Multigenerational cruise to Alaska

[PLady]

We’re looking to take our daughter and family on an Alaska cruise and I’m looking for one that will have something for everyone.
My husband and and I have cruised a lot, mainly with Regent, Oceania and Lindblad.
So I’m looking for a higher end, hopefully all inclusive cruise,
that will also have entertainment for our grandsons who will be 12 and 15.
We like smaller ships, but realized that to get a fun time for the grandkids we may have to go to a larger ship.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[mom says]

RCI springs to mind for the activities your Grandsons would enjoy; but I'm not sure the size of the ship and the large passenger number would be a good fit for you. A compromise would be Celebrity. It doesn't have the amusement park things of RCI, but does have an active youth club. Plus, Alaska cruises are so busy they won't have a lot of free time on their hands anyway. It may be a bit of a step down from your usual choice of lines, but I'm afraid those lines would bore the daylights out of kids (or adults who want a more active on board experience).

Edited May 1, 2023 by mom says

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, PLady said:

We’re looking to take our daughter and family on an Alaska cruise and I’m looking for one that will have something for everyone.
My husband and and I have cruised a lot, mainly with Regent, Oceania and Lindblad.
So I’m looking for a higher end, hopefully all inclusive cruise,
that will also have entertainment for our grandsons who will be 12 and 15.
We like smaller ships, but realized that to get a fun time for the grandkids we may have to go to a larger ship.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

We have done Alaska with our extended family (6&10 year old's) on RCI a few times (as recently as this past September) and we all enjoyed the Serenade roundtrip out of Vancouver. Next time I think we'll do the larger RCI ship out of Seattle just for a change.

[Ferry_Watcher]

You might want to book a couple of suites for yourselves and your daughter's family.  That way the adults can relax in a more serene area, while the kids can chill in the supervised kid/teen area.

[Lois R]

20 hours ago, PLady said:

We’re looking to take our daughter and family on an Alaska cruise and I’m looking for one that will have something for everyone.
My husband and and I have cruised a lot, mainly with Regent, Oceania and Lindblad.
So I’m looking for a higher end, hopefully all inclusive cruise,
that will also have entertainment for our grandsons who will be 12 and 15.
We like smaller ships, but realized that to get a fun time for the grandkids we may have to go to a larger ship.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Good morning, you are stating 2 different things that you are looking for.....as you mentioned, you are looking for a higher end line......small ship But then you realize for your grandsons that may not be the most feasible options.....I love the smaller ships too but I sail solo so no concerns about kids for me.

 

Anyway, since you have already sailed Regent and Oceania? If those are 2 lines you both enjoy, why not contact them directly and see what their Alaska itineraries are and maybe they can tell you a % of what families may be on board. Since it is summertime, there are bound to be some families on there.

 

Otherwise, it will have to be the larger ships. If you want all inclusive? Most mass market lines offer all kinds of packages......drinks, food, etc........Royal will be full of families with tons  of kids. 

Celebrity, Princess, etc.....they all have suites if you want a "higher end" cabin. 

 

Good luck with your search.🙂

 

[9tee2Sea]

Look into NCl.  It may not be as fancy as you are used to, but they do have suites, a club for teens (Entourage) and i believe a club for little ones.  I don't have kids, but have talked to many families on board that never see their teens until meal time.  They have said the kids loved the activities NCL had for them.If you go for a bigger NCL ship, they have Laser Tag and Go Carts.  Just another option

[YourWorldWithBill]

On 5/1/2023 at 11:57 AM, PLady said:

We’re looking to take our daughter and family on an Alaska cruise and I’m looking for one that will have something for everyone.
My husband and and I have cruised a lot, mainly with Regent, Oceania and Lindblad.
So I’m looking for a higher end, hopefully all inclusive cruise,
that will also have entertainment for our grandsons who will be 12 and 15.
We like smaller ships, but realized that to get a fun time for the grandkids we may have to go to a larger ship.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

After a couple of cruises on Viking (and a future one scheduled on Oceania) we went to Alaska on Holland America in a Neptune Suite. You'll be comfortable in the Neptune Suite, especially with the attention of the concierge. Holland America has been going to Alaska much longer than any other cruise lines, so they have certain docking and other priorities; Glacier Bay and College Fjord, for example. It's not all-inclusive, but we felt that the other benefits outweigh that. At one port, other smaller ships were not allowed to dock, but we had no problem.

Although I can't promise a lot for the grandkids, there are more kids on Alaska summer cruises than on other cruises, and I bet they'll love the excursions. Walking on a glacier or seeing black bears catching salmon a few feet away in the rain forest is pretty special.

Most of the ships are what I'd call mid-size. Ours held about 1900.