Where to Next? Alaska? Europe? HELP!

[sleepingbeauty17]

Even though I just got back from the Fantasy on Saturday I'm already dreaming of our next cruise. We did an onboard booking (surprised at how easy it was) so we're looking to sail in the next 24 months. We've done the Fantasy western twice and loved it, but are looking for somewhere new to go. We've done a placeholder so nothing is set in stone yet, we're thinking of traveling in June of 2018. I was wondering what people's feelings and reviews of Alaska and Europe were though Disney (or if somewhere was better with another cruise line). We'd also be up for it if Disney would be doing a Southern Caribbean cruise then, so if anyone has any suspicions if Disney will be going there more let me know (I know in 2017 there is the 10 and 11 night cruises but those weren't right for us). Our family is two parents and three grown college aged children if that makes a difference. I'd love to hear people's experiences on both to help us make a decision when the time comes.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Even though I just got back from the Fantasy on Saturday I'm already dreaming of our next cruise. We did an onboard booking (surprised at how easy it was) so we're looking to sail in the next 24 months. We've done the Fantasy western twice and loved it, but are looking for somewhere new to go. We've done a placeholder so nothing is set in stone yet, we're thinking of traveling in June of 2018. I was wondering what people's feelings and reviews of Alaska and Europe were though Disney (or if somewhere was better with another cruise line). We'd also be up for it if Disney would be doing a Southern Caribbean cruise then, so if anyone has any suspicions if Disney will be going there more let me know (I know in 2017 there is the 10 and 11 night cruises but those weren't right for us). Our family is two parents and three grown college aged children if that makes a difference. I'd love to hear people's experiences on both to help us make a decision when the time comes.

Of course, since you ask, and it's JUST MY OPINION, there are other cruiselines that have better options for Alaska. Unless, of course, you're looking for the Disney experience with Alaska on the side. We've done Alaska on Holland America twice. HAL and Princess have been doing Alaska longer than anyone and have really great itineraries (and prices).

Loved our Med cruise on DCL. Primarily the Med cruises are very port intensive, and you only get a taste of the different countries on a cruise, but it's a great experience.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've done both, though Alaska was with another line. We were on the Magic last summer for a B2B Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise. Both experiences were truly amazing. Honestly, if budget isn't an issue, I would throw both in a hat and just pick one! My suspicion is the Europe cruise will end up costing more once you factor transportation and any pre- or post-cruise hotel stays.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We've done both the Alaska and Norway itineraries. Loved them both. It would be hard to choose. You can read about my experience through my trip reports below.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We've done all the Med cruises, Baltic, Greece, , Norway and Alaska. I wouldn't do Alaska again. You don't get that far. I would prefer something like Princess that takes you one way only. As for the other cruises, we liked them very much, but we had to been to all the ports before. We especially love Greece leaving from Venice. But I'm not sure they do that one any more. I would opt for a cruise that gives you a couple at sea days.

 

[EllinK]

We are about to do Alaska for the second time. You can tell we liked it. There are other cruise lines but we are happy with our DCL experience. We also did the Baltics cruise and that was amazing. Decide if you want an active cruise (AK, Iceland) or a more museum oriented one. You can't go wrong!

 

[Agent 86]

We recently did the Alaskan cruise on the Disney Wonder on the 6 June sailing. We had an absolutely awesome time.

We've only done two cruises and both were with Disney, so I have no idea how other cruise companies compare.

 

[cruisehopeful]

There are several 7 night southerns next April. I am hoping they repeat those in 2018. I like the itinerary on DCL for that more than other lines that I've checked.

For Alaska, I've done DCL twice, but on a 7 night cruise, there are only 3 ports. The Princess itineraries look good to me. They still have the basic 3 ports, but they also go to Glacier Bay. They have closed loop cruises and also one way cruises. I think the one ways would be nice because it is easy to stay in Alaska for a few extra days if you want to do that.

 

[dcassetta]

Have done Alaska with Princess, Disney and HAL. Disney is great for the ship activities and atmosphere, but Princess and HAL beat them on itineraries and pre or post cruise options. Also, although Tracy Arm is great, Glacier Bay is truly magnificent.

In addition, we now find it hard to justify Disney's prices in Alaska.

 

[jburge12000]

We did the Med last summer and Alaska the summer before and loved both. While both were great, the Med cruise we were able to combine with a few days in Paris and London before. Did a few days in Vancouver before we left for Alaska, and while it was really great few days, did not compare to hitting Paris or London. Med cruise was a lot more busy, the port days were longer and a lot of seeing amazing sights (Colosseum, Statue of David, Pompeii...). Alaska seemed like more active port days, did a lot of outdoor things around nature, like hiking and whale watching. Very different cruise experiences.

 

[sleepingbeauty17]

It seems like a lot of people are saying that while Alaska is good we'd be better off on a different cruise line. I guess that potentially leaves Europe. My next question(s) is which itinerary, I lean more towards the Mediterranean but would be open to the Fjords or Northern Europe if people seem to think they're better cruises. My big fear with Europe though is that we'll spend a while driving to our excursions every day because the sites are further away from the ports than normal, what were other people's experience with traveling from the ship to your excursions. Also did you feel like you didn't get to see enough in each city, we've never been to Europe so we want to try a lot.

 

[aggiedog]

IMHO, DCL is too expensive now, for what you get, as the prices keep rising. We did the DCL Baltic cruise last year, and a 4 day Christmas cruise this past December. I love DCL, don't get me wrong, but for the cost, you can get more for the same (or usually less). I agree with all the above posts about picking what you want out of the cruise - nature vs northern Europe vs the Med. I've been looking a Med cruises for awhile and while I want to do DCL, the itinerary (very limited IMO since they canceled the easter med ports) and the cost for that limited itinerary are off-putting.

As for the Baltic, we did very little driving. The ship usually docked in/near to town.

 

[KYDIZFAN]

Even though I just got back from the Fantasy on Saturday I'm already dreaming of our next cruise. We did an onboard booking (surprised at how easy it was) so we're looking to sail in the next 24 months. We've done the Fantasy western twice and loved it, but are looking for somewhere new to go. We've done a placeholder so nothing is set in stone yet, we're thinking of traveling in June of 2018. I was wondering what people's feelings and reviews of Alaska and Europe were though Disney (or if somewhere was better with another cruise line). We'd also be up for it if Disney would be doing a Southern Caribbean cruise then, so if anyone has any suspicions if Disney will be going there more let me know (I know in 2017 there is the 10 and 11 night cruises but those weren't right for us). Our family is two parents and three grown college aged children if that makes a difference. I'd love to hear people's experiences on both to help us make a decision when the time comes.

The Baltic was my favorite My wife liked the Med with Greece & Turkey. Any trip with Barcolona is always great. The European cruises are usually longer and therefore more expensive and the arriving and departing airports seem to be the most expensive. ( Iam talking about you Venice). Plan accordingly. That being said I would do a European cruise hands down over Alaska.