Bermuda or Alaska - Celebrity with 8yo

2 part scenario

We have "found" money credits for Celebrity that must be used in 2015. We have narrowed down our choices to Jun-Aug 2015 due to summer break from school for son who will be 8yo by then. Celebrity only has Alaska and Bermuda cruises from the US, I dont think international, Med and Baltic should be our first cruise with him.

If I had my druthers we would go on RCL, but we have so much money to lose on Celebrity we'll have to make the most out of it.

This will be our foster son's first cruise and if everything else goes our way, he should be officially adopted by then.

So our question is, is Alaska or Bermuda itinerary more kid friendly? Celebrity Solstice for Alaska and Celebrity Summit for Bermuda. We have not been to either area. We are Elite on Celebrity and have cruised on Solstice before.

Brian

Danbury CT

Either/or....Alaska is scenic, and informative. Bermuda....warmer, but boring. Up to you! Bermuda is NOT a Caribbean theme.

Thanks for the reply, Bermuda hasn't been on our adult cruising list for the very reason, who wants to use the cruise ship as a hotel docked for 2-3days.

I really wish Celebrity had not changed their itineraries to exclude the Caribbean and Bahamas from the warmer months in the US, sending so many ships to the Med and other international ports.

Alaska looks to be a very busy, I hope we can keep him entertained enough. :-)

Caribbean? Other two boring, even to adults.

Thanks for the reply, Bermuda hasn't been on our adult cruising list for the very reason, who wants to use the cruise ship as a hotel docked for 2-3days.

 

I really wish Celebrity had not changed their itineraries to exclude the Caribbean and Bahamas from the warmer months in the US, sending so many ships to the Med and other international ports.

 

Alaska looks to be a very busy, I hope we can keep him entertained enough. :-)

There really isn't a lot of demand , weather can be bad and this the hottest and dampest time of the year.

I disagree that Bermuda is boring - for either kids or adults. We've been to Bermuda twice, once before our dd was born and this past June with our three year dd. She loved it and still talks about the pink sand place. I like the idea of being in one place for three days because there is no pressure to have to be back to the ship at a certain time. The day we spent at Horseshoe Bay was awesome and it didn't matter that we got the last express bus at 6:00 because the ship was still there.

On the other days we did a catamaran/snorkel excursion and went to snorkel park. If you're not into the beaches and water there is an aquarium, underground caves, and other kid friendly excursions.

I go to Bermuda again in a heartbeat. Alaska however, I'm ok not doing that again or taking our dd there. Maybe that's because we live in MN and most of Alaska is too similar to our north shore on Lake Superior. The exception was the day in Glacier Bay. That was awesome, but I don't feel the need to do it again and I think Alaska would be much more boring for a child.

Being that you're in CT, sailing out from the east coast to Bermuda would also be much less travel time to get to the ship. I'd say go to Bermuda and have fun. Besides, any vacation time you spend as a family is precious time, regardless of the destination.

I disagree that Bermuda is boring - for either kids or adults. We've been to Bermuda twice, once before our dd was born and this past June with our three year dd. She loved it and still talks about the pink sand place. I like the idea of being in one place for three days because there is no pressure to have to be back to the ship at a certain time. The day we spent at Horseshoe Bay was awesome and it didn't matter that we got the last express bus at 6:00 because the ship was still there.

 

 

 

On the other days we did a catamaran/snorkel excursion and went to snorkel park. If you're not into the beaches and water there is an aquarium, underground caves, and other kid friendly excursions.

 

 

 

I go to Bermuda again in a heartbeat. Alaska however, I'm ok not doing that again or taking our dd there. Maybe that's because we live in MN and most of Alaska is too similar to our north shore on Lake Superior. The exception was the day in Glacier Bay. That was awesome, but I don't feel the need to do it again and I think Alaska would be much more boring for a child.

 

 

 

Being that you're in CT, sailing out from the east coast to Bermuda would also be much less travel time to get to the ship. I'd say go to Bermuda and have fun. Besides, any vacation time you spend as a family is precious time, regardless of the destination.

I second Bermuda. It is a beautiful island. The people are fantastic and friendly. Also, we took our first cruise to Bermuda last year, and we thought it was the perfect first cruise with our son, who was almost 4 at the time. Who wants to rush around for a few hours here and there, when you can relax and enjoy your time on one beautiful port. I would not discount Alaska - 8 is probably a perfect age to enjoy that cruise, but it is also a lot more expensive - with airfare and excursions.

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I haven't done Bermuda, but we had four 8 year-olds (my twin girls and two of their boy pals) on our Alaska cruise and it was much more fun for them than the beach cruise we had all done together the year before. Each port had some spectacular place to explore or adventure to have - so it was more active and exciting than our warm-weather cruises. I can't imagine how any kid could find it boring. Also, in most ports we were able to catch a cab, shuttle or rent a car to go on our own, so the excursions weren't expensive for the most part. As long as there's no issue with taking him out of the country - we were asked for paperwork when boarding and then again one port day when we drove into Canada (and saw bears in a few places during the drive!), our passports were scrutinized at the border.

Best,

Mia

We have done Bermuda twice and will certainly do I again. It is so much better than the Caribbean!! (Although we are eagerly awaiting our western Caribbean trip next month...) although we have not cruised with DS yet, our niece also loved Bermuda. Lots of kid friendly stuff there. Zoo/aquarium, mini golf, amazing beaches, etc. And it is much cleaner and safer than most Caribbean ports.

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I haven't done Bermuda' date=' but we had four 8 year-olds (my twin girls and two of their boy pals) on our Alaska cruise and it was much more fun for them than the beach cruise we had all done together the year before. Each port had some spectacular place to explore or adventure to have - so it was more active and exciting than our warm-weather cruises. I can't imagine how any kid could find it boring. Also, in most ports we were able to catch a cab, shuttle or rent a car to go on our own, so the excursions weren't expensive for the most part. As long as there's no issue with taking him out of the country - we were asked for paperwork when boarding and then again one port day when we drove into Canada (and saw bears in a few places during the drive!), our passports were scrutinized at the border.

 

 

 

Best,

 

Mia[/quote']

 

 

Mia raises a good point. We have friends who adopted, and it took almost 6 months to finalize, and then another couple of months before they got birth certificates that listed them as parents. It was US based adoption, but crossed two different states. There were no issues, but working through two court systems was SLOW. I would make sure you have this paperwork in hand before committing to a cruise. There was paperwork from court, which proved they were parents but when dealing with cruise lines or potentially border control, they may not accept it. They had impossible time getting MN to recognize the court order granted by VA.

 

 

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Since the OP is talking about a foster child, I'm assuming he already has a US birth certificate and some sort of guardianship paperwork saying the parents are responsible for his care. If you do a Bermuda cruise or a cruise to Alaska beginning and ending in Seattle, you only need a birth certificate and I would think guardianship papers.

You are right about it taking forever to get paperwork though. We adopted our dd in the US. It took eight months to get to finalization court and another three months to get her amended birth certificate. Prior to that we didn't have any birth certificate for her, just guardianship papers. In short, just make sure you have at least a birth certificate before you go to far in planning.

We took our 6 year old on an Alaskan cruise and he loved it. We are going again next year and he'll be 10 then.

We were on RCCL, but surely Celebrity has kid activities on board too. Our son enjoyed the tours we selected too. But we also allowed him to bring his DS game with headphones for when he was tired on a tour and could play that for awhile. He was a happy guy and enjoyed it all.

Here's some of the fun things we picked to do, although the possibilities are endless...

Seattle - toured the Aquarium and also rode a ferry up to Victoria.

Victoria - took a water taxi around to Barb's Fish and Chips and then watched people feed the seals, a horse and carriage picked us up at our hotel for a ride around town. We took a seaplane over to Vancouver to get on the ship.

Ketchikan - we took a seaplane over to see Misty Fjord. Landed and got out to see some scenery and take some photos. I think he ended up falling asleep on the flight back. Then we rode the funicular up the hill and walked down all the stairs on the married man's trail and then did some shopping on Creek Street.

Juneau - we took a ship tour to a goldmine. We got to put on hard hats and hearing protection and go inside the mine. The guide demonstrated a 100 year old drill and a rock thrower, and then we panned for gold. Then we took a shuttle over to Mendenhall Glacier and walked the trail back to the water fall. There's a visitor center there also.

Skagway - we took a bus/train combo tour through Chilkoot.

Icy Strait - walked the beach trail, and the nature trail in the woods, and watched the zipliners come down. Then we took a private whale watch with F.I.S.H.E.S.

Seward - we had a couple tours lined up for a whole day of touring ending at the airport. We visited Exit Glacier, the Wildlife Conservation Center, rode the tram up at Alyeska, and saw some sites in Anchorage as well.

The photos from our trip are in 2 photobooks in the link below if you want to see what we did at those ports. I had to divide it into 2 books but it's the same trip.

Good luck on your decision. I think the planning stage is half the fun.

We've done both and loved both.

Though both great, I don't understand why you have ruled out Europe? That would be my #1 pick.

Regardless as soon as I read your thread I remembered a foster situation with my cousin. She was not able to join us on one family cruise due to having a foster child. Something about leaving the country. Don't know the details, but just war to make sure you have all that taken care of before planning this trip.

. . . Alaska however, I'm ok not doing that again or taking our dd there. Maybe that's because we live in MN and most of Alaska is too similar to our north shore on Lake Superior. . . .

"Both beautiful but it is like comparing a Rembrant to a Monet!" . . . that is from my niece. She grew up in and lives in Cornucopia now (Lake Superior) and spent five years in dog camps up on the glaciers in AK.

Three AK cruises one Bermuda. DD was 8YO on one of our AK cruises. 10YO on the Bermuda.

DD loves the outdoors - hiking, snow shoeing, dog sledding, etc. She also likes history - so loved the totum museum and the gold rush stuff at the National Park. She is not that into beaches. (She chose the "U" in Minneapolis over AZ State.) So for her AK was preferred over Bermuda.

There are great options for kids on both cruises, so consider your DS's preferences when deciding.