DCL vs Cunard Alaska

[mullysisters]

I was on fb and saw an ad for Cunard QE2 7 day trip to Alaska. We are booked on the Wonder for July 18th. Not PIF for 6 weeks. I priced the same stateroom on Cunard and it was less than half of DCL. DSis is very unhappy I saw it because she doesn't want to change. How can there be such a price difference? We like Disney but do not love Disney, she just hates change. For the price of our Wonder inside stateroom we could get a balcony on the QE2. Their inside stateroom price total is under $1800USD vs $5000 for our DCL. This is our first cruise. Please help convince me not to want to change it. The cruise is a birthday gift for her and is causing some stress between us. Thanks in advance..

 

[Marc D]

Disney is by far the priciest cruise line sailing in Alaska, simply because of offer/demand principles. They sail only one small cruise ship there, only during months when kids are out of school. All of their sailings are full, so they raised the price consistently throughout the years, and at a higher rate than other cruise lines. The other lines sail multiple mega ships, so they have a lot more rooms to fill, especially in the first and last months of the Alaska season.

As I mentioned in another post, the cost of a 4A balcony on Wonder for the first week of August was the same for us as the Royal Suite on Celebrity. That stateroom comes with 900 $ onboard credit, unlimited drinks, unlimited wifi, butler service, a private restaurant three times a day and lounge, express walk on and walk off at all ports, a hot tub on the verandah, and the room is twice the size of the room on DCL.

DCL has priced us out in Alaska and Europe.

 

[mullysisters]

Disney is by far the priciest cruise line sailing in Alaska, simply because of offer/demand principles. They sail only one small cruise ship there, only during months when kids are out of school. All of their sailings are full, so they raised the price consistently throughout the years, and at a higher rate than other cruise lines. The other lines sail multiple mega ships, so they have a lot more rooms to fill, especially in the first and last months of the Alaska season.

As I mentioned in another post, the cost of a 4A balcony on Wonder for the first week of August was the same for us as the Royal Suite on Celebrity. That stateroom comes with 900 $ onboard credit, unlimited drinks, unlimited wifi, butler service, a private restaurant three times a day and lounge, express walk on and walk off at all ports, a hot tub on the verandah, and the room is twice the size of the room on DCL.

DCL has priced us out in Alaska and Europe.

Right thanks. DSis says she wants the DCL cruise so that's that but it's tough.

 

[Marthasor]

Unless you love Disney or are traveling with younger children who need entertainment geared toward them on a cruise, there is zero reason to sail DCL in Alaska, IMHO.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have zero problem with inside staterooms in the Caribbean, but I wouldn't sail Alaska without a balcony.

 

[mullysisters]

I think you're right. We used to love Disney before the management change. 10+ trips to WDW. Unfortunately we booked before other cruises lines started advertising so we didnt do our homework. I honestly wouldn't have thought that the prices could be that different. What's happening in our second home(WDW) makes me love Disney a little less. This cruise is certainly our farewell.

 

[tvguy]

I have zero problem with inside staterooms in the Caribbean, but I wouldn't sail Alaska without a balcony.

We have cruised Alaska twice (on HAL) with an outside stateroom, no balcony. Second cruise our friends went and has a balcony. On an Alaska cruise, you spend so much time on the upper deck of the ship, I just couldn't justify the cost of a balcony. Too much to see to the left, to the right, forward and back. Our friends barely used the balcony.
And since HAL has been sailing Alaska longer than anyone, they have the best permits and naturalists on board, so they would be my choice again.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think you're right. We used to love Disney before the management change. 10+ trips to WDW. Unfortunately we booked before other cruises lines started advertising so we didnt do our homework. I honestly wouldn't have thought that the prices could be that different. What's happening in our second home(WDW) makes me love Disney a little less. This cruise is certainly our farewell.

I agree disney parks has gone off the deep end on pricing on a lot of things too. But I also believe that if Disney is what you love, there is a lot of value even though they are priced more that other cruise lines. We save money not by avoiding Disney but by adjusting our vacation plans to what we are comfortable paying for. We go in off season, and find ways to save money on flights/hotels, and use credit card discounts/cashback wisely to get a bit more of a discount. We usually sail the shorter 3-night cruises because they are much better prices than the full week.

For Alaska, we are sailing princess. We originally booked on DCL, but booked at opening day prices on an August late-in-the-season cruise. We switched to princess when it became clear that we weren't comfortable traveling to/from Canada with the risk of quarantine. We are actually paying slightly more on princess than we were going to for DCL. Granted, we are getting connecting balcony rooms instead of the connecting oceanviews we had on Disney, but the fact that we were willing to pay the same price on another line instead of saving money by booking something cheaper confirms that we thought Disney was a fair price for an Alaska cruise. And I still think I would have preferred Disney, if only they sailed out Seattle instead of Vancouver. Disney cruises are really magical--don't let yourself be disappointed by comparing prices with other cruises. If a Disney cruise is what you want and the price is something you're willing to pay, that makes it worth it. If not, switch to Cunard for Alaska and find a cheaper priced/shorter Bahamas cruise on Disney to go on in a couple years (maybe the Wish!)

 

[mullysisters]

I agree disney parks has gone off the deep end on pricing on a lot of things too. But I also believe that if Disney is what you love, there is a lot of value even though they are priced more that other cruise lines. We save money not by avoiding Disney but by adjusting our vacation plans to what we are comfortable paying for. We go in off season, and find ways to save money on flights/hotels, and use credit card discounts/cashback wisely to get a bit more of a discount. We usually sail the shorter 3-night cruises because they are much better prices than the full week.

For Alaska, we are sailing princess. We originally booked on DCL, but booked at opening day prices on an August late-in-the-season cruise. We switched to princess when it became clear that we weren't comfortable traveling to/from Canada with the risk of quarantine. We are actually paying slightly more on princess than we were going to for DCL. Granted, we are getting connecting balcony rooms instead of the connecting oceanviews we had on Disney, but the fact that we were willing to pay the same price on another line instead of saving money by booking something cheaper confirms that we thought Disney was a fair price for an Alaska cruise. And I still think I would have preferred Disney, if only they sailed out Seattle instead of Vancouver. Disney cruises are really magical--don't let yourself be disappointed by comparing prices with other cruises. If a Disney cruise is what you want and the price is something you're willing to pay, that makes it worth it. If not, switch to Cunard for Alaska and find a cheaper priced/shorter Bahamas cruise on Disney to go on in a couple years (maybe the Wish!)

Thanks this is good advice. We have a hard time getting someone to look after the farm if we go away. This week of our cruise was the only time we could find the right person. I'm very frugal, my sister not so much. I would have preferred a balcony but it's out of our price range on Disney. We ere very worried about testing to return to Canada too, and very thankful that's over. Embarkation is not a deal breaker but it's taking some of the fun out of the trip. We should have done more research before booking but I'm really hoping we will find the Disney magic once underway.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We've sailed DCL twice to Alaska and enjoyed both cruises. Our next trip to Alaska will be on Princess because we can do a land vacation then sail all the way south from Anchorage stopping at the same ports plus seeing more glaciers. It also comes down to the cost. Our usual DCL family verandah, midship for two adults would be about $12.8K for seven nights. Princess three days land vacation plus 7 nights sailing from Anchorage to Vancouver BC will be $10.5K for Owner's suite Princess Plus.
Cruising on Cunard is my dream but not my DH (he doesn't want to dress formally every evening).

 

[Dug720]

The formality of Cunard makes it a no-go for me. That is an even bigger consideration than price in my book.

 

[ChanaC]

If you do want to check out another cruise line, I think a non-Caribbean cruise is a good way to go. I feel like on Caribbean cruises the attraction is the cruise ship. But on other sailings (ex Alaska and Europe) the ports are the attraction and the ship is just a great way to get around. You are stuck on the ships during the sea days, but during the day you are most likely out and about in the ports for as along as possible. And when sailing through the inside passage, everyone says how nice it is just to sit on a deck and watch everything go by. I feel like the attractions and amenities on the ship are less important. Plus you are going to mostly the same ports - it's not like there are any private islands in Alaska.

 

[mullysisters]

If you do want to check out another cruise line, I think a non-Caribbean cruise is a good way to go. I feel like on Caribbean cruises the attraction is the cruise ship. But on other sailings (ex Alaska and Europe) the ports are the attraction and the ship is just a great way to get around. You are stuck on the ships during the sea days, but during the day you are most likely out and about in the ports for as along as possible. And when sailing through the inside passage, everyone says how nice it is just to sit on a deck and watch everything go by. I feel like the attractions and amenities on the ship are less important. Plus you are going to mostly the same ports - it's not like there are any private islands in Alaska.

Thanks, good advice. I think I just loved the idea of a balcony for the same price. Otherwise we cant afford to get one.

 

[Dug720]

The one handicap with a balcony is you only see one side. If they announce whales, bears, etc. and they are on the other side, you have to run to an open deck and hope that whatever the wildlife was is still there. Whereas if you're in an interior or window you may well spend more time out on open decks anyway so you could easily move to the side where the wildlife is.

The one time I splurged on a balcony in AK (not on DCL), it seemed like if I was in the room trying to "get my money's worth" out of the balcony, they were always announcing something on the other side of the ship.

 

[mullysisters]

The one handicap with a balcony is you only see one side. If they announce whales, bears, etc. and they are on the other side, you have to run to an open deck and hope that whatever the wildlife was is still there. Whereas if you're in an interior or window you may well spend more time out on open decks anyway so you could easily move to the side where the wildlife is.

The one time I splurged on a balcony in AK (not on DCL), it seemed like if I was in the room trying to "get my money's worth" out of the balcony, they were always announcing something on the other side of the ship.

Thanks another good piece of advice. Apart from near the pool, where can you sit peacefully and where it might be a bit quieter? Now I'm starting to sound like my grandmother! LOL

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Thanks another good piece of advice. Apart from near the pool, where can you sit peacefully and where it might be a bit quieter? Now I'm starting to sound like my grandmother! LOL

Deck 4 is lovely for wildlife spotting on deck and it’s closer to the water so you’re closer to the action

 

[hrhdhd]

Cruising on Cunard is my dream but not my DH (he doesn't want to dress formally every evening).

Cunard does have Gala Evenings, which are formal, but the others are not. And you can eat elsewhere on a Gala Night if you don't want to dress up.

Regular evening dress code: "Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers, skirt and a top, or a cocktail dress. Essentially, choose something along the same vein as you’d wear to a formal restaurant or the theater on a special occasion."

 

[CampbellzSoup]

If it’s half the cost book another Disney crusie shorter and go with Cunard for Alaska

 

[Kwami]

Cunard does have Gala Evenings, which are formal, but the others are not. And you can eat elsewhere on a Gala Night if you don't want to dress up.

Regular evening dress code: "Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers, skirt and a top, or a cocktail dress. Essentially, choose something along the same vein as you’d wear to a formal restaurant or the theater on a special occasion."

Sounds fancy to me.

 

[hrhdhd]

Sounds fancy to me.

Okay. But a skirt and a top isn't "formal," which was the PP's concern.