Trip Log Day 5: 9-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder – Hubbard Glacier

viTrip log, day five. Hubbard Glacier (Inaugural Visit for the Disney Wonder)
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver
July 28, 2017
Personal Navigator – Day 5

Wonder Stateroom Map Day 5 Hubbard Glacier 20170728

The overnight trip in the Pacific Ocean was underwhelming. Although, I am sure the rest of the passengers appreciated the calm seas. This morning began like every other with the adults going to the gym then meeting Isabelle in Cabanas for breakfast. I was a bit late arriving to breakfast because I was sidetracked by the 160º sauna.

Morning Gym View Hubbard Glacier

We still had a bit to sail before we arrived at Hubbard Glacier. The views sailing in were great, but we had some things we wanted to squeeze in. First up, we needed to do a load of laundry. Between the launderettes on 6 & 7, there was just one washer available which I kinda figured would be an issue at this time on a quasi day at sea. Good news was we just needed one washer. If you want to do a quick load, pick the cold water cycle as it is only 23 minutes. This gave me enough time to organize some things in the room and for us to plan the morning.

When my washer alarm went off, Isabelle headed to the atrium to get in line to meet Ariel while I switched the laundry. The problem with a quick wash cycle is that the dryer cycles are about 45 mins. Thankfully, there was an empty dryer by the time the washer finished. There is a bit of an art to washing cloths on a ship, but it pays off in the long run enabling you to pack even lighter. I headed to the atrium just in time for Isabelle to chat with Ariel. Emily met us there after getting ready for the day while Wall-E was playing on the stateroom TV.

Triton's Ariel Meet & Greet

Emily was prepared to brave the weather and Hubbard Glacier was coming into view. We found a spot on deck 4 and took in the sights until my dryer alarm sounded.

Wonder Steaming Towards Hubbard Glacier

I ran back to the Promenade Lounge to get Emily and Republic of Tea iced tea which caused the bartenders to jump for joy and give me a high five as we were the first to order this iced tea to the point they had to get the tea from a a walk in fridge.

First Bottle Of The Republic Of Tea Sold

I took the clothes back to the stateroom and quickly layered up and grabbed my camera before heading to deck 10. I happened to be raining a little bit and the deck was crowded. I managed to snap a few pictures, but I was quickly defeated by the spray and cleaning the lens between shots.

Disney Wonder Bow Hubbard Glacier

I grabbed a few blankets and returned to deck 4 where we enjoyed Hubbard Glacier without the spray. The Captain maneuvered as close he safely could giving us an an amazing view of the glacier. At first, we did not have that great of a viewing spot, but as soon as the ship began to rotate, we moved to the other side where we had our choice of spots. It almost felt like we moved even closer to the glacier. We were positioned closer to the east side of the glacier which was very active. The calving you see on TV may seem cool, but videos fail to give you the full experience. Hubbard Glacier is about 6 miles wide and roughly 300 feet high. When the ice breaks off, you hear creaking, cracking, and for lack of a better example, the sound of rolling thunder. I was captivated and practically unable to take my eyes off of the face, not wanting to miss the next event.

Here are a bunch of photos that do not due it any justice.

Hubbard Glacier From Deck 4 Hubbard Glaicer Hubbard Glacier Hubbard Glaicer Calving Hubbard Glaicer Calving Hubbard Glaicer Hubbard Glaicer Ice Flow Hubbard Glaicer Ice Flow Hubbard Glaicer Ice Flow Hubbard Glaicer Scott

I spent most of the time shooting video which I promise I will get uploaded first when we get home unless the footage turns out to be underwhelming. During our time viewing the glacier, there were a couple epic collapses. I do not say this lightly. This was everything I was hoping to see on this sailing and more. Who needs bears, eagles, whales, and seals? That will all be icing on my cake at this point (and in fact I did spot a seal on our way into Disenchantment Bay). I equate this to my anticipation and payoff of Iceland’s midnight sun a couple years ago when we were on the Magic.

I think the twig said it best… I AM GROOT!!! Hubbard Glacier was frickin’ incredible, but he didn’t say frickin’ 🙂

Old Hubbard Glaicer IceHubbard Glacier + Taittinger

Our time at Hubbard Glacier was over and as we began to sail away, we decided to go get lunch. After yesterday’s enjoyable lunch at Triton’s we checked out the menu, but the views outside were so amazing, so we headed up to deck 9.

Hubbard Glaicer Disney Wonder Stern

We did a walkthrough of Cabanas before deciding to get shwarma from Pete’s Boiler Bites near the Aqua Lab. I am so glad this has become a permanent offering on the classic ships.

Disney Wonder Shwarma Hubbard Glaicer

We found a great covered spot near the Goofy pool to sit, eat lunch, and enjoy the view. As we were eating, Brijen from India, was working around the pool deck & told us that they had pulled up glacial ice and placed it over on the deck by Funnel Vision. Isabelle couldn’t get over there fast enough to touch it.

Hubbard Glaicer Ice On Deck

First question I had was, ‘which bar onboard is using it for a specialty drink?’ Seriously, this is something I’ve read about other lines doing and DCL could charge a few bucks extra just for the novelty of the beverage. I know that I wouldn’t have had the self control to pass on the opportunity.

It was time to assemble on deck 5 midship for the Captain America meet & greet. We arrived early and there was already a significant line, but it is Cap, so it is worth the wait. Isabelle planned to have him sign her Captain America notebook which now looks awesome.

Captain America Family Photo Captian America Autograph

 

Here’s something interesting….. A cast member was walking the line letting everyone know that Captain America (as well as all of the Marvel characters onboard) is not permitted to sign on the same surface that has been signed by a Disney character. Same autograph book is fine, but not on the same page next to say Mickey Mouse. Just keep this in mind if you are planning to have something signed.

Captain America Meet & Greet

Captain America remembered Isabelle from his class in the Oceaneer Club and even tested her on what she learned. It was refreshing to hear feedback directly from a teacher rather than logging into a website to see her grades.

Speaking of the Super Hero Academy, Isabelle was so excited as she was finally able to get her photo taken for her Super Hero Academy ID card. The kids are giving one of six stickers to track their training thorough the voyage. According to Isabelle, there is no specific time or scheduled event on the Navigator for getting your ID card. She ask the Youth Activity counselors at the checkin desks to get her picture taken for the ID card.

Marvel Super Hero Academy ID Card Marvel Super Hero Academy ID Card Back]

Following the meet & greet, we headed over to Crown & Fin to play a board game with Isabelle. Originally, she wanted to play Disney Monopoly, but we didn’t want to spend the next six hours playing Monopoly. She choose Disney Tower of Terror Clue, which took a bit of effort to start. Dice are hot commodities in the pub; both Clue and Monopoly were missing them. Isabelle eventually found some on the backgammon/chess/checkers table. We made use of the learn to draw Pluto papers to make the checkoff list for the Clue game. A simple game of Clue was turning into Mousetrap with all the setup required.

While we played Clue we ordered some drinks. I finally tried the Alaskan IPA and Emily asked the bartender for Pimm’s Cup. However, were not sure what she received as the recipe on the Pimm’s does not list orange juice.

Crown & Fin Alaskan Icy Bay IPA Crown & Fin Not A Pimm's Cup

We planned on attending Disney music trivia and as luck would have it, we finished Clue just in time. The best part of Disney music trivia is that it features a live pianist playing the cues and later playing a longer segment. Trivia is a humbling event, as much as we think we know our music, the reality is we need more practice.

We still had some time before we needed to get ready for dinner, so I headed up to the Outlook Cafe to try and get online since I was currently unable to connect in our stateroom. Outlook Cafe was no different. I was not having any luck service today which is why the Icy Strait Point trip report was not posted on Friday. On my wayward back to the stateroom I saw something strange.. blue skies and the sun.

Disney Wonder Alaskan Blue Skies Ukatak

Tonight’s dinner was in Triton’s and it was the Frozen menu, since that was this evening’s show in the Walt Disney Theatre. Speaking of Frozen, A Musical Spectacular, there was a matinee of the show on this sailing and when I peeked inside the theater, it was a full show.

For dinner, Isabelle ordered the scallop appetizer & salmon entree, while Emily and I ordered the exact same salad and entree.

Frozen Dinner Andersen's Salad Frozen Dinner Salmon

I know, extremely bloggable of us (we did get different desserts). I’m not normally inclined to consider more than one dessert, but for a minute I considered asking for a second helping of the Pannekan. Put cream cheese and sugar together, it just makes sense.

Frozen Dinner Dessert Panneken

Emily slipped out of Triton’s to get in line for our next must do meet & greet, Remy & Emile!!!

Remy & Emile Family Photo

We’ve been out the meet & greet game for a long time and I cannot believe the lines that are forming. The line for the Incredibles extended all the way down to Triton’s side entrance. Remy & Emile’s line was backing up from the Atrium into After Hours.

We headed back to the room to get some rest for tomorrow’s adventures ashore in Juneau, but first we watched Captain America: The First Avenger. Our family is addicted to having the Marvel channel on in the background (although the Pixar channel is good as well!).

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10 Replies to “Trip Log Day 5: 9-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder – Hubbard Glacier”

  1. Abigail Johnson

    Do you know if Marvel characters are normally available for meet and greets or is it just because your trip is longer?

    Reply
    1. Deann Fleming

      we were on the first trip in may this year to Alaska and we had a day of Marvel characters all available for a photo shoot at various locations on the ship. But remember Marvel characters don’t sign on the same surface as a Disney character during photo shoots so have a Marvel only something to sign on.

      Reply
  2. Jenniffer

    I’m so glad you got to experience the majestic calving of Hubbard. Saw it 13 years ago and most memorable cruise experience ever. You reaffirmed I need to get my DH & DD on a 2019 sailing if they have Hubbard. Cool meet & greets you’ve had!

    Reply
  3. Hannah

    I was a photographer in Alaska for a few years and people that would see the photos of icebergs and glaciers would think I enhanced the color. It was all natural….isn’t it the most amazing colors?

    Reply
  4. sarahstl2014

    I thought the blue in the icebergs looked like it was caused by lights underneath. Absolutely amazing and impossible to photograph.

    For all the time I spent in Promenade, I never saw the Moët Ice. Maybe next time.

    Reply

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