Stuck on two cruises

[Tabatha1988]

I need some opinions please. I was thinking of Dubai 2021 or Alaska in 2021. The only thing holding me back is the airfare to Dubai is killer. Any info from past cruisers would be appreciated

[Tee & Chilli]

Airfare is out already or are you looking at current prices? Where will you you traveling from for both cruises?

[robandana]

If you've never done Alaska I would suggest it. It was one of the best cruises we have ever done! So much to see.

 

I would recommend the cruise tour that starts in Alaska and brings you to Vancouver, BC and Vancouver warrants 2 days also. Its a wonderful city. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by robandana

[cruiseguy1016]

This is going to sound way off base on a cruise forum but I don't recommend cruising in Alaska. I say this from experience. We spent two weeks in Alaska 2 years ago. We spent the first week on land and then a week on a cruise from Seward to Vancouver. After spending a week on land, the cruise was almost a disappointment. There is SO MUCH MORE to see on a land vacation in Alaska than there is on a cruise. So, although I have never been and can't speak from experience, I recommend Dubai. If you want to see Alaska, do it from land.

[blueridgemama]

Loved our Alaska cruise. We did the 7 night cruise and then 7 days on land. Got to see so much of this beautiful area. I know nothing about Dubai.

[Clarea]

I'd go for Alaska if you have not been.  Breathtaking.

[hallux]

Funny you mention this, I was eyeing the MSC Bellissima for this time next year but had the same mental block on the airfare cost (3x the cost of the cruise itself, single in a solo cabin).  Of course, airfare will surely go down between now and then, but it's also a full day's travel from the US.

[waterbug123]

12 hours ago, Tabatha1988 said:

I need some opinions please. I was thinking of Dubai 2021 or Alaska in 2021. The only thing holding me back is the airfare to Dubai is killer. Any info from past cruisers would be appreciated

 

Airfare won't be available for January 2021 until at least February 2020, and later for dates later in 2021.  Not sure where you're seeing airfare for those dates but I would consider it to be inaccurate.  Out of curiosity though what price are you seeing that you consider to be a dealbreaker?

 

12 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

There is SO MUCH MORE to see on a land vacation in Alaska than there is on a cruise.

 

That's actually true of MANY, if not most, places one can visit on a cruise.  I wouldn't necessarily use it as a "go here on a cruise but not there" decision maker.

[Judyrem]

12 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

This is going to sound way off base on a cruise forum but I don't recommend cruising in Alaska. I say this from experience. We spent two weeks in Alaska 2 years ago. We spent the first week on land and then a week on a cruise from Seward to Vancouver. After spending a week on land, the cruise was almost a disappointment. There is SO MUCH MORE to see on a land vacation in Alaska than there is on a cruise. So, although I have never been and can't speak from experience, I recommend Dubai. If you want to see Alaska, do it from land.

We went on our our first Alaska cruise and wanted to return to see the "real deal".  We went back ourselves and spent two weeks doing as much as possible, the train to Denali etc.  It was wonderful and one of our best trips ever.  Alaska is amazingly beautiful.

Edited April 14, 2019 by Judyrem
bad spelling.

[cruiseguy1016]

13 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 There is SO MUCH MORE to see on a land vacation in Alaska than there is on a cruise.

 

31 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

That's actually true of MANY, if not most, places one can visit on a cruise.  I wouldn't necessarily use it as a "go here on a cruise but not there" decision maker.

 

Just curious, and I'm not taking stabs so please don't take this as me being rude. Have you spent much time in the Alaskan interior? I'm certainly not an expert, I've only spent 9 days there. We have been on cruises all over the Caribbean. The first time we visit any island we take a tour to get a feel for the island. We want to learn about the topography, culture etc. Sometimes there are things to see on land that you can't see from a ship. However, in my opinion, those differences have never been greater than they are in Alaska.  Alaska has two very different parts to it, the coastline and the interior. In my opinion, the interior has so much more to offer than the coastline. A cruise to Alaska will certainly give you a feel for what the state has to offer but if you want to experience all of Alaska, you need to do it by land. When we did our Alaskan adventure, we did it with three other couples. While we enjoyed the cruise portion immensely, all eight of us agreed that the time we spent on land was better than the time we spent on the cruise.

 

This is my opinion of course. Others will surely disagree.

[mugtech]

We spent 3 days in Dubai and then took the Mariner of the Seas to Barcelona, stopping at Jordan on the way, then through the Suez Canal and then days in Israel and Crete.  For us it was only a 10 hour flight from Manila to Dubai.  I believe if the right Dubai cruise is available you should take it, Alaska will always be available.

[island lady]

No way...IMHO...would I chose Dubai over Alaska.  

 

We have been three times..first one a single cruise, second one a land base tour for a week on our own with cruise second week, and this last time we did a B2B cruise Seward/Vancouver.  

 

Have another one booked for land tour on our own again for next year 2020, (going to the Arctic circle and Fairbanks) then again a cruise back to Vancouver.  Doing a land tour is fun and interesting, but can get tiring with all the driving and transport...the cruise afterwards gives you time to relax and view from your balcony.  Works well for us. 

Edited April 14, 2019 by island lady

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, mugtech said:

We spent 3 days in Dubai and then took the Mariner of the Seas to Barcelona, stopping at Jordan on the way, then through the Suez Canal and then days in Israel and Crete.  For us it was only a 10 hour flight from Manila to Dubai.  I believe if the right Dubai cruise is available you should take it, Alaska will always be available.

 

Dubai was awesome, Not sure OP is heading into Med though. Petra, Suez, and Jerusalem were some of the best trips I've ever taken. 

 

We're headed back in late 2020. Rome to Dubai, then Arabian coastline.  We're holding off on Alaska until we can do the Aleutians 

Edited April 14, 2019 by John&LaLa

[cruisequeen4ever]

Alaska is an absolutely gorgeous cruise to take. I haven’t been to Dubai, but my rule of thumb is that it’s better to do the further away cruises when you’re able to physically and financially. If you’re American, Alaska is easier to reach. That said, I would say that Alaska is more exciting to explore. Maybe book both refundable and see how the price of airfare plays out?

[sewingmolly]

If you chose the Alaska cruise, I would recommend doing the one way from Vancouver.  We did this starting with an extra day in Vancouver, then the cruise, followed by a week in Alaska.  This insured that the scenery just kept getting more spectacular. For us, I think doing it in reverse would have been sort of a let down.  The highlights of our trip were Glacier Bay on the cruise and Wrangle-St Elias National Park.

[cruiseguy1016]

30 minutes ago, sewingmolly said:

If you chose the Alaska cruise, I would recommend doing the one way from Vancouver.  We did this starting with an extra day in Vancouver, then the cruise, followed by a week in Alaska.  This insured that the scenery just kept getting more spectacular. For us, I think doing it in reverse would have been sort of a let down.  The highlights of our trip were Glacier Bay on the cruise and Wrangle-St Elias National Park.

 

We considered the northbound itinerary for the same reason you did. Because of timing issues for flights we elected to do the land portion first and then cruise southbound. Our 9 days on land were so busy we were glad to get on the ship and have nothing planned for the first day which was a sea day.

[sgmn]

19 hours ago, Tabatha1988 said:

I need some opinions please. I was thinking of Dubai 2021 or Alaska in 2021. The only thing holding me back is the airfare to Dubai is killer. Any info from past cruisers would be appreciated

Depends if you prefer the beautiful wilderness of Alaska or the man made wonders of Dubai, though the desert safari is interesting. We also found the stops in Oman fascinating. Flights should open up about 45 weeks before and the earlier you book, usually the better the fare

[mugtech]

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Dubai was awesome, Not sure OP is heading into Med though. Petra, Suez, and Jerusalem were some of the best trips I've ever taken. 

 

 

It was quite the rush to sit in the church in Bethlehem constructed over the site of Jesus's birth and sing Silent Night.  Will never see anything like Petra either.

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, mugtech said:

It was quite the rush to sit in the church in Bethlehem constructed over the site of Jesus's birth and sing Silent Night.  Will never see anything like Petra either.

 

My Indiana Jones moment

[waterbug123]

22 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

 

Just curious, and I'm not taking stabs so please don't take this as me being rude. Have you spent much time in the Alaskan interior? I'm certainly not an expert, I've only spent 9 days there. We have been on cruises all over the Caribbean. The first time we visit any island we take a tour to get a feel for the island. We want to learn about the topography, culture etc. Sometimes there are things to see on land that you can't see from a ship. However, in my opinion, those differences have never been greater than they are in Alaska.  Alaska has two very different parts to it, the coastline and the interior.

 

Not yet, but am doing a land-based trip to Alaska in August.  That said, you are limiting my comparison of cruise vs. land-based to Alaska and the Caribbean.  When I said land-based trips are often a very different experience than a cruise, I was thinking more globally.  You're right about the Caribbean- many islands are small, and what you can see/do on an all day excursion might give you a very similar experience as a land-based trip, unlike Alaska.  But that isn't necessarily the case if you're talking about cruises to Europe, South American, Asia etc.  Those are much like Alaska- you get a very different experience on a cruise than you do staying in the interior for a week, soaking up the real culture in small towns, visiting secondary tourists sites etc.  Ex.  doing a ship's bus tour from Livorno to Pisa and Florence for 8 hours will never compare to spending a week in a villa in the Tuscan countryside.  Still,  a cruise can be a good intro for anywhere, and help you decide where you might like to go back and do a land-based vacation.

[island lady]

18 hours ago, sewingmolly said:

If you chose the Alaska cruise, I would recommend doing the one way from Vancouver.  We did this starting with an extra day in Vancouver, then the cruise, followed by a week in Alaska.  This insured that the scenery just kept getting more spectacular. For us, I think doing it in reverse would have been sort of a let down.  The highlights of our trip were Glacier Bay on the cruise and Wrangle-St Elias National Park.

 

Wasn't a let down for us.  The first week was on our own land based, and quite intense on the travels.  We flew around McKinley, spent some time in Talkeetna and Anchorage, did a Salmon fishing tour (and got to keep and have our catch cooked) went whale watching, followed by the beautiful train travel trip down to Seward.  First few days in Anchorage also let us catch up on time lag.  

 

The cruise afterwards (southbound to Vancouver) was then very relaxing, and totally scenic as well.   

[Lionesss]

We just loved our Alaska cruise on the Explorer.

 

We were more exhausted with all the sight seeing than what we do on warmer Caribbean cruises jet skiing, hiking and such.

And cannot wait to do another Alaskan cruise in the future.

 

Whatever your decision----- Enjoy