Alaska ABD versus Alaska DCL Cruise

[Kemorr]

Has anyone done both the Alaska trip with ABD and the Alaska cruise with DCL? We're looking at going to Alaska in August 2014 and we're not sure which one would be better. Our kids will be 5.75 and 7.75 by then. DH wants to experience as much as the "true" Alaska as he can (particularly wilderness and wildlife) and I would love to see glaciers and whales. Any recommendations?

 

[sayhello]

Has anyone done both the Alaska trip with ABD and the Alaska cruise with DCL? We're looking at going to Alaska in August 2014 and we're not sure which one would be better. Our kids will be 5.75 and 7.75 by then. DH wants to experience as much as the "true" Alaska as he can (particularly wilderness and wildlife) and I would love to see glaciers and whales. Any recommendations?

I haven't done the DCL Alaska cruise, but I have done an Alaska cruise with Princess, going to the same ports as DCL does. I have also done the Alaska ABD, although it was an Adults-only trip. So I can't speak to which one is better for younger kids. (Although I have to say, the Adventure Guides with ABD are amazing with kids!) The minimum age for kids on the ABD is 4, and the recommended age is 6. So your youngest is in that range. You know best how well your youngest travels.

That said, if you are looking to see the "true" Alaska, then, in my opinion, you really do want to do the ABD. The cruise ports are fun, and have some great scenery and activities, but it's nothing compared to inland Alaska. The ABD takes you to the Kenai Penninsula, and does a cruise on the Kenai Fjords, which are just gorgeous, and a great way to see lots of wildlife. On our trip to the Fjords, we saw otters, seals & sea lions, puffins, gulls, bears and a whale (I know people who have seen tons of whales on the Fjords trip). It's a really gorgeous area, with a small glacier that you get *much* closer to than you do on the cruiseships! We saw quite a bit of calving! The ABD goes to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where you can get pretty close to all sorts of wildlife that are being rehabilitated. You also get to ride on the Alaska Railway between Girdwood and Seward, which is beautiful. And then there's Denali national park, which is gorgeous, especially if Mt Denali is out.

There's really just no comparing the two when it comes to seeing the "real" Alaska. When I did my Princess cruise, I added a land portion onto the cruise, and, again, it was the land portion that really showed us the *true* Alaska.

Just my opinion. It's not that the DCL Alaska cruise is a bad experience, quite the contrary from what I hear. But if you're looking for the true Alaska, I'd go with ABD.

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

We did the ABD Alaska trip in 2010. Some of the places we visited has changed but basically the same in all the major places to visit. As Sayhello states there is a big difference between the coast and the real Alaska. Denali is the crown jewel to visit if you want to see Alaskan wildlife up close. Plus a trip to watch a glacier calfing as well as hiking on a glacier is a lifetime memory. The hotels are first class as in the Alyeska Hotel. I would return in a second but next year it's Italy for us.

 

[Bobo912]

I think the Alaska ABD is my favorite so far. And of the ABDs we've taken it was definitely the least strenuous, so probably easier for your 5-year-old. There was a 4-year-old on our trip. She fell asleep a few times on the long bus rides and on the cruise on Resurrection bay, but overall I think she handled the trip well. We saw a lot of whales on the cruise - hump backs and Orcas. And in addition to the animals sayhello mentioned, we also saw Murres (birds that look a lot like penguins) and Dall's porpoises. The Kenai Fjord cruise was my favorite part of the trip, but the rest was great too.

 

[YodasMom]

What month did you go when you saw all the wildlife, especially whales?

 

[Bobo912]

We were in Alaska the first week of July.

 

[sayhello]

I went the beginning of September, which is probably why we didn't see as many whales.

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

We were in Alaska the last week of June/ first week of July. We took the Denali tour bus on our own and saw many native animals. Bears, moose, eagles, Texas grizzlies, and others including a den of wolves with the pups chasing each other over the field. ABD dropped us off to pick up the tour for only one tour guide business is allowed to tour inside the park. They provide a box lunch as well as a DVD of all the animals that you had seen on your trip. The rest of the group had a planned activity that we skipped and glad we did. The tour guides were more than wonderful for us to go into the park and the Denali hotel sent their van to pick us up at the end of our tour. It is a full day endeavor and I believe we returned to the hotel about 12:30 a.m. On our glacier ship tour we did see plenty of ocean creatures and some whales, well mostly spouts and tails.

 

[sayhello]

We were in Alaska the last week of June/ first week of July. We took the Denali tour bus on our own and saw many native animals. Bears, moose, eagles, Texas grizzlies, and others including a den of wolves with the pups chasing each other over the field. ABD dropped us off to pick up the tour for only one tour guide business is allowed to tour inside the park. They provide a box lunch as well as a DVD of all the animals that you had seen on your trip. The rest of the group had a planned activity that we skipped and glad we did. The tour guides were more than wonderful for us to go into the park and the Denali hotel sent their van to pick us up at the end of our tour. It is a full day endeavor and I believe we returned to the hotel about 12:30 a.m. On our glacier ship tour we did see plenty of ocean creatures and some whales, well mostly spouts and tails.

How was the tour into Denali? I never did it because 11 - 14 hours on a school bus seemed awful to me. I wanted to see it, but I wasn't sure I could take the bus ride.

The Denali Hotel is really great about stuff like that. The Grand Denali Lodge is run by Aramark, which is the same company that runs all of the transportation and tours withing Denali. A bit Off Topic, but when I was there, I went to see the sled dog demonstration, and ended up on the last bus back to the main parking area. As I walked away from the bus, I realized that I left my camera case, with the extra battery, on my seat on the bus. The bus had just pulled away, and the driver did not hear me yell. The Lost & Found couldn't reach them, and told me to check back the next day. Well, we were leaving early the next day. He told me to check with the desk at the Lodge. When I got back to the Lodge, they checked, and someone had already found the case & took it to the bus barn. The Lodge sent someone to go pick it up for me! It was really above & beyond what they needed to do, but they were very willing to help.

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

The trip was in a school bus type vehicle BUT no matter what vehicle you rode there were a few rough roads. The trip was worth every cent and we thought that for us it was the best event we experienced on our trip. Yes it was a long day but the viewing of such beauty and native animals in a habitat that has not changed ( except for the roads) since the formation of Alaska. If you ever return I would highly recommend that trip. The workers were very very nice in all our dealings and they , the employees , only work half a year for the town basically closes down for the winter.

 

[meajuly5]

We did the cruise with a 7 and 10 year old. Perfect! Did mostly private excursions to see as much as possible beyond coastal towns. Flew to Anan creek via floatplane to do to bear observatory and saw at least 30 bears, cubs and eagles feasting on salmon. Did a helicopter ride to do glacier dogsledding. Took the train up into the Yukon and has lovely views along the way. Great trip!

 

[abdgeek]

I second everyone's recommendation on the ABD trip being the best to see the "real" Alaska. I did the DCL Alaskan Cruise in 2011 and was able to cross that off by bucket list. Don't get me wrong, the cruise and scenery are great, but there really isn't much to see in the towns. I did the DCL Mendenhall Glacier(awesome)/Tongass National Forest(Juneau), Lumberjack Show/Saxman Native Village(Ketichkan), and Yukon Suspension Bridge/White Pass Railway(Skagway) excursions. While they were nice, what I really wanted to see was Denali and the interior of Alaska which wasn't part of the trip. I now have to figure out how to work ABD Alaska into my trips so that I can see what I didn't see before, mainly the "real" Alaska.