Cruise to Alaska with a 2-year-old: Which cruise line and what route?

I am planning a cruise to Alaska next year, and will bring my 2-year-old. We are going to visit family in Seattle so the best alternative would be to take a cruise from Seattle, but I now see that Disney, which probably would be the best alternative, leaves from Vancouver. Is Disney worth it or are there any other companies that cater to small children? We've also looked at Crystal Cruises and NCL. Of land tours we are interested in seeing animal life, naure and Native culture.

And what is the most scenic route; Glacier Bay or Sawyer Glacier? What is the difference between these?

In addition, I try to find out if it is possible to take a round-trip cruise and still get a couple of days at a hotel somewhere in Alaska. Is that possible?

I am planning a cruise to Alaska next year, and will bring my 2-year-old. We are going to visit family in Seattle so the best alternative would be to take a cruise from Seattle, but I now see that Disney, which probably would be the best alternative, leaves from Vancouver. Is Disney worth it or are there any other companies that cater to small children? We've also looked at Crystal Cruises and NCL. Of land tours we are interested in seeing animal life, naure and Native culture.

 

 

And what is the most scenic route; Glacier Bay or Sawyer Glacier? What is the difference between these?

 

 

In addition, I try to find out if it is possible to take a round-trip cruise and still get a couple of days at a hotel somewhere in Alaska. Is that possible?

Of all the cruise lines that sail Alaska, Disney definitely caters to children the most. Will your child be at least 3 years old by the date of sailing? Because the kid's club's minimum age is 3 and if your kid isn't old enough to be in there, he/she will really miss out!

That being said, of the 3 glacier options (Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm Fjord/Sawyer Glacier) their visual ranking would probably be in that order with Glacier Bay as #1. The reason being that (assuming they're both given a fair fight with equally sunny weather), Tracy Arm is basically just sail up to it, look at it, and leave, while Glacier Bay is sailing into an entire 'park' of glaciers as icy waters. Way more beautiful. I've seen all 3 and honestly, Glacier Bay National Park on a bad weather day was still more beautiful than Tracy Arm on a sunny weather day...

And as far as I'm aware, Disney only sails to Tracy Arm Fjord/Sawyer Glacier, so you're going to have to pick which one's more important to you!

Regarding the round trip cruise, yes it's definitely possible. There are a few 14 night cruises that go all the way up to Anchorage and then come back down, likewise, ships are always sailing up and down, so sailing up there on one ship, staying a few nights and sailing down on another ship is totally possible. You could also consider a back-to-back sailing on the same ship up 7 days and down 7 days (but that'd mean eating the same food and seeing the same shows all over again).

Of the cruise lines sailing to Alaska, only Disney and Carnival offer kids programs for children 2 years old. All the others start at 3 yrs.

All of the cruises from Seattle are round trip, so no possibility of a stopover.

There are many options, sailing from Vancouver. It all depends on time and money. You could sail from Vancouver to Whittier, arrive on a We., take the ship transfer to Anchorage, stay a few days, and board another ship in Whittier on Sat. and return to Vancouver. Both would be on Princess (only cruise line using Whittier regularly)and although the food would be the same, shows would be different. You could also return from Seward on another line.

Or you could sail to Seward, transfer to Anchorage for a few days, return to Seward (or to Whittier) and sail a different ship or cruise line back to Vancouver.

So, there are a lot of possibilities. Try using http://www.cruisetimetables.com and playing with ports/cruise lines. EM

I believe that Royal Caribbean has Explorer and Radiance sailing Alaska next year - Radiance has a nursery, which provides fee-based care for children 6 months to 36 months - but she is only sailing North/South route, not round trips from Seattle. Explorer does not have a nursery, but is sailing round trips from Seattle.

Honestly we chose our ship in Alaska for the itinerary-figured that's really why we are going :-) our son is 20 months and it's pretty adaptable. I did pay extra for a room with a view for nap time- u know ur kiddo and what they need. We dont drop ours off even if a nursery were available but if u like to do adult excursions i know royal has a great nursery (im sure others may too- we typically cruise royal so i know for a fact many of their ships do) royal also has playtimes and a toy check out program. Were doing ncl for alaska because we wanted glacier bay- we leave soon n i can let u know how it goes!

we have cruised Alaska a few times, once on Holland America and twice on Disney with 2 year old and later with a 8 month old. Hands down I would cruise Disney with young children in tow.

There is a nursery on board for those under age 3, it's not free used to be $6/hr now $9/hr but I actually prefer it for the little ones! The nursery it's like a small daycare versus the large Kids Club that has a mix of older children.

In general, Princess is also an excellent line for Alaska. They allow children under the age of 3 to visit the kid zone whenever it is open with parental supervision. I personally would choose a ship with a drop off program, but not all parents are comfortable utilizing a drop off program at this age, so I wanted to mention this option in case it is more suitable for your family's needs.

Honestly we chose our ship in Alaska for the itinerary-figured that's really why we are going :-) our son is 20 months and it's pretty adaptable. I did pay extra for a room with a view for nap time- u know ur kiddo and what they need. We dont drop ours off even if a nursery were available but if u like to do adult excursions i know royal has a great nursery (im sure others may too- we typically cruise royal so i know for a fact many of their ships do) royal also has playtimes and a toy check out program. Were doing ncl for alaska because we wanted glacier bay- we leave soon n i can let u know how it goes!

Yes, please do. We are leaning towards NCL as well because of the glacier tour. We don't need a nursery so that will not be a factor when we choose the cruise. Having looked at many of the cruises and itineraries, I think the NCL suits many of our wants and needs. Will read more about Princess before we book.

We are cruising may 5, 2016 with a 5 year old and an 18 month old for 10 days with NCL TO ALASKA.

Alaska is all about the scenery, no question Glacier is the highlight and sadly Disney doesn't do it. Tracy Arm is a very distant third in comparison, not bad just not the iconic scenic sailing.

My belief is during summer all cruise ships have reasonable kids activity, but none probably compare to Disney, but got to decide you looking for the moving amusement park, or a great scenic cruise with support activities that will do enough to insure your kids have fun.

Personally I'd take Princess, RCCL, Carnival, or NCL as long as they do Glacier Bay over Disney. They sail an older ship there, still great but given the price and purpose for the cruise not worth the premium for me, at least.

We cruised Glacier Bay two years ago on NCL with a 2 year-old and an almost 4 year-old. We liked it so much that we are going back this year and taking the Sawyer Glacier route. Neither of my boys went to the kid's club, but there was still a lot to do to keep them occupied. The staff and crew were very child-friendly. There are some great deals going on now.

We cruised Glacier Bay two years ago on NCL with a 2 year-old and an almost 4 year-old. We liked it so much that we are going back this year and taking the Sawyer Glacier route. Neither of my boys went to the kid's club, but there was still a lot to do to keep them occupied. The staff and crew were very child-friendly. There are some great deals going on now.

Thanks for your reply. We have booked a NCL cruise next year so we are very excited. Did you do any of the excursions with your kids? Any suggestions?

We did ncl with our 18month old this year. We did a lot of diy stuff- he loved the glacier in juneau (we took a cheap bus from the port) (he loved being outside and the ranger gave him a piece of ice lol- plua he loved watching the waterfall). Juneau has a great creative playground. In ketchikan we walked the town and did the lumberjack show (i was afraid we would be leaving because i wont let him sit at a show and be noisy but it was recommended by a cc person for toddlers and he loved it!) we also walked around the red light area. We didnt get to port in skagway but had a dun playground there too mixed into the history stuff for the adults. I do not like doing set tours with little guys because their unpredictable and I hate the thought of being stuck somewhere with a fussy toddler (im sure the tour group would too!) i will say we did ncl sun and service was great, there planned toddler activities were nice but no where near what im used to with rcl. I had packed toys and was super glad i did! They did have a playroom available all day but nit a ton of toys : ) either way we had a blast and our little guy was in awe in glacier bay! Oh- and balcony was worth every penny! We sat out and enjoyed the scenery while he napped : ) or while he played with toys n the room that wed brought

Sorry for the typos! Im rocking little one (typing one handed) and didn't proofread : ) i highly recommend doing a ship with glacier bay... So worth it! And the ship really was fine for little guy. Alaska is all about the scenery so we brought a good stroller and his carrier (we use a kinderpack but whatever u use) and it was a great family vacation: )

The helicopter to dog sled excursion is extremely expensive - especially with kids - but an absolute highlight.

We also loved the Bering Sea crab excursion, but unfortunately children must be 5 years old to take part in this excursion.

Whale watching is dicey - some people really love it, others get bored since you mostly see tails. Harv and Marv ran an outstanding whale watching excursion, but you have to know if whale watching is something you'd love before you splurge.

I forgot about whale watching! We used a super great private boat out of Seward, that way our little one had a cabin to play in and we could bring some toys. It was the best decision we made :-) we had a blast and saw a ton of Whales!