Alaska kayaking with young kid

[Jenig0013]

Hi all - majestic Princess to Alaska in May with our 4yo. Very excited. Has anyone does a kayaking trip with a kid? Have been kayaking with him before. We will probably leave him on ship for Tracey Arm excursion but would like to not leave him for all of them. Open to other family friendly suggestions.

[Suzanne123]

I’m not sure if they will take a four year old, but call them. It’s a short ride from town out to the fish hatchery.  I think your son would have a ball holding a rod or just petting their dog.

In Juneau. https://chumfun.com

[Ashland]

32 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

I’m not sure if they will take a four year old, but call them. It’s a short ride from town out to the fish hatchery.  I think your son would have a ball holding a rod or just petting their dog.

In Juneau. https://chumfun.com

Most all excursions have a minimum age requirement the one you quoted is 7 yrs. old and many are 5 yrs old. Luckily this past September our grandson was 5 and able to do the Deadliest Catch Tour in Ketchikan. He also did the summer musher camp in Juneau. These were two of his favorites.

 

If the OP wants to go to the hatchery it's an easy walk up Creek street to get to it.

[Suzanne123]

I was referring to the DIPAC hatchery in Juneau.  

http://www.dipac.net

[pdmlynek]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:24 PM, Jenig0013 said:

Hi all - majestic Princess to Alaska in May with our 4yo. Very excited. Has anyone does a kayaking trip with a kid? Have been kayaking with him before. We will probably leave him on ship for Tracey Arm excursion but would like to not leave him for all of them. Open to other family friendly suggestions.

How do excursions in kayaks work, anyway?  Do people need some of certification to do this?  Do they conduct a test to demonstrate that you can roll a kayak? 

 

 

[Jenig0013]

@pdmlynekthats more for rapids, this looks like a slow paddle around. 

[riffatsea]

15 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

How do excursions in kayaks work, anyway?  Do people need some of certification to do this?  Do they conduct a test to demonstrate that you can roll a kayak? 

 

 

Noone checks if you know how to paddle a kayak

You don't have to roll!!

I've done it from Skagway

First a short boat ride ,walk then kayak to a glacier in calm water

No rapids!

[pdmlynek]

6 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Noone checks if you know how to paddle a kayak

You don't have to roll!!

I've done it from Skagway

First a short boat ride ,walk then kayak to a glacier in calm water

No rapids!

Wow!  That is so weird!  Given how incredibly safety concious anything about a cruise is, I am pretty shocked that they let people do that.

 

The reason that I write the above is that I am pretty comfortable being under water, but when I started kayaking, and was given instructions on how to get out of a flipped over kayak (head forward, hands front to pop the skirt, hands back to push off the kayak, do a forward somersault out, pulling your legs out), it was still pretty scary getting out for real the first time. It was nothing that I've ever experienced before -- being trapped upside down, with head hanging down, leg immobolized, flailing hands doing nothing, is pretty panic-worthy.  And that was under controlled conditions, in warm water, and I was all mentally ready for it.  Now, after kayaking for several years, I could get out of a rolled kayak in my sleep (I never did manage to learn how to upright, despite many weeks of lessons and attempts over the years).  

 

I cannot imagine how a person who has never been kayaking, flips over unexpectedly due to own carelessness, while wearing bulky clothes, in 4 C water, is expected to self recover. I would think that relatively few novice kayakers would be able to self rescue, and would drown very easily.  And even if they do get out of the kayak, then what?  Swim ashore?  Wait for a rescue boat?  If a person survives the shock and does not drown while exiting the sea kayak, surely he'll be dead within 10 min of hypothermia. 

 

But I suspect that I am wrong, and that these kayak trips are indeed safe.  I just can't figure where I am wrong.  

[Suzanne123]

The ocean kayaking I have done in Homer, Juneau, Seward and Ketchikan were all IMO very stable double kayaks, three or four kayaks to a guide, and we stayed fairly close to shore.  You wear a flotation vest, and paddle at a nice pace.  No need to race to the finish😊.  If the water is rough they cancel. We had a wonderful time in Auke Bay with this company.

https://beyondak.com/trips/auke-bay-guided-kayak-tour/

 I can only remember one kayaking fatality discussed on cruise critic maybe 5-10 years ago, and that was a group who just rented kayaks and went off without a guide in Mendenhall Lake.  
I would be more concerned with those little planes that take off for Misty Fjords.

[Jenig0013]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:19 PM, pdmlynek said:

Wow!  That is so weird!  Given how incredibly safety concious anything about a cruise is, I am pretty shocked that they let people do that.

 

The reason that I write the above is that I am pretty comfortable being under water, but when I started kayaking, and was given instructions on how to get out of a flipped over kayak (head forward, hands front to pop the skirt, hands back to push off the kayak, do a forward somersault out, pulling your legs out), it was still pretty scary getting out for real the first time. It was nothing that I've ever experienced before -- being trapped upside down, with head hanging down, leg immobolized, flailing hands doing nothing, is pretty panic-worthy.  And that was under controlled conditions, in warm water, and I was all mentally ready for it.  Now, after kayaking for several years, I could get out of a rolled kayak in my sleep (I never did manage to learn how to upright, despite many weeks of lessons and attempts over the years).  

 

I cannot imagine how a person who has never been kayaking, flips over unexpectedly due to own carelessness, while wearing bulky clothes, in 4 C water, is expected to self recover. I would think that relatively few novice kayakers would be able to self rescue, and would drown very easily.  And even if they do get out of the kayak, then what?  Swim ashore?  Wait for a rescue boat?  If a person survives the shock and does not drown while exiting the sea kayak, surely he'll be dead within 10 min of hypothermia. 

 

But I suspect that I am wrong, and that these kayak trips are indeed safe.  I just can't figure where I am wrong.  

I think you’re completely misunderstanding the nature of these kayaking trips - no one is doing rapids.

 

That said, dad and I are both dry suit divers, have dove Iceland extensively, and are very comfortable in 34 degree water. We met in the lifeguard Olympics (decades ago tho).

[pdmlynek]

5 hours ago, Jenig0013 said:

I think you’re completely misunderstanding the nature of these kayaking trips - no one is doing rapids.

 

 

I am not misunderstanding kayaking. I did both sea kayaking and white water kayaking. I've led kayaking trips. I know both types. 

 

Because I know kayaking, I also know that although sea kayaks are more stable, does not mean that people accidently do not flip over. Considering how foolish many people on cruises behave, I would think that there would be many people who flip over than what you hear about.

[pdmlynek]

5 hours ago, Jenig0013 said:

 

 

That said, dad and I are both dry suit divers, have dove Iceland extensively, and are very comfortable in 34 degree water. We met in the lifeguard Olympics (decades ago tho).

I do not deny that there may be some people on cruises that wear dry suits when kayaking, and who have been life guards in the Olympics. Such people who have no issue getting out of a kayak, self rescuing, etc. Such people are way above average in their experience. You may be in the top 10%.

 

The issue is with the average person, who weighs 100 kg, who has a tough time getting into a kayak. And now consider the bottom 10%. People who have never been in a kayak. Who have no idea how to paddle. Who are careless. Who are uncoordinated. Etc. Such people would easily die if a sea kayak were to overturn.

 

[wolfie11]

The kayaks used on guided trips in Alaska are very difficult to overturn.  To the best of my knowledge, there have been no fatalities on guided kayak trips in Alaska in the last 15 years.  Flightseeing is much more dangerous.

[islandchick]

Highly doubt any company will take a 4 yo

 

[Jenig0013]

We ended up deciding to do some other excursions but I appreciate the input here!

[coffeeyogabeach]

I'm taking my 3 & 7 year old to Alaska in May and hard a very hard time finding fun excursions everyone could do. If you want to kayak, I would suggest renting one through a park service or independent company in one of the ports. In Sitka, we are renting a car to do some hikes, there are a few companies there that rent kayaks in addition to their guided kayak tours which your 4 year old probably won't be old enough to go on.

 

In Skagway we are doing a flightseeing tour to Glacier Bay with a beach landing. I also looked into the helicopter & dog sledding tour there which will take 3 year olds. I would also suggest booking a private boat charter in one of the stops. Both Sitka & Juneau had several options. You can customize the tour to include stops on a beach to explore tidal pools and view marine life on the boat. I found several boat captains (2 were even teachers so experienced with children) that would do this on Sitka.

 

Basically, the cruise ship tours are going to be limited to big group tours that my family isn't interested in but if you do it on your own, you have tons of options.

[Kathscof]

On 2/26/2023 at 7:57 PM, pdmlynek said:

I do not deny that there may be some people on cruises that wear dry suits when kayaking, and who have been life guards in the Olympics. Such people who have no issue getting out of a kayak, self rescuing, etc. Such people are way above average in their experience. You may be in the top 10%.

 

The issue is with the average person, who weighs 100 kg, who has a tough time getting into a kayak. And now consider the bottom 10%. People who have never been in a kayak. Who have no idea how to paddle. Who are careless. Who are uncoordinated. Etc. Such people would easily die if a sea kayak were to overturn.

 

just to give you an idea as the others have.....at camp, I used to "kayak" in things called "funyaks".  They COULD NOT turn over unless there was someone either in the water turning it or you decided you wanted to fall out, and maybe not even then, you might just fall out.  The kayak I used in ISP last year was only SLIGHTLY less "untippable" and if it were to turn over (because someone was in the water turning it over or I intended to flip) I would already be halfway out of the kayak as it was flipping just because of the opening size and the fact that I have weight to my body.  We had a general safety lesson and had helmets and life vests, and if we were acting careless, the motorized boat that was escorting us would have gotten us on board and towed our kayak back in.  They know how to take care of the mass market cruise tourists.