Help me with Alaska

[WDWAurora]

I have tried searching but haven’t found what I know I have seen before. We are very interested in cruising to Alaska. We did our first cruise ever on DCL this past August. We had such a good experience that we ended up going for thanksgiving too. We especially liked the family friendly experience with our kids (12 and 10). I feel like I have seen that other cruise lines have better itineraries in Alaska, but am concerned about a more adult atmosphere. Would love feedback.

Also-what are the best places to see? We don’t know anything except I loved Sitka in the movie the proposal.

Price is always a factor, but I’m willing to pay for DCL if that is the best balance of sites/family friendliness.

 

[happycamper47]

We went with our son and his family in 2019. His kids were 14, 10 & 8 and they had a great time. The activities on the ship are all still age related. We did Mendenhal Glacier and Whale watching, the helicopter tour, the duck boat and our son and grandson (10 yr old) did a fishing excursion. So there is plenty for all ages,

 

[sadiecatie]

I haven’t gone yet (sailing in June!), but from everything I’ve seen there isn’t really a standard set of best excursions or anything like that, but there’s a really wide variety and whatever fits your family’s interests and traveling style is what will be best for you. It seems like most ports offer similar varieties of experiences available and no port is going to be short on natural beauty.

I know some have said other cruise lines are preferable for Alaska because they visit glacier bay and DCL doesn’t. Obviously that wasn’t a dealbreaker for us - I wanted an experience that would be fun and relaxing for our whole family, including our 8-year-old daughter, we’re Disney fans, and DCL just seemed like the best bet for us (I was also concerned with other lines being a more adult vibe).

 

[WDWAurora]

I guess I’m trying to figure out if DCL is the best balance of ports and family friendliness. I’d like to stay away from more party oriented cruises (and I know that should be less with Alaska), etc. We don’t drink, have no interest in casinos, and are active.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[justafigment27]

We cruised Alaska with DCL in summer 2019 when my kids were 15 and 17. We had a terrific time and I’m glad we decided to go with DCL.

I went back and forth between DCL and NCL - my issue was mainly price since Disney is so expensive. Ultimately, we compromised and booked an ocean view room on DCL instead of a verandah room on NCL.

Our Alaskan cruise felt like it skewed a bit older than a typical DCL cruise (lots of multigenerational families, older kids, etc.), but the other cruise line passengers we saw in port seemed to skew heavily towards retirees. It seems to me that other cruise ships in Alaska wouldn’t necessarily be party ships … just kind of boring for tweens and teens. While Alaska is port intensive (we had four ports and did an excursion in all of them), you do spend quite a bit of time on the ship and, with DCL, the time on the ship was enjoyable for us all.

 

[Cheburashka]

My son and I loved our Disney Wonder cruise to Alaska. I'm glad we stuck with DCL.

 

[soniam]

We are doing DCL and Alaska for the first time this summer. I would really like to do a one-way sometime; DCL only offers round trips. A one-way allows you to do more interior stuff, like visiting Denali. I think doing DCL for our son will be good, while he still can get into the teen club. I am sure there are kids on other Alaska cruises with other cruise lines, but I know for sure there are kids on DCL. Plus, we tend to do Celebrity if we don't do DCL. Celebrity is definitely lacking as many kids as DCL.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Alaskan cruises are generally not party cruises anyway; people aren't necessarily as young as on some of those "weekend bender" type cruises, plus, Alaska is not generally speaking a cheap destination to cruise, as compared to the Bahamas, Caribbean, etc. The limited season and the fact that it's often smaller ships sailing there is part of the reason.

Price for us makes a massive difference so we would not likely sail DCL to Alaska even though I would love it. It's just SO much more. I'll give you an example. We have been discussing a 7 night cruise this year in July. We are a family of 5 so sometimes the price difference can be nutty, but:

• For 2 adults and 2 kids, an inside room on DCL is coming in at $8,265 USD or $11,029 CAD (conversion given by DCL).
• On Royal Caribbean with very similar dates, an inside room with the same number of guests is $3,584 CAD. It's even less if you let Royal pick your room.

That is a price difference of $7,445 CAD or about $5,580 USD. I love DCL, but I can't justify that kind of price difference for a very similar itinerary. I could spend all of that money on excursions, for example. But everyone's price tolerance is different.

Last year we sailed with Holland America to Alaska. DCL pricing for the 5 of us was coming in at $12,000 or so CAD, we ended up paying $4,000 to HAL.

I will say my kids had a great time on HAL and one of the biggest perks is the retractable roof over the main pool, meaning they could swim till late at night and we could all watch movies poolside without getting rained on or being cold.

 

[WDWAurora]

Alaskan cruises are generally not party cruises anyway; people aren't necessarily as young as on some of those "weekend bender" type cruises, plus, Alaska is not generally speaking a cheap destination to cruise, as compared to the Bahamas, Caribbean, etc. The limited season and the fact that it's often smaller ships sailing there is part of the reason.

Price for us makes a massive difference so we would not likely sail DCL to Alaska even though I would love it. It's just SO much more. I'll give you an example. We have been discussing a 7 night cruise this year in July. We are a family of 5 so sometimes the price difference can be nutty, but:

• For 2 adults and 2 kids, an inside room on DCL is coming in at $8,265 USD or $11,029 CAD (conversion given by DCL).
• On Royal Caribbean with very similar dates, an inside room with the same number of guests is $3,584 CAD. It's even less if you let Royal pick your room.

That is a price difference of $7,445 CAD or about $5,580 USD. I love DCL, but I can't justify that kind of price difference for a very similar itinerary. I could spend all of that money on excursions, for example. But everyone's price tolerance is different.

Last year we sailed with Holland America to Alaska. DCL pricing for the 5 of us was coming in at $12,000 or so CAD, we ended up paying $4,000 to HAL.

I will say my kids had a great time on HAL and one of the biggest perks is the retractable roof over the main pool, meaning they could swim till late at night and we could all watch movies poolside without getting rained on or being cold.

I need your dates/itinerary. I didn’t find much cheaper than the GTY rates I found on Disney.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I need your dates/itinerary. I didn’t find much cheaper than the GTY rates I found on Disney.

Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas - July 16-23, 2023
Vancouver --> inside passage --> Sitka, Juneau, Hubbard Glacier (cruising), Ketchikan.
$3,524.00 CAD for inside room, 2A2K

Disney Wonder - July 17-24, 2023
Vancouver --> inside passage --> Dawes Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan.
$11,029.48 CAD ($8,265.84 USD) for standard inside room, 2A2K

one more to compare
Holland America Koningsdam - July 15-22, 2023 (this is the ship we sailed in 2022)
Vancouver --> inside passage --> Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan
$5,376.80 CAD for oceanview room, 2A2K (inside rooms seem to be sold out)
$8,132.80 CAD if you choose the "Have it all" which includes beverage package, specialty dining, some on board credit, and excursion credit, and right now a free upgrade to a balcony room

 

[Carohs]

We decided to do a CCL ship to Alaska because of the price difference, and also to try another line since DCL was our first cruising experience. We had an amazing time in ports and the kids had just as much fun in the clubs. What was missing was family activities and funnel vision movies. What we got instead was a casino (we don't gamble) and smoking near the pool, yuk!! It wasn't the party vibe we were prepared for with CCL, but still the crowd skewed older with only a dozen or so kids onboard. I'm willing to continue to give other cruise lines a chance, but I know that DCL will always come first in our hearts.

 

[Anna131517]

The two big things to consider for Alaska are (1) does the cruise go to Glacier Bay, and (2) do you want a one-way cruise so you can also do a land tour? Glacier Bay only allows a certain number of ships per day and is considered by many to be the hallmark of a good Alaskan cruise. Seeing the coastline of Alaska is only seeing half of Alaska - the interior is very different. If you want to see the interior then you need a one-way cruise either starting or stopping in Alaska. We’re sailing NCL to Alaska this summer on an extended family vacation and everyone else in our group is doing a land tour after the cruise docks in Seward. We aren’t doing a land tour because our kids are younger (5, 7, 9) so we’re just going to take the train to Anchorage, spend a couple days there, then head home. I’ve found less can sometimes be more when it comes to vacations and kids! My husband and I have both already seen the interior of Alaska so we don’t feel a huge need to do that again on this trip.

 

[mousefan73]

We have been looking at Alaska one-way sailings. we like the itinerary and are really looking at what the ships offer concerning indoor pools ( if any),indoor lounges with views. Seeing weather can be a factor here. Add in DCL pricing - a nope for DCL for us and we have teens. The focus is Alaska not Disney for this trip.

 

[Anna131517]

We have been looking at Alaska one-way sailings. we like the itinerary and are really looking at what the ships offer concerning indoor pools ( if any),indoor lounges with views. Seeing weather can be a factor here. Add in DCL pricing - a nope for DCL for us and we have teens. The focus is Alaska not Disney for this trip.

Then look l at Holland America, Princess, and NCL. Princess has their own resorts and rail cars in Alaska for land tours. Holland America was the first to cruise Alaska. I personally like NCL’s freestyle dining. All three have ships that go to Glacier Bay.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We looked at lots of options and ultimately settled on Holland America for summer 2023. Biggest factor ultimately became Glacier Bay--we really want to see that. For a while we looked at NCL Bliss which has amazing indoor areas for viewing the scenery. Princess got knocked out of consideration for us because I think it has 2 formal nights on a 7-night and we don't want to do that. Our schedules this year won't allow for a longer trip that includes a land-based portion, so that was already out of consideration.

My experience with my kids on DCL is they love it, but they wear themselves out with the clubs (kids clubs and then as they got older, the tween and teen clubs). For an itinerary where I want everyone up early for scenery or excursions, I was concerned about that.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We looked at lots of options and ultimately settled on Holland America for summer 2023. Biggest factor ultimately became Glacier Bay--we really want to see that. For a while we looked at NCL Bliss which has amazing indoor areas for viewing the scenery. Princess got knocked out of consideration for us because I think it has 2 formal nights on a 7-night and we don't want to do that. Our schedules this year won't allow for a longer trip that includes a land-based portion, so that was already out of consideration.

My experience with my kids on DCL is they love it, but they wear themselves out with the clubs (kids clubs and then as they got older, the tween and teen clubs). For an itinerary where I want everyone up early for scenery or excursions, I was concerned about that.

Great choice. Are you on the Koningsdam? I think both the K'dam and Volendam have a great indoor area, the exploration lounge/crows nest - to view the scenery. It fills up SUPER early. On the Koningsdam, they also opened up the bow on deck 5 the morning of Glacier Bay and for most of the day. Super area to view the glaciers! They also serve dutch pea soup (free) and mulled wine (not free) all day on Glacier Bay day.

 

[Keyser]

Our Alaskan cruise felt like it skewed a bit older than a typical DCL cruise (lots of multigenerational families, older kids, etc.), but the other cruise line passengers we saw in port seemed to skew heavily towards retirees. It seems to me that other cruise ships in Alaska wouldn’t necessarily be party ships … just kind of boring for tweens and teens. While Alaska is port intensive (we had four ports and did an excursion in all of them), you do spend quite a bit of time on the ship and, with DCL, the time on the ship was enjoyable for us all.

I think this is true, and we actually heard the exact same thing when talking to a tour operator in Skagway - he said the Disney cruises were very noticeably younger and families compared to all the other lines. I know my sister went later with her family on a different line (that was supposedly "better") and did not enjoy it nearly as much as we did (I think they'd have enjoyed DCL, though).

I think what you are looking at is that other lines might offer "better" itineraries (due to Glacier Bay,1-way so you can do a land portion, or maybe stopping in a port you want), and some (but not all) can be cheaper. Disney offers all the Disney aspects and the more family-oriented parts. The ports themselves (if you stop at the same ones) are the same either way. As others have mentioned, Disney does occasionally go to Sitka, but it's not on the majority of their cruises, so if that's important to you, you will have limited DCL options. It kind of comes down to your priorities

For us, we chose to go on DCL for our Alaska trip for a couple reasons: We had not cruised many times (that was our third cruise), but knew we were happy with DCL. That was our 20th anniversary, and would likely be our only time to go to Alaska; we didn't we want to "risk" it and would rather pay for something we were pretty confident we'd like. We also were traveling with our family, and knew the kids would like the ship itself, regardless of the ports (they ended up liking those, too, but it was not such a given at first). In retrospect, we're really glad we went with DCL, but I can easily see why others might choose different routes. Maybe if we get to go back some day, we'll try a different line/itinerary, but if that turns out to be our only trip to Alaska, I'm glad we did it that way.

 

[Heartdisney101]

Ports and itineraries.

You are pretty much guaranteed to do the 3 port Inner Passage + a glacier viewing day. The variations come by adding Sitka or Icy Strait Point, perhaps Haines (rare). Glacier Bay is beautiful, but is restricted by permits that are mainly held by Princess, Holland America Line, Cunard, or NCL.

I have sailed Princess and NCL on Glacier Bay itineraries. While it is a nice day of viewing multiple glaciers, it could get old for some. I actually prefer visiting College Fjord, done on a Northbound (one-way) cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage on Princess. You can see many glaciers at a time from several locations in a shorter period of time (and end up going to Anchorage - we then took the train, 12 hours, through the interior to Fairbanks before flying home.

It is easy to spend a lot of money on excursions - and do a lot of once in a lifetime adventures - thanks to the beauty of SE Alaska. Helicopter or float plane flights cover a lot of territory, especially over the Tongass Forrest near Ketchikan or the glaciers out of Skagway (done both). Whale watch tours from Juneau. Summer training camps with dog sled teams. A train ride up the mountain from Skagway.

You can hike, bike, raft. Visit wildlife centers, gardens, or culturally-focused education. The excursions are fairly standardized from year to year and on all cruise lines. I would imagine there may be some Disney ones with their own touch, but the beauty of Alaska does need enhancement.

I am a fan of whale-watching excursions and a visit to Mendenhall Glacier (often doing a combo tour of these while in Juneau). Whale watching is somewhat like watching soccer: you spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen. If you turn away at the wrong time, you might miss something spectacular. But it is fascinating to see flip of the tail or a breach out of water. And it’s a boat ride in a spectacular setting.

(My favorite whale-watch combo was in Icy Strait Point, combined with a zipline ride, seated, of nearly a mile long. Wow. Could do that every year.)

Over the years, our family has done

Whale watching
Mendenhall Glacier
Helicopter tour with glacier landing
Float Plane over Tongass Forrest with lake landing
Zodiac boat excursion, Ketchikan
Visit to Haines with boat excursion
White Pass &Yukon Railway
Lumberjack show, Ketchikan
Bike, Hike, and raft
Kayaking
Ziplines

Rented car for drive from Skagway to Whitehorse Yukon Territories
Walk Around Ketchikan and Skagway (no need for transportation to get the feel)
Enjoy crab at Tracy’s Crab Shack or fish and chips (both Juneau)

Some activities we repeat, others are a one-and-done.

Some have been booked through a cruise line, some through independent operators, and others DIY.

We have sailed mid-May, late May, late June, mid-July, and early September.

The weather has not been significantly different from cruise to cruise, but it can vary from week to week. You just pack and dress in layers. (Sure, our mid-July was warmer, but I still needed a coat). Unlike a Caribbean cruise, a 10 degree variation in temp is not as significant.

Early- or late-season cruising can mean an activity is not running (lots of college students work here). Hotel costs pre-cruise or flights may also be less expensive. Vancouver is not a cheap pre-cruise hotel stay, nor are flights to Canada.

…There are lots of threads on this forum regarding various aspects of cruising to Alaska. But ask away for direct questions. It’s easy to talk about this destination once you have experienced it. It brings up good memories.

At the Alaskan ports, is it at a town where you can walk through and explore on your own without renting a car or going far? I saw you said that for Ketchikan and Skagway, but is it true for the others as well?