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Princess vs Disney for Alaska questions and yes I have done a search!


flashy09
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Lol...I know this has been asked a few times.

 

However I am in a serious dilemma!  Cruising with my Mother and a 6 and 8 yr old and my husband.  We have done 3 Disney cruises as only cruise experiences and loved them.  However, I have researched and understand that Princess (or HAL, but I can only focus on one!) probably does Alaska better and for half the price.  But I am curious about whether it does Alaska better for us......  

 

My kids do the kids club, but haven't gotten super into it.  I put them in for Remy and here and there and they enjoy it, but it's not a huge part of the trip.  My mom loves nature and wildlife, but apparently seeing Glacier National Park isn't huge on her list.  For our group excursions or ship sighting of bears, whales, seals, eagles, salmon is more exciting.  We all like good food!  Is there anything comparable to Remy on Princess?  If not,  how do the regular daily meals compare to Disney?  Is the service the same?  What are the balcony rooms like compared to the verandah rooms on Disney?  Is the balcony a good size?  Are the rooms more cramped - I found the Disney rooms very cramped, but supposedly they are good sized.   Are the excursions as smoothly run on Princess?  Is the nightly entertainment suitable and fun for kids?  Has anyone done the Frozen deck party on Disney?  Do either ship have park rangers come on board like HAL?  Thank you!!! 

 

The difference in price is nice, but don't mind the Disney prices if Princess is not going to work as well for our family.   And that leads to another question...are you nickel and dimed more on Princess so that it doesn't end up that much cheaper?  

Edited by flashy09
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8 minutes ago, flashy09 said:

Lol...I know this has been asked a few times.

 

However I am in a serious dilemma!  Cruising with my Mother and a 6 and 8 yr old and my husband.  We have done 3 Disney cruises as only cruise experiences and loved them.  However, I have researched and understand that Princess (or HAL, but I can only focus on one!) probably does Alaska better and for half the price.  But I am curious about whether it does Alaska better for us......  

 

My kids do the kids club, but haven't gotten super into it.  I put them in for Remy and here and there and they enjoy it, but it's not a huge part of the trip.  My mom loves nature and wildlife, but apparently seeing Glacier National Park isn't huge on her list.  For our group excursions or ship sighting of bears, whales, seals, eagles, salmon is more exciting.  We all like good food!  Is there anything comparable to Remy on Princess?  If not,  how do the regular daily meals compare to Disney?  Is the service the same?  What are the balcony rooms like compared to the verandah rooms on Disney?  Is the balcony a good size?  Are the rooms more cramped - I found the Disney rooms very cramped, but supposedly they are good sized.   Are the excursions as smoothly run on Princess?  Is the nightly entertainment suitable and fun for kids?  Has anyone done the Frozen deck party on Disney?  Do either ship have park rangers come on board like HAL?  Thank you!!! 

 

The difference in price is nice, but don't mind the Disney prices if Princess is not going to work as well for our family.   And that leads to another question...are you nickel and dimed more on Princess so that it doesn't end up that much cheaper?  

The basic question is - do you want to do an Alaskan cruise to experience Alaska, or a Disney cruise with Alaska on the side?

 

We've done Alaska twice, both times on Holland America, but both HAL and Princess have good itineraries.  Disney doesn't really have very good itineraries (IMO), mostly due to the fact that they are the newest cruise line to go to Alaska.

 

Between HAL and Princess, I feel the itineraries on HAL are "better" than Princess, but the food is better on Princess.  From what I understand the Princess kid's clubs and better (more participation) than HAL.

 

There are a couple of extra cost dining venues on Princess, but not what I'd compare to Remy.  

 

Rooms onboard both Princess and HAL are smaller than comparable category rooms on Disney (yes, Disney has larger rooms then the rest of the industry).

 

Princess shows are OK, more of a Vegas style revue than an actual production show, like Disney.  HAL doesn't have production shows, typically, a lot more individual entertainers.

 

Yes, HAL has rangers onboard (in Glacier Bay, at least) when cruising there.  I believe Princess does also, but I've not been on a Princess ship in Alaska.

 

As to the "nickel & dime" thing - yes, there are more things you have to pay for on Princess/HAL (like sodas), but the basic cruise price is typically less.  I've found excursions on HAL are more pricey.  

 

 

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Princess has a naturalist onboard all the time, much of it on the bridge competing with the captain to sight wildlife.  A group of rangers come onboard in Glacier Bay and they run a junior ranger program for the kids.  Don't think Princess has cabins for five other than the rare family suite for 6, only two per ship on the ones that have them.  EM

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Alaska excursions are expensive no matter which line, especially compared to the Caribbean. I'd say that if you really want to "do" Alaska, spend less money on the ship and more on doing Alaska. Disney cruises are "inward" looking - what's happening on the ship, whereas on Princess cruises are "outward" looking to the glory of Alaska.

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2 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

Alaska excursions are expensive no matter which line, especially compared to the Caribbean. I'd say that if you really want to "do" Alaska, spend less money on the ship and more on doing Alaska. Disney cruises are "inward" looking - what's happening on the ship, whereas on Princess cruises are "outward" looking to the glory of Alaska.

 Is the scenery from the Disney ship far inferior to Princess?  Am I really missing out besides not seeng Glacier Bay?  The intinerary would be Dawes Glacier, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan on Disney.

 

Apart from Kids Club, are there any activities that the kids would find fun on the ship on Princess?  I actually don't mind the lack of Disney themed shows at night, but the kids do enjoy the tea parties, dance parties, crafts, etc.  

 

Thank you!

 
 
 
 
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18 minutes ago, flashy09 said:

 Is the scenery from the Disney ship far inferior to Princess?  Am I really missing out besides not seeng Glacier Bay?  The intinerary would be Dawes Glacier, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan on Disney.

 

Apart from Kids Club, are there any activities that the kids would find fun on the ship on Princess?  I actually don't mind the lack of Disney themed shows at night, but the kids do enjoy the tea parties, dance parties, crafts, etc.  

 

Thank you!

 
 
 
 

 

I've done 5 Alaska cruises with my 6th coming up this year and I'd say that the Disney itinerary is very inferior to others. Dawes is at the end of the Endicott Arm and is considered by many to be the least impressive glacier of the ones commonly on Alaska cruises. I recommend either the Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay is a National Park and is an all day sailing, so the scenery is spectacular even if the individual glaciers are not as big as in the past. I did Tracy Arm and the glacier there on a small boat cruise out of Juneau and it was a fabulous day but mostly because we could get so much closer to the glacier on the small boat vs. a cruise ship.

 

I have no idea about the childrens' program on any ship. I was past 60 on my first cruise!! 😳

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Our grandchildren enjoyed the HAL kids' programme, but it was pretty low key.  It was a late May cruise so there weren't too many kids on board.  There were no dances or tea parties just for kids, but we took the five girls - ranging from 2 to 11 to the adult tea party once.  The boys did something with the dads.  The staff  took the group to the Lido for ice cream a couple of times.  They 'earned' badges from the park ranger and were thrilled with them.

 

We took HAL tours except for a private one to the Yukon where the 16 of us fit into a small 'school' bus.  The Lumber Jack show was a great hit.

 

None had been on ANY cruise before so they were thrilled as it was all new and wonderful.  I suspect your two are more experienced and sophisticated travellers than our grands.   It was a wonderful family and cousin bonding time as each of the three families lives in a different city.

 

Ruth

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I cruise toured Alaska with Princess, loved it. ran like clockwork.

 

However, I hadn't realized that Princess (through Carnival) admitted to fouling Glacier Bay with oil & waste discharges and was fined and placed on probation, which Carnival has since violated. So far, Disney hasn't been found guilty of similar felonies.  

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Alaska is the highlight of the cruise . Onboard experience is secondary . Popular shore tours are pricy.

Skip Disney on this cruise and use the savings for Shore Tours.

You may even discover a cruise line ,other than Disney, for your other itineraries.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Princess is not a cruise that caters to children. Not that they will not have fun, but not as much as Royal Caribbean. NCL is more for older children and middle age adults. Disney vs any other regular cruise is a lot more expensive for sure. Royal; Caribbean is right now offering children cruise free. i do not know the particulars but I think you must book it in a few days before that offer ends.

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We've been on one Disney cruise, two years ago. It was also my daughter's first (and so far, only) cruise. We're sailing to Alaska with Princess this summer. My husband and I have sailed Princess 4 times before our daughter was born (including once to Alaska on Princess, 9 years ago).

 

Disney was nice, but honestly we're excited about going back to Princess. We could have done the same itinerary on Princess for less than half the cost. We found both the service and food on Princess to be MUCH better than on Disney. We couldn't help but constantly compare our experience on Disney to Princess, and kept feeling let down vs. what we had come to expect from Princess. We ate at Remy, and it was nice, but we've also had some really nice meals at the specialty restaurants on Princess. The service in general on Princess was much more friendly, approachable and eager to please. We love going to Disneyland and are used to the fantastic customer experience they provide there, and compared to that too we felt the Disney Cruise experience did not live up to the Disney magic we're used to. We'd much rather do a cheaper, nicer cruise on Princess and spend the rest of our dollars on a separate trip to Disneyland.

The Frozen theater show on Disney was better than anything on Princess. But all the rest was comparable quality. Disney's shows are better geared toward kids. But the shows on Princess would certainly be suitable for kids as well. Disney had the deck parties (with dress up days like the Pirate party), and all the character meet and greets (which my daughter enjoyed, but I kind of hated spending a bunch of our vacation time standing in lines to meet characters). There aren't so many activities for kids out and about on Princess, but there are some they can participate in (e.g. "egg drop" game in the atrium, or naturalist talks). There's also the pools, and some ships have a mini golf course. There's no Royal Court Tea, but Princess has a daily afternoon tea which is free. We did the Royal Court Tea, and again my daughter enjoyed the experience, but it was incredibly expensive and the food was pathetic compared to what we've been served at the free Princess tea. You can certainly bring your kids to the afternoon tea on Princess, but there's no entertainment outside of possibly live music.

 

We haven't experienced Princess's kids club yet, but I have been reading a lot of really good things about it. They have a good and varied program with activities, crafts, parties, etc. I'd have to report back after our July cruise, but my guess would be that Disney would still have a somewhat better kid's program, but I have no concerns that my child will be displeased with the one on Princess. 

 

The rooms on Princess are smaller than on Disney (we had an oceanview room). We thought the rooms on Disney were quite nice, and loved the big porthole window you could sit in, and the double bathrooms. But our rooms on Princess have always been adequate and comfortable. We don't spend a ton of time in the room anyway, so we aren't looking for much other than clean and comfortable. 

 

Princess is well known for their Alaska itineraries, and it would absolutely be the choice I'd make for Alaska (especially vs. Disney). Princess has naturalists on board, they have a Park Ranger on for Glacier Bay (which I highly recommend Glacier Bay if you have the choice). They also have other cultural demonstrations on board. In Skagway, for instance, they bring on sled dog puppies, and you can line up to pet/hold them. Or they may have a totem carving demonstration on board. 

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