Kids Clubs Alaska

[deb63]

I've been here off/on trying to figure out what cruise line would work best with young kids. I was 100% sold on NCL Pearl, until DCL announced they were going. But from the buzz, I'm not sure we can swing DCL, but it has me 2nd guessing my NCL choice.

 

Princess has a nice one way cruise. With that we would get to see Anchorage (I have an aunt up there), and more time in each of the Alaskan ports. Not to mentioned covered pools.

 

I went to cruisemama06's photobucket to look at the princess patters, etc. but wondered if anyone had any of the kids club flyers for an Alaskan cruise. Whether it be RCCL, NCL or Princess (those are the ones I keep going back and forth between). If at all possible, I'd like to see what the different activities are.

 

We are looking at 2011 - so pretty far away. I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row to know what we want, so when bookings open for the right cruise line we are ready.

 

I appreciate any input, etc. anyone would like to share. I've read books, researched websites just enough to have confused myself.

[smoothy]

how old are your kids? I just did a b2b on Celebrity and my boys (6+4) had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the club each night :) I was very impressed with the club and staff and the old boy preferred the Celebrity club over RCCLs, mainly due to the better counseller/child ratio (1:3 to 1:5 depending on the day on Celebrity). Younger one didn't really remember the RCCL club as it was last summer and he had just turned 3.

 

Here is my write up of it, I focused on the family aspects: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1057107

 

I have the daily sheets for all age groups, I need to get them to cruisinmama to put on her site.

[karatemom2]

Princess has an excellent children's program. We have been on most of the mass market lines now, including Disney, and Princess is my kids favorite. They also offer some of the best Alaska itineraries. IMHO, you can't go wrong with a family cruise on Princess!

[deb63]

Smoothy, my daughters will be 7 when we go. I had not looked at Celebrity at all. Thank you for sharing about your view of the kids club.

 

Karatemom2, I spoke to DH about the oneway cruise on Princess - and adding in a few days at Anchorage . .and he really liked that idea. I have an aunt I've not seen in 40 years that lives in Anchorage, so it would be a nice add on. I bought a Frommers book and it does rank the Princess kids club highly. I'm going to look at Princess more too. Thank you for responding! It is helpful knowing that kids enjoy them, and not just the information in a book.

[smoothy]

As an aside, both Princess and RCI/Celebrity stop at Icy Strait Point which was our favourite port by far (no Diamonds International!). I don't think any of the other cruiselines stop there currently

[cruisingram1]

how old are your kids? I just did a b2b on Celebrity and my boys (6+4) had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the club each night :) I was very impressed with the club and staff and the old boy preferred the Celebrity club over RCCLs, mainly due to the better counseller/child ratio (1:3 to 1:5 depending on the day on Celebrity). Younger one didn't really remember the RCCL club as it was last summer and he had just turned 3.

 

Here is my write up of it, I focused on the family aspects: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1057107

 

I have the daily sheets for all age groups, I need to get them to cruisinmama to put on her site.

 

I would like to echo Smoothy's praise of the FF on Celebrity. While the number of kids are less than on most RCCL cruises, that was a positive point on the Infinity. Less kids, more counselors, better ratio of adult to child. My granddaughters, ages 6 and 8, also had to be dragged kicking each night. GREAT PROGRAM!!

[deb63]

Wow - I have to admit, I had never looked at Celebrity until I read your posts. Love the pictures of the Fun Factory. . I mean really loved it - and know my daughters would too.

 

Price wise, it is about the same as Princess. It goes to Seward instead of Whittier - I'll have to see how far Seward is from Anchorage, etc. - as Anchorage is a place we want to visit (family there). I'll have to look it up in my Frommers book.

 

Thank you for sharing!

[boulders]

Seward is a 2 hour drive from Anchorage. It's a gorgeous drive.

[14ersco]

Wow - I have to admit, I had never looked at Celebrity until I read your posts. Love the pictures of the Fun Factory. . I mean really loved it - and know my daughters would too.

 

Price wise, it is about the same as Princess. It goes to Seward instead of Whittier - I'll have to see how far Seward is from Anchorage, etc. - as Anchorage is a place we want to visit (family there). I'll have to look it up in my Frommers book.

 

Thank you for sharing!

 

If it fits your time schedule the most scenic way between Seward and Anchorage is aboard the coastal train of the Alaska Railroad:

 

http://www.akrr.com/

[deb63]

Thanks for the train link. We do like trains. :)

 

Has anyone done both Princess & Celebrity? I was wondering which your children preferred as far as kids clubs.

 

I do want to pick off itinerary (glaciers/ports), but next would be kids clubs to make sure the children have fun on board.

 

The Diamond Princess has a retractable roof for swimming. But it looks like the Celebrity Millieum has a really cool looking area for them. Just wondering if anyone's children had a preference.

 

My daughters will be 7 when we go. For the most part they are social. They both like making new friends, but play well with each other when there isn't anyone else available.

[mary_228]

My children have been in kids programs on Celebrity, Princess and RCL. At the age your kids are, I think their favorite might have been Celebrity, because that program took them out around the ship a bit on sea days - to get ice cream, to see the show at night. There was a very nice staff/child ratio, as others have mentioned. As they got older, they enjoyed Princess (my personal favorite) but I think now, at ages 11 and 13, they'd probably go for RCL because it attracts the most kids (more chance of finding a friend) and has lots of video/electronic games.

 

Overall, I think they'll have a great time on any ship and you should pick the one YOU like best!

[deb63]

Thank you Mary.

 

I'll wait to see the itineraries that Princess and Celebrity put out, then pick from there. I know we want Skagway, Glacier Bay, and either Seward or Whittier. :)

 

It is nice to know Kids Club wise, that both will go over as fun!

[JsMom2]

I'm in the same position as the OP. We are waitlisted for a 1BR suite on the Disney Wonder to Alaska in 2011. I figured I'd see about adding a 1 week Adventures by Disney after the cruise, so we could also go inland.

 

Well I got a sneak peek at the prices- $5179 per person for the 1st 2 in a 1 BR suite for 7 days!! Plus we were less than thrilled with our last Adventures by Disney trip.

 

So I'm now looking at Princess or Celebrity. I'd like to do a pre-cruise land package, followed with a southbound cruise. DD and I sailed the Crown Princess to the Baltics (10 nts) when she was 9, and the Coral Princess to through the Panama Canal (14 nts) when she was 10. She LOVES Princess! The PC cruise only had about 6 kids onboard, but she was old enough to enjoy the night time game shows, and thanks to Disney she has a real appreciation for the production shows on all the lines.

 

One thing that has me leaning towards Princess is that they do a great job of having guest lecturers onboard to make the destinations more interesting. I read somewhere that they have a "Jr Ranger" program for the Alaska cruises, which I think is a great idea. And their land tours offer all kinds of really cool options.

 

Would love to hear more inputs about the Celebrity program though, especially for the tweens/teens.