Ideal Age to Cruise Alaska?

[jormot]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea. We are very active & have walked 10-12 miles daily on our last vacations but were bored to tears in Jamaica with all the down time. What would you consider to be the best age group to cruise Alaska? Do we go more active now while we are still young & energetic & save Alaska? I know this is all a matter of perspective but I'm very curious what you all think!

[CruiserBruce]

0-150....

[Coral]

Honestly - I think Alaska is best done when young! Unfortunately most don't get there until they are 2x your age or older.

 

There are amazing excursions that I would not even consider when in my later years (I am currently in my 40's but have cruised Alaska many times in my 30's). A lot of these excursions are very expensive and one needs to plan for it. Take a look at the excursions and see if they interest you - examples for those who are younger: glacier trekking, zip lining, canoeing to a glacier, kayaking to a glacier, rock climbing, lots of hiking, etc...

 

Though there are excursions for when you are older also and unable to do these things such as train rides, whale watching, etc...

 

Consider a land trip also as there are a lot of things to do for the energetic. Alaska is truly amazing.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Coral

[jimsig]

You may have "down time" on the ship but a lot of that down time can be consumed with the ever changing views so it's not like staring out at the open sea, though there is some of that. To give you an example our itinerary on the NCL Pearl was as follows:

 

Sun Depart

Mon At Sea

Tue Juneau 2p-10p

Wed Skagway 7a to 8150

Thur Glacier Bay

Fri Ketchikan 6a to 130p

Sat At Sea/ Victoria 6p to 1159p

Sun Seattle

 

Depending when you go departing you will see different views until Sunset. The first day at sea is a great way of getting acquainted with the ship. You cruise west Of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands but are close enough to see them When you get up Tuesday you wake up to great scenery as you cruise to Juneau you might even spot some whales. You will also probably be eating breakfast and lunch before you disembark and that will eat up some time (no pun intended). Wed was all day in Skagway so no downtime there. Thur in Glacier Bay was amazing. Depending on when you wake up you will probably already be in the bay and be seeing glaciers for about 4 hours. Even when leaving the views are always changing. Ketchikan was a morning/early afternoon port so you do cruise in the afternoon and again ever changing views and you will be eating lunch and dinner and again look for whales. After all that it was nice to sleep in Saturday and walk around the ship as you cruise until you arrive in Victoria. When you wake Sun you are back in Seattle.

 

I know not all itineraries are exactly like this but I wanted to give you an idea of what it can be like. My DW is not a big fan of at sea days in the Caribbean, but enjoyed them in Alaska. To us it was a perfect amount of downtime.

[Sequim88]

We're early 60's and my wife is mobility impaired. Looking at the available excursions they are ranked by strenuousness, physically (1-3 hikers). We have to look for one hiker symbol (maybe two, depending) but there sure are a lot of three hikers. Seems there might be more options when younger. I know my 30-somethings son and DIL tried a lot more things than we would.

[xlxo]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea.

 

Is this a 14 or 7 day Seattle return? For the common 7 day trip.... I count one or two sea days. Glacier viewing does not count.

[zqvol]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea. We are very active & have walked 10-12 miles daily on our last vacations but were bored to tears in Jamaica with all the down time. What would you consider to be the best age group to cruise Alaska? Do we go more active now while we are still young & energetic & save Alaska? I know this is all a matter of perspective but I'm very curious what you all think!

 

Go to AK without cruising. We are spending 14 days there right now, and haven't slowed down. The down time is on the cruises, and honestly I think the SE ports are very overrated. The real AK is inland, and away from the tourist towns. Visit Denali, and Wrangell-St Elias national parks. Explore the Kenai. AK does not have to involve much down time at all, and getting your walking in daily is easy.

[Ashland]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea. We are very active & have walked 10-12 miles daily on our last vacations but were bored to tears in Jamaica with all the down time. What would you consider to be the best age group to cruise Alaska? Do we go more active now while we are still young & energetic & save Alaska? I know this is all a matter of perspective but I'm very curious what you all think!

 

"Down Time" :confused:...Even at sea you can make your time as "up" as you want it to be ;)

[mondello]

I'm glad we finally made it to Alaka this year. I spent over 10K and the 3 of us had a great time. Hard telling if everything will look the same 20-30 years from now.

[NancyIL]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea. We are very active & have walked 10-12 miles daily on our last vacations but were bored to tears in Jamaica with all the down time. What would you consider to be the best age group to cruise Alaska? Do we go more active now while we are still young & energetic & save Alaska? I know this is all a matter of perspective but I'm very curious what you all think!

Since you have an interest in Alaska, do it NOW - while you have the physical ability to enjoy the more active adventures. However, that would be my advice about any travel destination, since you can't predict your health down the road.

Go to AK without cruising. We are spending 14 days there right now, and haven't slowed down. The down time is on the cruises, and honestly I think the SE ports are very overrated. The real AK is inland, and away from the tourist towns. Visit Denali, and Wrangell-St Elias national parks. Explore the Kenai. AK does not have to involve much down time at all, and getting your walking in daily is easy.

Great advice! I loved my Alaska cruises, but I enjoyed the land trips following 2 of them even more.

[xlxo]

Another vote for now.... The glaciers won't be getting bigger.

[NancyIL]

Another vote for now.... The glaciers won't be getting bigger.

 

Good point!

[donaldsc]

Go to AK without cruising. We are spending 14 days there right now, and haven't slowed down. The down time is on the cruises, and honestly I think the SE ports are very overrated. The real AK is inland, and away from the tourist towns. Visit Denali, and Wrangell-St Elias national parks. Explore the Kenai. AK does not have to involve much down time at all, and getting your walking in daily is easy.

 

Totally agree except that I feel that you should not miss the SE ports. We did the same thing but we are retired so we spent 2 1/2 months in AK. The way that we got to the SE ports was by Alaska Marine Highway which is much better than a cruise ship.

 

Another reason that one should do AK now which is why we are taking our grandkids to AK (one week on ship; one week on a DIY land trip) as a 10th birthday present is that with global warming, the glaciers are rapidly retreating. If you wait too long, it may be too late.

 

Remember Glacier National Park in Montana. It now can be renamed Glacierless National Park. When we were back there a few years nago, the rangers said that by 2020 or so, all of the glaciers might be gone.

 

DON

[saxmangeoff]

0-150....

 

Correct answer!

[xlxo]

Hard to believe Mendenhall used to reach today's visitor centre back in 1940's. In a few decades.... the visitor centre will need to be moved. http://www.polar-remotesensing.alaska.edu/case_glacier/images/glacier_area.jpg

[Rosy1013]

I also say go now. My husband and I are almost 30 and very active as well. I'm super excited about the hiking we have planned. I also intend to use the gym a lot on the sea days. It seems like there are lots of excursions that are pretty physically intense in Alaska!

Edited July 20, 2016 by Rosy1013

[Kaptivate]

My husband and I did an Alaskan cruise last year before either of us hit 30. We went on hikes at every port and walked around the ship a lot on the sea day. We loved every minute of that trip.

 

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[4774Papa]

My husband & I are in our late 30's and every year when we start planning next years vacation we bring up Alaska. Our biggest deterrent is the amount of down time in transit. We would cruise R/T Seattle & there is a lot of time at sea. We are very active & have walked 10-12 miles daily on our last vacations but were bored to tears in Jamaica with all the down time. What would you consider to be the best age group to cruise Alaska? Do we go more active now while we are still young & energetic & save Alaska? I know this is all a matter of perspective but I'm very curious what you all think!

 

I am 68 and bike either 30 miles every other day or walk 3.5. DW and I are taking an excursion that includes the Skagway train and a 6 mile nature hike. I think age is not a huge factor in enjoying Alaska. Anyone will enjoy the nature and wildlife. I don't think you will be bored. This are a lot of excursions or tours that involve activity.

[dijid]

I'd say the best age to go to Alaska is the age where you are both interested and able to afford it. Sounds like OP is the perfect age.

 

We went on the Norwegian Sun at the end of May and were quite surprised at how "young" the average age must have been on the ship. Like others have said, Alaska is best while you're still active, and I think that's why we didn't see nearly as many people in scooters or wheelchairs like we saw on our Mediterannean cruises.

 

And the bonus of going while you're younger - you'll have more time to save for and schedule the return trip!

[dd likes to cruise]

If you feel the need for more Alaska time, why don't you do a one way from Vancouver north and stay a few extra days on land before heading home? Or the reverse and do land days first.

[Shazzah]

You may want to consider taking one of the small ship cruises where you have an opportunity to get off the boat once or twice a day for hiking, kayaking, or skiff tours. For example, National Geographic/Linblad, Un-Cruise Adventures, and Alaskan Dream Cruises have offerings that may appeal.

[mapleleaves]

most people enjoy the "down time" as their time to enjoy the scenery. But if you want constant activity, skip the cruise and concentrate on land travel. You can plan your own itinerary to be as busy as you like.

There are different ways to go about a land trip.......fly into anchorage and rent a car or a small rv, òr, fly into gustavus, kayak and hike at glacier bay for a few days, then use the ferry to explore other SE communifies.

Go to the Alaska forums of TripAdvisor and read past trip reports for ideas.

[DanaDanes]

To echo the others - go NOW!!

 

We did a great strenuous to the glacier hike in Juneau that included ice caves.

 

The ships now offer spinning classes - even boot camp.

 

The glaciers are melting. Go see them.

 

 

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[liketraveling]

Go Now! If you have been thinking about it!

 

The first time I went to Alaska I was in my early 50's and really wished had started in my 30's. There are so many active excursions to do

 

I have been to Alaska twice and am going a third time.

[TheCalicoCat]

I'd say the best age to go to Alaska is the age where you are both interested and able to afford it.

 

This is the right answer. We went the first time in our 30's (The glaciers aren't getting any bigger.) with our 4.5 year old son.

 

& are planning our second trip for next year when our son will be 8.5. Saving for some expensive excursions.