Disney, RC or Celebrity to Alaska

[dempsey931]

My husband and I are taking our 5 year old son to Alaska this summer. Considering Disney, RC and Celebrity. Disney seems wonderful but my son won't be interested in staying in the kid's club without us. And he is not interested in the Disney characters or shows (we know this bc we went to Disney World in Nov.) I guess we are mostly looking for family activities - things we can all together as a family so he won't be bored. Would really appreciate any advice! We have a Disney cruise on hold only until noon today so have to decide quickly.:) Thanks!!!

[Keith1010]

I know that when our son was your son's age the first day he was a little scared about doing the kid's club and he cried when we left him but after an hour and for the remainder of the cruise he loved it. You know your child best so if you know for sure he won't like the club or he won't like the characters then I would pass on the Disney Cruise. But if he does, it's a perfect family cruise so be sure to really think this all through.

 

The other cruise lines you mentioned will also have children's programs.

 

If he's not in the programs there is the swimming pool on each line.

 

I really would try to take advantage of a program for him because while there are some things you can do the kids programs offer by far the most.

 

All the lines you mentioned are fine with Disney being the best for kids. My second choice when it comes to kids programs is actually Princess.

 

Keith

[crzgrl66]

Disney's kids club is exceptional. With that being said, for Alaska I would look at the itinerary. You will probably get to see more and spend more time in port on one of the other lines.

 

Maybe check into: pools (if they have a solarium or enclosed area to enjoy in Alaska (Disney doesn't)

Itineraries & excursions

 

For us price is usually the tie breaker with all things being close.

[Cheryl H]

I was over reading reviews and some of the Disney Alaska cruises didn't get very good reviews. You might go over and read some of the reviews.

 

Well, our son (age 6) loves Disney, but he loves the rides (not especially the shows). So we picked our Alaska cruise because of the itinerary, and because we already had an RCCL Visa card collecting points. So we stuck with RCCL Radiance of the Seas.

 

We leave in a couple weeks. Our last cruise, our son liked the mini golf, and walking around the ship with us. Radiance has an indoor pool and they have some family swim time there.

 

We have picked a variety of tours to take with him. All of them are less than 4 hours. We are doing a float plane at Ketchikan, a gold mine tour and a shuttle to Mendenhall at Juneau, a whale watching tour at Icy Strait. The bus/rail Summit trip with Chilkoot in Skagway. Plus we have a transfer tour out of Seward (stopping in Girdwood at Alyeska and stopping at the wildlife conservation center), and then an Anchorage tour that includes Wildberry Park and dinner at Sour Dough Mining Company. Don't flame me, but we are letting him bring along his DS game so if he gets a little tired of a tour, he can always pull that out and entertain himself a little while.

 

Our son is used to being in kids programs though. He is in Sunday School every Sunday. Plus when we go to the fitness center, he goes to the "playworld" which is the kids play area. So hopefully he will be just fine visiting Adventure Ocean.

 

From what I understand, on the first night, we will take him to Adventure Ocean to see it with him and meet the staff. So that should help matters.

 

Good luck planning your trip.

[alj1208]

With Disney, you're paying a lot of extra money for Mickey Mouse, IMHO. If you and/or your children, aren't into the characters, then by all means, less for an excellent experience on another cruise line. We took our 4.5 year old DS on Celebrity this winter in the Caribbean. We had a great time! We love Celebrity, and we think it's totally family-friendly in a laid-back sort of way. That said, we felt that while Celebrity had an excellent kids' club, it's definitely an adult-oriented experience. So, if you think your child won't spend a lot of time in the kids' club, my vote would be for Royal Caribbean.

[cb at sea]

Seems almost any ship will work, if you won't be using the kid's club....after all, you're cruising to see the sights in Alaska...not to make use of the ship as you would on a less "scenic" cruise.