alaska cruise pricing

[shosh1530]

We were considering an Alaskan cruise on DCL before the pandemic hit and am now finally starting to consider it again. We are totally new to cruising but have always wanted to visit Alaska and it seems like a great way to have some relaxation on vacation for the whole family, some great nature time/views for me and DH, and lots of on-ship kid activities for DS (age 11). We are pretty big Disney fans and visit Disneyland pretty regularly.

So now I just have to figure out how to afford it! I've been reading tips here and elsewhere that suggest booking early. How early is early? Considering options for 2023 and 2024.

For 2023, right now I'm seeing:

$6559 Oceanview / $9376 Verandah (May 29 sailing)
$5150 Oceanview / $6972 Verandah (Sept 4 sailing - would have to miss school though)

If we booked earlier when 2024 opens up are we likely to see much lower than this? Or if we waited a bit are we likely to see any last minute pricing discounts for 2023?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We were considering an Alaskan cruise on DCL before the pandemic hit and am now finally starting to consider it again. We are totally new to cruising but have always wanted to visit Alaska and it seems like a great way to have some relaxation on vacation for the whole family, some great nature time/views for me and DH, and lots of on-ship kid activities for DS (age 11). We are pretty big Disney fans and visit Disneyland pretty regularly.

So now I just have to figure out how to afford it! I've been reading tips here and elsewhere that suggest booking early. How early is early? Considering options for 2023 and 2024.

For 2023, right now I'm seeing:

$6559 Oceanview / $9376 Verandah (May 29 sailing)
$5150 Oceanview / $6972 Verandah (Sept 4 sailing - would have to miss school though)

If we booked earlier when 2024 opens up are we likely to see much lower than this? Or if we waited a bit are we likely to see any last minute pricing discounts for 2023?

"Early" is as soon as the booking window opens. As cruises get filled, prices go up, so booking as soon as you can is best.

It's theoretically possible for last minute discount rates to happen, but those prices typically don't show up until around 3 months out. And often are still higher than opening day prices.

I'll also point out that there are other cruise lines that do Alaska. Some of them for years longer than DCL, with more experience. That said, the question would be - Do you want a Disney cruise with Alaska on the side? Or an Alaskan cruise with no Disney touches?

 

[OKW Lover]

This may sound like blaspheme but I'd actually recommend a non-Disney cruise when going to Alaska. You can get the exact same cruise, just without the characters, for significantly less $$$.

We've done it on Royal twice. On that cruise the attraction is the scenery.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

We’re doing the Disney Alaska cruise next year but it will be a one and done for sure

 

[Geomom]

DCL Alaska was our first cruise. We loved it, my girls were 12 and 16 on that cruise. We did an Oceanview on deck 2 (1 very large porthole) as the verandahs were thousands more. It was perfect for us and just 2 decks away from the promenade when you want to see the views outside and how often are you in your room anyways?

There is no guarantee the price would be much lower if you book on opening day since prices rise every year. You would have to find some opening day prices to see how much the dates you're looking at have risen--my guess is not much as you're looking at the less popular May/September dates vs mid-June/July dates. Also no guarantee there would be last minute discounts. Summer 2024 dates probably won't be released until March 2023. If you're thinking of cruising next year, I'd book soon. Deposit is refundable until a certain date...120 days before? (DCL had it at 60 days post Covid to give people more time to cancel, but not sure if that has changed back to normal yet...)

 

[tvguy]

This may sound like blaspheme but I'd actually recommend a non-Disney cruise when going to Alaska. You can get the exact same cruise, just without the characters, for significantly less $$$.

We've done it on Royal twice. On that cruise the attraction is the scenery.

I agree. We've done Alaska twice on HAL. HAL has been cruising Alaska longer than any cruise line and they have the best permits and docking berths. Although, to be honest, I can't imagine a bad cruise to Alaska. One other observation, on an Alaskan cruise there is no good side or bad side to have your stateroom on. If you are really into great scenery, you're not going to be spending much time in the stateroom, you're going to be up on the top deck looking left, then right, then forward then back because you will be surrounded by wildlife and beauty.

 

[shosh1530]

DCL Alaska was our first cruise. We loved it, my girls were 12 and 16 on that cruise. We did an Oceanview on deck 2 (1 very large porthole) as the verandahs were thousands more. It was perfect for us and just 2 decks away from the promenade when you want to see the views outside and how often are you in your room anyways?

There is no guarantee the price would be much lower if you book on opening day since prices rise every year. You would have to find some opening day prices to see how much the dates you're looking at have risen--my guess is not much as you're looking at the less popular May/September dates vs mid-June/July dates. Also no guarantee there would be last minute discounts. Summer 2024 dates probably won't be released until March 2023. If you're thinking of cruising next year, I'd book soon. Deposit is refundable until a certain date...120 days before? (DCL had it at 60 days post Covid to give people more time to cancel, but not sure if that has changed back to normal yet...)

I looked up the opening day prices for 2023 (thanks for suggesting that) and I can see that the May dates have gone up by about $1500 and the September date by about $1100.

If later discounts do come out, is it ever possible to apply that to existing reservations? We've done that with our resort stays at Disneyland, although it seems unlikely in this situation.

 

[shosh1530]

I'll also point out that there are other cruise lines that do Alaska. Some of them for years longer than DCL, with more experience. That said, the question would be - Do you want a Disney cruise with Alaska on the side? Or an Alaskan cruise with no Disney touches?

Are there particular other cruise lines for Alaska that you'd recommend that are very family friendly?

My son does have his heart really set on a Disney cruise. So for him it is definitely Disney first, Alaska on the side. For the parents, it is probably more about Alaska, but we can really only enjoy it if the kid is happy too.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Are there particular other cruise lines for Alaska that you'd recommend that are very family friendly?

My son does have his heart really set on a Disney cruise. So for him it is definitely Disney first, Alaska on the side. For the parents, it is probably more about Alaska, but we can really only enjoy it if the kid is happy too.

For "very" family friendly, I'd pick Disney. Second, maybe, Princess.

 

[Cheburashka]

We loved our Disney Alaska cruise and I'm very glad I stayed with Disney for that cruise. Only a totally different itinerary like Glacier Bay would make me consider another line. On our Alaska cruise (and other standard non-Glacier Bay 7 night Alaskan cruises like it on other lines), 3 of the 6 full days onboard were days at sea including the glacier viewing day, so onboard activities and accommodations were really important. Alaska isn't as port-heavy a cruise as some people say it is- at least not in its standard 7 night form.

Agree with a PP that there's no use waiting until next year to book on opening day because prices do go up year to year, especially amid massive inflation. Occasionally there are GT deals on certain cruises, but you can't know in advance if one will pop up. Book now. You might get lucky and see a GT deal before your PIF date.

 

[Flying Fish]

I was just looking for an Alaska cruise as well and the prices are discouraging on DCL. We went years ago on Princess and thought they did a great job with Alaska, although the scenery does all the work making it special. Our problem is that was w/o kids. Now with kids, we are very partial to Disney. In the Caribbean HAL and Princess are usually a much older crowd. Is that the same in Alaska (our Princess cruise was 15 years ago and I don't remember)? We could live with it being non-Disney, but we don't want them to be the only kids.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

My daughter is similarly aged to your son, and I’m happy we went with DCL for Alaska this summer. She didn’t do the kids clubs (I was still a little Covid-leery at the time) but really loved all of the dining rooms, other family activities, and entertainment. Sure, we would have had a decent dining room experience each night regardless of line, but it was exciting to see her so into the animators palate nights, the mardi grad parades, etc. Ditto for her trying to find the characters she hadn’t yet met by the last 2 days. Sure, she enjoyed being in Alaska (especially trying to spot wildlife!), but for her, the cruise itself was probably a little more of a highlight in comparison. Not to say it needs to be DCL, but if you go another route, be sure to vet all of the offerings for kids.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

For those considering Princess, our August Alaska cruise on Princess this summer was definitely an older crowd: there were 24 kids on board. Discovery Kids Club hours are very limited, and there are few family-friendly structured activities on the ship. We made our own fun and of course the glacier viewing and time in port were the real stars in Alaska. But if your kids are hoping for an awesome youth club experience, or you really love the family togetherness-type activities on DCL, Princess may not be for you.

 

[Geomom]

I looked up the opening day prices for 2023 (thanks for suggesting that) and I can see that the May dates have gone up by about $1500 and the September date by about $1100.

If later discounts do come out, is it ever possible to apply that to existing reservations? We've done that with our resort stays at Disneyland, although it seems unlikely in this situation.

As far as discounts, generally, it would have to be a new booking. 'Usually' the restricted guarantee rates come out after the pay in full date, when you start paying a penalty for cancelling. Also the restricted guarantee rates have to be paid in full when booked, no changes made to the reservation, and you can only pick your room category, (inside/Oceanview/verandah) not the actual room location, that gets assigned close to the sailing date.

For some savings, you might consider using a travel agent that provides on board credit (like Dreams Unlimited who sponsors these boards) or something like Costco where you get a Costco gift card after the cruise. I'd go with an Oceanview on deck 2 for the savings (deck 1 has 2 small portholes vs the 1 large on the other decks.)

 

[jldcherry]

We did Disney in Alaska summer 2022 as our first ever cruise and we loved every minute. Like you for adults it was about Alaska and our kids loved Alaska too, but the Disney touches really made the trip for them. We went back and forth on price because it was so expensive, but we don't regret it at all.

We did an inside room and felt the price savings was worth it because you will want a lot of funds for excursions. My biggest advice is to really price out what you want to do. Alaska has amazing experiences and we booked all excursions outside of Disney and saved a ton there, but excursions were still a large part of our budget. We helicoptered to a glacier and went dog sledding in Skagway, kayaked and hiked in the rainforest in Ketchikan, and did gold mining and mendenhall glacier in Juneau. We also hiked in Skagway (great hiking trail just off the port). We also spent a few really fun days biking and hiking in Vancouver.

Did we spend a ton? Yes. But for us it was a once in a lifetime trip and we loved every minute.

Our kids (7 and 9) loved the childcare, the dining rooms, the pool, the characters, the little details of the ship's horn playing when you wish upon a star, the shows. If you're Disney people (we are), you'll be thrilled. What we loved is that we could do everything together and that's the atmosphere we want on a family vacation.

We slept in our room, otherwise we were out on deck watching scenery or enjoying the ship's activities and amenities together.

We're going to Disney World in April and our kids keep saying they want to skip that and go back on a Disney Cruise in Alaska because they preferred it. We can't compare to other cruise lines, but it was a perfect fit for our family.

 

[Carohs]

We did Carnival for our Alaska vacation for the cost savings. I definitely missed all the Disney touches and family activities!! The kids, however, still made friends and had an amazing time. DS (9) said the kids club was just as fun and DD (6) would rather hang in the pool anyway. Carnival won in that regard, since it's heated and covered. We went after dinner with next to no crowds. The biggest con against Carnival was their smoking sections, yuck and triple yuck.

We're cruising again in 3 weeks on Disney and I don't think we'd do Carnival again. Just not for us. When we do cruise Disney we do it with the mentality that it's a Disney experience first, and a destination trip second.

All this to say, I would consider Alaska again but on another line, maybe Princess since for us it's more about the destination and use the cost savings for excursions. The kids had a wonderful time regardless. I save my Disney budget for destinations I'm not as excited about because those trips are about family activities and characters and Disney touches.

 

[OKW Lover]

Some very helpful replies here. When deciding about what line to sail on, remember that the port excursions are pretty much the same. Make your decision based on the itinerary and the on-board activities you prefer.

 

[shosh1530]

Thanks for the replies everyone. You've given me a lot to think about!

I'm going to get some travel agent quotes and start pricing excursions to get an idea on what costs might be.

I'm also open to pricing out a few other cruise lines, but still heavily leaning DCL. DS has some mild special needs (and is cognitively closer to age 8 than 11). My hunch is that a Disney cruise would work best for him given how Disney/Marvel obsessed he is and the line's overall family focus.

 

[auntlynne]

Thanks for the replies everyone. You've given me a lot to think about!

I'm going to get some travel agent quotes and start pricing excursions to get an idea on what costs might be.

I'm also open to pricing out a few other cruise lines, but still heavily leaning DCL. DS has some mild special needs (and is cognitively closer to age 8 than 11). My hunch is that a Disney cruise would work best for him given how Disney/Marvel obsessed he is and the line's overall family focus.

I second a lot of what @jldcherry Post #15 said.

I would pick spending money on excursions than on the room. It is easy to rack up a thousand or more in shore excursions if you try to do something great (or 2) in each port. I see you got that idea already.

If you are not Platinum or Gold CC, you may not get the lowest opening day prices. When you consider increasing costs of airfare, hotels, and excursions, putting it off til 2024 may not offer much savings.

(After sailing to AK with DCL, we moved over to Princess based on the recommendation of a Disney cruise mom of lots of children. Her kids were happy on Princess at the time. But it did not have the charm of a Disney cruise.)

I sailed the first week of September last year. The season is winding down, but it was still lovely. (It was also a shortened season, starting in late July). Some dog sled activities end their seasons earlier than things like whale watching, so check out that if it is on the must do list.

Have a great cruise, whatever you choose.