Will I be sad if I don't do Disney to Alaska?

[darnheather]

Right now I'm looking at taking Princess to Alaska in 2024 because of the glaciers. I'm worried that I'll really miss Disney because it is the only cruise line I've ever been on. My DD will be 18 and either way I think it is going to be difficult for her, but would be better on Disney for the 18-20 society?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

You'd still see glaciers on DCL. Do you mean you want to go to Glacier Bay?

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have taken Princess to Alaska, and the Glacier Bay experience is very special. They have a naturalist who gives presentations on board as well as some articles to buy from the Visitor Center from Glacier Bay NP.

I am soon to be a Pearl CC member and I have cruised 37 DCL cruises, but I think Princess is the way to go to Alaska.

 

[darnheather]

You'd still see glaciers on DCL. Do you mean you want to go to Glacier Bay?

Yes that is what I meant. Also I have a balcony stateroom on Princess but would have to do inside on DCL.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Yes that is what I meant. Also I have a balcony stateroom on Princess but would have to do inside on DCL.

Alaska is the destination, we have seen wildlife from our balcony as we cruise. Plus, the mountains!
Cruising in Alaska in May 2019

In Glacier Bay, they rotated the ship, so balconies on either side had the great views. We were on Princess, and also went up to Denali with them.

 

[tvguy]

I guess you can be sad, but other lines have better Alaska cruises if Alaska is what you are interested in. HAL has been cruising Alaska longer than any other cruise line so they have the best permit, docking locations and naturalists on board.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Don't do inside for Alaska unless you're going to stakeout a public place with a view all the time. It's lovely to have a private view. To wake up and go to the balcony or window in your PJs to a breathtaking view is great. So definitely stick with Princess.

You won't be sad, you'll be on vacation!

 

[NAB]

We are doing Princess to Alaska too next year. It will be are first time on another ship too. Looking forward to it.

 

[Geomom]

If you decide to do the Alaska Princess cruise for the better itinerary (and balcony), you need to set aside comparisons to DCL or you won't enjoy it as much as you should. Go into it knowing it will be a different experience and look at it as a new adventure. It is not a DCL cruise, but it is a chance to try something new and see Glacier Bay!

I don't think the 1820 society is that big a deal. My oldest used it slightly on the Baltic Sea cruise when she was 18 and just went to a couple activities but never clicked with the other kids. Our cruise last summer my 18 yr old just did stuff with their 22 yr old sister and as a family, no interest in doing the 1820 society.

 

[Pens Fan]

Whenever this question comes up my answer is always the same. Do you want a Disney experience or an Alaskan experience? If it's the latter, DCL is probably one of the last cruise lines you should consider. Other lines have been doing it longer and better - no contest. DCL's itineraries are pretty weak. But if your trip is going to be ruined by not getting your Disney fix, do DCL. If you can look past that - pretty much any other cruise line will give you a better Alaskan experience. My absolute favorite itinerary is a one way that starts in Vancouver, goes to both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier along with the normal Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway run and ends in either Seward or Portage so you can extend your trip on land (highly recommend!!)

But only you can decide what's important for you. We've done both DCL and non-DCL in Alaska. The latter was significantly better - for Alaska.

 

[jdb in AZ]

On one of our Princess cruises to Alaska they had Libby Riddles tell us about being the first woman musher to win the Iditarod. They also had a pen of husky puppies to play with.

Another time we did the land and sea cruise which included a trip to Fairbanks. We stayed at the Princess lodge at the base of Denali which was shrouded in fog, but one day the clouds lifted and we saw the mountain. Some people can spend a week there without seeing it.

 

[Dug720]

Having done different cruiselines in addition to Disney (HAL to Alaska because that is what the running cruise was on that year; Royal Caribbean to Alaska (ditto running cruise) and Europe (x2); fathom to Cuba and the DR; Celebrity to the Western Caribbean - all after sailing on Disney), the biggest piece of advice I can give you is...

Don't go in comparing every single thing. If you go in with the attitude of "I've always done Disney and this isn't the same" then yes, you'll be sad. Comparison really is the thief of joy. Go in with the attitude of "We are going to have a great vacation" and it will almost definitely be fabulous.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We are doing Royal’s Ovation if the Seas this July to Alaska. Our money goes so much farther on Royal. We have a two bedroom suite on Ovation which would be completely out of the question on Disney. I also liked all of the inside spaces on Ovation with great viewing. The Wonder doesn’t have much of that except the concierge lounge.

I know we’ll miss Disney. Especially the kids clubs. But we’ll just have to go with it and appreciate it for what it is.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

We are doing Royal’s Ovation if the Seas this July to Alaska. Our money goes so much farther on Royal. We have a two bedroom suite on Ovation which would be completely out of the question on Disney. I also liked all of the inside spaces on Ovation with great viewing. The Wonder doesn’t have much of that except the concierge lounge.

I know we’ll miss Disney. Especially the kids clubs. But we’ll just have to go with it and appreciate it for what it is.

I do hope the onboard experience is good for you this year. We were on the Ovation last May, having sailed RCCL before in the Caribbean. I think they had too many new staff and other post COVID closure issues that the experience was subpar. Especially the dining: always seated 30 min to 1 hr later than our assigned time, the food was constantly mediocre (if not simply bad), and the waiter was really clueless. One night we had a baked Alaska soup as by the time our waiter brought it it had all melted. Most of the staff was clueless, really, many not knowing how to even direct guests to where they wanted to go. And the North Star observation arm never worked during the entire cruise.

Another issue is that they denied a scooter from being delivered to the ship for my MIL who has bad knees. Someone in receiving must have been clueless because we had booked the scooter with RCCL's preferred vendor . We had to push her in a wheelchair that guest services provided for the entire cruise, but she would have appreciated her independence. We were a party of 12, most of whom were avid cruisers except for one couple; we were all constantly telling that couple "this is not how cruising is normally, on any line!" We wanted to make sure they knew this was abnormal and that they would try it again.

Anyway, Alaska was still beautiful regardless and that softened all the negative experiences onboard. Hope you have a good cruise and that all those issues have been addressed now.

 

[MomOTwins]

I went with Princess to Alaska last year and regretted it. Most Alaska itineraries are 4 sea days (counting embarkation day as a sea day) and 3 port days, plus additional time at sea on port days in the evenings. We had a great time in port on our excursions, but missed the disney shows, entertainment, and food during the time at sea.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Dug720]

An inside cabin is not necessarily bad. I have sailed inside in 3 of my AK cruises. Only once in a balcony. Just get out.

I'll agree with this. My first AK cruise on HAL, I got a balcony because I thought it would be a one-time thing. I missed out on some group socializing time because I felt like I needed to "get my money's worth" on the balcony. I also found that 9 times out of 10 when the naturalist on board or the captain announced wildlife (bear, moose, whale) it was on the other side of the ship, so I still had to run to an open deck to try and see it.

When I did the running cruise the next year on RCCL, I got an inside and had a much better all around experience.

(All that said, I'm the weird one who didn't find Glacier Bay to be all that compared to the other glaciers we saw. It was...just a glacier. Same as the others.)

 

[2boysmommy]

We have done Alaska twice, both on Celebrity. Once without kids and once with teen boys in tow. I could in no way justify the price difference - we got 2 balcony rooms on Celebrity for less than the price of one room on DCL. Food was fine, service was acceptable to excellent (depending on location), shows were awful, naturalist was AMAZING...but the real star of Alaska is the scenery. So I'm a firm believer in take whatever cruise gives you the best option of seeing what you are paying to see. We spent hours on the upper deck bundled under blankets, in the forward lounge with glass windows, on the promenade deck...but we spent most of our time onboard on our balconies.

 

[MomOTwins]

(All that said, I'm the weird one who didn't find Glacier Bay to be all that compared to the other glaciers we saw. It was...just a glacier. Same as the others.)

You’re not alone! We did glacier bay on our honeymoon and inside passage last year and while in looking at my photos GB had a bigger glacier, I actually really loved the approach to the glacier on the inside passage—so scenic being in a narrow fjord with waterfalls and trees all around. Mendenhall glacier in Juneau is also as good a glacier as what you see in GB IMO especially if you do the hike to nugget falls (highly recommend) or an excursion that gets you up close.

 

[darnheather]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. It gives me something to think about. For now I have a hold on the DCL one and may make the reserve on it so I can take more time on the decision.