Other cruise line for Alaska?

[AndreAggie]

My husband and I are Disney fanatics, but others in our family...not so much. My parents have expressed interest in taking us (me, DH, DS7) and my brother and his wife on an Alaskan cruise. I'm looking for suggestions for a different cruise line that my son will still enjoy. My parents have cruised Holland America twice and have made comments they've been some of the youngest on the ship...Ha! They're in the their upper 60s but still very active and require no special needs at all. My brother and his wife are both foodies and enjoy good wine. My husband and I are just excited we don't have to pay for a cruise and have no particular special interests. We enjoy good shows, good food and typically find a bar we like and will visit there periodically while on our cruise. We do like the adult areas and tend to drift toward them while our son spends every waking minute in the club/lab.

So, what say you? I'm leaning toward Princess or maybe Royal Caribbean. My folks have cruised Alaska and New England. We've only cruised the Caribbean and the Bahamas. My brother and his wife have never cruised.

 

[MUN]

I hear Princess is good.

 

[saxmangeoff]

Princess and Holland America are the two dominant lines in Alaska. Beyond that, I don't know much, as I've only done Disney and only once.

 

[vacationer1954]

Alaska is very much a very different cruise destination than most other North American cruises, so much so that even what is typical of a cruise line may not be as true in Alaska as elsewhere.

Regardless, the best advice I've seen recommends that you choose itinerary first, then start thinking about which cruise line.

In choosing an itinerary, many folks are assisted by considering three questions:

1) Does it include Glacier Bay?
2) Is it a one-way or round-trip?
3) How much of the Inside Passage is included?

Glacier Bay is not the only place to see glaciers but many consider it to be the best. Beyond that, barring closure of the national park, itself, it is practically guaranteed that you'll see glaciers there, and see them very well. Only a couple of larger ships are allowed to cruise Glacier Bay each day, and only certain cruise lines are allowed to include it in their itineraries.

There are trade-offs between a one-way and a round-trip itinerary. Of course, the round-trip itineraries allow you to fly to the port using a regular round-trip airline ticket, rather than an "open jaw". Also, the round-trip itineraries leave from closer to the rest of the US, so you don't have that one extra-long flight either to or from Alaska itself. On the flip-side, the one-way itineraries don't backtrack on themselves, and therefore you end us seeing more. Finally, with a one-way, you can add on a few day-long bus tour through the Alaskan interior.

Most Alaska cruises claim to cruise the Inside Passage, but the reality is that some of the itineraries, specifically those that embark or disembark in Vancouver, often cruise more of the Inside Passage, and more generally stay more sheltered from the open ocean, as compared to Seattle cruises, which tend to cruise up the west side of Vancouver Island.

We decided that Glacier Bay was an absolute must for what might be our only Alaska cruise ever. We chose a round-trip, because of the flight consideration and since we would not be able to afford the time or money to tour the Alaskan interior. And we chose a Vancouver round-trip so we spend practically the entire cruise in the more sheltered and much more scenic Inside Passage. That landed us on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam.

I hope this helps.

 

[Dug720]

I thoroughly enjoyed my Alaska cruise on RCCL Radiance of the Seas - the ship was designed with Alaska in mind with glass everywhere.

 

[Orsino]

Choose based on the itinerary.
Also consider where you want to embark and disembark. Disney only does roundtrip Vancouver. Other lines you can get deeper into Alaska (but will need to fly to or from Anchorage or Fairbanks).
If you decide to embark or disembark in AK, you have to choose between Seward and Whittier.

 

[dcassetta]

I have sailed on Princess, HAL and Disney to Alaska. Service is better on Disney and HAL, itineraries are better on HAL and Princess. Disney has the largest standard cabins, HAL has the best food. Princess has the best follow-up land options in Alaska. There will be more kids on a HAL cruise to Alaska than most HAL itineraries, but not as many as Princess or Disney. Disney has the best children's areas and programming, but HAL and Princess offer kids clubs also. HAL and Princess are likely to be cheaper than Disney. Disney offers only round trip and primarily 7-night, they only sail from Vancouver. HAL and Princess offer round-trip 7-night cruises out of Seattle and Vancouver, one-way 7-night cruises both northbound and southbound and longer trips including land tours in Alaska. If you can manage it for both time and budget, I would recommend a one-way northbound with a land based follow-up to Denali.

 

[saxmangeoff]

Most Alaska cruises claim to cruise the Inside Passage, but the reality is that some of the itineraries, specifically those that embark or disembark in Vancouver, often cruise more of the Inside Passage, and more generally stay more sheltered from the open ocean, as compared to Seattle cruises, which tend to cruise up the west side of Vancouver Island.

The primary difference being which side of Vancouver Island one sails on. Cruises out of Seattle go up the west side of the island and cruises out of Vancouver go up the sheltered east side of the island.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We were on the Celebrity Millennium last year and we had a very good time; wife, me and two other couples. We did the Seward to Vancouver route and I would highly recommend doing a one way trip. Spent one night in Anchorage before boarding the Millennium and two nights in Vancouver to have a day to explore the city. If you have never been to Vancouver and can spend some extra time there I highly recommend it should you pick a similar cruise.
Wife and I missed the attention to detail that DCL puts into their ships and DCL hand down beats Celebrity in entertainment (IMHO). But everything else was just as good as DCL; food, cleanliness, employees, great ports and choices of excursions. All our children are grown up so I can't help you there but there was definitely fewer kids seen on this cruise than any DCL cruise we have taken, not counting the Panama Canal. It was very strange seeing so few kids on a Disney cruise, but it was 15 nights long and during school.
Which ever cruise you choose you will love Alaska!

 

[WaywardMemphian]

Norwegian is introducing a new ship designed for Alaskan cruises.

http://www.bliss.ncl.com

 

[AndreAggie]

Norwegian is introducing a new ship designed for Alaskan cruises.

http://www.bliss.ncl.com

Wow...that's a huge ship, especially for Alaska!

 

[Happy100]

After our first ever Royal Caribbean cruise a couple weeks ago I have decided for now Disney is our cruise line. My son didn't enjoy it and that did affect our experience. I also noticed an older crowd on the ship. It wasn't a bad cruise just lackluster. If you can swing it do Disney if not try your best to find a ship that has a great kids program and hopefully your son will enjoy it.

 

[AndreAggie]

If you can swing it do Disney if not try your best to find a ship that has a great kids program and hopefully your son will enjoy it.

This is my goal. My parents are paying and they will not cruise Disney. We'll have some input, so I'm trying to find something that will have a great kids program. I don't have any other experience besides Disney.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Norwegian is introducing a new ship designed for Alaskan cruises.

http://www.bliss.ncl.com

This is my recommendation as well

 

[dmunsil]

We've taken both Disney and HAL to Alaska. The Disney cruise is excellent, for all the reasons you like Disney (I assume you like Disney or you wouldn't be posting here). For alternatives, I think HAL has the best roundtrip cruises, specifically the ones from Vancouver that go to Glacier Bay (and that's what we chose for a big family trip).

For a trip that includes a land tour to Denali, I think Princess has the edge. They offer longer stays at Denali, and two different lodges at Denali in very different locations with different features. One has a good view of the mountain (if the weather cooperates) and the other is next to the entrance of the park, for convenient in-park touring.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've done Alaska on Royal Caribbean. We were very satisfied with the experience, so much so that we are going it again this year. Much less $$$ that DCL.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I have sailed on Princess, HAL and Disney to Alaska. Service is better on Disney and HAL, itineraries are better on HAL and Princess. Disney has the largest standard cabins, HAL has the best food. Princess has the best follow-up land options in Alaska. There will be more kids on a HAL cruise to Alaska than most HAL itineraries, but not as many as Princess or Disney. Disney has the best children's areas and programming, but HAL and Princess offer kids clubs also. HAL and Princess are likely to be cheaper than Disney. Disney offers only round trip and primarily 7-night, they only sail from Vancouver. HAL and Princess offer round-trip 7-night cruises out of Seattle and Vancouver, one-way 7-night cruises both northbound and southbound and longer trips including land tours in Alaska. If you can manage it for both time and budget, I would recommend a one-way northbound with a land based follow-up to Denali.

Great wrap-up.

 

[tvguy]

We've done HAL to Alaska twice. They have been going to Alaska longer than any other line. Our kids loved it, and while there weren't as many kids as Disney, there were more than our RCL and NCL cruises. And HAL has kids clubs. My kids wanted nothing to do with the clubs, so I can't speak to the quality. They felt the same about the DCL clubs.

 

[buddyjo143]

We did a one way Vancouver to Whittier on NCL. Stayed a week on land to see the Kenai peninsula and travel to Denali. One of the best trips of our lives.

 

[Aanna]

We did a one way Vancouver to Whittier on NCL. Stayed a week on land to see the Kenai peninsula and travel to Denali. One of the best trips of our lives.

Did you have any children with you? I'm trying to work out the same trip for my 3 generation family.