Alaska cruise with small children - need all the advice I can get!

[jayteeoh]

Hi, everyone -

 

My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise this August with my parents (in their 60s) and our children (they will be 4 yrs old and 16 months old at the time of the trip). We have cruised before pre-kids, but this is the first time with children. We were originally going to sail on Celebrity because we had some vouchers to use, but now we're using those for something else and our options have opened up. All the choices are really overwhelming! I can use all the advice I can get.

 

Some constraints:

 

• Based on the advice of some of the people on the Alaska forum, I think we want to do a RT itinerary from either Seattle or Vancouver. Seattle seems more convenient, but we'd be willing to go out of Vancouver if it makes a difference with either scenery or turbulence.
  
• We would like an itinerary that allows us to see a glacier. Glacier Bay is our preference, but we would be willing to just see Hubbard Glacier if that ends up being the one limiting factor. This rules out Disney for us.
  
• We don't expect to use any shipboard babysitting services.
  
• We would prefer some sort of kid camp for our 4-y.o. We understand the 16 month old won't be able to participate in anything like that.
  

Specific questions:

 

• What is the best type of stateroom to book? Ideally, we would have a way to separate ourselves from the kids when they go to bed, so that we're not sitting in the dark at 8 PM. Are connecting staterooms with my parents the most economical way to go? A suite for just our family? I don't know how open my parents will be to us raiding their stateroom 'til the wee hours of the night, but I would like the option of some adult-only downtime before bed. The baby will probably sleep in a pack-and-play.
  
• Which location on the ship? Starboard? Port side? Middle? Aft?
  
• Is there anything I should be worried about re: a balcony with a 16-month-old? I expect that she'll be walking at that point but not very well.
  

I know there are a ton of other things I'm not even considering. Any advice would be welcome!

 

Thanks so much!

 

JTO

[6rugrats]

Have you thought about visiting a travel agent that specializes in cruises? You don't have to book through them, but they certainly could provide you with a lot of useful information.

[cb at sea]

At the very least, you should book a balcony....weather permitting, you can use that space while the kids are napping....but 2 connecting cabins would be better, given the weather issues in Alaska!

Some cruiselines offer in-cabin babysitting...that's useful!

Either side will be fine, especially on a round trip cruise...what you don't see in one direction, you'll see on the other. Midship is always better and more convenient.

[Cheryl H]

Hi, everyone -

 

My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise this August with my parents (in their 60s) and our children (they will be 4 yrs old and 16 months old at the time of the trip). We have cruised before pre-kids, but this is the first time with children. We were originally going to sail on Celebrity because we had some vouchers to use, but now we're using those for something else and our options have opened up. All the choices are really overwhelming! I can use all the advice I can get.

 

Some constraints:

 

• Based on the advice of some of the people on the Alaska forum, I think we want to do a RT itinerary from either Seattle or Vancouver. Seattle seems more convenient, but we'd be willing to go out of Vancouver if it makes a difference with either scenery or turbulence.
  
• We would like an itinerary that allows us to see a glacier. Glacier Bay is our preference, but we would be willing to just see Hubbard Glacier if that ends up being the one limiting factor. This rules out Disney for us.
  
• We don't expect to use any shipboard babysitting services.
  
• We would prefer some sort of kid camp for our 4-y.o. We understand the 16 month old won't be able to participate in anything like that.
  

Specific questions:

 

• What is the best type of stateroom to book? Ideally, we would have a way to separate ourselves from the kids when they go to bed, so that we're not sitting in the dark at 8 PM. Are connecting staterooms with my parents the most economical way to go? A suite for just our family? I don't know how open my parents will be to us raiding their stateroom 'til the wee hours of the night, but I would like the option of some adult-only downtime before bed. The baby will probably sleep in a pack-and-play.
  
• Which location on the ship? Starboard? Port side? Middle? Aft?
  
• Is there anything I should be worried about re: a balcony with a 16-month-old? I expect that she'll be walking at that point but not very well.
  

I know there are a ton of other things I'm not even considering. Any advice would be welcome!

 

Thanks so much!

 

JTO

 

You might consider the Radiance of the Seas. It is going into drydock in May and once done, it will have a toddler nursery. We were on her sister ship (Jewel of the Seas) with our 3 year old. We had a family oceanview cabin (#8002). It was great. Lots of room. And it had a side room for our son and I believe there was a curtain to close it off from your area. You can see pictures of the room below. Also with this room, the kids have their own dresser and closet. We did not have a balcony, but did have a nice big window.

 

The Radiance goes to Hubbard. However, it's a one way Vancouver to Seward, or vice versa.

 

Also during drydock, they are adding more eating venues. There will be a hotdog place, a mexican cantina, a brazillion steakhouse, and a new Italian place.

 

Enjoy planning your trip!! We are taking an Alaskan cruise in June. Can't wait.

[smoothy]

We have 2 boys, currently 8 and 5. We did a B2B in August 2009 on the Celebrity Millenium and loved it so much that we are doing the same this summer, this time with the extended family. Wonderful trip, as CB said, try and get a balcony, have a sit with a cup of your favourite warm beverage and enjoy the view (I saw whales several times from the balcony)

 

When we went, the kids club had about 8 kids and 3 counsellors, with small numbers they tend to combine the 3-5 and 6-8 groups, no worries though, the kids are kept busy and more than one night we had waterworks trying to get the boys out of the club.

 

I can't speak for other cruise lines as our recent experience and research has all been for Celebrity's trips there. For a one cruise round-trip, Celebrity has the Infinity out of Seattle and the Century out of Vancouver. The Century looks to have a better itinerary including the Hubbard Glacier and a stop in Icy Strait Point (our favourite Alaskan port by far, no Del Sol or Diamonds International anywhere in sight :) ). Century does miss Skagway, but I'd take Icy Strait over Skag if I had to choose.

[luvtravelbug]

Of course the type of room you select will dictate where on the ship you will be. I did get sick on our Alaskan trip. As soon as we left the Inner Passage I felt like I was hit with a Mac truck. Our stateroom became my sanctuary. For our first cruise, we went cheap which ended up helping so much. Inside stateroom on the fourth deck. Dark and almost no rocking. As soon as I left the stateroom, I was nauseous again. Yes I had dramamine, but the low level in the middle of the ship kept me from having a repeat performance. Mid ship always seems to be more desirable because of accessibility, but to me it seems like you don't feel the rocking as much. It could be in my head but I thought I would mention it since it may be hard to tell if your kids get motion sickness if they have not been in that situation. Good luck and safe travels.