Alaska excursions for a toddler

[getawaygirl]

Hi, I'm new at this but I have a couple of questions if anyone has any advice.We are traveling with our 4 year old on Jun 18 on the Radiance of the Seas RCI Ship to Alaska. Does anyone have any info on some excursions she will be able to do? I would like to take her dogsledding and maybe the raft trip in Juneau, but I'm not sure if she's too young for these trips. She's been on a Carnival cruise last year and loved the kids club on board, and we're hoping she'll enjoy this one as well. Thanks for any feedback.

 

Getawaygirl

[wolfie11]

The first thing you will need to do is check with the vendors or shore excursion office about minimum ages on trips. Many are limited to "big" kids. Once you know which ones are available, the choices may be easier.

[Budget Queen]

The dog sledding is a costly option and I don't recommend the Mendenhall float trip, money is better spent elsewhere. I would look for "short" tours that allow less "no way out" options. Walking tours of the ports are just excellent. As mentioned, you need to look at age restrictions. Few tours have kids rates. A lot of tours are of great interest to adults but kids usually aren't interested in scenery and have a difficult time seeing far off brief viewing wildlife. Look over a shore excursion list and carefully read descriptions and determine what is right for your family.

[hotmike98]

I agree with Budget Queen as to the dog sled (it's $400 per person, and if she gets cold and starts crying, you are stuck in the middle of the glacier until the pilot is ready to leave). No experience on the float trip, but I'd trust BQ's judgment: we signed up for the canoe ride instead for this year, but you'd want to check age limits). My recommendation for Kechikan would be Native Dancing at Saxman Village-there's also a shed/cabin where the native artisans are working on reviving the art of totem pole carving. I have pix of my (then) 9 year old being allowed to paint a portion of a huge totem! The salmon hatchery exhibit is something your little one might enjoy (it's near the totem museum), and it also has a small preserve for injure bald eagles. Close enough to see how huge they are! If she isn't in need of a nap (you can probably judge at the time) walk up and buy tix for the lumberjack show, rather than pre-booking and then find it's really nap time!

 

We took one of the whale watch trips in Juneau, but that might not be active enough for her. Maybe someone can recommend a visit to one of the dog sled kennels without the actual ride? They usually have puppies you can pet.

[DixieDL]

I don't know if this will help, but here is what we decided to try with our DD who is also 4.

 

 

We are doing the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan and then just walking around, hopefully we will be able to watch some people fishing, etc. In Juneau, we are going panning for gold - it is a NCL excursion, but I sure there are similar on RCI, then in Skagway, we are doing dog sledding, it is without the flight and the sleds will be on wheels, as we won't be on the glacier, but it is a fairly short ride, and then you get to pet and play with the dogs, and the cost was less than with the flight. My DD is very excited about this.. I just tried to pick some of the shorter excursions, so she won't get bored.

 

We did do a whale watching in Hawaii when she was 2 1/2 and she did that well, although she did fall asleep on my lap... but she was calm and not bothering anyone, and had a good nap :)

[Texasbob]

I'm joining you on the June 18 sailing of the Radiance. There's a meet and mingle thread going, if you're interested.

 

I'm taking my 9 year old gold panning, and maybe a fast boat ride, plus just walking around.