Alaska Family Cruise?

[Grenouille21]

Hello, I'm looking into an Alaskan cruise for myself and my kids, and was hoping to find some input on which ship(s) might be the most family-friendly aside from Disney, which is probably going to be too expensive unless we manage to book on opening day (unlikely).

 

I'm not sure whether we would go this coming summer (2014) or 2015, but either way the kids wouldn't be older than 12 nor younger than 8.5. And of course we could wait until they are older, too, but I know they would enjoy this kind of vacation. I know they will be amazed at the sights, they will want to go whale watching, and go on hikes, etc.

 

I'm open to either cruises or land/cruise trips. I would love to hear from anyone who has taken their kids on an Alaskan cruise (or land/cruise)! Or if you were on a cruise etc. and there were a lot of families, or a lot of activities that would appeal to families. We don't need to be on a ship with ALL families, but I don't want to be the only family on the cruise.

 

And I'll be traveling solo with the kids. So no husband, so no need for couple time or whatever. Not that that matters, but it seems worth mentioning. If there is a kids club (or tween club) that's great as the kids might enjoy it.

 

Any input is appreciated, even if it is to say "Stay away from XYZ ship/cruise as it is not family-friendly!!".

[Keith1010]

To me Alaska is all about ports so I would start by finding itineraries that you want and then see which cruise lines do those ports.

 

If you found the itinerary that you like and they involved the following cruise lines then I would go with Princess or Celebrity who have good children's programs. HAL offers one too but I do think that Princess and Celebrity have more extensive programs.

 

Keith

[BabyBokChoy]

I was on board of Radiance of the Seas this August with children 9 and 6. According to the cruise director, there were 2200 passengers and 120 are children (17 and under). Even though there were only a few children at mine's age but they still loved the Adventure Ocean program. The staff at Adventure Ocean knows what to do with kids and are very good with them. My kids enjoyed going there.

 

Radiance opens the indoor Solarium to families twice a day from 10-12 and 2-4. That was a favorite place for us. They swim, I nap.

 

The water slides are open weather permitting on sea days. It opened for us on the last day of our cruise. My kids were two of the three on the slides, up and down nonstop in 60 degree sunshine weather :)

 

We ate at the dining room every night using MTD but always at the same time. Thus we were seated at the same table every night with the same waiting professionals. Routine is essential for us. The dining experience was excellent.

 

Other things we enjoyed as a family: towel folding, dancing in the Centrium gangham style :) balloon animal making.

 

I say the Radiance is very family friendly. We had a great experience.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

An important question to answer as you begin researching this cruise is how long you have for the vacation? Do you only have a week? Then you need a round trip. Or--can you extend the cruise and include a land portion?

 

I think this web site is good for general information on Alaska.

 

Alaska is a very port intensive cruise. Most cruisers spend a majority of the time off the ship --or sleeping. We were so busy.

 

We sailed on the Radiance, too. [last year] One family at our table had 2 teenage children. They did active excursions in each port. We had late seating for dinner. The family only made it to the MDR for two dinners. [formal nights. said they wanted the good dinners] They went to the Windjammer the rest of the time.

[chipmaster]

We have found princess the right balance between kids activities and nice adult amenities. Also in Alaska they offer some many sailings and port options.

 

You can penny pinch by taking an inside cabin and spending that money on good excursions.

 

My 3 kids really enjoyed alaska, but we did make sure the ports were "fun" excursions. They enjoyed the kids club on princess, and during the summer there are plenty of kids.

 

Disney while fun, is very pricey, and they don't sail the best scenic destination. If you got money to burn and don't mind you don't hit Glacier Bay they worth it. If you are a value vacationer and don't have money burning thru your pocket and college education to save for skip disney!

[AlaskaAtLast]

We took the Norwegian Sun northbound from Vancouver to Whittier mid-August of this year and there were plenty of families on board. I believe the concierge told me that there were close to 300 kids on the ship the week we cruised (out of about 1900 total passengers). My kids were 8 and 10 and they found lots of other kids their ages to hang out with both in the kid's club, which they loved, and other places like the basketball court, etc.

[Budget Queen]

The demographics of cruise ships sailing Alaska is VERY similar, no where near the numbers of kids compared to the Caribbean, but all have families and kids on board.

 

So I too suggest you find out about ALASKA. Knowing the details will offer you a window to what you are looking at when you see and compare itineraries.

 

As already suggest, determine how much time you have first. Then consider routes and itineraries that fit that.

 

Head to your library and take out Alaska Travel books. Alaska By Cruiseship is especially informative. Read up on each port and get ideas on what they offer in touring, each is very worthwhile and different from the others, unlike the Caribbean. :) Involve the kids in the planning.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Itinerary is important. You should consider a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay.

How many children? That makes a difference in the type of cabin you need to book.

You might also check out Family Cruises and ask questions about the Teen Clubs on the various cruise lines here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[DragonOfTheSeas]

An important question to answer as you begin researching this cruise is how long you have for the vacation? Do you only have a week? Then you need a round trip. Or--can you extend the cruise and include a land portion?

 

I think this web site is good for general information on Alaska.

 

 

Sorry-I forgot to paste in the website I mentioned above. :o

 

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/juneau.html#.UjWr1sZJNk0

[sherryf]

I have been on Alaskan cruises twice with my kids. The first time was on Carnival when they were 2, 5 and 8. The other time was 10 years later, on Princess, when they were 12, 15 and 18. You can find the kid's club schedules from our Princess trip here: http://s204.photobucket.com/user/cruisinmama06/library/Princess%20Patters?sort=3&page=1 They are the first 7 images, marked Shockwaves.

 

I found the demographics on Carnival and Princess in Alaska to be pretty much the same. Lots of kids and large family groups, couples, older folks, etc. Both have kid's clubs and are family friendly. I prefer Princess for myself at this point, and my kids were quite happy on Princess.

 

Remember that if you are traveling alone with the kids, you will need some documentation stating that you have the authority to take them out of the country. I'm divorced from my kids' dad, so I got notarized letters from him allowing me to take the kids on the cruise. We were never asked for them, but it is better to be safe and have them just in case.

[Streator1972]

We just returned from our Alaskan cruise in Aug. I have 11 year old twin boys & we went on the Coral Princess. There were about 150 kids on board. The boys would pop in & out of the kids club & enjoyed the 2 pools (indoor) & outdoor (heated). It was very family friendly.

[travln1234]

I'd consider the activities your kids enjoy...is having a rock wall important? Pool time (some ships don't have a covered pool...which is nice in cold Alaska!)? How about mini-golf?

 

Someone above mentioned that if you only have 7 days that you have to do a RT Vancouver. IDK. I would still pick a Northbound or a Southbound over RT...even if I couldn't do a pre or post cruisetour. I've seen both Glacier Bay and Hubbard and both are breathtaking. You really can't go wrong either way.

 

Read the boards here and see what folks say about certain lines and children. I got a bad taste in my mouth after I read a few reviews for certain cruise lines. I narrowed my choice down to Princess and RCI, both have good kids' programs, both have ships with features I thought my child would enjoy, both were in the price range I was willing to pay (can't afford Disney!!), and ultimately RCI won based on a port that they offered that I haven't been to yet. Summer time is when Alaska is open and kids are on break, so most lines have a good number of families on board and the cruise lines have really stepped up to providing more activities for the kids.

 

Good luck in your research! I think it's half the fun!

[DT1304]

Check out my review of my Alaska cruise that I took my family on in June:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1864345&highlight=photos

 

We started with a few days in Anaheim, then a few days in Vancouver, then a NB cruise from Vancouver to Seward on Radiance.

 

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Take a look at my review and if you have any questions I am more than happy to answer.