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Do Not Die Today: Southern California, 2022 (COMPLETE 2/23)

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Trip Report - April School Vacation 4/17 to 4/23

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The Final Frontier (An Alaska Trip Report - UPDATED 4/25)

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Trip Report: Disney Alaskan Cruise Embarkation

Posted on Published: June 15, 2017

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Welcome to my first post for my detailed Trip Report Cruising to Alaska on the Disney Wonder.

Embarkation day beings with the family packing everything up from our three-day trip in Vancouver, and walking over to Canada Place. When packing, we made sure that our carry-ons had all of the essentials including but not limited to: passports, medications, 24 bottles of water, two bottles of wine per person (six for our family), cameras and lenses, and binoculars.

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In hindsight, our family had over packed, so we took a taxi from Delta Vancouver Hotels and Suites to Canada Place. We told our taxi that we were going on a Cruise, but there was some confusion on where we needed to be dropped off. Finally, with some clarification, we were able to get our taxi to drop us off in the Passenger drop-off zone, which is down a ramp off the foot of Howe Street. There is a Sign that says “Cruise Ship Terminal Ramp Access” – this is where you want the taxi to turn.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

Want to learn more about an Alaska Cruise?

Download sunset chasers free book, disney – have a magical cruise.

Once the taxi dropped us, and all the bags off, the Disney cast and crew started taking over, and the magic began. Our luggage already had our Disney stateroom identification on it, so the attendant was able to take the luggage (we would later see it around 5 pm).Once the crew collected our luggage, we went on our merry way to continue with the check-in process.

Canada Place was very well organized when it comes to finding your way around to get on the proper cruise ship. Luckily, the port was not too busy because only the Disney Wonder and Norwegian Sun and everyone had signs directing you to which holding area one needed to go to for check-in.

We were supposed to board between 12-12:30 pm, but my sister had a snafu with her luggage, so we didn’t board until closer to 2:30-3:00 pm. The only good thing about boarding so late is that there was barely anyone in line! We then took an elevator up so we could continue on with the check-in process.

Since this was our first cruise, we, of course, didn’t know what we were expecting to do. We had read online that the process could take between 1-2 hours so we were nervous about waiting in long lines since we came so late. in the day We entered the Disney check-in area and went straight to booth 12. There weren’t any lines, but Disney was prepared with long queues and chairs for those waiting to sit. During check-in, our cast member had us smoosh our faces together to take one big selfie. Now I thought this was strange (why wouldn’t we take individual photos?). But I guess if something happened to someone in our party they would be able to identify us easily as a group.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

We then received a card with our booking number 23, room number 7120, and a note saying that our room would be ready at 1:30 pm. We were also given our Keys to the World and the Welcome Aboard Navigator.

The only area that had a line was the Youth Activities. We didn’t need to sign anyone up for these activities (I’m the youngest of our crew at 30). If you are traveling with children, you should sign them up for their activities before boarding the ship because there are even longer lines to combat with once onboard.

After the check-in process, we were ushered to go through customs and security. Mom was given a little green rectangle since she was in the transport chair and we didn’t have to wait in all of the lines until it was time to actually. Since they prefer for people of the same party to stay together while going through customs, we were not able to go through the fast lane, but the wait wasn’t extremely long.

Our last stop before we could board the ship was hoisting up our luggage to show a cast member the six bottles of wine we were bringing on board. He just needed to inspect the wine label and that each bottle was sealed.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

After about an hour or so of checking in, customs, and security we were ready to board the ship! There were multiple areas where we could have had our photos taken by cast members, but we quickly declined. We are more of a “let’s take photos of our trips” instead of “having photos taken of us” type of family. All three of us took our Key to the World and buzzed into the ship. We walked down a long gangway where we then boarded on the fourth deck where a cast member asked me what our last name was.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Stepping onto the ship, a cast member said into a microphone “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Lindsly family!” as we walked into the atrium. It felt like we were movie stars!

Since we boarded behind schedule, Mom and Ally’s job was to go straight to the room and hang the door hanger while mine was to go to guest services to figure out a couple of things.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

Guest Services

How do i get the free 50 mb of internet.

a. The Back of the Navigator tells you! You log onto the DCL-Guest WiFi network, go to www.dclguest.com and create an account, and get your free 50 MB package per person in your stateroom! Each person must sign up for his or her own accounts.

What Beverage Seminars can I sign up for?

a. By the time we signed up, many of the sessions were already filled, so we signed up for a Mojito tasting, a whiskey tasting, and a cognac tasting. We ended up canceling the cognac tasting later in the week.

A couple of other things that I could have taken care of but they were all taken care of before I even got on the ship. But here are some things you may need to do when boarding the ship:

  • Changing a dining assignment.
  • Getting Palo Reservations
  • Signing up children for Youth Activities.
  • Getting Meet & Greet Tickets for character greetings.
  • Reserving Excursions.
  • Booking Spa & Salon services.

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You can easily fill out this form to get your vacation on the books! Mention that Plaid Shirt Yoga Pants sent you for a little onboard treat!

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Lunch and Safety Drill

After running up to our room to lighten up my purse, my family headed to Cabanas for a buffet style lunch before we had to do the Mandatory Guest Assembly Drill. We were very overwhelmed with the number of food choices that we all opted to grab some fried chicken, put it on a salad, and grabbed some random odds and ends – French fries, ice cream, egg rolls, etc. Our plans were to go to Triton’s, but it was only open from 11:45-1:30 pm. If you dined at Triton’s, you would have more of a sit-down dinner, instead of a buffet style lunch.

From 3:45-4:15 pm all ship activities and services were suspended, and we reported to Animator’s Palate as our designated disaster drill. Luckily we were inside because some people were outside for the drill! During this time we shared a table with another family, and they told us all of their past stories on other Disney Cruises, we ran into them a couple of times on the ship later in the week. Once the drill started, the cast members instructed us what we needed to do in case of an emergency and then we were allowed to leave to enjoy the rest of the evening!

Sail Away Deck Party

Mom and Ally went to the Deck 9 Stage Party to get a good seat, while I ran down to Port Excursions. The Port Excursions Desk sent me a note asking about the accessibility issues of our cabin since I had pre-registered mom’s transport chair and cane. The note was to make sure that mom was able to board the Tracy Arm Excursion.

After meeting the family on Deck 9, my mom and sister greeted me with a Sail away Cocktail! My first cocktail of the trip was a strawberry daiquiri and pina colada blend that tasted like it had minimal alcohol. Once the show started, the ship took off from Canada Place, and all cast members and characters started dancing and joining in on the fun. The Sail Away Show is quite fun to watch, and if you can, grab a spot on Deck 10 to get an overlook of the entire party. During the show, the ship sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge.

After the Sail Away Party, we went to our room to open our first two bottles of wine – See Ya Later Sparkling Brut with See Ya Later Vidal Ice Wine – so we could make a Canadian Mimosa. We sat on the balcony to enjoy the scenery and plan out the rest of our evening and the week by looking at the digital navigator.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

Evening Activities

We were supposed to go to Animator’s Palace the first night for dinner but decided that we were full from lunch and just wanted to relax. Skipping dinner apparently made our host Winston very nervous because when he entered our room, he asked us “Why didn’t you go to dinner!” We assured him that we were fine (I had ordered a cheese plate and some salads from room service) and that we would be promptly out of our stateroom for the 8:30 pm showing of Be Our Guest.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

We ended our first day by watching the Broadway style show – Be Our Guest! On the way into the theater, one can buy drinks, candy, or popcorn – but honestly, with all the free food on the boat, I don’t see why one would need to buy additional snacks.

Be Our Guest was the Welcome Aboard show, which showcased a little snippet of every each show for the rest of the cruise. We saw pieces of Peter Pan, Frozen, Magic of Kalin & Jinger, Music & Comedy of John Charles. The funny thing about this later show is that all the children come in their pajamas and one by one their parents had to take them out of the theater and back to their the stateroom. I did notice that most of the kids either paid super attention to the show or were wiggling around in their seats. One fun fact – if you wanted to skip the show you can always catch the show four different times on your stateroom’s television screen.

Disney Alaskan Cruise review of the boarding process at Canada Place and Embarkation day from Vancouver to the Inside passage of Alaska. #Tripreport #plaidshirtyogapants #travelblog

After the show, my family did some exploring while walking back to our stateroom. Since we were forward and close to the gym, my sister and I ran up to see if we could join the spin class for the next morning. We were numbers nine and ten on the waiting list of only ten bikes, so we didn’t even attempt to go to spin class for that second day. Once we entered back into our room, we received our first towel animal – a swan!

The next day – May 30 – was our first full day at Sea . We spent most of the evening sitting on the balcony and comparing the digital navigator to the paper navigator trying to figure out everything we wanted to do on our first full sea day.

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Boarding the Disney Wonder for an Alaska cruise

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Delicious Dining on the Disney Wonder (Part 1) - Plaid Shirt Yoga Pants

Saturday 3rd of February 2018

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Hotel Review: Delta Vancouver Hotel and Suites - Plaid Shirt Yoga Pants

[…] plan was to spend two and a half days and three nights galavanting in Vancouver, Canada before our Disney Alaskan cruise – but the travel gods had something else in mind – spend most of the day chilling in a […]

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Sunday 25th of June 2017

[…] I went on my first ever Cruise to Alaska in 2017, but it took me over 3 years to plan and […]

Francesca Dave

Tuesday 20th of June 2017

My family and I are leaving on July 9 for the 7 day cruise to Alaska. I am working on an autograph book for my niece and daughter and I am looking for a list of characters that will be on board. Just wondering if you have a list of all the characters you guys saw or on board when you sailed? I appreciate the help. Thank you!

I can see if I can pull up my navigators but I know disboards.com posts navigators. I saw: donald, daisy, Minnie, Mickey, princess tiana, but there were so many characters meet and greets that there are plenty more! On Endicott (Tracy) arm day I saw Mickey and Minnie in their Alabama gear and the 30 year old geek in me got some excited (https://instagram.com/p/BU2HCIDlh1p/) I also took a selfie with Donald in the hallway because we had matching plaid shirts (https://instagram.com/p/BU71eHeFicY/)

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Planning a Disney Trip: More Science Than Art

March 10, 2015 by Mikel Bowman Leave A Comment

disboards trip reports

If you have a young family and are considering a trip to Walt Disney World, particularly a budget trip, this is a must read.

Continue Reading »

Trip to the Magic Kingdom Detours Through Hell

August 15, 2014 by Mikel Bowman 1 Comment

disboards trip reports

No two trip reports are alike. But this report is definitely unlike any other. jenseib describes in exceptional and sincerely expressed detail the myriad frustrating little things that are a natural part of traveling with your family to experience a DisneyWorld vacation.

A Year in an RV: Dream or Punishment?

July 31, 2014 by Mikel Bowman 2 Comments

disboards trip reports

In a previous post I commented that there might be no freer form of modern mechanical transportation than the humble personal car. On second thought, a car might take second place to the classic recreational vehicle; better known simply as an RV.

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The Road Jess Traveled

rediscover-podcast-jess-kristen

NOW STREAMING: ReDIScover Podcast Hosted by Jess & Kristen

September 2020 has been a month full of velocity as I have started to dive head-first into TWO projects I have been dreaming about for ages. My first launch was this blog, The Road Jess Traveled . You can read more about my blogging dreams in my very first post, The Girl Behind the Blog .

Within a week, a second project was born – I got to announce a new collaborative venture with one of my best and long-time friends, Kristen! We are creating a podcast called ReDIScover !

Kristen and I have been friends for 11 years and it truly could be a friendship story pulled from a movie. Some of you who are reading this may have been along for the ride since our prime Disney/Frump days in 2011-2013. However, in this blog post, I wanted to walk down memory lane and give you more backstory on our friendship. Additionally, at the end of this post, I will discuss some more details about our new podcast – ReDIScover !

Jess & Kristen’s Friendship Story

The early years: high school.

So, rewind back with me to the year 2009! Little Jess and Little Kristen were auditioning for the fall musical. We are two years apart in age, so at the time I was a junior and Kristen was a freshman. We both were cast in the musical, Annie, had a blast performing, and that’s when our friendship really began!

annie-high-school-musical-throwback

We realized that musicals were not our only common interest, however. Among the sea of too-cool-for-school high school girls, the two Disney fanatics found each other, and pixie dust flew! We both realized we had such a deep love for the Disney movies/characters and went to the parks growing up. Little did we know it, but this was the beginning of a wonderful journey.

The DisBoards and The Evolution of “Frump”

We both made our way over to the DisBoards forums, and got addicted to reading people’s trip reports and scrolling through threads of “Disney food pictures.” We spent hours and hours transporting ourselves from snowy Buffalo, New York into our imaginary Disney vacations through our minds and computers.

In 2011, I was graduating from high school. Since our school didn’t do a senior trip of any sort, we decided to make our own! My Mom was kind enough to bring me and my two closest friends (Kristen and Vickie) down to Walt Disney World for the senior trip of a lifetime. We stayed at the Yacht Club, visited all 4 parks, and finally got to live out our Disney dreams in real-time.

yacht-club-disney-world

We were so inspired by the DisBoards trip reports that we made a whole video series and also wanted to write a trip report ourselves! We titled the very first trip report “Frumpin’ Around the World with the Bathrobe Princesses.”

The Bathrobe Princesses referred to a night of our trip when we were wearing bathrobes around the Yacht Club. The hostess at Beaches & Cream saw us acting very royal, so she jokingly asked us to start singing. Little did she know, we were choir kids so the guests who were waiting for their Beaches & Cream reservations ended up getting a concert!

yacht-club-bathrobe-princesses

“ Frump ,” however, was a concept that stuck with us for the next 9 years (and will probably continue to survive at least 9 more!) We went to an all-girls high school and since we had “no one to impress,” we would often sleep as late as we could in the morning and disregard certain beauty routines such as doing our hair. Having a bun on the top of our heads was renamed the “frump-doo.” That name has truly withstood the test of time.

Frump started as an inside joke and became a whole entire brand/lifestyle. It is an adjective, a verb, a term of endearment… you name it! Frump became a way of life. Frump gave us permission to be our crazy, authentic selves. For example, when one of us got a little overly excited and skipped down Main Street USA… we’d say “she’s being a little frumpy!”

We like to define “Frump” as:

“Somebody who is really, fully themselves. Someone who doesn’t conform to any idea of what they “should” be. Someone who embraces who they are, celebrates that, and doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. They are just living their fullest, best life.”

Our January trip came and went… but 2011 turned into a year of many Disney vacations. We went together once again in August 2011 – as a total surprise to Kristen! Our high school friend, Natalie, and I flew down to Florida for a few days while Kristen was already in WDW with her family.

disney-world-minnie-mouse-pluto

The more trips we went on, the more trip reports we wrote on Disboards. The more “Frump” started to develop, the more our community grew. It was magical! We also started connecting with people on Instagram, which was just starting at the time. Suddenly we had friends from all over the world who shared this common Disney passion with us!

The Disassemblance of “The Frumps”

In January 2013, I was accepted for my very first Disney College Program! (which I ended up writing a full trip report on here ) The DCP was a dream of both mine and Kristen’s… so it was finally beginning to happen!

However, as I said, Kristen and I are two years apart. So I moved to Florida while she stayed back at home in Buffalo to finish high school. After intertwining our lives so heavily over the past two years, it was a big adjustment being so far apart and doing different things for the first time.

In May 2013, Kristen and 4 of our other high school friends came down to visit while I was on my Disney College Program. We stayed at Art of Animation, enjoyed the parks, and ate to our hearts’ content on the dining plan.

disney-hollywood-studios

It was all set up to be a very fun reunion, however, tensions were high. As previously mentioned, this was the first time Kristen and I had really been apart since becoming friends. When you’re 15-19 years old with limited life experience outside of school, new chapters can be hard! Having one half of the duo move out of the high school bubble was sort of a shock to the friendship, especially because 1. We were attached at the hip for so long and 2. Moving to Disney was something we both wanted to do and couldn’t do simultaneously.

We were beginning our own separate life journeys (whether or not we knew it at the time) which resulted in some growing pains. It was time to learn how to be our own individuals.

REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE STUFF! Not many people talk about friend breakups, but they can be just as devastating as relationship breakups. Yet, in the spirit of transparency, authenticity, and both of us taking ownership of past mistakes – this is what happened. It was messy. It was heart-breaking. But countless life lessons were learned.

Was it necessary for growing into the amazing women we are today? I truly think that it was.

The In-Between

After that trip, I stayed in Florida and completed my Walt Disney World College Program, went to California and did another College Program in Disneyland, and then ultimately came back to Florida once completing my degree.

In 2015, Kristen did her Walt Disney World College Program and consistently stayed in Orlando for the next 4-5 years while completing her degree.

For about 6 years, Kristen and I only spoke and saw each other on occasion. We ran into each other at the Animation Academy in Disneyland once. We went out to brunch to catch up once or twice. But pretty much, that was it.

The Reunion

Like all great Disney tales, ours is one with a happy ending. (well, more like a happy “present-day” because in no way is our story over!)

Let’s fast-forward to 2019. I was dead-set on moving out of an apartment and into a house. After thoroughly searching every house-hunting website for the perfect fit, I finally came across the dream house and location. I moved all of my stuff in, and the following day my Mom and I were around the pool area searching for the mailbox.

We looked up and we saw Kristen! What a complete surprise! I asked her if she lived around here and she said yes… then she pointed to the house directly next door to mine . THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES, PEOPLE!

After experiencing that moment of pure divine intervention, we caught up with Kristen for at least an hour that day. In our hearts, we knew it was time to turn over a new leaf. This day sparked many more meetups and chats. We spent hours and hours reminiscing about old times. We reconciled, apologized, and forgave each other for everything that happened. It was the healing experience I truly didn’t know I needed and my heart felt so full.

Frumpiness Begins Again!

Kristen was moving back to Buffalo soon after I had moved into the next-door house… however before she left, we had the most brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

Since we were feeling nostalgic, we thought it would be fun to go to the Disney parks in the present day and recreate some of our old memories. We created a video called “The Frumpiness Begins Tour.” It was named after the Jonas Brothers reunion. They broke up for 6 years (2013-2019) and they’re brothers. We were apart for those same 6 years (2013-2019) and we have always felt like sisters. So it just made sense.

Special thanks and shoutout to my roommate, Sarah Campbell ( @sbethphoto ) for coming to the parks, filming, photographing, and embracing our frumpiness.

The Frumpiness Begins Tour video is linked here and at the very bottom of this blog post – check it out if you’d love to see a reunited friendship, wholesome memories, and some Disney magic come to life! To this day, this is still one of my favorite projects I’ve ever created.

ReDIScover – A Podcast Hosted By Jess & Kristen

Since we filmed “The Frumpiness Begins Tour,” the world has completely flipped upside down due to the global pandemic. Kristen and I found ourselves living close by again and our creative brains are running wild once more. Someone suggested beginning a podcast and we thought that would be the PERFECT next project to create together!

The name ReDIScover feels like a puzzle piece fit for us. First off, it has DIS right smack-dab in the middle of the title. That is the tribute to Disney that we intend to keep as a common thread throughout the podcast, although it will not be the topic of every episode.

Also, ReDIScover is the perfect word because we are “rediscovering” our modern-day friendship and our creative process together. We are living in such a different time now – both personally and on a worldwide scale. Although so many things have changed, so much is still the same. We have so much we can discover together during this brand new chapter.

Plus, “Discover” happens to be the name of one of the Epcot parking lots. Although not directly related to our content, that serves as an inspiration and definitely helped with the branding.

rediscover-podcast

What Will ReDIScover Be About?

ReDIScover is a “conversation that travels through everything that makes up the essence of who we are and how to live authentically and imaginatively.”

As far as discussion topics go, though we mentioned we will definitely feature Disney, this is not solely a “Disney podcast.” We will also dive into things such as cultivating your most authentic life, staying true to who you are, friendships/relationships, personal development, self-care, wellness, and all of the things that bring us joy!

We also plan to bring guests onto the podcast in the future who will serve as a huge contribution to you – our listeners – so be on the lookout for that!

You can click on the Podcast tab at the top of my website at any time to find a central hub for podcast information. It is still in the construction phase but will continue to be updated over time!

In Conclusion

Serendipitously reconnecting with Kristen and healing one of my most cherished friendships has served such a huge lesson. We both got to practice compassion, forgiveness, and giving each other (and ourselves) grace… and throughout this process, we get to CREATE something truly magical.

Thank you so much for reading about the journey of Jess & Kristen. The past 11 years of our lives have been full of memories, lessons, and full circle moments. Creating this podcast is the newest, and arguably one of the most exciting, chapters of our friendship to date. We appreciate your support and love throughout this journey, and hope we can bring a little inspiration and magic to you – wherever you’re listening!

Please subscribe to ReDIScover and be on the lookout for new episodes on Tuesdays !

Also, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts – the more reviews published, the more Apple will promote the podcast and it will get into the ears of listeners who truly resonate with it.

Click the images below to access ReDIScover – which is now streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

rediscover-podcast-jess-kristen-spotify

Thank you so much again! Until next time… 🙂 Stay frumpy!

And if you would like to watch Frumpiness Begins….

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"The Road Jess Traveled" is a compilation of serendipitous travel stories, inspiring you to add new places to your own bucket list. I'm so happy you're here. ♡

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Aulani Disney’s Hawaii Resort Trip Report – Part 1

jumping-fountain-aulani-night

Disney is like a drug. With all drugs, it always starts out innocently (well, relatively speaking) enough. In the case of that innocent start with Disney, it’s usually opting to purchase an Annual Pass instead of a 7-day ticket and then scheduling your annual trips to fall within 11 months of one another rather than a full year apart. That’s the gateway drug, so to speak, and 12 months later you have a moment of clarity where you look back and find you took 4 trips that you justified with that Annual Pass. The good thing, in the case of Disney, is that while this drug costs money like all the rest, that’s the only adverse effect to the ‘happiness high.’ (Well, unless you are addicted to Disney Turkey Legs, in which case there are other negative side effects, but still, Disney is a good drug as compared to the rest.)

Like with any addicts, we always find an innocent excuse to take our Disney addiction further. (I should be abundantly clear–this is all metaphor, we aren’t addicted to any other drugs besides Disney.) In this case, that excuse was that one of our friends told us that he was taking his grandpa to Aulani to celebrate his birthday, and offered us a stay in his room. With this on the table, we fell over ourselves finding ways to justify the exorbitant costs of airfare, food, rental cars, etc. For us, it quickly became a case of “we can’t afford not to do this!” Whether you’re in as deep as a pin collector who easily justifies buying that 1,453rd pin or simply someone who justifies buying a cupcake despite being full because it’s brand new and you have to try it, I’m sure fellow Disney fans understand what I’m saying.

I’ll be blunt: before our visit here, Aulani didn’t have much appeal for me. I’ve been to Hawaii before, and while I wanted to go back, I figured Disney wouldn’t compete with the myriad of real-world resort brands on Oahu. I know this seems harsh given that Disney does some amazing things with the parks, but I think when it comes to the resort hotels, Disney has fallen behind the pack of the world-class brands. At Walt Disney World, Disney has the advantage of location, so there’s really not such a “need” to keep up with the competition. In Hawaii, where most of the top tier hospitality chains have a flagship location, Disney wouldn’t have that proximity to theme parks as an advantage, and would have to run with the big dogs.

I figured we would make a trip to Aulani eventually, but probably as a day-visit while staying elsewhere on Oahu just to check out the resort. After hearing fairly mixed reviews about Aulani and many complaints about pricing and food quality, and how the Disney Vacation Club side of the resort had seriously botched the annual dues, I thought that Aulani was going to have serious issues. (Spoiler alert: all of my preconceptions were totally wrong.)

Even prior to committing to this trip, I did a lot of research about saving money at Aulani, and discovered that there were other restaurants nearby and a grocery store within walking distance of the resort. Although we wouldn’t have to pay for the room, we wanted to keep the costs of the trip down, especially if the food at Aulani would be an overpriced disappointment. We also found really good deals for airfare out of Indianapolis, so it seemed like–as far as trips to Hawaii go–this wouldn’t be too much of a financial stretch.

So, we agreed to go…

photo

Although it was on the long side, the flight to Aulani wasn’t bad. From the East Coast, most flights to Hawaii are probably going to have a layover in Los Angeles or some other West Coast city, which breaks up the flight nicely. The ability to watch (free!) movies or television shows on the flight across the Pacific really makes that leg go quickly. So, if you’ve ever been apprehensive about taking a long haul flight, it’s really not nearly as bad as it seems. The approach to Hawaii was picturesque. I didn’t get any good DSLR photos of our arrival, but I clandestinely took the shot above with my iPhone.

We landed in Hawaii mid-afternoon, took a shuttle over to the rental car place and were on our way to Aulani. This is another thing I had researched prior to the trip, as I was hoping not to rent a car, but the public transportation options out to Ko Olina seemed like a real hassle.

After checking in at the resort, we went up to our 1-Bedroom Villa in the Disney Vacation Club wing. I’ve already done an Aulani 1-Bedroom Villa Review that includes a lot of photos of the room, so I’ll just share a couple here.

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Here’s the kitchen…

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Despite us being the free-riders in the room, our friend let us stay in the bedroom. I don’t think our friend wanted to cuddle up with his grandpa.

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The main living room. The couch becomes a bed and the area in the other direction pulls out to be a bed.

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Doors in both the living room and bedroom opened to a large balcony with this view.

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Here’s another confession of a Disney addict: I haven’t bought shampoo in the last 5+ years. Every day we stay at a Disney hotel, I snatch up all of the toiletries so housekeeping replenishes them, and then repeat the process the next day. Don’t judge me…I’m betting more than half of those reading are nodding their heads in agreement. So you folks judging are in the minority! 😉

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We were starving after the flight, so we quickly headed down to Off the Hook Bar for quick drinks and light snacks before heading out to get groceries.

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More drinks…

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Fruity drinks are not my alcohol of choice, but I figured ‘when in Rome…’

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Perhaps it was just because we were so hungry, or perhaps things have changed since Aulani first opened, but all the food we had at Off the Hook Bar was excellent.

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Or, perhaps all of the alcohol “enhanced” the flavors.

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The sushi was probably the least impressive appetizer, but even it was good.

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Drinks + sliders + Hawaii = recipe for a good time. These were really, really good.

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I’ve found that having a few drinks in the parks often “enhances” my photographic creativity, but the problem is that it does the exact opposite with my technical knowledge. There have been a few times where I’ve reviewed my photos from the World Showcase where I’ve shot some really cool perspectives, but the photos are totally unusable because my settings made no sense. ISO 2000 at f/4 for 30 seconds while shooting on a tripod? Really?!

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In this case, I only had one of those fruity drinks, so I was good to go.

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I am awful at photographing flowers–I really should have rented a macro lens for the trip, as there were some beautiful flowers all around Aulani.

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With a treasure trove of details all around the resort, there is no shortage of subjects at Aulani for photographers.

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Disney characters are infused throughout Aulani to give it a “Disney” feel, but the overriding tone of Aulani is of Hawaiian history and culture. I was really impressed by the restraint.

aulani-overhead-sunset

After eating, we headed up to the room to settle. Since our food was so good at the bar, and because it “made sense” to keep eating at Aulani restaurants so I could do reviews, we decided to try at least another meal at Aulani before doing the grocery thing. See…more justification for our Disney addiction!

Also, I stepped outside the balcony and saw a nice sunset brewing, which I wanted to photograph at the resort, not as some random strip mall.

aulani-hawaii-pool-gazing-orton

The clouds were really dramatic, so in editing my photos from that evening, I tried to keep that tropical moodiness to them, rather than over-brightening the shadows (as I often do). I really like the way the lady at the edge of the pool in the shot above just seems mesmerized by that sky.

aulani-water-slide-rocks-sunset

I didn’t have a chance to properly explore the resort before sunset, so I was running around like a madman trying to find good vantage points to shoot the sunset. The top of the water slide seemed like a good vantage. Not only was it not (see above), but I also got some odd looks as I ran up the steps of the slide, fully clothed, carrying a bunch of camera gear.

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Finally, I ran to the vacant lawn on the far side of Aulani and shot back at the hotel with those dramatic clouds overhead.

DSC_5323 as Smart Object-1 copy

While I was running around, I stopped briefly to snap a shot of the actual sunset over the ocean. There were tons of guests standing on the beach shooting this with cameras ranging from iPhones to DSLRs.

My tip for the day is to not focus on this photo of the ocean; not just at Aulani, either. This type of water-in-the-foreground, sunset-in-the-distance photo is by far the most common type of ocean photo you’ll see, and aside capturing the mood of the sunset, it’s pretty lacking. Everything is flat in the distance, there’s no context as to where it was taken, and it’s pretty much interchangeable with any other ocean sunset photo ever taken. Instead of getting a shot like this, move back or shoot from an angle to put something unique to your location in the frame.

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As the sunset light was fading from ground level, I ran back to our room to see if there was any good lingering light from a higher vantage.

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I then headed back down to do some blue hour shooting with my tripod. These lights would become a popular photo subject for me, and are one of my favorite things about Aulani. I’ll discuss them in more detail later, because it wouldn’t be a Bricker trip report if I didn’t endlessly obsess over lighting! 😉

aulani-fisheye-dusk

The first Hawaiian sunset we experienced was pretty nice, but for me, blue hour was the “magic” time at Aulani. Then, the lights came on around the resort, illuminating everything from the trees to the lazy river, and the blue of the sky nicely complemented the orange of resort lighting.

aulani-lobby-fisheye-dusk

I am a total sucker for lighting. I am drawn to it like a raccoon is to shiny objects. We got this cheap mood lighting bar from IKEA to put behind our television, and I have to admit that I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time entranced by it. It’s the simple things in life…

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I ran all around the resort looking for cool angles. This was out by the parking garage.

aulani-tree-low-angle

Then I went to the road and I saw it. The greatest tree ever. “The Dreaming Tree.” I don’t think that’s the tree’s official name, but I couldn’t find its actual name online, so I’ve taken to calling it that. When I saw this tree, I was instantly reminded of a Joe Rohde lecture about Aulani during which he discussed how a “name dreamer” was brought in to come up with the name “Aulani” and other inspiration for the resort.

This tree looked gorgeous in the blue hour light with the resort behind it and those beautiful lights hanging from its branches. Like the human raccoon that I am, I stood there by the edge of the road, awestruck for way too long. I’m probably lucky I wasn’t so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this tree that I collapsed and stumbled into the road. I can see the next day’s newsstory now: “Idiot Tourist Stares at Random Tree Too Long, Inexplicably Falls into Road.”

lazy-river-foliage-aulani-night

Speaking of lighting, the lights in the lazy river were also pretty spectacular.

lazy-river-aulani-night-bend

I am a lazy river aficionado, and lazy rivers that have cool lighting combine two of my passions (re-reading that sentence, I realize just how ridiculously uncool I sound…oh well).

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Unfortunately, Aulani’s lazy river closed a little less than an hour after sunset. Unlike some pools that “close” at a certain hour at Walt Disney World, but are really just unattended, this pool had a firm, enforced closing time. I learned this later in the night after changing into my swimsuit trying to get in some late night lazy river time.

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After taking way too many photos of that lazy river (I’ll spare you the rest), I decided to head over to the main pool, where there was a great view back at the hotel with stars overhead. I think this is a scene that really encapsulates some of the great things about Aulani. You’re away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu and Waikiki Beach so you can actually see the stars while swimming in this warm, island paradise.

I’m not totally satisfied with this photo, and I wanted to retake it after adjusting my angle and settings. However, after I set up in this spot–when no one was on this side of the pool–a couple swam up and sat right under my camera. This was no problem for me, as I could easily clone them out, but about halfway into my exposure, they turned around and gave me a dirty look, as if I just showed up and started taking pictures of them in their swimsuits. Nevermind that I was using a wide angle lens so it’s not as if I was zoomed in on them in their bathing suits…or that they came up to me…but I opted to move on without retaking the photo. I had a few more nights of tripod-photography ahead of me, and I didn’t want to potentially draw the ire of security early on.

This is one thing about taking photos around pools or water parks with a DSLR. No matter how careful you are or innocuous your photo subject, there is a 99.9% chance that you will somehow come across to someone as doing something creepy. That’s simply the nature of the beast when you have a big camera and they are in swimsuits. You can’t really blame people for not liking it.

aulani-koi-pond-night

From there, I headed over to the koi pond to do a bit more shooting. I figured koi wouldn’t be creeped out by me taking photos in their swimming pool, and even if they were, they were stupid fish who couldn’t verbalize any such complaints. Take that, fish!

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While I was shooting there, our friend who was down at the bar saw me and called me over. Instead of going for the fruity stuff, I ordered my drink of choice, a Manhattan, and enjoyed the live band play a mix of authentic Hawaiian music and Disney songs with a Hawaiian twist.

aulani-resort-hawaii-oahu-food-378

We also got some Kalua Pork Nachos. Relaxing there in the warm weather under the stars with a drink and nachos in hand while listening to live music was one of those almost-perfectly relaxing moments that I never wanted end. The only thing that would have made it better was if I were sitting in a raft on the lazy river during the moment, but I’m pretty sure they would have frowned upon me taking the drink and nachos into the lazy river, so I guess this was perfect in a different way.

It was a great way to end that first day in Aulani, and although I had only seen a little of the resort and didn’t really have a chance to let much soak in as I was running around most of the afternoon and evening trying to get photos, I was already starting to fall in love with Aulani, and it was obvious that my preconceptions about Aulani were totally wrong…

We’ll pick up there in Part 2.

If you are interested in seeing more of my best Aulani photos, check out my Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa Photo Gallery .

If you are planning a trip to Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii, we highly recommend reading our Aulani — A Disney Resort & Spa Trip Planning Guide for comprehensive advice for Aulani and beyond!

If you enjoyed this installment of the Aulani Trip Report, we would greatly appreciate it if you’d share it via social media to help spread the word. Lots of work goes into editing the photos and writing the text for this post, and we’d love for as many people to enjoy the post as possible. Consider sharing this post to be your act of charity for the day.

Your Thoughts…

Have you been to Aulani? Agree or disagree with my initial take? Do you have a Disney “addiction” that has impacted your life? 😉 Interested in visiting Aulani? Anything about Aulani that you’d like to see addressed in this trip report or future posts? Please share them in the comments below!

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Written by Tom Bricker

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Any chance parts 2-4 will be coming in the near future?

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Where are other lazy rivers that you like?

Very ready for parts 2-4!

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What Am I Going to Do With $12K in Disney Gift Cards Now That My Cruise Is Cancelled?

disboards trip reports

An interesting discussion taking place over on the Disney Cruise Line forum at DISboards.com really made me stop and think for a bit.

Most families plan a Disney Cruise Line vacation pretty far in advance as they’ve got specific times of the year that work for them and many other reasons, such as saving up the money. Cost plays a big factor here too because when you book your cruise way ahead of time, you don’t necessarily have to pay for the full fare at the time of booking.

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DISboards poster ‘ Rob1872 ‘ started a thread entitled, “ I’m going to end up with $11,450 in Disney Gift Cards. Now what? ” and I thought I’d share some of the responses as it seems a whole new world has opened up with folks thinking about completely changing their original plans of going on a Disney Cruise in the first place; some are even thinking about giving Adventures by Disney a try!

OK, I’m assuming that my Fantasy Eastern cruise at the end of May will be cancelled in a few weeks (bye-bye 10% OBB discount and $200 OBC), and that I will also be cancelling my pre-cruise visit to WDW. (So much for an AWESOME family summer vacation. I’d even splurged on Club level rooms so I could purchase 3 extra FastPass+ a day to really make it a memorable trip!) I had purchased Disney Gift Cards for the whole trip, and had been pleased at saving 8-10% by strategic buying at BJs when the gift cards were on a good sale. Now, I’m going to end up with everything back on Disney Gift Cards. I’m trying to figure out what to do next. I don’t want to take the Future Cruise Credit because then I’m locked into picking a cruise next year and we don’t have a lot of flexibility in the family schedule next year. At least Disney Gift Cards won’t expire. (But they will slowly lose value as prices go up each year.) I can use them at the theme parks , Disney stores/Disney online, DCL, Adventures By Disney, and Disney Resorts . What would you do in my situation?

Poster ‘ DisneyPrincess ‘ said, “I’m going to end up with over $17,000 in gift cards…I’m highly considering an ABD. :)”

I think poster ‘ MomOTwins ‘ has a great idea; “I’d save it for a cruise on the Disney Wish ! That way you get the fun of trying a new ship.” That’s a really fun thought amidst the bummer of having to digest cancelling your dream vacation!

Poster ‘ spacecanada ‘ shares a bit about why this situation could be a great time to consider visiting Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa :

Adventures by Disney has the highest guest satisfaction rate of any Disney product, and they are rated one of the best guided tour companies. If you haven’t tried it yet, I would highly recommend it. I haven’t been able to go on one yet, but every single person I know who has come back raving and has gone again (and multiple times, for some). It is an intimate way to experience a destination. Definitely give it a try! Aulani is amazing, but you would have to stay in a suite or large villa for a long time to spend that much. Though if you eat in the restaurants every day, and add excursions, it does add up quickly. As much as I love Aulani (and have been there), I still recommend AbD or a unique cruise itinerary like Iceland or Greece .

What would (or will) you do with thousands of dollars worth of Disney Gift Cards if you found yourself in this position? Would you try something new or would you rebook the original vacation you had planned? Let us know in the comments below or join in on the discussion on the boards !

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Jackie Gailey

Senior Editor at The DIS and DCL Fan | Disney Vacation Club Member | Thrilled to have been a ’13/’14 Disney Parks Moms Panelist (now planDisney) | Lover of all things Disney; the Magic of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line | ºoº

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  • Greece Ports

Greek Isles - Port Questions

By classy_cruiser , June 4, 2021 in Greece Ports

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classy_cruiser

The Greek Isles are supposed to be hopping this summer/fall with several cruise lines planning to sail. I'm going to be on the NCL Jade cruise but I know several other lines are visiting the same ports. Hope this post is allowed.

Out of the following ports, are there any where you feel it really makes more sense to do a ship excursion vs. DIY due to time constraint/hassles/distance? - Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes, Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos

If the cruise is originating in Greece, will they be checking to make sure passengers aren't bringing foods from the ship into port? Would be nice to bring some snacks from the ship with us. Or is it really easy to get on and off the ship for lunch at any of those ports?

I'm also interested to hear about your favorite activities or excursions. 

I'm guessing no one has really been to these locations since covid, but if you have it would be great to know of any changes since then. 

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60,000+ Club

Hi 🙂  yes, the post is allowed.

I would contact your cruise line concerning excursions.  Europe is still in a different place than here in the states and they may have policies in place for DYI in these ports.

I am also sailing to Greece....going next month and I know on my cruise they are having ship excursions only.   As for lunch......if you do a morning tour, you should be back to your ship in the lunch time hours....unless you are taking an all day tour.  If you are going on a tour in the afternoon then I would suggest eating lunch on board before you leave. if it is an all day tour, Lunch may be part of it.

I don't know what snacks are allowed to be taken off the ship........You might post these questions on the NCL forum as well. Maybe some regular cruisers over there can help with answers.

djacobson

My wife and I are cruising in November on the Jade. We are excited and looking forward to learning more about the ports of call. 

arianna.capri

Hi! I'm on the same itinerary on the Jade's 8/8 sailing. I've spent a LOT of time researching ports, distances, DIY options, etc, and this is what I landed on, if it helps at all. 

Crete/Heraklion - ship excursion (Knossos & Heraklion City) did this due to time/concerns about it being our first day after flying in the day of boarding so we wanted something easy and stress-free. Plus, its relatively low cost.

Rhodes - DIY Old Town Rhodes. Every trip report/review I have read states its super easy to get off of the ship and have a fun, fulfilling day in Old Town. Supposedly there are lots of ruins to see, shops to peruse, and good food. We aren't booking anything beforehand, just walking off the ship to see what the day brings.

Mykonos - DIY Old Town Mykonos area. Our goal here is to get beautiful photos on the streets of Mykonos and hopefully see some of the churches in the area. Also shopping, so we are planning on taking the Sea Bus from the New Port (where the ship docks) to the Old Port (walking distance of Mykonos Town)

Olympia/Katakolon - ship excursion (Olympia & Archeological Museum). Chose this again, due to time concerns and wanting an easy day where we can just really get lost in the history. After two DIY days, it will be nice to have someone else in charge. 

Corfu - ship excursion (Corfu Beach Break). Same reasoning as above. Figuring we might want a break from all the walking and sightseeing, a nice day at the beach with someone else handling the transportation sounds perfect and allows us to rest before Santorini. 

Santorini - the day I have way too much stress about, but we are going to DIY it. We want as much time in Oia as possible. At first, I was concerned about crowds so we were going to do the black sand beach. Then I saw that we are the only cruise ship currently scheduled in port that day, and this is a golden opportunity for good photos and to see Santorini without the streets packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Planning on paying for the boat transfer to Oia at the Fira port. 

Thanks

7 hours ago, Lois R said: Hi 🙂  yes, the post is allowed.   I would contact your cruise line concerning excursions.  Europe is still in a different place than here in the states and they may have policies in place for DYI in these ports.   I am also sailing to Greece....going next month and I know on my cruise they are having ship excursions only.   As for lunch......if you do a morning tour, you should be back to your ship in the lunch time hours....unless you are taking an all day tour.  If you are going on a tour in the afternoon then I would suggest eating lunch on board before you leave. if it is an all day tour, Lunch may be part of it.   I don't know what snacks are allowed to be taken off the ship........You might post these questions on the NCL forum as well. Maybe some regular cruisers over there can help with answers.

Norwegian has already said you don’t have to do shore excursions through the ship, which gives a lot of options! 

John Bull

8 hours ago, arianna.capri said: Hi! I'm on the same itinerary on the Jade's 8/8 sailing. I've spent a LOT of time researching ports, distances, DIY options, etc, and this is what I landed on, if it helps at all.  Crete/Heraklion - ship excursion (Knossos & Heraklion City) did this due to time/concerns about it being our first day after flying in the day of boarding so we wanted something easy and stress-free. Plus, its relatively low cost. Rhodes - DIY Old Town Rhodes. Every trip report/review I have read states its super easy to get off of the ship and have a fun, fulfilling day in Old Town. Supposedly there are lots of ruins to see, shops to peruse, and good food. We aren't booking anything beforehand, just walking off the ship to see what the day brings. Mykonos - DIY Old Town Mykonos area. Our goal here is to get beautiful photos on the streets of Mykonos and hopefully see some of the churches in the area. Also shopping, so we are planning on taking the Sea Bus from the New Port (where the ship docks) to the Old Port (walking distance of Mykonos Town) Olympia/Katakolon - ship excursion (Olympia & Archeological Museum). Chose this again, due to time concerns and wanting an easy day where we can just really get lost in the history. After two DIY days, it will be nice to have someone else in charge.  Corfu - ship excursion (Corfu Beach Break). Same reasoning as above. Figuring we might want a break from all the walking and sightseeing, a nice day at the beach with someone else handling the transportation sounds perfect and allows us to rest before Santorini.  Santorini - the day I have way too much stress about, but we are going to DIY it. We want as much time in Oia as possible. At first, I was concerned about crowds so we were going to do the black sand beach. Then I saw that we are the only cruise ship currently scheduled in port that day, and this is a golden opportunity for good photos and to see Santorini without the streets packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Planning on paying for the boat transfer to Oia at the Fira port.   

Excellent research, I'll just add....

Katakolon. Consider car rental - cheap, even with zero-excess insurance, add €10 for fuel for Olympia, 35-minute drive. Very simple route & driving. For two about the same cost as excursion but with more freedom on timing, for four it'll be cheaper than excursions. Katakolon itself is very very limited, just one street.

Corfu. Old town is just a simple and frequent 10-minute local bus ride from the port gate. Pleasant if unexciting town, popular for shopping.

Santorini. The problem here is too many cruisers and no road up the cliff from the tender/local ferry pier to the town of Fira , which puts a strain on the cablecar & donkey options. Problem is particularly the return to the ship, because ships' tour groups also return that way and because there's no ferry option. I'd be wary of ships-in-port websites, they're often inaccurate or incomplete - but ships tend to work timings out between them so that some are all-day, some are half-day, some depart late into the evening. So just one other large ship on your date and arriving / departing about the same time can create long lines for the cablecar, but three or four ships on the same day can be easy if their timings are different. Only fitness freaks would want to walk up the zig-zag path from tender pier to town, but walking down is pretty easy for most folk & takes about 25 minutes - so if you arrive at the top station at least half-an-hour before "last tender time" and there's a long line for the cablecar you can walk down with no fear of being late.

All my comments are pre-pandemic.

40,000+ Club

Good posts.  We have explored all the mentioned islands (on our own and on some tours).  JB mentioned Rhodes Town and that is certainly easy to do on your own (just walking from the pier).  But the remainder of Rhodes (if you choose to do some exploring) does require transportation be it a rental car or tour/excursion, or (in a few cases) using public buses.    Crete is probably the most difficult island to explore because it is huge (we are talking about 150 miles from end to end).  We have been to Crete about a half dozen times and despite having had rental islands we probably have not seen 3/4 of the island.   Katakolon is our least favorite place (of the ones mentioned) but most first time visitors find themselves heading to Olympia (the museum is actually pretty decent) which can be done by excursion or on your own.  We have often rented a car (there are a few rental car places within walking distance of the pier) and explored the region, but other then Olympia there is not a lot to impress unless you are simply looking for a beach.  Santorini and Mykonos are both easy to explore..be it on your own with a rental car, using public buses (an option to get to many beaches), or just using your feet to explore the main towns (Fira and Oia on Santorini and Mykonos Town).  Mykonos also is the base from which to explore the nearby island of Delos which can be done on an excursion or by a tour (you need to go via boat) from Mykonos Town.

irvington

I’m mostly following this to learn for my upcoming cruise in August but I will give advice on the two ports that I’ve been to. I’m not sure exactly why, but my sons and I found Olympia kind of underwhelming. I did think the museum was totally worth it and i’m sure we were influenced by the fact it was an incredibly hot day. We had also been to a lot of ancient ruins that trip.   

On Corfu, I organized a boat tour with Nautilus through the roll call. My teenagers thought it was the highlight of the trip.  I think we had about 12 or 15 people and it was a reasonable price with that many people going. The day was a lot of fun and the swimming and food were incredible. This was three years ago but looking at TripAdvisor they seem like they’re still in action. 

4 hours ago, irvington said: I’m mostly following this to learn for my upcoming cruise in August but I will give advice on the two ports that I’ve been to. I’m not sure exactly why, but my sons and I found Olympia kind of underwhelming. I did think the museum was totally worth it and i’m sure we were influenced by the fact it was an incredibly hot day. We had also been to a lot of ancient ruins that trip.    On Corfu, I organized a boat tour with Nautilus through the roll call. My teenagers thought it was the highlight of the trip.  I think we had about 12 or 15 people and it was a reasonable price with that many people going. The day was a lot of fun and the swimming and food were incredible. This was three years ago but looking at TripAdvisor they seem like they’re still in action. 

What a terrific idea (boat tour in Corfu).  Many cruisers may not be aware that Corfu in a very popular port with yachts and smaller private boats during the season.  It is the gateway port to the Ionian chain which is a wonderful place to be with a smaller boat.  We once took a week cruise (out of Corfu) on a 20 person boat/yacht in the Ionian Islands and it remains one of our favorite trips...ever!  

VMax1700

16 hours ago, irvington said: I’m not sure exactly why, but my sons and I found Olympia kind of underwhelming. I did think the museum was totally worth it

If someone wants a really 'lazy' day in Katakolon, then I recommend the 'Museum of Ancient Greek Technology' which is located in a small park at the other end of town to the port.  (It is a really short walk!).  It is only a couple of euro admission and there are many very interesting machines, models and exhibits etc from ancient Greek times.

Lots of great tips so far!   

For Santorini, I saw an interesting tip in the Rock Steve’s episode. He took a ship excursion that went to a different pier and got straight on a bus to Oia. Being on the excursion automatically got him on the first tender ship and skipped the cable car. He then left the tour early and did his own thing the rest of the day.   

I don’t think the cable car will be as big of a problem this year as in previous years,  but I like the idea of not having to wake up/line up super early to try and get a decent tender ticket and avoid losing any time in port.  Has anyone else tried this in the past? Wondering if they normally give you a hard time about it. Ideally we would still get the cable car return ticket from them and would only be skipping the portion with the bus ride back to Fira. 

cruisemom42

cruisemom42

2 minutes ago, classy_cruiser said: Has anyone else tried this in the past? Wondering if they normally give you a hard time about it. Ideally we would still get the cable car return ticket from them and would only be skipping the portion with the bus ride back to Fira. 

I remember it being discussed pretty often here on the boards in the past. A number of people opted to take one of the early-departing ship tours to avoid the hassles. Usually the guides have the cable car voucher/ticket and don't hand them out until you get back to Fira (people being what they are, they will lose or misplace them...).  However, I imagine that if you ask for them and explain what you're doing it will be fine. 

bennybear

On 6/5/2021 at 10:53 AM, irvington said: I’m mostly following this to learn for my upcoming cruise in August but I will give advice on the two ports that I’ve been to. I’m not sure exactly why, but my sons and I found Olympia kind of underwhelming. I did think the museum was totally worth it and i’m sure we were influenced by the fact it was an incredibly hot day. We had also been to a lot of ancient ruins that trip.    On Corfu, I organized a boat tour with Nautilus through the roll call. My teenagers thought it was the highlight of the trip.  I think we had about 12 or 15 people and it was a reasonable price with that many people going. The day was a lot of fun and the swimming and food were incredible. This was three years ago but looking at TripAdvisor they seem like they’re still in action. 

I organized a trip with Nautilus as well,  it remains one of our favourite excursions ever! A lovely day visiting many beautiful spots, swimming, great homemade food and wine.  Highly recommend as well,  they meet you at the pier.  

IIRC there is a transfer boat to Ammoudi,  which is at the base of Oia where you dock.   Although it is a bit of a hike up to Oia.   We have in the past rented a car, stayed on the island…. The easiest is just to walk up from the Cablecar to the bus stop and go to Oia first thing,  retuning before the buses get packed.  A swim and lunch at Kamari is a lovely way to finish.  Taxis are usually reasonable as well if you want to  avoid the bus.    

We’ve  visited Kataklon several times as well,  rented a car to drive to a bigger beach,  but the local beach accessible by taxi or the little train is a nice spot for a swim,  and there is a really lovely Local restaurant at the end of town nearest the taxis.  

82CCD198-22EE-43FA-87F5-BA3EE59300F0.jpeg

Regarding booking a Santorini excursion (that gets you tendered to the Athinios Dock (you must be on an excursion to go to this pier) where you can board a bus...and then you later abandon your tour...is a valid strategy done by some folks.  So you could take an excursion that eventually gets you to Oia, then leave your tour in Oia and find your way back to Fira (bus or taxi) from where you would take the cable car down to the tender pier.  Keep in mind that all the tours do eventually end in Fira and everyone goes down to the tender pier via cable car, donkeys, or an "interesting" walk.   But to answer the question, yes you can leave an excursion.  Normal decorum is to make very sure your tour guide (and the ship's chaperone) are aware that you are leaving the excursion (so they do not waste time looking for you).    This is an OK strategy although you will not get any kind of refund for not staying with your excursion :).    Just make sure to leave yourself plenty of time to get back to Fira since the bus between Oia and Fira does not run as often as one would like and can sometimes be full.  Finding a taxi at Oia is not always possible, especially if it is getting later in the day with many folks scrambling to get back to Fira.  Also keep in mind that there can be a long wait (especially in mid-late afternoon) to go down on the cable car.  If a few ships are in port that wait can be well over an hour.  The good news is that ships are aware of the bottleneck and seldom leave while they still have folks waiting for the cable car.  But you should ask yourself...do you want to gamble on your Captain waiting :).

On 6/6/2021 at 1:38 PM, Hlitner said: Regarding booking a Santorini excursion (that gets you tendered to the Athinios Dock (you must be on an excursion to go to this pier) where you can board a bus...and then you later abandon your tour...is a valid strategy done by some folks.  So you could take an excursion that eventually gets you to Oia, then leave your tour in Oia and find your way back to Fira (bus or taxi) from where you would take the cable car down to the tender pier.  Keep in mind that all the tours do eventually end in Fira and everyone goes down to the tender pier via cable car, donkeys, or an "interesting" walk.   But to answer the question, yes you can leave an excursion.  Normal decorum is to make very sure your tour guide (and the ship's chaperone) are aware that you are leaving the excursion (so they do not waste time looking for you).    This is an OK strategy although you will not get any kind of refund for not staying with your excursion :).    Just make sure to leave yourself plenty of time to get back to Fira since the bus between Oia and Fira does not run as often as one would like and can sometimes be full.  Finding a taxi at Oia is not always possible, especially if it is getting later in the day with many folks scrambling to get back to Fira.  Also keep in mind that there can be a long wait (especially in mid-late afternoon) to go down on the cable car.  If a few ships are in port that wait can be well over an hour.  The good news is that ships are aware of the bottleneck and seldom leave while they still have folks waiting for the cable car.  But you should ask yourself...do you want to gamble on your Captain waiting :).   Hank

Thanks a lot for the info! The excursions for our ship were just posted and I noticed the start time for the cheapest Oia excursion is not until 1:45pm. Our ship is supposed to arrive in port at 12pm. There are several tours for Santorini but only one has a start time before 1pm. The majority are between 1 and 1:45. Is it normal that it would take almost 2 hours to get off the ship and start the ship excursion? Doesn't seem like much of a time savings in that case. 

13 minutes ago, classy_cruiser said: Thanks a lot for the info! The excursions for our ship were just posted and I noticed the start time for the cheapest Oia excursion is not until 1:45pm. Our ship is supposed to arrive in port at 12pm. There are several tours for Santorini but only one has a start time before 1pm. The majority are between 1 and 1:45. Is it normal that it would take almost 2 hours to get off the ship and start the ship excursion? Doesn't seem like much of a time savings in that case. 

I gather from you "nick" that you have some previous cruise experience.  So keep in mind that you are talking about an island where all the cruise ships (and there are days with several ships) must tender everyone ashore.  Most ships seem to do a good job getting their own excursions (the one's that will go to the Athenios port where they can board buses) ashore and if these Oia excursions are using that port I do not understand the delay.  Keep in mind that Santorini is an island that can be done on your own with often good results.  For example, if Oia is a priority you can just use the normal tenders (no idea how long this will take on your ship) to the regular small port below Fira.  Once you arrive at the pier you will notice one or more vendors (on the pier) touting one-way boat rides over to Oia.  With most of these smaller boats you pay for a ticket which includes a boat across the cauldron to a small pier below Oia, a shuttle bus from near that pier up to Oia, and they also give you a bus ticket for a bus from Oia back to Fira (which is where you ultimately need to go in order to take the Cable car or donkeys down to the tender pier back to your ship).  

Another option for Oia is to tender to below Fira, take the cable car (or donkeys) up to Fira, and then walk through town to either the public bus station (where they have some buses that go to Oia) or the taxi stand (near the bus station) from where you can get a taxi to Oia (used to be about 25 Euros for the entire taxi).  

Understand that a "tour" to Oia will get you to Oia, usually involve some kind of walking tour (the only way to see Oia and/or Fira is on your feet) and then a bus back to Fira.  IMHO a "walking tour" of Oia or Fira is a complete waste since you don't need a guide to walk around narrow streets/walkways and browse shops.  You can get delightfully lost in the labyrinth of Oia, but that is part of the fun and this town is not very big.  DW and I have often sat in Oia cafes/restaurants watching the walking tours and feeling sorry for those folks who must stick with their group when many of them would love to just sit down at a cafe and relax (most walking tours do give you some free time).

We will again be on Santorini in August (from a small cruise ship) and I guarantee you that DW will follow our own advice,  tender ashore, take a boat over to Oia, and spend at least an hour enjoying a cafe with a view.   Nothing wrong with tours on Santorini, but if it is just a matter of Fira and Oia I think tours are a waste of money (unless you are doing it to get to a bus in Athios and avoid the cable car).  There is certainly more to Santorini then Fira and Oia as the island has some wineries, the ruins at Akritori, and even a few decent beaches (not normally part of tours).  Another option on the island is to rent a car at Fira and just explore the island on your own...although I think this is best left to those with a long port day.  When we rent a car on Santorini it is usually because we want to do a few different things such as head all the way out to Red Beach and later to a restaurant or perhaps one of the wineries.

Great thread.  We are on the Jade 7/25/21 and are getting some solid advice.  I will keep checking back for advice from those who have experience.

Thanks again to all who posted.

  • 2 weeks later...

Traveling with Holland America, August 15-19, a back-to-back with a stop back in Athens in the middle.  I have not yet heard whether they are insisting one take their shore excursions, or whether one can go off on their own.  (Seems weird, since we can wander around Athens all we want BEFORE the cruise...)  My contact at HAL says they are still conferring with Greek authorities, blah blah blah.  I'd sure like to know, before I spend time researching stuff to do on my own.  There are 3 of us and looking at one of their shore excursions (Santorini), I see the cost is $170 per person which comes to %540 for the day.  Multiple that by 6 or 7 different ports and that adds a hefty cost to the trip!

If anyone has heard anything about what Holland America is doing, I'd sure like to hear about it.

little britain

little britain

@Hlitner  - can you please recommend a car hire company you have used in Santorini - I'll be there twice in Sept and Oct (and again  next June) so am looking for something different to do!  Thanks

I cannot reasonably recommend anyone at the moment for 2 reasons.  It has been over 5 years since we last rented a car (we will be on Santorini in August and might rent at that time).  But the other more important reason/concern is that COVID has shut down the island for more then a year.  Like in many places, businesses have closed, some have changed ownership, etc.  At the moment we hesitate to recommend any business until we can get some first hand info (or info from very reliable sources) about the current situation.

At the moment I suspect there will be nobody with recent information since tourism is just beginning to resume on the island.  In a few weeks we should begin to hear from some folks and get updates on the current situation.  We really look forward to getting back to Greece (next month) but will go with an open mind (and eyes) and as COVID will have obviously changed many things.

  • 3 weeks later...

I will add our personal experience here (which may concur with other advice posted).

As with anywhere frequented by an insane amount of tourists (especially smaller locales visited by cruise ships disgorging thousands of passengers ashore any given day).....The early bird gets the worm.

That means for a tender port(such as Santorini), to beat the crowds(DIY), one has to plan on being on one of the earliest tenders to shore(if not the 1st).

I absolutely recommend taking the water taxi to the base of Oia, and taking the shuttle bus up the steep hill to the town itself -- The fastest route there(DIY).  At the top, make sure to reserve a time for the return shuttle-bus back to Fira -- if wanting/needing a specific (early afternoon)time to return. 

Upon returning to Fira, unless one is disabled/mobility limited, I would avoid the cable-car, and hike down the stairs back to the tender dock.  It's kind of a neat stroll to walk down; minding the presents left by the donkeys of course.  

In Oia, the crowds will eventually show up mid-morn, however, it is still possible to get away if one is willing to get off of the beaten path(s), and walk down a little ways to the less frequented walkways -- providing great views of both the caldera and the buildings hugging the hillsides.

For Rhodes:

If staying in town, in addition to exploring the Old Town, I would recommend visiting the Palace of the Grand Master of Knights.  We arrived fairly early and almost had the place to ourselves. The parklike atmosphere around sections of the old moat/outside the city walls(Gate D'Amboise) down to Liberty Gate/St Paul's Gate is also attractive.  For lunch/afternoon bites, I would recommend finding a nice rooftop restaurant.  Lindos Garden near the Suleiman Mosque/Medieval Clock Tower is where we went.  The food was nothing to write home about, but the scenic views made up for it.

This a great place to rent a car.  We rented one right at the port, and drove to the West side of the island.  Starting in Afionos; where we took a nice mid-morning hike down to the Porto Timini Beach overlook.  From there, we drove through Agios Georgios; hiking up to the fort ruins @Angelokastro.  We then stopped for a bite and some ice cream in the hilltop town of Lakones to soak in some views; before heading down to Palaiokastritsa, and spending some time wading in the water at Rovinia beach(Gefira).  Upon driving back, we had about 45 minutes to stop in Corfu town; to walk a little around the park near the Venetian Fortress/Museum, before returning the car at the ship dock.

For Katakalon:

Having already visited a fair amount of ruins/historical sites, we decided to forego Olympia and instead took the tourist-train(motorized) to Agios Andreas(about 20 minutes from port).  The tourist-train does a loop from Katakalo which includes a stop at the Mercouri Estate winery, and Agios Andreas beach.  There is a restaurant there called Vriniotis(we didn't partake), instead opting for a later-lunch back in Katakolo and a stroll down to the beach cafe/bar by the pier.  As stated, there's not much to do at this port stop if one is not wanting to visit the ruins Olympia, so it could provide for a nice beach day (if desired).  We had perfect beach weather the day that we visited.

tinkr2

On 6/4/2021 at 1:14 PM, classy_cruiser said: The Greek Isles are supposed to be hopping this summer/fall with several cruise lines planning to sail. I'm going to be on the NCL Jade cruise but I know several other lines are visiting the same ports. Hope this post is allowed.   Out of the following ports, are there any where you feel it really makes more sense to do a ship excursion vs. DIY due to time constraint/hassles/distance? - Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes, Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos   If the cruise is originating in Greece, will they be checking to make sure passengers aren't bringing foods from the ship into port? Would be nice to bring some snacks from the ship with us. Or is it really easy to get on and off the ship for lunch at any of those ports?   I'm also interested to hear about your favorite activities or excursions.    I'm guessing no one has really been to these locations since covid, but if you have it would be great to know of any changes since then. 

The rule on food is that you can take anything sealed off. I always bring a box of granola bars. Do people sneak food off , yes. Is it allowed? No.

@Hlitner Thanks for all the great info. First time to Greece, maybe 50th cruise. We hate group tours and love going off on our own. I had done zero research bc I was waiting to see if it was real . It seems to be. I usually rent a car in advance. Is it easier just to grab at port?

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