Overwhelmed by details already

[Dizzneefan]

Ok here's the plan. A group of eight, three parties with ages ranging from 12 to 80 are considering an Alaskan cruise in 2015. Yep I know it's a long way off but as I plan our trips I do all the research, booking, iteneraries etc.

 

And already I'm overwhelmed as to not even sure where to begin!

 

I know I can look at different cruise lines to get an idea but I read all these threads and frankly get lost. What sights to see. Where should we leave from. Excursions. Inside passage. All of this is so foreign and I just don't know what direction to go. As you can guess by the screen name tell me when you want to visit a Disney park and I can have it booked within 15 minutes and tell you what days to do what. But this is a new frontier for me,

 

No doubt this is an expensive trip so I know that going in we are prepared but don't want to break the bank either.

 

Where and how do I start?????

[Keith1010]

I would get a Travel Specialist to assist you with this. You are right. It is never to early to start planning.

 

Keith

[olemissreb]

Start at the library. Check out a Frommers Alaska by Cruiseship or Ann Viponds book Cruising Alaska (or something along those lines). Read through and see what towns you would like to visit and what things you would like to do. After that, you may decide that you want to add extra time to add on a land based vacation either pre or post cruise. If that is the case, you've just eliminated all the round trips from Seattle or Vancouver.

 

If your not up for a pre or post land based vacation, then you could also consider the round trips. Next you might want to consider the itineraries that go to the ports you want to see and consider the times in port. Don't limit yourself to just Disney. I love Disney Parks too, but I think this is one place where you could put all the money that Disney charges to much better use on excursions on a different line. Excursions are expensive in Alaska.

 

Excel is your friend here! I too got confused over all the options. I finally broke down and just put it all in a spreadsheet. It really helped me to see things and a couple of cruises just jumped out at me.

 

Finally, don't take on all the planning for all 3 groups. Everyone will have different things they want to see/do. Do your research for your group and then let the other groups do their research. Then all of you come together and choose your cruise line & itinerary. Then everyone can book their own rooms and excursions and y'all can come together at the end of the day and compare notes.

[Italy52]

Many years ago, when we were planning our first cruise to Alaska, I went to a bookstore and found some books on cruising to Alaska. After getting a feel for what Alaska had to offer, we put together a list of interests. Next, we researched the cruise lines to see if we could find a line that would give us enough time in their ports to see all the things we wanted to see. After choosing a cruise line I made up an Excel spread sheet to monitor costs: airfare, hotels, excursions, etc. To this day, I still use the same Excel procedure whenever I book a cruise as I found it works very well for me. I am a planner and like to get things in motion from the moment I book my cruise --- which is usually a year in advance.

 

Once you have some ideas as to what you are looking for in your cruise, come back to this thread and ask your questions, sift through the input and then decide what works best for you and your group.

 

Remember, this is your cruise and you should have an active role in planning it. Personally, I don't rely on advice from travel agents unless I know they have extensive first-hand experience in Alaska. Based on my experience, too many TA say they know about Alaska and have never been there. Granted there are a lot of honest TAs but there are also a lot of TAs that just want to get a booking.

 

Have fun planning --- it really isn't that hard. :)

[AKman2495]

OK, I agree that you first need to learn about Alaska. One of the cruise to Alaska books will help you there because it should cover the usual ports visited by the major cruise lines.

 

Second, decide if you want to do just a cruise or a cruise tour. A cruise is usually limited to what we call "Southeast" Alaska. Several ships terminate their cruises in either Whittier or Seward, which are ports in "South-central" Alaska. You cannot see the interior of the state from Southeast. So, if you want to visit Denali National Park, you will need to look into a cruise tour or a DIY land tour either before or after you sail.

 

This is important because i will affect all other decisions you make.

 

After that, it will be a big job but you will have plenty of time -and help right here.

[MilliesMom]

I have a Alaska/West Coast cruising blog that may answer many of your questions too:

 

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/

 

First decide which port you want to leave from.

Then check out the cruise lines that leave from those ports.

Next look at the itinerary.

 

Our 3 cruises of 11 have been to Alaska:

Our first cruise was round trip out of Seattle included Misty Fjord.

2nd was round trip out of Seattle included Tracy Arm.

The one last month was round trip out of San Francisco and included Glacier Bay.

 

We live in Phoenix area, so I look at flight costs into the port we leave from too. Vancouver can be the most expensive for us.

 

Next year we are doing 2 repo cruises back to back, but in 2015 plan to go back to Alaska. This time we want to see Hubbard Glacier and are willing to go from any port ... cost, itinerary all play an important part in our choice.

 

Another resource we found online was CruisePortInsider:

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/

He also has written a number of e-books (that match 99% with info on-line, but it was nice to have the e-books stored on my iPad - not the iCloud so quick reference. His e-books sell through amazon.com

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/ebooks.html#.Ube1MZxsNio

 

I'm a big fan of Ann Vipond's books. If you buy, just be sure you are getting her latest edition (right now that is 7th edition that was published in 2012)

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Ship-Complete-Cruising/dp/0980957370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370994062&sr=8-1&keywords=Alaska+by+cruise+ship

 

Alaska is our favorite destination. Our favorite vacation is a CRUISE!!! Hope you will love it as much as we do.

[MilliesMom]

If you decide to go with a travel agent, be sure to ask how much cruise experience they have. We have dealt with some that had no clue. If you have a specific line you really want to book with, you can call directly and hook up with a cruise consultant for that line or you can even book online yourself. A lot depends on your comfort level.

 

I felt comfortable enough to book the cruise last month and the one next year through Princess myself. When I had questions they were great and all I had to do is call.

 

I also booked a cruise next year through NCL, and hadn't cruise on them for years. When one of their consultants sent me an e-mail (after I requested some brochures), I decided to call him and work with him directly on our booking. So far so good.

[vbmom87]

If you are a Disney fan you might want to look at the Disney itinerary. However, if you want to visit the interior of AK before or after the cruise, Disney would not be a good choice as it is a round trip cruise out of Vancouver.

 

As already suggested get some books on AK and have your group read through them. Decide which ports and scenic areas are a priority for your group. THEN start looking at cruiselines that will take you to the places you want to visit. After you have a few itineraries to look at, compare port times. The more time in port, the better.

 

Here are a few books to consider:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Ship-Complete-Cruising/dp/0980957370/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370994767&sr=1-2&keywords=alaska+cruise

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Alaska-Full-color-Travel-Guide/dp/0876371268/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370994805&sr=1-1&keywords=fodors+alaska

 

http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Alaska-Color-Complete/dp/111807470X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370994842&sr=1-1&keywords=frommers+alaska+2013

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Handbook-Mile---Mile/dp/0979491576/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370994711&sr=1-1&keywords=alaska+cruise

[masonpips]

You've got time. We booked last March (2012) for this summer (leaving in just over 2 weeks). I knew we wanted to go, but didn't know ANY details. I called the day they opened bookings (for RCCL) and booked the cheapest cabin (Junior Suite) I could for the time period we wanted going either direction. That happened to be South to North (Vancouver to Seward).

 

We started building the trip around that. We knew we wanted another week so we made arrangements based on airfare rates and land after (since we were headed toward Alaska).

 

Around October I started looking at stuff to do. Nothing is really bookable for the following year until December at the earliest, most are early in the year you're going. I literally almost cried at first because it was SO much to take in.

 

So my advice:

1) Pick a cruise (line and time) and book what you want, base the rest around it

2) Realize Alaska is HUGE and no matter what you do you can NEVER see it all in a 2 week period. NEVER. We'll be lucky to see 1%, the place is massive

3) Relax and make the most of the stops you are going to.

 

We have 2 teens, I polled them on activities. They wanted to zipline, whale watch and fish. I booked zip lining and whale watching. No luck with the fishing but they're happy to be doing 2 of the 3.

 

Buy a book (or 2) - TourSaver and/or Northern Lights once you figure out at least one activity that it will save you the price of book on (zip lining for us). Then you can surf the book for other things to do.

 

Take each port at a time and get a feel for it, the activities, the weather, etc. Then move on to land (if you're doing it).

 

Haunt this board and Trip Advisor - great ideas, reviews, advice!

[Lioness71]

I just put together my first cruise to Alaska next month, and it can be overwhelming. I agree with many of the above posters - start with a guidebook (I used Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call and Frommers). Just read it without a particular agenda in mind. It will lay out all of the basics about Alaska cruising - the different cruise lines, itineraries, ports of call, types of excursions, etc. Once you have a basic understanding, you'll be much better equipped to start doing more detailed research without information overload. (Well, it will still be information overload, but you'll know the language).

 

I did all of the planning myself using the guidebooks and this board (and some tripadvisor reviews). We'll see if the proof is in the pudding in a month :)

 

It's funny because the one other board I spend time on regularly is Disboards. I haven't been on here that long but there seems to be quite of bit of crossover.

[Dizzneefan]

I just put together my first cruise to Alaska next month, and it can be overwhelming. I agree with many of the above posters - start with a guidebook (I used Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call and Frommers). Just read it without a particular agenda in mind. It will lay out all of the basics about Alaska cruising - the different cruise lines, itineraries, ports of call, types of excursions, etc. Once you have a basic understanding, you'll be much better equipped to start doing more detailed research without information overload. (Well, it will still be information overload, but you'll know the language).

 

I did all of the planning myself using the guidebooks and this board (and some tripadvisor reviews). We'll see if the proof is in the pudding in a month :)

 

It's funny because the one other board I spend time on regularly is Disboards. I haven't been on here that long but there seems to be quite of bit of crossover.

 

Yep I'm on the Dis a LOT reading and posting

 

Thanks so much to all of you for your suggestions. Looks like a trip to Barnes and Noble is in the works to load up on books and then lots of homework. I really don't mind planning our trips---and I've done lots of,them for us from Hawaii to cruises to Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

 

One poster suggested that I not do the planning for all three groups. The makeup of the three parties are myself DW and DS then FIL and MIL and SIL and two nieces. The others would not ever feel comfortable on their own so as a result we all stick together. But we are a happy bunch and enjoy the times together.

 

Anyway I'm not giving up! Gonna tackle this new project and look forward to the experience. I used to think I would never want to go to a cold climate for a vacation but reading the threads, listening to folks tell about the beauty and seeing the pictures have just made me determined to make the journey

 

Wish me luck.

[bonvoyagie]

I agree on choosing itinerary first and cruise line and ship second.

 

I find the books recommend to be out of date esp the one by Ann Vipond.

 

First you need to decide how much time you have to spend - 1 wk or more. There are two basic trips RT and one way. One way trips always leave from Vancouver BC and end in either Whittier or Seward - or vice versa. These are great if you have more than a week and can tour a portion of the interior of the state. You can either use a package tour from a cruise line, an independent tour company, or DIY. Flights home would either be from Anchorage or Fairbanks. IMHO you should only do a one way if you plan on extending the stay - otherwise it is a waste of time.

 

RT cruises leave from either Vancouver BC or Seattle WA. These two cities are only 4hr apart via bus, car, or train so with a little planning one can benefit from cheaper airfare to Seattle and still use either port. Cruises leaving from Seattle all head out the Strait of Juan DeFuca and up along the windward side of Vancouver Island - making first ports on the second day of the cruise. All cruises from Vancouver stay to the leeward side of the island and pass through a narrow passage that separates the island from the mainland (look up Johnstone Strait). Sometimes this passage is done at night, sometimes it is in daylight. BTW both sets of cruises return via the same route they went up. Seattle cruises must make a port stop at Victoria in order not to violate the PSA or Jones Act.

When it comes to the inside passage there are many definitions depending on how far you extend the waterways - I have heard it broken into two segments - the AK inside passage and the CA inside passage - The inside passage are a series of waterways that are protected from the sea by barrier islands - so technically all cruises end up in the AK passages while only those from Vancouver end up in the CA passage. Is that as clear as mud :D.

 

 

SE Alaska has several ports - the main ones are Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. Other popular ports include Haines, Sitka, and Icy Point Strait (Hoonah). For more information on these ports I suggest that you look at www.cruiseportinsider.com under Alaskan Ports. Here you will find a description of the port, things you can DIY and the excursions available and which cruise lines offer them. You can also look into independent tours - highly recommended as you can usually get either a better experience or a cheaper price (or both :D).

 

Lastly each AK cruise has some scenic glacier cruising in one (or more) of the following locations - Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm (Sawyer Glacier), or Hubbard Glacier. All are fantastic places to see - but for different reasons. Tracy Arm is a narrow winding fjord with a single glacier at the end. Sometimes early in the season ships can't get to the glacier due to ice in the channel. Glacier Bay is probably the best for the first timer as there are up to 5 glaciers you can see from the ship. NP naturalist talk about the geology, flora, and fauna of the area and point out sightings as you go along. The downfall of Glacier Bay is that only three lines have permits to enter on a regular basis - NCL, Princess, and HAL (Carnival gets 2 entries which they use at the beginning and end of the season). Hubbard glacier is also a large glacier that can also be iced in. For more information you can easily search the web for all three.

 

So now it is time to choose cruise line - Princess was the first to cruise to AK on a regular basis and really opened the market - HAL and NCL followed (which is the reason they have the lions share of Glacier Bay permits).

Disney was the last to enter the AK market - and yes port times and docking are done by how long the line has been in the AK market. In fact the main docks in Juneau were known as the Princess docks as they were the ones who built them - they allowed other to use them if there was not a Princess ship scheduled.

 

Lastly with a party of 8 I agree that trying to find activities that all would enjoy could be tough. I would suggest that each family plan their own port activities and then prepare to discuss them all over drinks and dinner.

 

I know that you probably have not given much thought to how you are going to arrange cabins - so I will point out that the NCL Pearl visits Glacier bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria and has a single suite that has three separate bedroom/bathrooms along with a full living room dining room and deck with hot tub that will easily accommodate all eight of you - see Garden Villa.

 

enjoy your planning - but don't get analysis paralysis:)

[Jdfireman]

Budget

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

In addition to the classic Read The Cruise Guidebook advice, which I do heartily endorse, I also recommend going to travelalaska.com and seeing their guidebook. And, if you choose to do a land tour as well, to grab a non cruise specific guidebook, which will have info on non port cities. If you choose to put together your own vacation land package, you can try Alaska Travel type website, or do your own bookings (like I did, but I have a much smaller group... oh, and I'm a sucker when it comes to research). But unless your pockets are mighty deep, I recommend that you stay away from the hotels in the Denali area and go for B&Bs instead.

[KAYEF]

Alaska IS my Disney!!

First cruise (15 day) to Alaska was in 1987. The very next year we spent the entire summer up there in our MH and I return almost annually. It's in my blood; I "take" new people often, too. Just got home last week and it was the first time I've been in May.............got sunburned in Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage (all before our cruise).

BUT, I have to add that I am taking my three grown "kids" and their spouses to WDW (AGAIN) this year. We had a BLAST last time and the best thing was that I rented a huge house and we were all together. It's a long, (awful) flight from Oregon but worth it.

You will love AK if you do lots of planning (and reading on these boards).;)

[Budget Queen]

With a cruise, it can be broken down in sections for decisions. TIME is going to determine if a one way or round trip? There are only 6 Alaska ports on a 7 day cruise. Take the time to find out about each one, and determine, if there are "must" interests in activites at a particular port. Each is very different from the others. All could be very worthwhile.

 

I would not "goup" decide on any land "package", if the plan. This is the place to split up and determine what is best for the individual. There could be different lengths of time available to each group, different travel interests etc?

[mommybearx2]

We are leaving in 19 days for our trip to Alaska. I started planning the trip 18 months before. There are 14 of us going. Five families with ages from 15 to 73.

 

What honestly helped me the most was this board. I originally had it "all figured out" and than got on this board and booked a totally different trip based on advise from this board. I also purchased some books, but got the most from here. I read the board for months before I actually started booking anything.

 

I planned EVERYTHING for everyone. From purchasing airline tickets to booking everyones excursions. Even gave everyone a decorated binder with all their info at Christmas time. Yes, you can say it "OH MY!!!" I just kept everyone informed of their choices and gave them a time frame to get back to me by. You many not want to do this. I just did because I LOVE this kind of thing and attempted to involve everyone more, but they were more than happy to just turn it over to me. We also got deals on excursions because I was booking for 14 people. And it was an opportunity for me to give back to my family.

 

I used a credit card and a particular savings account for just this trip so I could track who had paid for what easier. I also set up a folder on my computer for all the emails I sent about the trip so I could easily look back to them when questions arose.

 

There are a couple of excursions we are doing together, but we are also separating for other ones based on interest. Two families are coming home after cruise and three other families are able to take time to do some land time.

 

Good luck to you and most of all enjoy!!! I learned a lot and greatly appreciate all the patience and advise from people on this board.

[Dizzneefan]

We are leaving in 19 days for our trip to Alaska. I started planning the trip 18 months before. There are 14 of us going. Five families with ages from 15 to 73.

 

What honestly helped me the most was this board. I originally had it "all figured out" and than got on this board and booked a totally different trip based on advise from this board. I also purchased some books, but got the most from here. I read the board for months before I actually started booking anything.

 

I planned EVERYTHING for everyone. From purchasing airline tickets to booking everyones excursions. Even gave everyone a decorated binder with all their info at Christmas time. Yes, you can say it "OH MY!!!" I just kept everyone informed of their choices and gave them a time frame to get back to me by. You many not want to do this. I just did because I LOVE this kind of thing and attempted to involve everyone more, but they were more than happy to just turn it over to me. We also got deals on excursions because I was booking for 14 people. And it was an opportunity for me to give back to my family.

 

I used a credit card and a particular savings account for just this trip so I could track who had paid for what easier. I also set up a folder on my computer for all the emails I sent about the trip so I could easily look back to them when questions arose.

 

There are a couple of excursions we are doing together, but we are also separating for other ones based on interest. Two families are coming home after cruise and three other families are able to take time to do some land time.

 

Good luck to you and most of all enjoy!!! I learned a lot and greatly appreciate all the patience and advise from people on this board.

 

You remind me of me! I really enjoy the planning for the trips--almost as much as the trip itself. I'm all about spreadsheets, folders, etc.

 

I've been looking some more and this thread has already help me SO much Wonderful information and tips have already been sent my way. Thanks to all of you!

[rachelfran]

Ok here's the plan. A group of eight, three parties with ages ranging from 12 to 80 are considering an Alaskan cruise in 2015. Yep I know it's a long way off but as I plan our trips I do all the research, booking, iteneraries etc.

 

And already I'm overwhelmed as to not even sure where to begin!

 

I know I can look at different cruise lines to get an idea but I read all these threads and frankly get lost. What sights to see. Where should we leave from. Excursions. Inside passage. All of this is so foreign and I just don't know what direction to go. As you can guess by the screen name tell me when you want to visit a Disney park and I can have it booked within 15 minutes and tell you what days to do what. But this is a new frontier for me,

 

No doubt this is an expensive trip so I know that going in we are prepared but don't want to break the bank either.

 

Where and how do I start?????

 

When I started planning our July departure in January I was very green and new absolutely nothing. I found lots of help here and at tripadvisor. I bought lots of books but haven't read much of them at all. I haven't been yet so I'm hoping everything goes well but I also think that it would be pretty hard to go wrong in Alaska.

 

Also - from a NY Times article :

 

"RELISH THE ANTICIPATION Planning early brings many people more joy than the actual vacation. A 2010 study by Jeroen Nawijn, a tourism research lecturer at Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, examined the behavior of 1,530 Dutch adults and found that the 974 individuals who took a vacation achieved the greatest amount of happiness leading up to the trip.

 

His findings were in line with studies led by the psychologists Leigh Thompson of Northwestern University and Terence Mitchell of the University of Washington that examined travelers’ anticipation of, actual experiences on, and memories of vacations. The results, published in 1997 in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that regardless of the type of trip, vacationers were happier in the period leading up to their time off than during the vacation itself."

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[BlueEyesMI]

Do any of you have calendar or budget restrictions? I'd start there first. My family is doing an Alaska cruise and my parents (seasoned cruisers) will only go Princess, and my brother only had a certain window of time so that really narrowed it down of us! My daughter and I were just so happy to go, we knew we'd be happy and find things that interested us in any port.

 

I did call a few TA or travel companies, and I made an excel spreadsheet for that to keep track of what each one was offering.

 

Good luck, and have fun planning!

[pdmlynek]

Do any of you have calendar or budget restrictions? I'd start there first. ...

 

I agree. In a group of 8, various people will have various commitments during the summer, so this will narrow your choices down to only a handful of weeks.

 

Also, you should find out if it makes sense to do a one week cruise, or do a two week trip that includes a week-long cruise.

 

[margob111]

I'm just starting research for next June's cruise. I've narrowed it down to leaving from Vancouver and will now have to decide which ship. I have sailed on Celebrity before and have a credit for a future cruise, but the itineraries I've seen do not go to Glacier Bay and we just took a Carnival cruise last month. We are in our late 50s/early 60s and was told i would probably be the youngest if we went Holland America. I've heard that Princess is what I should take. I'm planning this trip for at least 4 people and possibly 8, but if no one else goes, I'm fine with that too. I'm thinking of a cruise tour in case we don't make it back up to Alaska. I did all of the planning for our Mediterranean cruise 2 years ago, all the info I got from here, and it was a fabulous trip.

[katrina915]

For travel info, I would get books from library or online (trip advisor, Alaska sites).

 

If you are doing land tour, I would consider mobility of the oldest person. Can the person walk up steps to a bus for a cruise sponsored land tour? And multiple times per day?

 

Alaska is one of my favorite places. I am planning trip with my elderly father for next year. We are renting car so it is easier on him and I can see what I want to see.

 

If you do cruisetour with ship, look at details. Are you doing Natural History Tour in Denali or Tundra Wilderness Tour? Big diff if you want to see wildlife.

 

Besides cruise, my favorite things to do were the Kenai Fjords 7 hr cruise out of Seward and Denali (will be doing shuttle to Wonder Lake this time).

[Budget Queen]

I'm just starting research for next June's cruise. I've narrowed it down to leaving from Vancouver and will now have to decide which ship. I have sailed on Celebrity before and have a credit for a future cruise, but the itineraries I've seen do not go to Glacier Bay and we just took a Carnival cruise last month. We are in our late 50s/early 60s and was told i would probably be the youngest if we went Holland America. I've heard that Princess is what I should take. I'm planning this trip for at least 4 people and possibly 8, but if no one else goes, I'm fine with that too. I'm thinking of a cruise tour in case we don't make it back up to Alaska. I did all of the planning for our Mediterranean cruise 2 years ago, all the info I got from here, and it was a fabulous trip.

 

Demographics on Alaska ships is very similar, with the bulk of passengers middle aged and above. But why would that be of any concern with your selection? It can be significant to be in Seward, especially if you want to get varied wildlife with a Kenai Fjords boat tour.

 

As already warned, before you start deciding for others, be certain to understand every detail, if you choose a cruisetour. Alternative options are independent which is easy and private tour companies. Go for as long as you can afford, not the min. of a single party. This is the place to split up and not compromise.

 

If Glacier Bay is your priority- (Hubbard could be as well) then you have HAL, Princess and NCL to select from.

[pdmlynek]

I'm just starting research for next June's cruise. I've narrowed it down to leaving from Vancouver and will now have to decide which ship. I have sailed on Celebrity before and have a credit for a future cruise, but the itineraries I've seen do not go to Glacier Bay and we just took a Carnival cruise last month. We are in our late 50s/early 60s and was told i would probably be the youngest if we went Holland America. I've heard that Princess is what I should take. I'm planning this trip for at least 4 people and possibly 8, but if no one else goes, I'm fine with that too. I'm thinking of a cruise tour in case we don't make it back up to Alaska. I did all of the planning for our Mediterranean cruise 2 years ago, all the info I got from here, and it was a fabulous trip.

 

Our extended family of 12, including 6 kids between the ages of 8 to 13, were on Holland America’s Statendam last summer. The kids had a blast. Actually, they found so many things to do that they did not even participate in the planned kid’s activities at Club HAL, the Loft, etc.

 

As far as which cruise line to select, about a third of the Alaska cruising market is Holland America’s, another third is Princess, with all the other lines sharing the final third. Unless you really have a favorite cruise line, either HAL of Princess would make most sense.