who, when and where?

[justmarie]

We are a family of 3, son will be 13 1/2 when we go next summer, we want a recommendation on what cruiseline, have sailed Disney, Princess and RC, liked them all, but for Alaska? Also we want to go when the wildlife is most viewable and there will be some other teens. We would like to do a one way if that is the best way to see it all, and come in 1-2 days before to see the area. Thanks for you help!

[Budget Queen]

For a one way, you need more than 1-2 days prior. I recommend 5 if you want to see the top wildlife areas- Denali Park and Kenai Fjords. It takes 3 days days for Denali Park- 2 in transit to get back and forth and a full day there for a shuttle bus into the park. The BEST wildlife bargain around. My min. recommendation is Fish Creek. Add Seward and a Kenai Fjords boat trip, loaded with varied wildlife and an excellent close up glacier view. You need at least 6 hours on the water.

 

 

As for the cruise, ideal would be HAL out of Seward that includes College fjords and glacier bay. May save you a day if you plan right. :)

 

Your son will have a great time on any line. More important is the itinerary for Alaska. Especially with a one way- two glacier viewing sailing days is the bonus. If they don't include College Fjords, it's essentially just a sea day going across the Gulf. Look at ports, time in ports, glacier, ship naturalist, route, price- then make a choice. :)

[gottagetout]

I also, wanted to take into account the ammenities on the ship and the ages of the passengers. I looked at all the websites and they usually have a diagram or something of the ship. We chose RC for the rock climbing etc. I really enjoyed it. We did have a lot of tendering ports though. Our only dock was in Skagway.

I also believe that if you call the cruise line they can give you some dynamics about the cruise passengers (ages, etc) so your kids will have buddies. I know on RC we saw a group of teens every once in a while hanging out with a few of the cruise staff. It seemed like they were well supervised??

Good luck!

[sea_u_onboard]

We really enjoy Carnival because our kids love it. There is a thread on here - Positives and Negatives of Carnival Spirit. Check it out.