brentm77
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
We are going with Celebrity, but don't sail until August. We gave up Glacier Bay in exchange for going with the DCL alternative that looks like the best fit for our cruise likes and dislikes. If we love it, we will try another line sometime just to see Glacier Bay. There is a common opinion that in places like Europe and Alaska, it's about the view/ports, so don't worry about the ship. But that wasn't our experience in Europe - we spent enough time on the ship, particularly relaxing in the evenings, that we still liked being on a ship we loved. That's why we didn't venture too far from DCL when picking a line for Alaska. But we were ready to try something different than DCL.
On Celebrity, we were able to get two concierge verandah rooms for less than one regular verandah on DCL, which is going to be nice with our two children in college now. (Note the concierge on Celebrity is even less impressive than DCL's unimpressive concierge). I actually don't mind sharing a room on DCL, but we have other trips together this year and it will be nice to have some alone time too and let the kids enjoy doing there thing without waking us if we go to bed earlier. It is on the Celebrity Edge, which is a fairly new ship that seems to be well liked. The initial reviews in Alaska, since this the Edge only sailed there for the first time two weeks ago, are very positive.
I would actually prefer to cruise out of Vancouver, which DCL does, because it looks like a great city, but it worked out well to sail out of Seattle for airline ticket purposes. They were direct flights and much less money. We also get to visit Victoria on Celebrity, which we wouldn't get on DCL, so that's a win.
We will see, but what we think we will like about Celebrity is the service level, less Vegas feel than some lines, no indoor smoking, and good food. It also looks to have a calmer feel, which we prefer to high-energy and high-activities. I haven't taken an alternative cruise to DCL since I was much younger, so it will be interesting to see how much we like it.
But, if you have young ones going, and/or want the DCL vibe, you might want to go with DCL if Glacier Bay isn't important to you. If Glacier Bay is important, Princess has been doing it the longest and, if I remember correctly, doesn't have the environmental problems NCL has had in Alaska.
On Celebrity, we were able to get two concierge verandah rooms for less than one regular verandah on DCL, which is going to be nice with our two children in college now. (Note the concierge on Celebrity is even less impressive than DCL's unimpressive concierge). I actually don't mind sharing a room on DCL, but we have other trips together this year and it will be nice to have some alone time too and let the kids enjoy doing there thing without waking us if we go to bed earlier. It is on the Celebrity Edge, which is a fairly new ship that seems to be well liked. The initial reviews in Alaska, since this the Edge only sailed there for the first time two weeks ago, are very positive.
I would actually prefer to cruise out of Vancouver, which DCL does, because it looks like a great city, but it worked out well to sail out of Seattle for airline ticket purposes. They were direct flights and much less money. We also get to visit Victoria on Celebrity, which we wouldn't get on DCL, so that's a win.
We will see, but what we think we will like about Celebrity is the service level, less Vegas feel than some lines, no indoor smoking, and good food. It also looks to have a calmer feel, which we prefer to high-energy and high-activities. I haven't taken an alternative cruise to DCL since I was much younger, so it will be interesting to see how much we like it.
But, if you have young ones going, and/or want the DCL vibe, you might want to go with DCL if Glacier Bay isn't important to you. If Glacier Bay is important, Princess has been doing it the longest and, if I remember correctly, doesn't have the environmental problems NCL has had in Alaska.
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