Alaska Cruising...Question

[cruzin Phillis]

Looking at doing a cruisetour soon and wanted to know what is a good age for kids? I understand it depends on the amount of days but is there any flexibility in the schedules for the tour part. I am looking at doing the land first and ending with the cruise.

 

Is really intensive?

Are you able to have some flexibility with the schedules?

[TheEmerson]

I would not say an exact age. The key factor for me is this. After two to three hours in the mall, is the child being carried around? Can the child sit in a car or an airplane for three hours without having to climb out of the chair, and start to bounce about? Large portions of the cruise tour is to be in a tour bus or a train where sitting is common. Then there are the areas of time where you are on the move for an hour or two.

 

Flexibility of the schedules. No. The train leaves when the train leaves, the bus leaves when the bus leaves. What you do between these times is the flexibility you have.

[Dave in NJ]

No comment on the kids but I'd concur on doing the land portion first, it can be a bit compressed and tiring for some so doing the cruise portion second allows a time to "unwind" a bit.

[Spunky946]

We did a 7 day Alaskan cruise in 2014 and our kids were 10 and 6. We did not do the land part, which I'd love to do someday.

[ksqueak]

When we did Alaska, we did like you the land and then the cruise portion. there was a young girl, probably 8-10 years old on our tour. She seemed to handle it just fine.

[creel5857]

We have been on 2 trips to Alaska including land tours and cruises and I can say it definitely depends on their ages and how well they tolerate traveling. If they still need a nap at a certain time or wake up cranky or have to get out and run around a lot then you might find a long land tour will be stressful for you and them (not to mention the other passengers). Tours are not flexible and can be quite tiring for even adults who are used to traveling. With some of the land tours you have to get up early and have luggage outside door early and can only take a few items with you during the day. And although we love our kids and grandkids I think we all understand that other adults who have paid a lot for their trips don't care for young kids who are ill and crying. Now that being said, if you children are old enough to handle themselves well one someone else's structured schedule then they may do quite well.

[cruisin0218]

I would recommend looking at renting a car(and purchasing a cheap cooler for snacks, drinks & sandwich fixings) or motorhome. It's a great way to tour Alaska & easily done on your own in Alaska using a book called "Milepost". You then have lots of flexibility & can stop as desired for stretch breaks and scenery viewing as well as wildlife sightings.

[Keith1010]

I too would do the land package first.

 

Keith

[agabbymama]

I have been on many land tours, and I will say the youngest I've seen is 17 (graduation gift).

 

For our Alaska cruisetour, luggage was out by 6:00am and we usually departed the hotel 7:30-8:00. We usually stopped for something approximately every 2 hours. Not much in the way of lunch breaks, it was grab as you go. Then we usually arrived at our next overnight between 5:30-6:00 ready to eat. Long arduous hours on the coach or train. Not usually conducive to small children.

 

I would second the recommendation by another poster to rent a van or RV if your children are young, you and they will enjoy the trip much more with total flexibility.