We are platinum DCL cruisers, with #16 booked for Feb 2017. However, we sailed on the Carnival Legend this past May to Alaska. My children are 10, 12 and 16. Our Carnival staterooms were 40% less for a veranda and an inside versus two inside rooms on DCL. Bear in mind that Alaskan excursions tend to be very pricey. Our Carnival cruise was one of their few that visited Glacier Bay which I consider a MUST DO. If I were to sail to Alaska again, not doing a Glacier Bay itinerary would be a deal breaker. My kids LOVE the kids clubs on Disney. They did visit the "clubs" on Carnival, and while they were clearly inferior, my kids still made friends and had a good time. The primary motivation for NOT doing DCL to Alaska (other than Glacier Bay and the cost) was that I did not want to my kids holed up in the clubs all of the time, I wanted them to experience Alaska. We spent hours on our veranda as a family (yeah it was a big veranda!) watching whales breach and glaciers calving. I do not regret our choice one bit. I don't think the Carnival Alaskan itineraries are as much of a "booze cruise" atmosphere. Ours certainly was not. The food was good, the shows were awful but Alaska is mind blowing. Enjoy!