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Alaskan Cruise with a 4 year old

cruisylou18

By cruisylou18,
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cruisylou18

cruisylou18

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Hello,

My husband and I are thinking about taking an Alaskan cruise. We will have our 4 year old son with us.

1) Is an Alaskan cruise a good idea with a 4 year old?

2) We don't plan on dropping him off at a Kids Camp. Everything he does he will do with us.

3) Are there any particular cruise lines I should look into?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

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easyboy

easyboy

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Personally, we will not take a 4 year old on an Alaskan cruise which is more for itineraries. We would not want to be limited on choices for shore excursions if we would not consider dropping the kid at a kids camp.

 

 

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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If you want to do something very special although it would be pricey I would look at Disney. It would be a lot of fun for the family.

 

We just took our grandchildren who are around the age of your son along with our own children on a cruise and while it wasn't Alaska you can make Alaska work for a young child. The key is good planning.

 

Keith

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Clarea

Clarea

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Personally, we will not take a 4 year old on an Alaskan cruise which is more for itineraries. We would not want to be limited on choices for shore excursions if we would not consider dropping the kid at a kids camp.

Agree.

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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Oh you could do excursions with him but I would not make them very long.

 

Visit totem poles in Ketchikan.

 

I would go out whale watching in Juneau.

 

And in some ports walk around and go to parks because they love them.

 

At that age it really doesn't matter if you do Alaska or other types of cruises.

 

Take a look at Disney though to see if it fits in your budget.

 

We are big on family cruises. Always have been and that has continued now that we have grandchildren.

 

Keith

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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Agree.

 

Not so sure we would take a 4 year old on an Alaskan cruise. We started taking our DD on cruises at age 5,but chose Caribbean itineraries where we knew there would be things that caught her interest. In fact, I taught her to snorkel (at age 5) at Coki Beach. But Alaska is mostly about scenery and this is not going to entertain a 4 years old like beaches and swimming. And by the way, our DD loved being the kids program. She later explained that she understood that this was special for kids... We always had her with us at meals, but she often wanted to rush though dinner so she could go to an after dinner kids activity.

 

Hank

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PennyMinchers

PennyMinchers

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Our son was four when we went to Alaska. We went on princess. He only went to the kids club one day when we were at sea and the rest of the time he was with us. We were lucky because we had grandparents with us so when I did ziplining he went to the rain forest with his grandparents. He loved most everything. We took him with us at every port. We did the train ride in Skagway, we went to the glacier with him in Juneau. Someone had to be in the cabin at bedtime. Most of the time we were all in bed pretty early. He really enjoyed it. I probably would not have taken him if it was my choice but it was a family cruise.

We watched movies on deck when everybody else went into Victoria because we did not have a car seat with us and I would not let him get in the cab.

 

 

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pattycake1939

pattycake1939

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My great-grandson was on his first cruise at age 4 and has since done 4 more but all in the caribbean with the pools, beaches, etc. He also loved the kids club and was there a lot but we took him with us ashore always. Honestly, we decided not to take him to Alaska( and he was 12 then) because of all the extra clothes needed and the types of excursions. Lots of walking in some places......gorgeous really....but kids are not that impressed with scenery for the most part and like activities and although they had an indoor pool, it was drafty in there and to be out on deck you had to bundle up and watch for wild life....fine for adults but little ones, not so much. I did a 3 day Disney from Florida many years ago with a grandson and they are wonderful but very expensive............couldn't afford a week one for sure!

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PennyMinchers

PennyMinchers

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We did the one week Easter Caribbean with young kids and Carnival was perfect!! The Dr Seuss theme was so much fun. The Boat had so many fun things for the kids like waterslides, ropes course, mini golf…. We are doing a princess cruise with our son who will have just turned 13 in June if 18. We are going from Rome to Barcelona. He learned all about Greece and Rome in school so we decided he will be fine. He will be the only child on this one. We’re probably going to let him do the teenage club this time.

 

 

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kctwinmommy Great Review Rare

kctwinmommy

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When we went in July for our cruise, I saw maybe a handful of small kids on the cruise. We did Carnival. Like others have said, there are just so many limitations on what you can do with a kid that age. We wanted to do big things, and our son was 13 when we went (well, a few weeks shy of 13). But he'd already been on Caribbean ones, so he knew what to expect for the cruise itself. So we were able to do the helicopter onto the glacier, canoe over to another one, etc... There were a lot of teenage kids though, that's for sure! Including an entire group of high school students on this awesome month-long trip! They did the cruise, they were going to Hawaii, all this biology/ecology type stuff they were working on/learning. My husband talked to a group and said he hoped they knew how lucky they were that their parents sent them on this trip, and they said they certainly knew they were.

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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AS to excursions, get a guidebook, so you'll know ALL that's available to see/do in Alaska! Then you can decide what suits your family best. Not everyone uses the kid's clubs...and if you choose not to, you probably already know how to entertain your child....so just do on the ship as you do at home!

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disneydancersmom

disneydancersmom

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We didn’t start family cruising until our kids were older. The kids club could be helpful for restless little ones. Disney is expensive but they do offer specials mostly on the week long cruises. The way they do things would really make it fun for you with a 4 year old.We enjoyed disney it’s first class but our kids were all college or older. We have a kid who works for Disney and he had a discount on the 3-4 day cruises so we tried it. I think we were the only parents with all adult kids on the boat [emoji6]

 

 

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pseudoware

pseudoware

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Sorry, does that mean that you left the child at the club while you went on tour? So, how would that benefit the child? I am not up to date on these kind of things
It's not all-or-nothing, black and white. We brought our kids on tour to go to the salmon bake and see the bald eagles, left them on board and enjoyed some us-time in a bar in Ketchikan, etc.

 

We pick our spots. Our kids enjoyed the outdoors and wildlife, but looking at flowers in Butchart Gardens for a few hours, not so much. The kids club offers families flexibility, which benefits all of us.

 

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