Multi-generational Family Cruise Advice

Hello! This is my first time posting so please bear with me :D My family is planning an Alaska cruise for sometime between mid-May through end of June 2017. Our group consists of my husband, myself, our toddler son who will be 2.5 at the time, and my husband's parents who are in their early 60's. We will be flying from San Diego. We are trying to balance budget-friendly with great food, itinerary, service and accommodations. This will be my first cruise, everyone else (with the exception of my son) has sailed on Carnival Caribbean cruises before (15+ years ago) and had a great time. After researching we have narrowed down our cruise line options to Princess, Carnival & Norwegian. One must-have for our cruise is to cruise Glacier Bay (my mother-in-law's one must have). Child-friendly is a must but we don't need babysitting amenities, just activities and overall family friendly atmosphere.

We are trying to decide between a round trip and one-way cruise at this point and debating between the cruises that sail from Seattle and Vancouver. I am leaning more toward Vancouver but the rest of my group is indifferent. Any advice, feedback and suggestions are welcome! TIA!

We just booked our first Alaskan cruise for next June. Glacier Bay was a must for us too so we booked the one-way northbound from Vancouver on Princess. We felt like the one-way gave us more time at the glaciers since you don't have to turn around and go back. We are going to add on a few days in Alaska afterwards.

The only thing that I found out afterwards is that we aren't in port early enough to do the excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Things like that are things to consider--what excursions do you want to do and what itinerary allows you the time to do them.

The one itinerary I really don't care for is the one that has Victoria as a port at the end. You don't have enough time there to really do anything and to me it just seems like a waste.

You might want to look at pricing and flights and see what works the best for you logistically. Then look at the itinerary and make sure the port times and locations match up to your interests and must-dos.

The regulars here will have good advice and I would heed it--they know their stuff! ;) Happy planning!

I know with Princess, the child must be 3 to participate on their own in the kids club (and potty trained). If they are under 3, you are able to take them into the toddler area and stay with them while they play.

Not sure if you want a line where you can drop the child off for activities or not. This may or may not decide the cruise line for you. I don't know the other line's policies. Something to look into.

Victoria at the end is a requirement for cruises that don't start or stop in Vancouver. So a RT Seattle or RT SFO will always stop in Victoria. The ship must visit a foreign country.

The only thing that I found out afterwards is that we aren't in port early enough to do the excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Things like that are things to consider--what excursions do you want to do and what itinerary allows you the time to do them.

 

If you contact AdventureBound - they usually let people book who are on North Bound Princess trips. They have even picked me up at the parking lot of the pier to take me to their boat for the trip. You just have to make sure you are one of the first people off. They are very accommodating.

It does appear that Carnival will take a 2 year old but NCL is similar to Princess where a parent must be in attendance. Carnival only has select dates when they visit Glacier Bay - it is only at the very beginning or very end of the season.

If you contact AdventureBound - they usually let people book who are on North Bound Princess trips. They have even picked me up at the parking lot of the pier to take me to their boat for the trip. You just have to make sure you are one of the first people off. They are very accommodating.

Oh wow, thanks for the info.! There is so much to do in Juneau though, it's hard to choose!

Oh wow, thanks for the info.! There is so much to do in Juneau though, it's hard to choose!

I agree! Thus you can do a B2B and stay on the ship SB! I love Juneau.

You have selected your dates, a Vancouver departure with the inside passage will give you a more scenic and smoother cruise, and Glacier Bay will be your best glacier viewing opportunity. Seattle departures go West of Vancouver Island which can be a bit rough in the open ocean. Look for ships with Glacier Bay on their itinerary out of Vancouver or Seward or Whittier.

I suggest, you look at what port activities everyone wants. I suggest splitting up depending on interests. That will narrow down the selections with port times.

Hello! This is my first time posting so please bear with me :D My family is planning an Alaska cruise for sometime between mid-May through end of June 2017. Our group consists of my husband, myself, our toddler son who will be 2.5 at the time, and my husband's parents who are in their early 60's. We will be flying from San Diego. We are trying to balance budget-friendly with great food, itinerary, service and accommodations. This will be my first cruise, everyone else (with the exception of my son) has sailed on Carnival Caribbean cruises before (15+ years ago) and had a great time. After researching we have narrowed down our cruise line options to Princess, Carnival & Norwegian. One must-have for our cruise is to cruise Glacier Bay (my mother-in-law's one must have). Child-friendly is a must but we don't need babysitting amenities, just activities and overall family friendly atmosphere.

 

We are trying to decide between a round trip and one-way cruise at this point and debating between the cruises that sail from Seattle and Vancouver. I am leaning more toward Vancouver but the rest of my group is indifferent. Any advice, feedback and suggestions are welcome! TIA!

Keep in mind that Carnival does not go to Glacier Bay.

Princess, HAL, NCL are the only major cruise lines that do...to the best of my knowledge.

Keep in mind that Carnival does not go to Glacier Bay.

Princess, HAL, NCL are the only major cruise lines that do...to the best of my knowledge.

In May Carnival does have Glacier Bay sailings.

Our group consists of my husband, myself, our toddler son who will be 2.5 at the time,

Based on this alone, I'd choose Carnival when it sails Glacier Bay (not very often).

We took our son on Carnival when he was 2 & 2 days & he loved the club & we liked being able to do adult things while he was in the club. They give you a cell phone so that they can contact you...

Thanks everyone, this is all great feedback and I will definitely look into some things more. Regarding childcare on the ship, we didn't anticipate needing to leave him someplace since we will have my in-laws. Plus we're viewing this as a family vacation (my husband and I both work full-time) and look forward to spending quality time with our son. Did anyone with young children find themselves really needing the childcare facilities? I'm more thinking about activities and general fun things on the ship that he can be a part of.

Thanks everyone, this is all great feedback and I will definitely look into some things more. Regarding childcare on the ship, we didn't anticipate needing to leave him someplace since we will have my in-laws. Plus we're viewing this as a family vacation (my husband and I both work full-time) and look forward to spending quality time with our son. Did anyone with young children find themselves really needing the childcare facilities? I'm more thinking about activities and general fun things on the ship that he can be a part of.

There could be times, you want an extended meal together, or enjoying a late show? OK I'll be blunt- I've unfortunately been in both these venues (last week- again) where parents just let kids act up and be disruptive, and not exiting. I would suggest this be factor to consider.

Thanks everyone, this is all great feedback and I will definitely look into some things more. Regarding childcare on the ship, we didn't anticipate needing to leave him someplace since we will have my in-laws. Plus we're viewing this as a family vacation (my husband and I both work full-time) and look forward to spending quality time with our son. Did anyone with young children find themselves really needing the childcare facilities? I'm more thinking about activities and general fun things on the ship that he can be a part of.

As odd as this sounds, I have heard people on Caribbean cruises brag "my kids love the kids program so much, I haven't seen them in days"...... Obviously these are older kids but that is not something I would brag about.

My husband and I have already talked to my in-laws and we will split up if we want to see a late show so our son won't have to go. We are definitely the kind of parents who wouldn't hesitate to (and have done so in the past) remove our son from the dinner table if he acts out too much and is disturbing other diners. He's generally very well behaved (he sat through a 2 hour dinner at a restaurant just fine a few nights ago) and I'm not too concerned about his behavior. We're viewing this as a family vacation and want to spend time with our son and not leave him in a camp the majority of the time. If we decide we want a dinner alone our in-laws would be happy to watch their grandson :)

After more researching and considering other reviews and YOUR feedback (thank you!) we're narrowed down our choice to a one way to or from Vancouver so we can be on the inside passage and get an extra day in port. That brings our choice down to sailing with Princess and NCL. My biggest questions are surrounding which line has more of a family atmosphere, the food and accommodations. Of course price will be a factor but we're finding fairly similar deals at this point. TIA!

If you look thru past Trip Reports in the STICKYs above, you'll find quite a few family trips but only a couple with toddlers. This report includes a 2 1/2 yr old. They did a RT cruise out of Seattle. Not your itinerary but it gives you an idea about cruising with a toddler

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2076940

Personally I wouldn't choose a one-way cruise unless I had 5 days to add on for land travel in Alaska. If your time is limited I'd look at the RT Vancouver cruises. If flights to YVR are pricey, consider flying into Seattle then take the evening train to Vancouver .... after the cruise, rent a car and drive to Seattle. Gives you a day in each city for a little sightseeing pre and post cruise.

If you look thru past Trip Reports in the STICKYs above, you'll find quite a few family trips but only a couple with toddlers. This report includes a 2 1/2 yr old. They did a RT cruise out of Seattle. Not your itinerary but it gives you an idea about cruising with a toddler

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2076940

 

Personally I wouldn't choose a one-way cruise unless I had 5 days to add on for land travel in Alaska. If your time is limited I'd look at the RT Vancouver cruises. If flights to YVR are pricey, consider flying into Seattle then take the evening train to Vancouver .... after the cruise, rent a car and drive to Seattle. Gives you a day in each city for a little sightseeing pre and post cruise.

Thanks for that link and for your feedback! I'm curious why you wouldn't choose the one-way? Is it because of the cost of one way flights vs. RT? While we don't have the time or budget for a full land tour extension, we do hope to send at least a day or two in and around Seward (looking at Kenai Fjord tours) before or after the cruise.

Thanks again!

I did not want to start our vacation with a six hour flight to Anchorage (although it would be less for you). Also, my husband felt like Alaska was our destination so he did not want to start the trip there, he wanted the anticipation to build. So those are some of the reasons we chose the NB from Vancouver.

Once we chose that itinerary, we decided to add on 3 nights in Alaska. I wish it could be more. We are going to spend 2 nights in Seattle before the cruise and take the train to Vancouver the day before the cruise and spend the night there.

I can't help with the ships as we narrowed down our choice to Princess or Holland America and chose Princess. Also we don't have kids so that isn't a consideration for us. I will say that we found an article that listed the best ships to cruise Alaska in and HAL and Princess were tops on the list (along with Celebrity which was too expensive). So that is where we started, although we found out later that the ship is much less important on a cruise like this. It just happened to be what we stumbled on first when we started researching.

Thanks everyone, this is all great feedback and I will definitely look into some things more. Regarding childcare on the ship, we didn't anticipate needing to leave him someplace since we will have my in-laws. Plus we're viewing this as a family vacation (my husband and I both work full-time) and look forward to spending quality time with our son. Did anyone with young children find themselves really needing the childcare facilities? I'm more thinking about activities and general fun things on the ship that he can be a part of.

It's not like daycare at home. (The hours are not the same - some hours the late morning, some hours early early in the afternoon - aka you have to get your child for lunch - then my 2 year old took a nap after lunch.)

My son liked it. They had toys & played games. While the adults did boring stuff like looking out the windows at Alaska & having adult conversations/beverages/playing adult games/enjoying each other company while not having to chase/console/entertain a toddler.

We also work full time, so I appreciate the want to spend time together.

(Even when we took a cruise with the grandparents who my son was older, he played in the kids club & then he was 3 or 4.)

I'm just starting my research for next summer - land and sea. Wondering why no one suggested Royal Caribbean for this cruise itinerary? TIA!

I'm just starting my research for next summer - land and sea. Wondering why no one suggested Royal Caribbean for this cruise itinerary? TIA!

because RCI doesn't go to Glacier Bay which is one of the OP's requirements.

Thanks for that link and for your feedback! I'm curious why you wouldn't choose the one-way? Is it because of the cost of one way flights vs. RT? While we don't have the time or budget for a full land tour extension, we do hope to send at least a day or two in and around Seward (looking at Kenai Fjord tours) before or after the cruise.

 

Thanks again!

The one way itinerary is usually selected by those who want to have some time in Alaska before or after the cruise. Spending time in Seward would be a nice way to complete your cruise. There is plenty to see and do. Check their visitor's information on line. If you want to spend time in Seward it would make sense to sail Vancouver to Seward. Otherwise you will have to arrange transportation from Whittier to Seward and then on to Anchorage for your flight home.