Alaska . . . is it really that great?

Mickey of the Villages · May 21, 2019

jlynch924 said:
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My short answer is yes, it is that great. My DD (age 15 at the time)picked the itinerary and chose mountains, bears and eagles over beaches, sun and tropics for that cruise. We thought it would be a bucket list trip, but after going, we all want to do it again one day. In fact, my DH says he wants to retire and work up there for cruise season.

My long answer: As other posters have said, it's not necessarily better than tropical cruises, just different. And gorgeous in a different way. You mentioned the scenery becoming like wallpaper... when you're on a tropical cruise, you're looking pretty much at sea the whole time. Sometimes rolling, but really, just sea. On an Alaskan cruise, you're looking at mountains and glaciers, where there are waterfalls and beautiful changing scenery constantly, along with some pretty cool wildlife.

The ports are, to me, more unique than most tropical ports. It's fascinating to see all of the different foliage there and it's really much less developed than most typical ports on tropical cruises.

My DD LOVED that cruise, so I think there is plenty for the teenage contingent to do.

I think you have a very fair point about the ocean. On a Caribbean cruise the ocean can become wallpaper super fast.

Wonderful wallpaper but still. These are great points.

Cruising Engineer · May 21, 2019

We've completed two Alaska cruises on DCL and loved them. We live in New Mexico and enjoy the coolness of Alaska, waterfalls, lush trees, and the mountains. Coming from a mountainous state, there is a big difference being at 6,000 ft and looking up 5,000 ft to a 11,000 ft peak compared to being at sea level and looking up 11,000 ft to a 11,000 ft peak.

Yo Ho Yo Ho! · May 21, 2019

Yes, its that great! We are beach lovers and have done more Caribbean cruises than anything else, BUT the scenery in Alaska is a must see. Seeing whales surface in the distance while having brunch in Palos........done!

DisneyWishes14 · May 21, 2019

We did an Alaska cruise a few years ago and it was lovely, but, honestly, if I were to do it again, I would do Alaska as a land vacation. You barely see Alaska on the cruises and, yes, the ports are incredibly touristy.

pixiedustedme · May 21, 2019

Mickey of the Villages said:
My wife wants to go to Alaska but I'm not sure I get it. I understand that there is beautiful scenery: mountains, waterfalls, and some wildlife - a glacier. But only while you are looking, right? I've been in the mountains before and after a while it can sort of begin to look like wallpaper - you don't even notice it anymore. The ports also seem to be purely tourist stops. Charming and beautiful tourist stops but still. What am I missing? My wife and I are in our late 40s, we've cruised 8 times with DCL. We have two boys but they would likely not join us on this trip (unless someone says this is a fun trip for tweens/teens).

If you don't value the beauty of nature, Alaska will be wasted on you.

CyndiLouWho · May 21, 2019

anjuan said:
I'll be able to tell you more after our cruise which is in 6 days!! I think it may somewhat depend what you like and if you are used to mountains, etc. I live in flat IL so I am extremely excited for all of the mountain scenery, whale watching, etc and can't wait to sit on my verandah and absorb it all in!!!

We will be on that cruise and we’re from the Chicago burbs.

jdb in AZ · May 21, 2019

DisneyWishes14 said:
We did an Alaska cruise a few years ago and it was lovely, but, honestly, if I were to do it again, I would do Alaska as a land vacation. You barely see Alaska on the cruises and, yes, the ports are incredibly touristy.

We went to Fairbanks and found it to be very touristy as well.

DisneyWishes14 · May 21, 2019

jdb in AZ said:
We went to Fairbanks and found it to be very touristy as well.

I think Denali would be far more interesting than most of the other ports visited by major cruise lines. I guess I should have clarified where I would go if I went again.

Intr3pid · May 22, 2019

The most spectacular, unspoilt mountains we have experienced are the Canadian Rockies between Banff and Jasper. You become tiny - non-existent - amidst those magnificent giants, interspersed with emerald lakes. Alps are very pretty but compact - and definitely overwhelmed by tourism. We plan to visit Himalayas in the next 2 to 3 years, and hope to see how they compare.

That said, fjords will always a special place in my heart. Towering mountains on both sides, glittering calm water, quaint villages, waterfalls, and wildlife! This is exactly where you want to be on a boat, and it's unquestionably a cruise vacation.

Most of the Alaskan cruise marketing is centered around glaciers, but - to me - the real star of the show is the Inside Passage (esp. in BC and southeast Alaska). Sailing through those waterways is an experience unlike any. Glaciers can be cold (well, they are), so you tend to retreat after your photo op. But the Inside Passage carries you through a lush, temperate rainforest with mountains nearly as spectacular as those further inland. You can spend the whole day on your balcony as your ship meanders through...

You will find them in the four corners of the world: Alaska/BC, Norway, Chile, and New Zealand. Make it a point to cruise through them all!

bobbiwoz · May 22, 2019

LoveMickey said:
For what it's worth, we loved staying in Vancouver pre cruise.

Absolutely!
Tonight’s sunset with Vancouver in the foreground!
We were on DCL MC, with a stop in Victoria which is lovely. The flowers, Rhododendrons and Azaleas are peak right now, and I had worried there would not be blooming flowers because it was May!

Tomorrow we leave on Island Princess because we wanted to do a land portion to Denali. We have done the inside passage years ago, and I never felt we were seeing the same things in each port. We were on a smaller RCCL ship and went to Sitka, Hanes, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and some other little mentioned ports.

ArcticTeacher · May 22, 2019

I am fortunate, I have lived in Alaska my whole life. It is a rugged and beautiful place. I heard pas cruisers say the waters coming up from Canada to the inside passage of AK is rough- is that true. We hit a rough area on the Magic in 2007 in the Mediterranean (heading from Italy to southern France). Just curious to hear from past DCL Alaska cruisers.

Van Houten · May 22, 2019

Mickey of the Villages said:
You mention being "spoiled by DCL." Would you mind elaborating on this? We've only sailed on DCL and recognize that its more expensive. We love it but I've always wondered if it was any "better." I mean the pictures of NCL are pretty. Any insight you can offer would be appreciated.

Our first cruise on DCL was with a 7-month old, it was more for us than for the kid; now we have three, and the two older kids (7 and 5) love the atmosphere on Disney ships, love the characters, love the whole dining experience, where they are being gradually spoiled by the serving team. So for the kids, cruising with Mickey is the only way to cruise - and they neither know nor remember anything else. As for adults, when we last sailed on NCL (6 years ago), there was a significant difference between the quality of service on NCL and DCL - which is why we chose to switch to DCL. Since then, DCL had changed, and I'm sure NCL changed as well - but while I'm open to giving them another chance, the rest of the family is not there yet. Realistically, it will likely take a "go - no go" decision due to price difference, but we have not reached that situation yet, even though DCL pricing continues to bring some shock. For now, it's a 3 against 1 vote to go with cheaper category on DCL vs. something (much) nicer on NCL.

Van Houten · May 22, 2019

ArcticTeacher said:
I heard pas cruisers say the waters coming up from Canada to the inside passage of AK is rough- is that true. We hit a rough area on the Magic in 2007 in the Mediterranean (heading from Italy to southern France). Just curious to hear from past DCL Alaska cruisers.

The first and last night of the cruise it can be a bit rough, nothing terrible, but can be quite uncomfortable for those who are sensitive to motion.

cedricandsophie · May 22, 2019

Alaska is definitely worth it. But while we have taken a Disney Cruise there and loved it, I would recommend another cruise line to really see Alaska. If we did it again, I’d take a one way cruise that goes to glacier bay, ending in anchorage or whatever port is closest. Then take a few days to see Denali and or the Kanai peninsula. Princess has cruises like that. You need a smaller ship to get into glacier bay.

Pens Fan · May 22, 2019

jdb in AZ said:
We went to Fairbanks and found it to be very touristy as well.

I agree with this. As much as we love Alaska (we've been there 3 times now for a total of about 5 weeks), we didn't enjoy Fairbanks that much. The scenery was lacking compared to other areas of the state, and it just seemed so staged and hokey, if you know what I mean.

DisneyWishes14 said:
I think Denali would be far more interesting than most of the other ports visited by major cruise lines. I guess I should have clarified where I would go if I went again.

We loved Denali, but we stayed at a wilderness lodge inside of the park (Camp Denali), so avoided the congestion at the entrance. It's truly a magical place if you go about it the right way. I'll never forget waking up to the northern lights in the middle of the night, then walking down to Wonder Lake the next day and finding a moose feeding in the misty morning. One day, my husband and I were hiking and a caribou pretty much followed us for about an hour, just slowly meandering along. When we left the lodge, we flew back to the entrance instead of taking the bus. Flying over Denali is an incredible experience - not to be missed.

One of our favorite towns is Homer - right on the far, far southwestern tip of the state. We fell in love with that little town a couple of years ago and definitely plan to return. Probably the coolest thing we've ever done on vacation was a helicopter tour from Homer to Lake Clarke National Park to look for Alaskan brown bears (spoiler alert: we found them - lots of them!!)

If we ever take another Alaskan cruise, we would only consider the one way itineraries that either end or begin in mainland Alaska. There is just so much to see there.

cruisehopeful · May 22, 2019

I've bee twice and loved it. If I could, I'd go every year or two. That said, it boils down to what you like to do. I love hiking and nature and wild animals. I hate shopping, don't particularly care for dining out or drinking, not impressed by man made beaches.

I met plenty of people on both of my cruises who didn't like it. Many of them cruised often on Disney in the Bahamas and/or the Carribbean. They enjoy sitting on their balcony and reading and having a cold drink. They like to hang out at the pool. You can't really do that on an Alaskan cruise. It gets very cold.

Figure out what you like to do and that will tell you if an Alaskan cruise is worth it for you. DCL has too many sea days for my liking in Alaska. Look at some of the other cruise operators itineraries. I know Princess has great one way options. We had one booked, but sadly cancelled because we needed to replace our roof. Would love to rebook someday, but it may not happen for us.

DisneyWishes14 · May 22, 2019

Pens Fan said:
I agree with this. As much as we love Alaska (we've been there 3 times now for a total of about 5 weeks), we didn't enjoy Fairbanks that much. The scenery was lacking compared to other areas of the state, and it just seemed so staged and hokey, if you know what I mean.

We loved Denali, but we stayed at a wilderness lodge inside of the park (Camp Denali), so avoided the congestion at the entrance. It's truly a magical place if you go about it the right way. I'll never forget waking up to the northern lights in the middle of the night, then walking down to Wonder Lake the next day and finding a moose feeding in the misty morning. One day, my husband and I were hiking and a caribou pretty much followed us for about an hour, just slowly meandering along. When we left the lodge, we flew back to the entrance instead of taking the bus. Flying over Denali is an incredible experience - not to be missed.

One of our favorite towns is Homer - right on the far, far southwestern tip of the state. We fell in love with that little town a couple of years ago and definitely plan to return. Probably the coolest thing we've ever done on vacation was a helicopter tour from Homer to Lake Clarke National Park to look for Alaskan brown bears (spoiler alert: we found them - lots of them!!)

If we ever take another Alaskan cruise, we would only consider the one way itineraries that either end or begin in mainland Alaska. There is just so much to see there.

Thank you so much for your recommendations of Denali and Homer - they both sound amazing!

Mich123 · Jun 3, 2019

I think it's totally worth it. Within days of being on the Wonder in Alaska last year, I was wondering what it would take to go back! We went in late June and the scenery isn't wallpaper, it changes from green to snow and glaciers. Watching the glaciers calving was fascinating, and it was horrifying to hear that the glacier at Endicott Arm had receded a mile since the previous year. We had very warm weather in Vancouver and the first day of our trip, so we were happy to sit poolside and watch the scenery. The wildlife is amazing, too, we spent a lot of time looking for whales and seals along the way to the ports.

We had two kids with us, 19 and 22, both enjoyed the trip. Younger kids seemed to be having a blast, too--we had excursions with kids to dog sledding, Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching. I'm grateful to the 9 year old who alerted us to the bear at the Mendenhall Glacier.

The Wonder was really neat in Alaska (I've only sailed Wonder and Magic so far) because it felt like a river cruise as we sailed through the fjords. It was also cozy to be on the ship as the weather got progressively colder heading north.

Vancouver was also lots of fun. We especially enjoyed Stanley Park. We rented bicycles and rode around the entire park--my 19 year old commented, "This is just like Wii Sport Resort!"

Prior to Alaska, we cruised the Caribbean and Mexican Riviera with DCL. We enjoyed them all, but Alaska was definitely kind of special.

MonaMN · Jun 3, 2019

DisneyWishes14 said:
We did an Alaska cruise a few years ago and it was lovely, but, honestly, if I were to do it again, I would do Alaska as a land vacation. You barely see Alaska on the cruises and, yes, the ports are incredibly touristy.

The ABD Alaska trip looks amazing... but $$$$. Sigh.

xlxo · Jun 4, 2019

They say Alaska is a place you need to visit more than once. Just came back from my third cruise last month. Planning a return trip in a few more years.

you get to explore a coast line that is inaccessible by car
the US currency is accepted at par
English is well spoken there as well as Canada
the mosquito's are safe to feed

The pixie dust loaded Wonder is a great introduction to South East Alaska. Don't forget to budget extra time at your bonus port Vancouver. Lots to see and do there too.

Alaska . . . is it really that great?

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