WWYD DCL Alaska or other? $5K price difference

[jdb in AZ]

There's so much to see in Alaska besides the tiny port towns on a cruise. We loved going overland to Fairbanks. Going on a less expensive cruise would help pay for the land portion.

 

[Dug720]

That would be too much of a price difference for me to swallow.
We have done 2 Alaska cruises, both on HAL, and HAL is awesome.

HAL is awesome as long as you're a smoker or potentially don't plan on using your balcony if you are downwind of a smoker.

For those of us who despise smoke, HAL is a nightmare.

 

[tvguy]

HAL is awesome as long as you're a smoker or potentially don't plan on using your balcony if you are downwind of a smoker.

For those of us who despise smoke, HAL is a nightmare.

My first cruise was in 1980 on a French ship, so there were no non-smoking areas.
Disney was the only other cruise where I even noticed smoking, and that was only when I walked past a smoker smoking in an assigned area. Also only cruise I had a balcony on, but never had an issue.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

HAL is awesome as long as you're a smoker or potentially don't plan on using your balcony if you are downwind of a smoker.

For those of us who despise smoke, HAL is a nightmare.

Well, I wouldn't say that. I don't like cigarette smoke (or cigars/pipes or anything else smoke) and we've done fine on HAL for 3 cruises now. All long ones. Of course, we only had a balcony on the first one.

 

[ShelleyTaylor]

My reasons are a few, the main two being that my kids love DCL night shows, and we would all miss doing that as a family. Second, one of the reviews I saw a mom posted she was so glad she brought board games, as the played them daily.
That was me--lol! On RCCL last spring break! We still had a good time on RCCL.

Hahah, too funny. Well, it was a great review and it stuck in my head LOL Glad it was still a good trip!!

 

[wombat_5606]

HAL is awesome as long as you're a smoker or potentially don't plan on using your balcony if you are downwind of a smoker.

For those of us who despise smoke, HAL is a nightmare.[/QUOTE

I've done 2 HAL cruises with balconies with no problems with smokers.

Can't say the same about my Disney cruises though. The final time I spent my money on a veranda on DCL, I called twice on my neighbor. Evidently the $250 cleaning charge wasn't enough to discourage them.

 

[ldo]

So, I looked back and realized that $12K was for 6 persons with 2 OV. When I repriced it with 1 inside and 1OV for 5, it's more like $10.5K. So, now I'm hoping 2018 doesn't sky rocket. Assuming similar for 2018, my options for RT Vancouver are also limited. Celeb. does not go to Skagway, and we really wanted to take the White train. I am too nervous to cruise with 3 older teens on HA, with the smoking (I read about that) and the age of the passengers, poor entertainment reviews, etc. If I do prior to July 6, I can use OBB, so that could take the price down. We preferred mid-late July, but the cost savings might dictate. I think I've decided that $12K is no way, but $10.5K or under might work. I will likely book DCL and a one way on another line and then later see what the airline tickets are. Thanks for everyone's views.

 

[Ofinn]

So, I looked back and realized that $12K was for 6 persons with 2 OV. When I repriced it with 1 inside and 1OV for 5, it's more like $10.5K. So, now I'm hoping 2018 doesn't sky rocket. Assuming similar for 2018, my options for RT Vancouver are also limited. Celeb. does not go to Skagway, and we really wanted to take the White train. I am too nervous to cruise with 3 older teens on HA, with the smoking (I read about that) and the age of the passengers, poor entertainment reviews, etc. If I do prior to July 6, I can use OBB, so that could take the price down. We preferred mid-late July, but the cost savings might dictate. I think I've decided that $12K is no way, but $10.5K or under might work. I will likely book DCL and a one way on another line and then later see what the airline tickets are. Thanks for everyone's views.

What about NCL. They have some good deals right now. They also have clubs for teens. NCL is refurbishing all it's ships. The one that sails in Alaska will be updated. I would keep NCL in mind. There was a family on our DCL Hawaii cruise that sailed NCL earlier that Summer in Alaska, and they loved it. They said they only paid 3k for 2 inside rooms, and got free drink packages. It is all about seeing Alaska after all.

 

[Karlzmom]

So, I looked back and realized that $12K was for 6 persons with 2 OV. When I repriced it with 1 inside and 1OV for 5, it's more like $10.5K. So, now I'm hoping 2018 doesn't sky rocket. Assuming similar for 2018, my options for RT Vancouver are also limited. Celeb. does not go to Skagway, and we really wanted to take the White train. I am too nervous to cruise with 3 older teens on HA, with the smoking (I read about that) and the age of the passengers, poor entertainment reviews, etc. If I do prior to July 6, I can use OBB, so that could take the price down. We preferred mid-late July, but the cost savings might dictate. I think I've decided that $12K is no way, but $10.5K or under might work. I will likely book DCL and a one way on another line and then later see what the airline tickets are. Thanks for everyone's views.

No celebrity doesn't go to skagway, but icy straight point is lovely. Three older teen? Check out the airliner at isp... can't wait to do it again!

 

[Dug720]

No celebrity doesn't go to skagway, but icy straight point is lovely. Three older teen? Check out the airliner at isp... can't wait to do it again!

I would take Skagway over Icy Straight Point any day. ISP was specifically built for cruise ships. It's like a pseudo-amusement park minus rides (other than the zipline) IMHO. At least Skagway actually has people living in it. There are no residents of ISP - they live 10 minutes down the road in Houna. If I'm ever on another cruise that goes to ISP, that is a ship day for me.

 

[wonderlandwego]

What about NCL. They have some good deals right now. They also have clubs for teens. NCL is refurbishing all it's ships. The one that sails in Alaska will be updated. I would keep NCL in mind. There was a family on our DCL Hawaii cruise that sailed NCL earlier that Summer in Alaska, and they loved it. They said they only paid 3k for 2 inside rooms, and got free drink packages. It is all about seeing Alaska after all.

I am doing Alaska on the NCL Pearl next June/Early July. It's a great itinerary. We got a promotion for the Ultimate Beverage Package and Paid Gratuities for the 1st 2 passengers. Mid ship balcony ms for around $7700 for 4. I liked the itinerary over the DCL route. I also can't wait to get photos of the fam on the rock climbing wall with the glaciers in the background.lol We will be doing a helicopter and dog sled on Mendenhall Glacier, and a train ride in Skagway. We plan on doing as many unique (for us) excursions as possible.

Spending a few nights in Seattle first and almost a week at Olympic national park after.

 

[disneyholic family]

we didn't do DCL in alaska because we decided we wanted to do a one way cruise (from seward to vancouver) so that we could start out the trip with a week in mainland alaska...
our desire to do mainland alaska eliminated DCL from the running..

 

[disneyholic family]

I would take Skagway over Icy Straight Point any day. ISP was specifically built for cruise ships. It's like a pseudo-amusement park minus rides (other than the zipline) IMHO. At least Skagway actually has people living in it. There are no residents of ISP - they live 10 minutes down the road in Houna. If I'm ever on another cruise that goes to ISP, that is a ship day for me.

then you'll be missing out, as ISP is run by the native indians who live in the area and is a very interesting place to visit...
DD went on her favorite excursion of our entire trip last year in ISP....a guided nature walk led by a local indian...

we really loved icy strait point, as we did skagway and juneau and ketchikan..

but better than all of those combined was mainland alaska, where we spent a week before the cruise...
especially seward, absolutely gorgeous!!

.

 

[Keyser]

We went to Alaska on DCL a couple of years ago and loved it. This past year, my sister went on a different line (pretty sure it was Princess) and didn't care for it. I think it will depend on what you're wanting to get out of it. For us (and my sister's family) the differences I picked up on were the entertainment (we like the Disney shows - her cruise had several that weren't exactly family-friendly, and they ended up skipping several), the kids' clubs (Disney does a great job here - the other line had fewer kids and the clubs weren't as well-run, it seems), the Disney characters/theme (one of our kids was very into characters at the time), and the general overall environment (the Princess cruise had a casino and there was a lot more drinking it seems).

Anecdotally (from one of our port tour guides), the Disney cruises tend to be very different from all the other cruise lines in terms of the lower ages of those who show up (more kids, fewer retirees).

If your kids are older, though, these might not be as big of a deal (or you might want a cruise that's a little more oriented toward older travelers), and if your focus is going to be more on the port stops, it seems you might be better with the cheaper line that would give you thousands to spend on another cruise.

 

[Dug720]

then you'll be missing out, as ISP is run by the native indians who live in the area and is a very interesting place to visit...
DD went on her favorite excursion of our entire trip last year in ISP....a guided nature walk led by a local indian...

we really loved icy strait point, as we did skagway and juneau and ketchikan..

but better than all of those combined was mainland alaska, where we spent a week before the cruise...
especially seward, absolutely gorgeous!!

.

I *have* done it and was bored out of my skull. If you don't do zip lines, the other areas took maybe 45 minutes to walk through.

I liked all the other places we went, but found ISP not worth it.

 

[ldo]

thanks for your response

 

[brewcrew]

We are a family of 6 and we went to Alaska with Disney last June. We were the second cruise out for the season. WE booked one balcony cabin and an inside stateroom across the hall. We had 2 college students and 2 high schoolers at the time so we needed room to stretch out. Maybe switching the rooms to that will help costs. Also look at the first floor oceanview. We booked all of our own excursions to save money and never had a problem getting back to the ship on time. We are huge Disney cruise fans so we only wanted to go Disney. We book as far out as possible and make payments that way its not $$$$$ due now.

Sailing in July can be budget buster. Decide if you will constantly be saying to yourself "Disney doesn't do it like that" or "if only we would have sailed Disney". Then get out the pen and paper and see if your budget can handle it.

No matter what, Alaska was an amazing trip! I would go back in a heartbeat!!!

 

[Ofinn]

I have seen another comment above drinking on another line (with older patrons). Who knew Alaska was a booze cruise? My teens do not do the clubs anymore. But we all enjoy the entertainment and lots to do on DCL.

Not sure what you mean. I dont think getting a free drink package makes it a booze cruise. I see plenty of alcohol being consumed on dcl.
It seems you had your mind set on dcl before you asked. So why did you ask? If you think DCL is worth 12k than just do it. Does it really matter what any of us think?

 

[ldo]

I read another online review commenting on drinking and also from prior post (the Princess cruise had a casino and there was a lot more drinking it seems), which surprised me, given the CL. However, my post was really joking, as I certainly don't consider any Princess cruises booze cruises, but that doesn't always come across in print online, so I have edited my post, as I would not want someone to think that.
Our family loves DCL, but the pricing is significant. I posted to get other DCL-lovers viewpoints. Our heart is set on DCL, but our wallet is something we consider. I appreciate everyone who has posted. It gives balance to another post of "Was DCL worth it for Alaska?"

 

[wide awake]

We did the DCL Alaska cruise in 2012, then in 2013 I was trying to save money so went with HA. Ugh. Not a savings. The ship was dingy, patched rugs, windows dirty, and the welcome aboard buffet was disgusting. The tuna salad looked like cat food. Also, even with a soda card, you could not get a diet coke any time you wanted...had to wait for the bars to open or for room service. There was a very nice library, and I might consider HA if there was a great itinerary I wanted to try. That said we're with DCL for Thanksgiving and trying the Allure for spring break. DS is autistic and RC autism program sounds interesting. To tell you the truth I had a hard time getting enthused about the Alaska cruise even with DCL. My family lived in Fairbanks when I was a little girl, through the earthquakes and floods, and I don't see Alaska as a place I need to visit. It was a pain to pack for too. Give me the Med, or PC if I need something different than the Western or Eastern.