Disney alternative Alaskan cruise???

[bumbershoot]

We liked royal, but I’ve heard terrific things about princess in Alaska.

 

[mmmears]

I've only cruised DCL in Alaska, but we took my mother with us on that trip and she had previously cruised Alaska twice with Princess. She was surprised how much she really, really liked all the Disney touches and the gorgeous path you can only take when leaving from Vancouver but says that Princess was very nice as well and she'd be happy on either cruise line. I haven't tried it but it's something I'm considering since I'd like to go to Glacier Bay.

 

[clten]

We sailed Princess to Alaska before Disney started their Alaska program. If you are able to do some interior traveling (and want to do it as a cruisetour) I highly recommend Princess. Their cruise was great but they made the land portion so easy (we hate hopping from hotel to hotel on vacation). If we were to do another trip to Alaska that we wanted to make it to Denali, we would definitely do Princess again.

 

[LeslieG]

We are also looking at alternatives to Alaska. I like the HAL itineraries out of Seattle, but I'm hesitant about HAL. Also looking at the Celebrity Eclipse from Vancouver. We want an itinerary with Sitka and either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier, so that narrows the choices considerably.

 

[anjuan]

This is a really helpful thread. My daughter would love to do Alaska through DCL in 2019 but family members have told me that we shouldn't miss Glacier Bay so the more info the better!

 

[Quellman]

As others have said, and I agree. Alaska is the destination for so many people who cruise. The boat is just a floating hotel. I feel differently about the Caribbean. That is my floating resort and I only need to disembark at Castaway Cay. Save the money on the ship for excursions. Pick a line that works for you, we went with friends and they were with Carnival at the time so that is who we took. Didn't bother us at all. Nature talks were great and the ship enjoyable for our traveling group (no kids at the time).

 

[oumagic]

We liked Princess when we did Alaska. The ship wasn't the best, but Alaska is excursion heavy and Glacier Bay was excellent. I would have a hard time skipping Glacier Bay if given the choice. I just don't think I did much on that Alaska cruise but balcony time, excursions, eat, and sleep.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

For those who have done Alaska on Princess, HAL, Royal or NCL, can you tell me which ship you sailed on and whether there are activities for an 8 year old to enjoy? He's not a huge fan of kids clubs, but a decent program might interest him for an hour or two. I took a look at the Bliss, but he'll be too short for the go karts and there are fees associated with other activities (e.g., laser tag). I understand that many ships have covered pools, but that they're in adult only areas that are sometimes open to kids (not ideal). As smoke-free as possible is also a must. I keep thinking that DCL's Alaska sailings are too expensive, but then I look for what works for our family on other lines, and I struggle. I'd like to do a few select (read expensive) excursions in a couple ports and chill the rest of the trip, in which case, the ship will be more than a floating hotel for us.

 

[LeslieG]

Loved our voyage to Alaska last summer on HAL. Great itinerary that included Glacier Bay and the town of Sitka. The ship was beautiful, the service was outstanding, and we had a wonderful trip. Holland America now has an arrangement with BBC earth, that's added to its programming on the ships. There were some excellent nature programs. And on the day we were in Glacier Bay, the National Park Service rangers came onboard and gave talks.

Which ship on HAL?

 

[owensamo]

We cruised Celebrity northbound from Vancouver to Seward, and really enjoyed both the cruise and the itinerary. We enjoyed Celebrity so much, we also cruised with them in the Greek Isles. We feel for the port-heavy itineraries, it's a good (and less expensive) alternative to Disney, since we never felt rushed in port or like we were missing anything exciting on the ship by venturing ashore. We will most certainly sail Celebrity again - especially the Solstice class ships - as there are a lot of things about their ships we now miss on DCL!

We have family that sailed Princess northbound - those who hadn't sailed Disney previously had a great time, while those that had said when they came back they'd never sail anyone *but* DCL again! So I have absolutely no idea whether or not Princess can be recommended...

 

[LeslieG]

Since I just asked in my prior post which ship regarding HAL, I'll ask about Celebrity as well. Which Celebrity ships were you on that you enjoyed? And what did you like about them vs. Disney?

 

[owensamo]

Since I just asked in my prior post which ship regarding HAL, I'll ask about Celebrity as well. Which Celebrity ships were you on that you enjoyed? And what did you like about them vs. Disney?

We sailed the Millennium to Alaska, and the Reflection in Europe. The staff and service were very similar to Disney in our opinion. We really enjoyed the sky lounge for sitting in the evening to read and enjoy the scenery (especially in Alaska, where the sun never really sets!). They had great nature talks in Alaska, and the speaker would bring his binoculars and hang out in the sky lounge in the evening looking for wildlife. The beverage packages were nice, and the option to eat at the buffet for dinner was welcome - we weren't impressed with their main dining room on the Millennium, so actually ended up with a specialty dining package on our Reflection cruise and just ate in the buffet the nights we weren't dining in one of their 4 specialty restaurants.

The rotating variety acts were just as good as Disney. Their stage shows were okay - they had a distinct split between the singers and dancers in their ensemble, and most of the shows didn't really have an engaging story line - but the talent was good. We did miss the movie theater as Celebrity doesn't really have one - but there was plenty else to do to make up for it, plus there was tons of live music in various venues throughout the ship, so there was always some place to just sit and relax and take it all in.

Celebrity has a lot of art installations all throughout the ship - much like Disney, but not so specifically themed - so there was always something cool to look at. And the Reflection had a tree in the 8-story atrium. They have a library and game room, and the kids seemed to really enjoy the kids areas as well.

Our Alaska cruise was partially chartered, so there were some accommodations made since half of the ship was with one group. But other than a few closed venues, it wasn't really that impacting.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Since I just asked in my prior post which ship regarding HAL, I'll ask about Celebrity as well. Which Celebrity ships were you on that you enjoyed? And what did you like about them vs. Disney?

We've cruised on the Celebrity Millennium twice, and the Eclipse. Their food is much better than DCL.

 

[dcassetta]

The last HAL trip to Alaska was on the Eurodam, we have also sailed on her sister ship the Nieuw Amsterdam. HAL calls these Signature class, and it's my favorite of theirs. A little smaller than the Wonder but big enough to offer lots of amenities including Tamarind, my favorite restaurant on all the cruise ships I have been on. I have also sailed on the smaller Amsterdam, which I also enjoyed.

 

[MUN]

I understand Seabourn is a good option for Alaska cruises.

 

[dcassetta]

I understand Seabourn is a good option for Alaska cruises.

Very pricey, but truly all-inclusive.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I have only done Disney but my family and I will sail to Alaska on Golden Princess this summer for your exact reasons...price and DCL doesn't go to Glacier Bay. I'm glad to hear the food is good on Princess!!!

 

[juju12345]

I’d love to explore some of these options and have a kids club question- any other cruise line besides Disney allow siblings to be together in the club? Everywhere I look seems to separate by 2 year ago groups.

 

[iivye]

For those who have done Alaska on Princess, HAL, Royal or NCL, can you tell me which ship you sailed on and whether there are activities for an 8 year old to enjoy?

We sailed on the NCL Pearl round trip from Seattle with the Glacier Bay itinerary. My daughter was 13 and my nephews were 4 and 6. My daughter went to the teen club some but my brother told me the younger kids clubs were closed a lot (I'm guessing around dinner time). The cruise was port intensive so we were off the ship in the morning and not back until lunch time or later which didn't leave much time for kids activities.

 

[dcassetta]

I cannot speak specifically to the programming in Club HAL, but on the Alaska cruises, they do special junior Ranger program through the National Park Service.