Alaska or Europe?

[iamporch]

I am wishfully thinking that either would be possible in 2020. What would you pick? We have 4 kids that in summer 2020 would be 20, 15, 11, and 8.

 

[Geomom]

I'd go with Alaska. Alaska was our first cruise, on the Wonder in August 2016. Most of the ports are only reachable by boat or small plane. Also, the glaciers are only going to keep shrinking--I'd do Alaska before Europe so that you can see them. As you'll need 2 rooms, I'd suggest either connecting oceanviews or inside rooms to save money. Verandahs were 3K more than our deck 2 oceanview when we sailed with our family of 4! Also, Vancouver is a great city to visit before/after the cruise--tons to do!

We're doing the Northern European cruise this summer with our 18 and 14 yr olds. I'm glad we did the cruises in that order--we weren't even sure if we'd like a cruise at all, but knew we wanted to see Alaska.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

If you read Tom Bricker's blog (DisneyTouristBlog) he just wrote a post comparing his recent Alaska cruise with his Norway cruise. They came out in favor of Norway but they're currently childless, and they made impressive cases in favor of both locations as they weighed the pros and cons. Might be worth a read.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think it may depend in part on where you're from. I'm from Vancouver, BC and we have done Alaska cruises a few times b/c of proximity / not having to fly. That part is a huge bonus, but to be honest, the scenery isn't that thrilling to me. Much of it is similar to here. I see bald eagles regularly within 15 min of where I live. Europe to me is more interesting at this point and I think your kids would be at the age where they could probably handle the long port days of Mediterranean cruising, for example.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

 

[mmmears]

We loved our DCL Alaska cruise and are booked for the Magic this summer in Europe, so I get the dilemma. I would say that Alaska was gorgeous, fun, and definitely a good destination. Haven't cruised Europe yet, so I can't really compare the two. While I wanted to go back to Alaska, the family consensus was that we wanted to see new places, learn about other cultures, history, etc. this summer so Europe won. My suggestion is to look at the itineraries and choose the one that most interests you and your family.

 

[anjuan]

I haven't done Alaska yet (going next year) but I just got back from Europe. I agree with others that it probably depends whether you like mountains, etc more or historical sites. There was another couple at my dining table who had done Alaska and they said that Alaska was more relaxing that Europe. Europe is very port intensive with long days. But having said that, I don't think you can go wrong with either!

 

[lilsonicfan]

We've cruised Alaska six times -- my favorite place to get away from the Arizona desert heat. Europe has a lot of historical places to visit (we're currently in Germany on a river cruise) It just depends on what you want to do/see. I'm bigger on mountains/glaciers than cathedrals and museums.

Lol, the DIS liked your post so much it posted it once for every Alaskan cruise you've taken

 

[Cruising Engineer]

This will be our second trip to Alaska in Sept. Love the grandeur of the mountains, waterfalls and waterways with the opportunity to get close (but not to close) to nature. We've seen bears and moose along the shorelines (pack the binoculars) plus seals with pups floating by on ice chunks.
Stationed in Europe (Army) and saw a lot, but after a while the castles and museums started to look the same.

The variety of things to do in Alaska or Europe, for the spread of ages in your family, should be a consideration.

 

[Ravenne]

I live in an area with a very similar landscape to Alaska, and for the year plus that I had it planned and booked, I just wasn't as excited about it as I was with our previous Caribbean cruises simply because of the similar landscape and wildlife. Bears, fish, eagles, mountains, snow, even dog mushing we have them all at home. I even have a Husky. I talked to everyone I knew who lives where I live and had been to Alaska just to see how they felt about it compared to home, and each one said, Alaska is AMAZING! GO! I just got back from Alaska a lil over a week ago, and I'm happy to say I loved every moment of it. I never once thought or said, "oh this reminds me of home" or "we have this at home" while on our trip. It truly is an amazing experience. I cannot wait to go back!

 

[Shanti]

I am wishfully thinking that either would be possible in 2020. What would you pick? We have 4 kids that in summer 2020 would be 20, 15, 11, and 8.

We just got back from Alaska and it was incredibly beautiful. That gets my vote, for the beauty and the fact that the glaciers get smaller every year. By contrast, Europe's history and architecture aren't going anywhere and can be visited just as well during a later trip.

 

[Pens Fan]

We just got back from Alaska and it was incredibly beautiful. That gets my vote, for the beauty and the fact that the glaciers get smaller every year.

We love Alaska. We've been there on two cruises (one included a week in mainland Alaska after the cruise) and a two week land only trip as well. We also love Europe - the culture, the food, the history - what's not to love?

We took our second Alaska cruise last summer and during our planning for that trip we were trying to choose between Alaska and Europe. What finally sealed the deal was that our son said he preferred Alaska because the cruise we had chosen went to Glacier Bay and he wanted to see it before the glaciers were gone.

The pictures I've seen of Tracy Arm Fjord recently make me sad. We've been there twice, but the last time was in 2012 and the glacier has receded so much. It's still beautiful, but it's just not the same.

OP - as to your original question - comparing Alaska and Europe doesn't really boil down to one being better than the other. They are both amazing, but completely different. It all depends on what your family is looking for.

 

[pixarfan79]

I loved Alaska. I think it would be great for the ages of your kids. We did pretty active adventure excursions. I would not go in May though. It's much better weather in July. It was gorgeous. You can get 2 inside rooms. Yes Tracy Arm glacier has really receded. Endicott is much bigger. Skagway was one of the coolest places we have ever been. We also kayaked right up close to Mendenhall Glacier. We saw so much wildlife, we drove our own mini boats in Ketchikan. In Skagway we took the train to the Yukon area then biked back down the mountain (terrifying!!) But amazing. Memories for a lifetime. However if you want to see amazing history and museums and architecture then obviously Europe! Or if you don't like drizzly 65 degree weather in the summer!

 

[Agent 86]

We just got back from a Mediterranean cruise and have previously done an Alaskan cruise (NB: both times as just the two of us).

Both cruises were awesome. For Alaska, it's great that the ports are right in the centre of the "town". You step of the boat and commence sightseeing immediately. We also did a number of half-day Port Adventures or a formal "morning" Port Adventure followed by lunch on the boat, maybe a swim in the nearly empty pool and then a stroll around the town in the afternoon. That was nice and relaxing.

That didn't happen in Europe as the ports were normally a fair distance from the closest "town" (at least a town that you actually want to explore) and the Port Adventures were LONG and tiring days.

But, as others have noted, it probably boils down to what you want to see (i.e. landscape v historical ruins) and how active you want to be on your port days.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Sorry. The internet on the ship isn't the best, but at least it's free.