newcruisefamily

poutine is delicous! fun fact: you can get poutine at the Costco food court in Canada (well, in Vancouver, anyway).

we are staying on the ship this time, since we are from the Seattle area and have been to Victoria many times. Our first AK cruise, we did get off the ship and walk around downtown.  PP are correct, there are a lot of great pubs. If you are looking for a late dinner and outstanding drinks, I HIGHLY recommend Little Jumbo. It's walkable from the far side of the harbor (note: it's a bit of a walk from the cruise terminal to the harbor area, there is not any Uber or Lyft in Victoria). It's an outstanding place. Very small, so make reservations, particularly if you are in town on a Friday or Saturday evening.  The inner harbor area is lovely at night. It's a low-cost port after the others!

Mount Rainier is absolutely a lovely day trip from Seattle - just be warned that it is an ALL DAY trip. It's at least a 2 hour drive from the city, and we have some truly awful traffic. On the plus side, if you are going to Rainier in the morning and back to Seattle in the evening, you will be going opposite the worst of the commute. August is usually our best weather (so long as we aren't smoked in from wild fires. Last summer was fine - fingers crossed)! And the wildflowers at Rainier peak in early August 🙂

It's a lot, I know! We're on the Ruby at the end of June, and also did this itinerary about 5 years ago. This time we have a teen, a tween, two elementary school kids, a preschooler, 6 middle aged folks, and one senior. Trip Advisor is a great place to research, and you can also find good recommendations on travel websites like Fodor's (with more professional reviews).  Our plans right now:

Juneau - helicopter to glacier with dog sled (this is consistently listed as one of the top excursions, and glaciers are melting, so do it while you can. We booked independently with the same company that does Princess' excursion).  You can also catch a bus out to Mendenhall and do a nice hike to see the glacier. There's a great interpretive center. We did that last time, when our kids were smaller, and the littles in our group are doing that this time (the teen and tween are mine).

Skagway - Yukon Rail & Bus (bus first, it starts later in the morning, train views often better in afternoon) booked independently. We did this last time as well, and everyone loved it. It also makes a great excursion for our wide age range to enjoy together.

Ketchikan - still working on this one. Probably Misty Fjords by boat for the older kids. The littles are doing the lumberjack show (our kids loved it when they were younger). Wandering and exploring town are great if you haven't been there, and I think there is some hiking accessible from town.

Victoria - we are staying on the ship! We're also from the Seattle area (Kirkland), and we sprang for a suite this time, since our kids are enormous and we wanted the aft balcony. So, we're going to enjoy it while we can. The first time we cruised we did go into town, since our kids hadn't been there before, but now they've been to Victoria a few times, and it's easy to go again.  Plus, the port is at night, so not much to do in terms of seeing the gardens or having tea. A pub crawl might be fun, though 😉

We did this excursion as a self-booked tour several years ago, and are going to do that again this summer. The route is the same, the price is lower, and the van/bus is smaller!  We do drive up/train back for two reasons. 1) later start time (this is true of the excursion booked through the cruise line as well). 2) if something goes wrong with your bus/van etc it gives your tour company extra time to get you back to the ship (you are going to be on the same train as folks who booked through the cruise line).  I think train both ways is less interesting - I recommend the drive/train combo.  The cruise line bus is usually a big tour bus, and independent tours are usually a smaller airporter style vehicle. Less crowded, more personal, more efficient, and better able to tailor stops to the group's needs and desires.

I haven't sailed on Celebrity, but I say ditto to the Ruby recommendations. We did an Alaska itinerary with Princess 5 years ago (including Glacier Bay), and had chosen Princess specifically because they are known for doing such a great job in Alaska. The programming is much more Alaska-specific than other lines (except HAL, which is similar but trended older than our crowd). We loved it, and are going back on the Ruby in June 2020. 

I haven't sailed with an infant, but did when my youngest was 5. He did fine at dinner (yes, 2 hours), although he ended up asleep on my lap by the end of each meal! It was an Alaska cruise, and we had really active/busy port days. The staff at the dining room loved him (they called him "the baby" and brought him whatever he wanted, cut his steak for him, and basically treated him like royalty - he's a bit of a charmer and small for his age, which worked to his advantage).  My kids also loved the kids club (daughter was 8). We practiced table manners at home in the months leading up to the trip. We also traveled with grandparents, who skipped one of the two formal nights to have pizza and a movie in our minisuite with the kiddos while my husband and I went to dinner. We got a minisuite that adjoined theirs (via balcony), which was super convenient.

We cruised to Alaska with Princess on the Golden 5 years ago, and are going on the Ruby next summer, multi-generation both times. I did extensive research, and decided that Princess was the best fit. Their kids program is much better, and the general mood on Alaska cruises with Princess is very family friendly. A great mix of ages, terrific Alaska-themed programming etc. We were very happy with our experience (hence the repeat next summer!). 

I"m glad it's likely working out! If your family is tech-savvy enough, I recommend using something like Google Docs or a Google Sheet to organize excursions. You could even assign each port to a different person to research. Put in all the options, folks can comment if they are interested etc. 

I booked under Sip & Sail (earliest I could get my group of 12 organized and ready to book). Just looked at landmark, and it costs me $150 total less (for a minisuite with 3 people), with the same OBC, but no drinks package (7 night trip). We're keeping the drinks 🙂  I'll look again during 3 for free, but I doubt it will be better - Alaska doesn't tend to get cheaper unless you get a last minute deal.

16 hours ago, GolfMommy17 said:

Interested to know about the weather  (rain, temps, etc)   and how was the whale watch itself?  Heading to alaska next week on a cruise.  still trying to figure out the clothing!

weather is so unpredictable here on the west coast! When we went, our sunniest day was in Ketchikan (we had a lovely, sunny breakfast on our balcony at port), which is usually the rainiest!  You can check the 10 day forecast for each city a couple of days before you sail. The rule is always to bring layers! Peel them off and then put them on as needed. We definitely bundled up when cruising through Glacier Bay. It's not warm at sea on this cruise, but it is lovely. 

I'm marginally in charge of planning a family cruise for my mom's 70th (my mom, my family of 4 which includes a tween and a teen, my two sisters and their husbands with 2 nephews and a niece who will be 4,6, and 7). We're doing Alaska, which my family did 5 years ago, so I already had basic knowledge about the trip. We all agreed on the ship/sailing and I helped them figure out which rooms they might want. My sisters booked their own, I booked for my family and my mom.  I have a Google Doc (shared editing access for everyone) with info about everyone's cabin number, the itinerary etc. Our plan is to have dinner together the first night and maybe pick one other sea day meal (afternoon tea is likely). After that, we are on our own for meals, since it's hard to wrangle a group of 12 with ages from 4-70 to want to eat at the same time!  I'm also sharing our excursion plans, and they are welcome to join us if they like. There is one port where I think we will all do the same, the others will likely be different. Honestly, I think my two sisters and their families will spend the most time together, since the kids are similar in age. My mom will likely ping pong between us. We'll also likely bribe my tween and teen to host the little kids for a movie and room service night in our suite while the adults go to dinner (that way there's no call to fetch anyone from kids club. The littles love the bigs).

On 7/25/2019 at 5:02 PM, strobellayjam said:

@newcruisefamily - good point as not all of the ships may have interconnecting balcony rooms.  I should have added that we sailed on the Royal Princess and that class definitely has more interconnecting balcony rooms.

 

That being said, we're due to sail on the Golden in March to Hawaii and given there are no interconnecting balcony rooms we opted to book us 4 in a Window Suite as it was only marginally more than a Mini-suite.  Looking forward to the cool suite perks!

We're sailing in a Vista Suite for our 2020 trip (family sailing in mini suites and balcony), and we are also looking forward to the perks! Our kids are much bigger now (they will be 12 and almost 15), so we figured the extra room would be nice. Suite perks vs a separate room for kids - the suite won out (plus that aft balcony).

3 hours ago, thegoaliegirl said:

I was just looking at deck plans and the Golden has family suites. You need to call for pricing but it might be a better option, especially if there end up being 4 adults and 2 kids. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/products/staterooms/family-suite.html

If you want the family suite (which may also come with cool suite perks!) definitely book as soon as you can. There aren't many, and I think they book up super fast.

I just priced out (and booked) Alaska 2020 on the Ruby Princess. A mini suite with 4 booked 11 months in advance was $8136 total (with about $500 OBC and premium beverage package - booked during sip & sail promotion through a big box store to which we have a membership). A balcony for 2 was $4584 with about $350 OBC and the beverage package. I'm not sure if there are connecting balcony rooms (didn't look into that), but there are connecting mini suites. Not all mini suites have the upper bunk, but if you search for a room for 4 you will only be shown those that do.  We sailed on the Golden 5 years ago in a mini suite with kids ages 6 and 8 and it was perfect. 🙂

A little late on the reply here, but I definitely second the vote for Princess. We cruised to Alaska with them 5 years ago when my kids were 6 and 8, and will be going back in June 2020 (6/27 on the Ruby - join us!) with my two sisters and their families (kids will be 4.5,6,7) and my mom. Princess is terrific for all ages. Plenty of fun activities, but not a party ship. A lot of kids/families, but not a zoo. The kids club is fantastic. My kids were only just tolerant at being left at places like the gym childcare, but we could barely pry them out of the kids club on the cruise. They wanted to live there, and kept asking when we could go on another cruise. If you can swing it, a mini suite is terrific. You can hang out on the balcony in port while your little one naps, you can also bring some magnet hooks and a shower curtain and block off the area between the sofa bed and your bed so you can be awake while they sleep without disrupting much. Also, the tub shower is bigger, and nice if your kiddo prefers baths 🙂  The ports all have lovely low-cost options that you can walk to from the ship, so you can do some exploring, get the local flavor, and go back onboard when you need to.

On 5/9/2019 at 12:33 PM, Sharon in AZ said:

I take most of what has already been mentioned plus:

 

Post it notes and a pencil.  Sometimes I need to write a short note to the cabin steward or my husband.  Travel hand wipes, tissues, lotion, lip balm are a must in my purse.  I have two Relax the Back purses, one large one small that I always take.  It has lots of pockets and zippered areas to store items, even pen/pencil slots.  I bought them in 2000 and was one of the best travel purchases I have ever made.  I take a small purse that has a longer shoulder strap to use on the ship that just holds room key card, cash for the casino, travel size lotion, tissues.  Fanny pack for walking or tours in ports (I know it's dorky but I don't care if I look like a dork).  A small tripod to use for the camera taking videos from the balcony.  Umbrella is a must, one for each person.  Wine bottle opener.  Lanyard for the casino. 

 

fanny packs are in style now! All the kids are wearing them 😉  Except they call them a "belt bag" and sell them for $300. Just pretend you are a millennial. You'll be on the cutting edge of fashion.

I'm interested to hear about smoothie options as well! It would seem like they should be available, given that they are specified in the drink package!

On 7/21/2019 at 8:23 AM, Dani24 said:

 

Totally depends on the kid! My stick-thin 7 year old daughter can pack away as much food as my husband and I in one sitting. Then still want dessert! (Though some days she just pecks at her food.) I know lots of kids with some serious "hollow legs". 🙂

 

My 4 year old niece ate more than I did at dinner last night! I think they'll do fine. I'm going to go with the earliest possible dinner time and cross my fingers. We can always bribe my teenager to take the littles back to the suite if someone has a breakdown.

On 7/21/2019 at 11:56 AM, Crystabel said:

We’ve sailed exclusively in suites for the last few cruises and have always been able to change the free embarkation night specialty dining for another night. Only once did we have someone deny it, but took it up with someone higher up, and were accommodated. You might give it a try.  

 

good to know! thanks 🙂

On 7/21/2019 at 11:40 AM, Roatanfans said:

Okay- we cruise with our 3 kids and have since our youngest were 3 1/2- they actually celebrated their 5th birthday in the Crown Grill.  They were fine- it is a long dinner, but so is a typical night in the MDR- they did get a little sleepy, but perked right back up when they were brought a birthday cake.  The kids club is not open for kids the first day- there is kind of an open house/look around and fill out paperwork event.  If this were me I would either get the earliest possible time slot or plan for a good nap before dinner for the kids.  Kids get charged a children's price at the specialty restaurants (I believe it is half price- $12.50?).

The kids will be spoiled by the dinning (and the ship's) staff- many of them are missing their own kids and love to interact with children when they can.  

   The MDR staff does a great job with the little ones and will bring out food for them early at your request (if the kids are hungry we usually have them start with fruit salad while we wait, but they also love the kids menu alphabet soup and last year when we took the Sapphire on a Gran Asia cruise they loved the always available won ton soup)

 

thank you for your feedback! I think the earliest time slot will work. I had all of them here for dinner last night, and the littlest ate more than I did (and had better table manners than my 11 year old).  I remember when we cruised with my son (6 at the time), and the staff all made a HUGE fuss over him. He loved it.

11 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Afternoon Tea Party in your Suite.😘

yes! I think my 5 year old niece, in particular, would enjoy that 🙂

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Yes, you can all dine in the Crown Grill

If the others are in club class minis then all of you can dine in the club class section of the DR, and can set up whatever you wish. If they are not then only you and your children can dine there. If you wish to dine with the other family members then you will have to join them in the regular section of the MDR. The maitre'd can set this up for you.

On the evening you wish to dine in the Crown Grill I would place the 3 young children in the youth center. I really don't know if the center operates on boarding day evening.

they aren't club class - it was a stretch for them to do minis even. We don't intend to try to eat dinner together most nights, since it is likely to be difficult to match up everyone's desired dining times with a group of 12 that ranges from 5-70 years old. We're aiming more for a couple of meals (lunch, afternoon tea on sea day, maybe a room service party on our balcony) together. And we will all likely do the train excursion out of Skagway. My kids LOVED it last time, and DH and I wouldn't mind a repeat. That sounds like enough family time to me!

1 hour ago, cabin4three said:

Will you have a long travel time prior to boarding? The younger children might be very tired and grumpy if you do.

The childrens club is usually open on embarkation night, assuming that there are enough children on board and registered.

Our children were great in the dining room when youger, they have actually got more restless as they approach their teenage years 🙄. 

We are from the Seattle area, so no, just a 30 minute drive 🙂  Although one of my sisters has to drive almost an hour! 

29 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

We’ll be taking my 7 year old to the specialty restaurants when we sail next week. I have no concerns about her handling it. She has gone to nicer restaurants with us before, and always does well. I usually bring her a book or puzzle activity booklet to work on just in case she feels a bit bored/restless. 

 

I’m happy to report back on how young-kid friendly the specialty restaurants are after we return from our cruise.

thank you! I'd love your feedback