first cruise, alaska with a 5 and 6 yr old, hal oosterdam vs princess golden

[bjcm]

We are planning our first cruise to alaska in June and are trying to decide between hal oosterdam or golden princess. We've narrowed it down to these due to glacier bay intinerary and ruled out ncl because the kids don't want to be split up in the kids club. (NCL told me there is no exceptions to this rule and they wasn't anyway they would be allowed to stick together in their kids club). We are also traveling with one set of grandparents. Both itineraries are the same with the exception of sitka on hal instead of skagway on princess. The port times are very similar also.

With that, which cruise line do those of you who have done this many time think our age ranges (5-59) will enjoy the most?

 

Secondly, there is a pretty big price difference for the 3rd and 4th passenger between the 2. It's $908 for the 3rd and 4th on princess vs $421 on hal. We are planning on a veranda room on either, so for the trip, we would save $1200 on hal. Obviously, we would rather spend more if we'll have a better experience on princess, but if there isn't that much difference, would like to use that money on excursions. Thought we'd get some expert opinions. Thanks so much!

[topspot]

Except for our Disney cruise, we have cruised only HAL and Princess. When we pick one over the other, it is ususally because of price. The food and service on both lines are great. There might be more for your children to do on Princess. HAL does have club HAL, but there seemed to be more for our DD to do on Princess. I know Golden has and enclosed pool. Does the HAL ship have one?? Not sure if your children would like this. The HAL beds are much more comfortable than Princess. Princess has better desserts (I know food is subjective), and HAL serves real brewed coffee, Princess has the syrup stuff:eek:.

Hope my two cents worth helped to compare the two. You will enjoy either one.

[Ula]

We have never cruised HAL, but Golden Princess has MUTS, movies under the stars that has movies and popcorn at night. Kind of like a drive-in movie place. They do a lot of kids shows during the day.

[Essiesmom]

Oosterdam also has a covered pool, if that is important. EM

[bjcm]

Thanks so much everyone! Sounds like there is a covered pool on either, and my kids would love that. They aren't over the top about movies yet, but the muts sounds cool.

 

I guess the biggest question would be do you think it's worth an extra $1200 to do princess over hal? With all the port days, I'm not sure they'll spend a ton of time in the kids club, other than a little time here and there on the sea days.

 

Topspot- it sounds like your dd enjoyed the kids club more on princess?

[topspot]

She enjoyed both, but Princess more. She was 12 on Princess, but teen on HAL, so it was a different age group. MUTS is nice, but we were on the Golden in Alaska last summer and it was too cold for that at night. When we have sailed with HAL it has always been a price factor. We could spend more on excursions. In Jan. we are sailing HAL where third and 4th person are free. It's a no brainer for us, she's bringing a friend. Doesn't matter what the kids program is like if there is someone their age to spend some time away from the 'rents, and s supervised place to do this.;)

 

Also the rooms on HAL were a little larger than Princess. Find a post in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1325962 by Cruisinmama06. At the end of her signature she has a link to the daily schedule for different cruiseline's children programs.

[cantw8togo]

We haven't sailed on Princess, but we have sailed to Alaska on HAL (Volendam) when our 2 DS's were 5 & 8. Our kids who aren't big kids club fans liked HAL's program best. I also vouch for HAL's great beds, decent coffee and home made ice cream, oh and the bread pudding is excellent! The kids got to go on a tour of the bridge, had a cooking lesson in the chef's theatre and had a special presentation by a park ranger while in Glacier Bay. In June it may be too cool to comfortably sit outside to watch a movie and if your family isn't into movies that much, then it is a bit of a moot point.

 

I'm sure that you will have a great time no matter which one you choose.

 

Hope this helps,

 

N.

[jam82]

We've sailed on HAL, Carnival and Princess with our 4 year old. He'll be embarking on his 14th cruise this week. He loves the kids club on both Princess and Carnival and would spend every minute there if we let him. In 12 cruises on those two lines, we've never had a bad thing to say about the kids club. HAL is a different story. We sailed on the Oosterdam last June and thought the kids club was horrible. The staff was snotty and uncaring and the activities were not age appropriate. (Some activities were 'write a letter to the captain' and 'glacier viewing'. If the kids weren't able to do the activity (write) they were made to sit on the line on the floor and watch the other kids. The counselors did not help them transcribe the letter, nor was an alternate activity given. Since we've had awesome experiences on other cruise lines, we will not cruse HAL again. If I had to do it over again, I'd choose Princess.

 

Of course $1200 is a lot of money and would come in handy for all those expensive Alaskan excursions. Other than the kids club, we really liked the Oosterdam. She's a beautiful ship. They roll up the sidewalks early, but we had early ports so that was fine.

 

P.S. I didn't think Sitka was worth the stop. (We did whale watching which just wasn't that exciting to me although we saw whales.) I've been to Skagway before and would choose that over Sitka any day.

[bjcm]

Thanks jam82- that's good information about the kids club.

That's definitely something to think about

[stsomewhere]

Disney is sailing to Alaska in 2011. The itinerary isn't the best, But, your kids are a great age.

 

HAL is our second favorite line. Our first is Disney. Our kids are 13 and 10. It is their favorite line as well. My son(13) just got back for a cruise with a friend on Allure of the Seas. I was worried that he would not be excited to go on DCL again. He said that the Allure was too big and he could not find a lot to do. He is looking forward to Alaska cruise in the summer.

[williamsk]

Go with HAL- for 1200 that is a couple cool excursions (dog mushing on a glacier or flighseeing to a salmon feast). We found that Alaska is primarily about the ports anyway and we really enjoyed our cruise with our daughter (2 at the time) to Alaska on HAL. We didn't really mind having her with us. In the carribean the cruises are more about sun and relaxing sans kids where Alaska is more about a shared experience. We were really too tired to be concerned about a bunch of alone time and spent sea days recouping with long naps. We have really neat pictures of Emily snuggled up with us under wool blankets while viewing glacier bay. The HAL employees were very kind to her and while she was too young to use the kids club it really wasn't an issue, IMHO.

 

Differences in kids club experiences will not compare to a good excursion in Alaska. Some of the neat ones can be expensive so it is a wiser use of money IMHO.

[Onessa]

Both itineraries are the same with the exception of sitka on hal instead of skagway on princess. The port times are very similar also. . . .

 

. . .P.S. I didn't think Sitka was worth the stop. (We did whale watching which just wasn't that exciting to me although we saw whales.) I've been to Skagway before and would choose that over Sitka any day.

 

Been to Skagway and to Sitka both several times. If I never had been to Skagway, I would not consider it to have been a loss (very commercial place). However Sitka is one of my favorite places. It has history (native, Russian and US) it has great beauty (including a national park that is within easy walking distance of the pier). Skagway's museum for the gold rush is nice, but not great. The train ride was long but little else.

 

I would also not discount another itinerary simply because it did not include Glacier Bay -- we've seen Hubbard, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, etc. and they are all quiet lovely.

 

The price difference is probably the major factor - we've cruised Princess, NCL, RCI, and X, never HAL -- I choose by itinerary and price. The cruise experience itself tends to be somewhat similar.

[epixx]

We sailed HAL (ms Amsterdam) for 14 days in Alaska with our kids (older than yours) last summer. We have also sailed Princess. I think both cruise lines are good for the kids. I bet the grandparents would prefer HAL, but you might prefer Princess (more to do). Our itinerary included both Skagway and Sitka. We all preferred Sitka, but I think you'll enjoy either one. All that being said, I would definitely pick the HAL to save $1200. I definitely agree with others that you'll remember the port stops more than the ship, and with that amount of money you can have a lovely excursion.

[bjcm]

Thanks everyone! We did book hal and I think we'll be happy putting the savings towards some cool excursions. Did you guys book excursions on your own or through the ship?

[cantw8togo]

We did all of our tours independantly to save $$$ and it is great chance to meet and chat with the locals. Check out the Alaska forum in the ports of call area for lots of great info.

 

What ports are you stopping in and what type of activities does your family like to do? Hiking, history, nature watching, native culture, adventures such as ziplining, glacier landing, sea kayaking, dogsledding...there are so many options! And I want to go back!!!

 

We went in June of 2008 with our 2 DS's then aged 5 & 8, my MIL (80ish), and SIL (50ish). We went on a whale watching tour (Orca Tours) in Juneau; they also dropped us off and picked us up at the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center for 1 1/2 hours before the whale watching tour.

In Skagway we went on a tour with Dyea Dave and took the White Pass Railway to the summit and back. In Ketchikan we took the city bus to Totem Bight State Park and then spent the rest of the day wandering around town (in the pouring rain). I took the kids out for a fish and chips lunch at a little restaurant near the docks that the kids still talk about as being the best halibut that they have ever eaten and it was a great lesson on how fresh, local food can make a world of difference to how something tastes.

 

I did a lot of research before we went (ok, I admit that I was a bit obsessive about it ;) ) and I posted most of the links on a thread about affordable travel with kids in Alaska. Scroll down to post #15. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1054757&highlight=

 

Hope this helps,

 

N.

[courteliz24]

Princess was the first cruiseline to go up to Alaska. I just think they have the best excursions and really have their act together because they have been going up there longer than all the other lines. I also think Princess is a little more kid friendly but that is a personal opinion.

[bjcm]

cantwaittogo

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely look at your post. We are stopping in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. We are very interested in outdoor adventures and wildlife. We've done about 6 of the national parks with our kids, so anything along those lines is right up our alley. When you go to Medenhall Glacier, can you actually hike around on the glacier like you would with a helicopter trip to a glacier?

[jam82]

The first time we did the bus tour to Mendenhall and were allowed to walk out on the glacier. I'm not sure I'd call it hiking, but it was still cool. The second time we took a helicopter to the glacier which was a total 'WOW' experience. It was much more enjoyable because we felt like we were really 'out there'. I've also done the rafting trip and the tram ride to the look at the view. Both were worth doing.

 

As for your other ports, here's things I've done:

 

Ketchikan

1. Lumberjack show - fun and silly

2. Flight seeing by float plane with a water landing (Protech Air) - excellent tour, a total WOW experience

3. Rafting - very nice

4. It's also worth taking some time to walk around the town

 

Sitka

Whale watching with Allen Marine - Not really all that exciting for me, but we saw a ton of wildlife including sea lions, whales and bald eagles. The naturalist on board was very good and very informative.

 

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions about the Oosterdam, just ask.

[cantw8togo]

You're welcome. I had a lot of fun exploring the web and I'm more than happy to share what I found. You didn't mention the ages of your kids other than your 5 yr old. That can also have an impact on what type of activities that are suitable.

 

I'm not sure if you can reach the Mendenhall Glacier from the hiking trails anymore, but there are trails that take you closer to the ice. I have read that hiking on the ice itself can be very dangerous and should only be done with an experienced guide. In the Alaska forum there has been a posting of a video of the retreating of the Mendenhall Glacier over the past 3 years that is quite interesting. Just do a search for it if it isn't on a current page, but it is worth checking out.

 

If we had the time when we went, I would have liked to have rented canoes or kayaks and gone for a paddle on the lake in front of the Glacier in amongst the ice floes and bergie bits. You can rent canoes through an outfitter, but they are not located near the visitor center and they strictly control the number of boats on the water at one time. They can also take you on a whale watching paddle in Juneau, but you can also do this Ketchikan.

 

My then 8yr old DS was really interested in snorkeling in Ketchikan which I looked into, however I couldn't find an outfitter that had wetsuits that were small enough. It was cold and rainy the day we were there and they were just as happy to go to Totem Bight State Park for the morning. This was our last port and trip fatigue had settled in. They ended up going back to the ship and were able to take part in a last minute tour of the bridge which they found interesting.

 

I found this website to be helpful for info about Glacier Bay http://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/enjoying-your-cruise-ship-visit.htm

 

Sitka is known for it's Russian cultural heritage, but I have heard that there is a good wildlife tour that takes you out to a puffin colony. It has been a long time since I have been there, but I'm sure that others will have suggestions.

 

Hope this helps and let us know if you have any other questions.

 

N.