Alaska with Kids

[Cruisin2009]

Which cruiseline and itinerary do you all recommend for an Alaskan cruise with small children (ages 4 and 7)? We are thinking of Princess's cruise out of San Francisco because we live in No. California, but have heard it has some not so great reviews.....

[lmg1230]

Last June we cruised on the Diamond Princess from Vancouver to Whittier with our two daughters who were 10 and almost 4 at the time. The ports of call were Ketchican, Juneau and Skagway. We also did a five day cruisetour after the cruise that went to Denali and Fairbanks. Both of our daughters had a great time on this trip - they enjoyed the kids club on the ship and they loved the wildlife sightings, meeting sled dogs etc. that we did off the ship. We had a great time and would highly recommend this cruise if you can sail out of Vancouver instead of San Francisco. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions that you have.

[rebeccalouise]

Which cruiseline and itinerary do you all recommend for an Alaskan cruise with small children (ages 4 and 7)? We are thinking of Princess's cruise out of San Francisco because we live in No. California, but have heard it has some not so great reviews.....

 

I don't know what reviews you are referring to. I did Princess out of Seattle and the line to embark wrapped around the terminal. Took over an hour to check in to the ship. So if San Fran is bad- maybe just as bad in Seattle or Vancouver.

 

For Alaska- I don't think you can really go wrong with any line. I did Princess twice and NCL twice and had a wonderful time on all my cruises. I did not especially like Sapphire Princess and I don't care for the newer Princess ships- which are almost identical to Sapphire.

 

For kids ages 4 and 7- I think you will be pleased with the Fun Zone and the freshwater pools.

 

My favorite line is Celebrity Millenium Class ships and if I were picking from the lines out there- I'd do the Infinity out of Seattle. The problem with San Fran is that the ride up to Alaska and back are going to be rough water. From Seattle- its smooth sailing and Seattle is a really nice city if you have time to spend a day or two there.

 

Happy sailing- do what is best for your family cost wise and I don't think that you can go wrong on any of the lines.

[karatemom2]

We did the Dawn Princess out of San Francisco last summer with our kids and really enjoyed it. We live in Southern California and we liked that it was within driving range for us. Living in Northern California it would be really convenient for you. I love being able to drive to port and not deal with the hassle of flying. The Dawn is one of the Princess line's older ships, but it's really beautiful and well-maintained. They had lots of activities onboard during the sea days and the Alaskan ports are wonderful. My daughter really liked the kids program. I have attached a link to my review. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer for you.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=31581

[Cruisin2009]

Thank you all for your feedback -- it's all very helpful. Since we are so close to SF, the Dawn Princess may be a good option for us initially - we'd save so much $$ and hassle by driving right to the port... Then when the kids are a little older, we might go again out of Seattle with an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. So I'm rationalizaing TWO cruises to Alaska! :D

[rebeccalouise]

One peice of advice about Princess- don't do "personal choice" dining with kids. In theory it sounds like you can eat when you want... in practice you either have to make reservations each morning or wait for a table in the diningroom.

 

Do main seating dining. The kids won't want to eat at the late seating- too late. The nice thing about having the same server each night- is that he will know your preferences and you will build a rapport with your server.

 

Make sure to bring Bonine adult and child strength. The San Fran itinerary has a few open sea days- the Pacific is quite rough from my experience and MANY people were sick on the sea days.

[karatemom2]

With all due respect to Rebeccalouise I would disagree about the dining choice based on our experience. We much prefer anytime dining, especially for Alaska. It is such an amazing place that we want to maximize our time in port and not feel rushed to get back for dinner at a set time. I love that anytime dining gives us the option of dining when we choose each day based on our schedule for that day. We never waited more than 15 or 20 minutes for a table and most of the time we just walked right in. I did heed the recommendation to make a reservation on formal nights as the dining room is busier on those evenings. I just called in the morning, made our reservation and we didn't wait at all. It's really simple to make a reservation by just calling in the morning and letting them know what time you prefer. For us the flexibility allows us to enjoy our time the way we choose without feeling so regimented about dining at the same time each day.

[ShelbysMom]

I will second karatemom's opinion on the dining. We did anytime dining to Alaska on the Dawn Princess in 2005 (when it was doing the Whittier-Vancouver run). We never had to wait for any length of time for a table for 4. We probably tended to go on the early side, but we didn't go as early as early seating traditional. We never made a reservation.

[mjmalino]

I also have to agree with karatmom's opinion on dining. ON the Coral princess in Alaska last June, my kids always wanted to go to the kids camp after dinner, so we usually went somewhere between 5 and 6 (and never had to wait for a table) so that the kids could head to camp at 7. But, on the night that the kids met the camp in the buffet for dinner, DH and I were able to go for a later dinner w/o the kids, so it really did give us more flexibility.

[kitty9]

I think Alaska is the best cruise for families. There's just soooo much to see and do and the kids won't be bored. To be honest, Princess was the first to do major cruises in Alaska and they're still the watermark for Alaska. I don't know about the bad reviews, but when it comes to Alaska, they really know what they're doing.