Alaska: July vs May worth 5K?

[Colbyrsmom]

Weve cruised Alaska 3x with Disney.

1st week in June with oceanview: cold and rainy, no bears, several hummingbirds, some whales, lots of seals, & snow in higher elevations, Tracy arm great.

Last week of July oceanview: warm and sunny, not as buggy as expected, BEARS!!!, lots of whales, sea otters, seals, dolphins, less snow, less rain, Endicott good.

1st week August verandah: very warm and sunny, lots of salmon, no rain, lots of whales, Endicott good.

We really enjoyed July the most and having a verandah since we had beautiful weather....however If I was going in May I would book an ocean view room due to cold and rain.

If you love wildlife and beautiul scenery, you will really enjoy Alaska.

 

[KayKayJS]

We took the first DCL Alaska cruise in May 2017 and our weather was perfect. Couldn't have asked for better. We were in an OV (room 2116).

 

[aggiedog]

No brainer for me, save $5K, go in May, and put the extra money towards another trip or other non-needed but wanted item.

We made a similar choice when the May DCL Baltic cruise was 30% cheaper than the June departure. That meant I pulled my high schoolers out of school 2 days before finals. Not ideal, but it worked out, and we saved a huge chunk of money.

 

[EllieBride]

So glad you posted this, @ofcabbagesandkings! You now have me seriously thinking about May 2019. I was really bummed that I was too late to book a 2018 summer sailing, and I just assumed that I should be looking for a June/July/August date once the 2019 sailings are released. But I have a placeholder discount that will expire in May 2019 and perhaps I should give it some serious consideration. Our kids will be 6 years old by then and I think we would be OK with taking them out of school for a week.

We did an oceanview cabin last summer (our first cruise) because I was too afraid about having them play on the balcony. I think I would be perfectly content to have an oceanview once again. Sounds like I better get started on some cabin research... Any thoughts about when the new itineraries will be released?

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

So glad you posted this, @ofcabbagesandkings! You now have me seriously thinking about May 2019. I was really bummed that I was too late to book a 2018 summer sailing, and I just assumed that I should be looking for a June/July/August date once the 2019 sailings are released. But I have a placeholder discount that will expire in May 2019 and perhaps I should give it some serious consideration. Our kids will be 6 years old by then and I think we would be OK with taking them out of school for a week.

We did an oceanview cabin last summer (our first cruise) because I was too afraid about having them play on the balcony. I think I would be perfectly content to have an oceanview once again. Sounds like I better get started on some cabin research... Any thoughts about when the new itineraries will be released?

It's funny because some of the comments have me swinging back to July again, IF we were to get a verandah, so we could enjoy it! No idea when they will be released, first timer here!

 

[wendydarling33]

My decision would be solely based on the younger one being able to go to the kids club in July (as long as he is the sort who would enjoy that type of thing). That's why we've waited until 3 for both of our kids' first cruise. It makes such a more relaxing trip for the adults (and our kids are the type who cry when we try to pick them up from the kids club).

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Great thread. We are doing 2019 as well, and as a family of 6 the cost is hiiigghh. I have been trying to decide May or high season, verandah or not, etc. I think I have decided to do one verandah with interior across the hall. My oldest will be 20, so that works. Still working on the month decision. The littles get out of school mid May, and early may for my oldest. Labor Day won't work with the college schedule. So it is May, June, July, or first week of Aug.

 

[Frozen2014]

Everyone's financials are different but to me, $5k is a lot of money to save. And you'll be on a Disney ship so even if its too cold to swim (or if your little one isn't toilet trained), there will be tons of other kid friendly things to do.

 

[Jess_S]

I've done two Alaska cruises. The first one was in May and it was shorts weather all week. The second was early September and we needed jackets all week. We spent hours out on deck for both cruises. We just needed hats and mittens to do so on the second cruise. So I wouldn't let perceived ability to use veranda be the deciding factor. I would generally say to book May and keep the money, but your younger son's ability to use the kids club gives me pause. There are lots of open house opportunities when you could take your younger son to the club as a family, so it's not as if he won't get to use the club. But will he be happy with that if his older brother gets to go off without him? And if the answer is no, then is it worth $5000 for whatever additional enjoyment he would get from the clubs?

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

What about booking an Inside Stateroom, saving money that way, and booking the Tracy Arm Day Port Adventure (through Disney) where you transfer to a much smaller ship to view the glaciers up close. We struggled deciding between an inside room and a budget left for port adventures, or a verandah. Everyone says you need a Verandah for Alaska... We ended up loving our Inside room because it was dark (It isn't dark till 10:00pm and is up and bright before 6:00am) and we just walked to Deck 4 or Decks 9 and 10 anytime we wanted views. We were hardly in our stateroom anyway. With small children who nap, maybe you want the verandah to relax on while they sleep... We were glad we did the inside room when we booked that Tracy Arm Adventure. We didn't have to fight at all for room to see the glacier onboard the Wonder on the public decks (one big reason people want the Verandah in Alaska is that Tracy Arm Glacier day when everyone fights for the perfect spot up on deck and you can enjoy your view via your room!). You can check our the internal debate we had over staterooms http://frequentlyaskeddisneyblog.com/disney-alaska-cruise-part-2/ We did cruise in May, the weather was the best they had in months, sunny warm and had up wishing for warmer weather clothes!