Disney VS. Princess VS. Norwegian VS Celebrity

[barbarossa_hoosier]

I love Disney, but I could never justify paying almost twice as much for an Alaskan cruise, just to sail with the Mouse. We're booked for September 2021 with NCL, on the Encore.

1. As others have said: food is subjective. For me, an MDR is an MDR. Norwegian has far more specialty dining options; nothing beats Palo brunch on Disney.

2. It depends on the ages of your kids. Our girls are tweens, and enjoy both DCL and NCL. My youngest enjoys the DCL kids club more than my oldest. Both will be aging up into the tween offerings by the time we cruise on the Fantasy next May, and into the teen offerings by the time we cruise to Alaska.

3. I don't think you're making a mistake, huge or otherwise. With the full gamut of Free At Sea promotions, a loop itinerary that includes Glacier Bay, and a brand new ship, I'm perfectly happy with our decision to cruise NCL to Alaska. (I'm also biased, since, for different reasons for each, I like NCL and DCL equally. We'll be Platinum on Norwegian when we take this cruise. It'll be years before we're even Gold with Disney.)

 

[Joysnote]

So my husband had decided on an Alaska cruise for this summer, in September. As much as I would LOVE to do DCL, money-wise, the other companies make more sense. So here's what I need to know... I am a die-hard DCL fan. Been on 14 of them and 2 Carnival (both of which I HATED!). Shread some light on any lines you have experienced other than DCL:

1. How does the food compare?

2. How are their kid-friendly offerings? I'm looking for "club" info as well as just general family-friendly activities.

3. Am I making a HUGE mistake???

>>

We also are Platinum Castaway Club members and love Disney Cruise Line, have 2 DCL cruises already booked for 2020, but we did Alaska on Princess last year and a balcony room was literally 1/4 of an inside on Disney so that was a major factor. This was our second Princess Cruise, we have also done 2 Carnival and 3 Royal Caribbeans before while I did not hate those, I probably would not sail those again with a specific purpose only line that goes where we want and I have done one NCL and probably won't ever again, it just was not for us, everyone has different tastes.

The service and quality of food for us equaled Disney Cruise Line on Princess Line. The general ship was very clean like Disney and staff was very attentive like Disney. Our stateroom was not as well apportioned as a Disney Cruise Line stateroom but then again the price was no where near it. The shows were not child focused though I think children would enjoy hearing from the naturalist, seeing the puppies in the Piazza, Princess brings in husky puppies to enter act with guests in helping train the puppies. The kids clubs are not elaborate more like on any other line but Disney. That said, you will be in a Port every day on most sailings in Alaska with so much to do on shore so you probably do not need as much on board. We did really miss the Disney Movies running in the theaters, but the movies under the stars with Popcorn and hot chocolate was very fun and they give you comfy blankets too. It was much warmer for the most part then I thought Alaska would be before going but really not warm enough to swim but did hot tub a few times, and hot tubs/pools way less crowded than Disney.

If you do want to book through Dreams Unlimited Travel, we sponsor these boards, we would still give you on board credit and the gift basket for booking other lines like Princess with us like the Disney Cruises, just FYI.


Joy

 

[pixiedustedme]

We had an extraordinary Alaskan cruise via DCL. It was worth the premium to us to sail with the line we love, on a beautiful ship with great entertainment, great service and the characters. Getting photos with the characters in their Alaskan gear was great. Three of the six days of the cruise are spent onboard (although not three in a row, as someone else claimed), so the ship experience does matter on a round-trip Alaskan cruise, just as it does on a Caribbean cruise.

I disagree with the PP who indicated that round trip Alaskan cruises don't expose you to the beauty of nature. We had wonderful experiences that allowed us to experience the beauty of Alaska. We didn't want a separate land trip & didn't feel we needed one- we just saw so much during this cruise: it was enough for us. We saw waterfalls, glaciers, fjords, walked on a mountain, etc., all during a typical 7-night DCL cruise. If a person chooses "cheesy lumberjack shows" & just shopping in port as their shore experiences, it's true they aren't going to see much, but that is their choice to waste an opportunity to experience nature. In Juneau, there is Mendenhall Glacier & park to explore, and Mount Roberts which you can climb. Skagway has Reid Falls, as well as a train that will take you further inland if you like. And you travel down Endicott Arm while onboard, which is beautiful. You have to plan as with any trip, but you can have an amazing Alaskan experience on a round trip 7-night cruise.

Also, sailing in and out of Vancouver is a major perk as far as I'm concerned. Vancouver is beautiful and has its own attractions that are worthy of your time before/after the cruise.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

If the money savings is big, and I bet it is, I do not think there is much to fear. I'm not sure what line you chose. We are booked on Norwegian next year, we last sailed them in 2011 when DS1 was 2yo and at the time they actually accepted 2yo into the kids clubs... he loved them. My kids have been in kids clubs on Princess and also had a blast. I like that ages are actually divided instead of being a free for all like on DCL. There is also more structure which is (IMO) better than leaving kids to iPads as often happens on DCL.

I agree that DCL does everything they can to make you feel special. Sometimes it's almost over the top. But it's amazing and you always feel assured that your needs will be met, and with a smile to boot. I agree that isn't always the case on other lines, but I am very low maintenance and sometimes would actually prefer less fuss. Rotational dining on DCL is nice, but we loved the flexibility of just showing up when we wanted, on other cruises.

I will also say it's hard to compare b/c DCL has one ship that goes to Alaska - the other lines have several. NCL has some of its newest and biggest ships going to Alaska.

We chose NCL for Europe next year because the price difference was staggering. DCL would have set us back $18,000-$30,000 or so depending on the exact itinerary we chose. NCL offered a newer/bigger ship (attractive for my growing boys) with a longer itinerary, free specialty dining or beverage package, for $6,600. Total no brainer. DCL might rock, but it doesn't rock to the tune of $12,000-24,000 more for a single cruise. I say this because Alaska is about the scenery and the ports almost more than it is about the ship, which I would also say about cruising Europe.

We also booked NCL for the Med next June for this reason...I LOVE DCL but couldn’t justify spending so much more for such a port intensive itinerary! We’re sailing on the Fantasy this August and then are looking forward to trying our NCL next summer!

 

[tvguy]

Princess is one of the companies which has visited Alaska the longest and gets first pick in ports when selecting itineraries for the following year.

Actually, HAL has been sailing Alaska longer than any other line and THEY have first pick and have held permits to some areas for decades.