So, I recently took the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas cruise to Alaska. This was my second cruise and each time, I tended to compare the experience to my first cruise. My first cruise was to the Norway Fjords on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Here are 3 points that could help you choose whether to go to Alaska or Norway. If you are interested in tips to book an Alaska cruise, check out my post here.

1. Scenery

The scenery of the Fjords in Alaska near Skagway and Endicott and Dawes glacier reminded me of the Norway Fjords. Skagway is a small 4-block town at the end of a fjord. The teal glacial feed water had the same look as in the Norway town of Skoljden, but the difference was in the port cities. Norway ports like Bergen and Alesund were bigger towns and had something to sightsee within the cities whereas Alaskan towns like Skagway just had a couple of shops and were a couple of blocks wide.

The mountains and wildflowers in Alaska’s port of Skagway had a unique beauty about them though. The Norway port of Skoljden is a tiny town with more natural beauty, the Norway ports had a mix of big towns and small towns, whereas Alaska had just a tiny town with really nothing to do except take expensive shore excursions.

Norway cities Bergen and Alesund (Venice of the North) are beautiful port cities and are much more enjoyable and offer more to do in the port cities apart from just the mountains and waterfalls in the Alaskan city of Juneau.

So, overall I would prefer to do a Norway cruise as apart from similar scenery in Alaska, we get an extra element of experiencing a different culture and visiting cities with European charm.

2. Shore excursion pricing difference

Shore excursions are definitely necessary in Alaska like wildlife watching and helicopter tours or white pass tours in Skagway as there really isn’t much to do around town at the ports. Those who are more interested in wildlife and glaciers/icebergs might find Alaska more interesting. But seeing wildlife is not guaranteed and there is a steep price to pay for those tours like the bear-watching tour where they catch salmon for a tour price of around $600.

In the case of a Norway cruise, just taking a cheaper city highlights tour or hop on – hop off bus tour would suffice for experiencing the port towns of Norway, though you could be more adventurous and take on some hikes like Pulpit rock.

Due to more rainfall in Alaskan towns like Juneau/Ketchikan, there is a high probability of tours like helicopter tours to fly to glaciers being canceled. The price is between $350-$600 based on whether you want to go on a husky musher ride while on the glacier during the summer months as there is no snow on the ground.

3. Glaciers or Not!

For Alaskan cruises, seeing a glacier is the most important part of the itinerary. Some cruise lines stop at Glacier Bay whereas some stop at smaller glaciers like Endicott Arm/ Tracy Arm. So, if seeing a glacier is at the top of your list, then choosing the Alaska cruise is the way to go. But make sure you choose a cruise going to Glacier Bay!! other glaciers are much smaller and the cruise cannot get that close enough to experience the beauty of the glacier. Alaskan port city of Juneau has the Mendenhall glacier which you can view from a distance as well. Another way is to make sure you get on a chopper ride to get closer and walk on the glacier. Seattle area’s Mt. Rainier has many glaciers which can be seen via binoculars.

For a Norway fjords cruise, you don’t have much of a chance to see glaciers.

4. Flight charges:

For people booking cruises from the North American continent, flights to Alaskan cruise port cities like Seattle and Vancouver might be a lot less expensive than taking a flight to a European port near Norway. So that could be another deciding factor when booking your cruise.

Overall, when considering what would be a better cruise, I think Norway beats Alaska as it has mostly all that Alaska has to offer plus beautiful port cities with different cultures. Simply doing the city highlight hop on hop off bus tours which are pretty cheap should be good enough to enjoy Norway’s ports. For Alaska, a simple city bus tour does not suffice, but will need to take an expensive shore excursion to enjoy. When considering what would be better for more adventurous people who like wildlife, probably Alaska would fit the bill as you can see bears/ eagles, whales, and huskies up close if you book the correct shore excursions.