So... is this a decent deal? Alaska

[Dug720]

Yes, to each his own. I just don't see doing any port intensive cruise on Disney. Some cruises are about the ports, not the ships. IMO Alaska falls into that category. We have always booked our Alaskan excursions on our own - so many benefits to doing so. Are children allowed in Palo now? That's one thing I really love on RCI - my daughter was able to go into all the specialty restaurants with me. I didn't realize Disney had made that change.

Palo has always been adults only.

 

[cruiser21]

What is NCL a la carte?

They're probably referring to anytime dining. I'm not sure what it's called on NCL. I actually liked it on NCL and Carnival. I don't know how RCI does it.

Sorry re-read it they said al a carte cruising. I have no idea what they're talking about.

 

[cruiser21]

Yes, to each his own. I just don't see doing any port intensive cruise on Disney. Some cruises are about the ports, not the ships. IMO Alaska falls into that category. We have always booked our Alaskan excursions on our own - so many benefits to doing so. Are children allowed in Palo now? That's one thing I really love on RCI - my daughter was able to go into all the specialty restaurants with me. I didn't realize Disney had made that change.

I agree. Especially the part about booking excursions on your own. You save so much money.

No, Palo is adults-only. There are 2 full sea days on our cruise, and the Tracy Arm day is a sort of a sea day in addition to those, so our Alaska cruise is about 50/50 ship & port time. I like it that way as it's less overwhelming and more of a vacation. If I only wanted to explore land attractions, I wouldn't book a cruise at all.

I think cruising is a simple and affordable(not DCL) way to visit multiple countries in one vacation. It's also great the kids have the clubs and all the entertainment on the ship at night. They're not sitting in a hotel room bored. My kids like being with other kids; therefore cruising is the best option for us. I would like to try ABD someday if I can ever afford it.

 

[tvguy]

Those seem to be about what we were quoted the two times we tried to take DCL to Alaska. And both times we ended up on HAL because they were a couple thousand dollars cheaper for our family of 4. No Mickey and friends, but the service, food ,ships and ports were similar. Actually since HAL has been cruising to Alaska longer than any other cruise line, they have better access to some areas and docking slots. I will admit, I cannot compare the kids clubs. Our kids were 11 and 15 on HAL the first time, and 12 and 16 on DCL and did not like the kids clubs on either line to their liking. And forget the HAL old people cruise label, at least to Alaska, during the summer, there were hundreds of kids on board.
But we maybe the odd ball family, because we have discovered cruises to be a great chance to spend all our time with our kids. DW and I hung our "mom" and "dad" roles at the gangway, and were just our kids friends for a week. It was awesome. Those kids are 27 and 31 now and STILL talk about what a great experience those cruises were.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We booked a bump balcony on the Bliss - August 25 - 2A, 1C - for $5,100. We got an OBC (think $100) and 2 "extras" (we took the specialty dining and 250 minutes of internet - we can change if we want). The 2 story 180 degree floor to ceiling windows in the observation lounges look perfect for Alaska. We're excited to try the bumper cars and laser tag and love the flexibility of the dining options (including a dinner buffet). I've done Alaskan cruises on Celebrity and a (fantastic) repositioning cruise on RCI. Loved them both. Alaska is pretty port intensive (at least it is for us). I just can't see doing DCL to Alaska (especially on the Wonder).

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.
We may end up on the Bliss or Ovation anyway as DS and DH may try to overrule me... but I'd rather cruise on the Bliss to the Caribbean or Mexico. Does tthe Bliss have an indoor pool?
Ovation has an awesome pool area with a retractable roof - perfect for Alaska. Also Two70 which we loved on the Anthem.

To each his own but we're really looking forward to our Alaska cruise in June. The Wonder looks like a beautiful ship inside and out, and cruising on her will complete our grand slam. Looking forward to the three ports and the port activities we've planned (independently of DCL). We've also booked the Glacier Explorer for the Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm day, and we're also looking forward to that. Looking forward to seeing the Frozen show, to dining at Palo, to seeing the characters in their Alaska clothes, and to participating in the fun onboard activities during the sea days. Looking forward to the day before and the day after the cruise that we'll spend in Vancouver. It's going to be the right cruise to Alaska for us.

Wonder IS a beautiful ship - we sailed on it in January. I think despite it being Disney it's not over the top and it's perfect for Alaska in how relaxing and familiar it is.
This is why I'm having a hard time giving it up. I agree with others that Alaska is not about the ship, but I believe the Disney Wonder will make Alaska even more special.
It's almost like both Bliss and Ovation are too intense for it.

Still... both are real contenders. We loved the Anthem and we would love the Ovation..NCL would be a brand new experience altogether.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Those seem to be about what we were quoted the two times we tried to take DCL to Alaska. And both times we ended up on HAL because they were a couple thousand dollars cheaper for our family of 4. No Mickey and friends, but the service, food ,ships and ports were similar. Actually since HAL has been cruising to Alaska longer than any other cruise line, they have better access to some areas and docking slots. I will admit, I cannot compare the kids clubs. Our kids were 11 and 15 on HAL the first time, and 12 and 16 on DCL and did not like the kids clubs on either line to their liking. And forget the HAL old people cruise label, at least to Alaska, during the summer, there were hundreds of kids on board.
But we maybe the odd ball family, because we have discovered cruises to be a great chance to spend all our time with our kids. DW and I hung our "mom" and "dad" roles at the gangway, and were just our kids friends for a week. It was awesome. Those kids are 27 and 31 now and STILL talk about what a great experience those cruises were.

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

 

[gcc034]

Don't be a fool and spend 4 times as much for a Disney Cruise to Alaska. Dinsey is charging sickening prices and should be ashamed. Disney has truned into the cruise for the rich and famous.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Don't be a fool and spend 4 times as much for a Disney Cruise to Alaska. Dinsey is charging sickening prices and should be ashamed. Disney has truned into the cruise for the rich and famous.

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.

 

[cruiser21]

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.
We may end up on the Bliss or Ovation anyway as DS and DH may try to overrule me... but I'd rather cruise on the Bliss to the Caribbean or Mexico. Does tthe Bliss have an indoor pool?
Ovation has an awesome pool area with a retractable roof - perfect for Alaska. Also Two70 which we loved on the Anthem.



Wonder IS a beautiful ship - we sailed on it in January. I think despite it being Disney it's not over the top and it's perfect for Alaska in how relaxing and familiar it is.
This is why I'm having a hard time giving it up. I agree with others that Alaska is not about the ship, but I believe the Disney Wonder will make Alaska even more special.
It's almost like both Bliss and Ovation are too intense for it.

Still... both are real contenders. We loved the Anthem and we would love the Ovation..NCL would be a brand new experience altogether.

The Wonder is my favorite Disney ship. I will say though an indoor pool or indoor viewing area would have been nice. The upper floor of the cove cafe is now reserved for concierge guests...that was a little disappointing. We had good weather on our cruise, but it's still cold out on deck. The only thing wrong with the Wonder is that it wasn't designed for Alaska. I live in Arizona so I'm a wimp when it comes to cold, but I saw very few people sitting outside.
As far as relaxing goes I don't know. I spent a great amount of time running around the ship on glacier day. I think the best part of an Alaskan cruise is the excursions. If I do Alaska again I'd still do a inside room and put the money into excursions.

 

[tvguy]

The Wonder is my favorite Disney ship. I will say though an indoor pool or indoor viewing area would have been nice. The upper floor of the cove cafe is now reserved for concierge guests...that was a little disappointing. We had good weather on our cruise, but it's still cold out on deck. The only thing wrong with the Wonder is that it wasn't designed for Alaska. I live in Arizona so I'm a wimp when it comes to cold, but I saw very few people sitting outside.
As far as relaxing goes I don't know. I spent a great amount of time running around the ship on glacier day. I think the best part of an Alaskan cruise is the excursions. If I do Alaska again I'd still do a inside room and put the money into excursions.

DW and I cruised twice on the SS Norway and it had an indoor pool and we loved it. A carryover from it's years as the Trans-Atlantic ship SS France. No worries about reapplying sunscreen, and nobody else was ever there. It was way down on a lower deck. One disadvantage, because it drew so little use, there were no waiters around to bring you a drink.

 

[KashasMom]

Well you know I had to go price them out

Here are the 3 I looked at, all are for 2 adults, 1 child.

- Norwegian Bliss Aug 18
7n from Seattle
Seattle-at Sea-Juneau (2-11pm)-Skagway (7am-8pm)-Glacier Bay-Ketchikan (6am-7pm)- Victoria 7pm-11:59pm-Seattle
Midship balcony including beverage package $5600 No OBC

Star Princess Aug 18
7n from Seattle
Seattle-at Sea- Ketchikan (6am-3pm)-Tracy Arm-Juneau (12:30-10pm)-Skagway (6am-5pm)-at Sea- Victoria 7pm-11:15pm-Seattle
Mid-forward balcony $5360 No OBC

Ruby Princess - same as the Star pretty much but with Glacier Bay $5900 Aft Balcony.

Ovation of the Seas Aug 16
7n from Seattle
Seattle-at Sea-Inside Passage-Juneau (12-9pm)-Skagway (7am-8:30pm)-Edicott Arm+Dawes Glacier-At Sea-Victoria 9am-6pm- Seattle
$4880 Aft balcony incl. $175 OBC

To compare our Disney Wonder Aug 19 - 7n with Tracy Arm, deck 2 oceanview $6039 incl. $350 OBC

On the other lines I had to price out balcony rooms as they are smaller.
Ovation would be an awesome ship for Alaska too for the reasons I mentioned above.. plus North Star! I completely forgot it has that. I'm assuming it would be difficult to secure a spot on it during the glacier day... but nevertheless. However no Ketchikan or even Tracy Arm..how are the other two? Endicott and Dawes Glacier? No clue.

So if this was your choice... what would you go with?
We really want to cruise out of Vancouver.. but I was thinking too we could take a train from Seattle to Vancouver for a day, I think?

I think there are huge differences here. I really don't care about the size of my room, which I'm not in much anyway. I would use (and have used) my balcony on my Alaskan cruises. Checking a balcony on the Wonder an OBSTRUCTED view is $8,777, a white wall is 8,917, and a regular balcony is $10,037!! Checking on the Bliss it's $5,089 for a balcony which includes 3 nights specialty dining and a 3rd/4th person free promotion as well as $100 OBC. The Bliss is brand new with amazing observation lounges (perfect for Alaska) AND it goes to Glacier Bay! For a difference of $4,948 (almost TWICE as much) Mickey Mouse himself would have to bring me room service breakfast every day of the cruise!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I think there are huge differences here. I really don't care about the size of my room, which I'm not in much anyway. I would use (and have used) my balcony on my Alaskan cruises. Checking a balcony on the Wonder an OBSTRUCTED view is $8,777, a white wall is 8,917, and a regular balcony is $10,037!! Checking on the Bliss it's $5,089 for a balcony which includes 3 nights specialty dining and a 3rd/4th person free promotion as well as $100 OBC. The Bliss is brand new with amazing observation lounges (perfect for Alaska) AND it goes to Glacier Bay! For a difference of $4,948 (almost TWICE as much) Mickey Mouse himself would have to bring me room service breakfast every day of the cruise!

The price I got for the Bliss balcony is $5600 no OBC, but yes beverage pkg.
Those are acceptable differences to me... I am ok with an oceanview on the Wonder, but would have to have balcony on the other ships because of room size. Otherwise I don’t care for balcony in a colder climate.
We would have 10% off the balcony too if we wanted one, so for us it would be around $9000 and $350 OBC. Still lots more I agree, but not double and definitely not 4x as much.
There is no question that Disney is more. 100% it is.
What I priced out is what I’m looking at and what would be personally acceptable to my family.
To me it’s comparable for what I want.
I understand it’s not comparing apples to apples.
But then again neither is comparing some other aspects of it.
Like I said we may end up on the Bliss or Ovation anyway... the decision would be a lot easier if the other ships sailed from Vancouver.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The Wonder is my favorite Disney ship. I will say though an indoor pool or indoor viewing area would have been nice. The upper floor of the cove cafe is now reserved for concierge guests...that was a little disappointing. We had good weather on our cruise, but it's still cold out on deck. The only thing wrong with the Wonder is that it wasn't designed for Alaska. I live in Arizona so I'm a wimp when it comes to cold, but I saw very few people sitting outside.
As far as relaxing goes I don't know. I spent a great amount of time running around the ship on glacier day. I think the best part of an Alaskan cruise is the excursions. If I do Alaska again I'd still do a inside room and put the money into excursions.

We haven’t been on the Dream yet, but I was surprised that the Wonder ended up being my fav too.
The indoor pool would be nice no question...
I’m sure I would be running around too... haha
Just think maybe overall vibe of the Disney ship would be more relaxing... being there are no bumper cars, roller skating and other things to do.
You’d be able to catch a movie though..maybe sit on deck 4...
Anyway Ovation has 2 things that I really like more than the other ships -Two70 with Cafe@270 and North Star. Well 3 really... also the indoor pools/Solarium.
I can’t find any info whether the Bliss has a covered pool?

 

[KashasMom]

The price I got for the Bliss balcony is $5600 no OBC, but yes beverage pkg.
Those are acceptable differences to me... I am ok with an oceanview on the Wonder, but would have to have balcony on the other ships because of room size. Otherwise I don’t care for balcony in a colder climate.
We would have 10% off the balcony too if we wanted one, so for us it would be around $9000 and $350 OBC. Still lots more I agree, but not double and definitely not 4x as much.
There is no question that Disney is more. 100% it is.
What I priced out is what I’m looking at and what would be personally acceptable to my family.
To me it’s comparable for what I want.
I understand it’s not comparing apples to apples.
But then again neither is comparing some other aspects of it.
Like I said we may end up on the Bliss or Ovation anyway... the decision would be a lot easier if the other ships sail from Vancouver.

I get that. In general the rooms are not that important to us. For our Alaskan cruises we've sailed from San Francisco and Vancouver. This will be our first time sailing from Seattle. It's our daughter's first Alaskan cruise and we'll be going to Glacier Bay (first time for all of us) so we're happy. I'm not sure when you got the Bliss pricing but I just did it this morning (for 2019). Possibly the 3rd/4th person is a new promotion? Hope you have a great cruise whatever you decide!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I get that. In general the rooms are not that important to us. For our Alaskan cruises we've sailed from San Francisco and Vancouver. This will be our first time sailing from Seattle. It's our daughter's first Alaskan cruise and we'll be going to Glacier Bay (first time for all of us) so we're happy. I'm not sure when you got the Bliss pricing but I just did it this morning (for 2019). Possibly the 3rd/4th person is a new promotion? Hope you have a great cruise whatever you decide!

Hmm I got the 3rd/4th passenger promo... I wonder if it’s because we are pricing it out in Cad $ then I’m converting. It wouldn’t surprise me if the price was higher and not just because of the conversion rate.
Royal for example gives you a chance to price out in CAD or USD and in USD it’s lower even when you factor in the exchange rate.
I’ll see if NCL has an option to price it out in usd for us... and if not I may get a TA to do it.
This would be our very first Alaska cruise....

 

[Shanti]

Still lots more I agree, but not double and definitely not 4x as much. There is no question that Disney is more. 100% it is. What I priced out is what I’m looking at and what would be personally acceptable to my family. To me it’s comparable for what I want. I understand it’s not comparing apples to apples. But then again neither is comparing some other aspects of it.

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. 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.
• Some people don't need a lot of family-oriented entertainment. We do.
• Some people spend a lot of time each day lounging on their verandah. We don't.
• 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.

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.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

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. 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.
• Some people don't need a lot of family-oriented entertainment. We do.
• Some people spend a lot of time each day lounging on their verandah. We don't.
• 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.

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.

Totally. I was looking for opinions if what we are getting with Disney is a good deal... I know it’s not balcony, no glacier bay but is it still a decent deal?
From most of the opinions I got - yes.
The more I think about it myself... yes I think so.
Maybe it’d be different if this wasn’t our first Alaska cruise???
No one size fits all for sure.
I just don’t want to get ripped off hahah

 

[seacruise]

We drove from Seattle to yvr on sat afternoon Labor Day weekend. Wait time at the border was 30 minutes. We stopped at McDonald's...so yes probably 3 hours total. It's 154 miles so about 2 hours of driving time. I doubt the wait at the border is ever hours. There is a website thet you can go to that gives you an estimated wait times each day of the week. Honestly never saw I wait times listed in hours.
I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if it saves a considerable amount on airfare. It was easy. Just like driving through any major city use common sense and avoid peak traffic times. Car rental was around 50.00 dollars. Dropped it at the port the next day.

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.

 

[seacruise]

What is NCL a la carte?

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.