Looking for some Disney Alaskan Cruise Tips

[sjhanksaz]

We would love to take a Disney Alaskan cruise in May 2015 or June 2015

I could use some help

When is the best time to purchase?

Are there any discounts out there for us? We have a Disney Visa and have booked travel through Disney before.

 

[sjhanksaz]

We have 6 in our party - 2 adults and 4 kids - do they have connecting rooms and such?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have 6 in our party - 2 adults and 4 kids - do they have connecting rooms and such?

There are connecting rooms onboard the ships. I will point out you will need to place at least one adult in each room (at least on paper).

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

It is best to book as soon as dates are released. Prices are usually the lowest they will be. There are connecting cabins and booking early gives you the availability to book those.

 

[SLP958]

We are doing the Alaska cruise this June. We booked through a travel agent in September of last year. We are not able to book excursions through Disney or register the kids for the kids club until March. I was hoping to do this earlier. I am a planner.

They do have connecting rooms available.

I hope to see some more replies as I am also unsure of many things about this cruise.

We have cruised many times before but all to tropical locations and never with Disney.

 

[Purdue Mouse]

It's pricey but in our case it was my family's favorite cruise to date! Maybe it's the 7 day thing. The views are majestic. Words can't do it justice. We usually like Veranda rooms but did fine with an ocean view on deck 2. Can you transfer an OBB? With luck and timing you can book when the new dates open up. We still spent a lot of $$ but took joy in booking when prices were the lowest.

 

[htmlkid]

We would love to take a Disney Alaskan cruise in May 2015 or June 2015

I could use some help

When is the best time to purchase?

Are there any discounts out there for us? We have a Disney Visa and have booked travel through Disney before.

The earlier you purchase the better. We booked a cat 9a cruise and then pain $1000 at the port to upgrade to a verhanda.... saves a grand.

Also purchase through Costco if you are a member they give great credits back and if you pay with a Disney credit card you get points back there that can be used to pay for cruse tips or excursions.

 

[sjhanksaz]

Loving all the tips so far.

Which is better a late May or early June cruise?

Also what are some of the best excursions

 

[jenf22]

My understanding it is best to book opening day. That should be in a week or so (I have email dated 15-Feb last year with a reservation, it could have been earlier). Just watch this board - the posts will light up!

Also use a TA and your Disney Visa. The TA should be able to get maybe $200 in OBC (depending on your room) and then $50 from Visa. Oh, and try to grab room 7620 or 7120 if you can. They're "secret verandah" rooms, so you can save a bit of money. We've been in 7620 before and absolutely loved it. Deck 7 aft is perfect! Oh sorry - just re-read your post. 7620 isn't connecting. But I still recommend deck 7 as far aft as you can get.

I don't know what's better May or June. June would be my guess because you might have too much ice in the fjord in May. We went in September and it was amazing!

For excursions we did:
Juneau - Best of Juneau through Disney. We loved it!
Skagway - White Pass Rail with Dog Cart through Chilkoot Charters. A blast!
Ketchikan - Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition through Disney. Loved it too. We saw so many bears and got to feed reindeer.

That cruise was hands-down the best vacation ever!

 

[JOANNEL]

We went in August of 2011. Fabulous trip. We did Harv and marv in Juneau . Loved the smaller boat. Got very close to hump backs and orcas. Greatest experience. In Skagway we did the train with the bike ride back down. Was beautiful and a lot of fun. Ketchikan cute town, we did the lumberjack show, kind of corny, but fun. Cute town!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Loving all the tips so far.

Which is better a late May or early June cruise?

Also what are some of the best excursions

Early June the weather might be warmer (it varies hour to hour.) Some kids will still be in school in late May so there may be fewer kids in the kids clubs on the ship.

Do a web search of Alaskan excursions -- you can usually (almost always) book the same excursion on your own, for a lot less $$$ than through DCL. I think our fave was flying from Ketchikan in a little float plane to Misty Fjords.

 

[crysmom]

i'm so glad to read all these tips, we want to book an alaskan cruise for 2015 as well two adults and 3 kids (7,9,11)

 

[CruznLexi]

Book as soon as feesible. Sometimes the very early sailings will later go on sale. Also the early sailings sometimes have difficulties getting into Tracy Arm the glaciers. The later the sailing the closer you can get or at least that what capt Thor said. We were on the July 15th. Sailing. Stay at Pan Pacific I paid $ 245 and $229 some have gotten deals on price line and hotwire. I flew into Seattle but spent 1 night and did the train. It was a great way to get there. It took 4 hours but you leave at 730am. Try business class. Your final payment will be due 120 days out since you are leaving from non us city. Shore excursions the longest port is Skagway so if you don't want to do DCL there are many others you can do and still feel safe. Great local things to buy.

 

[sjhanksaz]

Getting some sticker shock on prices of the Disney Cruises

Is there another Cruise line that kids 10-17 would enjoy?

 

[lilmissy7789]

I am in need of some help! VERY tight budget & I need to know if there are some SUPER CHEAP excursions to do in Alaska! We are renting a car in Skagway to do our own sight seeing... Any other suggestions? Or should we just skip the "pricey" excursions & just make our own?
Help!

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[SunshineCoast]

We haven't been yet, but one of the things we have planned in Juneau is to take one of the buses by the dock (one is often referred to as the "Blue bus" I believe) for $16/pp return up to the Mendenhall Glacier and walk down to Nugget falls (easily can look up the trail). Works out to $64 for a family of four. They also have an information centre there for $3/pp

 

[jetskigrl]

I am in need of some help! VERY tight budget & I need to know if there are some SUPER CHEAP excursions to do in Alaska! We are renting a car in Skagway to do our own sight seeing... Any other suggestions? Or should we just skip the "pricey" excursions & just make our own?
Help!

Thanks,
Shannon

Mendenhall Glacier has already been recommended and that would be a good one for Juneau.

We were going to tour Ketchikan on our own but then I read a review of Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours and decided to book with them. They will customize your tour to whatever you want to see and the pricing is very reasonable. So this might be something you want to look into (I haven't been yet so I can't give a personal review for a few more months).

http://www.ketchikantaxicabtours.com/