Norwegian Fjord vs Alaska which is better?

[mousefan73]

I am planning ahead for 2020 and am tossing the idea of either a Norwegian Fjord or Alaska cruise.
I believe Alaska is the Wonder and Norway is the magic. So from my understanding these ships are bascially twins correct?

So if I take the ship aspect out and also the departing port aspect. which sailing is better?

Does one destination offer more than the other? is one more WOW sceneary speaking than the other? Or am I trying to compare apples to oranges? I haven't really done much research, but have a biased opinion, that both sailings are colder and more rainy compared to your typical caribbean sailing. You see glaciers and wildlife..


We live already in Europe so getting to england is no big deal. Though the Alaskan is interesting as we would have the option of staying a while in Vancouver too. Deciding on which departing port is not a deciding factor right now.

We would have a 14 and 13 yr old on board.

So when it comes down to itinirary which is better? does one offer more scenery than the other? Is one better for on your own port excursions? We like saving money and doing things on our own. We would look into either a May or August sailing, depending on what avail.. is one better concerning port towns.. ( is one total tourist trap where the town revolves around cruise ship guests, or does one have more "real" towns with normal life too".

Has anyone sailed on both and can give me some infos on what their thoughts are on comparing their two trips? We are also open to other cruise lines, but starting with DCL..
Thanks

 

[cruiser21]

Norway is prettier. Alaska has fun excursions. I think if you live in Europe Alaska would be more interesting. Vancouver is an amazing city.

 

[chamberlain]

I have the same questions about Alaska vs Norwegian cruises and will be interested in fellow cruisers insight!

 

[cruiser21]

If you like doing things on your own then don’t go to Alaska. This is one cruise where excursions are what make the cruise. The towns are very small and there’s not a lot to do. You don’t have to book excursions through Disney there’s plenty of tours to book on your own. You will also save money booking on your own. Same goes for Norway. Norway cities have more “real life” shops restaraunts if that’s what your looking for.

We went white water rafting, dog sledding in Alaska. We did a fjords tour in Norway.

 

[mmmears]

Norway is prettier. Alaska has fun excursions. I think if you live in Europe Alaska would be more interesting. Vancouver is an amazing city.

I'd say I pretty much agree with this. We loved Norway and liked the cultural aspect (which is probably not a big deal if you live in Europe anyway) plus we enjoyed starting off in Copenhagen and took a few days to explore the city.

Honestly they were both amazing cruises. The ships are basically the same, minus the scary aquadunk. You will have much more date flexibility with Alaska, since the Magic only goes to Norway a couple times a summer whereas the Wonder is in Alaska the entire summer. Alaska had more "adventurous" excursions so that might help you decide.

 

[mmmears]

Sorry. Duplicate Post.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Our Alaska cruise will be next May, unless we change things, but we did the Norway/Iceland in 2015. Both are beautiful but from what I have researched about our Alaska cruise is you will see more scenery. The best fjord we traveled in Europe was headed into Akureyri, whereas the inside passage and route in Alaska will bring you closer to shore for more time. No glaciers were visible and to really get into the deep fjords you needed to do an excursion.

There will be lots of similarities. We still loved the Norway cruise but I think Alaska will be more scenic. If it is the nature you want to see then Alaska is probably the better bet. There was some great scenery on the Norway cruise but it really had more historical focused excursions. Good luck planning!

 

[scottishclover]

We went to Norway in 2016 and loved it. Very easy to explore ports on your own with public transport. Towns are all very pretty as others have said but we weren't really blown away by trip up the fjord to Geiranger like everyone else seemed to be. We live in Scotland so are used to a lot of that kind of scenery. I actually liked the coastal views at Alesund a lot better. We are going to Alaska next year and I expect the scenery to be a bit more majestic. However I am finding that excursions are definitely needed as Alaska will be once in a lifetime for us and I want to do it properly. We were happy to do our own thing in Norway as we knew it would be easy for us to visit again in the future. FYI my parents are just back from Alaska cruise (not Disney) and they raved about it and Vancouver. If you already live in Europe, then I think Alaska offers more possibilities. However if you love the outdoors, I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either!

 

[Pens Fan]

I agree with pretty much everything that's been said above, so no need to duplicate. One thing I will add is that if you are interested in seeing wildlife (bears, whales, eagles), then Alaska is definitely the better option. Both would be great cruises. Personally, I don't think Disney has a great itinerary for Alaska, though. It gives you a nice taste, but you miss some of the more spectacular areas (Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, exploring the main land).

I love cold weather cruises. It's funny, I was talking to a friend the other day about cruising and I realized we haven't taken a warm weather cruise since 2013. Our last four cruises were all to cold climates, and we had a blast.

 

[AquaDame]

^Came in to say what @Pens Fan said. We actually left our Norway disappointed that we hadn't done it as a land vacation as it was very easy to get around and time felt a bit wasted on the ship. We actually drove almost all the way to Geiranger on our Alesund day but decided to turn around early since we were supposed to dock there the next day. As luck would have it high winds made docking impossible so we missed out on the port I was most looking forward to seeing. Norway also had relatively early all aboard times compared to Alaska but more importantly once we were on the ship there just wasn't a lot to see. Alaska seemed bigger, had a lot of fun active excursions to go on in the great outdoors and there was wildlife to see (which I dearly love). We did not see any animals at all in Norway whereas in Alaska we were constantly looking out windows or walking the deck gazing for whales, goats, seals, bears, birds... so many things to see! I very much missed that aspect in Norway... if we ever go back it will NOT be on a ship!

 

[Intr3pid]

Do them both over time.

The prettiest views of any fjord IMO are from a higher ground looking down at water and across at mountains. And perhaps spotting a ship sailing in the middle. From the water itself, most fjords will look the same (except maybe when next to a waterfall). And there in lies the issue with fjord cruises. You must get off the ship to get that view!

* In Norway, you have more opportunities to gain that higher ground. (Google the Eagle Road near Geiranger.)
* In Alaska, you can get closer to glaciers. And see calving in action!
* Alaska is colder in winter = less population = more opportunities to see wildlife.
* In Norway, you will see more villages and more people. Pretty villages too - and not just your bland container ports.

Don't do Magic's Iceland cruise if you want to see Norway proper. Make sure you get to visit Geiranger (or Flam) and Stavanger (if hiking to Pulpit Rock).

Wonder in Alaska will get you to cruise through BC's inside passage (more scenic) and drive into Yukon (wilder). It will also allow you to visit Vancouver (prettier).

The best of Norway (Lofoten, Senja) is arguably prettier and more scenic than the best of Alaska (Glacier Bay), but Disney's ships won't get you to either. I hope this changes once the new ships arrive!

 

[cruiser21]

Just wanted to add if I was given the choice of seeing Alaska or Norway again I'd pick Alaska. If the cruise goes to Iceland and Norway then hands down the Iceland/Norway cruise. Of the three Iceland was by far my favorite. It may be my favorite country I've visited and I've been to quite a few. Disney has an Iceland/Norway cruise if it's something you're interested in.

 

[mmmears]

Just wanted to add if I was given the choice of seeing Alaska or Norway again I'd pick Alaska. If the cruise goes to Iceland and Norway then hands down the Iceland/Norway cruise. Of the three Iceland was by far my favorite. It may be my favorite country I've visited and I've been to quite a few. Disney has an Iceland/Norway cruise if it's something you're interested in.

I loved our Alaskan cruise and wanted to go back some day. But the Norway/Iceland one was so much better IMHO. We were just talking about it tonight and saying how much we would love to be able to do that again. I do think Norway was beautiful - our sail in to Alesund was breathtakingly beautiful, and our Lysefjord cruise in Stavanger was awesome.

OP - I don't think you can go wrong either way. Honestly they are both fun, and both have amazing scenery from the ship and also when you are on land. Everyone will have a slightly different opinion, but I'd be happy to sail to either Alaska or Norway again. Good luck with your decision.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I am planning ahead for 2020 and am tossing the idea of either a Norwegian Fjord or Alaska cruise.
Does one destination offer more than the other? is one more WOW sceneary speaking than the other? Or am I trying to compare apples to oranges? I haven't really done much research, but have a biased opinion, that both sailings are colder and more rainy compared to your typical caribbean sailing. You see glaciers and wildlife..


We live already in Europe so getting to england is no big deal. Though the Alaskan is interesting as we would have the option of staying a while in Vancouver too. Deciding on which departing port is not a deciding factor right now.

We would have a 14 and 13 yr old on board.

So when it comes down to itinirary which is better? does one offer more scenery than the other? Is one better for on your own port excursions? We like saving money and doing things on our own. We would look into either a May or August sailing, depending on what avail.. is one better concerning port towns.. ( is one total tourist trap where the town revolves around cruise ship guests, or does one have more "real" towns with normal life too".

Thanks

We did the Alaska cruise this August. I know you were asking for a comparison; we have not yet done the Norway cruise, but on my bucket list. I just wanted to chime in about the weather and excursions in Alaska. As only Caribbean cruisers up to that point, the weather, of course, we found to be much wetter and cooler than anything around here (we live in New England). We didn't mind it. It was a great adventure, and a nice change of pace. Especially when you are dressed properly. While not every excursion is one you can do on your own, for example, we the the Glacier Excursion (small boat that takes you up close to the face of the glacier-in our case Dawes), we rented a car in Juneau and went off on our own exploring for the day. And it was amazing! We also did a smaller, private tour in Skagway, not a big fan of those huge tour buses, and had a fantastic time. Finally, Vancouver is a wonderful city to visit. Not really easy for us to get to from the east coast, we hope to visit again in the future. Good luck with your decision, I am sure you will have an amazing cruise no matter which you chose!

 

[ldo]

there's also a similar thread from last year if you search to get more views. For OP, Norway is certainly cheaper and less time-consuming/travel bc airfare--does that matter? Vancouver is a cool, funky city and the outskirts are beautiful.

 

[cadien]

Well I'd do Norway because I grew up in Juneau...

But also because visiting a completely different country is always fun. The language and the culture and the food.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

If you do the Alaska cruise, dedicate some pre- or post- cruise time to Vancouver. Amazing city.

 

[Dopey416]

We did the inaugural Norway Fjords cruise in 2015 and Alaska in 2016. Can't wait to do Alaska again. You need at least 3 days in Vancouver and one of those days do the sea plane to Victoria, amazing. The excursions in Alaska although a lot more expensive are way more fun. We did helicopter to Glacier in Skagway, Whale watching in Juneau and zip-lining in Ketchikan, all worth every penny. Norway is beautiful, our favorite port was Geiranger which I think they don't do anymore. I truly believe your teenagers will enjoy Alaska more than the Fjords.

 

[bobbiwoz]

On two cruise lines other than DCL, we have done Norway and Alaska. We thought Norway was much prettier. We had always admired the Norway film in Epcot, and wanted to see it for ourselves. We visited the Briksdal glacier in Norway and other ports and experiences were wonderful.

We are doing Alaska again, not on DCL, because we want to see Denali!

Living in Europe as you do, I would pick Alaska, but more than just a cruise.

 

[mousefan73]

Thanks for all the replies. I have a while to think about this. We have the fantasy as a family this August and then my mom and I are on the Vancouver to Hawaii!!!! April 2020 sailing for her 70th.. So I will get a taste of that city. I have heard great things about it.. Also I know my DH will love it as he is an alphine guy anyways. I think it may come down to cost. The Norway sailings are pricey and offered less. but I looked at the Alaska port adventures and OMG,, I think if we did that sailing, I need to research alot on my own and I refuse to spend a cruise amount only for land. IMO; you might as well then invest in a land vacation. I have read that Juneau is great on your own. Ideally I will know more and can use an onboard bookings from our August cruise to book and save more. Though 2020 summer will already be out before then.

but I also got distracted in my research and now was thinking ok Vancouver and maybe we do the west coast down and then end with Disneyland ( never been) or cruise... I just have an addiction at the moment planning and booking vacations.