up, Elastigirl from The Incredibles, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Princess Sofia, Doc McStuffins, Jake the Neverland, Peter Pan and more! The kids were able to interact with the characters a bit before taking pictures by asking them questions. Ryan and Rachel wanted to give everyone a high five and hug them. They were mesmerized!

Travelling with kids
Although we've had our fair share of travelling I consider this our first "real vacation" as a family. Flights and roadtrips to Dallas and Houston are an adventure, but this was something else. And honestly, we couldn't afford a trip like this, so THANKS MOM! Now that we are older we truly appreciate everything our parents do for us. It was great to be together. I only hope that one day my kids will have families of their own that I can spoil:)

Back to travelling with the kids...they did good. Good as a typical toddler would travel? The 4 hour flight to Vancouver was brutal. Once the snacks, play doh, stickers, coloring, etc wear off we are left with the ipad and praying they fall asleep. However, on the way back to Houston we had a connecting flight so breaking it up into 2-2hour flights was much better. I think I'd prefer to book flights like this with the kids in the future.

Anyhow, Ryan's naps the whole week were pretty much in my lap. We were constantly on the go and he would literally just pass out on me. Here's a few of his nap photos!

Overall, great trip. Great Vacation. Great memories. I know that Rachel and Ryan will be too young to remember but the nieces will definitely remember. Hopefully we can all go on a trip together like this again one day! To see more pics visit my smugmug.