Alaska port activities for 5yo

We're looking at taking an Alaskan cruise when our kids are probably 5. What activities/excursions would be good for that age in any of the usual ports? They are not the type to want to just look at things so I'd like to find some busier activities for them.

Oh and if any of you are knitters, where do I find yarn?

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Your kids would love the helicopter to glacier excursion, which you should book directly from Tesco, since 6 years ago when I took this trip they were the subcontractors for the cruise line excursion. This is a really expensive excursion, so you should book independently.

The dogsled camp is extremely clean - TEMSCO is required to remove all garbage (including dog waste) from the glacier so it is pristine. The dogs seemed extremely happy on the glacier, and they loved playing with the tourists. Our dogsled team normally trains for the Iditarod, so the only time the dogs were unhappy was when we stopped to look at the view or take pictures since the dogs really wanted to run and beat all the other dogsled teams on the glacier. It was a wonderful experience to drive a dogsled on top of a glacier, and to play with puppies at the end of the tour.

Safety is the most important factor, and there is a chance that your excursion may be cancelled. To minimize this risk, I would recommend that you go glacier dogsledding in Skagway, since the weather tends to be a bit more stable than in Juneau. Also, please try to book an earlier flight since if your flight is cancelled, they may be able to squeeze you in later if the weather clears, but there are no guarantees.

The weather on top of the glacier is about 15 degrees cooler than the weather in Skagway, so please dress appropriately. There are lockers at the TEMSCO headquarters since you cannot bring any belongs up to the glacier except for a camera and your sunglasses. They also lend you really nice snow boots, which slip right over your shoes and provide excellent traction on the mountain.

We also really loved the Bering Sea crab tour, and I think it would be really interesting for kids. Please note that they do not allow children under 5 on this tour.

The retrofitted boat is very comfortably equipped, with extra jackets, heaters overhead and hot chocolate in the back room. If you are prone to getting cold, you might want to sit in the front row downstairs, under the heaters. The weather was quite good on the day of our sailing, and we did not need all of the heaters, but it was good to know that they are there in case of inclement weather.

The boat is docked a very short walk from where the cruise ships dock, so it is extremely easy to reach this tour independently (booking independently will save you 10% from the cruise ship shore excursion price). There are helpful employees stationed near the cruise ship disembarkation to direct you to the boat.

As we left the port, the fishermen explained the myriad of ways in which you can be injured or killed on a crab boat. Their information was quite interesting, and the boat ride was very peaceful and calm.

We reached Native American waters, where you are allowed to feed the eagles and pull up crabs all year round. It was not yet salmon season, so the eagles were very hungry, and there were dozens of them waiting for the boat to arrive and bring them lunch. The feedings are an amazing photo opportunity, especially if you are traveling to Alaska before salmon season, since there are more hungry eagles before the salmon runs.

They demonstrated the crabbing techniques, and allowed ample time for tourists to have their pictures taken with King crabs and other smaller crabs. This is also a great photo opportunity, and you can leave this tour with many exciting pictures.

The fishermen are very hardworking, and they really go out of their way to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable time on the boat. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone in Ketchikan. Ketchikan is also a very small town so you will have enough time to do both this tour and visit other attractions while your cruise is in port.

You also need to consider if you want to do a land tour to Denali, which could be a bit hard with kids (it's a long train or bus ride from Anchorage, plus a lot of time on a bus in the park to try to see wildlife). We loved our land tour, but intend to eventually bring the kids to Alaska but only do a roundtrip with them since it would be easier to organize (part of that decision is the fact that we've already done Denali so we don't feel as strong a need to do it again).

The last one is a bit controversial, since I've read some reviews that has said, "I didn't go all the way to Alaska to see animals in a zoo" but the Wildlife Conservation Center near Anchorage really does let you get very close to the animals, and we quite liked this stop. It was a nice stopover on our way from the cruise ship in Anchorage to the bus terminal to Denali.

Our daughter was 4 almost 5 when we took our Alaskan cruise. In Skagway my husband and kids took the train to Fraser while I rented a car and met them there. We then drove to Caribou Crossing where we panned for gold, rode a dog sled, and played with the puppies. We drove back to Skagway stopping at the worlds smallest desert. It was the highlight of our trip. In Juneau we rented a car and went to Mendenhall glacier, the salmon hatchery, and a nice playground nearby. In Victoria they liked the royal British Columbia Museum. In Ketchikan we saw the lumberjack show and walked around the town. It was a great trip and I was happy with our choices. Renting cars was easy and let us explore at our own pace.

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I will add the the helicopter trip to the glacier was something I really wanted to do but it wasn't in our budget. We also thought of doing the Bering Sea boat trip but decided otherwise this trip and would add it for next time.

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How far north are you going? Because Alaska is where you get qiviut.

Juneau - we took the local tram to the glacier and took the nice walk out to the glacier and let the kids scramble on the rocks near the waterfall and skip stones in the water for a long time - it was a great day.

Ketchikan - we rented a car and went to the totem pole park where they were able to run around, climb and skip stones.

Skagway we rented a car and drove to the suspension bridge, stopping many times along the way to explore the changing landscape (including waterfalls and bears!)

Icy Straight we took a hike through the woods and walked on the beach

We've done a lot of cruises but Alaska was one of the kids' favorites because the ports were all about running around and exploring and seeing new things.

Juneau - we took the local tram to the glacier and took the nice walk out to the glacier and let the kids scramble on the rocks near the waterfall and skip stones in the water for a long time - it was a great day.

 

Ketchikan - we rented a car and went to the totem pole park where they were able to run around' date=' climb and skip stones.

 

Skagway we rented a car and drove to the suspension bridge, stopping many times along the way to explore the changing landscape (including waterfalls and bears!)

 

Icy Straight we took a hike through the woods and walked on the beach

 

We've done a lot of cruises but Alaska was one of the kids' favorites because the ports were all about running around and exploring and seeing new things.[/quote']

 

 

This is so helpful, thank you! Running about is the key ingredient to keeping at least one kid happy. I was looking at the totem park last night and it looks like a great stop.

 

In Icy Strait Point, was that area accessible without transportation? I haven't looked at that port stop yet but it's come up several times in possible itineraries.

 

What line/ship did you take? Was it kid friendly?

 

 

 

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Icy Straight was a tender stop, and then yes, we just walked from there. Not our favorite stop, but the woods were a nice walk. I think that one is more of a port created as an excursion jumping off point, but we did everything on our own except a speed boat ride in Skagway (which yours will be too young for).

We were on Royal Carib, and yes, very kid friendly, but honestly I would choose based on the itinerary you want and the price since all the ships are going to be kid friendly/fun for the kids. Once kids are over 3/potty trained, I don't think there's any ship they won't enjoy.

A guidebook on Alaska will help you so much! Libraries have them...make notes as you read!

I can't imagine a 5 year old would be impressed by a helicopter ride.....they are too young to appreciate the scenery.

Read up on your ports...decide what will suit your family...and we can help with the "HOW TO"!

One twin is terrified of heights so a helicopter is out of the question anyway. It looks like there may be a less expensive sleddog experience with no helicopter and that sounds promising. They like puppies and rides, i like puppies and scenery.

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Princess does a nice job in Alaska and with children, but I'd agree with Kerry that you have a lot of options since most of the cruise lines have a lot of kids over the summer and have strong kids club programs. Both Princess and HAL have Panamax ships they put in Alaska over the summer, so they are narrower ships (there may be other Panamax sized ships on other lines but those were the ones recommended on the Alaska board 6 years ago when I researched this trip).

One twin is terrified of heights so a helicopter is out of the question anyway. It looks like there may be a less expensive sleddog experience with no helicopter and that sounds promising. They like puppies and rides, i like puppies and scenery.

 

 

 

 

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A drive to caribou crossing in Skagway will give you both puppies and scenery. We went on the NCL pearl and loved it. I suggest considering itineraries that go to Glacier Bay. It was the highlight of our trip for me and they had park rangers board and give take to both adults and in the kids club. They also narrated over the intercom system while we cruised the bay.

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We did the drive in Skagway that others have mentioned and it was fantastic. There is a huge beach in the town of Carcross that my kids had fun running on.

In Juneau we booked a private boat for whale watching that dropped us at the Glacier. This was awesome because it was all about getting the kids up close to the wildlife.

In Ketchikan we took the bus to Totem Bight and did Potlatch park too. Also a great day trip as after the morning out there we went into town, had lunch, walked the board walk and down to the water where the eagle gather. Lovely day.

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We rented a car in Juneau.. We went to the community playground and the mendenhal glacier. It was an amazing day!!

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