Kinda clueless looking for direction - Alaska or Europe newbie cruisers

[missesdisney]

Hi - I'm a long time dis-er and we are considering a Disney Cruise next summer to either Alaska or Europe. Not sure which and if Europe not sure which itinerary.

Although I am a road warrior for work and well seasoned traveler, I have no clue about cruising or either of these destinations or how I would even find out the intel on them. Seems both are newer cruises so am looking for any direction, insight, opinions on any of these cruises and also what is good to do on both for excursions etc. We need to narrow down the trip I really want to make it our first Disney cruise as well We are DVC for what that's worth. Thanks!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Alaska
Natural wonder.
Nature.
Wonderful glaciers.
Cool

Europe
Sightseeing
Castles
Palaces.

Med
Hot

Depends on you both great my vote Europe.

Europe will expend on when your going, the Med is August before that is Norway Iceland and Britain.

 

[SailingSeas]

Misses, can you tell us a little bit more about your traveling party makeup? who would be going, and which ages?

 

[havoc315]

Very different trips, so it becomes very subjective.

I'll share my own subjectivity:
Doing Alaska this summer. A cruise ship is a great way to see Alaska. Get a chance to see several ports, while enjoying the comforts of a cruise ship. Not visiting major cities, no night life in these places to speak of. It's about getting the overall flavor of the glaciers, mountains, wildlife. And these are locations that aren't exactly easy to get to. I can't just book a flight to Skagway and then take a taxi to Juneau. So a cruise ship is a pretty effective way to get from place to place.

I would NOT want to do Europe by cruise ship. This is a personal preference. Because with Europe, I want to fully immerse myself in the cities and culture. I can enjoy the local dining and nightlife. When paying for a cruise, you are partially paying for the nightly shows, you are paying for the banquet hall dining. I'd much rather spend the night at a quaint French cafe, eating authentic local food, sipping the wine, then rushing back to the ship for a cruise-evening. If I'm visiting Rome, there is a long list of activities that I would want to explore over a few days.. Not just do a quick city-highlights tour for a few hours, before rushing back to the ship. Take the 7 night Northern Europe cruise in 2016: Round trip from Copenhagen. A 7 hour stop in Tallinn Eastonia. Not exactly high on my list of European destinations I want to go to. Then a full day, 15 hours in St. Petersburg Russia. Now that is an interesting location -- I wouldn't mind spending a couple days in and around St. Petersburg! Even just really appreciating the Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace, want to just quickly rush through both?
Then a mere 6 hours in Helsinki... While not highest on my list of destinations, 6 hours barely gives you time for a quick city tour. Then 8 hours in Stokholm, but have to get back to the ship before dinner time. It's the capital of Sweden, and don't even have time to enjoy a dinner there.
So if I was doing a week in Northern Europe -- maybe I'd do just Russia, and spend a few days in St. Petersburg and a few days in Moscow. Or spend a couple days each in Norway, Finland and Denmark. Getting to enjoy the days and nights, not just a quick in and out around the major port cities.

Now this is purely my own personal reasoning. Obviously, lots of people disagree with me and love European cruises. But to me, cruises are about enjoying a cruise, while also getting in a bit of local scenery (whether a beach in the Caribbean or glacier in Alaska), while Europe is really getting into the local culture, sights, foods, etc. Things that are not best appreciated from the deck of a cruise ship .

 

[Sunshine2U]

Why not the Caribbean or Bahamas for a first cruise? That's where I would recommend to start unless you have a reason for the others. I do agree that Europe is best as a land trip - otherwise you're hopping on and off the boat barely getting the flavor of a particular country.

 

[kiford]

We like travelling Europe/Med by cruise. It gives us a little taste of the port and allows us to decide if we want to go back.
Rome: definitely need to go for a while.
Corsica: enjoyed it but I've seen what I wanted.
Mykonos: I'm glad I got to see Delos Island but I probably wouldn't even disembark on a second trip there.
Malta: been there twice on a cruise and really enjoyed it. I'd get off there again and tour but I can't see myself spending a week there.
Athens: loved Athens but I wouldn't want to stay there given the current environment.

And so on.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Alaska is a good place for a cruise newbie because there's land on both sides of the ship for much of the time, which keeps the water smoother, which keeps the seasickness to a minimum. Plus Alaska is so very scenic. We've cruised there five times and it's my very favorite place to cruise.

A lot of the places we want to see in Europe are not accessible by cruise ship, tho you might consider river boat cruising. We're planning to cruise from the Netherlands to Budapest in a couple of years.

If you want to see St. Petersburg on a "grown up ship" instead of a river cruise, there are cruise lines (other than DCL) that will spend more than a few hours there. We went with Celebrity and had two days there.

 

[twopeasonepod]

I've done both and love both. It really comes down to what you are looking for in the experience. They are so different.

DF and havoc make good points. I would personally never choose the Caribbean or Bahamas, so don't agree with Sunshine, but that is just my individual opinion.

 

[3Down1Up]

If it were my first cruise I would choose Alaska. Europe itineraries are port-intensive and may not give you the full DCL experience - Alaska is a nice balance of a new and different destination with a good amount of time on the ships to enjoy everything onboard.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

If it were my first cruise I would choose Alaska. Europe itineraries are port-intensive and may not give you the full DCL experience - Alaska is a nice balance of a new and different destination with a good amount of time on the ships to enjoy everything onboard.

When you say Europe is port intensive it depends on the cruise, yes a seven night Med is, my 12 night Med last year had four sea days and my up coming Baltic cruise has four and a half sea days.

 

[twopeasonepod]

If it were my first cruise I would choose Alaska. Europe itineraries are port-intensive and may not give you the full DCL experience - Alaska is a nice balance of a new and different destination with a good amount of time on the ships to enjoy everything onboard.

I actually feel like it's the other way around (unless of course you are talking about a 5-nt. or 7-nt. Med). Granted, I was on a CME cruise on the Wonder in Alaska (I know! Awesome, right???), but it still felt very hectic on port days to try to make all the excursions. Plus, there is way less deck time on the ship for us warm-blooded Hawaiians!

When you say Europe is port intensive it depends on the cruise, yes a seven night Med is, my 12 night Med last year had four sea days and my up coming Baltic cruise has four and a half sea days.

Yes, we love the TAs, because we get Europe AND a lot of sea days! That is actually my favorite way to cruise. Also, I believe we have three sea days on the Dover sailing this year and four sea days on the Greek Isles next year!

 

[katellynne]

This is a great question! I am debating the European/Alaska choice for next summer as well. A little different circumstances, we are a family of 6 and it won't be our first cruise...DCL or otherwise. My dilemma is Alaska is top on our bucket list but the Wonder will be in extended dry dock/possibly re-imagined fall 2016 and I would rather wait to do Alaska on her in summer 2017 if that is the case. This summer's Norwegian itineraries seem so exciting and fun to me so that is why I am currently leaning more towards them for summer 2016. The Fjords is just as port intensive as the Baltic capitals but IMO more along the lines of Alaska-lots of beautiful scenery with the bonus of most ports being enjoyable just to disembark and wander around get the flavor see the sights. Plus I have a 6 year old and what 6 year old wouldn't want to go on a Frozen themed vacation? (Heck I am 45 and I want to go on one!) However when I look at next summer's itineraries the British Isles is tempting as well. So back to square 1 with no decision. Meanwhile prices are already increasing from opening day rates on Alaska and probably will soon on the European's - may already have I just haven't checked yet.

The best news is no matter what you decide you will love it!!!

 

[ldo]

never done Alaska, but have done N. Europe + Med 3X. Although limited port time, it is a great way to see A LOT of varied places that you would have trouble doing via land. My teens do not like the transfer/traveling part and prefer to stay put--so a cruise is perfect. Plus, after a day of touring, they can come back and relax, swim, eat A LOT of "free" food and watch a movie/show at night. To us, the perfect combo is 1 week European cruise and 1 week DIY land trip, either at the beginning or at the end. Sometimes, we even do the land in a totally different place, accessed via a low cost European flight. We have done Italy for a week, then flown via SAS to Copenhagen for Baltics, Paris after a cruise that ended in Rome, and London after a cruise.
Interestingly, the Norway fjords cruise next summer is still a decent price. Many have said it is somewhat similar to Alaska. We are on that "Frozen" cruise with our teens, probably doing 3 days in London on the front and a week in Paris on the end. We also really liked the Baltic cruise--we felt we had plenty of time in each city. I liked combining with Italy, as we had a totally different experience and climate.
Also, with a family of 4-6, cruising in Europe is fairly cost-effective, as we usually had to get 2 hotel rooms and food is quite expensive. We probably only paid $1-2K more for a cruise than we would have for basic hotels with one sit-down meal each day. The kids much prefer a cruise over a land trip.

 

[3Down1Up]

When you say Europe is port intensive it depends on the cruise, yes a seven night Med is, my 12 night Med last year had four sea days and my up coming Baltic cruise has four and a half sea days.

I actually feel like it's the other way around (unless of course you are talking about a 5-nt. or 7-nt. Med). Granted, I was on a CME cruise on the Wonder in Alaska (I know! Awesome, right???), but it still felt very hectic on port days to try to make all the excursions. Plus, there is way less deck time on the ship for us warm-blooded Hawaiians!

Well I must be a wimp LOL because I was on the 12-night Med, with 4 sea days, and it was definitely high activity - long days in each port. I missed having more ship time. With Alaska, I didn't find it that stressful - with the sea days plus Tracy Arm, plus our excursion experiences in Alaska were way less chaotic than Europe, and we were off the boat much longer in European ports than in Alaskan ports. YMMV.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Well I must be a wimp LOL because I was on the 12-night Med, with 4 sea days, and it was definitely high activity - long days in each port. I missed having more ship time. With Alaska, I didn't find it that stressful - with the sea days plus Tracy Arm, plus our excursion experiences in Alaska were way less chaotic than Europe, and we were off the boat much longer in European ports than in Alaskan ports. YMMV.

Whilst I had a private tour in every port of call the 12 night Med was very very relaxing with the 4 full sea days in the hot Med sun.
In Alaska btw we had two private tours in each of the three ports and there was alway something to watch 6am to midnight each day.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I actually feel like it's the other way around (unless of course you are talking about a 5-nt. or 7-nt. Med). Granted, I was on a CME cruise on the Wonder in Alaska (I know! Awesome, right???), but it still felt very hectic on port days to try to make all the excursions. Plus, there is way less deck time on the ship for us warm-blooded Hawaiians!



Yes, we love the TAs, because we get Europe AND a lot of sea days! That is actually my favorite way to cruise. Also, I believe we have three sea days on the Dover sailing this year and four sea days on the Greek Isles next year!

Greek islands is perfect, more online on MickeyMed my blog with navigators and who i booked private tours with.

 

[twopeasonepod]

Greek islands is perfect, more online on MickeyMed my blog with navigators and who i booked private tours with.

Awesome blog! Thanks so much for the info! I lived in Florence for a semester in college and traveled all over. My last week or so was spent in Greece. Can't wait to go back!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Wow, that's a toughie. I have done Alaska on a cruise (non-DCL), and I have toured Europe by land. If this is your one shot at going to Europe, and you might never go again, I would say definitely Europe. But if you plan to do a land-based European visit at some point, I would then say Alaska and here is why:

-In some of the European ports, I have read you pretty much have to do an excursion; there is nothing within walking distance. You might actually dock 30-60 minutes from Rome, for instance. In Alaska, I found there were things to do in both Ketchikan and Skagway within walking distance. I am not so sure about Juneau because we did a tour that actually took us out of town.
-I prefer to stay in a European city for a few days and not feel rushed. I worry if I took a cruise I would only get a tiny taste of the city. Because most of the Alaskan ports are smaller, I felt you could see a lot in one day.
-The Alaskan wilderness from the boat--especially the glaciers--is breathtaking.

 

[missesdisney]

Misses, can you tell us a little bit more about your traveling party makeup? who would be going, and which ages?

Duh didn't even think of that. Myself, hubby and son who is 14. We are sightseeing types - we like to be moving and doing and seeing things, but not sporty/water kinds of things, and relaxing is not much in the vocab Like the idea of DCL for shows, activities, some pool, etc. on days at sea but locations we wouldn't otherwise go to for port days.

 

[missesdisney]

Why not the Caribbean or Bahamas for a first cruise? That's where I would recommend to start unless you have a reason for the others. I do agree that Europe is best as a land trip - otherwise you're hopping on and off the boat barely getting the flavor of a particular country.

Thanks for the info we have no desire to do Carribbean - not our style of locations have been. If I'm going to pay the premium to do the Disney cruise over other lines (which is what we would do if we go that route) I want to include locations I am interested in. If we do Europe we will do some days before the cruise to get actual exposure. I travel a lot for work so going back to a particular country in the future is an option on miles/hotel points, which is why I am thinking a cruise is a good flavor for us.