Alaska Vs Baltic Cruise for teens

We have enjoyed our two past Caribbean cruises but I have been considering Alaska and Baltic cruises. I've been leaning towards Alaska and probably not until 2017 (so they would be 15 and 17), so I will most likely change my mind a few times. I'm just wondering about what others have experienced, what your kids have enjoyed etc. We have seen a good amount of Europe -(mostly while living in Ireland for a year while kids were 6 and 9 and also a visit to Italy last September), but never cruised there. We live in Eastern Canada with whales and icebergs.

Baltics ... ;)

I've never been to the Baltics, but I've taken teens to Alaska twice and they have enjoyed it immensely.

They are both amazing trips for children. Your kids are old enough that you can show them guidebooks and ask them what their preference might be. Stockholm and St. Petersburg have a lot of amazing sites for teenagers, and your ship will dock close to the main attractions of most of the cities, so it is logistically easy to DIY most cities and customize your time in ports according to your family's priorities. The exceptions are that St. Petersburg will require a tour, and it is logistically more challenging to get to Berlin if you choose to visit there. If your family prefers culture and museums and touring cities, the Baltics are an amazing family cruise.

If your family prefers spectacular time in nature, Alaska is an excellent choice. Or the much more expensive option would be to see if you could combine a Baltic cruise with one to Norway, which would enable to you to do both.

Both are on my list so I guess it's a matter of which one I would do first and at some point it might just be a hubby and me trip. Sherry the Alaska one is cheaper and easier to actually do the cruise part - as far as airfare and cruise price. But the ports would require a lot of planning and budgeting that I originally thought. If we did a one way, there is considerable expense and planning for the land tour part. Did you do a return cruise or one way.

Kitkat - I was looking at the NCL Baltic one. If they are still using the Star it will be back in drydock before then. I have sailed Carnival twice and we have had no complaints about the included food and have yet to try any of the extra fee places. You seem to not have enjoyed the included food, is that a fleet-wide issue with NCL or just on this particular ship/cruise. My son will be happy if he has access to free ice cream and cookies (and hopefully a version of warm chocolate melting cake in the dining room). Though I like to try new things. I can't figure out the layout of their 4 person cabins, they don't seem to have a balcony option but don't mention if the bed are pull out sofas or bunks. I would look into other lines and itineraries. I know there are good deals around.

familycruznewbie -

I completely forgot I had the exact same experience with planning the Alaskan cruise. I initially was attracted by the low cruise ship fare, and low rt airfare to Seattle, and then started pricing out excursions. My husband wisely pointed out that if we were going all the way to Alaska, we should just do it right and pay for all the expensive excursions and cruise tour. We wound up doing a northbound, and adding a tour to Denali, and the price was much higher than I initially anticipated. But he was right, and we had a wonderful time. We found it a little cheaper to independently plan the trip to Denali - we took a bus directly to Denali, and then booked the train back, so you might want to price out that option (we booked our Alaska cruise last minute too, so I don't know if the regular cruise tours cost less than what we were quoted at the last minute).

My husband and I are both foodies, and we were both fine with the free food options on Carnival. I honestly have no idea if we'd be happier with the free food on another NCL ship, and many less picky people are happy with the free food on the star and on NCL in general. I'd just want picky people to consider the possibility of needing to pay for food prior to booking, so they know what they are getting into ahead of time and can make the right decision for their family.

We were 3 people and the seat pulled out into a little bed for our son. I'm not sure how they configure a balcony cabin for four people, but I'm sure either NCL phone reps or people on the NCL forum could answer that question.

The ports are the absolute highlight of a Baltic cruise, and there are so few sea days generally (unless you are sailing from England) that I would recommend not being attached to any one line or ship, and simply picking the cruise that works best for your family in terms of dates and pricing and itinerary. The only line you need to be careful about is if you want to see the sail in through the archipelago in Stockholm since the Princess' Royal/Regal ships have not been cleared to dock directly in Stockholm, leading to a tender and 45 minute - 1 hour train ride into the city.

Both are on my list so I guess it's a matter of which one I would do first and at some point it might just be a hubby and me trip. Sherry the Alaska one is cheaper and easier to actually do the cruise part - as far as airfare and cruise price. But the ports would require a lot of planning and budgeting that I originally thought. If we did a one way, there is considerable expense and planning for the land tour part. Did you do a return cruise or one way.

We've done round trip Seattle because we live here and it's convenient. If it was a "once in a lifetime" trip, I'd do it differently. My kids have been to Alaska 3 times now, and we will likely go again in 2 years when my daughter graduates.

We sailed the to Baltics (on Carnival) once and Alaska (HAL's 14 day trip) twice with our teens. Although they loved Alaska and are "outdoorsy" type teens, they both recommend the Baltics for their variety, history, and "exotic" nature. Your kids will be the perfect age to appreciate the Baltics. Either one will be a fabulous trip.

We haven't done Alaska yet, but I highly recommend the Baltics with teenagers. I let them each pick a port at which to be our tour guide, and they did a pretty good job planning which sights to see and transportation around Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki (I also did my own reading to make sure we were going to visit the places I wanted to see ;)). Tallinn is also very easy to do; my husband guided us that day (with a lot of help from Rick Steves). I was in charge of our visits to Berlin (took the train on our own, very straightforward) and St. Petersburg (booked a small group tour with a group from our Roll Call). The kids enjoyed the variety of the ports, and it's always fun to say "we visited x new countries on our trip".

We were on NCL (on the Sun, before they changed to the Star for the Baltics) and enjoyed it. As someone else pointed out, it's very port-intensive so the ship itself is of secondary importance. We all thought the food was fine (although as long as someone else is doing the cooking and washing up, I'm generally happy).

Happy cruising, whatever you decide!

Thanks - how close to sailing did you book your trips. Some of the lines don't have deals until about 60 days before sailing. I tend to book 18 months out. I wish Carnival would go back to the Baltics but it doesn't seem to be in the works. NCLs pricing and itineraries seem good for both Alaska and Baltic, but reviews of the Sun and Star aren't great. Where can you find good pics of NCL cabins? I've looked at some other lines but some of them don't do the baltic route during July-August.

We booked nearly a year out, because we knew we really wanted to do it. Went with NCL because they had the best price for the itinerary that included the ports we really wanted. Prices dropped just a few weeks before sailing, and we were able to get a free upgrade from oceanview to balcony cabins. :)

For pictures, check the NCL board--the Star is just out of drydock, and hopefully someone will be doing a trip report with pictures.