Alaska cruise for first timers

[jmk38]

We are a family of four with college age children. We think we would like

to take an Alaskan cruise but are overwhelmed by the choices. We

will be celebrating graduations and a wedding anniversary, so this is a bit

of a splurge trip. However, we want to choose the cruise line carefully so

there will be other young people on the ship with whom our kids may

mingle. Also want enough time in each port for an activity or general

sightseeing. The northbound one-way cruises seem to provide this the

best, but I really would appreciate some thoughts and advice from you

seasoned cruisers! Thanks in advance.

[Budget Queen]

Take some time and read several back pack pages on this board. There have been several recent posts on ship selection.

 

Have you decided on a northbound one way trip??? Are you adding time for interior Alaska travel- it is HIGHLY recommended, take advantage of being there.

 

If so, then you have narrowed down your overall selection. I would suggest you look at HAL which, in my opinion has fantastic itineraries with Glacier Bay, Sitka, College Fjords. Definately spend at least a day in Seward, a gem not to be missed. :)

 

If you are going to be giving your cruise selection to the "mingle" factor for the kids, it's going to be tough, since the bulk of Alaska cruise ship passengers are middle aged and above- on all lines, including Carnival. Instead, all ages sail and you might want to involve them in the Alaska experience and planning. Split up on your touring since you aren't likely to all have the same interests. :) Go for Alaska, not who is sailing with you perhaps??

[suziqz007]

Go for Alaska, not who is sailing with you...

 

I will second this sentiment.

 

We are going back for three weeks, ending with a SB cruise on Carnival...this time taking our 18 and 22 y-old (graduation celebrations). Before we even booked this, we made sure they understood that it's not a party ship like the Carib cruises we've done. From our experience (which seems to be in line with what others report), there are not near the number of younger people who cruise AK...maybe the expense? There certainly are fun and good times to be had, but Alaska is just a different cruising experience. This trip (for us) is all about scenery, wildlife, and sharing the wonders of AK.

 

Late-night carousing was practically non-existent on our last AK cruise, which was fine with us because with the four-hour time difference we were sometimes hard pressed to make it through dinner without falling asleep! Yes, there were the usual bars and dancing, but they just didn't seem to be very active.

 

If I have any advice to give you it would be to make sure the college kids are prepared for the type of trip it will be. (think more nature...less social). I also made a checklist of every possible excursion/activity (with web site addresses and other detailed info so they could see what they were choosing), then I had everyone pick the top five things they'd most like to do, then a few other things that sounded fun but were less important. I used this info to plan our excursions and activities. Like BQ sez, involving them in the planning will go a long way in that preparation.

[cr1]

We had a different experience on our Alaska cruise.

 

Three years ago, we sailed Radiance of the Seas on an inside passage itinerary. I can't speak specifically for college age, but at that point our kids were 11, 14 and 17 and there were plenty of other teens around. My 17 year old ended up hanging out with about 6 or 7 other teens his age throughout the cruise.

 

As I recall, there were also lots of young adults around. Perhaps it depends on when you travel. We traveled in August, which is a huge time for family vacations. I wouldn't expect the same for May or September.

[Blueeyes101817]

I am going on an Alaskan cruise in May with my family--it will be my grandmom, mom, dad, my brother (21) and me (23)

 

I figured there may not be alot of people our age, but would love it if there were..its our first alaskan cruise so im looking forward to it!

[Marie321]

One thing my older teens enjoyed was meeting the kids of Alaska. They met several their ages who were guides on various tours. My son especially enjoyed meeting the pretty girl guides on the zip lines!

[jmk38]

Oh dear - based on what most of you are saying, I now am wondering if

this Alaska cruise is a good idea. While I don't think we are looking for a

party boat, I know both of my kids would be dismayed if the boat was

filled with adults middle-aged and older and few, if any, in their peer group. I know we would love the excursions, but that is only part of the

trip - I think they would want a good cruise experience too (especially at

these prices!). any further thoughts or ideas?

[suziqz007]

I think it would be a mistake to NOT do the cruise based solely on the ages of cruise passengers. As stated above by cr1, not all experiences will be the same and I seriously doubt that yours will be the only college aged kids on the entire ship...I'm sure there will be a number of younger passengers, however you and your family should be prepared for less younger passengers than the average cruise.

 

Having said that, if their primary interest on a cruise is socializing and if they have little interest in the Alaska experience, perhaps an AK cruise is not for them.

[GORDONCHICK]

Alaskan cruises have one of the widest age ranges of any cruises. It brings the average age down on lines that typically have older passengers and takes it up for those lines known more for the younger crowd. I agree that an Alaskan cruise is more for the destination than the ship, while the Caribbean is the other way around for most. I honestly think it would be hard for your kids to not have a good time on an Alaskan cruise unless they are intent on partying a majority of the time on the ship. Then there would be some lines that would be better for that. But if you are spending the $$$ (and let's face it, Alaska aint cheap when compared to the tropical cruises), enjoy Alaska. If you want more of the ship's experience, save the $$$ and go tropical.

 

If you do a northbound cruise and want to do some inland touring, I would think the cruiseline tours would be a bore for college-aged kids. An independent tour would be better so you can do exactly what you want.

[cr1]

As I mentioned above, we had a good amount of young people on our trip. Let me add that there was plenty going on on the ship even late into the night. Royal Caribbean does a great job of balancing things out for all ages. We had such a good time that we are going back again this summer to repeat the inside passage with RCCL.

 

My kids are really looking forward to it, and they had such a great time on the ship that they wouldn't even care if they didn't get off at any ports!

 

On our last trip, they did the helicopter to the glacier with dog sledding in Skagway and they had an amazing time on that excursion. It's expensive, but they felt it was well worth doing. The only thing they want to do this time is go zip lining in one of the ports, as they've never tried that before.

 

I honestly wouldn't be concerned about finding other young adults on the ships, but some cruise lines might be better for that then others. RCCL would be a good choice and I'm sure Carnival or Princess would be as well.

 

When we sailed the inside passage three years ago, it was our first family cruise ever and we all had a great time! Our experience sailing with RCCL through Alaska got us hooked on cruising!! My oldest son had gone with a friend's family on Vision of the Seas to Mexico a few months prior and he had an equally fun trip both times. He was 17 at the time of both sailings, and still stays in contact with friends from both ships.

[kenish]

My 15yo son and I are taking a NB cruise on HAL in July, then Anchorange and Denali post-cruise. Based on his experience cruising Carnival he's OK that the "destination" this time emphasizes ports rather than the ship. HAL has good ratings for his age group on CC. Definitely check the user review area for each ship; the summarized ratings are broken down by age group (the professional reviews just show a broad overall rating that lumps all ages together).

 

On shore, I'm having no problem finding excursions in the active-strenuous category....ziplines, kayaks, mountain bikes, rock climbing, hiking, etc. The tour operators wouldn't offer this if there wasn't demand.