Disney or ?: Still on the fence

[astro2001]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm hoping this great resource of expert cruisers can help us get off this fence!

 

My wife and I are still in the planning stages for taking my 70 and 72 year old parents to Alaska. We will be travelling with our children, who will be 4, 6, and 8.

 

We've been on several Disney cruises out of FL (also with the grandparents), and everyone enjoyed them, so our default starting point for Alaska was also Disney given the kiddos. However, after doing more reseach, the Disney itenerary does seem to be the least appealing (relatively speaking), so we are taking a good look at Princess and maybe others. On the other hand, having Mickey and friends on the boat could be a nice break from what may seem like endless Alaska sightseeing to the children.

 

So when we look outside the Disney box, here is the cruise type we would like:

 

1. Thinking 7 days, but open to up to 10 days. Prefer roundtrip from Vancouver, so no land portion, though we're open to folks who say that if you haven't seen Denali, etc, then you haven't seen AK. (This will be the first -- and perhaps only -- Alaska cruise we take, so one arguement is that we should do it all, and the other side is that we will be impressed whether or not we go inland.)

 

2. Since we are likely not doing a cruisetour, we would like to try a rail excursion in Skagway and a helicopter/dogsled somewhere... Is this a decent tradeoff, or would you say forget these tours and use the money to go to Denali?

 

3. Glacier Bay and Hubbard a big bonus. I don't even know if I can get a roundtrip that includes Glacier Bay or Hubbard, but from what I read, getting into Tracy Arm on Disney is an even longer-shot due to weather so I'm more nervous counting on that for our glacier experience.

 

4. Heated/covered pool a plus (this would go a long way in offsetting the lack of Disney characters)

 

5. Other kids activities a bonus (doesn't Royal Carib. have Shrek, etc.?)

 

We are up in the air. We know the grandparents would enjoy seeing Alaska, but they also enjoy anything when the grandkids are having fun.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on any of these areas!

 

Ryan

[CruiserBruce]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm hoping this great resource of expert cruisers can help us get off this fence!

 

My wife and I are still in the planning stages for taking my 70 and 72 year old parents to Alaska. We will be travelling with our children, who will be 4, 6, and 8.

 

We've been on several Disney cruises out of FL (also with the grandparents), and everyone enjoyed them, so our default starting point for Alaska was also Disney given the kiddos. However, after doing more reseach, the Disney itenerary does seem to be the least appealing (relatively speaking), so we are taking a good look at Princess and maybe others. On the other hand, having Mickey and friends on the boat could be a nice break from what may seem like endless Alaska sightseeing to the children.

 

So when we look outside the Disney box, here is the cruise type we would like:

 

1. Thinking 7 days, but open to up to 10 days. Prefer roundtrip from Vancouver, so no land portion, though we're open to folks who say that if you haven't seen Denali, etc, then you haven't seen AK. (This will be the first -- and perhaps only -- Alaska cruise we take, so one arguement is that we should do it all, and the other side is that we will be impressed whether or not we go inland.) There aren't many 10 day Alaska cruises. Princess out of SF comes to mind. 7 day is the MUCH more common.

 

2. Since we are likely not doing a cruisetour, we would like to try a rail excursion in Skagway and a helicopter/dogsled somewhere... Is this a decent tradeoff, or would you say forget these tours and use the money to go to Denali? Personally, I would do those excursions.

 

3. Glacier Bay and Hubbard a big bonus. I don't even know if I can get a roundtrip that includes Glacier Bay or Hubbard, but from what I read, getting into Tracy Arm on Disney is an even longer-shot due to weather so I'm more nervous counting on that for our glacier experience. Princess and HAL have about 80% or more of the Glacier Bay permits.

 

4. Heated/covered pool a plus (this would go a long way in offsetting the lack of Disney characters) Every HAL ship (and there will be 6 or 7) has a covered pool.

 

5. Other kids activities a bonus (doesn't Royal Carib. have Shrek, etc.?)

 

We are up in the air. We know the grandparents would enjoy seeing Alaska, but they also enjoy anything when the grandkids are having fun.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on any of these areas!

 

Ryan

 

Keep reading down the board. Most the info I just gave you is here on the board.

[1025cruise]

I am not aware of any 7 day roundtrip out of Vancouver. The point of them starting in Vancouver is so they can do a 7 day one way and dock in Alaska, then another 7 day back to Vancouver. You can get a 7 day roundtrip out of Seattle. In all honesty, most people cruise Alaska for the itinerary, not the ship, so find the itinerary that suits you best.

I can definitely recommend the train in Skagway.

[alaska_planner]

I am not aware of any 7 day roundtrip out of Vancouver. The point of them starting in Vancouver is so they can do a 7 day one way and dock in Alaska, then another 7 day back to Vancouver. You can get a 7 day roundtrip out of Seattle. In all honesty, most people cruise Alaska for the itinerary, not the ship, so find the itinerary that suits you best.

I can definitely recommend the train in Skagway.

 

disney has a 7 day round trip out of vancouver in 2013. (they had it in 2011, then switched to seattle in 2012, and now are switching back to vancouver)

[alaska_planner]

now that DCL is going back to vancouver, it's a much better cruise than it was out of seattle.

 

personally, i think that a one way is much better than a round trip, but if your heart is set on a round trip, then i'd go with disney.

except for the lack of the swimming pool (which we never used anyway), you really can't go wrong with DCL.

They'll have a lot of kid friendly excursions in the ports.

 

but again, if it were me, i'd do the one way - but i can understand not wanting to do inland alaska with kids - even though you really haven't seen alaska if you haven't been up in the mainland area of alaska (rather than just the area seen by cruise ships)..

 

but you have to pick what's right for you.

[alaska_planner]

if you are considering a one way - i'd go with RCCL - very kid friendly.

 

i'd take the radiance southbound out of seward after doing a bit of touring around on your own.

 

the other advantage of the one way RCCL (over the other one way cruise lines) - in addition to being kid friendly, they have 4 ports instead of 3 (most of the others only have 3)...there are fun excursions for kids in each port.....

[narsibvl]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm hoping this great resource of expert cruisers can help us get off this fence!

 

My wife and I are still in the planning stages for taking my 70 and 72 year old parents to Alaska. We will be travelling with our children, who will be 4, 6, and 8.

 

We've been on several Disney cruises out of FL (also with the grandparents), and everyone enjoyed them, so our default starting point for Alaska was also Disney given the kiddos. However, after doing more reseach, the Disney itenerary does seem to be the least appealing (relatively speaking), so we are taking a good look at Princess and maybe others. On the other hand, having Mickey and friends on the boat could be a nice break from what may seem like endless Alaska sightseeing to the children.

 

So when we look outside the Disney box, here is the cruise type we would like:

 

1. Thinking 7 days, but open to up to 10 days. Prefer roundtrip from Vancouver, so no land portion, though we're open to folks who say that if you haven't seen Denali, etc, then you haven't seen AK. (This will be the first -- and perhaps only -- Alaska cruise we take, so one arguement is that we should do it all, and the other side is that we will be impressed whether or not we go inland.)

 

2. Since we are likely not doing a cruisetour, we would like to try a rail excursion in Skagway and a helicopter/dogsled somewhere... Is this a decent tradeoff, or would you say forget these tours and use the money to go to Denali?

 

3. Glacier Bay and Hubbard a big bonus. I don't even know if I can get a roundtrip that includes Glacier Bay or Hubbard, but from what I read, getting into Tracy Arm on Disney is an even longer-shot due to weather so I'm more nervous counting on that for our glacier experience.

 

4. Heated/covered pool a plus (this would go a long way in offsetting the lack of Disney characters)

 

5. Other kids activities a bonus (doesn't Royal Carib. have Shrek, etc.?)

 

We are up in the air. We know the grandparents would enjoy seeing Alaska, but they also enjoy anything when the grandkids are having fun.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on any of these areas!

 

Ryan

 

My 2 cents...

 

We are a Disney cruise fanatics too....the kids do go all bright eyed when we start talking about another Disney cruise...so naturally it was a very hard decision to make, but we did... not doing the roundtrip from Vancouver with Disney for our 2013 trip.

 

Couple of things I frequently hear from this board. Alaska should be a port-intensive itinerary. So the downside of a round trip from Vancouver is that there is all the more less time in the ports. I would strictly advise a one-way trip, yes booking flights is a pain but I am told it is well worth it.

 

Secondly, we went with the cruise tour option. Needless to say, we are doing the Land portion first and then the cruise. We are doing the Royal Carribean Cruise tour 1. A long vacation in fact - 2 weeks. Some people advise against doing a cruise tour with small kids(Our daughter is 4). Hopefully we wouldn't regret not heeding to their advise :) .

 

RCL has the shrek characters etc but not on the Radiance class ships yet.

 

We are on the fence about the rail tour in Skagway, for one we are there on a Monday the most we can do is the tour upto Fraser and then take a motorcoach to Carcoss. If we had the train from Fraser to Carcoss then it would be a no-brainer.

 

The only itini as far as I know that give you both hubbard glacier and Glacier bay is the Princess Southbound ones.

 

I know that Radiance has a heated covered solarium. Not sure about the other ships.

 

Hope this helps.

[emeltee]

I almost could've written the same post as you last year. (Who knows, maybe I even asked something a similear question when I first joined CC?!) I'm planning for me, DH, brother, my kids (4&8) and my parents (72 & 80).

 

My family are huge Disney fans - we had annual passes to DL this past year.

 

However, I decided that Alaska is really the star of the cruise and that Disney should be reserved for other times. One day, we really want to try to go on a Disney Caribbean cruise as we have several friends who have said nothing but rave reviews. Plus, Disney doesn't go to Glacier Bay, which I've read is THE place to see on a cruise.

 

The only cruiselines that go to Glacier Bay are Princess, HAL & NCL.

 

I'm pretty sure we're doing a one-way SB Princess cruise.

 

I haven't really given thought to the types of pools, but I think they the kids' clubs are similar enough across the lines in that (at least my) kids would be fine spending time in any of them.

 

I'm going back and forth on whether or not to see Denali with the kids. My brother really wants to do land touring, so we may split up when we do the land portion.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

 

 

I'm going back and forth on whether or not to see Denali with the kids. My brother really wants to do land touring, so we may split up when we do the land portion.

 

 

Alaska cruises are so port intensive you have very little time to use the pools after the first sea day. We were tired by the time we got back to the ship each day.

 

I agree that it is a good idea to split up for some of your excursions. We did that. We wanted a whale watch excursion and our travel companions get seasick. Decide in advance that you can do some things together and others apart.

[chipmaster]

IMHO Disney / Mouse experience is great, but... Alakask is all about the scenic cruising, I think another poster mentioned this, but I believe Glacier Bay is not sailed by Disney, I'd not spend premium on Disney without getting Glacer Bay. To this day regret on my last Alaska choose a sailing that did Tracy Arm, while nice it ain't no Glacier Bay.

 

During the summer all lines will have kids and club activities, will it be mouse like, no but good enough. You are going to Alaska for the scenic I think :D

[Budget Queen]

 

Couple of things I frequently hear from this board. Alaska should be a port-intensive itinerary. So the downside of a round trip from Vancouver is that there is all the more less time in the ports. I would strictly advise a one-way trip, yes booking flights is a pain but I am told it is well worth it.

 

 

 

 

The only itini as far as I know that give you both hubbard glacier and Glacier bay is the Princess Southbound ones.

.

 

NCL has both glaciers on their Sun itinerary.

 

Have you cruised Alaska? And done both routings? Sorry, but most one ways, have the Gulf of Alaska sailing segment open ocean, very few do coastal anymore. A round trip Vancouver can do the most scenic sailing along with a good routing and port times. So it certainly can be an excellent choice to consider with a one way- not superior depending the overall plans.

[Budget Queen]

I am not aware of any 7 day roundtrip out of Vancouver. The point of them starting in Vancouver is so they can do a 7 day one way and dock in Alaska, then another 7 day back to Vancouver. You can get a 7 day roundtrip out of Seattle. In all honesty, most people cruise Alaska for the itinerary, not the ship, so find the itinerary that suits you best.

I can definitely recommend the train in Skagway.

 

Celebrity and HAL have round trip Vanocuver sailings, which are excellent itineraries to consider.

[narsibvl]

NCL has both glaciers on their Sun itinerary.

 

Have you cruised Alaska? And done both routings? Sorry, but most one ways, have the Gulf of Alaska sailing segment open ocean, very few do coastal anymore. A round trip Vancouver can do the most scenic sailing along with a good routing and port times. So it certainly can be an excellent choice to consider with a one way- not superior depending the overall plans.

 

 

I am not sure I fully understand. Can you elaborate with regards to gulf of Alaska and Coastal for the roundtrips.

[frugaltravel]

The problem with the "Alaska is all about the scenery" line is that it is true, but not for kids (and you will be traveling with three of them!). Honestly, most kids get bored out of their minds after a couple of minutes of seeing a glacier. You have to choose what is best for YOU, not what others might feel is best, which might or might not be best for you.

[sherryf]

However, I decided that Alaska is really the star of the cruise and that Disney should be reserved for other times. One day, we really want to try to go on a Disney Caribbean cruise as we have several friends who have said nothing but rave reviews. Plus, Disney doesn't go to Glacier Bay, which I've read is THE place to see on a cruise.

 

This is pretty much how I feel about it. I love Disney, enough that I've chaperoned 2 middle-school band trips to Disneyland and plan to chaperon a high school trip this spring, just for an excuse to get to go to Disneyland.

 

But, Alaska is all about the scenery, nature, glaciers, history, culture, etc. I think all the Disney characters with detract from that.

 

I've been to Alaska twice with my kids. In 2001 we went with Carnival when the kids were 2, 5 and 8. They enjoyed the kids club and the covered pool. It was a big family trip and that was what worked best for everyone. In 2011 we went on Princess when the kids were 12, 15 and 18. The younger two went to the kid/teen clubs enough to meet people and then hung out with them all week. They went in the pools every day, both indoor and outdoor, but they are Seattle-area natives, so they are pretty hardy when it comes to cool weather in the summer. Both trips were great and the kids had a lot of fun.

 

I do agree that Glacier Bay is superior to Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glaciers. Our first trip went to Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord and those are both great too. I'd avoid a cruise that only goes to Tracy Arm, but any of the others would be good.

[Budget Queen]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm hoping this great resource of expert cruisers can help us get off this fence!

 

My wife and I are still in the planning stages for taking my 70 and 72 year old parents to Alaska. We will be travelling with our children, who will be 4, 6, and 8.

 

We've been on several Disney cruises out of FL (also with the grandparents), and everyone enjoyed them, so our default starting point for Alaska was also Disney given the kiddos. However, after doing more reseach, the Disney itenerary does seem to be the least appealing (relatively speaking), so we are taking a good look at Princess and maybe others. On the other hand, having Mickey and friends on the boat could be a nice break from what may seem like endless Alaska sightseeing to the children.

 

So when we look outside the Disney box, here is the cruise type we would like:

 

1. Thinking 7 days, but open to up to 10 days. Prefer roundtrip from Vancouver, so no land portion, though we're open to folks who say that if you haven't seen Denali, etc, then you haven't seen AK. (This will be the first -- and perhaps only -- Alaska cruise we take, so one arguement is that we should do it all, and the other side is that we will be impressed whether or not we go inland.)

 

2. Since we are likely not doing a cruisetour, we would like to try a rail excursion in Skagway and a helicopter/dogsled somewhere... Is this a decent tradeoff, or would you say forget these tours and use the money to go to Denali?

 

3. Glacier Bay and Hubbard a big bonus. I don't even know if I can get a roundtrip that includes Glacier Bay or Hubbard, but from what I read, getting into Tracy Arm on Disney is an even longer-shot due to weather so I'm more nervous counting on that for our glacier experience.

 

4. Heated/covered pool a plus (this would go a long way in offsetting the lack of Disney characters)

 

5. Other kids activities a bonus (doesn't Royal Carib. have Shrek, etc.?)

 

We are up in the air. We know the grandparents would enjoy seeing Alaska, but they also enjoy anything when the grandkids are having fun.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on any of these areas!

 

Ryan

 

Some points to perhaps focus on. Decide what routing, then your cruise selection will be managable. Otherwise, you are going to be all over the place in the itineraries.

 

10 days is not enough time for Denali Park and a cruise, in my opinion. Most all your time will be in transit. As an example, if you consider Princess- it would be 10 hours on a train, hopefully you would get INTO Denali Park, then 8 hours by rail or 5 hours by road Denali/Anchorage. Yep some people do this, just know all the details for an informed choice- and the right choice. :)

 

As for a cruise- I mention deciding the route first. Then you can focus on and compare itineraries. It totally depends on you. There aren't any "bad" cruises for Alaska. People enjoy them all, so I do not agree with some of the above- definative "recommendations", which could be based on limited first hand experience. Perhaps, also consider spending some time and reading some trip reviews. Easy to find on this board.

 

You've already found out about and selected some activities of interest. In my opinion, activies are "necessary" or you get half a trip without them.

 

If you haven't head to your library, get Alaska by Cruiseship, along with other Alaska travel books.

[Budget Queen]

I am not sure I fully understand. Can you elaborate with regards to gulf of Alaska and Coastal for the roundtrips.

 

You claimed the one way was a superior choice, I asked if you have sailed both routings?

 

My point is some one ways, have essentially a "sea" day sailing across the Gulf. A round trip Vancouver, can have two very scenic sailing days sailing inside Vancouver Island, and the Queen Charlottes. That may be a very enjoyable cruise for some, with round trip Vancouver not being= having a "downside"- that you claim.

[Budget Queen]

The problem with the "Alaska is all about the scenery" line is that it is true, but not for kids (and you will be traveling with three of them!). Honestly, most kids get bored out of their minds after a couple of minutes of seeing a glacier. You have to choose what is best for YOU, not what others might feel is best, which might or might not be best for you.

 

I too find this very true, it is a rare- under 18 year old, who has much scenery interest. :)

 

A point similar with cruisetours and kids. There is no way out of the fixed point to point long transits. No stopping unscheduled and without your own transportation, limited touring. Just some further information- again to be realistic and well informed about. The more you know, the better your planning will be leading you to a great choice for your touring Alaska.

[bonvoyagie]

I guess that you will have to choose between keeping the kids happy or making the most of an AK cruise. Yes Disney was one of the last lines to enter the AK market- so they get the worst port times etc. While Glacier Bay should be high on your to do list - you will only get there on Princess, HAL or NCL. Hubbard Glacier is another spot that is almost equal to GB - it is northwest of GB. Tracy Arm is a long fjord near Juneau that has a tidewater glacier at the end of it - early in the season the fjord is clogged with ice so most ships divert to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. By mid June Tracy Arm is usually passible. In looking at the Disney trip it is really not that bad - you get pleanty of time in the three ports- while other cruise lines work their way up to Skagway and back to Ketchikan - Disney heads to the far north first and works back down - not that bad really.

 

I am sure that this will not be your only trip to AK - it may be the only one for your parents - but I am sure that you and your kids will be back for seconds someday - perhaps when you can take a longer cruise and combine it with a land tour. It has taken me three times to finally see Glacier Bay - but it was well worth it :) Next trip will be a cruisetour that includes Denali.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I agree with BQ that 10 days is not enough time to go to Denai. We had an 11 day cruise tour that added an extra day to the end. We spent an entire day in a bus going from Seward to Denali with a 1.5 hour lunch stop in Anchorage.

 

That is OK for adults--but, my children would not have been happy campers with that when they were your kids age. There was too little time to get up and move around.Also, the last 2-3 hours were not that scenic.

[alaska_planner]

I agree with BQ that 10 days is not enough time to go to Denai. We had an 11 day cruise tour that added an extra day to the end. We spent an entire day in a bus going from Seward to Denali with a 1.5 hour lunch stop in Anchorage.

 

That is OK for adults--but, my children would not have been happy campers with that when they were your kids age. There was too little time to get up and move around.Also, the last 2-3 hours were not that scenic.

 

i would never take a bus with kids.

 

i would go by train or rental car, or a combination of the two.

[caribill]

I will let pictures speak for me.

 

We did a land tour + curise with Princess this summer (but we have had no children with us).

 

For the land tour, see

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=b52cb8455c936997&sid=8Acs2rVy0csnmA

 

Once in the album, select the full screen option for the best view.

 

 

 

For the cruise, see

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=f3894610f6b73430&sid=8Acs2rVy0csnug

 

Once in the album, select the full screen option for the best view.

 

 

 

And for a review of the land tour on Cruise Critic, see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858#

[Kerry's Girls]

My family cruised many times when I was a kid and our Alaska cruises are the ones I remember more than the Carib & Mexico - the scenery, exploring nature and having new adventures with my family sticks in my mind. I'll admit I'm not a Disney person, but to me, I'd rather spend money on a balcony and amazing experiences in port than on the premiium for Disney (of course if you can afford it all, that's not an issue :)). The kids are going to have the time of their lives on any line.

 

Now that I'm taking my own kids to Alaska, I had many of the same questions as you about which route/ports/land tours to do. After reading alot of advice on this board, we decided trying to get to Denali would be too much, but we really did want to have a land experience, so we're flying to Anchorage, renting a one-way van to drive the scenic Seward Highway (3 hours) and staying in a cabin on the outskirts of Seward for a few nights before our one-way cruise on the Radiance.

 

At the same time, you do know your own kids best as to if they'll have a problem with not having the Disney experience on a cruise since that's what they're used to.

 

Have a great time whatever you choose.

 

Best,

Mia

[DragonOfTheSeas]

After reading alot of advice on this board' date=' we decided trying to get to Denali would be too much, but we really did want to have a land experience, so we're flying to Anchorage, renting a one-way van to drive the scenic Seward Highway (3 hours) and staying in a cabin on the outskirts of Seward for a few nights before our one-way cruise on the Radiance.

 

Have a great time whatever you choose.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

Mia--Your plan sounds very good.

 

The Seward highway is very scenic and not to be missed. It does not take that long and the kids will not be too bored.

 

We did not stay in Seward--because we did Denali .But, we had to give up a whole day to get there. The long day od riving would not have worked well for my children when they were younger.

[astro2001]

Thank you to everyone for all the great insight!

 

I feel like I'm starting to understand better the trade offs that we might be able to consider for our first Alaska family cruise. I think we're leaning more toward a non-Disney trip at the moment... perhaps even a one-way (although the VC roundtrip on HAL includes Glacier Bay). A couple thoughts/questions:

 

1. I think we have also decided that a Denali cruisetour with the transits will not be right with our kids and time available, although the Seward Highway drive on our own would be enjoyable. However, Seward seems to be served by only a few of cruiselines, right? So we'd need to figure out how to get from Seward to Whittier if we do Princess. Anyone tried this?

 

2. The one thing that seems to be missing from the responses is someone saying "We chose to do Disney for Alaska, and loved it." Not sure if this means something, or if these folks just hang out exclusively on the Disney board. It just seems there are more strong opinions to NOT do Disney than the other way around.

 

Thanks again.