Diamond Princess to Alaska

[zipporah]

We're considering a family (grandparents--60's, parents

-40's 2 boys 10 & 12)trip to Alaska. Any advice?

Excursions? How are kids' programs? For the land tour: Denali and McKinley or Denali and Copper Rive/ Thanks, S

[Gr8kruzn]

We did the 11 day Alaska cruise tour in May this year on the Coral Princess and it was wonderful! We are parents in our 40's, son was 18, and grandparents in early 70's. We did the land portion first from Anchorage to McKinley 1 night and then Denali 2 nights. We actually saw Mt. McKinley all 4 days of the land portion from various locations! Our weather was absolutely perfect - sunny and in the 60's - 70's. (this was the last 2 weeks in May). In Denali, we took the Tundra Wilderness Tour -we upgraded to the one that is about 7-8 hours long, and this was amazing. We saw moose, caribou, eagles, dall sheep, a lynx, and 3 grizzly bears that walked out on the road in front of our bus! We took the glass domed railcar from Denali to the port in Whittier which took from 8am to about 5pm. That sounds like a long trip, but the train ride was one of the best parts of the trip. The train is surprisingly very comfortable and you can move about as you please. There is alot of scenery to look at along the way which keeps your interest. Of course the cruise was also wonderful. The glaciers are just awesome to view - we had scenic cruising of the glaciers at Hubbard Glacier and in Glacier Bay. In Skagway, we did the White Pass Yukon train ride, in which again we saw some amazing scenery. In Juneau, we did a whale watching excursion and saw humpback and orca whales and then went to a salmon bake which was very good. Then we visited Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau which was also quite beautiful and interesting. In Ketchikan, we did the lumberjack show. This was my least favorite port. There were hardly any kids on this cruise, and most people were probably older than us, but this did not bother us. Our son got involved in many of the sporting activities and contests on the ship and also enjoyed some of the shows and game show activities as well as karaoke. I am very grateful that we got to experience some of the beauty of Alaska. You will have a great time I am sure. :)

[karatemom2]

We did back to back cruises on the Diamond last year in June with our kids who were 10 and 15 at the time. The Diamond is a beautiful ship and has great programs for kids and teens. They had a great time as they always do on Princess cruises. We cruised at the end of June and there were about 300 kids onboard, so they had plenty of company.

[Gr8kruzn]

By the way, I would recommend doing the land portion first. This part can be a little hectic and tiring as you switch hotels alot and have alot of early morning departures. Then you can relax more on the cruise. I would also recommend you check out the Alaska board for a wealth of information. Sorry can't comment on the kids programs. On the Coral, one of the pools is covered with a glass dome, so you can swim regardless of the weather. Believe it or not, there actually were some people in the outdoor pool even on the cooler days when we were cruising the glaciers. :eek:

[Tucson Jim]

Last year we did Vancouver/Anchorage/Copper River Cruisetour on the Diamond, spent 3 extra days in Anchorage, then returned to Vancouver on the Coral. If we had it to do over again, we'd have booked nights in the Princess lodges, but rented a car and driven ourselves. On the cruisetour, we found our ability to participate in excursion activities limited by the bus schedule. Constantly had to put our luggage out the night before, get up at O'dark-30, rush through breakfast, spend all day on the bus, then get in too late and too tired to enjoy much. Start all over again the next day.

 

Next time it'll be two weeks with a rental car, stay in Princess Lodges, book Princess excursions.

 

Jim

[mytime53]

Have you looked into doing a land tour on your own? With 2 children, I would look into a DIY land tour before booking the cruisetour. There of course would be pros and cons to both methods of touring, and only you can decide which is best for your family. But I think the flexibility you would have with DIY would would make up for the convenience of a Princess land tour.

 

As to which areas to travel to, that depends on what your family wants to see/do in Alaska. Without a car, both the McKinley Princess and the Copper River Princess are isolated.

[Woobstr112G]

We're considering a family (grandparents--60's, parents

-40's 2 boys 10 & 12)trip to Alaska. Any advice?

Excursions? How are kids' programs? For the land tour: Denali and McKinley or Denali and Copper Rive/ Thanks, S

 

Do the land portion first. It can be very tiring so get it out of the way before the cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[MichTraveler]

I would agree with doing the land tour first, but not in early May as Denali won't be fully available yet.

I would also recommend do it yourself with kids instead of Princess tours. That way you can stop when you want; if you see wildlife, stop and enjoy.

[Colo Cruiser]

I also agree, land portion first. ;)

[Kamloops50]

We're considering a family (grandparents--60's, parents

-40's 2 boys 10 & 12)trip to Alaska. Any advice?

Excursions? How are kids' programs? For the land tour: Denali and McKinley or Denali and Copper Rive/ Thanks, S

 

I don't think there are any kids programs on the land portion . Be prepared to entertain the little ;) adults. I think the train is a must for the little ones.