Port or Starboard for Alaska?

[lovingeire]

Any preferences on port or starboard for Alaska cruises???? TIA!

 

[anricat]

It doesn't matter. You come back down south the way you went up north. At any rate, there's cool stuff to look at out both sides at any given time.

 

[lorimay]

Any preferences on port or starboard for Alaska cruises???? TIA!

The views throughout the Alaska cruises are amazing!!!
Enjoy!

 

[lovingeire]

Thank you! I was reading up on it while on hold and picked a stateroom I like the location of so I think we'll be good to go! I had to move our cruise back a year, but am much happier with the stateroom we've chosen now, although husband talked me in to spending on the verandah since we pushed it back.

 

[barney4liz]

For what it's worth -- and I have never done Alaska -- my DU TA says that starboard is "better". I was looking to switch from port to starboard anyway because I did not want to be under the smoking section. There was no availability showing for starboard (Deck 8 forward) on the website -- not when I booked, and not when I tried to change it. I called DCL and they were able to switch me to a starboard room.

We cruised on the Wonder last week and another couple at dinner had done Alaska. They said the side doesn't really matter because they turn the ship so both sides get a view of the glacier, for example.

 

[anjuan]

I did Alaska last May and agree that the side doesn't matter. Even on glacier day the turn the ship totally around so both sides get to see the same thing.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

I did Alaska last May and agree that the side doesn't matter. Even on glacier day the turn the ship totally around so both sides get to see the same thing.

Since you recently done a cruise to Alaska, may I ask if and what excursions you did or any suggestions. We are planning for next year. Thanks.

 

[fredandkell]

I did Alaska last May and agree that the side doesn't matter. Even on glacier day the turn the ship totally around so both sides get to see the same thing.

This. We sailed Norwegian and the ship spent a good two hours just turning in a very slow circle so that people can see no matter where they were.

 

[chrisaman]

If you watch the Disunplugged DCL show about Alaska, Pete suggestes Starboard as the preferred side for him

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I've cruised Alaska on DCL before, and I don't think it matters (aside from avoiding a close smoking section). The ship did turn and view the glacier from both sides, and it's a round-trip cruise, so the land-side view is similar going both north and south.

 

[anjuan]

Since you recently done a cruise to Alaska, may I ask if and what excursions you did or any suggestions. We are planning for next year. Thanks.

The only Disney excursion that we did was the Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchican because it was only offered through DCL. We really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I have some great shots of us holding crabs, shrimp, etc. and all the bald eagles that flew around the boat were amazing!

Otherwise we did private tours- in Skagway we booked the White Pass Railway Tour with the dogcart add on through Chilkoot Charters. We saw some really amazing scenery as well as bears and a moose on this one!

In Juneau we did a whale watching tour through a small company called Jayleen's Alaska. There were only 6 of us on the boat total. We were lucky enough to see a humpback mother with her calf breach and play for a long time! The staff was very friendly and made the process really easy. I highly recommend them!

 

[lovingeire]

The only Disney excursion that we did was the Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchican because it was only offered through DCL. We really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I have some great shots of us holding crabs, shrimp, etc. and all the bald eagles that flew around the boat were amazing!

Otherwise we did private tours- in Skagway we booked the White Pass Railway Tour with the dogcart add on through Chilkoot Charters. We saw some really amazing scenery as well as bears and a moose on this one!

In Juneau we did a whale watching tour through a small company called Jayleen's Alaska. There were only 6 of us on the boat total. We were lucky enough to see a humpback mother with her calf breach and play for a long time! The staff was very friendly and made the process really easy. I highly recommend them!

Thanks for sharing, even though I didn't originally ask! I find the tours to be overwhelming (thought the same thing on my past cruises) so I appreciate feedback to help me narrow down the options. I know my husband would love the crab tour in Ketchican!

 

[GPaLarry]

I recently put this on another post about stateroom locations for DCL Alaska cruises:
We went to Alaska a couple of years ago and had verandah rooms 8004 & 8006, directly below the smoking section. It was no bother to us until, until we got to the glacier viewing day. We cruised in and came to a stop. The weather was overcast and dead calm. We opened our door to go out on the verandah and, yikes, everything was covered with white stuff and you could smell smoke. The white stuff was ash and, when I looked up, there were people leaning on the rail smoking their brains out and flipping their cigarettes. Our daughter's adjoining stateroom verandah was covered with ash, too. I immediately called guest services and they said they would help. They didn't clean our decks but they did put up a barrier in the smoking area so that smokers couldn't get to the railing...the smoke still came down as the Wonder turned with our side toward the glacier. There was no wind to help. Later, GS sent us a bottle of wine, I guess, as a peace offering. The rest of the cruise went along fine because the wind cleaned the deck and kept the smoke above us. I don't know why they don't move smokers to the rear of the ship or the engine room...anywhere but where they are. The smoking statement says something like, "for the convenience of all of our guests, we have designated smoking, areas etc." It should say, "for the convenience all of our guests we must inconvenience some our guests by allowing smoking, etc."
We will never get staterooms near/below that area of the Wonder or Magic again, no matter what the cruise. Maybe DCL will eventually go to a "no smoking" policy. Let the smokers do it in port or pick another cruise line.

 

[BassetMom67]

I recently put this on another post about stateroom locations for DCL Alaska cruises:
We went to Alaska a couple of years ago and had verandah rooms 8004 & 8006, directly below the smoking section. It was no bother to us until, until we got to the glacier viewing day. We cruised in and came to a stop. The weather was overcast and dead calm. We opened our door to go out on the verandah and, yikes, everything was covered with white stuff and you could smell smoke. The white stuff was ash and, when I looked up, there were people leaning on the rail smoking their brains out and flipping their cigarettes. Our daughter's adjoining stateroom verandah was covered with ash, too. I immediately called guest services and they said they would help. They didn't clean our decks but they did put up a barrier in the smoking area so that smokers couldn't get to the railing...the smoke still came down as the Wonder turned with our side toward the glacier. There was no wind to help. Later, GS sent us a bottle of wine, I guess, as a peace offering. The rest of the cruise went along fine because the wind cleaned the deck and kept the smoke above us. I don't know why they don't move smokers to the rear of the ship or the engine room...anywhere but where they are. The smoking statement says something like, "for the convenience of all of our guests, we have designated smoking, areas etc." It should say, "for the convenience all of our guests we must inconvenience some our guests by allowing smoking, etc."
We will never get staterooms near/below that area of the Wonder or Magic again, no matter what the cruise. Maybe DCL will eventually go to a "no smoking" policy. Let the smokers do it in port or pick another cruise line.

While I totally agree that smoking is obnoxious (I have severe asthma and allergies and smoking just about does me in), I doubt Disney will ever completely ban smoking on their ships. Too many people have a smoker in the family. I am so glad you pointed out the problem. I will let hubby know and we will completely avoid that area of the ship. We always get a veranda. I would be very upset if we couldn't use it because of the smoke. We did Alaska on Holland. We didn't realize they allowed smoking on verandas at the time. Our next door neighbor was a cigar smoker and rendered the veranda off limits a good part of the cruise.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

The only Disney excursion that we did was the Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchican because it was only offered through DCL. We really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I have some great shots of us holding crabs, shrimp, etc. and all the bald eagles that flew around the boat were amazing!

Otherwise we did private tours- in Skagway we booked the White Pass Railway Tour with the dogcart add on through Chilkoot Charters. We saw some really amazing scenery as well as bears and a moose on this one!

In Juneau we did a whale watching tour through a small company called Jayleen's Alaska. There were only 6 of us on the boat total. We were lucky enough to see a humpback mother with her calf breach and play for a long time! The staff was very friendly and made the process really easy. I highly recommend them!

thank for the info. My husband is very hestitate on any tours non disney. However if i start researching and showing him these posts he may sway. Especially if there is a huge price difference.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

On both of our Alaska cruises, we picked port: ocean/islands going north and mainland going south.

 

[cwis]

While I totally agree that smoking is obnoxious (I have severe asthma and allergies and smoking just about does me in), I doubt Disney will ever completely ban smoking on their ships.

Not really on-topic, but for reference PLEASE DCL ban smoking on your ships.

I don't even have a medical condition that would justify it, but eek, that smell… we don't tolerate people that don't shower, why would we tolerate people that stink cigarettes…

 

[lovingeire]

On both of our Alaska cruises, we picked port: ocean/islands going north and mainland going south.

Thanks! We did pick port. We booked 6108.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Thanks! We did pick port. We booked 6108.

Great choice. Be sure to pack your binoculars. If you LOVE crab ... we did the DCL KE31 Wilderness Exploration and Crab Fest. Enjoyed the boat tour, learned a lot about crab fishing/catching, great scenery (lots of eagles) and the guides were a hoot. I attached a photo from the back of the boat when she pulled up an active crab cage and showed a crab, then she returned the cage to the water. Nice size crowd, not too big. Then you return to the dock and eat as much Dungeness crab until you turn it away. They do a crab shell stacking competition between tables. Ours was pretty high but not a winner. Great time and experience for the money.
Enjoy your time in Alaska

 

[lovingeire]

Great choice. Be sure to pack your binoculars. If you LOVE crab ... we did the DCL KE31 Wilderness Exploration and Crab Fest. Enjoyed the boat tour, learned a lot about crab fishing/catching, great scenery (lots of eagles) and the guides were a hoot. I attached a photo from the back of the boat when she pulled up an active crab cage and showed a crab, then she returned the cage to the water. Nice size crowd, not too big. Then you return to the dock and eat as much Dungeness crab until you turn it away. They do a crab shell stacking competition between tables. Ours was pretty high but not a winner. Great time and experience for the money.
Enjoy your time in Alaska

Thank you! We are definitely packing binoculars! (Do we all need our own??? ) My husband and I love crab! And he is obsessed with Deadliest Catch, so I think we would enjoy this. My kids don't eat crab though so I'll have to think about it, but it sounds really fun!