jac1976

We just went on a cruise with our 13 year old in November.  I found a roll call page on Facebook for our specific cruise months ahead of time.  There were a bunch of us that said we had teenaged kids, so one parent set up a group chat on the app "Groupme".  The kids were able to talk to each other via this group text for months before the cruise.  They even set up a meeting place on the ship the afternoon it sailed away so they could meet each other before going to the club.  These kids became my sons best friends and I barely saw him the entire cruise.  In fact, he still texts with them on a regular basis.

I used TJ Travels for a 2 day private tour last August and it was wonderful.  I chose a private tour because it was just my 10 year old daughter and I and I wanted the flexibility to change things if she became tired or bored.  I was nervous about getting off the ship as I had read those with private tours can’t disembark until after those with ship’s tours, but that wasn’t the case for me.  We disembarked when I wanted and we had no issues going through immigration and finding our guide and driver.  

A private tour definitely was beneficial at both the Hermitage and Catherine’s Palace as our guide was able to talk to the guards and have us walk right in rather than wait in the line with the larger groups.

I was in St. Petersburg on August 4 and 5 with Cunard on the Queen Elizabeth (Regular Old Britannia class). I had a private tour booked with TJ Travel and had no issues getting off the ship whenever I wanted. On the first day I disembarked in the middle of the ship’s tours, and on the second day i disembarked before any of the ship’s tours as there was a running race that day that my guide and driver were trying to avoid getting caught in. I was worried as I had heard I would have to wait, but no one batted an eye when I disembarked with only my daughter.

My children dress up for dinner, including tuxes and fancy dresses on formal nights. After dinner, if they wanted to change (sometimes they preferred to stay dressed up), we would simply go back to the room they would do a quick change and then we’d continue on to the kids clubs. It was easy to do.

I sailed on the Queen Elizabeth out of Southampton on 7/27. I arrived in Heathrow that morning. I was concerned because my ticket had a boarding time of 3pm. (I was also in a Britannia class cabin.) The airport transfer got my daughter and I to the port around 11am. I asked a Cunard rep if I needed to wait until 3 and was told no. I went right up to a check in desk (no line) and was on board within 10 minutes (no line at security either.). The one thing was that since we boarded before noon, our room would not be ready and we were asked to go directly to the Lido. We ate a small lunch and then went to our room about 12:30 where our luggage was already waiting for us.

I was just in St. Petersburg on August 4/5. I sailed with Cunard and booked a private tour with TJ Travel. There were 5 ships in port on the 4th and 6 ships on the 5th. I had no issues getting off my ship before Cunard excursions. No one even asked me if I was on a tour or anything when I got off the ship- I just walked right off. On the first day there was a 30 minute wait to get through passport control. On the 2nd day it only took 10 minutes. I needed to have my passport on both days (I’m a US citizen) and just showed my passport along with my tour ticket (printed on regular paper from my computer at home) and didn’t have any issues at all.

We flew from Philadelphia to Heathrow in late July. We arrived about 8am and had to wait about an hour at passport control.

I just did this on the Queen Elizabeth. It was a 45 minute private photo session that took place around the ship (on deck, by the funnel, in the library, etc.). There was no sitting fee, but the cheapest photo package was $495 which I believe got you 5 photos. I think there was a $995 option, and I chose the $1295 option which included 40 prints, 2 8x10 frames, a 16x20 canvas, and all photos on a thumb drive. I think there was another more expensive option as well.

I found out about it when a photographer was stationed at a table in the grand lobby, although another photographer mentioned it when taking our pictures on a formal night. There was also info displayed in the photo shop.

We did the fjords during the last week of August in 2014 with our two kids (9 and 6 at the time.). There were a good amount in the kids clubs, but I never noticed many in other areas of the ship (although we were in the Queens Grill, so I was not in the main dining room) and the ones I did see were well behaved.

I would get it notarized. I have travelled solo with my kids in and out of the country many times and have never been asked for anything, but it is always better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. My daughter and I are heading to the Baltic this summer without my husband and I have a specific Power of Attorney prepared and notarized by legal.

A few years ago we did Norway with my kids (then 9 and 7 years old), and father (65 yo) and my father in law (82 yo). It was a great trip and to this day my kids say it was one of their favorite vacations, although they say that's mainly because they were with both grandfathers for a week. We flew into London and went to Southampton where we boarded Cunard's Queen Victoria. We stopped in Olden, Flam, Stavanger, and Bergen.

I can't speak to older children, as my children are younger (currently 10 and 12), but we have sailed on Cunard with them twice and have had wonderful experiences. In fact, my 10 year old daughter and I have another sailing booked for the two of us this summer and are quite looking forward to it.

We did a TA crossing on the QM2 when my son was 2 and had a wonderful time. The people on board (especially are waiter in the MDR) loved my son and would dote on him left and right. No one made us or my son feel like he didn't belong.

Our second trip on Cunard was 4 years ago when we did a 7 night cruise on the Queen Victoria through the fjords of Norway. My children were 9 and 7 at the time and we traveled in the Queens Grill. My father and my husband's father were with us on this trip. We had 3 cabins that were next to each other. While the cabins themselves did not connect, they were able to remove the balcony dividers so it was one very large balcony and we could access each other's rooms that way. My children enjoyed spending time in the kids' programs, although they also enjoyed doing the other activities on the ship- one day there was a napkin folding class, and afternoon tea was a big hit. We were welcomed in the Queens Grill every night and my children were treated perfectly. Other passengers even commented on how it was nice to see children enjoying spending time with their grandparents.

This summer my daughter and I will be sailing on the Queen Elizabeth through the Baltic and both of us are very excited.

While I have not cruised Alaska on Royal Caribbean, I have cruised on Royal Caribbean and I have cruised the inside passage with kids (on Princess.) My family loves Royal Caribbean- it is their cruise line of choice. I went on a voyage with them and there is no shortage of things to do. It was very kid friendly. My brother and sister loved the kids clubs (I was an adult when I cruised, so I have no first hand experience.)

As for Alaska, there was plenty to keep my kids busy- and in my experience, Princess has a lot less kid friendly amenities than Royal Caribbean so I think you will be fine. They were 3 and 6 at the time and loved the kids clubs. We also sailed in August, so my kids were in the pool. The water was sloshing around a bit, but they thought that made it all the more fun. I would bring binoculars- when sailing close to the coast you'll see plenty of wildlife. We saw lots of whales and bald eagles.

As for excursions, in Skagway we did the train ride and then had a private tour guide take us into the Yukon. This was awesome because we got to plan things the way we wanted so we did a picnic lunch by the side of a lake, and the kids got to do some gold panning. In Ketchikan we walked down Creek Street which was really cool. We also did the lumberjack show which was entertaining and went to the Saxman Totem Park. We got to see someone actually carving a totem pole which my kids thought was so cool. In Juneau we went to see Mendenhall Glacier. We enjoyed the visitors center and even got to see some black bears lounging in the trees. We got into Victoria late and my husband and I had already been there years before when we lived in the area so we just walked around the city. But I love the tea at the Empress Hotel and the Butchart Gardens are absolutely beautiful.

jac1976: You're spending a lot for 2 people. " I just booked a private 2 day tour with TJ Travel for myself and my 10 yo daughter and the total cost was $1035 which included an early booking discount of 5%. "

That's okay. They were able to customize my itinerary to fit in everything I wanted, so I am comfortable paying what they asked of me. If I weren't, I would have booked through another agent.

I would choose a carrier over a stroller in Naples and Pompei. You can get by with a stroller in Naples, but in Pompei a stroller would be tough. Everything over there is just smaller. There is less space in restaurants, less space on the streets, less space in stores. I found it much easier to use a carrier. (I lived in Naples for 2 years, and my son was born there.) When we cruised to Alaska my daughter was 3 1/2 and I used my pre-school kinderpack the whole time.

As for current pricing, I just booked a private 2 day tour with TJ Travel for myself and my 10 yo daughter and the total cost was $1035 which included an early booking discount of 5%. Estimated times (since we are still too far out to know exact port times) were 8:30-5 on day 1, and 8:00-4:30 on day 2. I asked if I could mix and match pieces from a few of their tours to come up with the itinerary I wanted and they were happy to do so.

If you can afford it, I would absolutely book a cabin with a balcony. We cruised in late August and loved sitting out on our balcony and watching the scenery as we siled among the fjords. It was absolutely gorgeous. For arrivals in the morning it was nice to be able to watch the scenery from our own private balcony and not have to get dressed to go up on deck.

We cruised the Inside Passage (one of the Alaska Itineraries) on a Princess ship when DD was 3y9m and DS was 6y3m. We had a blast. We did have to adjust our excursions because of the young ages of the kids, but what we did was still a ton of fun. In Juneau we went to Mendenhall Glacier where we enjoyed the glacier, visitors center, and even saw two black bears hanging out in the trees. Afterwards we went to the salmon bake which was fun. In Ketchikan we went to a village to learn about Native life, see Totem Poles, and then went to see a lumberjack show (that was lots of fun.) In Skagway we hired a private guide to meet us after our trip on the White Pass train- she took us up into the Yukon, we had a picnic by a beautiful lake, checked out the Carcross Desert, and saw some more bears. In Victoria we just walked around the city. (We had been there before, and didn't feel the need to do an excursion, but the Butchart Gardens are beautiful and the tea at the Empress hotel is my absolute favorite.)

I think it would depend on the age of the little ones and the perks you get with the suite. We just sailed on the Queen Victoria with our 6yo and 9 yo. We sailed in a penthouse suite in the Queens Grill with a butler. Having a butler was nice, but we didn't use him more than we used our regular room steward on previous cruises. What we did use was the concierge just for Grills guests, and we really enjoyed the smaller dining room with flexible seating.

The balcony was nice as we were traveling with my father and my father-in-law. 3 rooms in all, right in a row. Our butler opened up the wall that separated the balconies so we had one giant balcony and access to all 3 rooms. That was wonderful for the kids as they could go back and forth to their grandfathers' rooms without having to go into the hallway. It also made things easier for us in the mornings as my 9yo was staying my father-in-law. When he woke up, he would just go out on the balcony and come into our suite instead of waking up grandpa.

We just did the Norwegian Fjords this summer (my daughter is 6 and my son is 9) and had a wonderful time! We were on Cunard's Queen Victoria which sailed roundtrip from Southampton, England and visited Stavanger, Olden, Flam, and Bergen.

With only 2 sea days, most of our time was spent in port, and not at the kids' clubs. The kids did take a dip in the pool every day (although it was chilly when you got out of the water). On our sea days, the kids begged to go to the kids' clubs and were very happy with the activities that were provided. We enjoy Cunard and have found the staff to be very welcoming to our children on both of our voyages with them, however they cater to an older audience (I think there were only about 20-30 kids registered for the kids' club while we were on board.)

One thing to think about is how often and when (if) your children will use the kids' clubs. On Disney they were open non stop throughout the day. On both Princess and Cunard they had an hour or two around lunch and dinner when they would close. I asked my children what they thought of the kids' clubs and they said they were all the same. (And the Disney and Princess cruises were only 6 months apart so they could compare the two pretty well.) After our experience with Princess, I decided that the only way I would pay the premium for Disney again would be if I wanted the Disney feel (and I love Disney, so that may happen), but if I was just interested in the location, I would skip Disney and go with another cruise line.

To prepare for our trip on the QV last month, my ballroom loving dad had me take a dance lesson so I could dance with him on the boat. I only had one lesson, so my dad and his instructor decided to teach me the foxtrot (the American version as that is what his instructor teaches.) I would say that just knowing that one dance, I was out on the dance floor once every 2-3 songs.

The other dances that seemed popular were the rumba, cha cha, and waltz.

As for shoes, I just wore a pair of comfortable heels and danced in those without a problem.

I just wanted to say thank you for the information about the playground near the top of the funicular. We were in Bergen a week ago and were lucky enough to have dry weather- even some sun during the morning hours. We took the funicular to the top of the mountain as we were with my 82 year old father in law, but when we got up there were easily able to find the playground which my children thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you very much! Yes, we are traveling from Southampton. We board a week from today and are very much looking forward to our voyage.

For those of you who have stayed in the Queens Grill, have you received your luggage before dinner time on the day of embarkation? I'm just trying to decide if I should carry on my son's and husband's jackets or if they will be fine in our suitcases.

Thank you!

We took our Maclaren Twin Triumph to Suomenlinna and it worked well. There was one section going uphill where it was a bit tough to push, but I'm glad we had it with us. We went with our 3 year old and 7 month old and brought some bread and cheese and had a picnic- everyone had a fun time.