Best Alaska cruise with kids?

[cruisewkids1]

I'm organizing a family reunion cruise to Alaska for next year, and we'll have four kids, ages 5, 7, 7 and 9, along, plus an elderly grandpa and four parents. Does anyone have a favorite ship/cruiseline for traveling with kids this age in Alaska? We've done a Disney cruise but would like to try something new. I thought NCL would be good, but our AAA travel agent today told me that she's only heard bad reports about NCL--a surprise to me. I'd love to hear from anyone who's cruised in Alaska with kids recently who has an opinion about a ship to recommend. Thanks!

[jimswims]

I have heard this before. I really do not understand why AAA gives NCL such a bad recommendation. We have sailed more on NCL than any other line. QWe look at all lines and compare before we book. We were on the Pearl last year to Alaska and loved it! Our kids are older, 16 and 13. We have never been disappointed on NCL.

 

We like NCl for the following reasons:

1: Freestyle dining. No set schedule, 2 main dining rooms and a whole bunch of specialty restaurants. Blue Lagoon, perfect for wings, fries, and quick bites to eat. Casual attire works well for the kids too.

2: NCL Suites: great price, butler/concierge service, VIP perks, great cabins for families. We prefer the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom suite with living room. It is great for families.

3: Ships are great. Some have rock climbing walls, bowling alleys, and arcades. There are other cool ships out there on other lines but I do not think that they are going to Alaska.

4: Service: I think that sometimes the staff are more attentive to my kids, lol! They have always been treated well.

 

When we book a cruise we do look at other lines. For our Alaska trip we looked at Princess, RCCL, HAL, and NCL. The RCCL ship was not a newer one and Princess did not have the cabin that we wanted for a reasonable price. We went back to NCL and were really glad that we did. Good luck and enjoy.

Edited July 2, 2011 by jimswims

[boulders]

I'm organizing a family reunion cruise to Alaska for next year, and we'll have four kids, ages 5, 7, 7 and 9, along, plus an elderly grandpa and four parents. Does anyone have a favorite ship/cruiseline for traveling with kids this age in Alaska? We've done a Disney cruise but would like to try something new. I thought NCL would be good, but our AAA travel agent today told me that she's only heard bad reports about NCL--a surprise to me. I'd love to hear from anyone who's cruised in Alaska with kids recently who has an opinion about a ship to recommend. Thanks!

 

 

Welcome to Cruisecritic! Check out the Alaska board further down under ports or call.

 

I've sailed RCCL's Radiance of the Seas to Alaska 2 years ago. It was a beautiful ship. RCCL's programs have lots of things for the whole family to do. Princess is the most highly recommended for Alaska. We are trying them next month.

[cantw8togo]

Two years ago we sailed on HAL's Volendam with our then 5 & 8 yr old DS's, MIL and SIL. The kids don't generally like going to the kids club on any ship (5 different cruise lines so far), but they liked this one the best.

 

Look at the itinerary first and see which lines go where and when you want to go. At the time, HAL was one of the few lines that went into Glacier Bay which I am really glad that we got to see.

[MississippiMom]

I hope that the OP receives some more responses, because I need the same type of recommendations. I keep reading that Princess is the way to go for Alaska, but the one family that I know that tried them on that itinerary were disappointed. I am hoping that more, who have traveled with children will pipe in.

We have taken our children on both Carnival and NCL (Caribbean cruises) and everyone had a great time. For younger children, I preferred the flexibility of NCL's freestyle dining.

If we are able to cruise to Alaska in Summer 2012, the girls will be 18, 11 & 9.

We may have to compare costs between Alaska versus Europe; airfare is going to be pricey, either way.

[sherryf]

I have been to Alaska 3 times and will be going for a 4th time in 5 weeks. The first was a family trip in 2001, when my children were very young. (2, 5, 8) We went on the Carnival Spirit, and it was fine. The nice thing was that they would take un-potty-trained 2 year olds in the kids club.

 

The past 2 years, my husband and I have been to Alaska on Princess and really enjoyed it. This year will be our first trip with the kids, now 12, 15 and 18. I can report back in about 6 weeks.

 

One thing you may want to look at is cabin configurations. If you are trying to put 4 in a cabin, in some cabins you end up with essentially 2 sets of bunk beds. When we went on Carnival, we had 2 kids in our cabin and one in with grandparents. In our (balcony) cabin, we were able to have one queen bed for parents, the sofa converted to a bed at night, and the 4th bed dropped from the ceiling above that. If I had to put 4 in a cabin again, I'd much prefer that. As it is, we are getting 2 cabins, one for us adults, and one for the kids.

 

Of course, if you are sailing to Alaska to see Alaska, you should look primarily at glaciers, ports, times in port, etc. Princess has a naturalist on board who gives lectures during the week and comments during glacier viewing. In Juneau, Libby Riddles (first woman to win Iditarod) boards every Princess ship to give a presentation. Many Princess ships visit Glacier Bay, which is considered by many to be far superior glacier viewing than the more common Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier.

 

There are many factors in choosing an Alaskan cruise, and kids are only a minor one. Be sure to check out the Alaska Ports of Call board for more information on itineraries, ports, excursions and base your decision on what you want to see and do in Alaska.

 

Hope this helps. I'm happy to answer any other questions, especially next month after we are back from our cruise and know more about the Princess kid programs, etc.

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC,

 

Read the reviews here and pick up brochures of each cruiseline. Things like kids club, food quality, shows etc. IMHO are really very similar. The differences in ship are little and all about the larger atmosphere they choose to project.

 

I'd have no hesitation choosing any of the "bargain" lines, of course you do have to pay more to get more and you pay a lot more for Disnye.

 

My favorite so far is Princess, right touch of price, value and features, never dissapointed.

 

For Alaska one of the best and widest selection of cruises and great value too! But remember what is what I want might not be for you. If freestyle is really a priority than NCL might be better for you and your family.

 

I would say get a cruise that gets Glacier Bay!

 

I'm organizing a family reunion cruise to Alaska for next year, and we'll have four kids, ages 5, 7, 7 and 9, along, plus an elderly grandpa and four parents. Does anyone have a favorite ship/cruiseline for traveling with kids this age in Alaska? We've done a Disney cruise but would like to try something new. I thought NCL would be good, but our AAA travel agent today told me that she's only heard bad reports about NCL--a surprise to me. I'd love to hear from anyone who's cruised in Alaska with kids recently who has an opinion about a ship to recommend. Thanks!

[cruisewkids1]

I really appreciate everyone who's responded so far and hope that more people will chime in! I've been reading tons of relevant threads on this website and started feeling overwhelmed with information, so your replies are helping me narrow down what I want to consider. It's helpful to hear specifically from people who have cruised Alaska with kids.

[MississippiMom]

I really appreciate everyone who's responded so far and hope that more people will chime in! I've been reading tons of relevant threads on this website and started feeling overwhelmed with information, so your replies are helping me narrow down what I want to consider. It's helpful to hear specifically from people who have cruised Alaska with kids.

 

Have you read the many member reviews? I started to, last night and some this morning, and now I am even more confused. I was pretty certain that i wanted to lean toward a Princess cruise, because of the better itineraries, but . . . now I'm not so sure. Our three children have cruised before, and we do need the experience on the ship to meet up to previous experiences. The reality is that two connecting (not adjoining) cabins are required, so we may have to go with whichever line has two connecting cabins available.

 

Any thoughts on the best line or itinerary for the 18 year old? She is the one that worries me the most. The other two are close enough in age to entertain each other.

[jimswims]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1256729

 

I am giving you the link to my review of my family cruise to Alaska on the NCL Pearl last year. As I said before we look at all lines when we book. The NCL Pearl worked for us as a family given what we wanted to do. Again this is my opinion and my cruise experience. I hope that it helps in some way.

[lmg1230]

It has been four years since our family has cruised to Alaska but we had a fabulous time on Princess. At the time my daughters were 10 and almost 4. We sailed from Vancouver and our ports of call were Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and we did a five day tour afterwards to Denali Park and Fairbanks. We also had one set of grandparents with us so our age range was 4-75. We had a mini suite on Princess which had a pull-out sofa and a pull-down berth so each of my daughters was able to have her own bed. We used Princess' "Anytime Dining" so that we could eat when we wanted to and had only our family at our dining table.

 

This was the first trip where either of my kids went to a kids club and they loved the program on Princess. I particularly liked that there was an educational element in that they did Alaskan-themed activities and had a Park Ranger on board in the kids club area while we were sailing in Glacier Bay. Any of the excursions involving animals were a big hit with my kids - whale watching was a lot of fun and meeting sled dogs was probably the thing that they enjoyed most and still talk about.

 

I have a complete description of our trip to Alaska in my family travel blog (link is in my signature) and you are welcome to look at it. I would also be happy to answer any questions you have about what we did in Alaska or what the kids liked and didn't like.

 

Lisa

[cruisingram1]

We sailed Celebrity Infinity - RT from Seattle - a few years ago. My granddaughters were 6 and 8 at the time and I was a little concerned they would find Celebrity a bit "stuffy" as their previous cruise was on RCL Voyager. Just the opposite. They still maintain this was their favorite cruise. We found if the kid's program is smaller, the children who are there are given more attention. The ship is beautiful, stately. Infinity has a large number of connecting cabins which would come in handy if there are 6 of you in your immediate family. (RCL and Celebrity we have found, have the most connecting cabins, especially if you're looking for cabins that sleep at least 3 each) I don't know if this is the norm or we just lucked out on a great sale, but we found Celebrity kid's prices to be much less than the other family oriented lines. The girls were $299 each for a mid August departure.

 

We chose a Seattle departure because the fares from So. Cal were much less than going to Vancouver. (Not sure where you're coming from if destination comes into play)

 

My granddaughters loved the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan and our family's absolute favorite tour was the dogsled ride in Juneau (on grass.. not snow)

 

The Infinity allowed the children to use the heated indoor solarium pool as it was too cold for the outdoor pool. It was salt water if that makes a difference.

 

Sailing into Hubbard Glacier is amazing. I thought the girls would be bored, but they loved it. We would love to go back and see some of the interior areas.. Denali Park etc, but that means a one-way trip. It's on the list. Victoria is really pretty and nice to just walk around.

 

Since you're also traveling with an elderly grahdparent, it might be easier to do RT from Seattle. Note: SEATAC is not near the docks.

[MississippiMom]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1256729

 

I am giving you the link to my review of my family cruise to Alaska on the NCL Pearl last year. As I said before we look at all lines when we book. The NCL Pearl worked for us as a family given what we wanted to do. Again this is my opinion and my cruise experience. I hope that it helps in some way.

 

Thanks for sharing the link to your review. And for your detailed review.

[jimswims]

Thanks for sharing the link to your review. And for your detailed review.

 

You are welcome. We had a great time. I was at the port of Seattle last week and saw the Star. I was near to the port on Sunday when the Pearl was docked to take the passengers to Alaska. I wished I was going again.

[cruisewkids1]

Thanks so much, Jim and Lisa, for the trip reports, and also Cruisingram1 for the thoughtful reply. That's just the kind of information I was hoping to get. Trip reports are so helpful because they really give you the flavor of the experience and let you see if it will be right for your family. There's so much information out there that it is overwhelming--these responses are helping me narrow down our options. I'll be looking at those ships in particular, and then it will probably come down to price and cabin configuration.

[dedro]

cruisewkids~ I will be on the NCL Pearl next week with a 9 yearold who has done Disney, Carnival and RCCL... Ill let you know what he says when we get back...

[Megsie1000]

The kids and I sailed on the Rotterdam (HAL) last summer. It was not a good cruise for a young toddler (younger than 3 - they can't be in Club HAL until they're 3). He was barely 2 at the time. He had nothing to do and there wasn't really anywhere on the ship to take him just to run around where he wouldn't disturb other people. We ended up on my parents' veranda a lot. I dunno.

 

The older two, on the other hand, had the time of their lives in Club HAL. They were 4 (almost 5) and 7. Every single waking moment they were begging to go to Club HAL. They looked sad to see me when I came to pick them up (does a lot for a Mom's ego! LOL) and they wept at the end of the week when they had to leave the counselors, with whom they had grown very close. They STILL talk about it and this was a year ago.

 

The older two's experience with Club HAL is the main reason we are re-booking with HAL now that my youngest is old enough to go to the club on our cruise this coming winter. I like the idea that the kids' club is a bit more manageable for kids who are on the younger side (3-8) rather than a huge room with a ton of kids, which I don't think would suite my 3-year old. I hope he will enjoy it and we can have some time to ourselves on this cruise. If he is like his sisters, he will want to spend every waking moment there.

 

If you have kids younger than 3, I don't think HAL is the line for you (especially not the Alaska itineraries). But if you have lots of kids in the 3-8 range, you can't go wrong with that kids' club. It is amazing.

 

I forgot to mention that my nephew has been on multiple cruises in the 8-12 age range club on HAL and he also LOVES it, so I wouldn't worry about the 9-year old being bored, either.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Megsie1000

[jac1976]

We're sailing on the Sapphire Princess at the end of August with our 6 year old son and our 3 year old daughter. We sailed on the Disney Magic in March. I will be glad to compare the two when we get back.

[Jridou]

We did the Coral Princess a few years back, from Vancouver to Anchorage. My kids were 3, 7 and 10 and I also brought my 80 year old Mother in law. We had a fantastic time, honestly it's so port intensive we barely used the kids club but my kids did enjoy it the few times they went. We got 2 mini suites next door to each other, my MIL shared one with my 2 oldest and there was plenty of room for 3 in each cabin.

 

I thought Princess was very family friendly & the itinerary was fantastic.

 

HTH.

[globalhoneymooning]

We sailed the NCL Pearl late August 2010 with a 2 yr old and 9 month old and had a great time. We booked a balcony room so DH and I could sit outside when the kids napped and went to sleep for the night. The staff spent a lot of time catering to the kids, I suspect since many of them miss their own young children. After a few days, the staff in the buffet and room stewards knew our kid's names and greeted them daily with huge smiles. My older one did the kids club one day and enjoyed it. We really liked freestyle dining as it worked well with the various port times and nap times. I agree with another poster, Glacier Bay is magnificent and not to be missed. I highly recommend NCL for Alaska.

Edited July 9, 2011 by globalhoneymooning

[cruisebeth]

We are booked with NCL on the Pearl for September, and are traveling with our 2 year old and 3 year old.

 

We chose NCL because

-kids club take non-potty trained children, from 2 years old.

- freestyle dining, we thought this would give us the most flexible dining options

- Glacier bay included in itinerary.

-2 bedrooms in suite.

 

I will report back to let you know how it goes.

[jimswims]

We are booked with NCL on the Pearl for September, and are traveling with our 2 year old and 3 year old.

 

We chose NCL because

-kids club take non-potty trained children, from 2 years old.

- freestyle dining, we thought this would give us the most flexible dining options

- Glacier bay included in itinerary.

-2 bedrooms in suite.

 

I will report back to let you know how it goes.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise! If you are in the SC suite it is our favorite. We have yet to stay in the courtyard so I may change my mind when that opportunity comes. We loved the Pearl, Glacier Bay, and Alaska :D

[cruisebeth]

I hope you enjoy your cruise! If you are in the SC suite it is our favorite. We have yet to stay in the courtyard so I may change my mind when that opportunity comes. We loved the Pearl, Glacier Bay, and Alaska :D

 

We were booked in to the SC suite, then out of curiosity I checked the prices online a week or so ago and found the S4 was $100 LESS than we had paid for our SC. I phoned up NCL who upgraded me and refunded me the $100 difference, even though my final payment date had passed. So we now get to experience the courtyard :D Can't wait!

[jimswims]

We were booked in to the SC suite, then out of curiosity I checked the prices online a week or so ago and found the S4 was $100 LESS than we had paid for our SC. I phoned up NCL who upgraded me and refunded me the $100 difference, even though my final payment date had passed. So we now get to experience the courtyard :D Can't wait!

 

That is great! I have been watching our upcoming cruise to Bermuda on the Gem and there was only one S4 available and the price difference was huge so I am staying with the SC. I will keep watching and hoping. We are in a great suite already so it is a good situation for us!

[cruisebeth]

That is great! I have been watching our upcoming cruise to Bermuda on the Gem and there was only one S4 available and the price difference was huge so I am staying with the SC. I will keep watching and hoping. We are in a great suite already so it is a good situation for us!

 

None of the S4s were booked when I upgraded, so I guess that's why the price was so good. Sure your S4 will be fab too!