Trip Log Day 10: 9-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder – Vancouver (Debarkation)

Trip log, day ten. Debarkation day in Vancouver.
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver
August 1, 2017
Disney Wonder Welcome to Vancouver Debarkation Information

Wonder Stateroom Map Day 10 Vancouver 20170802We are back in Vancouver and mentally preparing ourselves. The last few days of the cruise had spotty internet service so a decent chunk of my data package went unused. I experienced some similar connection issues a few years ago when we were on the Magic in Norway and Europe. I’m sure knowing what I know now with regard to AT&T cellular service in the ports that I could have gone with a smaller data plan.

Connect@Sea Data Plan Meter 9 Night Cruise

I find it helpful to save some of the Connect@Sea data package for the final morning when we are not sailing from a US cruise port with cellular data service just incase we need to get online or contact someone. I’d rather waste 50-100 MB than scramble that last morning looking for free wifi.

Cove Cafe Pumpkin Pie Latte

As the scum of the Café Fanatic card holders, I went up to Cove Cafe to redeem our free Pumpkin Pie Latte before heading to our final breakfast in Animator’s Palate. I think I need to  talk to the good people behind The Unofficial Guides because the bookcase in the Cove Café needs some copies of The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line.

Wonder Cove Cafe Bookcase Wonder Cove Cafe Seating And Table

Traditionally, we skip out on the breakfast as the first dinner seating starts breakfast at 6:45 am & head to Cabana’s instead. We were delighted to see that the first breakfast seating was a 7:15 AM & decided to give it a try.

See Ya Real Soon Breafast Menu Front See Ya Real Soon Breafast Menu

Our driver was scheduled to pick us up at Canada Place at 8:30 AM, so we had time. Emily and I both received cold omelets. In fact, the cheese in Emily’s was unmelted. I went with the Chef’s Farewell, which once you got past the serving temperature it was flavorful.

See Ya Real Soon Breafast Chef's Farewell Omlet

I’d order this again. However, I don’t think we will be attending the farewell breakfast again in a long time & will just stick to Cabanas from here on out.

As soon we finished our breakfast, we made our way to the atrium for express walk-off. From the time we scanned our KTTW cards, spoke to the Canadian customs agent and walked to the private transportation pickup area at Canada Place, a whopping 5 minutes had spanned.

Port Of Vancouver Private Transportation Pickup Area

Emily checked in with the transportation agent and we waited for our ride. Well before we left for the cruise, Emily pre-arranged a driver through Aerocar for transportation from Canada Place to Vancouver Airport. They sent us an email and all I had to do was call them back to pay with a credit card. This could have been done via the email, but I’m not one to email my credit card information to a company, let alone one I’ve never used before.

Aerocar Leaving Canada Place Vancouver

This was great as we were able to pre-pay for the ride including the gratuity, which is automatically added on. Others have suggested taking the train to YVR from a station a couple blocks from Canada Place, but we had an early flight and wanted to lock in guaranteed transportation that would pick us up and get us to the airport by a specific time since we would have to clear customs.

999 Canada Place Vancouver

Based on what others have said they paid for the train, it would be something I’d consider in the future if we have an afternoon flight and needed to pass time in Vancouver.

Vancouver International Airport YVR Plane Landing

It was Wednesday morning, and we had no idea what to expect once we arrived at the airport. We quickly checked our bags (even one that was a pound overweight!), but the United agent was cool and let it slide. It took all of 30 minutes to check our luggage, go through security and pass through US Customs. It would have been even shorter if my name wasn’t flagged after scanning my passport. Time to pay for Global Entry – we were going to do this anyway to deal with the lines at MCO. Now knowing that I’ll likely need to go into the special line to get my passport reviewed each time I’m motivated.

DHS Trusted Traveler Programs

Our flights from YRV to IAH and IAH to MCO were uneventful and we made it home shortly before midnight.

Thanks for reading along. I will be following up with the videos promised through the individual trip logs.

Wonder Skagway Family Photo

If you enjoyed reading along, please consider casting a vote for me as best cruise blogger in the 2017 Cruise International Awards. casting a vote for Scott Sanders, The DCL Blog the voting periods ends in just over a week.

We’ve already completed our online check-in for our next Disney Cruise, which will be a Halloween on the High Sea cruise in October. We look forward to sharing our experience this fall.

Complete Trip Log Index

19 Replies to “Trip Log Day 10: 9-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder – Vancouver (Debarkation)”

  1. Tom Opperman

    Hello Scott, thanks for sharing your trip. I just recently discovered your blog and have enjoyed it. Our next cruise will be the Bermuda cruise in October 2018 leaving from New York. The Alaska cruise will be on the list. Thanks for sharing your families vacation experience. Tom Opperman

    Reply
  2. Rich G

    Global Entry is worth it’s weight in gold. So worth the $100 or if you have a travel credit card they often reimburse you for it (Plat. Amex, Delta Plat. Amex). I recently was the 2nd person through customs after landing in JFK on an A380 sitting in economy. Which is amazing.

    Reply
    1. Vishal Ailawadhi

      And, you get TSA pre-check for free for domestic flights. The $100 is for 5 years, I believe. And, the reimbursement from AMEX isn’t just a one-time deal. I got mine reimbursed, and then my wife’s reimbursed the next year. Also, kids under age 12 can use the TSA pre-check with their parents. but Global Entry requires all persons in the party (regardless of age) to enroll. I might be wrong on some of these…going from memory.

      Reply
  3. Claire Pike

    Dear Scott,

    Thank you so much for this trip report; it’s very informative, and I have really enjoyed your photography.

    We have just booked the 9-night Disney Alaska cruise for 2018 (as our first ever cruise), and are really excited! However, owing to the fact that the 9-night itinerary is quite rare (in comparison to the 7-night itinerary), I’m having quite a hard time finding specific information about it, online.

    In particular, we’re very interested in the dining options, wishing to book Palo for dinner at least once, but also wishing to be strategic about which restaurants and associated ‘shows’ we’d have to miss in the main restaurants, so to do. I’d therefore be really grateful if you might have time to respond to a couple of questions about dining on your cruise? If so, they are as follows:

    1.) Could you please tell me which menus/themes were offered on each day of your cruise? I understand that each main restaurant has its ‘standard rotational’ menu, but also, on some nights there can be ship-wide themed menus such as ‘Alaskan’, ‘Princes and Princesses’ or ‘Captain’s Gala’. Which menus were on which nights? Are the menus necessarily different/special on formal/semi-formal nights?

    2.) I’ve gleaned that Animator’s Palette and Tiana’s Place have an element of ‘show’ with dinner, alongside the food.
    I’d really appreciate it if you could tell me how these ‘shows’ in the same location, differed from one another on a 9-night cruise, (where diners will be heading to each restaurant 3 times).

    – I gleaned from your trip report that the 1st time in Animator’s palette was the ‘colour change’ ‘show’, and the 3rd time was the ‘show’ where your own drawn character is animated in the restaurant. Do you happen to know what happened on the 2nd occasion?

    – Similarly, I’ve gleaned that the 1st time in Tiana’s Place has some musical entertainment (and a Tiana/Louis meet and greet?), and the 3rd time was the Mardi Gras dinner-show. Do you happen to know what happened on the second time in this restaurant, please?

    3.) Reading your trip report, I see that you had the rotation: Tiana’s Place-Triton’s-Animator’s Palette. Presumably, therefore, the other potential rotations were: Triton’s-Animator’s Palette-Tiana’s Place; and: Animator’s Palette-Tiana’s Place-Triton’s. I was wondering, from your broader experience with Disney Cruising, whether DCL tend to keep those same order of rotations, or whether they often mix up the order? For example, on a future 9-night cruise, is it likely for the rotation: Tiana’s Place-Animator’s Palette-Triton’s to arise?

    Thanks very much for your consideration; your insight would be much appreciated!

    With best wishes,

    Claire

    Reply
    1. Scott Sanders Post author

      Claire,
      To get a good idea of which shows and menus will occur each night check out our posting with the personal navigators from our cruise. Just keep in mind that things will likely change for the 2018, but it should still give you an idea on what to expect.

      I would suggest booking Palo Brunch as this is easier to plan ahead for being that it will be offered on a sea day. You can book a Palo dinner then once you are onboard and know your dinner rotation you can alway check with Palo on embarkation day about moving the reservation to an evening that you wouldn’t mind missing a dinner in another one of the restaurants.

      Reply
  4. scrappinginontario

    Thanks so much for your amazing trip report Scott! Enjoyed each entry and look forward to going back and checking out the videos.

    Voted for you the first day you mentioned it as you offer the best Disney Cruise Line blogging site for sure! Thanks for all you do!!

    Reply
  5. Sarah

    I loved reading along everyday. I am also going on a Halloween on the High Seas sailing in late October (October 21-28). I also happily voted for you 🙂

    Reply
  6. Frank

    Why didn’t you spend any time in Vancouver? it’s one of the most visited and beautiful cities on the planet. We opted for the 7 day cruise and a couple days in Vancouver, as you could even consider it a “port”. I think you did yourself a disservice by missing this opportunity.

    Reply
  7. Deann Fleming

    Really enjoyed you blogs, check for new ones every other day. Voted for you. All blogs packed with information. Can you get any information that would help those of us 60+ Disney travelers. We love doing Disney for adults now we need a blog for Disney seniors who love the cruises and parks.
    Thanks for taking the time to be so informative in your reports

    Reply
  8. Amanda MacDonald

    Awesome trip report. This cruise is next on my bucket list. Hopefully 2019. Any reviews pictures of your stateroom? Did you stay inside/ocean view or balcony?

    Reply
  9. Lisa

    My sister and I are taking our mom on a cruise. We asked her where she wanted to go and we were shocked to hear Alaska. The price was right, so as of last Tuesday, we’re booked on the May 21, 2018 Wonder. Before last week, I had no plans to be in Alaska. I’m now busy reading everything I can to bring myself up to speed. Your blog and this trip report were my first stop. Thank you! A few questions: 1. I notice that many of the DCL excursions are exactly the same as those offered for less by alaskashoretours.com. Any thoughts on using/not using the independent site? 2. Because we booked so late, Palo brunch and several extra options such as mixology are completely sold out. Any experience with getting these things once on board? 3. Even though I’m a platinum castaway club member, DCL assigned me a PAT of 1pm. Is this something new? Will I be turned away when I arrive at the port earlier? 4. Do you have any “must do’s” for the 7 night portion of your Alaskan cruise? As always, thanks so much for your help. Your blog is an amazing resource for Disney cruising! 😉

    Reply
    1. Scott Sanders Post author

      Hi Lisa,
      1. We often book with 3rd parties and it is a great way to save some money as long as you are ok with not having the DCL safety net built into DCL’s port adventures. It is also important to research the port adventure tour operators. We’ve discovered that some will not accept direct bookings for DCL passengers as the contracts are set up to book through DCL. This is not always the case, but it is something we’ve encountered.

      2. Palo Brunch and beverage tastings may be booked up online, but there is a good chance you will still be able to book once onboard. Just make sure you do this as soon as your board. Sometimes it helps to split this task up between the various members of your party so you are not in the back of the next line.

      3. That is interesting that you were assigned a PAT given that you are a platinum castaway club member. I have never seen anyone turned away due to this time. However, unless it has changed, the PAT is tied to your party’s boarding group.

      4. Must do’s… This is my most un-relaxing advice ever. Maximize your time ashore enjoying each port. This is one of those itineraries that I prefer to be ashore than onboard.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.