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

[disneydreamer781]

I just put an AK cruise on hold with NCL. The deciding factor was Glacier Bay for me. It's all about Alaska since it's most likely a one-and-done at our age. It's also the only cruise that I would even consider paying for a balcony. I got a balcony cabin for the starting price of an ocean view on DCL at about the same week (mid-May). DCL balcony for that week starts at $6,900.

 

[holula]

I just put an AK cruise on hold with NCL. The deciding factor was Glacier Bay for me. It's all about Alaska since it's most likely a one-and-done at our age. It's also the only cruise that I would even consider paying for a balcony. I got a balcony cabin for the starting price of an ocean view on DCL at about the same time frame (mid-May). DCL balcony for the time I would like to go starts at $6,900.

I looked at this cruise on the Bliss or Joy (can’t remember) and the port times were so short due to the extra time spent getting to GB and then the stop in Victoria. Also NCL has their own far away dock in Ketchikan, they don’t use the main one in town.

So I went back to Disney. I’m happy with my pick. Alaska was my first DCL cruise and it’s still my favourite. I did an inside last time and my friend wanted OV this time.

One day I’ll do the one way and get to GB (likely on Princess) and spend a week in Alaska afterwards but I didn’t have enough vacation time this year to do it.

 

[starry_solo]

A friend did an Alaskan cruise with Princess in August 2022 for her birthday and Princess had a good deal With included Wi-Fi , drink package, gratuities, and one excursion. I think she said with airfare, hotel before, and a few other things, she spent $7-9K total. She got the mini suite which is equivalent to the verandah on DCL?

The day they sailed into Glacier Bay was so foggy they couldn’t see anything.

she said she would come with me for an Alaskan cruise with DCL. I’m hoping to plan it for 2025/2026. Lol. Ocean view or verandah.

 

[jimmymc]

Alaska is obviously going to be the same, and Princess has better access to port times and Glacier Bay due to how long they've been sailing. So during the port and glacier days, I think you'll have a just as good if not slightly better experience than on Disney. General advice for Alaska: go all out on excursions and get yourself into nature. Go whale watching at Juneau or Icy Strait Point, and either take the railroad or drive up into Canada in Skagway.

The big changes come with food, sea-day activities, and entertainment. Princess has good food but obviously not the themed dining rooms of Disney. IDK how DD is going to enjoy that, but the entertainment at dinner will be eating and talking, not much else. The big shows are... lacking to put it gently. Lots of music from before DD and possibly you were born, not much in terms of effects and actual story. The Disney shows both at and after dinner are where you'll notice the biggest difference. 18 is also a weird age, since she probably doesn't want to sit at a lounge with her parents drinking sprite instead of going to a Disney show. Princess might have an 18 to 20 meetup, but for an Alaska cruise I'd expect maybe 2 people to show up.

Overall I do still think you'll have an amazing time on the cruise, but my advice would be to be as engaged as possible when you're not in port. Book some specialty dining and try to find shows/bands around the ship you enjoy. Bring some entertainment for your sea days, like movies on a laptop or games you can play together. Definitely attend the nature talks if they're offered, but skip the shopping ones. And try to participate in things like trivia, and karaoke, at least to see if you enjoy it.

 

[disneydreamer781]

I looked at this cruise on the Bliss or Joy (can’t remember) and the port times were so short due to the extra time spent getting to GB and then the stop in Victoria. Also NCL has their own far away dock in Ketchikan, they don’t use the main one in town.

So I went back to Disney. I’m happy with my pick. Alaska was my first DCL cruise and it’s still my favourite. I did an inside last time and my friend wanted OV this time.

One day I’ll do the one way and get to GB (likely on Princess) and spend a week in Alaska afterwards but I didn’t have enough vacation time this year to do it.

I just don't see sailing DCL to AK for that kind of money. I'm not spending 7K on a balcony. The ports I'm most interested in are Juneau and Skagway. It's 13 1/2 hours and 8 1/2 in Juneau and I don't consider that short. It's perfectly fine for what I want to do. I don't care as much about Ketichan as I will have nothing planned there. Seattle also works better for us since we're doing the cross-country train. I'm a DVC member and I get my Disney fix any time I want. I don't need Disney this time around. My focus is on AK.

 

[tidefan]

We've been to Alaska 3 times. Once on the Wonder and twice on Princess. We have enjoyed all 3. In fact, that Wonder cruise, which was a DVC Member Cruise back in 2015 (or the 9-night Greek Isles on the Magic cruise last year - it's close) may be our favorite cruise we've ever taken. I think that the biggest pro for the Disney Cruise is actually the fact that it round-trips out of Vancouver. That means that you will get the entire inside passage, including the area between Vancouver Island and the Canadian Mainland. Makes for some absolutely beautiful sailing. That said, as others have stated, other lines are going to be much more affordable, but most are going to go out of Seattle and you'll go around the west side of Vancouver Island.

Our Princess cruises were definitely not Disney cruises, but we very much enjoyed them. If you look at another line, you will need to look at your situation and see what is important for you. We love Princess as well as DCL, but then again, we don't need Zip Lines or Go-Kart tracks. We'd rather have edible food that is included in your fare instead of having to pay extra for everything. However, you aren't going to have a ton of organized kids activities. What you will have, though, is small groups of kids that we have found really get to know each other. Our DD still keeps in touch with the other kids she met on the Emerald Princess cruise we did.

So, find a line that you will be happy with, and even then, maybe it's better to say find a ship that you would be happy with as they can differ greatly even within the line (the Royal Princess, for instance, will be a much different experience than the Emerald Princess and the Ovation of the Seas would be much different than the Jewel of the Seas, etc.)

 

[darnheather]

A little about my DD to address some of the points above and perhaps to get more feedback. She is not big on Disney (I am.) She likes musicals and karaoke. She's a foodie. She can't walk long distances on unpaved paths. She is not adventurous (no helicopters or biplanes for her).

It will be just the two of us. I want more than anything to relax. The idea of sitting on my balcony with coffee or hot chocolate while watching the the view sounds wonderful. We've been on the Wonder. I honestly think the thing I'll miss the most is the characters on DCL.

Price breakdown - Princess: Mini-Suite with drinks, gratuities, and some excursion credit, wi-fi, $5000. Vancouver to Vancouver.

DCL: Inside, cruise only 3,700, gratuities $210-$300 (I typically give extra at the end, plus the room service tips). Vancouver to Vancouver

Now, we are certainly not going to drink $1000 in specialty drinks on DCL. DD usually orders one of the mocktail drinks of the day per cruise and I usually have one or two. We do like the specialty coffee though. We never get wi-fi. So what I have to decide is if the $1000 extra for the balcony is worth it for the two of us.

The other plus for Princess is twin beds so neither of us has to sleep on the couch bed.

 

[lilsonicfan]

While obviously I think it could be something anyone might regret, I am one of those people for whom any day cruising is better than another day without. We finally saw Glacier Bay last year and it was AMAZING. It was serene and if I’d had an unobstructed balcony, I would have been out there most of the day. I don’t think you can really go wrong on Princess or HAL for Alaska. Yes, you’ll miss out on some of the DCL entertainment, but presumably you can always take another DCL somewhere like the Caribbean where the prices aren’t as different.

You could also see if Princess without the drinks is a good price. I’ve really never found drink package pricing to be worthwhile. I had a latte or cappuccino every day on my Holland cruise and spent something like $35.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Another consideration -- the noise level. Yes, kids are cute -- to a point. We did a DCL repositioning cruise up the west coast, spent three days in Vancouver, then boarded RCCL for Alaska and the peace and quiet really made a difference. (Yes, I'm old.) Someone on another thread mentioned entitled Platinum DCL cruisers. Can't say I've seen any of them, but some DCL children cruisers can be really entitled, as in ordering their parents to do their bidding.

My point is, 'most any cruise line will be quieter than DCL. Yes, the lil darlins spend a lot of time in the kids' clubs, but meals are a whole 'nother story.

 

[holula]

I sailed Princess a while back, but I loved the food and thought it was a step up from DCL. Especially the pizza which was miles better! However the shows were blah.

 

[KashasMom]

Nope! We've done 3 Alaskan cruises on 3 different cruise lines (none Disney). The highlight of Alaska IS Alaska, not the cruise line/ship!

 

[disneydreamer781]

Nope! We've done 3 Alaskan cruises on 3 different cruise lines (none Disney). The highlight of Alaska IS Alaska, not the cruise line/ship!

I see you've sailed the Big Red Boat. My Mom, niece, and I loved the BRB! Really fun cruises with a great package that included a WDW vacation were hard to beat.

 

[lklgoodman]

We did Alaska on DCL in 2014. My dd was 6 yrs old at the time, we enjoyed the cruise. We are doing another Alaskan cruise this June on NCL's Encore. My dd is 15 yrs old and no longer cares about Disney characters and hasn't cared for Edge/Vibe on our last 3 cruises. We like DCL but not enough to spend more on an interior cabin on DCL than for what we spent on our family club balcony cabin on NCL. NCL also does price adjustments, which we did 3 times and now our cruise is even less than we've spent for any of our Caribbean cruises on DCL. This will be our first non DCL, so I'm sure at first it may feel weird. I've been watching a ton of NCL videos for over a year now and I'm really excited about trying a new line. I'm even planning on booking a Bermuda cruise for 2024 on NCL. Since your dd isn't into DCL, I would book on another line. Use the extra money to experience Alaska, that's why you're going to Alaska after all. You can always get your DCL fix by booking a Caribbean or Bahamas cruise. I also admit one of the reasons I booked NCL is because they sail from Seattle. I booked the cruise right after cruising resumed from covid. Thankfully everything is back to normal now, but I didn't want to take the chance that something else could happen that makes getting into Canada more difficult.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[lilsonicfan]

We have sailed out of both Seattle and Vancouver for round trip Alaska cruises. Vancouver is easier for us since we live there but I do understand Seattle is easier to get to for many Americans. IMO the scenery is better from Vancouver b/c of sailing the inside passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island, and no weird 4 hour nighttime stop in Victoria to contend with. You do often see bigger ships out of Seattle though as they don't have to navigate the inside passage.

 

[darnheather]

We have sailed out of both Seattle and Vancouver for round trip Alaska cruises. Vancouver is easier for us since we live there but I do understand Seattle is easier to get to for many Americans. IMO the scenery is better from Vancouver b/c of sailing the inside passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island, and no weird 4 hour nighttime stop in Victoria to contend with. You do often see bigger ships out of Seattle though as they don't have to navigate the inside passage.

Vancouver will be good to fly to as the luggage requirements are different because it is international and if I recall correctly you get a checked bag free. Plus, even from a small East Coast airport it is just one stop.

 

[darnheather]

We did Alaska on DCL in 2014. My dd was 6 yrs old at the time, we enjoyed the cruise. We are doing another Alaskan cruise this June on NCL's Encore. My dd is 15 yrs old and no longer cares about Disney characters and hasn't cared for Edge/Vibe on our last 3 cruises. We like DCL but not enough to spend more on an interior cabin on DCL than for what we spent on our family club balcony cabin on NCL. NCL also does price adjustments, which we did 3 times and now our cruise is even less than we've spent for any of our Caribbean cruises on DCL. This will be our first non DCL, so I'm sure at first it may feel weird. I've been watching a ton of NCL videos for over a year now and I'm really excited about trying a new line. I'm even planning on booking a Bermuda cruise for 2024 on NCL. Since your dd isn't into DCL, I would book on another line. Use the extra money to experience Alaska, that's why you're going to Alaska after all. You can always get your DCL fix by booking a Caribbean or Bahamas cruise. I also admit one of the reasons I booked NCL is because they sail from Seattle. I booked the cruise right after cruising resumed from covid. Thankfully everything is back to normal now, but I didn't want to take the chance that something else could happen that makes getting into Canada more difficult.

I don't why I haven't thought of looking at videos. Thank you for that idea. I did take a look at Princess menus and they great. I was honestly a bit disappointed with the food on our last DCL trip. As for traveling out of Seattle v Vancouver you can't buy Kinder Eggs in Seattle!

 

[lklgoodman]

I don't why I haven't thought of looking at videos. Thank you for that idea. I did take a look at Princess menus and they great. I was honestly a bit disappointed with the food on our last DCL trip. As for traveling out of Seattle v Vancouver you can't buy Kinder Eggs in Seattle!

I can buy Kinder Eggs in Ohio. I had never heard of them until I saw them talked about on here. I've never gotten them while on a cruise, so not sure how the ones here are compared to other countries. The ones here have the chocolate on one side of the egg and the toy is on the other side. From what I read other places have the toy inside the chocolate. I'm guessing that's why they sell them in the US, no longer a choking hazard. When I was a kid we'd get all kinds of small toys in cereal and Cracker Jack's popcorn. Kids now are missing out

 

[Kwami]

I can buy Kinder Eggs in Ohio. I had never heard of them until I saw them talked about on here. I've never gotten them while on a cruise, so not sure how the ones here are compared to other countries. The ones here have the chocolate on one side of the egg and the toy is on the other side. From what I read other places have the toy inside the chocolate. I'm guessing that's why they sell them in the US, no longer a choking hazard. When I was a kid we'd get all kinds of small toys in cereal and Cracker Jack's popcorn. Kids now are missing out

Yeah, Kinder Eggs in the US aren't the same as what you get everywhere else. And, yes, that's because the US classifies regular Kinder Eggs as hazardous. You can get in a lot of trouble if you bring real Kinder Eggs into the US and someone catches you.

 

[lklgoodman]

Yeah, Kinder Eggs in the US aren't the same as what you get everywhere else. And, yes, that's because the US classifies regular Kinder Eggs as hazardous. You can get in a lot of trouble if you bring real Kinder Eggs into the US and someone catches you.

Thanks for the info. The first time I saw them here I was excited because I had read about them on here(this was many years ago). After getting one I was disappointed and didn't get why they are so popular. Guess I need to try one the next time we go to Cozumel.