choirfarm Posted August 24, 2007 #1 Share Posted August 24, 2007 I am a homeschooling mom of children in 7th, 5th and K. We just returned from a 2 week camping trip in Colorado and everyone agreed they wanted to make our next big trip to Alaska in August or September of 2008. I have a Frommer's Alaska Cruise book from 2001 that I have been reading. We don't really like or need casinos or Las Vegas style entertainment. I enjoy my children and though I might use the children's services for a night out or if there was some adventure they REALLY wanted to do, I don't really want my children in childcare 24/7. They are mature, delightful and well-behaved (for the most part). We love going to history sites and listening to park rangers give talks and such or exploring Civil War battlefields and such. We don't have cable but watch many documentaries from Netflix. As I was reading about the cruiselines in the book the World Explorer cruises looked like something we would like...more educational and less glitz. However, I can't get their website to come up. Have they gone out of business?? What cruiseline would you recommend for us or should we just fly to Anchorage and drive around Alaska on our own? Also, how do cabins work for 5 people? Is there such a thing?? I'm not sure I would want the three of them in a separate cabin by themselves. We have a travel trailer we travel in so I haven't had to do that with hotels on our travels since we don't need one. Thanks for your help. Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted August 24, 2007 #2 Share Posted August 24, 2007 My favorite Alaska guide book is Frommer's Alaska by Charles Wohlforth - but it's not the cruise version. I haven't heard of World Explorer cruises, which doesn't mean anything, but it's possible they no longer exist. It sounds like you would enjoy the small-ship cruiselines that are more educational and adventure-oriented. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive, and some are not very kid-friendly. Check out http://www.cruisewest.com for starters. All of the mass market cruiselines will have casinos and glitzy entertainment, but you're under no obligation to take advantage of that. With a family of 5, you'll need either 2 cabins or a family suite. My husband and I loved our northbound cruise on the Coral Princess in June, followed by 8 days of driving around interior Alaska with a rental car. Since you have a travel trailer at home, you might prefer to rent an RV for the land portion of your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyz711 Posted August 24, 2007 #3 Share Posted August 24, 2007 unless you go with cruise west or such, all the cruise lines have casinos and nightly entertainment. many of the kids actually enjoy the fun/games/programs the kid's programs offer. they get to meet the captain, tour the ship..things most of the tourists don't get to see. many of the cruise ships have dress codes, especially for their dinner. some get very formal....a couple have a more relax dining times. you need to research the cruise lines...you can google them. the ports have website, juneau, sitka, skagway, ketchikan (and more of them) these are ports along the lower end toward canada. (the inside passage). many times you will have up to and, maybe, more then 6,000 passenagers from cruise ships in port at the same time. mainland alaska is not port cities, you need to rent a car or do a land tour for those areas (denali national park for 1) the best advice is to read a few of the reviews, both on this board and in the review section and see if any of it is what you are looking for. google denali national park for more information on that. skagway has great gold rush history http://www.skagway.com/ ketchikan was big in the fishing industry and past totem poles/native american history http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/ junean has great history, but is well know for sea life viewing..as in humpback whales. http://www.traveljuneau.com/ but with a cruise, you would have to put up with the ship...casinos, bars, mass dinner seating (except for NCL). all have at least a couple of days at sea, stuck on the ship. cruise west is a smaller ship, no casino..different ports, but very expensive. you can google cruise west to learn more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharp_cruiser Posted August 24, 2007 #4 Share Posted August 24, 2007 toyz: you are always so quick to chime in with such useful information in so many threads! We newbies truly appreciate all the time and effort you put into helping others to gain a good Alaskan experience! It is also so nice of you not to ever "get tired" of the same sort of questions over and over! We all need to learn the basics at the beginning right! thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted August 24, 2007 #5 Share Posted August 24, 2007 I would simply encourage you to pick up and browse through the mass market cruise line brochures to see which particular line might be best suited you and your family. You will gets lots of info in the brochures and will soon be able to decide which is the one for you. As for casinos? Well, we cruise a lot and have yet to venture into one. It is of no interest to us. It is simply another option. Your kids wont be allowed admission anyway and its a purely personal choice for adults. Its like spas. They are there. Its entirely your choice whether you use one or not. Shops too. If you dont want to shop then dont. Shows? Dont want to go? dont. Lectures? Not interested in these? Dont go. Its as simple as that. The availability of these or for that matter any other onboard facilties should not put you off cruising. The facilities which you should concentrate on are things like dining options, kids clubs, laundry, because with 5 of you individual charged laundry items will hit hard, kids soda cards, sports and entertainment facilities etc. And of course with a family to pay for, the cost of your air will be important. Which lines and sailings leave from or return into ports you can fly to more economically than other? Onboard cruising experiences are very different. It depends entirely on the itinerary and the time of year. Some itineraries appeal to kids and families and consequently there will be more of them onboard, some are of more interest to mainly adults. We did a north and southbound HAL cruise in June. Out of and back into Vancouver. We loved it. Its educational for kids too. There was an onboard naturalist/geologist talking about birds, animals, whales. glaciers etc. And in Glacier Bay the state rangers come onboard and narrate. We are frequent cruisers but this is the first time we have so many sets of binoculrs on a ship, and the sheer quantity and obvious quality of the expensive cameras (and lens!) was jaw dropping. Tripods? They were everywhere too. The people who cruise Alaska are for the most part there for the scenic beauty and the wildlife. And at several of our ports it was easy to reach other glaciers such as Mendenhall and Exit Glaciers. You can walk (for free) on ranger led walking tours. And as others have pointed out there is history too. Ketchikan you easily visit Totem Bight and Saxman Native village by public bus for a couple of $s. Skagway has the history too. the gold rush. These men battled for survival in the most harrowing winter weather in their search for gold. And ifyou can, include GLACIER BAY in your itinerary. It is a truly awe inspiring day. I think your kids would be educated and entertained for the duration. The HAL clubs looked great. they had very good facilities and sports for a variety of ages. You dont need to put them in clubs 24/7 but for some of the time they can have fun with new friends. Watch for offers. This year there were some excellent almost last minute deals on Alasaka cruises. Keep any on next years prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted August 24, 2007 #6 Share Posted August 24, 2007 Sorry. Last sentence should read: Keep AN EYE ON next years prices.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyz711 Posted August 24, 2007 #7 Share Posted August 24, 2007 you are welcome, it keeps me busy. i love talking travel!!! to the OP, had some friends that just did the AL-CAN highway this year. had a great time in their RV. in this case they were pulling a travel trailer, but were with friends in thier class A. you get to take the time to see things the way you want with less time spent waiting in line. if you like 1 area, you can change your plans to stay longer. the cruise ships are very limited on time in port...many with only a 5 or 6 hours in port to see/do everything you want. i don't know of any ship that has room for 5, unless you spend the big $$ for a multi-room suite. but they do have connecting rooms, just like hotels. either way would be a great trip for your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renanzel Posted August 24, 2007 #8 Share Posted August 24, 2007 Hello Christine. Have you looked into traveling by trailer or camper and using the Alaskan Ferry system? I don't know much about it except that it sounded interesting and I saw several ads for rental RVs in the tourist booklet we got. As far as cruises, we are going to Alaska on NCL next month with 11 and 13 year old boys. We chose the Pearl because we thought the bowling and rock climbing wall would be fun for them, and the freestyle dining less stressful since we wouldn't have to worry about rushing back to eat at a scheduled time. And with a 13 year old, eating is very important so there is no way we are going to miss a meal. I didn't come across any regular cabins for 5, but there are plenty of adjoining cabins on the Pearl in various categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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