JP96

My boys (now ages 15 & 13) have been to Disney parks more times than they can count (we have a timeshare and going to Orlando is actually easy and inexpensive), but they've never been on a Disney cruise.

 

When the boys were younger they went on a couple of Carnival and Princess cruises, but their last five cruises have been on Holland America (Central America, Canada/New England, Greece/Turkey and the Baltics).

 

We are booked on the Coral Princess in June... and they are mad at me. HAL is what they're used to and they are set in their ways!

 

We have told them in the past that we'll probably never do a Disney cruise because of the cost. They are totally fine with that. We explain the cost difference by telling them, "one Disney cruise equals two HAL cruises." They would much prefer to go on two cruises than one! They like HAL and have always enjoyed the kid/teen activities. I guess we're all creatures of habit and like what we "know." ;-)

 

I vote for saving the money and applying it to activities/excursions (which are expensive in Alaska).

 

I'm sure someone will ask: We are going with Princess because my wife and I went to Alaska on HAL before kids, and we simply wanted to visit some different ports and land lodges. Plus, I think a little bit of variety for the boys will be good for them!

What did they like about the kids club on HAL? My family always went on HAL when I was a kid but my parents never stayed in balcony rooms, which we are planning to have. I would like to go on HAL since I think they do a good job, but I'm so allergic to smoke that I'm kind of nervous about HAL.

Can I ask which land tour you chose?

Thanks!

If the activities in the kids area are too good, they might miss out on seeing Alaska! 😄

 

T

That's very true! Good point!

You left out the most important detail ...the itinerary of each cruise.

Most of us consider the itinerary to be the deciding factor; not only where it's going but the port times as well.

It sounds like you already consider the Disney cruise to be inferior yet more costly.

 

If you dock at Whittier it's easy enough to get to Seward same day if that's your plan. You can pick up a rental car in Whittier and drive directly to Seward in about 2 1/2 hrs ( one way rentals are pricey tho, and AVIS is the only vendor). Or you can take a transfer to Anchorage then pick up a RT rental car for the drive to Seward. Make a full day of it and enjoy the many stops along the Turnagain Arm .... pan for gold, visit the Wildlife Conservation Center, Portage Lake/Glacier, hike at Byron Glacier, etc

 

I sure wouldn't recommend a cruisetour with children. Too much time spent in buses/trains. With your limited time, a rental car and DIY is the best option. Then you can gear the land itinerary to YOUR families interests.

I only think Disney's itinerary is inferior and the lack of Glacier Bay or two glaciers. (I have not been to Tracey Arm. Perhaps we could get shut out on a bad weather day?) I think Disney's food, service, attention to detail, etc. might actually be higher quality than Princess or HAL. We have done a short Caribbean cruise with them and the cruise itself is great, but I'm not sure that we are doing the right thing in Alaska. Besides the cost, and effort to fly across the country, are we exposing our kids to the best scenery and experiences possible and at the same time which cruise would be the most fun for them?

What would you do if you had an extra three or four days after arriving in Whittier? My primary goal is to please my kids and show them as much wildlife as possible.

Thanks

Here is the itinerary

I'm showing A.M., P.M., and then hours spent there:

Disney

Ketchikan 11:15 7:45 8.5

Juneau 6:45 4:45 10

Skagway 7:15 7:45 12.5

Disney does two days at sea, and I'm not sure how many hours in Tracey Arm.

Coral

Ketchikan 6:30 2 7.5

Juneau 8 9 13

Skagway 5:30 8:30 15

Coral does one day at sea, one day of GB and one day of College Fjord.

Does Disney have too much time at sea?

Thanks

My husband and I reserved a cabin at the end of July on the Disney Wonder, roundtrip Vancouver, for ourselves and our two boys, ages 9 and 12. At the same time, I reserved a similarly sized mini-suite on the Coral Princess, northbound to Whittier. I figured I would decide later. I now have five days to decide on Disney. Disney obviously has a more limited itinerary than the Coral, but my husband figured if the kids are bored at night, we would have better entertainment, and the kids club. We are not Disney Fanatics, but like a good Disney movie now and then.

To give some background, I have been on cruises to Alaska twice, both times on HAL. One time with my parents as a young adult and we went to Denali on a land tour, and the second time with my husband, no land tour, no kids. So my kids have not been to Alaska at all.

My dilemma is that Disney is $3K more than Princess. Am I nuts to do this? My older son is a real nature and bird lover but won't we have enough of that on Disney with the excursions we will take?

To complicate the issue is that my inlaws have now decided they would like to come along. They have not been to Alaska and say this may be their only trip there. I hear there are adults who will only go on Disney.

I'm now re-thinking all of my choices and wondering if we should be doing Princess, a DIY land tour or a Princess tour for a few days after? My husband and I don't want to be away for a ton of time. My inlaws have more time. Seward sounds like a better end destination than Whittier if we want to do a land tour, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for any advice or tips you can give! I have been reading boards all morning.

and NCL. :)

 

 

HAL has many pluses as well.

Do you prefer NCL over HAL and Princess?

HAL, revamped their itineraries several years ago, cutting out College Fjords, so their one ways do only Glacier Bay.

That's disappointing! That's one advantage of going on Princess...

Looks like you are big HAL fan from your history. Did your itinerary include any glaciers beside GBNP? How did you enjoy the dining rooms on the Noordam?

Thank you. What beautiful photos you have taken!

Did you hear anything on board from those with kids about how they liked what was offered?

I am looking into Alaska for 2016 and was able to get a nice size cabin for two adults and my two kids (8 and 10) on the Noordam. For the same price, I can get a cabin on the Coral Princess with 1/2 the square footage of the Noordam cabin. I realize we won't be in the cabin that much, but when we are, it would be nice not to be tripping over each other.

I can't seem to find any recent reviews on the Noordam Alaska with kids. This would be a one way inside passage cruise with GB, but no Hubbard Glacier or College Fjord. That seems to be the one advantage of the Coral itinerary. Is the Princess kids' club that much better? They are advertising the Discovery at Sea stuff now for Alaska.

Thanks for any input...

Did they tell you how many people could be on the boat? Thx

Did you book this independently?

Thanks

Thank you to both of you for your feedback. I'm sure I could not pull in a halibut. The charters I have contacted insist on our renting a private charter for the day because of the kids. You are correct that it is quite expensive, upwards of $2000 for the day. I'm not sure if salmon fishing in Ketchikan would run about the same.

Perhaps we could see the same sights you are describing on a day cruise...for a lot less.

We were planning to do some halibut fishing with our 8 and 11 year old boys, possibly in Whittier. My husband is now thinking we should wait a few years until they are older, since they will not be able to reel the halibut in on their own.

Has anyone taken kids this young and what has been your experience?

Thanks

The one option I found between the two activities starts 15 minutes later. Seems kind of close. What is "combo booking"?

If we did the northbound, I do not think we would stick around in Whittier after the cruise to do the PWS cruise. We may be too tired, and I'm not sure how our bags would be stored, etc.. We would probably head right up to Anchorage. We are not staying extra days to go to Denali. I guess I see the Southbound cruise as a chance to do the PWS cruise that day before the ship departs, or perhaps some fishing.

In Juneau, we would love to do the heli-glacier dog sledding, and that means we can't also do whale watching, or most other things if the boat departs at 4. Perhaps a salmon bake would work out. Dog sledding is already waitlisted for Skagway. I guess missing whale watching is not the end of the world...we do live in Boston and have seen humpbacks on a crowded ship in Boston Harbor.

Thanks

I just realized that the northbound princess voyages get about 13 hours in Juneau whereas southbound get 9.5. Would you say that the PWS cruises taken before leaving on a Southbound journey make up for this difference? We are booked on a southbound Coral and I'm ready to switch it. Juneau has so much to offer, and I would love the extra time there. I'm not sure that I would want to do the PWS cruise after taking a northbound cruise though. I would only do it going south. Opinions?

Thank you!

Thank you! I see that Alaska Railroad sells a package including the rail and the day cruise together. Did you book this way or buy the rail and day cruise separately? Does the day cruise pick you up at the rail station in Whittier?

Thank you. I wasn't sure if the Prince William sound tours would be a repeat of what we would see from the cruise. I imagine the smaller boats get closer up to any glaciers. Can any wildlife be seen on these boats?

Hello,

We are flying into Anchorage a day or two early in July and would like to take the train to Whittier on the morning of our Princess cruise. Princess will now only book the rail if you do it in combination with a hotel stay. The price is much higher than booking separately. I would like to do the railroad on our own. My questions are:

Will Princess still take our baggage at the train station and transport to our ship even though we did not buy the rail from them? Old posts seem to indicate this is the case.

Will we have reserved seats in the non-Princess cars or is it first come first served?

Can we check into our cabin and then get off the ship to do an excursion or wander around the port?

Are there excursions that others have done that allow time to get to the cruise ship before the sailing?

Thanks!

I hope the captain substituted something else for the passengers.

Great idea! Wish we could take two weeks off. The snow is so bad in Boston, I'm starting to think it might be a better idea to go somewhere warm...

Thank you for comments. Missing Hubbard Glacier would also be a huge disappointment to me as well. Was there too much ice to get close that day? Did you do a cruise tour on Princess?