Alaska cruisetour with kids?

[JSSpence]

Apologies for all of my recent posts, I am knee-deep in planning.  We are planning a SB cruise for 2021, and our son will be nearly 10 at the time. We definitely want to do a land-portion prior to the cruise. Are there many kids on the cruise tour options? None of the itineraries I've seen so far are "perfect" so I'm starting to think about the DIY approach for the land. But I also don't want to keep my kid cooped up with just us, if there are typically other kids on the cruise tours that he could hang out with. (Note: I'm going to crosspost this on other boards for the cruise lines and Alaska). Thanks!!!

[kitkat343]

It was really easy to DIY this land tour for us.  You actually can stay in the same hotel as the cruise tour for your ship (just post on the Alaska boards and they will tell you which hotels your cruise line uses.)  We wound up totally accidentally staying in the HAL cruise tour hotel, and it was very nice (everything is overpriced in Alaska due to the short tourist season and costs of importing labor so as long as you don't expect luxury for a hotel priced at luxurious prices in the continental US you'll be fine there).  

 

I don't know if there were many children on the cruise tours; hopefully others can help with that.

Edited October 31, 2019 by kitkat343

[RSLeesburg]

We did 10 day Alaska cruise/land tour with RCI. They had a 3 day land tour that specifically targeted towards families (9B).  We filled up one bus, and there were plenty of kids all different ages on the tour.  I posted a review with lots of pic here - see link in my signature.

 

[bamelin]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 5:02 PM, JSSpence said:

Apologies for all of my recent posts, I am knee-deep in planning.  We are planning a SB cruise for 2021, and our son will be nearly 10 at the time. We definitely want to do a land-portion prior to the cruise. Are there many kids on the cruise tour options? None of the itineraries I've seen so far are "perfect" so I'm starting to think about the DIY approach for the land. But I also don't want to keep my kid cooped up with just us, if there are typically other kids on the cruise tours that he could hang out with. (Note: I'm going to crosspost this on other boards for the cruise lines and Alaska). Thanks!!!

 

So for the land portion of the cruise I always recommend Double Denali.  In order to be able to do the 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Adventure Tour which is a "deep dive" into Denali Park you must have at least 2 nights accommodation in Denali Park.  The half day tour (Natural History Tour) doesn't go as deep into the park and I feel you miss the whole reason for being in Denali Park.  If you only have 1 night in Denali Park, the only option is the half day Natural History Tour.

 

A typical itinerary will have coach or train from Seward (or Whittier) to Denali Park, 2 nights in Denali, coach or train from Denali back to Anchorage or up to Fairbanks with one or two more nights in either city before you fly home.  Anchorage is totally walkable and a great way to end the trip.  Fairbanks has some awesome tours like the Steamboat Whistler tour or the All you Can Eat Salmon Bake with show afterwards.  Can't really go wrong with either city although I'd say Anchorage is preferable if you want to be able to just walk around.  If you prefer paid/guided tours, then Fairbanks might be better.

 

Another option is to look for a land portion with Alyeska Resort (halfway between Seward and Anchorage up the side of a mountain) included -- this hotel is very luxurious with lots for kids to do --- typically though this hotel is not included with 4 night double Denali itineraries unless you are doing a longer land tour.

 

Talkeetna, while the resorts are nice, I could have skipped that stop.  The town was kitschy with cute little stores and restaurants, but overall I would aim to spend the bulk of my time in Denali Park.  Also some cruise lines (like Princess) the resort in Talkeetna isn't really close to the town at all.

 

As others have mentioned, be aware that the hotels are LODGES mostly -- they will NOT be at the same quality as what you would get in a 4 star continental US hotel like Hilton/Sheraton/Marriot.  The lodges the cruise lines run are for the most part clean, comfy, usually have really nice public areas (bars/restaurants), and generally some epic public outdoor sitting spaces but they are not at the same level as a Marriot/Hilton in terms of the rooms themselves. Also food will be VERY expensive.  Like the cheapest thing being a burger/fries that costs $20 and other proper options running $30 - $50 a plate.  The food is GOOD but $$$$$.   Buffet breakfast will be $17 - $20 and your standard American breakfast options (with added bonus of Reindeer Sausage which is DELICIOUS).

 

It's all about the outdoors up there.

Edited November 13, 2019 by bamelin