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Which cruise line for family cruise to Alaska?


party-of-six

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Hello. We are considering taking our family (two adults, four kids) on a cruise to Alaska next summer. Which is the best cruise line and why? I'm looking at brochures from NCL and Royal Carribean as well as Carnival. Would love to hear opinions/advice.

 

Thanks!:)

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You might want to consider Princess as well.

 

IMHO I think any of the large mainstream lines will be decent enough. I'd study the port lineups, ship and schedules closely and find what works from there. Having done Princess and Carnival I found both had enough kids, activities and such on the large boats to keep all but the most picky kid/adult satisfied. Not only is the cruiseline important but the ship as well. I picked princess for our upcoming, really wanted to give RCCL a go but between the schedule and the ship they had on the route/port that was for us axed that one. I think it is equally important that the parent also pick a line that they are happy with. NCL, RCCL, Carnival, and Princess really do market a different angle and the onboard experience do bear some of the marketing out.

 

Lastly I'm a firm believer that some of the best experiences are the port ones. Thus what you choose there can be as if not more important then the sea days. There are subtle difference in time in port and crusing time at the critical viewing between the various line that bear some close studying, IMHO also more important than the differences in the respective cruise lines.

 

Hello. We are considering taking our family (two adults, four kids) on a cruise to Alaska next summer. Which is the best cruise line and why? I'm looking at brochures from NCL and Royal Carribean as well as Carnival. Would love to hear opinions/advice.

 

Thanks!:)

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We're taking a 14 day family cruise to Alaska in August on HAL. In the past we have sailed Carnival, NCL, RCI, Disney, Princess, Celebrity, but we're trying HAL for 2 reasons. First, the itinerary is fabulous, with long port stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Juneau, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak, and Victoria and glacier viewing at Glacier Bay and Hubbard. Second, the kids sail for free in a quad cabin, so the cost comes out to be just a little more than a 7 day cruise.

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What age are the kids? That could definitely make a difference in which lines people would recommend. We have had great experiences with both HAL and Princess to Alaska with our daughter.

 

Several of the lines don't have their 2011 Alaska itineraries out yet, I would wait for the HAL and Princess itineraries before making a decision. I wouldn't consider the round trip Royal Caribbean itinerary out of Seattle unless they significantly improve it for 2011. Their 2010 Rhapsody OTS Alaska itinerary is pretty poor.

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I agree that ages can play an important role. At this stage (my 4 kids are 5-12), RCCL's family cabins that sleep 6 or more are a big draw. Though we'd likely have a better experience with connecting cabins now than we did when they were preschoolers/toddlers. As the kids get older, when an inside quad across the hall from a balcony arrangement will work, our options will open up considerably.

 

My kids are the type that are just as happy in the kids' club or on their own with kids they meet on the ship, though usually from ages 3-10, most lines have pretty good options for kids.

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Don't forget to consider Celebrity, DS6 and DS4 had a great time last summer, kids club didn't have too many kids so good supervision. My fave port was Icy Strait which only Celebrity, RCCL and Princess stop at (plus one stop by NCL Pearl at the beginning of the season)

 

http://www.icystraitpoint.com/uploads/pdf/2010%20Ship%20Schedule.pdf

 

We are looking at booking the Celebrity Millenium again for August 2011 b2b (once the 2011 sched is confirmed) this time Grandma is coming as she has heard so many good things about it from the boys :)

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Without knowing what your kids like, its hard to say specifically what are must-do excursions, but ones that worked very well for my guys included a whale-watching trip, the train in Skagway, a visit to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau. The sled dogs and the glacier walks are also very popular and well received, as are the helicopter tours (I'm a little reticent about those however, I've flown in them in the army but a few years back my Dad was in a chopper that had a pretty big 'oops' so I tend to avoid them now). The older kids may appreciate the historical tours, with visits to museums and native villages- Saxman village in Ketichikan is neat as you can see the artisans working on full sized totem poles (the site gets crowded though)

 

Note, that many of the excursions in Alaska are available from the vendors directly (they have little booths set up when you get off the ship)

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We too are in the planning stages, and also looking for thoughts. This will be a 3 family trip, Grandma and Grandpa and four kids. At the time of sailing two boys aged 12, one 17 year old boy and a girl who will be 15. Parents of children will be along as well. Right now we are thinking HAL and Princess just because they are the only ones who can sail into Glacier Bay (only a few ships have permits). We are looking at roundtrip from Seattle, or perhaps Victoria or Vancouver BC. We are looking at June 2011.

 

In searching, it appears that although there will be kids on the ship there will be far fewer than on the other cruises we have been on (of course, the cousins will have each other).

 

Biggest fear is that the HAL cruisers will all be (as Grandma calls them) "q-tips"- white hair, white shoes! Grandma and Grandpa are repeat HAL customers, so their might be some $$ incentives to sail with them, but as Princess is also part of the HAL family perhaps those incentives would apply to them. Any past experience with crossing lines in the same family for perks?

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The onboard perks don't cross lines even being in the same Carnival "family". The number of kids onboard will depend a lot on when you go. If you go in May, early June or Sept. there will obviously be a lot less kids onboard than in July or August when school is out. There will also typically be more kids and families on round trip Alaska cruises than one way itineraries. We have sailed HAL to Alaska a couple times in the Summer months and there have always been several hundred kids onboard. Far more than some of the HAL Caribbean sailing we have done.

 

For Glacier Bay in addition to HAL and Princess you could also look at NCL as they also sail Glacier Bay. Carnival does as well, but only on a couple sailings usually at the end of the season.

 

Princess usually charges a higher rate for 3rd and 4th passengers than either NCL or HAL.

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Thanks for the replies so far. The ages of our kids will be: 7, 10, 12 and 15 at the time we would cruise (May or June, possibly July of 2001).

 

We've never been to Alaska so we aren't sure what we "must" see and do.

 

With 4 kids and given the ages I might take a look at NCL. Freestyle cruising might work well for your group and NCL goes to Glacier Bay on the Pearl in 2011.

 

Another thing to consider with 6 people is what your cabin arrangements would be. Two connecting rooms, large family suite, etc. Different lines offer different options. NCL has a ton of suite options which can accommodate more than 4 passengers which was another reason I brought them up.

 

As far as what to see on a first Alaska cruise - I would put Glacier Bay at the top of the list.

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Thanks C-Cruise. My family has been put in charge of "research" as we have cruised with our kids before and my parents cruised with us last spring break. My sister's family has never cruised. We are thinking round trip out of Seattle as air fair from Wisconsin (at least right now) seems to be cheaper.

 

We are thinking June as soon as school gets out. Would like to see Seattle anyhow. Thanks for the info about kids on HAL.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Disney Wonder

 

Disney will be putting its one ship over on the West Coast starting in January 2011 when their new ship, Dream sets sail.

 

THey will sail to the Mexican Riviera during the winter/spring/fall months, and will be in Alaska from May thru August, at least next summer.

 

We will be going on the DIsney Alaskan Cruise the first week of August, and we are really excited. THey haven't firmed up the excursions yet, but are supposed to plan some "Family" type excursions. They are sailing out of Vancouver, Ketchichan, Seward, Jeuneu, and Tracy Arm.

 

Look into it. Lots to do for all the ages you have listed, and so much beauty to see on shore as well!!

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I was at your stage last year, and decided on the NCL Pearl... which we are sailing this August. I will write a detailed review when I get back because I found there was not a lot of info about specifics of Alaska with kids. Mine will be 4 and 3 at cruise time.

 

I chose NCL because of:

1. RT Seattle for ease

2. goes to Glacier Bay, which was a must for me

3. FREESTYLE... which I'm hoping translates into a lot of flexibility in dining times and options.

4. PRICE: we were able to get a two bedroom suite with courtyard access by booking early with a $99 third/fourth option for the same price as a quad mini suite on Princess, and actually cheaper than what I've seen Disney listed at for a standard quad balcony.

 

As for shore excursions, we are using Harv and Marv for a private whale watch in Juneau, renting a car and driving to Emerald Lake in Skagway, and probably doing the Duck Tour in Ketchikan, although I'm not going to book it ahead of time.

 

I'll report back in August....

becky

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  • 1 year later...
I was at your stage last year, and decided on the NCL Pearl... which we are sailing this August. I will write a detailed review when I get back because I found there was not a lot of info about specifics of Alaska with kids. Mine will be 4 and 3 at cruise time.

 

I chose NCL because of:

1. RT Seattle for ease

2. goes to Glacier Bay, which was a must for me

3. FREESTYLE... which I'm hoping translates into a lot of flexibility in dining times and options.

4. PRICE: we were able to get a two bedroom suite with courtyard access by booking early with a $99 third/fourth option for the same price as a quad mini suite on Princess, and actually cheaper than what I've seen Disney listed at for a standard quad balcony.

 

As for shore excursions, we are using Harv and Marv for a private whale watch in Juneau, renting a car and driving to Emerald Lake in Skagway, and probably doing the Duck Tour in Ketchikan, although I'm not going to book it ahead of time.

 

I'll report back in August....

becky

 

I cannot wait to read your report. I just wish I knew how to get the $99 third/fourth/fifth rate. ;)

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