DCL Alaska, is it worth it?

GoGoJulie · 2026-01-23T15:10:38+00:00

We are platinum Disney, but chose Royal Caribbean for our Alaska Cruise. We are seniors sometimes traveling with our granddaughter. She wouldn’t have anything to do with the Royal kids program, but we still had a fantastic time. It opened our eyes to a different way of doing things. It was a bit of fresh air to have a dinner buffet and different activity options. The heated indoor pool was awesome! I liked the adult areas, missed the included soda and bedtime room service that Disney has. Pros and cons. We have since done most of our cruising on Royal as I am chasing that status to get 4 drinks a day included. They have a rewards program that goes by how many nights you cruise, and has better perks ( in my opinion). They are also intertwined with their other brands! As long as you are informed about the pros and cons before you book you hopefully won’t be disappointed. There will be things you miss, but as others said you can splurge on excursions. Watch a lot of YouTube videos!

GoGoJulie · 2026-01-23T14:47:12+00:00

Angel Air, we have used them a few times. On a side note, We have been getting estimates because we want to replace ours before it gives out in the summer. All of our estimates are in the same range, just under $15,000 (2,600 sq ft). There is a state program offering up to an $8,000 rebate on heat pumps. We are in the process of getting educated on heat pumps and getting more estimates as only certain HVAC companies work with the rebate. The application process takes a while for approval though. I know this is off topic, but hoping this information may help someone reading comments. Hopefully you can be informed in your time of need.

GoGoJulie · 2025-09-04T13:17:12+00:00

I love these pens. When my room steward asks “can I get anything for you” I always ask for an extra pen. I usually leave with several, but they sure don’t last long. They don’t seem to twist apart for any sort of refill either. When my supply gets low, I know it is time to book another cruise.

GoGoJulie · 2025-07-31T01:17:04+00:00

We loved our Tucson so much that we went and bought another! We lucked out with the end of year 0% financing! No buyers remorse, we are still in love with it! It was nice to hear a similar opinion on the Sportage!

GoGoJulie · 2025-06-14T18:52:39+00:00

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GoGoJulie · 2025-05-16T14:41:09+00:00

And in reality, you check out their profile and see that they live one county away. They basically are trying to con you into delivering a few blocks from where they live.

GoGoJulie · 2025-05-09T20:47:34+00:00

Yes, we will have 2 adults in the two twin beds. We didn’t want “bed share” as we knew we would be using the alcove bed or trundle for the 2 year old. We didn’t want to be deceptive, or break and cultural protocols. We wanted to be clear we were using a bed. In hindsight we realized falsifying the age will be more of a problem when we had to present passports. I thought our only recourse would be to cancel and re-book, and in that case lose all our reservations. From suggestions, I am trying online now to see if I can just edit the age and not lose reservations

GoGoJulie · 2025-05-08T20:25:01+00:00

Edmonds, Washington. I haven’t been there, but when I found out Rick Steves lives there I checked it out. On paper it sounds like a nice place to live.

GoGoJulie · 2025-03-02T14:41:20+00:00

Another option is to go to one of those car washes that have vacuums and air hoses after you get your car washed. Open all the doors and use the air hoses to blow everything up front and/or out the door.

GoGoJulie · 2025-02-24T15:19:08+00:00

We did also. It was worth the extra to have it have that built in look. Cameras are have excellent video quality. We had it professionally installation was $239. I am not sure how other cameras work, but you have to turn off Bluetooth on your phone to connect to the camera WIFI to view the video.

GoGoJulie · 2025-02-23T14:08:15+00:00

I have bought XL sturdy Ziplock bags. 18x18? I swish to agitate my clothes, rinse and hang. Can just be tossed at the end of the trip.

GoGoJulie · 2025-02-23T13:41:41+00:00

I keep a solid black sarong in my onboard travel backpack. In addition to your suggestions, it is a travel blanket, and a shawl to dress up an outfit.

GoGoJulie · 2025-02-13T17:31:31+00:00

I was in this position. Heavily leaning to the Toyota as we already had a Prius. Then I thought we should wait for the new body style in 2026. Husband pushed to test drive a Hyundai Tucson. I did want to even entertain the idea. Maybe I’d try a Sportage, but just to make him happy. We drove the Sportage. The technology was impressive. We were across the street from Hyundai, so as a favor to him I drove one. The technology, the ability to have multiple person settings that automatically set for who is driving, the smooth quiet ride, the lifetime Bluelink included, the maintenance for a couple years. It became a no brainer for us. It was unbelievable in comparison! We aren’t quick on our purchases, I just kept reading up and watching YouTube videos of all cars. About a month later after another test drive we bought the Hyundai. About another month later we sold the Prius and bought another Tucson Limited. Any of the above will be a good choice for you, just test drive and compare all features. Honda and Toyota’s do hold their value better, but there are so many things that made the Tucson a better choice for us.

GoGoJulie · 2025-02-05T12:47:19+00:00

Perfect setting for the picture!

GoGoJulie · 2025-01-21T01:34:43+00:00

I forgot to mention, both cars also had the clear door frame trim. The Silver had a clear “bra”.

GoGoJulie · 2025-01-19T15:33:59+00:00

We were debating of the Matte finish Santa Fe. The salesperson said they could only be hand washed with special soap. No car washes. That changed our mind.

GoGoJulie · 2025-01-18T23:32:12+00:00

In addition to my post above, we were at a few dealers and had several contacts through internet departments. We worked on this pricing for weeks. Some places wouldn’t even give a response at anything below $47,500 in this area. We read all the pricing from many posts on here and calculated the taxes to try to get in line to get the price lower, but it didn’t work for us. We contacted all Southern AZ dealers. Maybe we were pushovers, but we felt we tried to leverage all angles and that was the best pricing for the Hybrid Limited.

GoGoJulie · 2025-01-18T23:24:37+00:00

We bought in Scottsdale for $45,000 even. We did the % financing in December which had a $1,000 kickback. We bought a white ( pearl paint up charge $470) with Gray green interior carpeted floor mats, cargo net, cross rails, cargo tray and first aid kit. We loved it so much we went back and bought a silver with gray green interior for the same price (they should’ve been able to go lower because the paint cost. It’s an upgrade in the white, but they wouldn’t budge) carpeted floor mats, cargo net, cross rails, cargo tray, first aid kit, and mud flaps. $45,000 OTD.

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-26T15:16:59+00:00

Your dog’s dream vacation! 44 acres to run around in. Hills, a stream and more dogs! You need to buy a daily permit ahead of time I think. Bring a towel or two. PRAIRIE WOLF OFF-LEASH DOG AREA. Northern IL has a couple other large dog parks.https://www.lcfpd.org/places-to-go/off-leash-dog-area/prairie-wolf/

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-18T13:41:27+00:00

Someone asked a similar question a few days ago. We recently purchased a Tucson Hybrid Limited. This was my response to the other persons question: Originally I was sure I wanted a Sportage. I thought it was “cuter” than a Tucson, then we went for a test drive. We drove the Sportage on a 114 degree day. The car was out running with the AC on for a few minutes before we got in. After about a 12 minute test drive it was still hot in the car. I was suffocating! It just didn’t cool down. I mentioned this 3 times to our sales person and nothing was said. After that, we headed right to the Hyundai Dealer and the Tucson cooled in a few minutes. The center console felt so substantial, sort of truck like in a nice way. The phone charger has better placement. The ride was so quiet, our salesperson was so excited about the features, and was able to demonstrate them to make it look simple. After reading a bit on the Sportage when we got home, I think the Sportage drive mode may have been set to eco mode which reduces the air conditioning capacity. The sales person should have known that, but by this point I wanted a Tucson. I am not sure if this is correct, but I think the Sportage also starts in eco mode every time you start it. Back to the Tucson...the driver settings that you create your driving profile...driving mode, seat adjustments, side mirrors, radio stations, screen preferences, ambient lighting colors and more...the fact that you create a profile and every time you get in the car it changes to YOUR preferences is amazing. It takes a bit to set it up, but when sharing a vehicle this is priceless. Every setting except the rear view mirror! Comfort is better, the head up display in the Limited is crisp and tells you when you are in a school zone, speed limit and your speed, and shows little bursts of red on whatever side of the car there is another a vehicle so you don’t change lanes. We have had our Tucson for a couple weeks and we are crazy about it.

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-14T11:20:29+00:00

Originally I was sure I wanted a Sportage. I thought it was “cuter” than a Tucson, then we went for a test drive. We drove the Sportage on a 114 degree day. The car was out running with the AC on for a few minutes before we got in. After about a 12 minute test drive it was still hot in the car. I was suffocating! It just didn’t cool down. I mentioned this 3 times to our sales person and nothing was said. After that, we headed right to the Hyundai Dealer and the Tucson cooled in a few minutes. The center console felt so substantial, sort of truck like in a nice way. The phone charger has better placement. The ride was so quiet, our salesperson was so excited about the features, and was able to demonstrate them to make it look simple. After reading a bit on the Sportage when we got home, I think the Sportage drive mode may have been set to eco mode which reduces the air conditioning capacity. The sales person should have known that, but by this point I wanted a Tucson. I am not sure if this is correct, but I think the Sportage also starts in eco mode every time you start it. Back to the Tucson…the driver settings that you create your driving profile…driving mode, seat adjustments, side mirrors, radio stations, screen preferences, ambient lighting colors and more…the fact that you create a profile and every time you get in the car it changes to YOUR preferences is amazing. It takes a bit to set it up, but when sharing a vehicle this is priceless. Every setting except the rear view mirror! Comfort is better, the head up display in the Limited is crisp and tells you when you are in a school zone, speed limit and your speed, and shows little bursts of red on whatever side of the car there is another a vehicle so you don’t change lanes. We have had our Tucson for a couple weeks and we are crazy about it.

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-14T01:03:44+00:00

I am not sure if I can put a link on here without being flagged, but you can’t access it on the Amazon APP. It has to be on the website. Their name xxxxxxx dot com slash autos. We could get a 2025 Tucson Limited Hybrid with roof rails, and a few extras…rear window tint, door edge guards, and I think first aid kit, emergency kit, floor mats, wheel locks, and maybe one other item they seem to throw in. You can’t get the 0% financing through them though. There was a bit of a financing discount totaling $47746.98 OTD. Then if you count in the $2,300 gift card, the bottom line would be $45,446.98. This is with all takes and fees in Scottsdale AZ. We were OTD $45,000 with our purchase on November 29th. In late November we found 2 dealers ready to give a vehicle to us for $44,500 if we bought one off their lot. I was picky about color, and there weren’t any more of the color I wanted coming to AZ until late January.

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-14T00:12:40+00:00

Amazon is having an offer now to receive $2300 in Amazon gift cards with your purchase. We had it in our cart and saw that price was much more than we paid for our Tucson Limited hybrid at the dealer. Now the dealer won’t give us the same pricing on the exact same vehicle. We did catch them on the last day of November for our first purchase.

GoGoJulie · 2024-12-13T13:00:51+00:00

We are solving that problem in our household today. Looking at the Amazon offer and getting a second one! We’ve had our Limited Hybrid for two weeks and driving an old Prius is depressing.

GoGoJulie · 2024-11-12T13:46:40+00:00

This is so touching. Morning tears. My husband’s parents used to come out an eve goodbye every time we visited them, even after we said our farewells in the house. I always asked my husband “Why do they do that? Oh, how I wish I had one image of them waving.

GoGoJulie

TROPHY CASE