Excursions with a 21 month old- Alaska

[Amy G]

I posted this on the Family Board as well...

 

Any suggestions of excursions that you have done with an almost-2 year old? We have been to Alaska twice before, but this is our first with our daughter. We hit Victoria, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

With over a hundred tours, you need to determine, and narrow down your interests. With your prior visits, what did you do with your time? A two year old is not going to have too much of a attention span. You also need to be realistic with a 2 year old's tolerance and best, perhaps, to not get involved with longer tours with no way out.

[Amy G]

All good advice. I have only been looking at 3 hour and under excursions! We have done whale watching, Mendenhall viewing, and hiking on Mendenhall on our pasts trips to Juneau. Have done the Yukon drive and dog sleds in Skagway. In Ketchikan we have done the rainforest hike and attempted a sea plane to see bears, but that was canceled because of wind. Oh, and we have been down the Chilkat river.

 

We are pretty open to suggestions, knowing we are limited on what we can do. I was thinking of doing the aerial tram in Juneau. I am at a loss for Skagway.

[PennyAgain]

The Mt Roberts tram is a reasonable thing to do if the weather is clear. Do not buy your tickets in advance.

 

Wait until you are in Juneau and about ready to ride as there are no refunds given for poor seeing from the top.

 

If you cannot see the top of the tram from the bottom, you will have no view from the top.

 

Many people buy in advance either on their ship (big sales pitch on ships) or online. Zero advantage!

 

Have your stroller and be prepared to walk. You can tour the towns that way at no expense and change plans on the fly. Do a GOOGLE or BING search for playgrounds in the towns.

 

Have a few new toys hidden away to bring out when needed.

 

Have wonderful family memories!

[Amy G]

Thank you! I read that the tram is actually free for her (under 2?), and the cruise ships charge for her, so I will definitely just buy tickets the day of (weather permitting).

[lindseesmom]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

[Amy G]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

 

Because she is my daughter and I don't want to leave a 21 month old for 10 days while we go on vacation. She will be a world traveler, just like us, if we start young. And, I refuse to have a normal life just because she is young. Why should parents give up vacationing when they have a child.

[karatemom2]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

 

They will not remember birthday parties, visiting the zoo or going to Disneyland either, so should they do nothing until they are at the age of cognizance? These types of comments make no sense to me. Should children just be kept from any type of experience until they can "remember" it? I remember all those special moments and they are precious family times. My children may not remember, but they love seeing the photos and hearing the stories. We have traveled with our children since they were young and I wouldn't trade a moment. It was never a burden - it was a blessing and we always enjoyed ourselves.

[odyzander]

Because she is my daughter and I don't want to leave a 21 month old for 10 days while we go on vacation. She will be a world traveler, just like us, if we start young. And, I refuse to have a normal life just because she is young. Why should parents give up vacationing when they have a child.

 

Rock on mom!! I say take them when they are young. Develop that love of travel and exploration at a young age. We started when my son was 5 months to Mexico. :eek:Now that was at trip to remember! LOL Now he has a seriously love of exploring new things.

[Kerry's Girls]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

 

Because if a child is exposed to lots of different experiences, including spending quality time having an adventure with their family, they may not grown up to be ignorant???

 

The picture below is of my 13 month old twins that I took on a cruise alone. I did enjoy myself. My girls, who are 8, don't remember most of their early travels, but I do, and they have grown to be fantastic travelers. I only wish I had done more before they started school and our vacation schedule became so restricted.

 

We have an 18 month old in our group on our upcoming Alaska cruise, so I've been watching this thread for ideas - appreciate the info/ideas from those who've been there.

 

Best,

Mia

[Amy G]

Thank you all for the support. :)

[tamsocal]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

 

Because she is my daughter and I don't want to leave a 21 month old for 10 days while we go on vacation. She will be a world traveler, just like us, if we start young. And, I refuse to have a normal life just because she is young. Why should parents give up vacationing when they have a child.

 

just returning to cruisecritic after a year or two of visiting other board.... I have been reminded in a short period of time how extremely helpful the boards are and as well how very much not........

 

our 9 year old is nearing cruise #20, transatlantic, south america, antarctica, panama canal, alaska, etc, etc. the 5 yr olds as well have cruised a few times a year.

at near 2 I honestly booked excursions I wanted to do vs what sounded fun for them. YOu will have a good amount of tours that you cannot book due to age.

We took our 2-3 year old on a day trip ?8+ hours on a bus to Fish Creek in Denali.

Its hard for me to remember but I can pull up some old word docs if you really want details.

Victoria: Butchart gardens, bug museum, some big park up a hill ?south of the museum that has the IMAX, orca whale watch, the aquarium that is in the harbor (I think it is on a boat?)

Ketchikan: Saxman Native VIllage, walking around town, duck tour (DH did this one with the kid & I went to Anan Bear trip), Discovery Museum

Juneau: mendenhall glacier- tour & via city bus-- , gold creek salmon bake, whale watch trip, fishing trip (6-8 hours for the 2 year olds), mt roberts, playground on the road to salmon bake, fish hatchery

Skagway: WP railroad, jewels garden (& the cemetery :), carcross, cant remember the place we stopped at to have lunch & sled dogs were there in pens back behind the eating area

we took the 2 year old on a helicopter glacier viewing in skagway too.

 

I am not going to pass up things I dont want to do in life just because I have kids. their little brains are growing & developing so much as well- they may not remember everything or anything but all of this tactile & sensory exposure I think is great for them.

My older son cracks me up when I hear him talking to his friends who ask a question about a whale or dolphin & he tells them the average length, age, what they eat, where they live & migrate, etc.

 

You know your kids best-- if you can keep them entertained, easily distracted, etc- you can judge which excursions will be best. Have to say our leapster saved us on the Denali Fish Creek Bus tour.

 

TIPS-- we wrapped a small gift for each day of the cruise or tour we were going on- a little mini fan with lights, Denali--- Lightning McQueen Leapster catridge. Book, etc-- excellent for bribing them or encouraging them to have good manners.

at 2 we werent doing lollipops, but now I bring little small mini tootsie roll pops for them to eat while we are standing in boring lines or on a bus/plane trip or small snacks to keep them busy briefly & distracted & rewards

 

Our main issue is that they must behave and we will not be disruptive to those around us-- so sometimes we end up working very hard to keep them happy and other times it is a piece of cake-- but thats parenting.

[olemissreb]

My question is why would you bring a 21 month old on a cruise??? The child will not remember it and you are not going to enjoy yourself either. Wait till the child gets older or leave the child home!

 

Because if a child is exposed to lots of different experiences' date=' including spending quality time having an adventure with their family, they may not grown up to be ignorant???

 

The picture below is of my 13 month old twins that I took on a cruise alone. I did enjoy myself. My girls, who are 8, don't remember most of their early travels, but I do, and they have grown to be fantastic travelers. I only wish I had done more before they started school and our vacation schedule became so restricted.

 

We have an 18 month old in our group on our upcoming Alaska cruise, so I've been watching this thread for ideas - appreciate the info/ideas from those who've been there.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

I have to admit that I thought the same thing as lindseesmom. I was firmly in the camp of "why spend the money on something they won't remember". But after reading Kerry's Girls post, I have a whole new perspective! THANK YOU!

 

We didn't spend a lot of money on vacations when our boys were little. That doesn't mean we stayed home though. Our vacation of choice was Hilton Head Island - the kids loved the biking, dolphin excursions, fireworks etc. We did take our 1yo (at the time) to Colonial Williamsburg and while we had a good time, I think we would have had a better time if he had been able to walk. Someone always had to stay outside of many of the buildings with him because we couldn't take a stroller in. In the last 10 years or so, we've upped the ante on vacations - Outer Banks, NC; Washington DC; Southern Caribbean Cruise; DisneyWorld; now Alaska cruise.

[slider728]

I posted this on the Family Board as well...

 

Any suggestions of excursions that you have done with an almost-2 year old? We have been to Alaska twice before, but this is our first with our daughter. We hit Victoria, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Thanks!

 

Getting back to the question at hand...

 

I can only speak for Juneau. Have you thought about renting a car and keeping it simple with your 2 year old?

 

Twin Lakes in Juneau (a few miles outside of downtown heading toward the glacier) as one of the best free playgrounds I have seen anywhere in the world.

 

When I took my kids back to my hometown of Juneau for the first time, the highlight of their trip was going out to Auke Rec and picking up seashells on the beach. This does require a bit of advance planning, but not much. Shell picking is best at low tide and I'd recommend brining a brass or a stiff nylon brush to scrub the shells back in your stateroom when you get back onboard. If you are real ambitious, you could by a clam rake or a small garden spade and dig some clams for fun there if that is something you haven't done before (obviously you'd have to throw them away).

 

Depending on the time of year you are going, maybe you can hit DIPAC and snag a few salmon so your child can have a picture with a nice sized salmon. Also depending on the time of year, you could to go the pier by the harbor master's office in Auke Bay and jig for herring and other small fish.

 

Just a tossing out a few ideas :)

[Amy G]

Getting back to the question at hand...

 

I can only speak for Juneau. Have you thought about renting a car and keeping it simple with your 2 year old?

 

Twin Lakes in Juneau (a few miles outside of downtown heading toward the glacier) as one of the best free playgrounds I have seen anywhere in the world.

 

When I took my kids back to my hometown of Juneau for the first time, the highlight of their trip was going out to Auke Rec and picking up seashells on the beach. This does require a bit of advance planning, but not much. Shell picking is best at low tide and I'd recommend brining a brass or a stiff nylon brush to scrub the shells back in your stateroom when you get back onboard. If you are real ambitious, you could by a clam rake or a small garden spade and dig some clams for fun there if that is something you haven't done before (obviously you'd have to throw them away).

 

Depending on the time of year you are going, maybe you can hit DIPAC and snag a few salmon so your child can have a picture with a nice sized salmon. Also depending on the time of year, you could to go the pier by the harbor master's office in Auke Bay and jig for herring and other small fish.

 

Just a tossing out a few ideas :)

 

Awesome suggestions, thank you. I have thought of renting a car, and I like the idea of doing what we can with her. A visit to a playground will be great when she is tired of seeing cool things! And then we could drive to see Mendenhall as well.

[Amy G]

just returning to cruisecritic after a year or two of visiting other board.... I have been reminded in a short period of time how extremely helpful the boards are and as well how very much not........

 

our 9 year old is nearing cruise #20, transatlantic, south america, antarctica, panama canal, alaska, etc, etc. the 5 yr olds as well have cruised a few times a year.

at near 2 I honestly booked excursions I wanted to do vs what sounded fun for them. YOu will have a good amount of tours that you cannot book due to age.

We took our 2-3 year old on a day trip ?8+ hours on a bus to Fish Creek in Denali.

Its hard for me to remember but I can pull up some old word docs if you really want details.

Victoria: Butchart gardens, bug museum, some big park up a hill ?south of the museum that has the IMAX, orca whale watch, the aquarium that is in the harbor (I think it is on a boat?)

Ketchikan: Saxman Native VIllage, walking around town, duck tour (DH did this one with the kid & I went to Anan Bear trip), Discovery Museum

Juneau: mendenhall glacier- tour & via city bus-- , gold creek salmon bake, whale watch trip, fishing trip (6-8 hours for the 2 year olds), mt roberts, playground on the road to salmon bake, fish hatchery

Skagway: WP railroad, jewels garden (& the cemetery :), carcross, cant remember the place we stopped at to have lunch & sled dogs were there in pens back behind the eating area

we took the 2 year old on a helicopter glacier viewing in skagway too.

 

I am not going to pass up things I dont want to do in life just because I have kids. their little brains are growing & developing so much as well- they may not remember everything or anything but all of this tactile & sensory exposure I think is great for them.

My older son cracks me up when I hear him talking to his friends who ask a question about a whale or dolphin & he tells them the average length, age, what they eat, where they live & migrate, etc.

 

You know your kids best-- if you can keep them entertained, easily distracted, etc- you can judge which excursions will be best. Have to say our leapster saved us on the Denali Fish Creek Bus tour.

 

TIPS-- we wrapped a small gift for each day of the cruise or tour we were going on- a little mini fan with lights, Denali--- Lightning McQueen Leapster catridge. Book, etc-- excellent for bribing them or encouraging them to have good manners.

at 2 we werent doing lollipops, but now I bring little small mini tootsie roll pops for them to eat while we are standing in boring lines or on a bus/plane trip or small snacks to keep them busy briefly & distracted & rewards

 

Our main issue is that they must behave and we will not be disruptive to those around us-- so sometimes we end up working very hard to keep them happy and other times it is a piece of cake-- but thats parenting.

 

 

Thank you. How did your child do on the whale watching trip?

[Budget Queen]

Thank you. How did your child do on the whale watching trip?

 

I have seen more toddler melt downs. So I would only suggest, if you are considering this, go with Allen Marine, the ship contractor on their large boats. Any other boat is too confining.

 

Take triple the distractions and snacks that you think you will need. Don't count on a lot of whale watching for yourself, and hopefully you will have someone, who switches off with you. You will NOT want to be anywhere near the rail while holding the child, so find a secure window viewing area.

[Amy G]

Thanks BudgetQueen. I actually keep going back and forth on whether or not we want to do whale watching. I have been looking into bigger boats, a definite must, but then I keep thinking that perhaps we don't really need to do this excursion this time around with her. Decisions, decisions!

[CleoV]

I'd keep it relatively simple with a toddler (ie: save whale watching excursions for another time). There is just SO much to see and do in Alaska that isn't going to be hard on a) the baby b) you and c) your excursion mates.

 

I fully agree a trip like this is more for you than for the baby, which is great. I took my son on trips from the time he was 6 months old. But the memories you make should be GOOD ones, and in the case of a toddler that means simple (IMO).

 

Whale watching is seriously cool, but it'll still be there when your youngster is older and can enjoy it with you. Alaska is magnificent, and you'll almost certainly return. Why not just enjoy the lower-key things now, and look forward to making your first whale watching memories with your child when they'll remember it too?

[PennyAgain]

I traveled with my parents from the age of TINY. They didn't have a choice. No place to leave me so I just went.

 

What I learned was to adapt to circumstances, changes in where I slept, what I ate and the sounds and smells of where I was. Has helped me throughout life.

 

I have always felt sorry for people who didn't learn coping skills as a child.

 

As a business woman I've interviewed many people for jobs that absolutely required travel. If a person says, 'I can't sleep in a hotel' then I know they can't manage the travel.

 

Children with kind and loving parents are very good at adapting to change. They may not remember the event, but they won't forget the skills, the fun with family and how nice it was to be with folks they love.

 

It's something like Christmas presents. Will they play with the toy or the box it came in? Really doesn't matter does it?

[tamsocal]

Thank you. How did your child do on the whale watching trip?

 

great.

We have done both small boats & larger ones. What I would probably recommend is to either book your own private boat -- we did this with fishing- was cheaper or similar to what we would have paid on group whale watch-- it was a few hundred dollars but we were able to fish- and see whales & not worry about who wanted my kids around.

 

I would recommend against a smaller boat that you wont be able to get away from your fellow passengers if toddler does become unhappy. The 100+ passenger yachts have space where you can migrate to , distract & not disturb anyone.

I have seen toddlers & kids as well as adults inappropriately behave on tours.

 

Our funnest with the kids in Juneau and easiest: public bus to mendenhall. hiked around then to fish hatchery, then off to the playground between hatchery & Salmon Bake & then the gold creek salmon bake- kind of corny but we have been there 3 times & the kids always have a great time. Roasting marshmallows- panning for gold- hiking up to the small waterfall, watching the salmon swim up stream, following the paths in the wooded area, then back to town, Mt roberts tram , then back to ship

 

the fishing & whale watch was fun too-- just a little less relaxing with the toddlers.

 

I dont plan my tours based on what they are going to remember- makes no difference to me- I just want them to be happy & me to have a good time- it will be my memories :)

[bertrande]

I am so glad this thread came up - was thinking of doing a similar one! We have an 8-month old daughter who'll be traveling with us to the Western Mediterranean on a RCCL cruise later this month (when she turns 9-months old) and we've booked her on an Alaska cruise next year when she is 23 months. I was wondering if she would be able to take the helicopter + dog mushing excursion by Era helicopters or similar - does anyone think they won't take her or this would be too much for her? The website doesn't list a minimum age and to be honest this is an excursion I've always wanted to do but for lack of money, we did whale watching and salmon bake the one other time we've been on an Alaskan cruise (the flight to the USA is more than 24 hours so that is kind of a party pooper as well!). On the Western Med cruise, DH and I will be on board most days except 2 because we've been to most of the ports and will instead be packing my in-laws off on shore excursions as they've never been to Europe but for the Alaskan cruise, I would very much like to go on excursions!

[tamsocal]

I am so glad this thread came up - was thinking of doing a similar one! We have an 8-month old daughter who'll be traveling with us to the Western Mediterranean on a RCCL cruise later this month (when she turns 9-months old) and we've booked her on an Alaska cruise next year when she is 23 months. I was wondering if she would be able to take the helicopter + dog mushing excursion by Era helicopters or similar - does anyone think they won't take her or this would be too much for her? The website doesn't list a minimum age and to be honest this is an excursion I've always wanted to do but for lack of money, we did whale watching and salmon bake the one other time we've been on an Alaskan cruise (the flight to the USA is more than 24 hours so that is kind of a party pooper as well!). On the Western Med cruise, DH and I will be on board most days except 2 because we've been to most of the ports and will instead be packing my in-laws off on shore excursions as they've never been to Europe but for the Alaskan cruise, I would very much like to go on excursions!

 

I cant recall a minimum age on either of the helicopter or flights we have done. Only sad thing is each human pays full price- so it was $400 for the 3 year old to go with us but we had DH & a cousin with us and all of the adults really wanted to go- so it was worth it for us to spend the extra $$ so we all could go.

You have to be careful of yourself as well as her on some of the glacier tours- there were large crevases that our pilot said if we fell into we would not be able to be retrieved from. So we had the toddler in our grasp the entire time near those areas, but other areas on the trip he was just a few feet away.

[sherryf]

I am so glad this thread came up - was thinking of doing a similar one! We have an 8-month old daughter who'll be traveling with us to the Western Mediterranean on a RCCL cruise later this month (when she turns 9-months old) and we've booked her on an Alaska cruise next year when she is 23 months. I was wondering if she would be able to take the helicopter + dog mushing excursion by Era helicopters or similar - does anyone think they won't take her or this would be too much for her? The website doesn't list a minimum age and to be honest this is an excursion I've always wanted to do but for lack of money, we did whale watching and salmon bake the one other time we've been on an Alaskan cruise (the flight to the USA is more than 24 hours so that is kind of a party pooper as well!). On the Western Med cruise, DH and I will be on board most days except 2 because we've been to most of the ports and will instead be packing my in-laws off on shore excursions as they've never been to Europe but for the Alaskan cruise, I would very much like to go on excursions!

 

Honestly, I wouldn't even consider taking a child that age on a helicopter trip. Not only due to the cost, but you just never know how they will react. I'd hate to have them get scared and totally freak out. All 3 of my kids inherited my fear of heights to some degree, so when I took them to Alaska a couple of years ago as teens, none of them were even remotely interested in helicopter excursions... which saved me a lot of money! ;)

[PennyAgain]

Small children pay the full adult price on air tours but the bigger downside is that they can't see out of the windows. Too short!

 

They also may react badly to the noise levels.