So... is this a decent deal? Alaska

[seacruise]

For some reason having issues pricing HAL online.. every room I choose says it's sold out...

Are you looking at one way itineraries for 19? HAL holds a lot of those cabins for people booking cruise tours. Go through a TA and they will be able to get you more accurate pricing. HAL's website makes DCL's look great which is hard to do.

 

[doublesided]

I live here so can tell you for sure that the boarder wait time is often in hours. Typically longer southbound than northbound for sure. Also depends on if you have Nexus. SEA is a good 30-45 min south of the city (depending on traffic) so 3 hours is a pretty decent estimate of drive time from the airport to Canada Place.

We underestimated that drive once from Seattle to Vancouver for a quick overnight during a Seattle trip. For our cruise we would only fly in/out of Vancouver after that experience. Long wait at border!

 

[KashasMom]

Sorry, just a slang term for all the various pay dining options, dining packages, upcharges, etc. that a part of "free style" dining on NCL.

Oh, that's a bit misleading. You don't have to pay for any dining if you don't want. Not any different than any other line - DCL has upcharge Remy/Palo.

And freestyle actually refers to being able to dine anytime you want as opposed to having the same time every night (although you can dine at the same time with the same serving team if you want).

 

[OKgirl]

For our family same dates 7n Alaska with DCL is $6000 incl $350 obc. NCL is $5600. Princess is $5300-$5900.
Royal $4900.
So while DCL is definitely more it's not 4x more. Not even close or I wouldn't be even questioning it.

I need to find out where you are all pricing your DCL cruises! We're going to Alaska this July and we priced HAL, NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and DCL....the first 6 cruise lines cost between $5000-$7000 for my family of 5 in 2 balcony rooms or a balcony and mini suite. DCL came in at $15,000 for all of us to squeeze together into a family ocean view..... So in my mind, DCL IS 4 times as much since we could get 2 rooms on all 6 of the other cruise lines for $8,000-$10,000 less. I've been dying to try DCL but every time I price it, it is 3-4 times as expensive and usually with less amenities. Even the cruises out of Galveston are ridiculous. $1300-1500 pp on DCL and $500-600 pp on the other lines. I could handle paying $2000 more for our family of 5 but I can't pay $5000-10,000 more in good conscience. We chose NCL for our Alaska cruise in connecting balcony rooms with free specialty dining and free alcohol/drink package. (And we get Glacier Bay which was important to me!) We'll use the other $10,000 saved on DCL and add on a week long land trip in Alaska afterward. I really would like to try DCL but my travel agent keeps talking me out of it. He says all his avid cruisers who try DCL after cruising 3-4 other lines are disappointed.... not due to the experience but because the cost is so high that their expectations aren't met. (They pay 3-4 times as much but don't have 3-4 times more fun!) Seriously..... Where are you all finding DCL costs only a few hundred more.....??? If so, I'm totally IN!!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I need to find out where you are all pricing your DCL cruises! We're going to Alaska this July and we priced HAL, NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and DCL....the first 6 cruise lines cost between $5000-$7000 for my family of 5 in 2 balcony rooms or a balcony and mini suite. DCL came in at $15,000 for all of us to squeeze together into a family ocean view..... So in my mind, DCL IS 4 times as much since we could get 2 rooms on all 6 of the other cruise lines for $8,000-$10,000 less. I've been dying to try DCL but every time I price it, it is 3-4 times as expensive and usually with less amenities. Even the cruises out of Galveston are ridiculous. $1300-1500 pp on DCL and $500-600 pp on the other lines. I could handle paying $2000 more for our family of 5 but I can't pay $5000-10,000 more in good conscience. We chose NCL for our Alaska cruise in connecting balcony rooms with free specialty dining and free alcohol/drink package. (And we get Glacier Bay which was important to me!) We'll use the other $10,000 saved on DCL and add on a week long land trip in Alaska afterward. I really would like to try DCL but my travel agent keeps talking me out of it. He says all his avid cruisers who try DCL after cruising 3-4 other lines are disappointed.... not due to the experience but because the cost is so high that their expectations aren't met. (They pay 3-4 times as much but don't have 3-4 times more fun!) Seriously..... Where are you all finding DCL costs only a few hundred more.....??? If so, I'm totally IN!!

Well I am pricing out for a family of 3 (2 adults 1 child) - and we get 10% off as we had a placeholder from a previous Disney cruise. Also I'm pricing 2019.
I know for a family of 5 the cost goes up significantly, especially in one stateroom.
Have you tried pricing out 2 connecting inside on DCL? You may find that inside rooms on Disney will be the size of balcony rooms on other lines.
For my family Alaska for the same dates (mid /late August 2019) is $5000 to $6000 for balcony on Royal,NCL or Princess. So I could ask where you're getting 2 balcony rooms for not much more than us...
It's $6000 for an oceanview with Disney that's with our 10 % off booking opening day for 2019. That's 7 nights, only the 9 night with Disney has Glacier Bay.
If I was to price out Alaska 2018 with Disney it's significantly more than 2019. Alaska seems to increase steadily in price as the time goes on.
Also July is a lot more than late August.

 

[NancyIL]

Well I am pricing out for a family of 3 (2 adults 1 child) - and we get 10% off as we had a placeholder from a previous Disney cruise. Also I'm pricing 2019.
I know for a family of 5 the cost goes up significantly, especially in one stateroom.
Have you tried pricing out 2 connecting inside on DCL? You may find that inside rooms on Disney will be the size of balcony rooms on other lines.
For my family Alaska for the same dates (mid /late August 2019) is $5000 to $6000 for balcony on Royal,NCL or Princess. So I could ask where you're getting 2 balcony rooms for not much more than us...
It's $6000 for an oceanview with Disney that's with our 10 % off booking opening day for 2019. That's 7 nights, only the 9 night with Disney has Glacier Bay.
If I was to price out Alaska 2018 with Disney it's significantly more than 2019. Alaska seems to increase steadily in price as the time goes on.
Also July is a lot more than late August.

The 9-night Wonder cruise goes to Tracy Arm plus Hubbard Glacier. Disney doesn't have permits to go to Glacier Bay.

 

[cruiser21]

I live here so can tell you for sure that the boarder wait time is often in hours. Typically longer southbound than northbound for sure. Also depends on if you have Nexus. SEA is a good 30-45 min south of the city (depending on traffic) so 3 hours is a pretty decent estimate of drive time from the airport to Canada Place.

Well I don't want to scare people off from doing it. I've done it a couple of times and thought it was very easy and the border time was short. I personally don't think a 150 mile drive is any big deal. Others may disagree, but I think it's a good option if you want to fly into Seattle. It's easier then taking the train in my opinion.

 

[MelSpees]

Well I don't want to scare people off from doing it. I've done it a couple of times and thought it was very easy and the border time was short. I personally don't think a 150 mile drive is any big deal. Others may disagree, but I think it's a good option if you want to fly into Seattle. It's easier then taking the train in my opinion.

We live near Seattle and drove up the day before. It's not a bad drive, there's some nice scenery on the way. If you fly in the day before you can drive or take the train and not have to worry about traffic and the border crossing. It just seems like the best policy to us for any cruise. We are making sure we arrive in San Diego the day before our cruise from there as well as we did from LA. Why take a chance on missing the cruise?

 

[Shanti]

Seriously..... Where are you all finding DCL costs only a few hundred more.....??? If so, I'm totally IN!!

We sail as a party of 2, and therefore do not need or benefit from the sharply reduced costs other lines often have for 3rd, 4th & 5th passengers. DCL is still more expensive for us, but not nearly as much more expensive as it is for a family of five. The price difference that does exist for us is worth it because we love the line.

We also only want to cruise in very comfortable & attractive staterooms, and the insides on the other lines I've looked at don't look as nice and aren't as big as DCL's inside staterooms, so we'd really want a balcony on those lines, but we don't need one on DCL. That also evens out the cost difference, as for Alaska cruises, the stateroom type has a big impact on price.

 

[Pens Fan]

Sorry, just a slang term for all the various pay dining options, dining packages, upcharges, etc. that a part of "free style" dining on NCL.

So....... basically just like Palo and Remy on Disney except you have even more options on NCL.

NCL has many complementary options. We sailed on one of their smallest and oldest ships. They had two main dining rooms, a full buffet (all three meals including dinner), a tapas bar, a second outdoor buffet, and a sports bar. All were included in the cruise fare. This was on the Sun. The larger ships have even more complementary options. They also have more up-charge options. I like choices. Call me crazy, but when I'm on vacation, I prefer to choose my dining venues rather than having them chosen for me.

 

[mmmears]

I would normally agree, but for some reason I think the Disney Wonder will be more relaxing to me than Bliss.
I think (for us) Bliss may be too much in Alaska. I just can't see go carts and the peaceful scenery of Alaska.
I say this though never having been to Alaska... so I could be way off. It's just my personal feeling on it.

I agree. We cruised Alaska on the Wonder a few years ago, and if I am lucky enough to go back it'll be on DCL or Princess (or maybe Celebrity). I don't want to be on a monster ship with go karts and noise. Alaska is beautiful and serene.

I didn't see it as a port-intensive cruise since there were 3 ports and 3 days at sea (including Tracy Arm glacier viewing day). So there was enough down time to make us really enjoy the DCL activities, shows, etc. I'm not sure I'd want to go on another line, although if I go back I'd like a different itinerary (just for variety) and as some others said, it would be nice to have a covered pool area (although there were kids swimming out there even on the colder days).

 

[Pens Fan]

I agree. We cruised Alaska on the Wonder a few years ago, and if I am lucky enough to go back it'll be on DCL or Princess (or maybe Celebrity). I don't want to be on a monster ship with go karts and noise. Alaska is beautiful and serene.

You may not realize this, but the go-carts are electric - so basically zero noise. While I do have my doubts about a ship that large in Alaska due to the small towns they stop in, I really don't think the go-carts should deter anyone. If you feel they aren't an appropriate Alaska experience, don't ride them. For the folks that are into that - have fun!!! As I said before - choice are good.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Are you looking at one way itineraries for 19? HAL holds a lot of those cabins for people booking cruise tours. Go through a TA and they will be able to get you more accurate pricing. HAL's website makes DCL's look great which is hard to do.

No.. I was looking at round trip from Vancouver. I'm assuming HAL is comparable in price to Princess?

 

[KashasMom]

"Shanti, post: 58927556, member: 566966"This. I priced out Princess and HAL for the same dates in Alaska, and after looking at/sizing their staterooms, decided we would only be comfortable in verandahs on their ships. For two guests, a verandah on one of them was about the same cost as an inside on DCL, and about $1,000 less than a deck 2 oceanview on DCL. Yup, Disney is more expensive, but we still wouldn't be able to do two comparable cruises (let alone 3 or 4) on one of those other lines for the price of one on DCL. The example I provided did indeed show that DCL was twice as much (and Glacier Bay too!). Our Scandinavian/Russia cruise was ONE THIRD the price of a similar DCL cruise yet we had a longer/better itinerary and a better room! There is NO getting around that in most cases DCL is much more expensive than other cruises. We love DCL, so switching just wasn't worth it.

I totally agree that the elements you have to compare between lines are different for every family.

• Some people don't care that much about the size/attractiveness of their staterooms. We do. We were on the Magic about 5 years ago...literally threadbare bedspread and mold in the bathroom. Had a much sought after AFT balcony on the Fantasy in August. Horrible experience - you couldn't give me one for free. Good and bad on ALL ships.
• Some people don't need a lot of family-oriented entertainment. We do. The only shows I thought were good were Beauty & the Beast, Tangled, and Aladdin. Once you've seen them once or twice there is nothing NEW to see. Other lines have family oriented entertainment that actually changes. As far as things to do...the only cruises that we love for things to do are the Very Merry Christmas cruises. Other than that we don't need much more than a decent pool...oops not getting that on DCL!
• Some people spend a lot of time each day lounging on their verandah. We don't. We don't either. But having one for very early coffee and relaxing, and arriving in port is really nice. We rarely get one on Disney because I can't justify the cost.
• Some people have multiple kids & get a big break on heavily discounted or free fares for 3rd, 4th & 5th passengers offered on other lines. I cruise one-on-one with my only son, so those discounts are worthless to me. Whether it's flying or cruising, I NEVER get a discount. The pricing I referred to was for a 2019 cruise that just happened to have that offered. Very rarely on ANY line are there discounts like that - at least during peak times. The price we got for 3 was very close to that price for 2018.

There is no one-size-fits-all in cruising. There is no right or wrong cruise line or ship for any itinerary. There is just what is right for each individual and family. It's very obvious by your posts that you love DCL. If it works for you, all the better. Right now it works less and less for our family and really, there's nothing wrong with that! Other lines have the service/food/entertainment, etc. that is just as good, sometimes even better than Disney. We've been on most lines and can find good on them all. We're very happy that we can afford to cruise and that we have so many options!

 

[Shanti]

"Shanti, post: 58927556, member: 566966"This. I priced out Princess and HAL for the same dates in Alaska, and after looking at/sizing their staterooms, decided we would only be comfortable in verandahs on their ships. For two guests, a verandah on one of them was about the same cost as an inside on DCL, and about $1,000 less than a deck 2 oceanview on DCL. Yup, Disney is more expensive, but we still wouldn't be able to do two comparable cruises (let alone 3 or 4) on one of those other lines for the price of one on DCL. The example I provided did indeed show that DCL was twice as much (and Glacier Bay too!). Our Scandinavian/Russia cruise was ONE THIRD the price of a similar DCL cruise yet we had a longer/better itinerary and a better room! There is NO getting around that in most cases DCL is much more expensive than other cruises. We love DCL, so switching just wasn't worth it.

I totally agree that the elements you have to compare between lines are different for every family.

• Some people don't care that much about the size/attractiveness of their staterooms. We do. We were on the Magic about 5 years ago...literally threadbare bedspread and mold in the bathroom. Had a much sought after AFT balcony on the Fantasy in August. Horrible experience - you couldn't give me one for free. Good and bad on ALL ships.
• Some people don't need a lot of family-oriented entertainment. We do. The only shows I thought were good were Beauty & the Beast, Tangled, and Aladdin. Once you've seen them once or twice there is nothing NEW to see. Other lines have family oriented entertainment that actually changes. As far as things to do...the only cruises that we love for things to do are the Very Merry Christmas cruises. Other than that we don't need much more than a decent pool...oops not getting that on DCL!
• Some people spend a lot of time each day lounging on their verandah. We don't. We don't either. But having one for very early coffee and relaxing, and arriving in port is really nice. We rarely get one on Disney because I can't justify the cost.
• Some people have multiple kids & get a big break on heavily discounted or free fares for 3rd, 4th & 5th passengers offered on other lines. I cruise one-on-one with my only son, so those discounts are worthless to me. Whether it's flying or cruising, I NEVER get a discount. The pricing I referred to was for a 2019 cruise that just happened to have that offered. Very rarely on ANY line are there discounts like that - at least during peak times. The price we got for 3 was very close to that price for 2018.

There is no one-size-fits-all in cruising. There is no right or wrong cruise line or ship for any itinerary. There is just what is right for each individual and family. It's very obvious by your posts that you love DCL. If it works for you, all the better. Right now it works less and less for our family and really, there's nothing wrong with that! Other lines have the service/food/entertainment, etc. that is just as good, sometimes even better than Disney. We've been on most lines and can find good on them all. We're very happy that we can afford to cruise and that we have so many options!

Yuck. No need to go through my post and insert angry comments in red. I'm not going to read that kind of hostile response. We're just talking about cruise ship preferences here...

I said there is no one-size-fits-all, no right or wrong cruise ship or line. Don't see what anyone's problem could be with that.

 

[NancyIL]

Yuck. No need to go through my post and insert angry comments in red. I'm not going to read that kind of hostile response. We're just talking about cruise ship preferences here...

I said there is no one-size-fits-all, no right or wrong cruise ship or line. Don't see what anyone's problem could be with that.

KashasMom's comments in red make it easier to distinguish between your words and hers. I saw no angry or hostile comments - just a difference of opinion.

 

[lcvb]

Well I am pricing out for a family of 3 (2 adults 1 child) - and we get 10% off as we had a placeholder from a previous Disney cruise. Also I'm pricing 2019.
I know for a family of 5 the cost goes up significantly, especially in one stateroom.
Have you tried pricing out 2 connecting inside on DCL? You may find that inside rooms on Disney will be the size of balcony rooms on other lines.
For my family Alaska for the same dates (mid /late August 2019) is $5000 to $6000 for balcony on Royal,NCL or Princess. So I could ask where you're getting 2 balcony rooms for not much more than us...
It's $6000 for an oceanview with Disney that's with our 10 % off booking opening day for 2019. That's 7 nights, only the 9 night with Disney has Glacier Bay.
If I was to price out Alaska 2018 with Disney it's significantly more than 2019. Alaska seems to increase steadily in price as the time goes on.
Also July is a lot more than late August.

I agree with pricing out 2 staterooms. We booked Aug 26/19 Alaska and originally had a cat 5e verandah for the 4 of us (approx $10,300). I read here that it may be cheaper to book one verandah and one inside, so I had it requoted and we now have a cat 7a verandah and cat 11b inside across the hall for approx $9800. Yes its expensive (even more so b/c I have to factor in the Cdn to US exchange) but at least it is 2 rooms and my kids can share a queen bed and we get 2 bathrooms.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

There is nothing wrong with preferring to sail other lines, but there is also nothing wrong with preferring to sail Disney Cruise Line even if it is pricey, some will say overpriced.
We sailed Royal Caribbean for our Bermuda cruise and liked it a lot too.

I feel like I want to sail on the Wonder from Vancouver for our Alaska cruise.
I wanted opinions if what we were getting is a “good enough” deal.
If someone says they prefer Disney cruise line, I would say awesome!
I think we all mostly love Disney here.. these boards are for Disney fans after all
But that’s not to say a family can’t or shouldn't even branch out and try other lines. There are a lot of other family frindly options out there.
However while my kid loved the children’s programming on Royal and the different activities they had - it wasn’t overall as family friendly as we would have liked. My kids loves the theatre productions but on Royal there was really only one we could have taken him to.
Just all depends what one is looking for, I agree that some areas like pools are much better on some other lines, mostly new ships.
I guess we can go round and round in circles and try and top each other in opinions why one is better than another - but as someone above said - there is no one size fits all and it’s great we all have options.
For my family, I feel like Alaska will be more special with Disney.
Caribbean cruise? I will most likely choose another line now that I have done 5 with Disney.
Since Alaska is new to us I am trying to figure out whether it’s a good deal compared to what I’m pricing out with Royal, NcL and Princess.
I appreciate everyone’s input.
No right or wrong here.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

And this is why my family is spending the same amount of money for two rooms on Princess than what Disney would be for one....

 

[Suzieq0329]

We did this cruise on August 20, last year. I can’t really comment on the price, we were in a concierge suite, so I’m not sure if that is good or not.
Vancouver was wonderful. We spent 2 days before and after the cruise there. We stayed at The Pacific Rim. Very nice. There is so much to do. They had free bikes at the hotel and we rode through Stanley park.
The weather that week in Alaska was really crappy though. 55 and windy and rainy all week. The salmon are running then, so we did see a lot of bear. We saw a lot of whales too. It was a nice trip, but definitely not ideal weather.