Alaska????

[bayjoens]

Okay, folks, I'm looking for some help here. We just booked our Aug 2006 10-day rt San Francisco Alaskan cruise on the Regal Princess. It will be our fourth cruise but we have two families coming with us who are new to cruising.

 

One family consist of a skeptical dad, a daughter attending college and a high-school son. The mom is worried that the dad won't enjoy the cruise and will be bored and the kids won't have enough to do.

 

Can anyone out there who has been on this route already tell me what there is to do on the at-sea days for the dad and for the teen kids? What are the selling points?

 

The itinerary is: San Francisco, Victoria, Sitka, Juneau, Tracy Arm Cruising, Haines, San Francisco. There are five days at sea. Anything you love at one port or another?

 

She is also worried that it will be too cold for the pool. I think this is correct, but can the kids use the hot tubs? Do they?

 

Thanks for helping me out here. Any input would be appreciated

[garycarla]

your replies will be sparse.

 

 

Why?

 

Your subject was of little value. Since this is the ALASKA board, just about every question is of course about Alaska.

 

You might do a search on pools, read some old postings, read some reviews to help out. You will find LOTS of postings about what to do in each port, and what different people like.

 

You will rarely read anything about people being bored. Always stuff to do.

[bayjoens]

Garycarla, I am sorry you felt my questions were of such little value and had to spend your time critizing me instead of giving me helpful suggestions. I have been on this board for awhile and use it often. I am well aware of how it works and have always appreciated how helpful and informative people are, until now. I have searched for answers to my questions but haven't found anything that specifically addresses these issues, other than the port specific sites. I was asking for input and suggestions, as we all do here, and not expecting to be put down for it.

[booth22]

Try posting on the Princess board and addressing your post to "SharkieRools" they are going on the regal with us on 7/27/05 and they have done this cruise before. Sharkie would be more than happy to help you out with any info. From everything I've read so far you'll have blast. Good luck... You can also post on the Princess board and ask "bdjam" your questions, he knows a ton about the Regal and cruises on her frequently!

[Singinman]

Check the website to see if Regal has a covered pool.

 

We just went with a friend on the Coral (OK not so many sea days). He was going just to please his wife. He would suffer through the week. On Friday (last day) at lunch he said out of the clear blue. "I do beleave this has been the best week of my life."

[CruiseIsGood]

I can't help with any specific Princess answers, but I will say the same as above. My grumpy ol' dad said he would hate it, be bored, blah blah, but we couldn't wipe the smile off his face all week. :)

 

ETA: Now they're booked on a 14-night Med cruise on the Regatta! I think he changed his mind about cruising.

[bruce-r]

Your subject was of little value. Since this is the ALASKA board, just about every question is of course about Alaska.

That is exactly what I thought when I first saw this tread on the Alaska board.

 

If you are having difficulty convincing the Dad, maybe some photos of the ship and the sites you can see during the cruise would help. Find out what his interests are and see if you can relate any of them to that is available on the cruise. He is a guy, lots of guys like to fish. I think you get the idea.

 

Perhaps he likes to eat good food. That is always a highlight of a cruise.

 

Princess offers snorkeling as an excursion at some of their ports. That would make a vacation memorable. There is load of interesting stuff to see underwater in Alaska and BC.

[bayjoens]

Thanks, folks, for your helpful answers. I will go look for those folks and see what they can tell me.

 

CruiseIsGood: Our first cruise was a 12-day Med two years ago and it was definitely the cruise of a lifetime. Thanks to this board, we connected up with some wonderful guides, one of whom we are still in touch with. Your parents will love it!