WWYD - Norway on another line or Alaska on Disney?

[shosh1530]

I'm trying plan a cruise for summer 2026 and am torn between a Norwegian Fjords cruise (RCL or Celebrity) or taking the Disney Magic to Alaska.

For context, it is me and DH (both in 50s) and our 14 year old DS (who likes gaming, sports). We've only sailed on Disney (Alaska on the Wonder, Caribbean on Fantasy and Treasure).

We loved our Alaska cruise and have been wanting to do a Norway cruise since then or even another Alaska trip. Options I'm considering (all 7 nights):

• Disney Dream (late July - Rotterdam, Maloy, Alesund, Bergen) - This is very pricey so likely not possible. The itinerary also doesn't seem the greatest (no deep fjords?). We could only do an inside cabin if this goes on sale by at least 25-30% (not sure how likely this is since there are only a few 2026 Norway sailings?) Bonus: never been on the Dream
• RCL Liberty of the Seas (mid-July - Bruges, Haugesund, Olden, Stavanger) - Did a temporary reservation on a balcony room for $5800 (much cheaper than the Dream) but haven't read the best things about Royal. DS would love the activities but worried we'd be disappointed in the level of service and food. Thoughts?
• Celebrity Apex (late June - Bruges, Nordfjordeid, Geiranger, Bergen) - Apex seems to have better itineraries than RCL and I think DH and I would love the ship. But I'm worried DS would be bored. I know they have a teen club and some activities though. Cost is slightly less than RCL.
• Disney Magic (mid-June - Skagway, Icy Strait, Ketchikan) This feels very similar to the cruise we did 3 years ago, although Icy Strait would be new. Biggest draw would be the Magic, which we haven't sailed. My son has been wanting to back to something similar to the Wonder after sailing two of the bigger ships. There is also a 25% off placeholder deal we could use and cost for an ocean view would be a few thousand less than what we paid in 2023 (but balcony still out of our budget). Cost of airfare would be significantly less.

Would love thoughts from anyone who has sailed to these areas or on these other ships.

Thanks!

 

[nephykupo]

I have booked my cruise for Norway but haven't done it yet. We looked at Disney first but as you said, itinerary isn't ideal. I booked with Holland America. You haven't listed them but seems to be worth a look.

 

[FreeTime]

I would do the RCCL one. I found the main dining room food well above what DCL serves in their main rotational dining rooms. And well I say well above, nothing special for either line really. The activities are far better on RCCL.

 

[Cfabar1]

I would, of the options, do the Celebrity cruise.

I was really unimpressed by main dining on royal. Upcharges for certain food items, and the food itself, to me, was underwhelming. Not at the level I have had in main dining on DCL (having been on Magic and Dream). I did not try speciality dining, as the RCL cruise I did, we were with family, who looked down on the idea of paying extra for a meal.

I hear great things about celebrity.

A teenager, I would imagine, would be quite bored on any ship. RCL does have better entertainment for that group - but I don't know what Liberty has specifically... I don't think it is one of their oldest ships, but also don't believe it is an Oasis class.

So, unless the entertainment offerings (say, Go-Carts, Laser Tag, Rock-Climbing - and idk if that ship has them or not) would really appeal to the son, I'd say go Celebrity. Great itinerary, cheapest price, and probably the best food of the three lines.

 

[ngl]

For whatever it is worth, we were in Norway this summer and spent a few days in Alesund and loved it! We prefer the small towns to larger cities and did a day trip to Geiranger from there. (We looked at ABD Norway but dates did not work). We have also been on the Dream 4x and really love it. Having said that, we have done 6 cruises with our kids (now mid teens) and all were Disney. I have asked SO many cruise travel agents their opinions on what comes the closest to Disney and the two that come up consistently are Celebrity and NCL, for the newer ships for each. I heard NCL has more teens than Celebrity but had friends who did Alaska on Celebrity and they said they had a good number of teens.

 

[DCLMP]

I spent 12 nights on the Odyssey in Europe. The best cruise I've ever done. Good food and excellent service. The food in the main dining room is as good as any cruise food can be can be. On par with DCL which isn't saying much. I would never choose a cruise on food. It can be hit or miss and is never anything that great. The good thing with NCL or Royal is that the money you save will pay for multiple speciality restaurants.

Celebrity skews older in demographics. Stricter dress codes too. It was never something I would choose with my kids, but you know your kids.

I've never had bad service on any cruise line. It's all about the same which is usually very good.

If your going to Norway aren't the ports the most important consideration. I would research the ports and make a decision based on that. If your going for the cruise activities then why go all the way to Norway? When I go to Europe I like to eat a meal in each port. It's part of experiencing the culture. Go for the best price and spend the extra money actually seeing the country.

I've done Iceland\Norway and two northerns Europeans on DCL. Any questions on the ports feel free to ask.

 

[DCLMP]

I would, of the options, do the Celebrity cruise.

I was really unimpressed by main dining on royal. Upcharges for certain food items, and the food itself, to me, was underwhelming. Not at the level I have had in main dining on DCL (having been on Magic and Dream). I did not try speciality dining, as the RCL cruise I did, we were with family, who looked down on the idea of paying extra for a meal.

I hear great things about celebrity.

A teenager, I would imagine, would be quite bored on any ship. RCL does have better entertainment for that group - but I don't know what Liberty has specifically... I don't think it is one of their oldest ships, but also don't believe it is an Oasis class.

So, unless the entertainment offerings (say, Go-Carts, Laser Tag, Rock-Climbing - and idk if that ship has them or not) would really appeal to the son, I'd say go Celebrity. Great itinerary, cheapest price, and probably the best food of the three lines.

Teenagers do not get bored on cruise ships unless they are anti-social or if they are social and there are no other teens onboard. Teens are all about hanging out with other teens.

 

[Flossbolna]

I like the Celebrity itinerary the best. We cruised on the Magic to Norway in 2015 and visited Geiranger and it was amazing. Also i really loved Bergen as it is a decent sized city. We just explored on our own and there was much to see.

About Alaska: people have reported that hotels in Vancouver are very pricey next summer due to the Soccer World Cup. You might take that into consideration.

 

[chamberlain]

My husband and I (empty nesters) cruised on the Celebrity Apex to Norway 2 years ago and loved the ship and Norway! Food was great, ship was beautiful but no knowledge on teen activities. The fjords and ports are really the stars of the cruise so sailing on Royal or Disney would be nice as well.

We did Alaska last August on Celebrity and again had an awesome time. We love Disney and have sailed with them several times but for the price we felt Celebrity was a good choice for both trips. If you choose some excursions that your teen is interested in maybe the ship won’t matter as much? Just a thought.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've done Alaska and Norway, both on RCL. Trying to decide between the two of them would be difficult but you might be tempted to go for the one that is more convenient, less expensive to actually get to. For many, a flight to Seattle or Vancouver would be less expensive than a flight to London (most Norway cruises leave from Southhamption).

Both are spectacular cruises. I'd rate the Norway one the most spectacular scenery, but Alaska is not far behind. Price wise, you will probably find that a Disney cruise is more expensive than a similar cabin on Royal/Celebrity for the same itinerary and dates. The experience on board will be similar with Disney of course having the best entertainment. If you like to gamble though your choice is Royal or Celebrity.

The ports in Norway are really interesting and not quite as "touristy" as the Alaska port's seem to have become. The star attraction of Norway is the spectacular scenery as you sail in the fjords. Yes, Alaska has some great sights too but I give Norway the edge.

Ideally you should do both!

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I did the 2022 Norwegian Fjords on Disney Magic. The ports were Alesund, Stavanger, Nordfjordeid and Eidfjord.

Alesund, Nordfjordeid and Eidfjord were the standout ports and are small towns / villages far inland. The sail ins and sail outs are just spectacular. As they are located at the end of the fjords it takes a couple of hours to sail in through each of the fjords. I had an inside room and I got up early each morning and was on the top deck , just taking in the amazing sights of the mountains each side of the ship as we moved inland through the fjord.

Stavanger is a big city and while its main tourist attraction is the hike to Pulpit Rock, after being in the small Fjord towns, it was like a jolt back to reality. I have been to a lot of European cities on land based trips and Stavanger just felt like any other European city.

If I had a chance to return to Norway on a cruise, I would choose an itinerary which had Alesund, Nordfjordeid and other small towns / villages inland in the Fjords. I would save Stavanger for a land based trip.

If I had a chance to return to Norway on a cruise, I would choose a smaller ship over the big bells and whistles ships. The outside experience, the fjords, the mountains, the waterfalls and the small towns and villages are what make a Norway cruise special and different compared to other itineraries. Norway both the Government and the local people are turning against the cruising industry in a big way. They do not want the big ships and huge crowds of people which they feel are destroying their peaceful and unspoiled land. The ports which cruise ships can go to are being limited each year, which reflects in the itineraries. That is why Disney Dream is not going to deep water fjords.

 

[DCLMP]

The ships make a stop in Belgium. I would choose Bruges over Rotterdam.

 

[shosh1530]

I have booked my cruise for Norway but haven't done it yet. We looked at Disney first but as you said, itinerary isn't ideal. I booked with Holland America. You haven't listed them but seems to be worth a look.

I looked at Holland America and NCL early on but many of the options included Iceland (not that I'm opposed to Iceland) and were longer than 7 nights.

But I did just check again and saw that Holland America has a 7 night out of Rotterdam on the Rotterdam: Alesund, Olden, Nordjord (cruising), Odda, Hardangerfjord (cruising), Bergen.

Total price is the cheapest of all the options $4900.

 

[shosh1530]

I would, of the options, do the Celebrity cruise.

I was really unimpressed by main dining on royal. Upcharges for certain food items, and the food itself, to me, was underwhelming. Not at the level I have had in main dining on DCL (having been on Magic and Dream). I did not try speciality dining, as the RCL cruise I did, we were with family, who looked down on the idea of paying extra for a meal.

I hear great things about celebrity.

A teenager, I would imagine, would be quite bored on any ship. RCL does have better entertainment for that group - but I don't know what Liberty has specifically... I don't think it is one of their oldest ships, but also don't believe it is an Oasis class.

So, unless the entertainment offerings (say, Go-Carts, Laser Tag, Rock-Climbing - and idk if that ship has them or not) would really appeal to the son, I'd say go Celebrity. Great itinerary, cheapest price, and probably the best food of the three lines.

Liberty of the Seas is getting "amplified" this spring which I take to be a shipwide refurb. They are adding more cabins, changing some restaurant venues, redoing the pool deck, expanding the casino (zero interest to us) and adding an escape room.

They have some big water slides and the flowrider. I imagine my teen would try those things even in colder temperatures as he enjoyed the pools on the Wonder even on a 40 degree day (but I assume in stormy weather they wouldn't be open). They also have the rock climbing, mini golf, and an ice skating rink (that last one sounds fun to me).

He did say that the idea of less little kids on a ship like Celebrity would be appealing (guess he is growing up!).

 

[DCLMP]

I looked at Holland America and NCL early on but many of the options included Iceland (not that I'm opposed to Iceland) and were longer than 7 nights.

But I did just check again and saw that Holland America has a 7 night out of Rotterdam on the Rotterdam: Alesund, Olden, Nordjord (cruising), Odda, Hardangerfjord (cruising), Bergen.

Total price is the cheapest of all the options $4900.

Have you checked Princess? They have several Norway cruises.