We are going to look into ANOTHER cruise line for Alaska

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I was going to post the same thing as kaseyC...again! Flying over and sailing through are two different experiences. When you have flown over Tracy Arm or sailed through Glacier Bay - THEN you can tell us if you still think Tracy Arm is superior! Tracy Arm is a nice fjord with 2 so-so glaciers at the end. Glacier Bay is a national park with 11 glaciers: http://www.nps.gov/glba/faqs.htm

* Just wanted to clarify that I am not questioning your experience of preferring Tracy Arm over Glacier Bay, as you are entitled to your opinion. However, you aren't comparing apples to apples.

Yes so am posting my personal experience of sailing Tracy Arm and flying over Glacier bay, we also flew over glaciers At Juneau and touched down and walked on glaciers, so for us had the full experience, your view is different, that's noted.

To me the " Wonderful" Glacier bay isn't the be all and end all, and it's up to everyone to make their own judgement on it.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Just offering more of the flip side so it might come off a little "defensive" of DCL We LOVED our DCL Alaska cruise in 2013 and booked our 2nd one for 8/2016. I've continued to check pricing on the other lines, and even with their "sales", DCL has been about the same or *even cheaper* - I'm not kidding. Perhaps it's because we are only "3" and when the others were offering the 3rd and 4th passengers other families saved more than we would but again as the saying goes, price around and see what you get. I of course factored in our OBB with 10% discount and did not factor in the $200 OBC. We are sailing in a 9C in August for $4500 and that doesn't feel too insane to me - again when some of the others were MORE than that!

Sailing DCL to Alaska is our favorite cruise so far and to us, the ship and company do matter. Sometimes I wish it didn't but to us, it does. I have sailed other lines so I feel I can say that objectively but different strokes, for different folks. I do listen and loved to read all trip reports and like I've mentioned, I continuously check other prices out for multiple itineraries. I've always said if the others were "half" or a major difference in price I'd consider it, but so far every year I've checked since 2013, this has not been the case for us.

My close friend sails to Alaska in September on HAL and she isn't expecting much and she chose the cheapest as she really doesn't care and they don't have kids yet so that works for them. She is also doing Princess to Japan next month and has sailed with me on DCL 3 times and then she has been on Carnival and Royal as well so I trust her honest opinion when she returns and eagerly look forward to what she has to say. I know their perspective will likely change when they have a child too.

So - go with what your heart (and bank account lol) desires and what you won't regret doing. As I say, #yolo

Heather

 

[kaseyC]

I was going to post the same thing as kaseyC...again! Flying over and sailing through are two different experiences. When you have flown over Tracy Arm or sailed through Glacier Bay - THEN you can tell us if you still think Tracy Arm is superior! Tracy Arm is a nice fjord with 2 so-so glaciers at the end. Glacier Bay is a national park with 11 glaciers: http://www.nps.gov/glba/faqs.htm

* Just wanted to clarify that I am not questioning your experience of preferring Tracy Arm over Glacier Bay, as you are entitled to your opinion. However, you aren't comparing apples to apples.

My thoughts exactly, Nancy!! Flying over GBNP and sailing through are two different experiences.

 

[deide71]

We booked Celebrity for August 2016. Our balcony cabin for 2 is $4400 and includes a drink package, gratuities and a 300 on board credit. The same cruise on DCL leaving the same week was over $7000 with no perks. I consider $2600 price difference pretty major.

 

[xlxo]

Can you bot elaborate? I know I want a cruiseline that does Glacier Bay so I believe I am down to HAL and Princess. Would love to hear some pros and cons of each.

Differences I found...

• HAL offers photo packages like DCL.... I almost went broke when Princess wanted to charge me pictures individually.
• HAL offers a Denali option where you get off halfway at Skagway, explore the Yukon and then travel to Northern Alaska for more touring. You then have the option to cruise back.
• HAL is wood... Princess is still and glass... Do you like tradition or modern?

The first Alaska cruise we booked, I was convinced that it was going to be my ONLY Alaska cruise, as I don't do cold. I found that most Alaska cruisers say that Glacier Bay is a must (over Tracy Arm) if you have to make a choice. That being said, I was truly glad to find that Holland America had a cruise that included both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm. The best of both worlds. I agree, if you're only going to do one Alaska cruise, Glacier Bay is much more dramatic than Tracy Arm. But, Tracy Arm is quite spectacular, also. Both definitely worth seeing.

If you can't choose look for HAL/Princess mid-ocean transfers Northbound into Juneau itineries...

Book early as these excursions do sell out and you save 2hrs in travel time for Juneau.

• http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-destinations/ExcursionDetails.action?excursionCode=100030935
• http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=A&exType=S&tourCode=TA1-665

I think when choosing between the two... what is your priorities? Wildlife? Glaciers? If both... then you need for an itinery that allows for both places.

 

[aprincessatlast]

We booked Celebrity for August 2016. Our balcony cabin for 2 is $4400 and includes a drink package, gratuities and a 300 on board credit. The same cruise on DCL leaving the same week was over $7000 with no perks. I consider $2600 price difference pretty major.

When considering Alaska that is a major difference. Imagine how far $2600 will go on excursions and lets face it that is one cruise where taking excursions really make a difference. From Sea Planes to helicopter rides to ice glaciers or bear watching. Train rides and whale watches there is just so much to see and experience. $2600 for 2 will let you experience so much.

As far as HAL being for an older generation I really considered them and I struggled greatly between the 2. X and RCL schedule did not work and husband vetoed Carnival. We are a youngish family with kids under 10. I will say at our port where there were 2 ships HAL and Princess at boarding. Everyone loaded and unloaded in the same area and going to the right would take you to Princess and going to the left to HAL. You could not help but notice a huge age difference in the people that were heading for the HAL boat. I say this as I was not looking for it but certainly did jump out at me. If you have young kids I would recommend Princess as their kids program was actually really good. Not as great as DCL due to hours but my kids loved it (well the younger ones at least) and they love DCL as well. It was more educational on Princess with loads of crafts and free stuffed animals teaching about the sea. If you are 50ish+ with no kids I would think either would work well as HAL does look very nice.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Just offering more of the flip side so it might come off a little "defensive" of DCL We LOVED our DCL Alaska cruise in 2013 and booked our 2nd one for 8/2016. I've continued to check pricing on the other lines, and even with their "sales", DCL has been about the same or *even cheaper* - I'm not kidding. Perhaps it's because we are only "3" and when the others were offering the 3rd and 4th passengers other families saved more than we would but again as the saying goes, price around and see what you get. I of course factored in our OBB with 10% discount and did not factor in the $200 OBC. We are sailing in a 9C in August for $4500 and that doesn't feel too insane to me - again when some of the others were MORE than that!

Sailing DCL to Alaska is our favorite cruise so far and to us, the ship and company do matter. Sometimes I wish it didn't but to us, it does. I have sailed other lines so I feel I can say that objectively but different strokes, for different folks. I do listen and loved to read all trip reports and like I've mentioned, I continuously check other prices out for multiple itineraries. I've always said if the others were "half" or a major difference in price I'd consider it, but so far every year I've checked since 2013, this has not been the case for us.

My close friend sails to Alaska in September on HAL and she isn't expecting much and she chose the cheapest as she really doesn't care and they don't have kids yet so that works for them. She is also doing Princess to Japan next month and has sailed with me on DCL 3 times and then she has been on Carnival and Royal as well so I trust her honest opinion when she returns and eagerly look forward to what she has to say. I know their perspective will likely change when they have a child too.

So - go with what your heart (and bank account lol) desires and what you won't regret doing. As I say, #yolo

Heather

Fully agree.

 

[MUN]

I had started a thread a little while back, Two couples scared away from DCL pricing, for the Alaska cruises in 2016. We are gold CC members and booked before open to the general public. As soon as the two other couples saw the pricing once open to the rest of the world; they said there is no way they will pay those prices. Especially after looking into other cruise lines with comparable itineraries.

So we are going to look into another cruise line for Alaska 2016, switch our current reservation to a different cruise itinerary (and possibly cancel it). Very disappointment but we have been on many DCL cruises and would love to finally cruise with friends.

Are you cruising with children? There are other cruise lines that have great Alaska cruises, but for my money, DCL is the best with children, especially for Alaska.

MUN

 

[bumbershoot]

I've continued to check pricing on the other lines, and even with their "sales", DCL has been about the same or *even cheaper* - I'm not kidding. Perhaps it's because we are only "3" and when the others were offering the 3rd and 4th passengers other families saved more than we would but again as the saying goes, price around and see what you get. I of course factored in our OBB with 10% discount and did not factor in the $200 OBC. We are sailing in a 9C in August for $4500 and that doesn't feel too insane to me - again when some of the others were MORE than that!

I wonder what cruises you're checking. And timing is, of course, everything.

We're 3 as well, and have a lovely balcony cabin* on Radiance in early Sept for *less* than 4500 with nearly $400 OBC.



*though I do not believe a balcony is necessary, well, ever...it's what we booked and now the cruise is pretty much sold out and I can't downgrade even though I want to because I cannot imagine spending much time on it, since i don't spend much time on a balcony in the Caribbean where it's *warm*...

 

[tekaye]

Hubby and I want to sail to Alaska with a teenager and a pre-teen who will very much want to be in kids' activities most of the time. DCL is too spendy for us. I consider a balcony a must for Alaska. From what I'm gathering from this thread, I should be looking at Princess and NCL?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Hubby and I want to sail to Alaska with a teenager and a pre-teen who will very much want to be in kids' activities most of the time. DCL is too spendy for us. I consider a balcony a must for Alaska. From what I'm gathering from this thread, I should be looking at Princess and NCL?

Princess imho. They are the best in Alaska.- I still think DCL is good but excluding DCL Princess is excellent in Alaska.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I wonder what cruises you're checking. And timing is, of course, everything.

We're 3 as well, and have a lovely balcony cabin* on Radiance in early Sept for *less* than 4500 with nearly $400 OBC.



*though I do not believe a balcony is necessary, well, ever...it's what we booked and now the cruise is pretty much sold out and I can't downgrade even though I want to because I cannot imagine spending much time on it, since i don't spend much time on a balcony in the Caribbean where it's *warm*...

The other issue for *us* is the lack of round trips from Vancouver on ships we would consider. I've been to Seattle several times and love it, however Vancouver completely won us over and it's easy to see why so many love it. I didn't mention this above.

So considering these are from Seattle they would be a step down for us and I don't mean that in an offensive way ~ it would be a compromise basically as we really want to experience Vancouver again.

Just checked again and RCCL round trip out of Seattle 8/12/16 for ocean view is $4651.21.

NCL round trip out of Seattle 8/6/16 for ocean view is $3476.15. So it might be crazy for others but for $1000 more I'd stick with DCL out of Vancouver in a heartbeat.

We did verandah the first Alaskan cruise and really enjoyed it but we also like to try different locations out and the 9C was for more reasonable in price compared to verandah and that's where our excursion money will go.

We cruised mid June in 2013 as that's when DS is out of school and he usually returns the third week in August. We wanted to try August this time for something different and it was cheaper than our June one we would have done.

Remember these are my opinions
Heather

 

[kaseyC]

Hubby and I want to sail to Alaska with a teenager and a pre-teen who will very much want to be in kids' activities most of the time. DCL is too spendy for us. I consider a balcony a must for Alaska. From what I'm gathering from this thread, I should be looking at Princess and NCL?

As someone who has sailed both Princess and NCL in Alaska, Either would be an excellent choice since they both offer itineraries that include Glacier Bay. Princess and HAL have been sailing Alaska the longest and have some of the best one way Northbound/Southbound land and sea itineraries. But if you are looking for a 7 night R/T from Seattle that includes Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm, you can't go wrong with NCL. They have some great promotions running right now.

 

[tekaye]

Why is roundtrip important?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Why is roundtrip important?

Airfare to/from the same city is often less costly than airfare to one airport and back from another.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I know with DCL you can get onboard credit if you book with a travel agent or use your disney visa....how do you get OBC and perks with HAL or Princess?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know with DCL you can get onboard credit if you book with a travel agent or use your disney visa....how do you get OBC and perks with HAL or Princess?

Same - TAs offer OBC (sometimes) as a perk if you use them to book reservations. Could be on any line. And some credit cards offer perks at random times that may include travel options.

 

[Dug720]

Same - TAs offer OBC (sometimes) as a perk if you use them to book reservations. Could be on any line. And some credit cards offer perks at random times that may include travel options.

And those other lines also sometimes offer OBC (or a choice of other things like beverage packages, etc.) depending on what class of stateroom you book. (And like the TAs that post the highest possible amount they give you, the cruiselines will publish the biggest draw - which pretty much never applies to the inside or ocean view cabins - but hey...they'll give you $25 or $50.)

Actually given that many other lines require prepayment for excursions and offer drink packages that can be purchased in advance, there may not be as much of a need for OBC on them as there is on Disney where you pay for excursions once onboard and they don't really have drink packages.

 

[jtba]

Why is roundtrip important?

this is the opposite of your question, but in a related thread, someone said they prefer one-way trips and i asked why. they said it's because one-way allows the ship to go further and cover more ports.

something to think about.

 

[alldiz]

Differences I found...

• HAL offers photo packages like DCL.... I almost went broke when Princess wanted to charge me pictures individually.
• HAL offers a Denali option where you get off halfway at Skagway, explore the Yukon and then travel to Northern Alaska for more touring. You then have the option to cruise back.
• HAL is wood... Princess is still and glass... Do you like tradition or modern?

If you can't choose look for HAL/Princess mid-ocean transfers Northbound into Juneau itineries...

Book early as these excursions do sell out and you save 2hrs in travel time for Juneau.

• http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-destinations/ExcursionDetails.action?excursionCode=100030935
• http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=A&exType=S&tourCode=TA1-665

I think when choosing between the two... what is your priorities? Wildlife? Glaciers? If both... then you need for an itinery that allows for both places.

So Hal/princess has excursions that bring you to Tracy arm?
Looks like the princess one picks up and brings back to ship?
Or is it Juneau?
How does one know if these excursions are available?
This would be amazing if possible?
Does this book up quick like Cabanas on castaway and regular folk(non suite) don't get a chance?
Thanks
Kerri