Multi-generation Alaska cruise

[artclass]

Looking for recommendations for an Alaskan cruise for grandparents, parents and kids ages 6, 8 and 10.Want a ship that has activities for the children and age appropriate entertainment. Norwegian Bliss reviews are not good! I am not trying to be difficult, but I do not want everything to be a hassle. We did Disney to the Caribbean and loved it, but we want to leave from Seattle and Disney Alaska is so expensive.

[Dancing Shoes]

I would post this over at the "Alaska" ports of call board. I have read many comments regarding ships and children over there. Alaska tends to be port intensive.

[kitty9]

Princess is the supposed “Queen” of Alaska cruising. I have family on a Princess Alaska cruise right now, with Mom and Dad, granny and grandpa and three kids ages 6, 9 and 11 and they report they’re loving it.

[JML1010]

Looking for recommendations for an Alaskan cruise for grandparents, parents and kids ages 6, 8 and 10.Want a ship that has activities for the children and age appropriate entertainment. Norwegian Bliss reviews are not good! I am not trying to be difficult, but I do not want everything to be a hassle. We did Disney to the Caribbean and loved it, but we want to leave from Seattle and Disney Alaska is so expensive.

 

I sailed on the Norwegian Bliss this summer from/to Seattle and I would say there were a lot of extended families on the trip. The problem with an Alaska cruise is that it is not that warm usually so the kids cannot hang out in the pool. As a result, the kids were running all over the ship and up and down stairs screaming because they had no where else to blow off steam. As a person with no children, I found it really annoying. While Norwegian Bliss has Go-Karts, you have to book them in advance or they sell out. Same with the shows - they had to be booked months in advance.

 

 

The seven-day cruise to Alaska that I took had us on the ship a lot. There was not a lot of time in ports and essentially three sea days. This added to the kids running around.

 

Thus, if you want to travel with your grandkids, I either suggest cruising somewhere warmer with a pool or picking an Alaskan cruise that allows you to spend more time in ports. For example, you can fly up to Alaska and then sale south. This will give you more ports of call.

[Markanddonna]

I've been to Alaska three times on cruises and have traveled on other cruises with my grandkids. I would like to take a three generation trip in about two years and here is what I would consider:

 

* Alaska is not like a warm weather Caribbean cruise and don't try to compensate for that reality. The port experiences are what makes these cruises great. If my grandkids insist upon warm weather swimming and will have pouting tantrums, they won't be invited...:confused:

 

* Most cruise lines try hard to make the cruise great. I asked kids if they liked HAL (which was my least favorite Alaskan experience) and they loved it.

 

* Some people will say that HAL and Princess do Alaska the best, but that is not true IMHO. In reality, they hold the majority of permits to enter Glacier Bay which is amazing. They hold these permits because of an unfair political decision to given the permits based on seniority in Alaska. I bet that will change when the agreement expires. Other cruise lines have permits to Glacier Bay, but not as many.

 

* Spend your money on great excursions, like whale watching in Juneau and the train/van up to the Yukon in Skagway.

 

* Find a cruise that you can afford, has great ports, and go from there.

 

Mantra: If you whine and cry, you stay home with the other grandparents...

 

 

:loudcry:

[Bizmark'sMom]

My family did a multi generation cruise to Alaska on Princess. Grandparents, parents, kids - the youngest was 14. We all had an absolutely fantastic time. Princess does a really good job with their kids programs, and all of the kids made friends quickly.

[WisconsinFan]

We did a 50th wedding anniversary cruise on HAL with four kids, youngest were about 10. So port intensive that the four cousins really just enjoyed hanging out with each other. Our ship had a covered indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Kids used both. We went in mid-June, temps the same as Wisconsin, so the pools were used by our kids. The families from Texas thought our kids were a little strange as they were wrapped up in blankets on deck. HAL had outstanding service and we enjoyed it. Glacier Bay and the itinerary and cost round trip out of Seattle as well as grandparents HAL cruisers were reasons why we selected this line. Our kids did meet other kids as well and had fun with them.