tcufrog99

Thanks so much for the advice.

gi_pam...

The circus theme sounds fun. I hope you got photos of the circus tricks. I really like the idea of talks from park staff. The whale watching and rain forest hikes sound perfect for us. How strenuous was the hike? I want to make sure my youngest can keep up. How much time did you actually spend on the water between ports? If we're going to spend a lot of time on the boat them I'm afraid my husband and I will get bored on a Disney boat. There wasn't a lot of programming that we found interesting. I don't see us spending a lot of time gambling either though.

Keith1010...

Thanks for mentioning that Celebrity doesn't sail Glacier Bay. I think I will cross that one off my list then. You brought up a very good point with mentioning the pre and post land packages. We're just at the beginning of planning so I need to discuss that with my husband. He owns his own business so we need to discuss how much time he can get away for this trip.

How far in advance do Alaska cruises fill up? My husband isn't one for planning ahead but I know that some cruises need to be planned far ahead.

I could use some advice regarding which cruise line to choose for a cruise to Alaska next summer. My husband and I have two boys who will be 5 and 9. They love nature and the outdoors and know more about nature than the average kids their age.

We've only cruised once, Disney to the Bahamas. The kids loved the Oceaneers Club and being able to eat dinner early and go to the club. My older son loved that he could order off of the adult menu since he's quite an epicurean. I liked the high level of customer service and how clean the boat was. We also really liked the suite we chose. It had two bathrooms plus a separate bedroom for the adults and a very comfortable sofa bed for the kids in the living room. There was also table so we could eat in the room and a balcony. We aren't really into Disney and the kids don't really know the characters so the shows and meet and greets were sort of lost on them. My husband and I would have liked activities for us and for there to have been the option of in room babysitting so we could go out at least one night after the kids had gone to bed. On this cruise we'd love to attend some enriching talks about the nature and culture of Alaska.

What cruise lines would you recommend for us?