Celebrity or Disney Alaska no kid

[Jjtj99]

I am planning an Alaskan cruise for just my wife and me. 20th anniversary. Have not been on many cruises. Sailed on Disney, Holland American, and Norwegian. Did not have fun on either Holland American or the NCL cruise. Felt as if there was nothing to do on the ship. Absolutely loved Disney. Some have mentioned Celibrity may be better. Main thing for me is customer service, cleanliness , and things to do on the boat, don’t need a casino. Thoughts on the two cruise lines in Alaska. 1st trip to Alaska.

 

[cruisestitch]

You already know that the Disney ship will be more expensive and will be full of kids.  Celebrity will have some kids and will be les expensive.  I would take Celebrity.

[BettyPC]

I haven't been on either - but wanted to mention I have several friends who loved Princess in Alaska.

[Jjtj99]

Looking at May 2020. 

[sippican]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Personally, we would not cruise on DCL again, for a number of reasons. But since you loved them, why try an unknown cruise line for such a special cruise? On this board, you are going to find those of us who generally prefer Celebrity. Read through the reviews to get a feel for the type of cruise you prefer. You may wish to consider Royal for a livelier atmosphere.

 

I would recommend that you choose the itinerary over the ship/line. Consider a cruise that goes one-way, either north or south, to see more.

 

 Princess is recognized in the travel industry as the leaders in Alaska cruising. They have more itineraries, and are licensed to go into Glacier Bay (considered one of the best), and the very best land portion (which you do not mention). 

Regardless, Alaska is breathtaking.

Edited January 19, 2019 by sippican

[keesar]

You will probably be disappointed with the entertainment going with Celebrity.  As mentioned, first look at the itinerary and then the ship.  

 

 

[Tapi]

We sailed on Disney with our kids and had a great time. But there’s no way that I would select Disney in Alaska and pay the premium price that they charge when:

 

- I’m not sailing with kids

- Disney’s Alaska itinerary isn’t the best 

- There are several other cruise lines that are well established in Alaska and offer multiple ships and a myriad of itineraries.

 

As mentioned above, Alaska is all about the itinerary, so I would focus on an itinerary that is worthy of your 20th anniversary. We sailed on HAL to Alaska, and while they are not one of our favorite cruise lines (we think that they offer a great product, just not our style), the itinerary was amazing. When I look back at that cruise, I remember mostly what we did ashore and very little about what we did aboard the ship. 

 

In addition to HAL, Princess is the other big cruise line in Alaska, and both offer the best and most varied selection of itineraries, including wonderful land tours that Disney just can’t offer. I’d start looking at those. Celebrity has less ships in Alaska, but I would definitely look at them as well because of the product that they offer. 

 

One final thing: In years past, ships sailing in Alaska were smaller and older, but these days, the cruise lines are sending some of their biggest and newest ships there. You may be more inclined than before to select a specific itinerary because it’s aboard an awesome ship, but once again, look at the itinerary closely, not only at ports, but also time ashore. For example, Royal Caribbean is deploying their amazing Ovation of the Seas in Alaska, but the itinerary is mediocre at best. It’s only a 3 port itinerary, one which is not in Alaska, and it misses places like Glacier Bay and other more grand glacier viewing locales in favor of less grand Endicott Arm.  

 

I do agree that Disney’s customer service is hard to beat, and that was one of the highlights of our cruise on them, but I have also experienced great customer service on other cruise lines. While Disney’s superb customer service would definitely be a consideration, I wouldn’t let that sway me away from better Alaska cruises. 

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise. Congratulations! 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2019 by Tapi

[ghstudio]

Agree with others.....princess is great in Alaska.

 

My guess is that you'll find Celebrity very dull....especially the activities offered that are, in many cases, just "sales" events...the grand chocolate diamond unveiling, etc. and few taking part in night activities...(it generally won't be a young crowd).  Celebrity does have a lot going for it....but it's for a lay back vacation where you don't rely on the ship for entertainment. 

 

Take a look at RCL's cruises....more activities both day and night, etc.

[Decpl]

We did Princess for Alaska, definitely take a look at them. They did an excellent  job with

having guest speakers talking about animals and glaziers. I would definitely book them again.

Easy to add days on land, make sure you do land tour, its a must do!!!!

 

Kand J

[Zoedokey]

We loved Celebrity for Alaska because of the enrichment speakers.  There were talks and events every day focusing on what we were seeing and going to see and giving information to enhance our experience.  On our cruise we had Mickey Live and he was just the best.  

 

 

[MarLieb]

We are gold on DCL and just did our first Celebrity cruise on the Summit.  Though we enjoyed our Celebrity cruise and plan to do another one (we loved the casino!), for customer service and entertainment, Celebrity doesn't hold a candle to DCL IMHO.  That being said, the price point on Celebrity made up for that quite a bit compared to DCL.  As others have said, I would definitely take a look at Princess.  Alaska is all about the itinerary and they might have exactly what you are looking for.  

[oskarNZ]

I haven’t done Alaska, but have cruised both Disney and Celebrity.

 

My opinion, for what it’s worth:

 

Celebrity - better food, better promotional perks,

better value for money

 

Disney - prettier ships (although Celebrity’s are also pretty), better evening shows, better cabins (again though, Celebrity’s are pretty good).  

 

Their customer service is IMO equally good and their daytime organised activities equally dull.  

 

When I do get to Alaska I will probably give Princess a try since I’m keen to try them anyway.  

Edited January 19, 2019 by oskarNZ

[tomservo]

Not to go too far off topic, but what would you guys recommend for a cruise with kids? I’m worried that they’ll bored on Princess, and Disney is too expensive. What has the best blend of itemeraries and stuff to keep the kids occupied/engaged?

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, tomservo said:

Not to go too far off topic, but what would you guys recommend for a cruise with kids? I’m worried that they’ll bored on Princess, and Disney is too expensive. What has the best blend of itemeraries and stuff to keep the kids occupied/engaged?

For what it’s worth, we sailed to Alaska on Holland America when our kids were only 15 months and 4 years old. We didn’t use Camp HAL (one kid was too young and the other one had no interest), but we didn’t find ourselves looking for things to keep them occupied. It was a port intensive itinerary and we had busy days ashore, so usually by the time we got back onboard. the kids were wiped out. But if I were to choose a cruise line solely based on children’s activities, Holland America wouldn’t be my choice. 

 

With that said, my kids are now 6 and 9 years old. In addition to Holland America, they have sailed on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney and MSC. Based on what I’ve seen, and their enjoyment of the children’s activities, I would place Royal Caribbean at the top of the list. My kids have actually enjoyed MSC the most but that cruise line don’t sail to Alaska.

 

Suprisingly, they didn’t enjoy Disney as much as I expected. Yes it’s an amazing program, and most things around the ship are kid focused, but they found the Oceanee:r’s Club to be too unstructured and the facilities claustrophobic, and I could see why. Even though the facilities are awesome looking, they are enclosed, with very little natural light as it lacks windows, and the ones it’s does have are somehwat blocked. Also, it’s crowded ALL the time so there are hundreds of kids stuffed in there at any given time. Finally, the few times they had dinner at the club, it consisted mostly of trays with cheese sandwiches, so needless to say, they preferred to eat dinner with us. 

 

If you’re looking for a kid friendly cruise line that will be cheaper than Disney, consider Royal Caribbean. And even though the itinerary is somewhat mediocre, look specifically at the Ovation of the Seas. There’s nothing like it sailing in Alaska these days, and kids of all ages will be thoroughly entertained. 

 

Even though I haven’t sailed Norwegian, I’m going to suggest that you look at them as well. They will be deploying their new Norwegian Bliss in Alaska this summer, and the kids facilities look pretty awesome as well. 

 

As a final thought, try to find a balance between itinerary and ship/cruise line. Don’t pick a cruise line or ship simply because it has the best kids entertainment. 

 

[lisiamc]

Something to consider:  Celebrity is revamping its ships, and depending on when you cruise, and which ship, you might get a “revolutionised” ship or not.  A revolutionised ship will have new decor, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your tastes, and, it’s going to be a bit shorter of outside forward space for viewing glaciers, etc.

[ipeeinthepool]

23 hours ago, Jjtj99 said:

I am planning an Alaskan cruise for just my wife and me. 20th anniversary. Have not been on many cruises. Sailed on Disney, Holland American, and Norwegian. Did not have fun on either Holland American or the NCL cruise. Felt as if there was nothing to do on the ship. Absolutely loved Disney. Some have mentioned Celibrity may be better. Main thing for me is customer service, cleanliness , and things to do on the boat, don’t need a casino. Thoughts on the two cruise lines in Alaska. 1st trip to Alaska.

 

 

As others have noted, Alaska is all about the itinerary.  I'd suggest that you evaluate the itinerary before making your decision.  I'd also agree than Princess is the leader in Alaska and suggest that you look at their itineraries and ships.  However you know best what you like, none of us on CC know you better than you.  So if you like the way Disney does things, go with Disney. 

 

Enjoy your trip

[4774Papa]

Disney is a great cruise line if you have kids, but NOT if you don't.  No way would I spend $$$$$$$$ for Disney.

 

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line, but we did NCL for Alaska, because they included Glacier Bay.

 

You don't want to miss Glacier Bay.  We had a great cruise on the NCL Sun in 2016.  If you don't want to do NCL again, I think HAL and Princess do Glacier Bay.

[thinfool]

On 1/19/2019 at 7:40 AM, Jjtj99 said:

 Main thing for me is customer service, cleanliness , and things to do on the boat, 

 

 

If this is your 'main thing', I suggest that you save your money, book a cruise elsewhere (Caribbean maybe) and enjoy the ship's activities.

 

Alaska is a destination trip...so much to see and do in the ports.  Shipboard activities are mostly irrelevant.

Having said that...hot chocolate on a cold day in front of a glacier in Glacier Bay is hard to beat.

(Go for Princess)

[pl281]

We did alaska about 6-7 years ago on Regent which is MUCH more just on the surface (Starting around 11k per cabin including airfare) - however that is all inclusive and includes many excursions options in each port.

 

I will agree with others that it depends on what you are looking for in terms of "things to do" on the ship - They do have shows / entertainment throughout the ship, but they don't have the "rock climbing walls, flow riders, games" etc that other ships have.

 

A couple of notes / things to consider:

1) Alaska (like many European cruises) tends to be a sight seeing cruise so you may find after a half day / full day excursion you just want a quite evening

 

2) Look at the itineraries - some are round trip, some are one way also the length most are 7 days some 10-11 days

 

3) Look at flight costs even look for this year just to get an idea

 

4) Look at the excursions you want to do - Some will say do on your own, others will say do through the cruise

This is more of a personal preference what you prefer - I took a look at one tour "Alaska's First City Highlights and Lumberjack Show" which is showing for $59/pp where as just getting tickets for the Lumberjack Show is $37 so you need to see is it worth the little bit extra to be part of the ship tour and not worry about getting back on time.

 

Once you do all this I would look at the base fare, the airfare, and then the cost for excursions / tours you want to do and factor all that in - You may also want to look at Royal as they have similar sailings to Celebrity but their ships have more of the "Family friendly" activities on board 

 

 

 

 

 

[waterbug123]

On 1/19/2019 at 7:40 AM, Jjtj99 said:

I am planning an Alaskan cruise for just my wife and me.....Did not have fun on either Holland American or the NCL cruise. Felt as if there was nothing to do on the ship. Absolutely loved Disney.

 

 

So..... what were the things to do onboard Disney that you enjoyed and that you found didn't exist on Holland or NCL?   That will help folks guide you as to Disney vs. Celebrity, or even another line altogether.

[Cruise Raider]

After sailing up to Alaska 12 times on different cruiselines .... I have only two comments for you:  Glacier Bay and Brent Nixon!  

 

Now, I have heard great things about Disney, for adults alone or those traveling with kids.   I don't have any personal experience with this line, though.  But, if you already know you love them, you may want to stick with that known entity.  

I absolute love, love, love Celebrity and a few of those Alaska sailings have been with them.  However, I agree with others that Alaska is about their itineraries but for me, it's also about the naturalists that are onboard.  

 

Since Alaskan itineraries are already more expensive than your typical bargain cruises,  this is an itinerary where I think you should make the most of it.  I strongly recommend getting at least a balcony cabin up in Alaska ... even though I am more than willing to stay in an inside or oceanview cabins for some itineraries.  And aft facing cabin would be my first choice.  

 

Now, back to my original comment ... Glacier Bay is phenomenal.  Don't get me wrong, all glaciers and the Fjords leading up to them are amazing but an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay is world's above the rest.  Also, make sure you are on a cruise where they sail through the inside passage during the day.  We noticed that on some itineraries, you've already passed through it during the nighttime and early morning hours ... very disappointing, to say the least.  

The other thing I mentioned is to try to find out who the naturalist onboard is going to be.  Most are very interesting but Brent Nixon (and I think it is his wife, Miss Amanda) is beyond excellent.  If we all had instructors like him in school, we'd have geniuses everywhere!!  

If you can get a combo of those two, Glacier Bay and Brent Nixon, I would choose that sailing in a heartbeat!  Not sure that is possible .... but maybe??  You won't be sorry!  

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by Cruise Raider

[hiccups]

When we were considering an Alaska cruise tour, the advice from everyone on CC was to choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay.  That narrows it down to HAL and Princess, so I'd start there.  I know you said you didn't care for HAL, but since this a cruise for sightseeing, I wouldn't write them off completely until at least looking at what they offer.

[PROCRUISE]

As most everyone has already noted, Alaska is ALL about the itinerary.

I went with the land/sea 2 week tour with Holland America and would go again with no reservations. HAL is #1 when it comes to Alaska.

However, since you really enjoyed Disney and would probably find Celebrity to be okay too, just pick the itinerary you like best from these two cruise lines.

[roxievegas]

First, I would ask where are you traveling from and second, why Alaska.

We are in southern California and we did our first Alaska cruise on Celebrity, going in/out of Seattle.  Had a wonderful cruise.

We are planning another cruise, but this will be on Princess, leaves and returns to LA port.  We don't have to fly to the northwest and stay in a hotel the night before.  In the furture we will do the sea/land with Princess.

If you are going to Alaska to see Alaska, then consider doing the sea portion and then get off the ship and do the land tour.

whatever you choose, have a wonderful time.

[MarLieb]

On 1/20/2019 at 1:47 AM, tomservo said:

Not to go too far off topic, but what would you guys recommend for a cruise with kids? I’m worried that they’ll bored on Princess, and Disney is too expensive. What has the best blend of itemeraries and stuff to keep the kids occupied/engaged?

We did NCL to Alaska when my son was 4 1/2.  At that age, he found the DCL kids clubs too chaotic, so we didn't want to do DCL for that trip and knew Princess and the other lines would be too sophisticated and dull for him.  While NCL is not my favorite line, it worked well for him.  The kids club was smaller, so he was able to enjoy it and the price point was far less than DCL.  There were some great port excursions that suited him as well.