DCL vs. NCL

[sarah.austin]

Hi everyone. Thoughts on an Alaskan cruise with DCL or NCL...we are looking at either taking 3 kids or leaving them all behind....if we take kids we will go DCL all the way. But would NCL be a better option for adults only?

 

 

Sarah in NH

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• what is the price difference for NCL and DCL with pixie dust for the SAME departing week?
  
• Does that NCL ship include Glacier Bay?
  
• Does NCL include Vancouver like DCL?
  
• Adults only? Have you considered Holland America?
  

Edited May 1, 2017 by xlxo

[Herfnerd]

Seems like the majority of people here recommend looking at the itinerary first and then deciding on the cruise line second.

 

Most people say that Glacier Bay is a must and IIRC, DCL doesn't go there.....

[TheCalicoCat]

From what I have seen at least some of the DCL cruisers are worried that they won't get back to the ship in time for ______. (Character Dinner, etc.)

 

DCL does not go to Glacier Bay.

 

Seems like a lot of money to see Alaska to only really want the Disney experience. (In late July, I'm paying less - by almost 1/2 - for a 14-night cruise on HAL for what Disney is charging for 5 nights at the same time! $1,729 vs. $3,416)

 

I am travelling with a 8.5 year old who has been on HAL in the past & loved it. He is excited to go see Alaska & the bears!

[4belle2cruise]

You do not mention how old your kids are, but I will share what I decided for our upcoming Alaska cruise. We are a family of 4 (my sons are 14 & 16) and we have been on 4 Disney cruises (3 Caribbean and 1 Pacific Coast.) When we decided to cruise Alaska, we just assumed we would book with Disney. I like their smaller ships, the kids clubs are amazing, and their larger staterooms work better for families. So when the 2017 Alaska cruise came out, I went to book. Now I did my research and knew the price would be high, but it was much higher than expected. So I looked at other possibilities. It basically came down to the fact that my kids were older, the itinerary was more important, & price. I ended up booking Radiance of the Seas for a 7 night Northbound. The price for 2 inside staterooms was over $3000 cheaper than 1 inside stateroom with DCL. I felt that RCL offered activities that my kids would enjoy...pool tables, rock climbing, mini golf. Our cruise only has 2 days at sea and 1 of those is glacier viewing, so I didn't feel that the entertainment on the ship was too important.

 

If we had never cruised with DCL before, I might have been willing to pay the higher price to experience them. I guess it depends on your personal preferences.

[jimsig]

We took our then 6yo DD with us last year to Alaska. When booking we looked at Disney and other cruise lines. In the end we choose NCL on the Pearl out of Seattle. I felt that Disney was way too expensive for what you get in terms of where the ship goes and sees compared to the other lines. In the end our DD loved NCL and had a blast in the Splash Academy kid's club, so much so that on the last night she wanted to go to the kids club while we took a quick walk in Victoria B.C.

 

I have a trip report and if you would like to read it the link is in my signature below. I cover a little about the Slash Academy and have schedule for the 6-9yo's posted so you can get an idea of what is offered for that age group. Hope it helps.

[Coral]

I haven't looked at the itinerary recently but Disney had one of the worse itineraries out there in the past and for one of the highest prices.

[losfp]

We sailed with DCL in 2015 in the Caribbean. Loved it, loved the ship and loved the experience. So we assumed we'd cruise with them when we organised our 2017 trip (been to Alaska before in 2007 on our honeymoon with a small ship cruise, so wanted to bring the kids on our 10th anniversary to the same locations)

 

When we went to book our Alaska cruise in 2017, I looked at the prices and itineraries. In the end we booked with Princess for the following reasons:

 

- Literally half the price of the DCL option.

- Offered a one-way cruise so we could do inland Alaska tours

- Itinerary offered Glacier Bay

- We felt that Alaska is more about the location than the ship so the Disney extras were unnecessary.

- Did I mention it was literally half the price?

 

We will still stop by at disneyland on the way home to Australia, so we will get our disney fix that way.

[OhJinkies]

I started planning my Alaska cruise a couple of years ago. I actually work for Disney, and love the ships. But for Alaska, the itinerary was my number one priority. I definitely wanted to cruise through Glacier Bay. I spoke with a friend to see if she wanted to come with me. She insisted on cruising with Disney, and that was simply a deal breaker for me. I'm cruising solo.

 

 

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[4774Papa]

Got to do Glacier Bay

[goduckies05]

Disney is such a sub par experience, maybe i expected too much for tripple the price of the cruise line i usually take, but the food was mediocre, service same and the ship really boring at night... no thanks

 

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