Alaska with Children

[kaj1436]

What is the best cruiseline and itinerary with a 6,9, and 11 year old. It's so confusing with all the options. I am also considering a cruisetour as well..which line offers the best of those?

What month has the best weather? Will it be too cold mid to late June to enjoy the outdoor areas thoroughly? Is there any swimming at all on an Alaskan cruise?

This is a once in a lifetime trip that I am taking my whole family with ages ranging from 6-76 and I want to make it the best I can make it!

I will be researching these boards for months to come.

[bonvoyagie]

First of all, AK should not be a once in a lifetime trip - we are going back for thirds this summer and have plans on fourths with a trip to the interior in the far future. But if you have the time and $$ and want to try and see as much as possible then the cruise tour is probably the best way to go. I would also visit TravelAlaska.com and order some brochures about Alaska. They also suggestions on what to see vs how much time you have. There are loads of options for the interior AK touring - from renting a car or an RV to using the AK RR and/or GreyLines busses to get around. The AK RR has its own fleet of passenger cars in addition to hauling around the Princess, RCCL, and HAL cars. As far as one way cruises the afore mentioned cruise lines offer them. Which way is better that is a good question - some people say that the SB cruise is a relaxing way to end the vacation - others say NB builds the excitement with Danali as the show stopper. I don't have any expereince - other than I know that cruising is very relaxing and I would probably opt to cruise SB.

 

If you want to see Glacier Bay then your cruise lines are limited to Princess and HAL as they have the majority of the permits to enter the bay.

 

Since you are from Canada beware that if you rent a car in the US you can not enter Canada in it.

 

Flying into Anchorage is cheaper than Fairbanks (at least from where I live)

 

There is lots to see and do in all of AK - your kids will be enthralled by the wildlife, and just the majesty of it all.

[Budget Queen]

What is the best cruiseline and itinerary with a 6,9, and 11 year old. It's so confusing with all the options. I am also considering a cruisetour as well..which line offers the best of those?

What month has the best weather? Will it be too cold mid to late June to enjoy the outdoor areas thoroughly? Is there any swimming at all on an Alaskan cruise?

This is a once in a lifetime trip that I am taking my whole family with ages ranging from 6-76 and I want to make it the best I can make it!

I will be researching these boards for months to come.

 

Kids will do well with ANY Alaska cruise. Choose the cruise for "Alaska" and what activities are the priority to experience.

 

It is rare to have warm enough weather for pool wear, on Alaska cruises. It does happen, but still no where near like the Caribbean. IF the pool is the kids priority, then narrow your selections to ships with inside pools. There are always some real hardy people in the people in outside pools, but, I'm walking by in my jacket, hat and gloves, headed to a front deck for my scenic viewing. :)

 

Sorry, but I NEVER recommend cruisetours with families and young kids. It is an extremely expensive fixed point to point plan, seeing the least. A poor choice with a 6 year old, in my opinion. Take some time and read independent trip reports, you may want to consider this for your group. If you continue with a cruisetour- take your time and educate yourself on what you are looking at, most everyone doesn't realize the specifics of the "vague" descriptions. Do this ALL before any booking. If you want clear, accurate advice, post on this board.

[rayliang]

I guess the most kid friendly ships would be the Disney ones or the RCCL ones, given all the rock climb walls and water slides and other kid friendly facilities.

 

Though I'd highly suggest chose a ship based on the route instead, with focus on either Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, or both

[MSMcDuffy]

Since you say this is a once in a lifetime trip, then I highly recommend you consider either Princess or Holland America (HAL) as these two have permits into Glacier Bay (IMO not to be missed unless you think you might go back someday). I think NCL goes there, too, but they don't have nearly the amount of ships sailing in AK as the other two.

 

I've done RT Seattle & RT Vancouver and the latter was more scenic because the last day was sailing the inside passage and not in the open ocean. Princess does not have RT Vancouver sailings but they do have great one-way itineraries between Whittier & Vancouver.

 

I was on a HAL cruise with 4 generations and we all had a great time; there was something for everyone. During our sailing time, the kids in our group preferred to go swimming over the childrens' program, although, they enjoyed it the couple times they went. All of HAL's ships have covered pools; you'll need one for AK unless you have a rare warm enough day in port (it's usually way too cold while sailing but I'm sure it's been done before). I think all of the Princess ships sailing AK have covered pools except Sea Princess out of SF and the only covered pool on the Coral & Island is for adults only (a Princess Rep confirmed this w/me).

 

As far as the best weather - that is too hard to predict. I've heard that May has the least precipitation and that it increases each month but I experienced an equal amount of rain in June & July. The rule of thumb is to go and expect rain every day and if you get nice weather, it is an extra blessing. You might also want to consider that the most daylight hours revolve around the 1st day of summer.

 

Have fun with the planning!:)

[kaj1436]

Thanks for the input

I guess I should clarify that it will be a once in a lifetime trip for my Dad who will be 76 when we sail..I certainly hope to go again and I'm positive my children will be there again too.

[rayliang]

Since it is once in a lifetime for your dad, I will highly recommend a one way cruise that covers both Hubbard Glacier & Glacier Bay. For example, Princess Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver, you can take a small boat cruise of Prince William Sound and see the glaciers there before your main cruise starts. The cruise ship will take you to Hubbard Glacier & Glacier Bay. Then when you arrive at Juneau, you can take a small boat tour to Tracy Arms / Sawyer Glacier. That covers pretty much all the main calving glacier areas that most tourists goes to.

[sr12345]

With the kids, instead of a cruise tour, consider instead renting an RV up here and touring on your own.

[DizzyDallasDi]

You need to consider what you want to see. I know most people are very keen on seeing glaciers, but that's way down on my priority list. That being said, Glacier Bay is simply spectacular and the glaciers were such a small part of this national park....for me, at least. :) HAL spends the whole day there and it is nonstop scenery.

 

If you're wanting to do a 7-day round trip, then I highly recommend you leave from Vancouver on either the Volendam or Zuiderdam. There isn't a wasted day where you're in open water like you would be from any cruise that leaves from Seattle.

 

The first and last day is spent going through the inside passage where you'll be surrounded by the gorgeous mountains of British Columbia. You'll cruise through Tracy Arm before you stop in Juneau for the rest of the day. All of the port stops are long enough to do 2 excursions, if your wallet can stand it. ;)

 

Have a wonderful time exploring the Great Land! It is nothing short of amazing.

[1of4]

We took our 7 and 10 year old on HAL Inside Passage cruise out of Vancouver last August. Although not thought of as a line for kids, and I got my share of questions before we went as to why HAL, I did it for the exact reasons stated by Budget Queen.

 

The kids could use the Lido pool which was covered, but Club HAL was the big draw for them and they always wanted to be in there. There was under 50 kids (last week of August) and the Club Hal staff were fantastic. Planned activities included: making your own breakfast in the culinary arts center, Olympics, treasture hunt, arts and crafts, games, bringing on local guides to teach the kids about Alaska, to name a few of them.

 

It was the itinerary that drew us to the cruise as we wanted to see the true inside passage and not have to spend a day in Victoria; we wanted both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm so that pointed us to HAL. When we found out we couldn't rent a car in Skagway to go into the Yukon, which was my number 1 thing to do, we found a private tour with Beyond Skagway and had an even better time than if we had rented a car and driven ourselves. I didn't want our kids to "bother" anyone on their tours - not that they would have as they are excellent travellers, but some people don't like the idea of having kids share their space. It all worked out for the best.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[HUBison2008]

Carnival goes to Glacier Bay the first and last itinerary of the season. We're considering them because it's a lower price point thus more money for excursions.