Best line/ship for a family cruising Alaska.

Hi there! First time poster!

My grandparents have always wanted to cruise Alaska, and my family and I thought that for their 50th anniversary (and coincidentally, my graduation), we should take a family cruise to Alaska. So my question is, what's the best line? Preferably a line/ship with really good food and trivia. LOTS of trivia. We love playing trivia together so it's a high priority. Other desired amenities include comedy shows, coffee bars, shops, etc.

Hopefully you guys are more experienced with cruises like this than I am and can help us find the line/ship right for us. Thanks so much!

Holland America Westerdam has trivia at least once a day (but no big prizes), and had addition sessions of music trivia some days. Holland America and Princess are only large lines that go into Glacier Bay National park

Welcome to cruise critic and congratulations to your your grandparents on their upcoming anniversary and to you on your upcoming graduation!

We just finished our first family cruise on the Ruby Princess round trip Seattle. My husband and I were visiting Alaska for the 3rd time and have lots of other Princess cruises under our belts but this was the first visit to Alaska and first Princess cruise for our 2 kids, their spouses and our almost 3 1/2 year old granddaughter. We too were celebrating - our 45th anniversary, my 65th birthday, and our son-in-law's 40th birthday. It was a wonderful way to celebrate!

Princess has lots of trivia - probably averaging 2 games per day (no big prizes) plus other games and entertainment. On the Alaska cruises there is also an onboard naturalist that gives presentations (4 during our week long cruise last week) plus narrates from the bridge during particularly interesting approaches to and departures from port and when in areas with lots of wildlife. They also have a 'North to Alaska' program (https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/onboard-experience/) with guest speakers, entertainers, etc.

As you start your planning, compare ship features and - even more important to me - itineraries including length of time in each port. I also recommend choosing an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay (we visited it for the 3rd time last week as it never gets old) and, if you have the time and budget, a multi-day tour to Denali before or after the cruise in a glass doomed train car. Princess and Holland America have the largest infrastructure in Alaska and I know Princess has their own lodges for those on cruise tours (HAL may also but I don't have first hand experience with them).

You'll also find lots of very useful information on this board and the West Coast Departures board: (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413).

Happy planning!

We just got off Carnival. I took my 82 year old grandmother and 9 year old kid. There were multiple rounds of trivia everyday starting at like 9 am.

The comedy club was also open most every day with 4 showings at night.

I know a lot of people look down on Carnival but we had an awesome experience.

I've done HAL in Alaska (with my parents when I was a teen, way back when) and Princess with my husband - both Glacier Bay itineraries, amazing. We're getting ready to go on Seabourn at the end of next month - no Glacier Bay that trip :-( My husband's aunt & uncle are celebrating their 50th anniv this week in Alaska with their 2 kids and their families and though I don't have the full trip report yet, the FB posts look like they're having a great time! They're on Carnival Legend - they left from Seattle and I thought it was a round trip but husband says they're disembarking in Vancouver, so....

Every cruise ship I've been on has had trivia....

We just got off Carnival. I took my 82 year old grandmother and 9 year old kid. There were multiple rounds of trivia everyday starting at like 9 am.

The comedy club was also open most every day with 4 showings at night.

I know a lot of people look down on Carnival but we had an awesome experience.

I will be on the Carnival legend August 21st...really looking forward to it. Its me, mom (77) and 12 year old dd.

How packed were the comedy shows? Did they have dance parties on the lido like they do in the Caribbean? How was the atmosphere with the drydock in May?

Who is the CD and how were they?

Thanks in advance for any help :)