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two toddlers on 11 Day Denali Explorer cruisetour

alsalfalu3

By alsalfalu3,
in Princess Cruises

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alsalfalu3

alsalfalu3

Posted
Posted

Hi Everyone,

Planning on going on the EB4 Cruisetour next year. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience in going with two young children, 2yo and 4yo on the land tour and the cruise portion. I'm a little more concerned with the land portion since there seems to be quite a bit of traveling on the bus and train. Is it toddler friendly at all?

 

Thanks in advance for all your input! positive:D or negative:eek:!

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
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We took the 5-night land tour before our cruise a couple of summers ago. There were not any young children on the tour. The youngest ones I saw were probably 9 or 10 years old and on the steamboat and gold dredge portion of our tour. They were not on the train portion of the tour, but could have been on one of the other cars.

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Loonbeam

Loonbeam

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Honestly, I think it would be ok, but not 'toddler friendly'. I can't think of any of the basic activities that wouldn't work (the biggest issues would be toting any extra gear they may need on the train, since space is limited and the train rides themselves, which can be 6 hours long without a break and not a lot of room to move around for active toddlers).

 

If you pressed me, I'd have to suggest waiting until they are older.

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msmoger

msmoger

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If you pressed me, I'd have to suggest waiting until they are older.

 

Agreed. I'm sure your kids are great but I think the cruise will be a lot more fun for them than the land portion. As said, a lot of travel time without a lot of entertainment or diversions.

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Nomsayin

Nomsayin

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Honestly, I think it would be ok, but not 'toddler friendly'. I can't think of any of the basic activities that wouldn't work (the biggest issues would be toting any extra gear they may need on the train, since space is limited and the train rides themselves, which can be 6 hours long without a break and not a lot of room to move around for active toddlers).

 

If you pressed me, I'd have to suggest waiting until they are older.

x2.

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RNGALNG

RNGALNG

Posted
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We did a 7 day land about 7 years ago. There were two small children on our tour with us, about the same age as yours. There were three adults for the two children. We were concerned that they would not be happy with all the traveling we were all going to be doing. The parents were fantastic! They had many activities in the kids backpacks to keep them busy on the train and busses. We took train from Anchorage to Denali, bus around Denali,And bus to Copper River. The last leg was bus to the ship. The children were the best behaved EVER and were occupied all the time. So, if your children can stand six hours on a train, with very limited space- say the size of a kitchen table with two benches and on a bus in a seat for another 8 hours, then plan on going. Travel time on the land cruises is very long, tiring- even for the grown ups. You know your children and how long they can sit still. . . It is up to you and your child's personalities!

 

I don't try to be mean, just letting you know how much travel time is involved. Good luck with your decisions.

 

 

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
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I agree with the others. The children will be confined to a very small space for many hours with little or no option to move around. That's both on the train and the bus. The distances are huge... much bigger than you expect. Bathroom facilities on the bus are limited. Can't remember about the train but it still won't be easy. Food could also be an issue with toddlers unless you pack and bring food for them.

 

I think it would be a challenge and probably not a lot of fun for the parents.

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Cruisin' Chick

Cruisin' Chick

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My daughter was 7 on our Alaskan cruise and we deliberately did the RT out of Seattle rather than an one-way and cruise tour. We did take the Coast Starlight up from Southern California to Seattle, and it was boring for her, except when she found kids her age to hang out with (on the way back south, Shrek or one of the sequels was playing over and over again in the room closest to a theater on the train).

 

She did go on an all-day tour of Hilo just a year later with interest and no whining so I guess it depends on the kids and if they feel okay with the location.

 

The cruise may be interesting for the kids -- we saw a brown bear cavoting on a "beach" while cruising the Tracy Arm Strait so maybe you'll luck out and see animals too. Unfortunately the two-year-old will not be able to participate in the kids' program (you can ask the kids' staff if you can come in with the youngest for a play time session, but you'll have to stay).

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donaldsc

donaldsc

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Here is the problem. All children, even the best of them, have periods when they behave badly and nothing can quiet them down. Or else, they feel an absolute need to run around. Now imagine that you are on a bus for 5 or 6 hours and have to share a limited space with your normally very good but at this moment really bad kids. There will be 35 people who will want to kick you off the bus with the kids or drug them to shut them up. Think about what it was like being on an airplane with crying badly behaved kids before you had yours.

 

My suggestion is to drop the tour and just do the cruise.

 

DON

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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Being a parent with young ones can be tough. We want to expose our children to much of the good in the world (although a 2 year old may not be interested) but there are just some travel options that are not suitable for little ones. Putting a 2 year old (or even a 4 year old) on a lengthy structured land trip is a real stretch. There is a reasonable chance that one or both children will be miserable, and then they might make everyone else (trapped on the same bus) just as miserable. And it is not the child's fault because they are simply being young children. But it is the fault of the parent who puts a child into an environment not truly appropriate for a small child.

 

So my message to parents is simply this! Put the interests of your child ahead of your own interests and do not risk making your kids and everyone around them miserable. Little one's should not be trapped on a bus tour for any length of time. If you want to do a land trip with a toddler then its time to rent a car. Sure, everything might turn out well and your children could be angels for every minute of every day...but what happens if they decide to be children?

 

I should add that we first started taking our DD on ambitious trips when she was 5. But we never subjected her to a bus tour. We took her on cruises that had great kids programs (Sitmar, RCCL, Princess and NCL) and when on land, we went on our own with a taxi or rental car. Her first "ambitious" trip was at age 9 when we took her to Europe for a few weeks and used a Eurorail Pass (it was a great trip). But even at that age we never considered trapping her on a bus tour with lots of adults. It would not have been fair to her. And when taking her around Europe, we did things that were more for her then us (like frequent rest breaks for ice cream and/or Orangina).

 

We understand that many parents want to continue their normal lives when they have small children...but this is just not always a wise decision. So to the OP we would suggest that your 2 year old will probably not appreciate being stuck with a lot of folks on a land tour of Alaska. And we are sure there are some exceptions, but when you do such a thing you are not only gambling with your child's enjoyment, but are also risking the enjoyment of dozens of other strangers.

 

Hank

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MJSailors

MJSailors

Posted
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I have to agree with most of the posters' responses that this would not be an ideal trip for your toddlers or for you.

A relaxing cruise with good children's programs, a stay at a comfortable resort or a trip to one of the Disney parks would seem to be more appropriate at this time for your family.

Hopefully,there will be time in your family's future for all of you

to enjoy an Alaskan cruisetour.

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texasgirl29

texasgirl29

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We did the land cruise tour with our daughters then preteens. There did not appear to be any other children on the land portion. They enjoyed being with the family and each other--doing board games and puzzles. They did receive a lot of positive attention from the other passengers. I think your kids would probably do OK but would enjoy it more in a few years.

 

 

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cruisetoscrap

cruisetoscrap

Posted
Posted
thank you so much everyone for your input! I've taken it to heart and changed my cruise plans! no more land tour and we'll just enjoy our time on the 7 day cruise portion which I know my kids will enjoy. :D

 

I haven't done Alaska but I have taken my then three year old on a cruise in Europe we did buses and trains but not for that long. And this summer I drove three big road trips 6-12 hours of driving per day with a 2 year old and 8 year old so I'll share what I learned.

 

1. Bring a tablet (like an IPad) AND load it with movies In Europe we watched "Walie" at least three times a day because it was the only thing loaded on the laptop. If you can get them to wear headsets even better.

 

2. You have to have a bathroom plan. On a long drive into Cairo we didn't have pull-ups or anything for a 3 year old and we had to improvise because stops are not allowed. But while on tour in the different towns everyone from shop keepers to tour guides were overly compensating.

 

3. Snacks make everything better. You'll need a large diaper bag or backpack. You can wrap snacks and new dollar store toys in newspaper so they are like little presents. Bring a reusable shopping bag for when it's time to get off the bus/train/plane because everything expands and it's hard to get it all packed back in just right when it's time to get off. So just throw it into the bag and you can re-organize when you have space and time.

 

4. Have patience and realistic expectations, you will plan and plan and they will not care about the "pyramids" and love and remember the "drinking fountains" or "marry-go-round" let things happen.

 

I know you said you don't think you'll do it but just think about how your kids generally act. Can they handle a long car ride? Sometimes it's the right time to do something even though it might not make sense to everyone or anyone. My kids could handle it today but next week they might not be able to. There are a lot of gown-ups who have ruined my day worse then kids.

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bearette

bearette

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I frequently travel with toddler twins. Whatever you decide to do, I recommend making it flexible or fit it to your schedule. Long road or train travel during nap times and keep their normal sleep/ wake schedule as much as possible. Guided tours are awful and should be avoided. We did several guided tours and while some went fine, one was a complete disaster. So much so that we won't do another any time soon ( total melt downs like every parents worst nightmare).

 

Headphone tours where you can start and stop and IPads etc to keep the kids entertained. I hate to admit it but I have a great picture of my daughter in Versailles playing on my iPhone. She was happy and so we're we, plus all the other patrons who didn't have to hear her scream. They don't always find what we find interesting. The pigeons in the park however where the highlight of our France visit for my son.

 

Always carry food on you as well, crackers, fruit etc. A feed kid is a happy kid.

 

You can see any place with the right planning. Just do your research and make sure you always plan play/run time and rest time. Have fun.

 

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donaldsc

donaldsc

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We did the land cruise tour with our daughters then preteens. There did not appear to be any other children on the land portion. They e

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

The OP said that the kids were toddlers - 2 and 4 years old. Sort of a different issue compared to pre-teens.

 

DON

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