Alaska with kids-which ships, etc?

My family has cruise multiple times, but only on Disney. We are looking at other cruise lines to plan a 2019 voyage to Alaska. My boys will be 12 and 13 at the time and their only cruise "requirement" is a basketball court! LOL!!!!!! Seriously! :) So that immediately took out NCL Bliss :loudcry::loudcry:

I am currently researching Carnival Legend, NCL Pearl and Jewel as our options. This will be our first Alaska trip and we are budget conscious.

I would appreciate any recommendations, insights, etc on these ships and itineraries. I have read multiple things about Glacier Bay vs other glacier sailings and DCL may be out of our price range.

Would love to hear from those who have sailed on these ships, or others that might be good for a family with pre-teen boys!

Thanks so much!!!!!!

You will likely be spending more time OFF the ship than on it.....so the "amenities" are quite as important on an Alaskan itinerary as on a Caribbean.

Now, if all 3 choice have different itineraries, that's how you should pick...according to what areas you wish to visit! An Alaskan cruise is all about Alaska....you'll want to see the most!

Alaska is great for kids. I can’t help with the ships, but if you are in Ketchikan they’ll love the Bering sea tour, in which you learn all about the crab industry. Book all your excursions independently - the ports are really small and it’s easy to get to them. When we did our Alaska trip 8 years ago, temsco was the subcontractor that does the helicopter to dogsled excursion, a very pricey but amazing excursion.

This is one where I would get a TA to help you with it.

Yes Glacier Bay is nice to see but it is not a must so don't limit yourself based on that.

For example Celebrity ships to not sail Glacier Bay but do sail Alaska and would be nice for the family and they do have basketball courts. That was a consideration for us when one of our children (our son) was of that age so I understand.

Keith

Have you checked out the Alaska Ports of Call board? This question gets asked a lot. Basically, an Alaska cruise is all about the ports and the excursions. Check out the Alaska board for more info.