Is 7 too young for Alaskan cruise?

Thinking of taking NCL Pearl to Alaska this summer. My youngest will still be a few months shy of 8 years old. I am worried that he (and my immature 12 yr old) will be totally bored and drive me crazy (not so much on the ship, but during the excursions).

 

Anyone have experience bringing boys these ages along that can offer some input?

Depends on your kid’s interest. Personally, we have not brought our grandkids at your kid’s similar age group that will limit our choices for shore excursions on the more port intensive Alaska cruise

 

 

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I think it depends on your son's interests and what excursions you would choose. I have seen kids your children's age have a blast but you will need to involve them in shore excursion choices. I would look at the shore excursions and your price range and see if there are things that interest them. Do they like to hike, canoe, dog mushing, whale watching, seeing animals, etc..? I personally would have loved it at that age (though I was a girl). Would you be willing to spend money to do some really cool excursions like landing on a glacier, dog mushing on a glacier?

We took my 3 and 6 yo sons on a cruise to Alaska so much that we are going back this summer at 10 and 13. They loved whale watching, the train in Skagway, and the lumberjack show - all readily offered excursions. My kids love nature and cruising so Alaska works for them.

Nobody here knows your kids OP. You do. The fact you're already expressing doubts says, to me, that your gut has already made the decision not to take them but your 'Am I being a bad parent by depriving them of an opportunity?' reflex has kicked in and wants some support for your initial gut choice.

 

For what it's worth, every single time I've ever been on vaycay in a group that includes kids and one or more of them have been bored, annoying, acting out - the parent(s) of that child have always said something along the lines of "I knew at the time we were arranging this holiday that I should not have brought insert-name-of-child-as-applicable but I second-guessed myself."

 

Salve your conscience by ensuring that whatever part of the cruise the budget would have paid for the kids is used to send them to a camp that meshes with their interests, leave them with their Fun Aunt/Uncle/Grandparents to be spoiled somewhere that has reliable WiFi access, or something else that you instinctively know they WILL enjoy.

Totally depends on the kid and your plans. Our kids are the same ages and we are planning to do the dog sledding/glacier flight, zodiac boat tour, and yukon train..i chose excursions where i know they wont be bored.

Totally depends on the kid and your plans. Our kids are the same ages and we are planning to do the dog sledding/glacier flight, zodiac boat tour, and yukon train..i chose excursions where i know they wont be bored.

 

These things, along with the whale watching and lumberjack show that cruisela2012 mentioned, all sound perfect! Thank you so much for the advice, I think my boys will be very happy.

Did AK with our 9 and 13 year old DD this past summer. Part of it is planning appropriately. Reality is there were things I would have liked for excursions, but weren't really appropriate for the girls. Get them involved, the more they are involved the more interested they will be. It was still the best trip we have ever done. Girls walked off the ship asking when we could back.

 

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Did AK with our 9 and 13 year old DD this past summer. It was still the best trip we have ever done. Girls walked off the ship asking when we could back.

 

My 13 and 15 year old daughters will be joining too, so hopefully they all be able to agree on activities!

My 13 and 15 year old daughters will be joining too, so hopefully they all be able to agree on activities!

Honestly the highlight of the trip for DD13 wasn't the whales (and we had one breech right beside the ship), the glaciers, panning for gold, holding a sled dog puppy, awesome Crab legs, a solar eclipse, BUT (and she loved all of that) holding banana slugs in Ketchikan during a rain forest walk. Go figure. I would have loved the train in Skagway but that is now on the agenda for summer 2019. Because yes you will want to go back.

 

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I took my dd on Alaskan cruises when she was 5, again at 10 and we are going back this year when she will be almost 16 and she can’t wait to go back! My ds was 1 on the last cruise and will be 7 this year. He’s excited to see snow and the whales and the glaciers.

 

My dd had so much fun when she was 5 that she abandoned me multiple times on that cruise to be with the kids club but she also loved the excursions. She still talks about the whale watch, train in Skagway, glsss blowing and zip lining and she’s dying to go back this year.

 

We’ve done many cruises and my kids have never been bored. If your kids love wildlife and like doing kids stuff (kids clubs) I think it will be fine. Although it is true that all kids are different.

 

Good luck on your decision!!

We’ve done many cruises and my kids have never been bored. If your kids love wildlife and like doing kids stuff (kids clubs) I think it will be fine.

 

Unfortunately, my kids' first few cruises were on Disney and so no kids' clubs since has ever met their approval.:mad: We will book the Haven so they can swim in the pool, even if the weather is bad, so they should be entertained on-board. I am more worried about the excursions because it will be our first vacation (other than when we go skiing) where the weather will likely be worse than in NJ, and so I really want to make sure the excursions will hold their interest so they won't complain the whole time they're outside! Sounds like there are plenty of kid-friendly excursions for them. Now to decide the itinerary :confused:.

A seven year old can easily have a wonderful time on a cruise of Alaska between the on board experience and what you plan in port to make it fun.

 

Keith

The one excursion that I question that really will depend on the kids is the White Pass train. I have seen so many adults who fall asleep on the way back (same scenery both ways, train moves very slow). I haven't seen many kids on this excursion. I think it really depends on the kids and what their interests are. On the flip side, it is not that long of an excursion.

In 2016 we took out then 6yo DD on the Pearl and she loved it. As others have said you know you kids best but the fact that your kids have been on cruises before is a big help IMO as they know what to expect in general. Our DD loves a good adventure and like to be active, but also can relax at times. We arrived in Seattle on Friday night, spent Sat morning sightseeing and the afternoon and night attending a Seattle Sounders Soccer match and Mariners game at night. Sunday morning it was more sightseeing until it was time to board the ship. So we kept her busy. On board we signed her up for the kids club and she loved it. One day soon we hope to be able to compare it to a Disney cruise as we are Disney fans and went again this past Oct..

 

Our excursions:

 

Juneau: Mt Roberts Tram and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau

 

Skagway: The train all the way to Carcross YT with the shuttle van back (there are shorter options). We brought her Kindle pre-loaded with movies and TV shows from Amazon Prime. The first half of the train trip she loved looking out the window or riding on the platform watching the views. The second half she would alternate from watching her kindle to looking out the window.

 

Ketchikan: We booked the Aleutian Ballard Deadliest Catch Crab Boat tour.

 

Victoria: DW and I walked around for a bit. DD had so much fun in the kids club that week she wanted to spend time there so she didn't get off and spent the night there.

 

She liked everything we did as far as the excursions went. She also liked our time on board and we kept her busy at times with the things thst were going on or just walking around the ship.

 

Be sure to check out my review, the link is in my signature below, for more info and let me know what you think. Sorry the pic's no longer work, that's due to photobucket holding them hostage as they now want $400 a year to allow photos to be linked to a third party site.

 

Hope that helps

My youngest was 8 when she went to Alaska on her first cruise (Disney); her sister was 10. Both girls loved the cruise but my youngest didn't particularly like the kids club (go figure!). There were enough activities on board to keep them happy--games and activities (i.e. Goofy golf, towel folding, cupcake decorating, movies, scavenger hunts) that they were never bored!

 

Excursions were hit and miss! To this day, they still talk about that first cruise--in particular the dog sledding! Loved, loved it! Especially the petting and cuddling the puppies. Both were not excited with the whale watching ([emoji849]) but loved kayaking and hiking around Mendenhall Glacier.

And agree with previous poster who mentioned the train ride. My girls were over it after about 15 minutes.....

 

 

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Bringing an 8 and 10 year old this summer. I think they'll have a blast. Just gotta pick stuff they're interested in. The youngest loves animals, and Alaska is one of the best cruise spots if you like seeing wildlife.

Like others have said, it depends on your children. Mine loves cruising. We're bringing them to Alaska this August and they will be 9 and 7. Last year, we went to the Baltics when they were 8 and 6. We went on more every year before that. By now, they are such pros that they love the kids club and have no complaints at all.

Thinking of taking NCL Pearl to Alaska this summer. My youngest will still be a few months shy of 8 years old. I am worried that he (and my immature 12 yr old) will be totally bored and drive me crazy (not so much on the ship, but during the excursions).

 

Anyone have experience bringing boys these ages along that can offer some input?

 

my grandson was 7 when i took him and he had an amazing time! He still talks about it and is 12 now and remembers everything! Have a great time!

When you take kids that young anywhere, they will enjoy the excursions, etc. "in the moment" but usually won't have much of a recollection of it years later. Our youngest son was 7 when we took our kids to Disney World and I was amazed that he had no recollection of being there when he was an adult. Our kids (now in 30's)tell us our wonderful family vacations are "all a blur" and "all run together" even though we have videos and pictures galore! :D

My grandson was 7 and remembered everything and we are going back this June with the rest of the family and i had him help me plan it and he said grand mom don't forget this and don't forget that because that was my favorite etc.

We are bringing our three kids that will be 10, 10 and 6.5 when we sail Alaska in August this year. We never even considered that hour youngest would be too young. He loves animals, being outdoors, and exploring. I think as long as you consider the kids' interests and abilities, you will have a great trip and make lots of amazing memories!

A 7 year old I think would have a wonderful time....still at that stage of wonderment.

 

But ask your child what he would like, maybe staying with a family member or friend might sound more inviting.

 

When our kids finished 8th grade it became tradition in our family to travel alone with a parent or 2 on an escorted land trip of their choice in Europe. When it was our last son's turn...he said..."can we wait tell I am a little older, I think I would be totally bored in those museums and churches"....

 

 

Sometimes we hate to leave someone behind....but when our kids were young we did a lot of separated vacations...

When our kids finished 8th grade it became tradition in our family to travel alone with a parent or 2 on an escorted land trip of their choice in Europe.

 

We started this with our kids too. My daughter went with my husband to England for a week last summer after 8th grade and my younger daughter is going to Greece with him this summer when she finished 8th. Thought we were so original...lol.

Thanks for all the advice! This evening we booked the Pearl to Alaska! Now to plan...