dizneygirl123
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2008
We are wanting to go on an Alaskan cruise - please give me feedback on what cruise / ship you loved. We have only cruised Disney so I'm little worried about branching out to other cruise lines - thanks
We are wanting to go on an Alaskan cruise - please give me feedback on what cruise / ship you loved. We have only cruised Disney so I'm little worried about branching out to other cruise lines - thanks
sayhello said:There have been a lot of discussions on this subject since DCL started sailing to Alaska. Do a search, and I'm sure you'll find tons.
The short answer is that DCL does not have the best itinerary. Mostly that's because they don't do Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. They do Tracy Arm, which some folks will tell you is just fine and beautiful. I've never been to Tracy Arm, so I can't comment, but Glacier Bay is totally phenomenal. Also, in the past, the amount of time in port has not been that great, but that's varied. It was the worst when they sailed out of Seattle. There has also been issues with them not sailing in the Inside Passage for parts of the cruise, which takes them into rougher water.
My personal experience was with Princess. Princess was wonderful for a lot of reasons. First off, they do one-way cruises, which allow you to add on a land portion before or after the cruise. That's pretty difficult to do with a round trip from Vancouver or Seattle. They do Glacier Bay on a lot of their itineraries. They have a naturalist onboard for things like the Glacier Bay day, and that really adds a lot to what you're seeing. I found the service on Princess to be every bit as good as DCL. Just no Mouse. And I was able to afford a balcony room for a lot less than the window room I just sailed on on the Fantasy. A balcony is a really nice thing to have on an Alaska cruise, as you are almost always close to land and beautiful scenery.
You do have to be selective with Princess, as some of their itineraries don't do Glacier Bay, and some of them sail outside the Inside passage, also. Make sure you choose one that includes Glacier Bay and sails withing the Inside passage for as much of the time as possible. (ie, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and with land on both sides of the ship in Alaska).
I'd do a cruise with Princess again in a second.
Sayhello
On our HAL cruises to Alaska, we had an excellent naturalist onboard the entire cruise. He was a young and enthusiastic university professor, so the summer Alaska cruises fit his academic schedule perfectly.. . . HAL also has a naturalist onboard during Glacier Bay (or any glacier cruising).
Sorry, I have no kids, so I can't comment on that. Hopefully someone with young children will jump in here.Would you do it with young children?
The HAL pool areas are heated and well designed with retractable glass roofs. Perfect for lounging around or swimming while it's freezing outside.. . . The pool area on HAL was much more suited to Alaska than the Wonder.
. . . Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to cruise HAL again.
Would you do it with young children?
We did a cruisetour (land and sea) with Princess to Alaska in 1999. We had our 15 month old daughter on the ship with us, but not on the land portion.
We did DCL Alaska cruise out of Seattle this summer, 2012.
Seeing Fairbanks and taking the train to Denali and Anchorage was excellent. Glacier Bay is slightly superior to Tracy Arm. Princess definitely provided a chance to see more of Alaska.
On board, DCL beat Princess like a drum. Now, bear in mind that I am comparing 1999 Princess to 2012 Disney. Maybe Princess is now super awesome. All I know is that after the Princess cruise, I planned to never cruise again. A quick DCL cruise to the Bahamas in 2009 to please my daughters changed that.
If possible, do a land/sea cruisetour with Princess or HAL. If you will be doing just the cruise, I would choose DCL, as their superior family entertainment and superior service trumps seeing glaciers in Glacier Bay (Princess) vs seeing glaciers in Tracy Arm (DCL). At the end of the day, they are both glaciers, even though Glacier Bay is more majestic.
More important than which line you choose is what excursions you do. Alaska is expensive, but if you just look at it from the ship you will not get a true experience. In Skagway, ride the train that follows the route the gold prospectos followed. In Ketchikan, find bear or salmon or king crab. In Juneau, get up on Mendenhall Glacier. If you really want to experience Alaska, have a plan for each port and get out there!
Can't agree more with both postings. Princess owns Alaska.
Princess is great, not Disney, but great.
Never been on Princess, but in travel circles HAL is the line known for Alaska, been going years longer than other cruise lines. They tend to have the best permits to go to glaciers and best docking locations.
We found HAL comparable or a hair better than Disney on service.
I don't think you could go wrong with either Princess or HAL for an Alaska cruise. They are my top choices.. . . I'm on the fence between Princess and HAL.
I wonder what is the best time of year to experience Alaska? DCL itineraries limit the choice, but it sounds like the other lines give options.
This helpful......I'd like to cruise to Alaska again. But with DCL prices and them now leaving out of Vancouver instead of Seattle, I am looking for other options. I'm on the fence between Princess and HAL.