Alaska with Teens

Hi Everyone:

We are looking into an anniversary cruise to Alaska in May 2015 with two teens (13 and 14) on HAL or RCI. Our concern is that, due to the colder weather, the teens will have little to do and we do NOT want bored teens on a cruise ship. We considered the Caribbean to assure the teens were content, but my wife has always wanted to see Alaska and this is her present from me. They will need to go along since we do not have family to care for them.

I know the ships will offer entertainment, but without warm weather, will the teens find enough to do?

Thanks.

My opinion only. Is Alaska your preference? If so, I would not give any priority to what may or may not be of interest for kids- 3 years from now. :)

Alaska ports offer plenty to see and do, involve them in the trip planning- the MAJOR key for interest.

We just got back from Alaska on the Golden Princess and don't worry, your teens won't be bored! Alaska is gorgeous and even though it is cold weather there were still plenty of teens in the (heated) pools and in the hot tubs. There are movies, sports courts, and all of the teen club activities. We saw many groups of teens hanging out and having a great time.

There are lots of excursions to pick from in the Alaskan ports that should interest them. My teens loved the Sled Dog Musher's Camp in Skagway and the Whale Watching Cruise / Glacier Trail in Juneau, for example.

I'm sure your family would have a memorable Alaskan cruise together :)

As a Mom of two teens myself posts like this make me smile a bit. We have really come a long way in this society when we let our kids dictate our vacation plans. I know I am sometimes guilty myself. And then I stop and think about how I grew up and the summer car trips across country. Was I ever bored? Sometimes. Did my parents consult me on whether we would take the trip? Never! They did include me in choosing stops along the way which I think is a great idea. And did I ever whine about being cooped up in a car or seeing one more "boring" National Park. Probably!! But I look back now and realize those are some of my sweetest memories of childhood. I'm so glad my parents didn't make their vacation decision based on my preferences.

And I could not have even comprehended at that age the privilege of being taken on a cruise. My kids are so lucky and also entitled like so many teens today. They have had the luxury of going on so many wonderful vacations. I often remind them how lucky and privileged they are, but with teens you often wonder if it is just going in one ear and out of the other! I do know that they have loved every cruise we have taken and I'm certain that someday like me they will look back and think of these trips as cherished memories.

So do not let your teens dictate your vacation plans. It is your anniversary and your wife wants to go to Alaska so go to Alaska and don't leave the kids at home. Take them and trust me they will enjoy themselves. There are plenty of things to do and plenty of other kids onboard with whom they can socialize. The ports offer varied activities that are great for all ages. You may just be surprised at how much they love it. And if there is a moment or two when you get the "so boring" look, just smile and know that someday they will thank you for "forcing" them to go on a wonderful cruise to Alaska!

We took my teens (12, 15 and 18 at the time) on the Golden Princess to Alaska last summer and they had a great time! They all made friends within the first couple of days and hung out with them all week. They tended to stay up until the wee hours and sleep in late, unless we had an early port. They may have been more interested in movies and pizza than glaciers, but they still had fun. Don't feel offended if they aren't as thrilled with the beautiful scenery as you are. Just be happy to spend time together and know that they are having a good time. My kids ate dinner with us every night in the dining room, and went in to port with us. The rest of the time they were allowed to hang out with their friends, go to the kids/teen club or whatever they wanted... and sometimes they even chose to hang out with us! :)

As a Mom of two teens myself posts like this make me smile a bit. We have really come a long way in this society when we let our kids dictate our vacation plans. I know I am sometimes guilty myself. And then I stop and think about how I grew up and the summer car trips across country. Was I ever bored? Sometimes. Did my parents consult me on whether we would take the trip? Never! They did include me in choosing stops along the way which I think is a great idea. And did I ever whine about being cooped up in a car or seeing one more "boring" National Park. Probably!! But I look back now and realize those are some of my sweetest memories of childhood. I'm so glad my parents didn't make their vacation decision based on my preferences.

 

And I could not have even comprehended at that age the privilege of being taken on a cruise. My kids are so lucky and also entitled like so many teens today. They have had the luxury of going on so many wonderful vacations. I often remind them how lucky and privileged they are, but with teens you often wonder if it is just going in one ear and out of the other! I do know that they have loved every cruise we have taken and I'm certain that someday like me they will look back and think of these trips as cherished memories.

 

So do not let your teens dictate your vacation plans. It is your anniversary and your wife wants to go to Alaska so go to Alaska and don't leave the kids at home. Take them and trust me they will enjoy themselves. There are plenty of things to do and plenty of other kids onboard with whom they can socialize. The ports offer varied activities that are great for all ages. You may just be surprised at how much they love it. And if there is a moment or two when you get the "so boring" look, just smile and know that someday they will thank you for "forcing" them to go on a wonderful cruise to Alaska!

This is very well said. my 20++ year olds, have cut me off with travel. They were dragged all over the place, multiple weeks per year their entire lives. I had at least 8+ weeks vacation every year and an airline employee husband. A caustic mix for someone with no control. :) :)

My oldest- only this year has told me, he had many advantages and experiences, that others never will.

I now, take my nephews, who are 10 years younger than my kids. I worked on their mother to be able to finally take them to Alaska with me next month. I have many of my favorite tourings planned, that I hope they will enjoy. I live for today and enjoy every minute.

We took our kids, then 12 and 14, on an Alaskan land trip and cruise in July 2009 that took 2 years of planning. They are still talking about it 3 years later. A month or so ago I told my now 15 and 17yr olds that we were going to go to an all inclusive in the Caribbean in August and they told me they didn't want to go. So I replanned a vacation to Universal in Orlando. Again they told me they didn't want to go.

I then asked them what they wanted to do and they both said Alaska! While more expensive than plans a and b, I made it work.

So I guess I let them dictate my vacation plans :D but really - it was my preference too!

I would recommend the Bering Strait tour in Ketchican- really great and my teens enjoyed it a lot. My husband and I enjoyed it a lot. And I hate the show! But let your kids see some of it on TV before they go. They will spend more time than you wish in the teen club but oh well. Whale watching in Juneau is a winner.

We took our kids to Alaska several time including when they were the ages of your kids.

Now, would the Caribbean have been ranked by them ahead of Alaska, yes. And that was because they did like to be outside by the pool but they still had a great time in Alaska and on the ship as well. We booked tours that we knew the entire family would like and they did and as they did on any cruise the kids met up with others in their respective age groups and had a great time on the ship.

If this was me I would not hesitate to book the cruise for Alaska and I am sure it will turn out to be a great family trip and a wonderful Anniversary Cruise.

I don't know if your teens would like this but we took them Salmon Fishing and both of our children enjoyed that. We also went on a Whale excursion and rather than doing it on a larger type of boat we went on one that seated the four of us and to other passengers and they loved that too. We also did the gold panhandling which we would't have done for the two of us but we knew they would get a kick out of it an they did. So, just plan things that all four of you will enjoy.

Keith

We've taken our 3 pre & teens to the Caribbean several times. Yes, they've enjoyed it, but I fully anticipate an almost identical experience when we go to Alaska (Princess in two days! YAY). They make friends on the boat. We see them when we want to get together. Yes, we've planned some excursions to cater to them ie; the Bering Sea tour, but will also be of interest to us to ie; Whale watching. They still have pools/games/teen club/etc... on board.

The only difference I anticipate is clothing. Although, kids are oblivious to tempurature so I fully anticipate them wearing shorts! What do they do at home when they are bored? They find something! I have no doubt they have the ability to entertain themselves with a) new friends b) each other c) whatever gadgets they bring d) ship's ammenities e) electronics f) etc...:D

We too are going to Alaska because it's something my DH & I want to do. Bonus for the kids whether they appreciate it or not. My 15yo actually begged me to upgrade him to an iphone instead with the cruise fare $. Too bad! Time spent with family and life experience is much more valuable and memorable.

Teens rarely admit that they are having fun with their family on vacation because apparently it's not cool. My 14 year-old did the usual sulking teenager bit on our cruise, yet was all smiles when she thought we weren't looking. And I caught her laughing on our sled dog excursion and called her bluff. And now, since we've been home, who is talking the most about our cruise? The teens. Gotta love 'em.

We're taking our teens - ages 13 & 17 (oh good gravy I'm going to have 2 teenage boys come November!) to Alaska next year. It's a pre-graduation present for our oldest. None of the men in this family are as excited as I am - yet. This will only be the 2nd cruise for the teens, but they had so much fun on our Southern Caribbean cruise that I can't imagine them being bored in Alaska. Of course we are also doing a week inland before we board the ship.

Get the kids in on the planning of the excursions at the very least. I did that with our last cruise and the boys had a great time! I printed out the excursion list from the cruise line website and then had everyone go through it and highlight their favorites - it was a very colorful list since we were all color coded! The majority won - if there was a tie, we all sat down and discussed it. I then looked for a way to do the cruise line excursion through an independent vendor. Worked out great for us! The boys are still talking about the TomCar rides in Aruba, the tubing in Dominica, and the snorkeling/sailboat ride in St. Thomas (Curacao got rained out). They may not be the most educational tours on their face, but some education was snuck in! :D

We just returned from an Alaskan cruise tour (RCI) that my teen (14) declared was the best vacation of his life. He loved the teen activities and the excursions. We also did some excursions for the kids (science oriented whale watching and a sled dog camp) but he also enjoyed the activities on the ship. Best advice was from the family cruising board - and is the same advice for any cruise - get them involved early.

We are going to Alaska later this summer. We learned our DIL had taken a cruise with her parents. She told us it was the best trip she had ever taken. Her father was a pilot before he retired--so, they traveled a great deal.

She took the Alaska trip 13 years ago when she was a teen!!:eek: She still remembers all the things she did.

we took our two teens on an AK cruise the year after we did our first cruise (for our 25th anniversary). They were given the choice of Disney or a cruise - they chose the cruise and now my DD is trying any angle to do another with her DH.

My DS enjoyed the soda and pizza - almost to excess. He also enjoyed the glaciers, train rides, gold panning, and whale watching we did - that was back in 03. Today the number of thing you can do in the ports has grown to include things like ziplines and go karts - in addition to the other stuff.

Planning will be the key to success.

We took our 16 year old with us the first week of July - Whale Watching was great - he really loved it. The Tracy Arm excursion was great - he loved it. He liked but didn't love the Yukon train trip - parts of it he thought were great and at other times he seemed and was bored. He even liked the lumberjack show.

He had fun on the ship although he didn't have as many kids to socialize with.

I would recommend the Bering Strait tour in Ketchican- really great and my teens enjoyed it a lot. My husband and I enjoyed it a lot. And I hate the show! But let your kids see some of it on TV before they go.

What was it your teensagers liked about the Bering Strait Tour ? All I hear from my teens is "It sounds boring"... but they think everything but playing xBox is boring.... :/

Honestly (speaking for myself as a teen), the unlimited food alone is enough to keep me occupied. :D By 2014, I will have been to Alaska 4 times ^^" There are teens clubs, sports on deck, a pool and daily activites scheduled fr them. They will be fine. Don't let your kids ruin your present for your wife. They should be happy to go!

We just got back and our teens (17 & 13) were never bored. They were regular party animals in the teens club (X club on Celebrity) not getting back to the stateroom until midnight at the earliest every night!

As for excursions, we didn't really do anything in Juneau - it was our "play it by ear" day. We did take the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts (perfectly sunny day) and had lunch and walked around a bit.

In Skagway, we took the train to Fraser and the bus to Carcross/Caribou Crossing and then back to Skagway.

In Icy Strait, we took a whale watch with Glacier Wind Charters and in Ketchikan, we did a flightseeing tour with Michelle at Island Wings into the Misty Fjords National Monument.

I have to say, the kids didn't seem bored at all. Alaska is just spectacular and the kids will LOVE it!

Wanted to Circle Back and let you know how it turned out...

Despite them not wanting to go on this cruise at all....

They all are go glad they went. I guess the part they do not like is the actual cruise.. (go figure). They never participated in the teen clubs on board, but they did do the Rock Climbing on board and played basketball..

On NCL, there were tons of kids and teens too. I don't know what the average age was, but there were many families of 25 on board (babies -->Grandmothers), Newlyweds, People on anniversaries, Parrents w/ Small Children, Parents w/ Teens... This was a true family cruise. I think the cruise line had a lot do do w/ the age.. i talked to 1 person who went on HAL... and at 40, she was the youngest... so...

Choose a good Cruise Ship!

By the end of our first day in AK (Juneau), my kids were hooked - they absolutely loved it; they are thankful they got the opportunity to go, and they would like to go again...and, humbly, they said this is probably their favorite vacation ever...

So, is AK for TEENS? Absolutely !

Just got back from 6 night land tour/7 night cruise on RCI Radiance. My 17 year old daughter and 11 year niece and nephew said they had a great time. We did so many memorable excursions they had a hard time rating which was tops. My 17 year old was so busy, she slept nearly 12 hours a day for the first 4 days back. This was the most active vacation we have ever taken. I never saw any teens hanging out in the elevators killing time this trip.

We took my only-child teenage son to Alaska and he absolutely loved it. We were with HAL, and he spent most of his ship time in the teen club and all of his shore time with us. He was never bored (and he's a bit shy, so this was a bit of a test!), he made friends quickly, and he was totally absorbed in the excursions. We did plan things we thought we would all enjoy, but if you like being together as a family even the less captivating things are still fun (like being rained on while your parents drag you around a totem pole park). It will be what you make it, but for us, I know he would not have wanted to miss Alaska in favor of the Caribbean (which he also enjoyed). :D