Alaska cruise - what would you do?

[AAAG]

We are booked on the Aug 15th Alaskan cruise in a verandah room. It is myself, DH, and our kids aged 4 and 6. It will be our 3rd Disney cruise. We have never tried any other cruise line before

The Canadian dollar is so bad right now that the cost of our cruise is getting out of control. We will lose $3000 Cdn just from the exchange rate. We don't really want to cancel, but are looking at other options. We can still afford the cruise, however with the current exchange rate, taking this cruise might mean we don't get a vacation in winter 2017. Hence why we are reconsidering our options, which are:

- change from verandah to oceanview and save $1500 Cdn
- change from verandah to inside room and save $2000 Cdn
- cancel and go with RCI and save roughly $3500 Cdn
- cancel and go with Princess and save roughly $2300 Cdn

What would you do? Obviously going with another cruise line seems like a better choice financially, but i am not sure it's the best choice given that our kids will be 4 and 6. On DCL, they only occasionally went into the kids club, but loved the other family entertainment activities, shows etc. I'm not sure how much of the entertainment is geared toward families on the other lines, outside of the kids club. Also our kids are not that great at sitting still for long periods in restaurants etc. At least with DCL, with kids everywhere and servers etc used to dealing with kids, it was easier for us to relax.

thoughts?

 

[Aby]

We are on the same cruise as you! This year we booked in an oceanview room instead of the verandah as we just couldn't justify the extra cost. We loved our first 2 DCL cruises to Alaska, and although we looked at different cruise lines, I just felt that I wouldn't be happy without the Disney touch. You will get many others opinions that other lines will give you a better Alaska cruise, but in the end the choice will be up to you. I think I would go with option 1 or 2, so you can stay on DCL but still save significant $. The Canadian dollar exchange is definitely hurting right now =(

Aby

 

[cruisehopeful]

It's such a personal choice. I believe that the other lines you mentioned have kids clubs that kids enjoy quite a bit. They also may have more choices for dining than DCL (buffets and quick service) which would help you with the kids not sitting still through long meals.

You can read trip reports on other lines and ask lots of questions on Cruise Critic. That may help you decide. You may even end up looking at still other lines. There's a trip report on here about a recent Alaska cruise on NCL which sounds pretty good, but there weren't children as young as yours on the cruise. I think if you really check out reviews on cruise critic, you may find ships that offer a lot more than DCL does.

If you feel that you really need DCL for the kids, you do not need a verandah. We sailed with an ocean view (and are doing it again) and were fine because all of the fun is out on the deck anyway. There are plenty of indoor areas on the ship for looking outside, also.

 

[bcwife76]

It's definitely a personal choice and ultimately up to you. We WERE on the same cruise as you, in a deluxe standard inside. We booked it while onboard our first cruise at the end of September. Once we'd be been back a while we made the sad decision to switch because we figured after the exchange we'd be paying close to $8,000CDN for that cruise and that was for an inside room. And before excursions, etc! And we live in Vancouver!
So we switched to a Bahamas cruise, still 7 nights and even with airfare it's still way cheaper. Plus we're getting a week in Maui in between now and the cruise! We will get to Alaska but unless the dollar drastically improves, it will be on either NCL or RCCL.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would at least go to the Inside room with the spiraling costs being a concern.

Kid clubs on Royal are good; not as pretty, but the counselors are great and personable and they get to know the kids (vs on Disney where there are just so many kids it's impossible).

The entertainment isn't going to be as family oriented, but then if your kids aren't good sitting for longer periods of time how will they deal with watching the shows?

I know nothing about Princess except that their blue balcony Plexiglas is pretty and that they are one of the best for Alaska.

 

[Mrs.Ed]

I'll be going on my first DCL cruise in Jan, so I can't speak to that specific experience. We cruised Alaska a few years ago on Carnival Spirit - my kids were 8 and 5 at the time. When we had originally booked that cruise we looked at the Disney Wonder as it had the exact same itinerary but it was THREE times the cost. We just couldn't justify the expense. We had a veranda cabin on the Spirit and really enjoyed spending time out on the veranda taking it the breathtaking scenery. I know people usually say they don't spend much time in their cabins, but I must say for an Alaskan cruise it is quite a perk to be able to enjoy the view from your own veranda. My kids enjoyed the kids club and other activities on the trip. My family had a wonderful time. I've yet to experience the DCL experience, but even paying in US dollars it was difficult to justify that cost when we enjoyed a fabulous cruise at a third of the cost.

 

[over50visits]

Tough, tough. No one has the Disney experience, but no one charges as much as they do. The cost difference can be eye watering. And Disney does not go into Glacier Bay, easily the highlight of the trip. The other lines have great reviews, and Alaska is so beautiful it's hard to do it justice with just words. But we're all on this board because Disney is first in our hearts, and we feel comfortable and at home on the DCL ships. You probably have a gut feel for what do to, and you'll do best going with that.

 

[Tritonman]

We decided we would rather have inside stateroom on Disney then balcony on another line.

 

[quickcat]

Just my own personal opinion, we sailed the Ruby Princess this past June to Alaska and I wish we would have paid more and went with Disney instead. Nothing wrong with Princess at all, just really missed having "Disney" with Alaska.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We are booked on the Aug 15th Alaskan cruise in a verandah room. It is myself, DH, and our kids aged 4 and 6. It will be our 3rd Disney cruise. We have never tried any other cruise line before

The Canadian dollar is so bad right now that the cost of our cruise is getting out of control. We will lose $3000 Cdn just from the exchange rate. We don't really want to cancel, but are looking at other options. We can still afford the cruise, however with the current exchange rate, taking this cruise might mean we don't get a vacation in winter 2017. Hence why we are reconsidering our options, which are:

- change from verandah to oceanview and save $1500 Cdn
- change from verandah to inside room and save $2000 Cdn
- cancel and go with RCI and save roughly $3500 Cdn
- cancel and go with Princess and save roughly $2300 Cdn

What would you do? Obviously going with another cruise line seems like a better choice financially, but i am not sure it's the best choice given that our kids will be 4 and 6. On DCL, they only occasionally went into the kids club, but loved the other family entertainment activities, shows etc. I'm not sure how much of the entertainment is geared toward families on the other lines, outside of the kids club. Also our kids are not that great at sitting still for long periods in restaurants etc. At least with DCL, with kids everywhere and servers etc used to dealing with kids, it was easier for us to relax.

thoughts?

I was going to recommend the same thing as @bcwife76 and change to a Caribbean cruise out of port Canaveral, it should be a little cheaper and you won't lose money on the airfare.

If you are in an area where you can fly JetBlue I'm pretty sure you can get $99 companion fares if you book using their credit card. Just my $.02

 

[ldo]

if you have always had a balcony, I would go with an OV on DCL. WE have had balconies before and would never pay much extra for one. There are plenty of viewing places on board. I have no desire to sit in my room and look at scenery--I'd rather be on deck, in the restuarant, etc. I have sailed Princess and RCCL a number of times. Both are fine-Princess is our 2nd fav after DCL. RCCL has a special program for early dining in which they bring the kids meals first and counselors come to the dining room and get the kids early to take them to the kids club. My younger kids loved RCCL kids clubs at ages 5-9, more so than DCL (they do more simple crafts, games, etc.)--but the overall entertainment was geared for older--some shows were not kid friendly (but would be over the heads of 4-6 yr olds). Plus, for the cost difference once you downgrade to OV on DCL, I think you would miss DCL if you then sailed on another line--such as no movies playing all day by the pool, no movie theater, no characters, etc. Your kids are at such a magic age, I would go with DCL.

 

[sambycat]

Ocean view

 

[deanimal]

What part of Canada are you from? Do you have any flexibility in your dates? If you're from BC you could wait until the last minute to pay in full and watch for last minute BC resident deals in July and early August. My parents do this every summer and have never paid more than $1000 Cdn each for a one week Alaska cruise, and sometimes much less! If nothing comes up that you like before your paid in full date you could keep the original reservation.

Another thought, if you can do it, is to take out the amount you need to pay for the cruise and in US cash stash it away until your paid in full date. We're booked for the Van-San Diego cruise in 2016 and I pulled out some US cash last summer when I was changing money for another trip and stashed in my safety deposit box. It wasn't a good exchange rate then but it's gotten way worse since then and will probably save me several hundred dollars.

 

[phinz]

I would take option 4. In the words of my TA, Princess *owns* Alaska.

 

[TifffanyD]

I would switch cruiselines before I would give up a balcony for Alaska. When we book it for 2017 we won't be sailing with DCL.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I would vote for switching to an inside stateroom. We did the DCL Alaska cruise in an inside stateroom and I didn't feel like we missed anything not having a balcony. The views are so prevalent around the ship (Deck 4, Deck 9, Cove Café, and even the gym) that we never missed having a balcony. Plus, often it was too cold and/or rainy to enjoy a balcony anyway (at least for us Floridians!)

 

[Mrs.Ed]

I would switch cruiselines before I would give up a balcony for Alaska. When we book it for 2017 we won't be sailing with DCL.

DITTO!!!

 

[ldo]

the problem with waitng until last minute is that cabins for 4 might be gone.

 

[bcwife76]

the problem with waitng until last minute is that cabins for 4 might be gone.

Agreed. And because there are less Alaskan sailings in 2016 due to the Wonder going into drydock, those Alaskan cruises are selling out faster - the prices just keep going up.

I'm not sure what someone was referring to when they mentioned BC Residents rate. We have that for hotels but there is no such thing when it comes to booking an Alaskan cruise (at least not through Disney). If I had the chance of a BC resident rate on DCL I'd be sailing with them more often lol

 

[deanimal]

Sorry, should have been more specific. I meant look for a BC resident rate on other cruise lines. You see them advertised all the time at travel agencies or sometimes in the paper. Disney has had Canadian resident rates on Alaska cruises once or twice, but not in the past couple of years.