Alaska WWYD

[broadsheet]

Add me to the list of people struggling with a decision over the summer 2021 itineraries!

We want to do Alaska but the DCL price is eye-popping. For the Alaska vets would you choose:

DCL oceanview

or
Princess/HAL/NCL with verandah + Glacier Bay stop

FWIW my kids will be 7 and 11 at the time of the trip. Thanks for the insight!

 

[belle032]

I don't have kids, so I may not be the right person to answer this (but I do love Disney!) But from all my research and what I've been told by previous Alaskan cruisers...if you're going to book a verandah for any cruise, then Alaska should be that cruise. And Glacier Bay is an absolute must. Unfortunately, DCL doesn't offer Glacier Bay at all and the price difference in general is steering us away from them.

DH & I are also doing Alaska in 2021 and are between NCL and Princess. Both seem to do Alaska very well and the price is right. Both cruise lines also offer great perks when booking, such as a drink package, shore excursion credits, Wifi, specialty dining, etc. Right now, we are really looking at the Norwegian Bliss which is a newer and larger ship that looks beautiful. The Observation Lounge alone is perfect for Alaska.

Also, I believe Holland America leans toward a much older crowd in general, so that might be a little tough with your younger ones. Hopefully someone can give you better information, but when I think of "kid & family friendly" I don't think of HAL.

Always do what is right for your family, but when we consider all the factors, there are better choices (for us!) for Alaska.

 

[MonaMN]

We tentatively booked a DCL Alaskan cruise, but will likely not keep it. The price is outrageous - we booked an oceanview because I just couldn't justify a verandah... but many other cruise lines are much more palatable. Frankly, at those prices, why not just do the ABD trip - it's not that much more?!?

Realistically, we will either probably go with another cruise line or do our own land based tour (DIY)... the only regret will be not seeing Mickey/Minnie in their Alaskan garb, but that's probably not worth thousands of extra dollars... probably.

 

[vegs1]

Personally, I would do whatever has the best price and includes Sitka...my favourite port, if you can get it. Such a unique place also, Glacier Bay is amazing.

IMHO, Disney’s prices are outrageous when you see what you can get elsewhere.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Glacier Bay is needed. HAL does skew a little older, but summer is family season for Alaska on all lines. Princess does a great job with naturalists and their kid clubs though, so with your kids I'd lean that way.

 

[JulieODC]

We tentatively booked a DCL Alaskan cruise, but will likely not keep it. The price is outrageous - we booked an oceanview because I just couldn't justify a verandah... but many other cruise lines are much more palatable. Frankly, at those prices, why not just do the ABD trip - it's not that much more?!?

Realistically, we will either probably go with another cruise line or do our own land based tour (DIY)... the only regret will be not seeing Mickey/Minnie in their Alaskan garb, but that's probably not worth thousands of extra dollars... probably.

same here - we booked an ocean view after seeing the verandah price, and may drop even that for another line.

 

[SamFaniam]

Personally, I would do whatever has the best price and includes Sitka...my favourite port, if you can get it. Such a unique place also, Glacier Bay is amazing.

Sitka and Glacier Bay are both awesome. Disney does not do Glacier Bay, and only visits Sitka on the 9 night cruise.

Glacier Bay is needed. HAL does skew a little older, but summer is family season for Alaska on all lines. Princess does a great job with naturalists and their kid clubs though, so with your kids I'd lean that way.

We have sailed twice to Alaska on HAL and once on Disney. HAL does skew older, but there were plenty of kids, although not as many as Disney. We had teen nephews with us on the first HAL cruise and they enjoyed the teen club, said the activities were very similar to Disney. This may be different from younger kids and the clubs are not open for as many hours as Disney. HAL had great naturalists and programming done in conjunction with BBC Nature. Also, the NPS had rangers come aboard on Glacier Bay day, and they had junior ranger programs for kids.

 

[China Expat]

We did DCL many times when our son was younger. We can now cruise more often on HAL and RCCL. We have a two week Alaskan cruise booked in July on HAL, 1800 per person.

 

[tvguy]

We've done HAL to Alaska twice. They are amazing. They have kids clubs, and they have a naturalist on board who will be on deck explaining everything as you cruise past it.

 

[broadsheet]

Does anyone know: how does the food compare on HAL/Princess vs DCL?

 

[Andi4]

We did Princess to Alaska with our kids. While we love Disney, our boys also enjoyed the Princess kids clubs. Our older son participated in the Junior Chef at Sea program where they go back into the kitchens and bake and decorate a cake with the pastry chefs. This was a highlight for him. Also I do agree you need a verandah room for Alaska. There is nothing like waking up and stepping right out to the beauty of Alaska.

 

[SamFaniam]

Does anyone know: how does the food compare on HAL/Princess vs DCL?

Can only speak to HAL as we have not sailed Princess in 20 years. Food in the MDR is fine, but like Disney mass-produced and not very adventuresome. The specialty restaurants are better but cost more. If your HAL ship has a Tamarind, it is absolutely worth the upcharge.
The buffet is adequate and is open longer hours than Disney including dinner. The one advantage I would definitely give to HAL is deck food. Dive-in (burgers and hot dogs) and NY Pizza are both far superior to Disney's burgers and pizza.

 

[iivye]

We did NCL with a balcony mini-suite and Glacier Bay instead of DCL. I missed being on a DCL ship but I was able to use the extra money for some amazing excursions. We had a 5yo, 7yo and a 14yo in our group and they all had a fantastic trip.

 

[travelmomof3]

I had told myself I'd never book a cruise without a verhandah. And then I booked oceanview on DCL . My reasoning was #1 the cost - about $4k less than verandah and I can access views all throughout the ship. I also read up that Alaska can be cold and sitting on the verandah in Alaska may not be enjoyable. Now I actually like cold weather so that might not be true for me...but it was convincing enough to do an oceanview on DCL for Alaska

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Add me to the list of people struggling with a decision over the summer 2021 itineraries!

We want to do Alaska but the DCL price is eye-popping. For the Alaska vets would you choose:

DCL oceanview

or
Princess/HAL/NCL with verandah + Glacier Bay stop

FWIW my kids will be 7 and 11 at the time of the trip. Thanks for the insight!

Princess.

 

[barney4liz]

Frankly, at those prices, why not just do the ABD trip - it's not that much more?!?

What is ABD, please??

 

[barney4liz]

Oh wait, Adventures By Disney

 

[Intr3pid]

We had a great time on the Wonder in Alaska in 2018. Kids absolutely loved it.

We wouldn't go anywhere near Princess because of their terrible dumping history IN Alaskan waters.

You can do Glacier Bay as a day trip out of Juneau - if you really want - and re-join the ship in the next port. Or, NCL also has some of its cruises stop in Glacier Bay if you are looking to avoid Princess/HAL.

 

[HuskyGal]

We had a great time on the Wonder in Alaska in 2018. Kids absolutely loved it.

We wouldn't go anywhere near Princess because of their terrible dumping history IN Alaskan waters.

You can do Glacier Bay as a day trip out of Juneau - if you really want - and re-join the ship in the next port. Or, NCL also has some of its cruises stop in Glacier Bay if you are looking to avoid Princess/HAL.

We just booked for August 2021!
I like your idea to do a day trip to glacier bay from Juneau. Are there tour companies that offer this?

 

[Amunet]

If I may, I have not cruised Alaska but I did live in Anchorage, I was also a travel agent that booked these cruises.

If experiencing Alaska is the #1 priority, i would recommend Princess because they have cultural activities onboard AND for excursions, some that go beyond normal tourists.

I love DCL but, due to the drastic price hikes the past few years, I would go on other cruise lines if I am sailing to see the ports/destinations. I sail to enjoy the ships for DCL