Please convince me...

[jimmymc]

I have only done the Disney Alaska Cruise so I can't compare cruise lines, but my coworker did the Norwegian Alaska Cruise and was disappointed. Not necessarily with Norwegian but with the port times and dock locations.

I would say these are the two most important factors to consider for an Alaska cruise in particular. For example, on the cruise she went on, Norwegian is docked in Juneau from 6:30 am to 1:30 pm. Disney is docked in Juneau from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm. That can make a big difference. She had a helicopter excursion scheduled for 8:30 am that was canceled right before due to weather. She could not get on any other excursion because her ship left so early.

You also want to research where the ship docks in each port. Is a bus necessary to get to town? Will you have to tender?

These were factors I had no idea to consider when I booked my cruise. I just wanted to do Disney, and I feel like I lucked out. But they are factors I would definitely give a lot of weight in any future cruise.

I had a similar experience on Norwegian. We were in Juneau from 2:30 to 11, but were at the AJ dock, and most of the shops and restaurants closed at 8. Then we were in Ketchikan from 7 to 2, but out in Ward Cove. The last shuttle from town back to Ward Cove left at 11, a full 3 hours before leaving. Then Victoria was only from 7 pm to midnight. Princess and Holland America seem to not have this issue.

 

[tidefan]

I posted a review of our princess cruise a while back that boiled down to the same thing. Our kids hated the club, and there were hardly any family activities. People say alaska is all about the ports, but you are on the ship as much time or more than on shore. We’ll definitely do disney next time we cruise alaska.

Funny, our DD loved the Regal Princess and considers Independence of the Seas the worst ship she's ever cruised. She said that the Regal was the best teen club she had been to (including a dedicated hot tub in the Teen area). She was bored to death on Independence, (not to mention the food was terrible)...

 

[insureman]

I would not pay DCL prices for any port intensive cruises as others have stated. We've sailed 28 times with DCL and we try to cruise in the off season when it's least expensive. We are talking about Alaska but maybe doing HAL or Celebrity.

 

[holula]

I had a similar experience on Norwegian. We were in Juneau from 2:30 to 11, but were at the AJ dock, and most of the shops and restaurants closed at 8. Then we were in Ketchikan from 7 to 2, but out in Ward Cove. The last shuttle from town back to Ward Cove left at 11, a full 3 hours before leaving. Then Victoria was only from 7 pm to midnight. Princess and Holland America seem to not have this issue.

The Ward Cove thing is specific to NCL as it’s their own pier, but the main cause of short port times is leaving from Seattle as they have to make that extra stop in Victoria.

Most of the ships leaving from Vancouver have equal or longer to Disney port times.

 

[happycamper47]

The Ward Cove thing is specific to NCL as it’s their own pier,

And not worth stopping......too much of a rush to get into Ketchikan and back.

 

[Ariel 2021]

We did Alaska on Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas and it was amazing. I would absolutely not pay $20,000 for Disney, that’s just absurd. Weather conditions were very favorable for us and we got super close to the glacier on glacier day. Service was top notch and there were a lot of activities for the kids.

 

[jimmymc]

The Ward Cove thing is specific to NCL as it’s their own pier, but the main cause of short port times is leaving from Seattle as they have to make that extra stop in Victoria.

Most of the ships leaving from Vancouver have equal or longer to Disney port times.

At least for us, it was in order to save dock space. We were following another NCL ship the whole time, and they would dock whenever we weren't in port on the same day. I also think we could've easily gotten from Ketchikan to Victoria in a full sea day plus most of the following day, we didn't need to leave at 2. Other ships make that distance overnight.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I've done 2 Alaska cruises (Celebrity and HAL) and 14 DCL cruises. I love DCL. I wouldn't do DCL to Alaska unless it was a good deal financially or a fantastic itinerary... I love Alaska but I am cruising for the ports and experience. When I cruise DCL in the Carribbean or Bahamas I rarely get off because I cruise DCL for the DCL experience. So, my advice is cruise the itinerary and budget you want in Alaska; find another time to cruise DCL (which I LOVE and hopefully you will too!).

 

[PoppyJ]

I've done 2 Alaska cruises (Celebrity and HAL) and 14 DCL cruises. I love DCL. I wouldn't do DCL to Alaska unless it was a good deal financially or a fantastic itinerary... I love Alaska but I am cruising for the ports and experience. When I cruise DCL in the Carribbean or Bahamas I rarely get off because I cruise DCL for the DCL experience. So, my advice is cruise the itinerary and budget you want in Alaska; find another time to cruise DCL (which I LOVE and hopefully you will too!).

For your Alaska cruises, did you prefer Celebrity or HAL?

 

[GatorMomInNC]

For your Alaska cruises, did you prefer Celebrity or HAL?

HAL, but for very specific reasons.

Celebrity was great - round trip out of Seattle for 10 days and I was with my husband and kids and my mom - I have wonderful memories and the ship was beautiful and my kids LOVED the kids club (it was off season - September - and there were only about 20 kids on the entire ship). In fact, even being platinum on Disney I think their fondest kids club memories was that cruise, due to how few kids there were. They were showered with attention by the staff. We had some great excursions and it was a great trip and when I look at photos the memories bring a smile to my face every time.

But HAL was a one-way from Vancouver to Whittier and so I was able to actual see more - like Glacier Bay and College Fjord. which was just stunning and beautiful. They opened the front of the ship and it was very close to the glaciers; a magical experience! And I was solo, so I splurged on really amazing, once in a lifetime excursions - like a float plane ride and bear watching and airboat ride by the glaciers with a helicopter ride over the glaciers. (My husband is claustrophobic and would never go on a helicopter ride or a float plane).

HAL had a person who gave talks every day on Alaska and narrated while we went through Glacier Bay, etc., and a lot of people loved him and that aspect of the cruise... he was not to my taste though so I didn't really benefit from that. They did have park rangers come on board from Glacier Bay and they would stamp your National Park passport book if you wished, and you could buy Glacier Bay National Park souvenirs.

The one way cruises seemed price cheaper on a per night basis. But this was years apart and I was solo vs. a family of 5, so hard to really say how that would shake out if I was traveling with a family. On Celebrity we had one of their huge, 2 bedroom cabins at the front of the ship that sleeps five - not a suite, just a really big cabin. That was amazing - we had a balcony, and a window that overlooked the helipad. Oh, and I purchased an extra package for the kids club where they got to take a tour of the bridge, but we had a delay with a shore excursion and they missed it. So Celebrity invited all of us (kids, me, DH and my mom) to a different tour with the suite guests, so that was fun.

On HAL I was on an inside cabin by myself, which was fine for me. And I personally like HAL and I had been on the ship earlier that same year to do a 2 week Aus/NZ cruise, so I loved that ship and was very familiar with it.

But, I will say, a round trip cruise is far less expensive for other travel - transfers, flights, etc. So traveling with a group, I am sure it would really add up. One way, I had a lot of added expenses due to transfers from Whittier to Anchorage (but. it is a stunning train ride), and 2 one way flights (to Seattle, from Anchorage) vs. a R/T flight to Seattle for the R/T cruise. For the HAL cruise, to save money on hotels and flights I flew into Seattle and transferred up to Vancouver, which was actually very easy, cheap and a nice bus trip.

But, the Vancouver cruise terminal was absolutely, by far, the worst embarkation experience I have ever had anywhere, hands down, without exception.

 

[PoppyJ]

HAL, but for very specific reasons.

Celebrity was great - round trip out of Seattle for 10 days and I was with my husband and kids and my mom - I have wonderful memories and the ship was beautiful and my kids LOVED the kids club (it was off season - September - and there were only about 20 kids on the entire ship). In fact, even being platinum on Disney I think their fondest kids club memories was that cruise, due to how few kids there were. They were showered with attention by the staff. We had some great excursions and it was a great trip and when I look at photos the memories bring a smile to my face every time.

But HAL was a one-way from Vancouver to Whittier and so I was able to actual see more - like Glacier Bay and College Fjord. which was just stunning and beautiful. They opened the front of the ship and it was very close to the glaciers; a magical experience! And I was solo, so I splurged on really amazing, once in a lifetime excursions - like a float plane ride and bear watching and airboat ride by the glaciers with a helicopter ride over the glaciers. (My husband is claustrophobic and would never go on a helicopter ride or a float plane).

HAL had a person who gave talks every day on Alaska and narrated while we went through Glacier Bay, etc., and a lot of people loved him and that aspect of the cruise... he was not to my taste though so I didn't really benefit from that. They did have park rangers come on board from Glacier Bay and they would stamp your National Park passport book if you wished, and you could buy Glacier Bay National Park souvenirs.

The one way cruises seemed price cheaper on a per night basis. But this was years apart and I was solo vs. a family of 5, so hard to really say how that would shake out if I was traveling with a family. On Celebrity we had one of their huge, 2 bedroom cabins at the front of the ship that sleeps five - not a suite, just a really big cabin. That was amazing - we had a balcony, and a window that overlooked the helipad. Oh, and I purchased an extra package for the kids club where they got to take a tour of the bridge, but we had a delay with a shore excursion and they missed it. So Celebrity invited all of us (kids, me, DH and my mom) to a different tour with the suite guests, so that was fun.

On HAL I was on an inside cabin by myself, which was fine for me. And I personally like HAL and I had been on the ship earlier that same year to do a 2 week Aus/NZ cruise, so I loved that ship and was very familiar with it.

But, I will say, a round trip cruise is far less expensive for other travel - transfers, flights, etc. So traveling with a group, I am sure it would really add up. One way, I had a lot of added expenses due to transfers from Whittier to Anchorage (but. it is a stunning train ride), and 2 one way flights (to Seattle, from Anchorage) vs. a R/T flight to Seattle for the R/T cruise. For the HAL cruise, to save money on hotels and flights I flew into Seattle and transferred up to Vancouver, which was actually very easy, cheap and a nice bus trip.

But, the Vancouver cruise terminal was absolutely, by far, the worst embarkation experience I have ever had anywhere, hands down, without exception.

Thanks for the great review and comparison. I do like the itinerary of the one way cruises but the cost of the flights turned me off. One day I would love to do back to back one way cruises.

 

[Geomom]

We've only cruised DCL, and our first cruise was Wonder Alaska in 2016. Are you looking at 2 verandahs or the 2 bedroom concierge for your group of 7? If you go with 2 Oceanview rooms on deck 2 or 2 inside rooms, it should be cheaper than $20k, especially if you can cruise in August when the prices start to dip.

The 18 yr old will be too old for Vibe but can do the 1820 club that has 1-2 set activities per day around the ship and can do all the adult activities/areas (except drink tastings). My kids enjoyed the activities in Edge and Vibe (they were 12/16) on that cruise. But there are no thrill activities on the Wonder. You have the clubs, the family pool, the small waterslide, the sports area, the movie theater, and a bunch of family or adult only activities--trivia, crafts, napkin folding, games, etc. I assume they also still do Alaska talks as well.

 

[rinse82]

We went through this exact dilemma a week ago; had to choose between Anthem out of Seattle or Wonder out of Vancouver.

We opted for Wonder but for reasons that are likely personal to us:

- we are Canadian, so a Canadian port was extra convenient (and cheaper flights!)
- it’s an extended family trip so this allows my brother and sister n law to check off DCL and Alaska off the list in one trip. Their daughter (4) is also prime Disney age

It was definitely difficult to stomach a junior suite on Anthem being cheaper than connected inside rooms on the Wonder though

 

[Carohs]

We chose not to sail DCL in Alaska for cost reasons. While I don't regret the decision, I wish we had paid more attention to itinerary and port times. On glacier viewing days, our kids were bored. There were only a dozen kids onboard and next to no family activities. They did love the kids club and unlike the Wonder, they had a covered heated pool. There were some benefits at least. $10k is a big difference but I would have thought about booking a different stateroom category before considering a different cruise altogether. Although, if you only go on one DCL vacation, one that includes CC is the way to go.

 

[MonaMN]

We were debating this same thing and ended up booking a guaranteed rate on Disney for this past August instead of a Princess cruise next year. I don't regret it at all - we had a lovely trip!

For us, the time on the ship is important. I'm not sure if we would have as much fun without the Disney touches/activities. This is somewhat specific to us, but I frankly don't want to do things on the ship that I can do at home - so while I love reading and playing board games, I'd rather attend game shows and trivia and other things like that.

The port question raised above is also important. But also, look closely at the staterooms. While other lines would have been cheaper than Disney, some staterooms would have been unpleasant (one of them would have had the teenager in a bunk bed above our bed) so we would have had to upgrade - lessening the difference in cost.

In addition, you may want to look at the number of ships in port with you. Some of those ships are twice the number of passengers that are on the Wonder - get a couple of those in port with you and walking around is unpleasant. We were glad to have an excursion in Juneau because walking around with multiple other big ships in port was annoying... crowds everywhere.

We're trying a RCCL cruise next year and I am trying to frame expectations accordingly, knowing that the ship experience will be very different.

 

[Wiltony]

Just wanted to follow up with everyone and say thank you again! We ended up booking a 7-night inside passage round-trip cruise on the Grand Princess next July. Seems like there weren't many ports on the itinerary (just Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan (on the 4th of July), with a day of viewing in the Endicott Arm), but that's ok, I felt the price was pretty good, and we probably won't plan to do many excursions. It was exactly $11,909 for everyone (7 people), split between a mini suite with balcony cabin and an inside cabin across the hall. That price includes an upgrade to the "Princess plus" package that has all the drinks/wifi/gratuities and a few other things included. We also get $100 onboard credit and another $630 in Costco shop cards back (plus our 2% Costco executive membership bonus).

Do me a favor and affirm my purchase and plans so I don't feel bad about it lol! We're really excited and would appreciate recommendations for two things:

1) the best "value" excursions for the three locations I named above (7 people gets pricey fast, so budget-friendly options are appreciated)
2) recommendations on getting from seattle to vancouver (shuttle/car rental/train?) since we will be flying southwest and they don't fly into Vancouver directly. (I'd consider direct flights to Vancouver on another airline, but we have the SW companion pass, points, and a huge flight credit to use up.)

Otherwise, I guess I will be looking for a 2026 DCL Caribbean cruise next! I understand they have both lookout cay and castaway cay now, so I hope I can find an itinerary that hits both!

Again, what a great community here, I appreciate everyone's input and advice!

 

[Memepoppy]

We have cruised Disney, Royal, and Princess. For any cruise you have to decide what your priorities are. In Alaska, we cruised Princes (2 adults) and we had a fantastic cruise. Great staff, clean ship, great visit to Glacier Bay. If activities for kids is high on your priority, then Princess wouldn't be for you. Definitely Disney, and secondly Royal and Norwegian. Keep in mind all lines in Alaska have varying itineraries and not all lines visit the same ports. As others have stated different lines have different port arrangements. Some lines dock right downtown, others may be a shuttle ride or tender ride away. If a particular port is important to you, check and see how long the line you're considering stays in that port - it could be as little as 4-5 hours or as long as 12. Weather plays a big role in cruising Alaska - rain, fog, heavy ice flows, etc. The cruise lines cant yet control mother nature. There are many variables on an Alaska cruise, probably more than any other destination. I don't think anyone can tell you which cruise line will be best for you. You have to weigh cost against your priorities and decide which cruise line best meets that balance. We haven't cruised Disney for a while since our grandkids outgrew the Disney experience and our go to line out of Florida is now Royal as there is so much more to do for teens on their ships. Our grandkids are also very much into nature, science, and history so we'd have no problem taking them to Alaska on Princess. Granted no Aquaduck, water slides, rock walls, etc, but they bring Rangers on board for the Glacier Bay day, we had a totem pole carver on our ship while we were in Alaska, sled dog puppies on board, etc.

Determine what your priorities are, do your research, and make your decision. Keep in mind when reading people's trip reports, everyone has differing views on what constitutes good or bad service, a good or bad cruise, a good or bad port experience, etc. The only time I'd worry is when I saw 20 people complaining about a particular cruise - then there may be some validity.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and enjoy your trip.

 

[auntlynne]

@Wiltony: I will affirm your choice! I cruised on two sister ships of the Grand. The Grand is a year older than the Disney Wonder, BTW.

The itinerary is what you would get on the Wonder. Disney started visiting Endicott sometime after we went in 2011. I think Endicott is more likely to actually get nearer the glacier. The day of cruising through the fjord should be given appreciation, too. You realize that a glacier existed there many centuries ago before it receded.

I am impressed with that price - and Princess Plus included in that. Not having to add 7 nights of gratuities for 7 people is one less chunk of $ to budget.

We have only flown into Vancouver once; the other Vancouver, our flight was to Seattle. That time, we used Amtrak to Vancouver, but flew home from Fairbanks. My sister used Amtrak again this June - both ways.

Currently, a one-way fare for one person in June 2025 on Amtrak is $34 from Seattle’s King St Station to Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station. A YouTube channel I follow used a bus from Seattle. That seemed successful. I truly enjoyed the train. It was an easy experience and parallels the coast most of the journey. There offer two departures daily.

My tip for planning this trip: book hotels as early as you can. Cancellable rates and then watch for price drops. Both Seattle and Vancouver are pricey, but you can find affordable options.

 

[auntlynne]

I’m jumping over to excursions. Here’s the itinerary, with port times.

Juneau sunset will be around 10:05 pm.



My take on popular AK shore excursions are Whale Watching, Glacier viewing, Helicopter or float plane trips, the White Horse & Yukon Railway in Skagway and a hodgepodge of stuff in Ketchikan. Your day in Endicott Arm does not require any paid additions.

I will stress that all of this is my opinion. I have watched the budget on some ports and AK cruises - and I have splurged on helicopters and float planes.

I have never splurged on whale watching - because I feel it is integral to this experience, it is just a known cost. We actually did skip it one year.

A quick look at your cruise, I saw this whale watch in Juneau:



Seeing this (below) is the goal. This was from a Juneau excursion on our first Princess AK cruise that ended in Vancouver on July 4, 2012. We did a combo tour of whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier hate that emphasized photography.



It can be a lot of watching, and only getting this reward:



While you are budgeting for 7 people, it’s also good to consider the individual price of an activity to compare them to what other options cost.

We visit Mendenhall Glacier each trip, but that has become a ritual. It is mostly transportation cost (admission is $5 pp or free, depending on if you want the Visitor Center or not. We go with not). But transportation costs have steadily risen (maybe spiked) over the years. We started going in 2011 and have watched the receding glacier and the improvements to the area.




I think we have done something - either Mendenhall and/or whale watch in Auke Bay in Juneau.

 

[auntlynne]

Don’t feel bound to book excursions through the cruise ship. Yes, there is the guarantee they will hold the ship if the tour is late (or they get you to the next port), but there are situations that you can be pretty sure you will make it back.

As a group, you may be able to get pp prices that are better or as good - and get a private excursion that guests with fewer people in their party can take advantage of.

Whale watch tours in Juneau: Captain Marvin’s and Allen Marine are long-time providers for this. And probably ones that the ship uses.

In any port, Shore Excursions Group or Alaska Shore Excursions should be considered.

Even a rental car/ van might be feasible for you.