BeckyR

We are having the same discussion in our family.  It will be 8 of us, my husband & I,  both daughters and their husbands, plus two children, ages 5 and not quite 2 when we travel.  We have decided to meet in Fairbanks.  The daughter with the children is going in a few days ahead of the rest of us so they can get the kids acclimated to the time change a bit.  The rest of us will have only an afternoon in Fairbanks because we have decided to take the train to Denali, which leaves early the next morning.  Our thoughts on taking the train vs driving is that the kids do not have to be in car seats in the train, food is available to keep them busy, and there is an outdoor viewing platform. We figure between all this, we can keep them entertained easier.  That comes at a cost, of course, but my husband prefers the train as well so he can see the scenery rather than keeping his eyes on the road.  

We are doing 2 nights in Denali and 1 night in Seward, both in air bnbs.   We realize how much time we spend on the train, but seeing the scenery is part of the trip, right?  

We will be traveling with our grandchildren (ages 5 and 21 months at time of sailing) this June on Celebrity.  This has been very helpful.  We are looking at whale watching & sled dog excursions, for sure.  Not quite sure of what else.  I'm not too worried about the ship itself. There are 6 adults going, so between us, I think we can handle the 21 month old, who is too young for kids club, although I did find out that she can come play there along with an adult. That will be helpful. And Grandpa is always willing to nap, so he may volunteer for that shift. 😆   The 5 year old is a veteran. This will be his 3rd cruise. He is a HUGE fan of kids club and the nightly shows. 

I have just started planning a similar trip for early June 2020. We are taking our daughters and their families, so in total, 6 adults and 2 children (ages 5 and almost 2 when we travel).  Our plan is to fly into Fairbanks and work our way down. We are planning to do most of our traveling by train rather than by car, since that will be more kid-friendly since they won't be strapped into car seats as much.  Your blog has been so helpful.  You mentioned checking bags in Anchorage and not seeing them again until you were on the ship.  Did you purchase transfers from Anchorage too Seward?  

Thanks for your wonderful blog!

Becky

We have over 25 ocean cruises under our belts, but are booked on our first river cruise for the Grand European in July. We booked a suite for exactly the same reasons you have.  We do like time alone, was worried about being claustrophobic in a small cabin for 2 weeks and felt like we needed the space. My husband does have to occasionally do a little work and I like to take some time to read and relax, so we probably spend more time in the cabin than most people.  It was not an easy decision to put out that much more money, but we are so excited for this trip,  the itinerary, and the cabin. After reading the above comments, I'm glad we made that choice.  

Becky

We are flying into Dusseldorf and spending 3 days there before taking the train to Amsterdam for a couple more days pre-cruise. Hope we aren't exhausted before we board!!

Thank you! I'm not too worried about the soot. With it being a British Isles cruise, I'm not sure how much we will use it for anything other than sail away times. A lot depends on the weather, but we do have 3 sea days. Once I got to the booking page to select your cabin, it was listed as 194 sq ft with a 54 sq ft balcony, which is the same as the concierge class above us. I think we are going to go with it. If we don't like it, we'll go back to concierge on the next cruise. Just trying to save some money to pay for the air fare and maybe a few extra days in Europe before we sail!

Thanks,

Becky

Has anyone stayed in one? We are looking at booking one for the British Isles cruise next August, but we are concerned about the size. We have stayed in these aft cabins on M-class ships and they were a little larger with a larger balcony. According to the website, these are 170 sq ft with 38 sq ft balconies on the Eclipse. Is that accurate?

Thanks!

Becky