Moparop

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions. Seattle is actually the most expensive place for us to fly into of our options. We are a family of 5, two adults, a 12, 11, and 7 year old. Because we've got kids and would be jumping multiple time zones, our plan is to come in a day or two ahead and tour as much as they have stamina for. I haven't researched the island in comparison to the city as far as what we'd want to do. If we spent time on the island, my plan would definitely be to get to Vancouver the night we board the cruise.

Right now, flights are about $150 cheaper per person for our northbound Alaska cruise if we fly into Victoria Island instead of Vancouver. What would be the best way to get a family to Vancouver for a cruise? What kind of cost would we be looking at?

Thoughts....

 

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• Northbound? Don't forget your BONUS embarkation and debarkation ports. Lots to do... especially in Vancouver.
   
  
• which sailing? there may be seasonal opportunities to explore.
   
  

 

 

 

Have a look at these videos for additional ideas.

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]RiaOlvSRMAk[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]cF1l3vfKWAM[/YOUTUBE]

We are headed northbound on the July 9 sailing. Trying to figure out if we come in the day before or two days before to Vancouver. We have the two day Denali extension on the end.

My husband and I will be traveling to Alaska on the Zaandam northbound next summer and we are in the beginning stages of looking into excursions. We have three kids (13, 11, & 8 at travel time) and will be with a larger group of 13 people. Our hope is to do some things with the larger group and others with just the 5 of us.

We will be in Ketchikan from 7-3, Juneau from 10-10, and Skagway from 7am-9pm. We would like to hike, see wildlife, and see/do things that are unique to Alaska. We've talked about whale watching in Juneau but are open to anything! This may be a one time trip so we'd like to maximize the opportunity!

Awesome!!! We will be on Zaandam next summer and I have just started looking into excursions. I can't wait to hear more about your choices.

We live in Stamping Ground, KY and flew out of Cincinnati on Delta. We bought the tickets will Skymiles. The flights were smooth. We flew through Minneapolis both ways. The kids got to see the cockpit and see the pilots before one of the flights.

 

Are you leaving soon? I hope your family has a great time!

We live in Mason, so either airport is right around an hour away. Our trip is next summer. We will be meeting my parents and all of my siblings in Vancouver for an 11 day sea/land package. I'm sure hoping it's a great time!

We are cruising HAL. I don't think they do cakes onboard.

We are cruising next summer and will be gone over my birthday. We will be cruising Glacier Bay on my actual birthday but will be in Skagway the day before. Are there any good bakeries in Skagway to pick up something like a birthday cake at that would be relatively convenient to the boat?

Thanks for this!!! We also live in Cincy and will be traveling on the Zaandam with our children. Did you fly out of CVG or DAY?

Are there any Hilton properties in good locations? That's where we have the most points.

Here are Alaska activities from 2015:

 

https://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/holland-america-lines-kids-activities-examples/

 

KIds Menu:

 

https://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/holland-america-lines-kids-activities-examples/

Thanks! My youngest will actually be 7 when we go and will be the younger group. That list is from 2014 - so hopefully, the list doesn't change too much!

Unless your children are incredibly picky eaters, encourage them to order off the regular menu. It is a great opportunity to try new things without having to worry about how much it costs or going hungry if you don't like it. On our first cruise, my boys were 5 and 8, and they ordered all of their entrees from the regular menu. They thought it was a great treat to get a grown-up sized steak or piece of salmon all to themselves... and they ate every bit! My daughter was only 2, so we just gave her bits from our plates, and she was happy. The only things they had from the children's menu were fruit cup appetizers and some of the desserts, though they often ordered desserts from the grown-up menu, too.

My youngest is crazy picky. On our last cruise, we made a deal that she had to order one meal a day that was not chicken strips. Every day it was a challenge. We will absolutely continue this on the next shop. Being in a group of 14, I want to be careful and not create a scene at the table. She's the youngest of everyone in the group so it's especially tricky.

And I calculated wrong. She will be 8 when we sail.

Next summer, my parents are taking us on the Zaandam northbound in July. Included in "us" are my children who will be 8, 11, and 12 at the time of sailing. They've only ever cruised on DCL, so they are quite used to Mickey/princesses that have activities and food that are very catered to them.

Since my parents are spending a pretty penny on this trip, I want to make sure my kids have the correct expectations and are excited about our upcoming trip. I've tried searching here and on the Internet in general for a recent children's menu and copy of the daily club HAL events and have not found much of anything more recent than 2010. If anyone is cruising Alaska this summer or has in the last year, especially on the Zaandam, could get a copy or take a photo of these for me - I'd greatly appreciate it! I've heard good things about HAL and am looking forward to this trip!

We are taking a large family vacation to Alaska. Because of numbers, my son is sharing a room with one of his uncles. My husband and I are talking about booking our cruise as a land and sea package to do Denali as well. For my son to be part of that with us, my brother would have to also be booked that way, correct?

In other words, can two people in the same cabin be booked on different trips?

We are taking a large family vacation to Alaska. Because of numbers, my son is sharing a room with one of his uncles. My husband and I are talking about booking our cruise as a land and sea package to do Denali as well. For my son to be part of that with us, my brother would have to also be booked that way, correct?

In other words, can two people in the same cabin be booked on different trips?

We are taking a large family vacation to Alaska. Because of numbers, my son is sharing a room with one of his uncles. My husband and I are talking about booking our cruise as a land and sea package to do Denali as well. For my son to be part of that with us, my brother would have to also be booked that way, correct?

In other words, can two people in the same cabin be booked on different trips?

We recently got back from a DCL cruise and loved using their texting app to keep in contact with our kids while we were on the ship. Recently, my parents have offered to take us on a family cruise on a different cruise line (line to be determined). Do other companies offer something like this? Do they have cordless room phones that they call or text on? Is there an app like DCL has?

If so, which lines?

A follow up question to this. We are also a family of 5 looking at Alaska. I know every line has fun clubs for kids and cool activities on the ship but we are looking for more. We want to make sure that our kids are able to participate in all of the excursions and shore activities that we are. I know Disney provides that kind of contact but would be interested in price comparison of other lines provide similar encounters.

Thanks for the update!

OP here...

Wow, for my first post in these forums I consider some of your responses to be quite a welcome. I am not asking for cruise lines to bend the rules, I was just curious if some did mix the groups. When we go places where there are many ages mixed, my kids always choose to play together first. Yes, they are not in the same school and will make new friends but they find a very strong sense of comfort being able to do things together. Thank you to the previous poster who mentioned a Disney cruise. That was helpful information. Telling me that my shouldn't want to be together is not.

I have three children (will be 10, 8, and 5) when we cruise. They are all pretty close and like to have the opportunity to play together, even when involved in kid club type activities. On which cruise lines are the different age groups kept separate from one another? I know that based on their personalities that not having the option to be able to play together will cut down on their enjoyment. This will be our first family cruise and I want everyone to love it as much as possible!