NCL Encore vs Discovery Princess for Alaska in June

[ski_mom]

We have a cruise booked on the NCL Encore for the end of June this summer. I'm debating switching to the Discovery Princess due to pricing. 

 

As background, the trip is being funded by my mother and the travel party will consist of 10 people, "grandma" (79), me, my sister and our spouses (ages 45-55) and our 5 kids (ages 14-26).

We have 4 balcony cabins booked (2 for 2 people and 2 for 3 people each).

 

The price difference is right at $8,000. We are going the week of June 25th and all ports are the same execpt we wouldn't have Glacier, but would have Endicott Arm instead. Ketchikan would be a little loner port day and Skagway would be a little shorter.  Part of the reason for the big cost difference is my mom needs a handicap room due to using a scooter and on NCL, there is only one balcony left and it's not a standard balcony, so it's pretty pricey.

 

My mom doesn't necessarily care either way about the costs, but I hate spending money we don't need to spend.

 

Besides the Glacier Bay / Endicott Arm difference, are there many differences in the ships we need to consider?  

 

Thanks for any opinions / advice!  

[BirdTravels]

Ship is irrelevant. A room is a room. 
 

Glacier bay is [greatly] preferred over Dawes glacier. 
 

Beverage package/bar bill costs is a consideration. 

[Seas2mountains]

We have been on 4 NCL Alaska cruises in the past 7 years.  I agree with The Bird that Glacier Bay is so much better than Dawes Glacier  (if the ship can actually get close to it).  
 

For Glacier Bay, a Park Ranger gets on the ship early in the morning and you will see several glaciers in the park throughout the morning until after lunch. 
 

For Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier, while it is beautiful in the passage getting to the glacier, on both attempts we did not get very close to the glacier and turned back. Passengers who were on an excursion got to see more and were able to get closer. 
 

If you plan to go back to Alaska on future cruises, either will allow you to sample Alaska.  But if this is the only time you will get to go and can afford the extra expense (watch for prices to drop before final payment), I’d choose the cruise with Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier if Glacier Bay isn’t an option.  

[Chasing Summer]

I agree with Glacier Bay over Endicott. We did GB on NCL many years ago and it was beautiful. This summer we did Endicott and had to turn around because of too much ice.

 

That said, don't discount the clout that Princess carries in Alaska. I think Holland and Princess are the most deeply rooted there. 

 

We were on Discovery in July. The ship is beautiful. There are no waterslides or over the top amenities but it seems as if your party may not care about that. My 11 year old loved it! I noticed that we had primo docking spots at all of the ports. In Ketchican, Discovery docks right in town. NCL docks several miles away and busses into town. That may be difficult in a wheelchair. There may be accommodations for that, but it's something to consider. In Skagway, we arrived a couple of weeks after the rock slide that damaged the dock. Only one ship could then be at that dock and it was Discovery. Most of the NCL ships were diverted to other ports.

 

With your mom in a wheelchair, I'd do some investigating on docks and accessibility before deciding. We've done both NCL and Princess in Alaska and in your case, I'd choose Discovery.

 

Either way, what a great trip for your family!

[scooter6139]

Both are beautiful ships and we've sailed both to Alaska.  For simple viewing, I'd go with the Encore over Discovery as it has the wonderful Observation Lounge on desk 15 that offers breathtaking views while staying inside, out of any inclement weather.   Also Encore has a better outside deck area on Deck 8 for outside viewing with lots of seating that stretches' most of the ship.  Discovery has a better top deck in my opinion, as it's not cluttered with resort style entertainment (water slides, go carts, laser tag, etc).  However, this resort style entertainment is better suited to your younger (and young at heart) kids and family.  

 

Food is similar in quality, but Encore has more options.  Granted, most of those cost extra, but most Free at Sea packages include 2-3 dinner vouchers.  

 

Overall, both lines have a very different feel to them.  Princess is much more "classic" style cruising where NCL is "resort" style cruising.  Both are trying to change their demographics a bit (becoming more like each other interestingly).

 

 

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

I went to Princess Discovery over the summer. It was much cheaper for a balcony than on any other cruiseline for 1 person. I'll be honest, I thought the entertainment was boring  and I left a couple of performances early just because it was more exciting watching tv in my cabin than to continue sitting in the theatre. Haven't been on the Encore. Honestly all cruise ship food I've ever had pretty much all tastes the same to me however I've never done any specialty dining. 

[KKB]

OK...we took Discovery Princess to AK in Sept & our friends did Encore in July. 

We also just sailed Encore to Caribbean last month.

These friends took their first cruise on Celebrity Edge last summer with us.

 

I cannot comment on Glacier Bay but we got VERY close to the Dawes Glacier & that morning's cruising along there was amazing.

 

We thought our AK cruise was amazing. Our friends did as well on the Encore (tho I do remember Encore got the berth furthest from the port in Juneau...which was a distance)

 

Ship: Discovery is stunning. Food was terrific. 2 shows were terrific (tho Choir of Man on Encore is one of the top 5 shows I've seen anywhere...) We have sailed numerous Princess cruises & an AK cruise is MUCH more sedate than the Caribbean (gets quiet early)

 

Encore: Observation Lounge could be a fabulous place during an AK cruise. Choir of Man is fantastic & Kinky Boots was very good. Food was good but not great. I don't think water slides would even be open in AK. But they do have go carts & a VR pavilion (for a fee) that the kids might like.

 

Both ships have trivia & game shows so I feel that is comparable.

 

IMO for that big of a price difference, I'd go Princess for sure.

It really depends on the kids.

My YA kids are open to about anything & aren't bored on cruises if there aren't bells & whistles like water slides, go carts & VR. But I have a friend whose teen/YA kids were bored on a Holland AK cruise (I can't comment on Holland, never sailed), so clearly they would have been happier with NCL.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by KKB