Another comparison thread - A DCL Cruiser Sails Princess

[jujubiee4]

Aww Op I'm sorry you had a bad trip. I think we were on the one before you. (We Went beginning of
June). We had a great time. Now I will preface to say our kids did not go with us. We had 2 minisuites
booked but my inlaws decided to take the kids to Hawaii (DVC). So we cancelled one. We loved the room and
especially the 2 tvs as Im an early 4am riser so I can have coffee and watch some news while hubby sleeps.

We did all specialty dining. I thought it was fine but DH said it was hit or miss. Didn't really go to shows as we
just wanted to relax. (We just got back 2 nights before from a week at WDW). Drink package was fine as
was room service. Room steward was great. We wanted decompression and we got it with amazing views
from Balcony.

The drawbacks were the medallion that never quite worked right EVER. Also I admit I am a picky eater but
the buffet was straight up Yuck. Went for breakfast and lot of items were lukewarm or barely edible.

DCL will always be my #1. But for the price to Alaska Princess was fantastic. By the way this is my 3rd
trip to Alaska. 2 Cruises and 1 eleven day land trip. And the cruises will never compare to exploring by car.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Wow, sorry to read about your bad Princess Cruise experience.

We have only sailed RCCL (1994) and Princess (2019) to Alaska and have had outstanding experiences each time. On Princess we did the train excursion to Denali, and especially enjoyed the experience of being in Glacier Bay where a National Park guide spend the day in the theater giving talks.

We want to take one more Alaska cruise, this time with adult grandchildren. I will think about what you say and probably talk about it with family. Our past experiences on Princess also include 9 excellent cruises in Europe, the Caribbean and Panama Canal.

 

[tidefan]

Well, punchline, it wasn't for us. Posting because after much deliberation I booked a cruise on Princess's newest ship, Discovery Princess, to Alaska and as much as I carefully researched and thought I had found something that would work for our family, it just didn't, and I'm thinking it might be useful to others making similar decisions of whether to venture out of the Disney bubble.

We're gold Disney cruisers, with three kids age 6, 10 and 10. At the time we were looking to book an Alaska cruise this summer, travel to Canada was looking complicated, and we were getting sticker shock from Disney Alaska prices. We were also traveling with an extended family group that were not keen on Disney and wanted a Casino, more live music/dancing etc. We also figured Alaska is about the destination, not the ship, so it wouldn't matter as much that we didn't have the Disney experience. This is why we discovered the hard way it just didn't work for us and we won't be sailing on a cruise line other than DCL again.

Staterooms
We booked two connecting mini-suites with balconies. On the plus side, the rooms were very nice. We had roughly same amount of space as two Disney verandah rooms, for the price of inside rooms on Disney. It was a new ship so furnishings were brand new and very pretty/modern, though the bed is not nearly as comfy as Disney, and we really missed having the split bathroom. Storage was also one thing we missed--suitcases do not fit under the bed so they filled up our closet, and there are no chests of drawers, just a closet with hangers and a few narrow shelves (width of the in-room safe).

Another key difference is that there is no lock on the verandah door like there is for DCL. The handle simply rotates and then the door opens, without any upper lock outside of the reach of kids to make it secure. Which became even a bigger safety issue because....

We had a massive shock when we arrived in our confirmed "connecting" rooms and hey were (you guessed it) not connecting. After being given the runaround by various staff we found a manager who confirmed this is a known problem and that some rooms were mislabeled on the Princess deck plans as having connecting doors between them but actually did not. Because there are so few connecting rooms on the ship, and it was a very full sailing, there were none we could be moved to, even if we were were willing to accept a downgrade. This also happened to others in our party who also had small kids, so it was not just a single room that was the problem, and not my mistaken reading of the deck plan or the written confirmation I got when I booked saying my rooms had an interior connecting door. Both we and the other family were given a small amount of compensation from the cruise line after complaining (or at least we were told we would be mailed a check--I don't have it yet so we will see), but that didn't do anything to fix what was a terrible situation--we had to split up so that our kids (one of whom is special needs) could have a parent. I kept thinking, if this happened on Disney and they realized they made such a big a mistake with their deck plans, they would have called us BEFORE the cruise and given us an option to cancel or move to a different sailing since we had booked directly through the cruise line. But I still resolved to make the best of it and enjoy the trip... until other things started going south.

Cleanliness
When we entered our room, we found toenails in the sheets and a woman's underwear in the nightstand. I will stop there before I gross you out further.

Food
One of the things we were most looking forward to was the greater flexibility of food options on the ship for dinner. In addition to the MDRs and pool deck quick service, there is an all-day buffet, included pizza/pasta restaurant, and four extra charge specialty restaurants, all of which we tried. The pool quick service and pizza place were both tasty--although the pizza place did not take reservations and regularly had waits of 1 hour plus (and you had to wait outside the restaurant with hour whole party including kids, no splitting up to do other things while you wait). But the buffet was terrible--no smoked salmon and eggs benedict like DCL has for breakfast, just very basic, and at lunch and dinner the food was just plain bad, and we saw some scary food safety issues (e.g., sharp pieces of plastic in food; raw-inside pork meatballs). The MDRs were just okay, not as good as DCL, and the real shocker was we ate at all four specialty upcharge restaurants and they were all no better or worse than the MDR. Again lots of obvious errors--broken shell in crab cakes, overcooked steak, drink orders forgotten. Perhaps most egregiously, we explained a serious food allergy up front at the start of each meal, and it was regularly ignored leaving the person unable to eat the dishes set in front of him. Oh, and also every dinner took 3 hours. With kids they were going out of their mind, especially because kids club was not an option because...

Kids Club
It drove me absolutely nuts that the kids club closed during lunch and dinner. WHY? That is the perfect time for parents to have some time alone to eat dinner after feeding the kids and taking them to the club, which is what we often do on DCL. As for the actual kids club programming, it was very focused on arts and crafts and movies, which would be find if it was optional, but they literally would not let my kids opt out and do their own thing (e.g., read a book; play on the foosball table; play a video game) any time an activity was happening. Our 10 year olds named the kids club the "torture club" after being forced to watch the Minions movie. Another thing: we were given a pager, but like much of the technology on the ship, it didn't work 90% of the time--after several missed pages, we ended up checking on the kids every 30 minutes in person because that was the only way we could find out when they wanted to leave the club, which was super annoying.

Ship activities
The majority of the activities on board were (a) shopping events/art auctions, or (b) weird wellness treatment pitches that all seemed to involve de-aging or weight loss. There were just a handful of trivia, bingo or game show type events each day, when we are used to multiple options an hour on DCL. They also talked a lot about movies under the stars, but they often showed movies that were not kid-appropriate so we only did that once, and also they did not have blankets like they do on DCL so in Alaska it was wayyy too cold to stay out long. There were two production shows over the 7 day cruise--but after going to the first one and watching an extensive dance number in which a woman danced suggestively in a thong bikini, I was too nervous to try the other one or the variety acts. There was plenty of live music, which we enjoyed, even though we felt the DCL music acts were better quality-wise. The fact is, we were only in port 3 days out of 7, so we felt the loss of family-friendly activities at lot more than we expected would--the cruise ship really does matter, not just the destination.

Now before you say "of course Princess isn't good for kids, what are you thinking," I'll admit I probably should have taken this more seriously, but Princess is definitely marketing more to families and we had seen a lot of anecdotal good reviews of Princess with kids. Also, there were over 500 kids on our sailing, so 1 in 7 of the 3500 guests on the ship, so you'd think there would be more for them. We also considered Royal and NCL, but were wary of the "booze cruise" vibes and heard bad things about the food, service and staterooms (upgrading to Haven would have cost us over $20K, double what we paid for Princess, so that was not an option).

At the end of the day, we made a mistake. If you are like me, don't make the same one.

Sorry you didn't enjoy Princess. We went in late May on Crown Princess (yes, the one with propulsion issues) and had a fantastic time. We have also sailed twice on Regal Princess (sister ship to Discovery) and have nothing but glowing things to say about it. In fact, we will be sailing her to the British Isles next summer.

What surprises me is the comments about the buffet. We have cruised numerous lines and all in our family all considered Regal Princess to have the best buffet of any ship we had been on (and either Independence of the Seas or Serenade of the Seas to be the worst, in case you were wondering...). That said, I had heard rumblings on the Princess board on Cruise Critic that something may be off on the Discovery. We have not sailed Discovery. It is their newest ship, so a bit surprised on the buffet and food items. Even the buffet on the Crown was pretty good. Also, not sure what went on with Discovery, but on our Regal Princess sailings, we always just walked in to Alfredo's and never had a wait. And that was on completely full sailings. I have a suspicion on this that I'll get to in a minute...

As to Specialty Dining, we hardly ever do Specialty Dining on any line, so I can't comment too much about that except that we did have a free Crown Grill on the Crown because of a promotion and it was very, very good. However, on Princess, I think that the MDR food is good enough that we never feel like we have to do Specialty Dining.

Also surprised at your room. We've done 9 Princess cruises and have never had an issue with cleanliness. We did have an issue with the A/C on the Crown, but they moved us (actually upgraded us to an OV) to a room that was nice and Ice Cold. The hotel manager even found us while we were having a snack at the IC and told me to have a look at the room (though she said "we don't use the medallion to track guests, just in special cases... OK). Speaking of the Medallion, it can be hit or miss (as it was in 2019 when they were rolling it out), but surprisingly, on the Crown in May, it worked flawlessly. Nothing like ordering room service to a table on the back of the ship to watch sailaway or order salted caramel lattes delivered to the room. I have heard though that performance varies by ship. Of note here, on the first day of our Crown sailing, I stopped by the Medallion desk and the help desk person asked to look at my phone. She suggested (A) putting the phone in airplane mode, and (B), changed some private IP address setting and after that, it worked flawlessly.

Also, on Crown Princess (and our 2018 Alaska Emerald Princess sailing), there were plenty of blankets (nice red and black plaid ones, too!) for MUTS. Not sure why Discovery wouldn't have them. And Kid's Clubs. Our DD went to the teen club (I think it was called the "Beach House" or "Beach Club" or something like that) and she actually preferred it to Vibe. Mainly, b/c Regal Princess had this awesome private outdoor deck area that was accessible from the teen club with loungers that are the same as in the paid area (can't remember what it's called) and their own hot tub. Not sure if Discovery has that same setup (but I don't think you had teens).

Now, to my comment. Princess has just cancelled all sailings on the Diamond Princess that was to come back in service shortly and instead are moving it's crew all around to the existing in-service fleet. I think that they are caught in the same not enough crew members right now as other lines are. It will be interesting to see if that has an effect (as to me it is Princess admitting they don't have enough staff right now).

All this said, I don't blame you if you don't come back to Princess. You've tried it and will move on. The one thing I have found over the years is that different people have different reviews and very different outlooks (sometimes on the same cruise!) depending on their own personal experiences. I like to think of different cruise lines like different genres of music. I like to think that of the Main lines, Carnival is kind of like "Gangnam Style", RCCL kind of like "Van Halen", whereas DCL is kind of like "Pick your favorite Disney song" (haven't sailed NCL). I think Princess and Celebrity are more like a "James Taylor" or "Jimmy Buffett" song. Just different vibes. For us, Princess has always worked great, but I can definitely see that it wouldn't necessarily be for everyone. For us, everyone was like "you gotta try Royal Caribbean", so we did and took a cruise on Serenade OTS and it just didn't compare to any of our Princess or DCL cruises. Then we were told, "Oh, that's because you haven't been on an Oasis class ship", so we did Oasis OTS and didn't care for it either. Conversely, we tried Carnival Mardi Gras and were blown away, actually, so you just never know.

 

[brentm77]

I totally think you will have a great time on Disney! Alaska was incredible. We did the lumberjack show in Ketchikan plus explored creek street and the Married Man's trail/salmon ladder. I was expecting that to be a kind of underwhelming day compared to the next two ports, but it turned out the lumberjack show is a hoot and the town of Ketchikan is BEAUTIFUL. In Juneau, we went to Mendenhall and hiked the trail to nugget falls. It was a "I will never forget this day" experience--just stunning (see photos below--I have a bad phone camera so trust me, the pictures do NOT do this justice). My husband did a glacier helicopter ride in Juneau which he said was incredible but it was not in our budget for the whole family and I'm scared of heights, so I took the kids on my own to Mendenhall and it was very easy and safe (we brought bear bells, but were not needed--it is a very easy path and you are never alone for long).

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And in Skagway we did the White Pass train, which was every bit as gorgeous as I'd hoped it would be.

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So we all agree we had great time for the days we were actually in Alaska, but we didn't fully appreciate going into it how much the cruise food/entertainment/service could detract from the overall experience of the vacation. It's definitely bittersweet--I had planned for this to be only Alaska trip we take as a family just given the large cost, but I already find myself daydreaming about booking another one in a few years' time so we can go back and experience Alaska on DCL.


Ugh, sorry to hear it, but that does help me feel a little better oddly--I know I am such a Disney fanatic, and I was a bit soured from day one from the connecting room incident, I was starting to wonder if I was exaggerating small problems. But I do think it is fair to say it was just not a good cruise experience for families.


That really does look so perfect for Alaska--good to have a little more shelter from the wind. Maybe when our older kids are teens and can be on their own we will split up and do a navigator's balcony and inside room across the way.


I really hope you have a better cruise than us. I will say our Glacier viewing day on Princess was magical, truly special. You could tell the ship captain was a pro at getting us as close to the glaciers as possible including some tricky navigation around large ice blocks, and there was very interesting narration from a park ranger you could listen to on the top decks or on the stateroom TV while you sit on the balcony. So they did hold up their bargain on the glacier viewing experience, which I know is why a lot of people choose princess and was definitely a factor for us that they are such an experienced Alaska cruise line. Wishing you good weather for your glacier day!

The allergy thing was a bit of a shocker to us too. Fortunately the allergy in our case (black pepper) was one that is quite easy to see when it is present in a dish, so we were able to snatch away the offending dishes and didn't have any medical emergencies as a result. But it was definitely not a great experience and I really saw the value in Disney's system of having the same serving team each night and allergy meals ordered a day ahead.

Amazing photos! Thanks for the detailed response! I'm glad to hear that at least the Alaska parts didn't disappoint.

We had heard the logic that for port intensive cruises, why splurge on DCL, but we did on our Med cruise and didn't regret it one bit. You still spend a lot of your time on the ship, and even with full port days, there was plenty of time to enjoy DCL. Your feedback has cemented our decision for Alaska. Thank you.

 

[tidefan]

Amazing photos! Thanks for the detailed response! I'm glad to hear that at least the Alaska parts didn't disappoint.

We had heard the logic that for port intensive cruises, why splurge on DCL, but we did on our Med cruise and didn't regret it one bit. You still spend a lot of your time on the ship, and even with full port days, there was plenty of time to enjoy DCL. Your feedback has cemented our decision for Alaska. Thank you.

To me, the biggest difference in a DCL Alaska sailing vs. any other line is that it will go the full inside passage since it leaves from Vancouver. Ships that leave from Seattle go around the west side of Vancouver Island.

 

[tidefan]

I've been waiting for your review! We are also giving Princess a try for Alaska this summer. My parents are cruising with us, and a one-way itinerary was important for them to spend time in Denali National Park before the cruise. (That is a bucket list thing for my mom, and this trip is for her.) My husband, daughter, and I are also taking advantage of that to spend several days in the Anchorage area and visiting Kenai Fjords National Park before our cruise. Cruising in Glacier Bay is also important to us as it helps my husband check off more national parks. All this to say, Disney didn't meet those needs (even though we LOVE the product and could live with the price) so we have ended up with Princess!

We only have one kiddo in our party (my daughter, who turns 10 on the cruise) and are spending a lot of time being active in the ports, so I think we will ultimately be okay. We've tried to manage my daughter's expectations, telling her that the kids clubs are limited, the movies are not for kids, and that we won't be going to any shows in the theater. Maybe she will like the clubs or make a friend to hang out with, but otherwise we're planning on a lot of family togetherness time enjoying the scenery. Maybe I will bring some card games to entertain us! It definitely seems like Princess is marketing to families but not adjusting anything about their traditional cruise experience that would mean that families enjoy the cruise and want to book another one.

I am extremely worried about how Princess handles food allergies, as my husband has life-threatening food allergies and we have always trusted Disney destinations, DCL, to do a great job with this. Based on your experience, it seems we will need to be extra vigilant.

Thank you so much for sharing all of this - it's really helpful as we think about managing expectations going into our Princess Alaska experience later this month. We cruise a lot and can handle one less-then-stellar experience as long as we have fun in Alaska, but I am really hoping my parents enjoy themselves.

FYI, my DW is gluten free and Princess handled it great. Better than RCCL.

 

[limace]

We’ve considered a DCL cruise to Alaska-loved the report just posted from someone who sailed on the Wonder and loved it. We haven’t sailed DCL before and have been really interested-but holy crap. We have sailed HAL which has wonderful AK itineraries and very good food-they are l, I kid you not, 10k cheaper for a balcony cabin for four than DCL is. With the report of how bad the food was on this Wonder cruise-yeah, no way. I can take the four of us to Europe twice for that fare difference.

 

[brentm77]

To me, the biggest difference in a DCL Alaska sailing vs. any other line is that it will go the full inside passage since it leaves from Vancouver. Ships that leave from Seattle go around the west side of Vancouver Island.

For sure. It was one if the reasons I was hesitant to stick with DCL, but after watching videos of the various itineraries, we felt the DCL itinerary was sufficient for what we were looking for. If we feel like we want to see more after the first cruise, we will venture to other lines.

 

[brentm77]

We’ve considered a DCL cruise to Alaska-loved the report just posted from someone who sailed on the Wonder and loved it. We haven’t sailed DCL before and have been really interested-but holy crap. We have sailed HAL which has wonderful AK itineraries and very good food-they are l, I kid you not, 10k cheaper for a balcony cabin for four than DCL is. With the report of how bad the food was on this Wonder cruise-yeah, no way. I can take the four of us to Europe twice for that fare difference.

When did you look at sailing and were you booking late? Because there are verandah cabins for four on DCL that aren't even 10k for some sailings.

 

[limace]

When did you look at sailing and were you booking late? Because there are verandah cabins for four on DCL that aren't even 10k for some sailings.

Just picked random dates next summer on the Costco page-14k was the cheapest they showed.

 

[pangyal]

I’d like to add our own experience quickly with regards to allergies- it really does seem to be hit or miss; I can‘t do gluten or dairy and was presented nightly with a short wave of the hand sort of inferring that the only things I could eat would be the meat and potatoes dishes. We were in a full suite and one of the (sort of lame) ‘benefits’ was some kind of table side carving presentation of a rotating special dish at dinner times. Well, on the third night we asked about it since we hadn’t seen any “extra“ dishes thus far, and were told that they were not going to spend the time offering or presenting the food that I probably can’t eat. There was no consideration for the rest of my family, who gladly would have eaten an off-menu option if offered. There was no DCL-esque problem solving involved. It was simply removed from our benefits. I found this so odd.

And now I’m thinking back to the kids club. This was three years ago. We went in May and there were three kids on the sailing, including ours . A complete 180-degree turn from OP’s experience. Luckily, they were all close to the same age, so when we also discovered the non-functional pager issue on the first day, we struck a deal with those siblings’ parents where each set of parents would check on the kids once an hour until they wanted to leave, then alert the other family to go and pick them up. They did have Skee Ball (my kid is now a beast at Skee Ball, at least, after many hours of training) and had organized activities such as sewing pillow animals, having a ranger come on board to teach them about the native wildlife, etc. It was actually pretty engaging, but then again with three kids, they didn’t really have to work at it. It sounds like maybe on OP’s cruise, they were completely unprepared for the number of kids onboard and lost control of any semblance of a kids club on day one.

But, we had a fantastic time in Alaska proper and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. You really do get up close and personal in Glacier Bay with Princess!

 

[tidefan]

I’d like to add our own experience quickly with regards to allergies- it really does seem to be hit or miss; I can‘t do gluten or dairy and was presented nightly with a short wave of the hand sort of inferring that the only things I could eat would be the meat and potatoes dishes. We were in a full suite and one of the (sort of lame) ‘benefits’ was some kind of table side carving presentation of a rotating special dish at dinner times. Well, on the third night we asked about it since we hadn’t seen any “extra“ dishes thus far, and were told that they were not going to spend the time offering or presenting the food that I probably can’t eat. There was no consideration for the rest of my family, who gladly would have eaten an off-menu option if offered. There was no DCL-esque problem solving involved. It was simply removed from our benefits. I found this so odd.

And now I’m thinking back to the kids club. This was three years ago. We went in May and there were three kids on the sailing, including ours . A complete 180-degree turn from OP’s experience. Luckily, they were all close to the same age, so when we also discovered the non-functional pager issue on the first day, we struck a deal with those siblings’ parents where each set of parents would check on the kids once an hour until they wanted to leave, then alert the other family to go and pick them up. They did have Skee Ball (my kid is now a beast at Skee Ball, at least, after many hours of training) and had organized activities such as sewing pillow animals, having a ranger come on board to teach them about the native wildlife, etc. It was actually pretty engaging, but then again with three kids, they didn’t really have to work at it. It sounds like maybe on OP’s cruise, they were completely unprepared for the number of kids onboard and lost control of any semblance of a kids club on day one.

But, we had a fantastic time in Alaska proper and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. You really do get up close and personal in Glacier Bay with Princess!

I wonder if it’s the Head Server? On our Alaska Crown Princess cruise in May, he would take DW’s order of whatever she wanted on the menu and said the Chef would try to make it. Most nights, they were able to do this.

On Oasis, on the other hand, she asked if she could have Chicken Parm. After over an hour, they brought out some plain, rubbery chicken with a side of what looked like (but, apparently did not taste like) Alfredo sauce and some plain gf spaghetti…

And, I may add that Carnival Mardi Gras was even better with this.

 

[pangyal]

I wonder if it’s the Head Server? On our Alaska Crown Princess cruise in May, he would take DW’s order of whatever she wanted on the menu and said the Chef would try to make it. Most nights, they were able to do this.

On Oasis, on the other hand, she asked if she could have Chicken Parm. After over an hour, they brought out some plain, rubbery chicken with a side of what looked like (but, apparently did not taste like) Alfredo sauce and some plain gf spaghetti…

And, I may add that Carnival Mardi Gras was even better with this.

Absolutely. Our head server on that cruise was a certified donkey.

 

[brentm77]

Just picked random dates next summer on the Costco page-14k was the cheapest they showed.

Wow! Just did a couple of test bookings and got the same thing. I didn't realize how much we were saving by sailing in September and getting a navigator verandah. That's what we paid for a longer Med cruise. As much as I want to sail Alaska, I think I would go back to Europe instead for that high of a cost. Cunard had a ten day Alaska cruise for less than half that price.

 

[tlprice]

I really don't get the whole, "I need a verandah" for an Alaskan cruise. We went on the Wonder June 13-20 of this year and were in an interior room. This made the cruise very affordable. The only day we would have REALLY used the verandah is the glacier day. That's a LOT of wasted money to me. On the glacier day, we sat on deck 4 for most of the day and watched the scenery with probably a better view than a verandah. We went up to the top decks for pictures with the characters and when we got closest to the glacier. It was an amazing day (my DD15 was just saying earlier tonight that it is the best day she has ever experienced in her life). The other nice thing about an inside stateroom is that it was nice and dark at night when it was light out really late and got light really early in the morning. Therefore, we slept great! We did sit on deck 4 a few other times just to watch the scenery. We never had a problem finding a spot on deck 4. I guess because everybody else had a verandah! I am very glad we went with Disney as that is where we feel most comfortable. We just do it as cheaply as possible.

I have looked at Princess, so thank you for your review. I'm not sure we are ready for that.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I really don't get the whole, "I need a verandah" for an Alaskan cruise. We went on the Wonder June 13-20 of this year and were in an interior room. This made the cruise very affordable. The only day we would have REALLY used the verandah is the glacier day. That's a LOT of wasted money to me. On the glacier day, we sat on deck 4 for most of the day and watched the scenery with probably a better view than a verandah. We went up to the top decks for pictures with the characters and when we got closest to the glacier. It was an amazing day (my DD15 was just saying earlier tonight that it is the best day she has ever experienced in her life). The other nice thing about an inside stateroom is that it was nice and dark at night when it was light out really late and got light really early in the morning. Therefore, we slept great! We did sit on deck 4 a few other times just to watch the scenery. We never had a problem finding a spot on deck 4. I guess because everybody else had a verandah! I am very glad we went with Disney as that is where we feel most comfortable. We just do it as cheaply as possible.

I have looked at Princess, so thank you for your review. I'm not sure we are ready for that.

Interesting view, thanks.

 

[MomOTwins]

I really don't get the whole, "I need a verandah" for an Alaskan cruise. We went on the Wonder June 13-20 of this year and were in an interior room. This made the cruise very affordable. The only day we would have REALLY used the verandah is the glacier day. That's a LOT of wasted money to me. On the glacier day, we sat on deck 4 for most of the day and watched the scenery with probably a better view than a verandah. We went up to the top decks for pictures with the characters and when we got closest to the glacier. It was an amazing day (my DD15 was just saying earlier tonight that it is the best day she has ever experienced in her life). The other nice thing about an inside stateroom is that it was nice and dark at night when it was light out really late and got light really early in the morning. Therefore, we slept great! We did sit on deck 4 a few other times just to watch the scenery. We never had a problem finding a spot on deck 4. I guess because everybody else had a verandah! I am very glad we went with Disney as that is where we feel most comfortable. We just do it as cheaply as possible.

I have looked at Princess, so thank you for your review. I'm not sure we are ready for that.

If it is just adults I’d agree with you but one thing we really liked the verandah for with little kids was scenic viewing in the early morning and late at night (it stays light out late in summer) while the kids were sleeping. We also sometimes gave the kids some quiet time in the room before dinner to watch a movie or play on tablets when they were tired from all the day’s activities and needed to decompress, and I used the verandah again then. DH and I could sit out with binoculars and watch the mountains and look for wildlife. I am normally not a huge user of verandahs on caribbean cruises, but in alaska where the view was always spectacular I used it every day.

 

[starry_solo]

I really don't get the whole, "I need a verandah" for an Alaskan cruise. We went on the Wonder June 13-20 of this year and were in an interior room. This made the cruise very affordable. The only day we would have REALLY used the verandah is the glacier day. That's a LOT of wasted money to me. On the glacier day, we sat on deck 4 for most of the day and watched the scenery with probably a better view than a verandah. We went up to the top decks for pictures with the characters and when we got closest to the glacier. It was an amazing day (my DD15 was just saying earlier tonight that it is the best day she has ever experienced in her life). The other nice thing about an inside stateroom is that it was nice and dark at night when it was light out really late and got light really early in the morning. Therefore, we slept great! We did sit on deck 4 a few other times just to watch the scenery. We never had a problem finding a spot on deck 4. I guess because everybody else had a verandah! I am very glad we went with Disney as that is where we feel most comfortable. We just do it as cheaply as possible.

I have looked at Princess, so thank you for your review. I'm not sure we are ready for that.

For us, we like the fresh sea air in the cabin. Yes, we know we can go up deck, but if you're feeling a little sea sick or something like that, nothing like opening up the verandah door and breathing in some fresh air.

 

[brentm77]

I really don't get the whole, "I need a verandah" for an Alaskan cruise. We went on the Wonder June 13-20 of this year and were in an interior room. This made the cruise very affordable. The only day we would have REALLY used the verandah is the glacier day. That's a LOT of wasted money to me. On the glacier day, we sat on deck 4 for most of the day and watched the scenery with probably a better view than a verandah. We went up to the top decks for pictures with the characters and when we got closest to the glacier. It was an amazing day (my DD15 was just saying earlier tonight that it is the best day she has ever experienced in her life). The other nice thing about an inside stateroom is that it was nice and dark at night when it was light out really late and got light really early in the morning. Therefore, we slept great! We did sit on deck 4 a few other times just to watch the scenery. We never had a problem finding a spot on deck 4. I guess because everybody else had a verandah! I am very glad we went with Disney as that is where we feel most comfortable. We just do it as cheaply as possible.

I have looked at Princess, so thank you for your review. I'm not sure we are ready for that.

I spend a lot of time on the verandah on any cruise. When my wife or daughters are getting ready, it gives me an easy way to be close by, but outdoors. But, we also just like having a view at all times. I saw stuff on the med cruise that I would have missed without it. For example, when we were all getting ready, pulling into Santorini early in the morning, with huge cliffs with white houses on top of the islands on both sides of us, or a gorgeous sunset that we saw in the evening when passing Sicily before leaving for one of the shows. I imagine Alaska would have those moments too.

There are just times when you need or want to be in the privacy and comfort of your room, but don't want to miss anything. Or, just being on the open sea, I love to watch the ocean. We are pretty chill travelers, looking for relaxation, so it fits our style to be able to stay in the room sometimes and still experience the location we are at. We still enjoy time on deck 4 or up top too.

If my budget dictated no cruise, or a cruise without a view, sure, I agree that it isn't a "must." But I love having it if it's in the budget, and pretty important for us for next year's Alaska cruise. I never once felt it was a waste for us. But a lot of it probably comes down to how you like to vacation.