Hi all... new to AK Cruising so as expected lots of questions

[BlondeLuva]

Hello everyone,

 

My son announced that for his graduation present he wanted to take a cruise to Alaska.

 

So I am lost. I have NO idea where to start here. So let me give some information first :

 

My son is 18, we live in Ft Lauderdale FL so we are used to warm weather and Caribbean vacations. (I don't even think either of us owns a sturdy coat at this point.)

 

We will be traveling in late June. Or early July. Just some general questions as I continue to read the threads here.

 

1 - Which cruise ship would be best for his age bracket? I do like the Holland line and have found their food and service the best (at least on the ones I have been on). But the age bracket there is higher. This will be the first "big" cruise he has done (we have used the Windstar line in the past) so want him to have options on things to do on the ship by himself.

 

2 - Which is the best route to take? I see some cruises going Northbound, some going Southbound. Some visiting 3 towns 1 glacier, some visiting 3 towns, 2 glaciers. (Keep in mind the time frame here)

 

3 - Which shore activities are a "must do"?

 

4 - I am going to be looking at flights from South FL to AK (or Vancouver as some start there). I hope it isn't a 30 hour ordeal or something.)

 

Many thanks in advance, I am sure you will see other threads by me in the next few weeks.

[wolfie11]

Alaska Air flies from Miami to Seattle and Anchorage, so you can limit your flight to one airline, but it still takes around 8 hours of flying time. if you apply for their credit card, you get 25,000 bonus miles, enough for a free rt ticket.

 

There are lots of kids on most of the cruise lines to Alaska, but he is too old for any of those activities. I don't know that any one line is "better" than the others for this age group - as he is in between the kids and the adult activities. I would say do your research and find an itinerary you like and then look at ships. If it is his graduation present, I suggest you let him book a couple of excursions that he really wants to do, but be aware that excursions will easily cost twice the cruise fare if you let them get even a little out of hand. He might also enjoy a couple of days before or after the cruise in Alaska, going up to Denali park or to the Kenai.

[kathynorth]

We found cruising in Alaska to be much different than in say the Caribbean. Alaska ships typically dock early and passengers are eager to disembark to make their way to land or water based excursions. By the time people make their way back to ship they are a tired lot indeed. This means that we did'nt see much of late night teen activity that we usually see on the Caribbean cruises. There are lots of excursions that would be of interest to an 18 year old, which should keep him busy no matter what line you choose. We traveled through Alaska on Celebrity, which isn't all that wild and crazy. There were lots of kids on board and all seemed to be well behaved, which was contrary to our recent Bahamas trip on a different cruiseline. I would suggest that you focus on the itinerary and then sort our your cruiseline options based on this.

 

Your first decision will be to decide on roundtrip or one-way. Roundtrip airfare is usually less costly than open-jaw flights. One way trips make it easier to plan a land tour component to compliment your cruise.

[jhannah]

I suggest you visit the Alaska forum in the Cruise Critic Ports of Call section. You'll find lots of good suggestions, ideas, opinions on cruising The Great Land.

[Budget Queen]

You need to do homework first. :) Have you already decided on a ONE way cruise?? I strongly suggest, if so, then you also factor in extra days, a week is good, for interior Alaska touring, take advantage of being all the way there.

 

IF this is decided, then research ports and glaciers. Decide what YOUR priority is. Head to your library and take out Alaska by Cruiseship, Fodor's Alaska and Frommer's Alaska. THEN find a ship that offers you this, LAST, figure out and book, what shore touring you wish to do.

 

As for southbound/northbound, both have their pluses. I suggest you continue to leave that open for now, until you decide WHAT else you want to include in your cruise.

 

As for cruiseline- IF you son truely has the desire to see ALASKA, then you would be best to consider that first and cruiseline second. HAL is a winner with itineraries in Alaska and offer plenty for what is outside the ship, which is how the diehard Alaska fans book. :)

 

None of the cruiselines are going to be loaded with the under 30 age group, just a fact of Alaska cruising on all ships, including Carnival.

[gordons4]

As far as the "must-do" activities for an 18 yr old...Mendenhall Glacier trek and fly-fishing. (Unfortunately, those are both a bit pricey--and both in Juneau.)

 

In Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier trek will fly you by helicopter to the glacier where you will put on crampons and be handed ice-axes. We then hiked over the glacier, and actually did some ice climbing, straight up the side of the glacier, using our ice-axes. It was an absolutely amazing, truly Alaskan, experience.

 

Our second trip there, we did a fly-out flyfishing excursion. We flew by floatplane to Admiralty Island. There we were provided with waders, etc., & taught to flyfish. Incredible experience. We encountered 8 grizzly bear during the day. :eek: This day was the absolute highlight of our trip.

 

As a second option, the first time we were in Alaska, we went on a fly fishing trip in Ketchikan--which is the salmon capital of the world. There we were driven to a private river. We saw a mama grizzly and 2 babies, and caught lots of salmon. It was also a great experience.

 

If your son is into adventure, as my 18 yr old is, these excursions cannot be missed.

 

Sheri

 

P.S. Our boys were not with us on either cruise, so they didn't personally experience these excursions--but they're totally jealous that their mom & dad got to do them. :D

[Mattmax]

My 18 year old son is also going on a graduation cruise! We are from Louisiana and just now planning. Unfortunately we will be going late May, or we could plan a meet! I am anxious to see more of this great info, I have all the same questions.:confused:

[Rosieo]

It must be the place to take graduation kids these days! We are taking my 18 year old son on an Alaskan cruise this summer. We will be gone a total of 19 days. Flying into Vancouver for 2 nights then taking a HAL cruise to Seward. Then we rented a RV to do the land tour. We spend what seems like every free moment scouring the internet making our plans.