Alaska.....affordable at all?

[RoadTripFanatic]

We're booked for the Pearl next June on a 7 night Alaska cruise - going to Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Victoria.

 

I've looked at all the excursions offered and am a tad bit surprised at the prices!

 

Has anyone done the Alaska cruise with kids and if so, what did you do? I have a friend (without kids) who suggested several things that sound great but I am not able to spend over $1,000 in each port for us to go. We have three kids, and their ages will be 6, 4 and 2.

 

Are any of the ports the type that we could see/do things on our own?

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Isn't it amazing how much excursions can be? I've always been amazed at what they charge. My biggest shock was the prices for excursions in Europe!! Those are sky high! Here is what we did in AK.

I've not been to Skagway so no help there!

Ketchikan is a cute town. We took the "duck" tour there from the ship's excursions and had a blast. That was the only excursion we took the entire trip. We spent the rest of our time walking around the town. :)

 

Juneau- We took a bus from the port to the visitor's center for Mendenhall Glacier. DD was 6 at the time and really enjoyed it. We did a lot of hiking and just enjoyed the sites.

 

Victoria- We took the buses that are parked right out side the port for a very reasonable rate and then went exploring in Victoria. These busses take you to downtown Victoria. We walked (not too far) to Beacon Hill Park. They had a cute petting zoo and beautiful gardens.

[iamaqt2]

Here is one of the most little known facts about Alaska cruises for families!

It took me forever to find this out through searching for our cruise, but it was totally worth it, and hopefully it is helpful to you too!!

 

While cruising through Glacier Bay, a national parks service ranger comes aboard and does a Junior Ranger program with children up to 12 years old.

Also, throughout the cruise the kids clubs will work on the junior ranger program as well.

 

Here is a link to the website with more information about the program and some other incredible links for kids to get them excited about the journey!

 

http://www.nps.gov/glba/forkids/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/glba/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm

 

Also if you have the National Parks passbook, you can get a stamp for it in Glacier Bay. There are also other locations to get it stamped throughout the cruise.

 

Hope this helps other families sailing to Alaska!!

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