Kids at specialty restaurants

[MacGuffin3]

16 minutes ago, cajun-crazy said:

We were told it was for the experience.

Sure, not just anywhere can you see an onion ring volcano.

[weisla]

My 9yo accompanied us to Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, and Cagneys on Joy. He happily ordered from the kids meal and the staff very attentively asked for his order right away. His meal was served hot with our appetizers. He did taste a few bites, except at Cagneys where he became totally obsessed with dessert after seeing the 7 layer chocolate cake at the next table over. I was full anyway so ordered it and let him eat all but a couple of bites. He was one happy junior cruiser!

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Will they still make the onion ring volcano for them?

No open flames on a cruise ship. So, no volcanos. Just onions fried on the teppan table. 

 

[MacGuffin3]

34 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

No open flames on a cruise ship. So, no volcanos. Just onions fried on the teppan table. 

You must be joking, without the onion volcano what is the point of going?
It's just a little squirt of booze that flames for two seconds, are they going to outlaw all fun next?

[mjkacmom]

6 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

You must be joking, without the onion volcano what is the point of going?
It's just a little squirt of booze that flames for two seconds, are they going to outlaw all fun next?

I don’t think you are going to enjoy your cruise. I’ve honestly never seen so many ore-cruise complaints from any poster. I don’t know if it’s just NCL that’s the issue, or cruising in general, but I do know that if you go into something expecting to be disappointed, that’s the most likely outcome.

[All-ready2cruise]

15 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I don’t think you are going to enjoy your cruise. I’ve honestly never seen so many ore-cruise complaints from any poster. I don’t know if it’s just NCL that’s the issue, or cruising in general, but I do know that if you go into something expecting to be disappointed, that’s the most likely outcome.

I agree with you completely.  There is no better way to ensure you won't enjoy yourself than assuming you won't enjoy yourself from the beginning. Just why bother?  

If I try hard enough, I can always find fault somewhere along the line... I guess. 

[MacGuffin3]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

 I’ve honestly never seen so many ore-cruise complaints from any poster. 

Woohoo, glad to see I broke the record!
Onion volcano stuff was just a joke, but yeah, you sussed me out, if it had been up to me I would have never a booked a cruise. I much prefer un-packaged travel.

[kitkat343]

10 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Woohoo, glad to see I broke the record!
Onion volcano stuff was just a joke, but yeah, you sussed me out, if it had been up to me I would have never a booked a cruise. I much prefer un-packaged travel.

I thought you were kidding about the volcano.  
 

also, a lot of people who were on my Alaska cruise kept talking about how they really loved being in alaska so they didn’t mind being on a cruise ship even though they usually hated cruises.  Norway would be similar. - the views are so beautiful there all the time.  
 

Private tours might help you too.  If you can afford it, a private tour for just your family might be helpful for giving you a break from the crowds and letting you explore off the beaten path things.  Just please make sure a private tour will refund your money if the ship doesn’t dock prior to booking or that you have insurance to cover it if that happens.  I hope you have fun anyway|

[BirdTravels]

47 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Woohoo, glad to see I broke the record!
Onion volcano stuff was just a joke, but yeah, you sussed me out, if it had been up to me I would have never a booked a cruise. I much prefer un-packaged travel.

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited July 9, 2023 by BirdTravels

[MacGuffin3]

24 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

explore off the beaten path things.

May rent a car in Juneau, but it doesn't look like there are really all that many places one can take it.
Cost of renting a car in Skagway is prohibitive, but we could do bikes. My goal is always to stay as far away from contrived tourist spots as possible.

[Pitzel]

45 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

May rent a car in Juneau, but it doesn't look like there are really all that many places one can take it.
Cost of renting a car in Skagway is prohibitive, but we could do bikes. My goal is always to stay as far away from contrived tourist spots as possible.

Fun fact -- there are no roads that connect Juneau to the rest of Alaska. There are only about 40 miles of roads in the city. You would need to take a car ferry in order to go anywhere else.

That said, we have been to Juneau a couple of times and have always enjoyed ourselves. The first time, we went zip lining in the rainforest, which was awesome. The second time, we took the Roberts Tramway up to the top of the hill and looked around from there. It is totally possible to hike back down the mountain, too, if you wanted to do something less touristy. We also visited the old mines, which was actually pretty interesting. We found a private excursion that was way less touristy than most of the "panning for gold" tours that are offered. Small group, actually got to go in the old mines, and no hokey costumes involved!

 

[MacGuffin3]

2 hours ago, Pitzel said:

We also visited the old mines, which was actually pretty interesting.

Maybe we'll check that out, and discovering a little gold wouldn't hurt towards recouping the cost of the trip.
Juneau's kind of a weird schedule on the Encore too, not arriving until 2:30pm.  Seems like I just heard about problems with too many crowds at the Mendenhall glacier, it's receded considerably in the past few years, and we'll be in Glacier Bay the next day anyway.  Maybe we'll just do a bit of hiking.

[MacGuffin3]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Enjoy your cruise!

Only if you'll be there to drink some Guinness with me.

[Pitzel]

21 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Maybe we'll check that out, and discovering a little gold wouldn't hurt towards recouping the cost of the trip.
Juneau's kind of a weird schedule on the Encore too, not arriving until 2:30pm.  Seems like I just heard about problems with too many crowds at the Mendenhall glacier, it's receded considerably in the past few years, and we'll be in Glacier Bay the next day anyway.  Maybe we'll just do a bit of hiking.

This is the tour that we took: https://www.viator.com/tours/Juneau/Underground-Gold-Mine-and-Panning-Experience/d941-306071P3

[I Teach]

On 7/9/2023 at 11:41 AM, MacGuffin3 said:

May rent a car in Juneau, but it doesn't look like there are really all that many places one can take it.
Cost of renting a car in Skagway is prohibitive, but we could do bikes. My goal is always to stay as far away from contrived tourist spots as possible.

Check out private small boat whale watch tours in Juneau, specifically Harv and Marv. We booked them many years ago and they are absolutely the best!!! 

[kitkat343]

2 hours ago, I Teach said:

Check out private small boat whale watch tours in Juneau, specifically Harv and Marv. We booked them many years ago and they are absolutely the best!!! 

We also used HArv and Marv years ago and they are wonderful whale watching guides.  I will say though that especially with kids please note that it is possible (even likely) that you will only see tails and splashes and that may not be exciting for all kids.  If you and your kids are likely to love whale watching, then I'd also recommend Harv and Marv.  

[MacGuffin3]

I don't know about whale watching, we're going to be on a boat for a week after all, and I imagine if we keep our eyes open we'll see whales at some point. But might look for Harv and Marv.  Thanks for the tips.