Which line for a 3 year old??

[angiegal]

I know people ask all the time, but we were looking at 2017 as our Alaska year :) Our youngest will be 3 then. We've only been on Carnival to date, but we are open to anything. We have nearly 2 years to pay it off, so we aren't super concerned with price. If you've ever done Alaska with a little one, please share your experience, good or bad.

Add: originally we thought 2017 would be our first Oceania cruise (without kids) but we had a surprise baby and when I spoke to someone at O she told me no kids programs and kids were far and few between (and not always well received by other passengers) so they are out.

[OCruisers]

Probably the little one will be potty trained by then so consider Princess.

Both Princess and HAL do wonderful cruises to Alaska. :)

 

LuLu

[sherryf]

The best line to choose is the one with the itinerary the parents want and that will make the parents happiest.

 

If there's a chance that the child won't be potty trained and having a kids club is crucial, you might be stuck with Carnival. They allow kids 2+ even if not potty trained. My first cruise to Alaska was with Carnival because of a large number of kids in our group, including my non-potty trained 2 year old. A good time was had by all.

[gluecksbaer]

The best line to choose is the one with the itinerary the parents want and that will make the parents happiest.

 

If there's a chance that the child won't be potty trained and having a kids club is crucial, you might be stuck with Carnival. They allow kids 2+ even if not potty trained. My first cruise to Alaska was with Carnival because of a large number of kids in our group, including my non-potty trained 2 year old. A good time was had by all.

 

NCL will also allow a non-potty trained child in their kids area but they will not change diapers so there has to be an adult reachable on the ship. (So good for adult only dinners/entertainment but not adult only excursions.)

 

I have only been on one cruise, so I have no comparisons but my 4 year olds loved the Splash Academy on the Norwegian Pearl. They cried when I told them we had to get off the ship and begged to go back to see the "grown-ups" at Splash Academy. They keep asking when they can go back.

 

I wasn't super-excited about going to Alaska or on a cruise so I'm not a lot of help in whether the itinerary was good or not. (The only thing I really wanted to do was see Glacier Bay and I ended up abandoned with my kids who refused to go outside because they didn't like the wind. I had great views from the lounge windows but not the full experience. So I can't even really comment on that.)

[K8T]

We've booked Disney Wonder for next year, Alaska.

 

We have been on a few times before and although my OH isn't 'into' all things Disney, he likes the ship food and service.

 

Could be worth thinking about.

[alaska_planner]

i'm also thinking about this now...

we're planning a big family trip in 2017...

it was actually only supposed to be to disney world, but after just returning from alaska, i really would like to take my kids and grand kids to alaska (as well as disney world)..

 

in thinking about the wee ones, i figured a round trip cruise would be the best bet...

And if disney is sailing out of vancouver that year, i'll probably go with them.

I love both disney and RCCL, but for the kids i still think that disney is best (again, assuming they sail out of vancouver)

[alaska_planner]

alternatively, maybe we'll just do mainland alaska without a cruise at all...

 

decisions decisions

[angiegal]

We are actually looking at a princess cruise through AAA that includes a week on land and a week at Sea. Any experience with Princess and toddlers? LOL!

[DkswartzFamily]

We are avid cruisers, Disney carnival Royal Caribbean and NCL have all been great for our two-year-old. We did Alaska this summer when he was about 18 months. We don't typically utilize the nursery so that wasn't a big deal for us, and at three your kiddo will be able to go in any of those kids programs. I will say that Alaska is one of the few places I sale strictly based on itinerary. Typically we are hug royal caribbean fans (although weve sailed the other lines too) but we chose ncl because we wanted glacier Bay and it was affordable. We got a balcony so that when he napped we could sit out and watch the scenery. The boat was older but we really enjoyed it and the staff was amazing! For us it was all about what we wanted to see on Out days in port. At each stop we were able to find some fun activities for the little guy including some really great Wooden built playgrounds at the end of some of our tours! Honestly our little guy likes to cruise and would be happy just about anywhere (I did pack him plenty of toys) and we really had a great trip on Norwegian sun :-) and glacier Bay was by far the highlight of our trip : ) oh- we did also rent a motorhome and travel by land through the state, which is always my favorite part of visiting Alaska!

[alaska_planner]

We are avid cruisers, Disney carnival Royal Caribbean and NCL have all been great for our two-year-old. We did Alaska this summer when he was about 18 months. We don't typically utilize the nursery so that wasn't a big deal for us, and at three your kiddo will be able to go in any of those kids programs. I will say that Alaska is one of the few places I sale strictly based on itinerary. Typically we are hug royal caribbean fans (although weve sailed the other lines too) but we chose ncl because we wanted glacier Bay and it was affordable. We got a balcony so that when he napped we could sit out and watch the scenery. The boat was older but we really enjoyed it and the staff was amazing! For us it was all about what we wanted to see on Out days in port. At each stop we were able to find some fun activities for the little guy including some really great Wooden built playgrounds at the end of some of our tours! Honestly our little guy likes to cruise and would be happy just about anywhere (I did pack him plenty of toys) and we really had a great trip on Norwegian sun :-) and glacier Bay was by far the highlight of our trip : ) oh- we did also rent a motorhome and travel by land through the state, which is always my favorite part of visiting Alaska!

 

motorhome? i love that idea!!!

what rental company did you use? Were you happy with it?

[DkswartzFamily]

We used great alaskan holidays this time- good company, clean motorhome, came with plenty of dishes, bedding etc. we did buy extra towels but only because toddlers are messy and we traveled for a few weeks by motorhome. My only complaint was there are no windows up top in the motorhome (we have a class a at home with big windows) so you had to watch out the sides or the driver part of the front (that sits lower) not a huge deal typically but i was a few weeks prego and man did that make me sick lol. Dont think it would have bothered me at all not prego : ). I will suggest you pick a motorhome with couch ob one side and dinette on the other- our first time through alaska we didnt and we missed a lot of scenery and wildlife. This time they were right across from each other and we could see great. We saw a TON of wildlife on our trip! Walked on a glacier, saw bears up close at a sanctuary, saw giant veggies in palmer, ate bbq in fairbanks, visited the 'north pole' (the town), denali, wrangel st elias, valdez... Tons pf fun. We caught the 4th of july festivities in valdez- i could seriously move there- love that town! Last trip we did homer and a few other out of the way towns. I highly recommend it

[donaldsc]

We are actually looking at a princess cruise through AAA that includes a week on land and a week at Sea. Any experience with Princess and toddlers? LOL!

 

If you are thinking of doing a CruiseTour, I can see a real problem with the tour part of the CruiseTour. How does your toddler handle long bus trips where they may get bored and there is no place to run around.

 

We have all experienced a long plane trip with a crying and fussy child and lets face it, all toddlers (even the best behaved ones) cry and are fussy at times. That is just normal. They are children.

 

However, the rest of the people on the bus and this includes me don't want to share our space with a crying fussy child.

 

Think about it.

 

DON

[mapleleaves]

motorhome? i love that idea!!!

what rental company did you use? Were you happy with it?

 

I second Great Alaska Holidays ! I've used them twice ... new vehicles every year so they're clean and low miles, well stocked.

They usually run specials in Nov and Dec that make it more affordable.

[Ashland]

You might also consider RCI Radiance...they have an amazing childrens program...We've used it twice as recently as two weeks ago for our grandchild.

[DkswartzFamily]

We are actually looking at a princess cruise through AAA that includes a week on land and a week at Sea. Any experience with Princess and toddlers? LOL!

 

 

I have not done princess before- we tend to steer more towards the 'family' lines and princess is not marketed that way. I would be super nervous about a week on 'land' that The ship has planned with a little kiddo. You never know how long the days they have planned are or how many hours their tours run. For example a tour into Dinali could be 8 to 10 hours (or more) depending on which one they select. By going on your own you can choose what you think your kiddo can handle. that being said we did a shuttle bus in denali (so we could get off and turn around of he got tired/cranky (he lasted an entire day- lucky break!) and he did an awesome job on the train ride from Seward into Anchorage. Although we pay the extra for the first class cars and he had lots of space to move because they were pretty empty. We did a private boat tour in Seward out to see the wildlife in the fjords- instead of a group to her to make sure that he had space to move around in a cabin to play in. I can't imagine him having to be on deck and wear a life jacket for eight hours. If a group tour is a serious consideration I would just try to get a copy of the itinerary and see if it's something you feel like your little one can do without over stressing them (or u!) alaska is totally doable with a little guy- just takes extra planning!

[alaska_planner]

We used great alaskan holidays this time- good company, clean motorhome, came with plenty of dishes, bedding etc. we did buy extra towels but only because toddlers are messy and we traveled for a few weeks by motorhome. My only complaint was there are no windows up top in the motorhome (we have a class a at home with big windows) so you had to watch out the sides or the driver part of the front (that sits lower) not a huge deal typically but i was a few weeks prego and man did that make me sick lol. Dont think it would have bothered me at all not prego : ). I will suggest you pick a motorhome with couch ob one side and dinette on the other- our first time through alaska we didnt and we missed a lot of scenery and wildlife. This time they were right across from each other and we could see great. We saw a TON of wildlife on our trip! Walked on a glacier, saw bears up close at a sanctuary, saw giant veggies in palmer, ate bbq in fairbanks, visited the 'north pole' (the town), denali, wrangel st elias, valdez... Tons pf fun. We caught the 4th of july festivities in valdez- i could seriously move there- love that town! Last trip we did homer and a few other out of the way towns. I highly recommend it

 

 

thanks!!! sounds really nice - i hadn't thought about going by motorhome..

we just did a short DIY trip this past summer (5 days mainland and then a southbound cruise)....i took my 88 year mom and daughter and son in law....but the next trip will probably be just my husband and me....i'd like to spend 2 weeks mainland this time (wish it could be more)..

 

I second Great Alaska Holidays ! I've used them twice ... new vehicles every year so they're clean and low miles, well stocked.

They usually run specials in Nov and Dec that make it more affordable.

 

sounds great!

[alaska_planner]

We are actually looking at a princess cruise through AAA that includes a week on land and a week at Sea. Any experience with Princess and toddlers? LOL!

 

there is no way i would take a toddler on an organized week long tour on land....

I would only do a DIY land tour (do it yourself)..

when you go on your own, you can stop whenever the toddler needs to stop, eat when the toddler needs to eat, etc etc.

 

i would rent a car and take it slowly ...and only do the things that might interest a toddler...

and you need to be flexible...give up on things if your toddler isn't up to it..

 

(i should add, for the sake of honesty, that i don't like organized tours for myself either - and much prefer DIY and doing my own thing)...

 

as for cruise lines, as another posted, royal caribbean has good childrens programs....

we were just on the radiance southbound and really enjoyed it, the ship and the itinerary...

 

alternatively, if you're really dead set on the cruise tour, perhaps you could leave your toddler with someone at home and go on your own? I can't see a toddler enjoying being with a bunch of adults (some of them rather long in the tooth) on a week long land tour, trapped in a bus.

 

or maybe you could wait with the alaska trip until your toddler is in elementary school? the toddlers we saw touring alaska this summer didn't look all that thrilled being there.....there weren't that many places that were childproofed, so the parents didn't look all that happy either as they had to run around trying to keep them from being hurt..

Edited September 20, 2015 by alaska_planner