Alaska cruise ship for children

[cruising in]

Hi, we would like to take our grandchildren and their parents on an Alaskan cruise. They will be ages 6 and 7, boy and girl. The Disney cruises are quite pricey, and so we are wondering if anyone can recommend a ship that children would enjoy. We plan on going in July, and would be very open to a cruise tour as well. Any ideas?

[Keith1010]

I would take a look at Princess. They do a nice job for adults, have really great children's programs and have been sailing Alaska for many years.

 

Keith

[Putterdude]

First, welcome to Cruise Critic. I can't say that I hold myself out as an expert on childrens' programs but I will say that from what I have seen aboard ships and gleaned from these forums Princess offers very good programs.

[SadieN]

HAL does a great job in the Kid's Clubs and Alaska.

[jean s]

We have cruised on Coral Princess and I was impressed with the children's programs. The children seemed happy and engaged with the activities. We have gone in July and August and there were lots and lots of families with children.

[melika091900]

we sailed on princess to alaska and our daughter who was 8 loved it..

she has also liked celebrity, and carnival as well. they are all pretty good in my opinion..

 

she didnt care too much for NCL

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC,

 

We cruised Princess last year, wonderful and full of kids of all ages in the summer! Good value, goes to Glacier Bay and or Hubbard too!

 

Disney doesn't do Glacier Bay, enough reason not to consider IMHO. Don't get me wrong, I looked at Disney last year but paying for 11 and 4 cabins :eek: Princess was all :D:D

 

Hi, we would like to take our grandchildren and their parents on an Alaskan cruise. They will be ages 6 and 7, boy and girl. The Disney cruises are quite pricey, and so we are wondering if anyone can recommend a ship that children would enjoy. We plan on going in July, and would be very open to a cruise tour as well. Any ideas?

[cruising in]

Thank you all for your help. We have cruised with Princess before and have always enjoyed it. We will definitely look at them for Alaska.

Thanks again.

[Starr Mtn]

Holland America cruises also have very good children's programs,

and a special area for children of all ages. Additionally,

HAL has some of the largest cabins - a definite plus for families.

 

Also, they are probably one of the top two cruise lines

for the best available markets in Alaska.

 

They provide Naturalists on board during some Alaska sites

such as Glacier Bay, etc. - with on-board announcements;

as well as Naturalists to meet with.

 

Suggest HAL as a cruise line to meet the needs of

all ages !!

[FINTUCKYFARMS]

Both Hal and Princess offers great kids programs from about 4 or 5 to 17. My kids and nieces and nephews have participated in both programs. Royal also has a great program on the FOS but it does not go to Alaska.

[Keith1010]

Fintuckyfarms, Royal Caribbean does sail Alaska.

 

I would recommend other children's programs higher than them though.

 

Keith

[Assateague Island Princes]

Like Starr Mtn., I recommend HAL as well. Another big plus besides their enjoyable kids club is that they offer free or low price cabin fares for 3rd and 4th passengers. For instance, this year I sailed with my niece and her boyfriend and we shared an ocean view cabin near the aft of the Main Deck. The fhird person sailed free (except for tax and port fees), so we split the cost of the two fares three ways and got quite a bargain.

 

As previously stated, the cabin was plenty roomy for the three of us - and it actually held four (two singles, one sofa bed and one bunk that folded down from the ceiling - which we didn't use). The great thing about the cabin we chose was that we were just steps out our cabin door (two doors down) to a small public aft deck that hardly anyone used. We had great views of the wake, could get outside in a hurry if wildlife was spotted, and only one flight of stairs up to the Promenade Deck, the biggest "verandah" on the ship!;) Quite a bargain pricewise going with 3 people to a cabin, particularly for the 14 day HAL itinerary on the Amsterdam, where balconies are scarce and quite pricey.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My daughter was 7 when we did our Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire Princess. Besides the usual activities, there were itinerary-related ones such as making a model of glaciers, as well as other science type ones such as making a model of the solar system. As my daughter is into science, she really enjoyed these.