Abandon 2016 DCL Alaska cruise.

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I posted a thread how two other couples got sticker shock when they saw the price for the same Alaska cruise that we (wife and me) have already reserved, late August 2016. I then posted a second thread on how we will probably cancel it in order to cruise on another line with these two couples. And I got LOTS of responses on these two threads. Mostly saying, bail on DCL!!!!!!!

Well it is NOW OFFICIAL, we are all booked on Celebrity Cruise Line. We are going to do a southbound cruise, Seward to Vancouver which DCL does not offer. We are getting to Anchorage the day before and we are all looking forward to this, wife and I have been there the other four have not. At the end of the cruise we will be spending several nights in Vancouver, no one in this group has been to Vancouver and we are really looking forward to this.

It's a year out , but I will definitely post a comparison of DCL vs. Celebrity when we are done. I have not done a DCL Alaska cruise but have been on six DCL cruises. So I know DCL's service, cleanliness, service, food, service, shows, entertainment, service, adult only areas, service, stateroom size, service. Can you tell I am a little bit nervous about how well we will be treated by another cruise lines employees? Please someone that has been on Celebrity, tell me that I will be treated like royalty. And by the way this does not go unrewarded, this includes a much higher tip to the people serving us.

 

[Quellman]

Sounds like a great compromise and a fun trip. Start the countdown!

 

[JW9DVC]

If you had to choose another line. That would be a high end choice. Just glad to hear that you are able to vacation, especially with friends.

Enjoy the dreams that will become your reality.

JW

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Sounds like a great compromise and a fun trip. Start the countdown!

Have it running, hope it's okay that I'm using the Disney Cruise Line app. for this on both my phone and iPad

 

[gumbypee]

I dont want to burst your bubble but my worst vacation by far was on Celebrity Solstice to Hawaii. The service was HORRIBLE, better treatment at a local Chili's restaurant, going through customs was a nightmare - the crew and staff had no idea which line to direct people in it was a mass of chaos, food was disgusting. i was hungry most of the trip. on a cruise- yes hungry. it was awful in my opinion. other people will say it is great. but you asked for opinions so i shared. hope you have a better time. maybe AK crew better. pray for that

 

[perditax]

Disgusting food on a Celebrity cruise? They are widely regarded as having the best food of the mass-market lines, sounds like you got unlucky.

 

[turtle27]

I have heard that if you are a DCL fan, you will enjoy Celebrity. We almost chose them for Europe next year, but since we got in on opening day, cost for same type room was same on Disney as it was on Celebrity, and I will go with trusted vs. not tested.

Personally, having done Alaska on Princess (never again), I enjoyed Glacier Bay way too much to miss it on a return trip. Alaska has been one of my favorite destinations, so I am super jealous of anyone who gets to go!

I have also heard that Celebrity food is some of the best. But food is very subjective, some people hate DCL's food.

Looking forward to reading your comparison next year! I bet you will all have a blast and this way you get to go with friends!

 

[gumbypee]

I agree food is totally subjective. Heck a "good" cruise is subjective too

 

[BestVacaEver]

Several years ago we did Celebrity and....wasn't for us! The "required dress code after 5pm" included no jeans or shorts in ANY common/public areas, 5 out of 7 nights. The MDR food was amazing but our table mates were very upscale and we were so uncomfortable....the last straw was them mocking us for ordering white wine for dinner....

Will look forward to your report to see if it's changed. Have fun!

 

[Disneyteachers]

My brother and sister in law just got back from a celebrity cruise (bermuda) and found the service to be great and the food solid.

 

[goNDmay9]

My parents cruise DCL and Celebrity pretty much exclusively. They have tried several of the lines and have found these to be their favorites. They just got back from a Celebrity Alaska cruise and loved it! They did mention that this time they felt the customer service was not quite what they were used to. But this was mostly due to them trying the anytime dining (or whatever Celebrity calls it) and had trouble getting in almost every night. A bunch of people complained about it on that cruise. Once they said something though - they were taken care of.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

I did a Celebrity Cruise awhile ago. I found that some of the crew was snarky and some were wonderful. We loved our room attendant by the servers were awful.
The food was fine.

 

[Anonny]

Last summer I sailed on the Celebrity Millennium from Vancouver to Seward. It was a very nice cruise. I had no complaints at all. The ship, the food, the stateroom, entertainment, even painting lessons- all very good.

I enjoyed coming back from port, getting a snack and soaking in the hot tub and the Thalassotherapy Pool in the covered adult pool area.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I posted a thread how two other couples got sticker shock when they saw the price for the same Alaska cruise that we (wife and me) have already reserved, late August 2016. I then posted a second thread on how we will probably cancel it in order to cruise on another line with these two couples. And I got LOTS of responses on these two threads. Mostly saying, bail on DCL!!!!!!!

Well it is NOW OFFICIAL, we are all booked on Celebrity Cruise Line. We are going to do a southbound cruise, Seward to Vancouver which DCL does not offer. We are getting to Anchorage the day before and we are all looking forward to this, wife and I have been there the other four have not. At the end of the cruise we will be spending several nights in Vancouver, no one in this group has been to Vancouver and we are really looking forward to this.

It's a year out , but I will definitely post a comparison of DCL vs. Celebrity when we are done. I have not done a DCL Alaska cruise but have been on six DCL cruises. So I know DCL's service, cleanliness, service, food, service, shows, entertainment, service, adult only areas, service, stateroom size, service. Can you tell I am a little bit nervous about how well we will be treated by another cruise lines employees? Please someone that has been on Celebrity, tell me that I will be treated like royalty. And by the way this does not go unrewarded, this includes a much higher tip to the people serving us.

Go to the cruise critic forums and read the review in the pic below, you will be thrilled with your decision.

 

[RebelHawk]

My wife and I have to book one more cruise before we get our gold status with DCL. Once we do we are going to check out both Celebrity and RCI. We love Disney but if we can get near the same level of service for less then that makes sense to us. I already know that we will miss the Disney magic on the cruise but we are DVC we will still enjoy a couple of trips a year at WDW so will get our fix there.

 

[Saamh]

You'll probably find much better info on Celebrity on other forums. I think your 3 threads here have probably much of the same thoughts so joining a forum specific to Celebrity may be more useful to you.

 

[dsnydaddy]

One of my most amazing experiences on DCL was our Alaska Cruise. That said... Alaska is completely priced out for me. If we do Alaska again it is sad to say that it will be on another line.

 

[GarakDS9]

We sailed two years ago with 2 friends on the Caribbean Princess British Isles itinerary. It was their first cruise ever and our first on Princess. We are DCL Platinum. I thought our experience was average but our itinerary was amazing. Our friends were really impressed with Princess.

They just came back in late May from sailing on Celebrity Solstice to Alaska. It was a round trip from Vancouver. One of the two in the party really did not like Celebrity. They ran out of menu listed drinks and certain wine selection by the second day. In general he thought the service was far below Princess which we thought was already less than DCL.

By the way we have sailed Princess again because of itinerary and price and found much improved service. It can be hit or miss.

 

[asamklove]

My husband and I have cruised both RC & Holland America. We were absolutely delighted with how much fun we had on DCL & how awesome it was for a young family w/2 young kids - the extra service touches on DCL were kid-centered and SO appreciated!
That said, as adults, we felt equally special on RC and Holland America. It could be our expectations were not set high, or that we were just SO grateful for a vacation that we didn't notice what could have been done better...but, vacation is what YOU make of it. Your attitude, your friends, your expectations - that will set the tone. If you go in expecting to be disappointed, my bet is you will be.
Your vaca sounds amazing to me & how fun to be cruising with friends!?!?! Enjoy

 

[PrincessTrisha]

If you're a coffee drinker, I highly recommend getting a classic non-alcohol package (unless you're also a drinker and they you may want to check out the classic or premium alcohol packages). The one thing on Celebrity that I love, love, love is Café Al Bacio. It's their onboard coffee place. They have espresso's, cappuccino's, latte's, etc. Pages and pages of choices and it's all included in the classic non-alcohol (or classic alcohol) package along with bottled water, soda and tea forte (also served at Café Al Bacio). They also offer fantastic desserts and treats throughout the day and lovely breakfast pastries in the morning (almond croissants, nutella croissants, muffins, coffee cake, donuts, etc.)