Looking for the "right" line/ship and itinerary for us (and pre-cruise info too!).

[Lurontravel]

We are looking into going in 2007, and plan to book in '06 as soon as the '07 itineraries are out. We think that we would like to do a seven day inside passage trip with another 7 or so days on land. We are a family of four, our sons will be 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 years old when we cruise. I am unsure at this stage of what our options are for the land part. Can we do it successfully on our own, or do the cruiselines really have a "lock" on all of the accomodations and tour operators? We think we'd like to take the train to Denali, and go up in helicopters to the arctic circle, land on a glacier, and all of the other "must do's".

 

We just returned from a Med cruise on the Millennium (Celebrity), and quite honestly, I feel more loyalty to the cabin category then to the cruiseline itself (we were in a "family verandah" cabin). Celebrity is good, but I felt that our previous experience on the Constellation in 2002 was definitly better. I do enjoy the "rejuvenating" aspects of the Millennium Class Celebrity brand, and I did think that their children's programming was good (though I felt it was better in '02, b/c of the staff). I don't think we want to go down a notch in food quality, and cruise on Royal Carribean, but I believe that Princess, Holland America and perhaps others? do this route. My husband is leaning towards a round-trip cruise for airline logistics (we hope to be using ff miles), but I suspect that we'll be able to somehow manage if the one-way trip is better. We do use the cildren's program a fair amount, so a good childrens program is important to us.

 

As I said, I'm just at the beginning phase of planning, so all information and opinions are very much appreciated. Thanks.

[JamesW6175]

:) We are going on a Holland America Cruise/Tour # 17 leaving out of Vancouver to Steward on the 26 June and ending on 9 July 2005. We made our own flight arrangements with Delta, flying into Vancouver on 24 June for some pre-cruise sightseeing. Will fly out of Fairbanks on 9 July 2005. We booked our own tours online when we stop at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway by using HAL online web site. We are first-timers and will spend some extra days at Denali National Park. It would be best to get the tour books and work thru a travel agency like AAA. Hope this helps.

[SunnyCal]

We are leaving in two weeks for a southbound cruise, Whittier to Vancouver on the Sun Princess. We are using frequent flier miles (San Francisco to Anchorage) for all five tickets. They were reserved last Sept. and we had no problem getting the dates and times we wanted. I think if you book as early as possible, and you are definitely thinking early already, then you shouldn't be limited to a round trip cruise due to air fares. I am not sure if it matters, but we are flying American Airlines.

 

Sunnycal

[Budget Queen]

At your childrens' ages I definately WOULD NOT book a cruise tour and only consider going on your own. Think through this carefully however. Very few kids are interested in scenery and wildlife is not common, and when it is seen, binoculars are necessary. A RV may be a good option, I probably wouldn't recommmend the train, it is an 8 hour trip Anchorage- Denali Park.

 

There are no helicopters to the Arctic Circle. Flight options are many.

[suziqz007]

I agree wholeheartedly with BudgetQueen. I would suggest that you and your husband rethink the family vacation and enjoy this trip sans children since it is primarily a scenic trip and many times requires the utmost of patience to see wildlife...not the kind of adventure most young children enjoy. If you DO take the kids, forget the land tour since it sounds like you depend a lot on the children's programs. You will obviously not have that luxury on the land tour, and children this age will be restless and likely quite bored.

[Lurontravel]

Thanks for the help so far. We are definitly taking the kids. We don't leave home without 'em (kinda like the AmEx card...). We do well with traveling with our kids, have been taking them worldwide since infancy (Russian River cruise, British Isles/Norway, Med, and lots of trips stateside, cities, hiking, Mexico, etc...). We wouldn't hesitate to take them anywhere, we just modify and do reading with them before and after, and prep them on what to expect, and, my most important rule in traveling with children, always have food available including protein (and fruit, as my children think that it is the best treat of all). They always enjoy it. The kids clubs give US time to be alone and do adult things, while the children are able to just be themselves. We modify our travel to suit our children so that we all enjoy our time together.

 

I would consider an RV, that happens to be my husbands's first choice. I am a bit concerned about the budget ($$$!) when renting an RV, and in missing out on things (like staying in the lodge at the Nat'l Parks, not being able to get to places to see things...). Am I off base? Would it come out fairly similar in cost, and would it not preclude us from doing other things (do they have shorter sightseeing train rides, etc)?

 

Thanks everyone for your help.

[suziqz007]

My opinion...doing the land tour on your own in an RV, rental car, etc. is preferable over tour company as you can stop and go as you please. Booking with a tour means you are on their schedule. You are more likely "miss out on things" you might have wanted to do if you are bound to a tour group.

[Budget Queen]

I would consider an RV, that happens to be my husbands's first choice. I am a bit concerned about the budget ($$$!) when renting an RV, and in missing out on things (like staying in the lodge at the Nat'l Parks, not being able to get to places to see things...). Am I off base? Would it come out fairly similar in cost, and would it not preclude us from doing other things (do they have shorter sightseeing train rides, etc)?

 

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

 

Yes you are off base. There isn't anywhere you can't go. What lodge??? I would continue to suggest however, you again consider and do some hard thinking about going into Denali Park. It isn't a kid area and you are committed to many hours on a bus, there is no way "out". You can't just stop off on the side of the road with small children. But there is plenty of wonderful driving and shorter activities to do in Alaska. You do need to budget fully, it isn't a cheap destination.

[Lurontravel]

I was under the impression that you could stay in Denali Nat'l Park, like you can stay in other Nat'l Parks? Does Denali run a bus around the park loop like other Nat'l Parks where you can get on/off at designated stops? Is there road access everywhere in Alaska? I had thought that there might be some areas only accessible by rail or air?

 

Budget-wise, I would prefer to keep it around what we would spend if we did a seven day land trip with the cruiselines (I did get a quote from X before we got off of our Med cruise last month). I prefer not to do the land portion with the cruiseline, however, b/c I prefer the flexibility of planning exactly what interests my family, and on a schedule that I am comfortable that we can keep without any of us "burning out" on our vacation. We do plan to do a lot less nowadays on trips then we used b.c. (before children).

 

My parents did a land/inside passage cruise close to about 10 years ago, but I don't think that their info will be up to date, so I haven't really talked to them about it, and I don't know of anyone who has recently done Alaska, so I really appreciate your answers.

[KFH]

Here is a link to Denali NP. There is only one road into Denali and most of it is only accessable by bus.

 

Here is a link:

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/pphtml/planyourvisit.html

[Budget Queen]

I was under the impression that you could stay in Denali Nat'l Park, like you can stay in other Nat'l Parks? Does Denali run a bus around the park loop like other Nat'l Parks where you can get on/off at designated stops? Is there road access everywhere in Alaska? I had thought that there might be some areas only accessible by rail or air?

 

Budget-wise, I would prefer to keep it around what we would spend if we did a seven day land trip with the cruiselines (I did get a quote from X before we got off of our Med cruise last month). I prefer not to do the land portion with the cruiseline, however, b/c I prefer the flexibility of planning exactly what interests my family, and on a schedule that I am comfortable that we can keep without any of us "burning out" on our vacation. We do plan to do a lot less nowadays on trips then we used b.c. (before children).

 

My parents did a land/inside passage cruise close to about 10 years ago, but I don't think that their info will be up to date, so I haven't really talked to them about it, and I don't know of anyone who has recently done Alaska, so I really appreciate your answers.

 

 

 

Yes you can camp in Denali Park, but you have to commit to 3 days and your RV remains PARKED the entire time, unless you are in the 2 campgrounds near the entrance. Any traveling requires the SHUTTLE buses. Check out the site http://www.nps.gov/dena The Park Road is 90 miles and the shuttles run the lenght. It is NOT a loop. You can get off anywhere on the side of the road , then just get back to the road and wait for the next bus. Not ideal with kids, little shelter, about every 1 1/2 hours there are bathrooms, but the best visitor center with a small museum is now closed- Eielson. Every where else is wide open.

[AAL]

I definitely recommend an RV rental for a family trip. It's not cheap, but you have the convenience and cost-savings of a kitchen, and you'll spend more time outdoors. We've rented from Great Alaskan Holidays which is near the Anchorage airport (and there are other options in Anchorage as well).

 

However you choose to get there, Denali is a must see, including one day on the bus into the park. Riley Creek campground is near the park entrance; there are several short hikes in the area, programs at the visitor center and campground, and easy access to whitewater rafting and other activities outside the park. My teens have ridden the Denali shuttle bus since they were infants. Kids may not be as interested in scenery as adults, but they do like the animals, and if they are good travelers and you plan for an all day bus trip (lots of snacks and things to do on the bus) they will be fine.

 

If a train ride is a priority, and your cruise departs from Seward, you can take the train there from Anchorage.

[mdeane]

If children's programs are important to you as they seem to be, I would definately reconsider taking Royal Caribbean. IMHO they have the BEST children's activites of any ship including Disney. Don't know what people expect, but we find the food very good. Also a Junior Suite would give you all plenty of room with a walk in closet and bath complete with tub and shower. Plus a wonderful veranda. Just my thoughts.

[Host Caroline]

Children in our group on Diamond Princess loved the children's program.. and actually asked to go there! Parents felt left out;) I wouldn't rule out Princess if you do decide to take your children. Lots the ages yours will be were onboard and there are excursions and activities they will enjoy.

[garycarla]

Though I am sure there are others, but I never seen anyone book this far in advance. I would not book ANYTHING this far out other than the cruise itself. In fact, the airlines will only book 331 days out and then you can expect lots of changes.

 

I would STRONGLY suggest you read lots on these boards over the next year or so and make adjustments based on those discussions. What you read this year will change somewhat by next summer.

 

I agree with others that children that young will not be anywhere near as excited about most of the options as you will be. Just some more trees and snow - big whoop!

 

Hey - is this a planted post just to get everyone going? Or is this for real?

[Lurontravel]

Host Caroline and mdeane,

Yes, I am absolutely interested in hearing about other cruiselines, and what they offer for the children as well as the adults. I feel that by doing the pre-cruise tour on our own, we will have the flexibility necessary to keep the children engaged, allow for their input and then when we get on the ship, the childrens programming will allow the children the time and place to just be kids while we enoy some of the stuff that we enjoy without kids (including having dinner at the late seating alone sometimes after we have taken care of the children's dinner with some sort of healthy option) or what would not be something that they would enjoy because of their maturity/age (lectures, etc) or be allowed to do b/c of age restrictions. I have also been reading some posts that seem to indicate that Holland America (HA) is a wonderful crusieline to do Alaska with b/c of their longtime experience in this region. Any opinions on this? If you think HA would be one of the best lines to take for their adult enrichment programming on Alaska, how would you rate their children's program?

 

Garycarla,

No, we aren't booking anything this far in advance (as you said, can't make air arrangements this far out, and the cruiselines don't have any bookings this far out either). I am just exploring options at this stage.

 

I have found that reading books, borrowing travel videos etc. gets my children oriented and piques their interest so that they are also interested in travel. We also spend a bit of time looking at maps and where we are going in relation to where we live and where other family members live, as well as where we have already traveled. So, I 'd expect that books on eskimos, sled dogs, mountains (McKinley in particular), as well as the close proximity to Russia (where we've also already traveled) and reading our Russian fairy tale books will help to prep them and get them as excited as we will be (or somewhat close). I don't go myself with out doing prior research on where we will be traveling, so why wouldn't kids also be interested?

 

And yes, this is for real. Check out my previous posts to be assured.

 

Thanks again, everyone!

[Nanner]

I agree the best way for you to land tour with the kids is on your own. You can structure your own days and do what you feel is most interesting to you and the kids.

 

That said, truly going into Denali is something you can only do on the park bus. It is not a comfy ride-think school bus. The kids would not last for the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which is 6 hours and no bathroom on the vehicle. The Natural History Tour might work, as it is shorter, but even that lasts a number of hours in close quarters with no facilities on board. Scheduled stops are about an hour or so apart. And that is the ONLY time you are allowed out of the bus. Your kids may be seasoned travellers, but you also need to consider their endurance and the other folks on board who wish to enjoy their vacations.

 

You might just take the shuttle bus, rather than a tour, to a near stop and hike. However, as BQ noted, facilities are few and far between and this is a wildlife park. There are bears and other animals you must be prepared to deal with. Denali is wonderful, in part because they haven't made it totally people-friendly. This does mean that access isn't as easily had as, say, Rocky Mountain National Park.

[Nanner]

Not having young kids now, I wonder...if you stay in a Denali-area hotel, I'm sure they have sitters available. With the large number of RVers in Alaska, would a large RV park perhaps also offer sitting services? Maybe you could explore that option and give the adults a "day in the park"?