Has Anyone Taken Small Baby on Alaskan Cruise???

[jebad23]

Our baby will be exactly 1 yr. during the cruise next may, I want to bring him and my wife isn't so sure... anyone sailed with a baby to alaska??? Is it worth the hassle? or should we leave him at home??

[sas80]

Our baby will be exactly 1 yr. during the cruise next may, I want to bring him and my wife isn't so sure... anyone sailed with a baby to alaska??? Is it worth the hassle? or should we leave him at home??

 

Quite frankly I think Alaska is the PERFECT cruise to bring small children on, especially if you can afford a balcony. Many of the "ports" on the itinerary are actually "cruising the glaciers" days. How lovely it would be to bundle up the kids and let them play on the balcony while DH and I sit out, sipping coffe, or whatever ;) and listen to the captain narrate our way thru the inside passage. This works out even better if you need to put baby down for a nap. You can sit back and enjoy the view while the baby naps inside.

 

Now, we have never actually done an Alaska cruise, specifically because we want to do a 2 week repo and need to actually want to shell out the kind of $$ for it. Others may have a different point of view. But I think it would be perfect to do, especially with a small child.

 

To me, when you have small children (that need to nap) the more days at sea the better.

[boulders]

Having actually been on an Alaskan cruise with kids, I would say leave the baby at home if you have the opportunity. My youngest was just turned 4 and I'm quite glad he wasn't younger.

 

The captain does not "narrate his way through the inside passage". Usually one day is spent doing scenic cruising - some ships do 2. Our scenic cruising day lasted all of 2 hours. :p Most of the ports have very active shore excursions to do. There are helicopters, glaciers to see, hiking.

 

There are no beach days LOL. It is rather cold, even in the middle of summer, relative to the lower 48, and rainy too. It's not great to be outside, sitting around.

 

Now, if you were to take the Disney cruise in 2011, THAT would be a whole other story. ;)

[sas80]

Having actually been on an Alaskan cruise with kids, I would say leave the baby at home if you have the opportunity. My youngest was just turned 4 and I'm quite glad he wasn't younger.

 

The captain does not "narrate his way through the inside passage". Usually one day is spent doing scenic cruising - some ships do 2. Our scenic cruising day lasted all of 2 hours. :p Most of the ports have very active shore excursions to do. There are helicopters, glaciers to see, hiking.

 

There are no beach days LOL. It is rather cold, even in the middle of summer, relative to the lower 48, and rainy too. It's not great to be outside, sitting around.

 

Now, if you were to take the Disney cruise in 2011, THAT would be a whole other story. ;)

 

Lol, my dream has officially been shattered :D

 

Oh well, you just saved us $6k ;)

[queenL]

We took our then 5mos old daughter with us to Alaska. She is 2 now and in December will embark on her 3rd cruise. So, obviously we have no regrets! My opinion, go ahead and do it. :)

 

I think you need to consider carefully what kind of cruiser you are. That was our first cruise with a child and there were definitely differences cruising with kids. You have to tamp down the nightlife, sit towards the back of the shows in case your kid gets fussy, plan around naps, pack a ton of extra kid stuff. So there are trade offs. We just thought they were worth it. We have gotten used to the lifestyle adjustments that kids bring and choose to travel as a family. Besides as she gets older I want her exposed to the same experiences I had and I traveled a lot as a kid.

 

The other poster is correct in saying that there are a lot of active excursions that you can't and wouldn't want to bring small children. It does rain a lot and is chilly. We knew that beforehand and chose activities accordingly. We also travel with grandparents. (I highly recommend that if possible). One scenic sailing day, my mom took her while my husband and I watched the glaciers from the top deck. Another day we watched the glacier tour from an enclosed lounge at the front of the ship. Most ships that sail Alaska have some type of solarium styled, glassed in area to view the glaciers. So, there are plenty of ways to still see the sights even with kids. There are also some cruisers who get balcony cabins so that they can watch from their cabin and keep the little one warm inside.

 

P.S. This is the cheapest time to take your little one. Soon they will be full 3rd passenger fare, you will have to pay for their flight, gratuities, etc. :D

 

 

FYI-

 

I wrote a review about what activities we did in Alaska with an infant. You may find it helpful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=11090800&highlight=#post11090800

[cb at sea]

Not all cruiselines discount small children...check that out, if it's a concern to you!

[cacruiserjen]

We cruised Alaska - roundtrip out of San Francisco - so 10 nights?? back in July/August this past summer with our baby who just turned 1 this weekend. On the cruise she was 10 mo old and it was wonderful, but a lot of work. Thankfully we cruise with my parents and we also have 2 older children (now 16 and 13.5 years old). Being pregnant again, I was more than happy to head to bed by 9ish with the baby! LOL A few times we had the kids hang out in our cabin with her while she fell asleep and then they were free to watch TV or read or whatever. So they each gave up at least one night to allow me and hubby to do something else. We also skipped eating in the dining room except for a few nights. 2 hours was just too long to spend of our already "shortened" evening due to early to bed! LOL But we didn't mind that too much. If you have someone to help you with the baby, it's wonderful. Otherwise, it can be hard, especially if you aren't used to having the baby 24/7. (I stay home with the baby at home, so normal for me.)

 

In ports we like to just wander around town and see sights on our own, most of the time anyway. Easy enough to do with a baby and a stroller!

 

And for others who mentioned it - you typically have one day (usually morning) of glacier cruising and no narration that we've ever heard and this was our third Alaska trip.

 

Personally, we choose to vacation with our children. My husband works full time out of the home and wouldn't want to leave them home when this is a great time to get to relax and enjoy them without the hectic home schedules we all keep.