Questions for those who've been on Multiples Lines

[DCLMP]

We've done one Royal, and four Carnival in addition to two on Disney. With any line, you're definitely getting what you pay for.

One (minor) thing that Disney does that I always missed on Carnival is free soda! And Coke products. It was something stupid like $2.25 per soda on Carnival. I also found the prices for things on Disney like adult beverages or specialty items were very reasonable, and even cheaper than Carnival in a lot of cases.

I'm also a big fan of a proper queen bed vs. two twins pushed together, and once you've had the split bathrooms on Disney it's hard to adjust to just one.

The room service options were also lacking on Carnival, plus it was not 24/7 and almost everything cost extra. And speaking of extras, while Carnival does often do a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, you have to pay extra for it whereas the special breakfast for Pixar Day at Sea was included.

And, hands down, Disney absolutely kills it as far as kid-friendly. The Kids Clubs on Carnival were one generic-themed room per age group, and a lot of the time they would shut down for a huge chunk of time during the day. On our second/last sea day, our 9 year old only checked out of the club for our dinner, and then again when it closed at midnight!

Oh, and another minor thing is that on Carnival it's $5/device to use their on-board chat app, vs. free on Disney.

If you're traveling with an adult you don't want to sleep with...such as an adult child... the split beds are a big plus.

It looks like OP isn't traveling with kids so the kid friendly atmosphere and kids clubs aren't relevant.

Paying 5 dollars a device on Carnival to do chat or the cost of soda isn't going to put a dent in the extra thousands you are spending to sail on Disney.

I've done enough Disney sailings(29) and a few on other lines. There is no way to justify Disney's cost other than you just like Disney. Telling yourself your saving money because the soda is free is a certain amount of denial I can't wrap my brain around.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[tvguy]

Holland America - again, just research by me. The old name in AK cruising. Glacier Bay. Smaller ships = smaller crowds.

HAL also has retractable roofs over their top deck/pool area which are great for bad weather in Alaska.

Amazing how cruising has changed. A few years ago most of HAL's ships would have been considered big. 9 of their 11 ships are 2,000 passengers or more, up to 2,600 passengers. I sailed on the Norway in 1984 when it was the largest ship. And I sailed on the Sovereign of the Seas in 1986 when it was the largest ship at 2,278 passengers.

 

[DSLRuser]

Would love any advice you have!

We cruised on the Disney Wonder in Jan 2008. Our kids were 1 and 7. We decided we were not cruise people.

2019, we decided to try cursing again. The kids were older 12 and 19. Royal Caribbean oasis of the seas was our boat. It was ok. Perfect day was ok. Food was ok. We just kept comparing RC to our experience on Disney 11 years prior, and Disney, al be it more expensive, was better in every way.

So my wife and I did Disney Dream without kids Jan 2022. LOVED IT.

I did Disney Wish with my 21 year old daughter Jan 2023. LOVED IT.

My wife and I are on the Disney Wish June 2023.

Our family is booked on the Disney Wish Dec 2023.

I posted on this before, but somehow we have become cruisers now. Disney has the level of service and quality of food I expect. I dont think we will do another line. But, some of the freaky stuff I hear about Virgin would be nice if we were 20 years younger

 

[DSLRuser]

Maybe it's more just my anxiety talking, showing my concerns about what will the true cost be after I pay for extra stuff to make sure we have a great time. Or me not knowing whether or not I can pre pay on other lines.

We are the opposite. My last Disney Cruise in January, I didn't even bother looking at the final bill. I know drinks are extra and we drink 5-15 drinks a day between the 2 of us. Or Palo. We carry a CC balance, and pay it off every month or two. As long as we are not buying $1,000 jewelry, it is all expected expensive of a cruise, and I find we enjoy ourselves much. ore when not counting pennies.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We cruised on the Disney Wonder in Jan 2008. Our kids were 1 and 7. We decided we were not cruise people.

2019, we decided to try cursing again.

And have you stuck with the cursing since then?

 

[lilsonicfan]

Princess - known for offering a Naturalist onboard when it visits Glacier Bay. And for visiting Glacier Bay. Northbound and Southbound itineraries. (I have done both. Northbound allows a visit to College Fjords - the best Glacier viewing I have done in AK). Afternoon tea. The atrium is a nice multi-deck open area. The International Cafe offers all-day light snacks and pastries. They have an electronic Medallion that provides the function of a room key and Other functions. (I haven’t sailed since this was implemented.).

Holland America - again, just research by me. The old name in AK cruising. Glacier Bay. Smaller ships = smaller crowds.

...

Airfare: Seattle is typically less expensive than Vancouver. NCL sails from here.

Watch port times, too. Some itineraries have you arriving late at multiple ports. Most Seattle-based cruises stop in Victoria (required) too late to do anything but walk around - and you are docked 20 minutes from town. You don’t miss out on the basic ports because of this stop, though.

I agree with this wisdom

So we were on HAL Koningsdam, Vancouver round-trip. First of all sailing from Vancouver is much prettier than sailing from Seattle because of the inside passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island. But I wanted to mention that HAL also does afternoon tea, they had two park rangers come aboard on Glacier Bay day, so there was a full narration of the glaciers we were seeing, plus they did an afternoon talk and a session for kids too. The K'dam also has a great cafe with excellent snacks (although not open all day long like Princess).

 

[o&smom]

And have you stuck with the cursing since then?

Did not even notice when I read the original post!

 

[DSLRuser]

And have you stuck with the cursing since then?

auto correct for the loss

 

[auntlynne]

 

[ScooterScott44]

We have done DCL (Platinum in 2017 or so), and Royal (Diamond this year) the most, but have also sailed on MSC and Holland (and my DW has done Carnival once). The cruise lines really are much more similar to one another than most people state. Each has its positives and negatives and some might be better than others in some aspects but the variances are really much less than people state, especially on the message boards (here or Royal blog or others). People have their favorites and they are allowed to have their preferences so don't get too influenced by any individual. Had to say that because when considering some destinations/itineraries it is mush less about the ship or cruise line.

As for Alaska specific, different options to consider start with one way or round trip. Having done a cruise as well as working up there 5x, the area north of Anchorage is a different experience than what you get on the ship. The one ways will allow you to couple the cruise with land based touring, sometimes in the same package. Don't ignore that option if you can coordinate a land and sea trip since some lines do that for you.

The scenery and glaciers are the highlight. There are three key places to consider for glaciers, Glacier Bay, Hubbard and finally Mendenhall. Glacier Bay should be the top priority and should be what you try to get on your itinerary. If you can't find one that that works for you, or have been to Glacier Bay, but goes to Hubbard it can be a good option. It is much larger (7 miles long and 400 ft tall) and can have larger calving's. Mendenhall can be accessed with a stop at Juneau.

We did the Ovation (quantum class) on Royal for our Alaska and it was nice. The key difference I would share about this type of ship is the scenery viewing from indoors. The indoor pool area on the upper deck had good views but the Solarium was also a great place to view and still be inside. There is also the Two70 area that allows for great viewing while remaining indoors. Lastly the Northstar allows unique views. Here is an image from the Northstar ride of our ship at the glacier, snipped from a video I took.