Cruising with 2 kids under 3 - Nuts?

[globalhoneymooning]

Hi, I am new to these boards and initially posted in the Alaska forum. A few posters recommended I post here to get some advice. Some posters felt our kids are too young to cruise to Alaska so I'm hoping to hear from some parents here who have done it.

 

Since I posted, I found more info on HAL and looks like they do accept infants 6 months+ on the Alaska itineraries. Also, we're looking to travel Aug-end Sept and understand the weather might be too cold in Sept with the kids. If we don't end up cruising Alaska, I'm trying to figure out where else we can cruise with the kids since it's hurricane season in the Caribbean.

 

For those reading this who have done other cruises with kids the same age as ours will be (8mos & nearly 2.5 yrs), what kind of excursions are appropriate in other cruise itineraries, other than going to the beach. We thought a cruise would be fun with the kids, especially for the 2 year old who loves to explore. If we are just going to hang at the beach, we'd be better off flying to an island and staying at a resort for a week.

 

thanks!

 

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Original post:

 

My husband and I love traveling. We've been to many places around the world and tried cruising together for the first time in Nov 2007 while pregnant with our first son. It was a 9 night sailing on the NCL Pearl around the Caribbean and we enjoyed it, though at times maybe a little bored since we couldn't do anything adventurous with me being pregnant. We've never been to Alaska and are considering a cruise this year. We have 2 boys, one will be 2 and the other will be 6 months by end of May. We typically travel with budget in mind which has enabled us to travel quite a bit but from talking to friends and reading many posts on here, we're considering to splurge on a balcony/suite, especially with the 2 young kids.

 

I've read that HAL requires children to be 12 months, so that line is out. I found RCCL and Princess to be pricey. It's pretty crazy what some of these lines charge for infants. We did the Pearl and would prefer to explore a new ship since that is part of the cruising experience for us.

 

We're also debating on when to go. We are leaning towards late Aug/Sept and there are some good deals for Sept but I don't want to miss out on really experiencing Alaska just to get a good deal.

 

In terms of itinerary, we'd prefer not to do a Seattle roundtrip. We're in NY and would likely fly to Seattle on FF miles and either take the cruise from there or drive to Vancouver to pick up the cruise there. I still need to see if I can find flights on FF miles from Anchorage if we do a northbound cruise.

 

Things we'd like to see/do:

- See wildlife.. bears, salmon, moose, otters, etc.

- Take in the breathtaking views of the glaciers

- Pan for gold

- Check out the totem poles

- Fishing would be great but probably not doable with the kids

- Historic sights

- Spend a day or 2 in Vancouver (we've been to Seattle already)

- Relax... even with 2 small kids :)

Note: We're not into shopping on vacation.

 

So I have a few questions...

1 - With 2 small kids, is doing an Alaskan cruise nuts?

2 - If you answered No to question #1, is it worth it to get a balcony room with the kids? My thinking is with the infant, it might be nice to have him nap in the room while we enjoy the scenery from the balcony.

3 - What excursions would you recommend for our family? Normally my husband and I would go for the dog sledding, ziplines, etc, but having 2 small ones changes things for now.

4 -Should we really consider Sept? Is the Sept 25 sailing on NCL way too late to appreciate Alaska?

5 - Is it possible to see the Northern Lights on the May/Sept cruises or do you have to go further inland like Fairbanks?

6 - Any tips for cruising with small kids in terms of preferred cruiselines?

 

Any other info/advice you can share would be great too.

 

TIA!

[cb at sea]

I guess it depends what you want from a vacation...and that's what a cruise is...a vacation!

Since the attraction of Alaska are the sights...excursions are almost a must...will your kids be able to do them with you, for the length of time most excursions take? Can you leave them on the ship and feel comfortable, if you don't take them with you? What are you looking to get out of this vacation?

There may be better destinations for those with very young kids...the kids aren't really going to appreciate the Alaskan attractions at this young age....but, again, it depends what you want to get out of this trip!

[RoadTripFanatic]

So I have a few questions...

1 - With 2 small kids, is doing an Alaskan cruise nuts?- Not nuts but it will have it's challenging moments. BUT then any vacation with small children can be challenging. :) Patience like always is the key to survival. Don't let the little things bother you.

2 - If you answered No to question #1, is it worth it to get a balcony room with the kids? My thinking is with the infant, it might be nice to have him nap in the room while we enjoy the scenery from the balcony.

I love balconies but I usually don't recommend them. With my experience with an AK cruise is you need a balcony!! Some days it is really chilly and you do not want to be outside to enjoy the view. A balcony provides you the large windows to see everything! We went in mid-June and the avg temp was 50. Some mornings it was so cold I didn't want to go out on deck to see what was going on. I loved having a balcony on my AK cruise.

3 - What excursions would you recommend for our family? Normally my husband and I would go for the dog sledding, ziplines, etc, but having 2 small ones changes things for now. In AK it just depends on where you are. We went to Juneau and took a bus to see Mendenhall glacier. We did some hiking around the area and it was beautiful. We also just took our time and walked around the "downtown" area. Ketchikan we did the "Duck" tour. That was fun. (Oh by the way DD was 6 when we did this cruise) In Sitka we hiked to the park with all of the Totem Poles and had a wonderful time hiking in the area. (Nothing difficult! We had our in-laws and the rest of the family with us)

4 -Should we really consider Sept? Is the Sept 25 sailing on NCL way too late to appreciate Alaska? No. September is the end of the season. It's going to be cold!! I would go for August.

5 - Is it possible to see the Northern Lights on the May/Sept cruises or do you have to go further inland like Fairbanks?I have no idea.

6 - Any tips for cruising with small kids in terms of preferred cruiselines?

Pack plenty of snacks for the toddler. Make sure you have plenty of diapers and wipes for the entire trip. Pack it in multiple suitcases so that if one bag gets lost you are not doomed. Make sure you bring a carry-on stuffed with diapers and supplies for the first 3 days just in case. :) Don't forget two changes of clothing in zip-lock bags for the kids on the flight too! That is a long flight. The nice thing about AK is that I know in Ketchikan there is a grocery store relatively close to the port. :) It will be much easier to pick up your supplies if you need more than in the Caribbean. Also bring all of your infant/toddler medications you might need with you.

[Julienatul]

You will have a great time. We started sailing with both my kids at age 7 to 8 months. Its the perfect age to sail because they arent mobile yet and are sleeping better at night. Both your kids will enjoy all there is to see. It's all new to them, the people, surrounding, music, activities, ship itself. There is so much to see and do. I have never taken the kids to Alaska so I can't comment on specific excurions but anything fairly short with not too long of a bus ride there would be fine. Anything outdoors is perfect since there will be lots to see. It will not be like cruising pre-kids so make sure you each take turns to get some alone/free time. Bring toys, stickers, dvd player etc to keep your older one entertained. Your baby will be entertained with anything such as a plastic cup from the buffet or rinsed out yogurt cups.

 

Good luck, enjoy!!!

[boulders]

I cruised Alaska last summer with my son, just turned 4 and two older children. IMHO, Alaska is much more interesting for the kids than the Caribbean. The shore excursions - wildlife, panning for gold, scenery, dog sleds are definitely of more interest to them than beach days. Don't let the people on the Alaska board scare you off = they 're a bunch of fuddie duddies who don't like children on "their" cruise. :p

 

We went with a family oceanview on RCCL, but if I had to do it over again, I would definitely book a balcony. We missed a lot of great scenery by not having it. RCCL and Celebrity have babysitting for children 12 months and older. There are also playgroups for children 6-36 months. HAL tends to attract the oldest cruisers. I've always found RCCL very child friendly. On our Alaska cruise, they opened the indoor adult pool up to "families" for about 6-8 hours a day.

 

One of the shore excursions we took ds4 on was a sea kayaking excursion. He was placed in the center seat of a 3 person kayak - between me and ds13. He stayed there for 2+ hours, totally fascinated by the scenery and wildlife we saw. It was a great time.