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Best Alaska Cruise Line for an infant?


ceilidh1

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After being talked out of my current plan for doing the 14 day Tahitian Princess by those on the Alaska forum, I am now appealing to you to share your thoughts on the best Alaska cruiseline for infants. The only stipulation is that we need to do a RT out of Vancouver (where we live). I am undecided between NCL, Carnival, and Celebrity. My baby will be 14 months when we plan to go, and it seems that all 3 only offer programs for kids over 2. Any thoughts/suggestions/feedback?

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carnival would be your best bet but also rccl has some nice ships that travel to alaska and they have the fisher price tot program for all ages.

we are taking our kids to alaska in 09 and we are doing carnival or royal caribbean my dd will be 3 and my ds will only be about 14 months by then as well.

i read your alaskan post and they were very rude to you. both lines cater well to kids, have alternate dining options, and babysitting services

will you miss out on some good excursions, yes. but there are train rides that give great views, lumberjack shows, and so much you can do with kids

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RCCL and Celebrity both offer in cabin babysitting in the evenings for your 14 month old, plus I know that RCCL offers the aqua tots program which is basically a parent and child play time each day. So those two lines might be good options for you. You don't list RCCL but RCCL Serenade of the Seas is doing a round trip out of Vancouver in 2008.

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I also agree that the responses to you on the Alaska board were rude, except mine of course. ;)

 

Have you completely eliminated Princess? If you were going to do a 14-day on Tahitian, you could do back to back Vancouver-Whittier and Whittier-Vancouver?

 

The Princess ships that do these itineraries are much larger than the Tahitian and have more dining alternatives and permanent kids clubs (which you won't be able to use unless you are with a child this young, but I believe that is the case with other lines also).

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Princess cruises will set it up so that you have baby food waiting for you in your cabin. It is very handy. I had to bring my own on RCCL and it was a huge pain.Princess provided cereal and jar baby food. When you are shelling out $600 for an infant that doesn't even eat anything on board or use any facilities it seems unfair. We would get a balcony and inflate a small baby pool, but since your going to Alaska, that might not be such a good idea. Actually, you could do it in the shower. :D Whatever makes them happy.

Good Luck!!

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RCCL and Celebrity both offer in cabin babysitting in the evenings for your 14 month old, plus I know that RCCL offers the aqua tots program which is basically a parent and child play time each day. So those two lines might be good options for you. You don't list RCCL but RCCL Serenade of the Seas is doing a round trip out of Vancouver in 2008.

 

We did the 7 day RCCL Serenade of the Seas (SOTS) trip in July of 2007 and with our then 17 month old son, and I think it was probably a good option for a sailing with a young tot. The staff treated him like a king, they made sure he a fruit plate at his place at the table every night before we even sat down, and he LOVED the Aquababies program (parent/child playtime).

 

That being said, I would not cruise again with a 17 month old. THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION. :) When we booked the cruise, my son was probably about 8-9 months old. We thought, "He's such a good, agreeable, sweet child, we won't have a problem." Well, by the time he was 16 months, he was a full blown, willful, walking, vocalizing, picky toddler. My husband and I had to make a lot of sacrifices on the cruise and in port. In the end, we are talking about going back to Alaska on the SOTS without a kid.

 

Perhaps since your munchkin will only be 14 months when you cruise, you won't have hit this stage of toddlerhood yet. :cool:

 

Best of luck!

Kim

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You don't really have to do a r/t out of Vancouver if you want a bit longer time in Alaska. Why not do a 7-day northbound Vancouver to Seward/Whittier, get off the ship for a few days and do a small land tour, then board a different ship for the 7-day southbound? If you mix up ships and cruiselines you could hit different ports on one of the legs. Plus you would get to spend some time on land in Alaska, even if it is just on the Kenai Peninsula.

 

I do agree that the larger Princess/Royal Caribbean/Celebrity ships would be best suited for ALL in your group. Royal and Celebrity do offer in cabin baby sitting for the little one at night......you have to sign up for it at the beginning of the cruise. You don't have to do it every night, but a few nights would give all of you a break, if you think you might need it. One thing Princess does have is the Anytime Dining option on their larger ships. It would give you a bit more flexibility in dining, but they don't offer the in cabin baby sitting.

 

I went and read your thread on the other board.........and I am glad you did decide on a ship other than the TP.....it is a smaller, boutique ship for Princess and does not have all the bells and whistles that the larger ships on Princess do.

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You definitely have more to coordinate than the average family heading on a cruise to Alaska. One thing that is mentioned a lot on the Alaska board is to pick your itinerary first. Now, I know you also need to consider how the ship will work out for your 14 month old. However, since this trip is mostly for your friend, you want her to get the most out of the trip as possible. I would definitely want a round trip or two separate one ways that will give you different ports. I wouldn't be wanting to stop at the same ports twice.

 

I don't know how much you have been scouring the Alaska board, but if you haven't I suggest you and your friend read alot about the different ports and glaciers on the Alaska Board. Do a few searches for the port towns and before you know it, you will feel like an expert. Find out what places you want to see. Then take a look at the cruise lines that will take you were you want.

 

I think it will be a bit difficult on any cruiseline with a 14 month old, but not impossible with the right attitude and pre-planning. From reading your posts it sounds like this trip is about your friend. I think you can make it work on any of the cruiselines. Although most on the Alaska board, including me, do not think it an ideal situation, you do have a unique set of circumstances. It seems like you have what it takes to make it all work out. It is very gracious of you to be willing to go with your friend on this much desired trip of a lifetime for her. As I said before, do your homework on Alaska, make sure you bring NEW things with you to occupy your 14 month old and things will work out. I always bought new travel toys, books and brought special snacks for each vacation. It really helped keep everyone a little saner. We took very long car trips and that can be difficult too. Our friends and relatives were always amazed at how much we road travelled with our children. In my mind it is all about planning. Try to have good plans in place for each sea day and each port day. You can make it work!! Attitude is the biggest factor and you seem to have the right attitude.

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We did Carnival Spirit NB with our then 2 yr. old (her first cruise was at 14 mos.--leaving for 6th cruise on Sat.) We took her into all the ports. The ship docks early, so we were done with our excursions by the time she needed a nap. Or if it was an all-day adventure, I brought a travel pillow (and snacks) and she slept on the shuttle/bus tour.

 

Carnival's kid program does start at age 2, but there is nightly babysitting from 10-3am for all ages for a fee. Also, I just noticed they had the playroom open for the under 2 set from 12-2pm on sea days (at least on the Conquest in Dec.).

 

You can read my review below in my signature.

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My thoughts are that I would rethink this trip entirely. I don't think this itinerary would be much fun as it's true; your baby will not be able to go on most of the excursions.

 

I have traveled all over with several children of my own, and found it quite difficult at times. The change in routine is tough on some. And that makes a lot of stress for you. It's just not any fun. And, I can tell you from personal experience, that if you are traveling with someone who does not have a child, they will never understand. Such as why, if the baby is really fussy, or starts to come down with something, that you have to cancel your excursion or must stay in your cabin for dinner!

 

I would take a land based vacation somewhere else if you want/need to take the baby with you.

 

Good luck.

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We're planning a cruise with our son who will be about the same age when we go, and we're thinking about Alaska. I think once you accept you may not get to do all the things that couples without kids can do on a cruise (i.e., always eat in the dining room; take whatever excursions you want; stay out at the bars/shows until the wee hours), a cruise can be a great idea for a family. Kids under 2 rarely get seasick, and the crew will dote on your child like they're the most important person in the world. And you don't have to cook or clean or pack and unpack, you just get on the ship and there you are. I'd try to go with whatever line had babysitting, or had the most flexible dining options, so you can eat when it works for your child, instead of trying to make your child fit into the dining times. We're thinking about Princess in part because they have the most extensive land-based options in Alaska, but if a round-trip from Vancouver is important to you, you'd have to do back to back sailings, or the sailing on Tahitian Princess (which I think is WAY overpriced despite having a fascinating itinerary, and the buffet on the TP isn't open for dinner).

 

In Skagway, there's a city park near "downtown" that has a great play area for your little one. That might be a fun way to spend some time--there are picnic tables, so you could pick up some food in town (there's a good ice cream shop there) and have lunch there. In Juneau, I've heard that the shuttle to Mendenhall is a good choice, because there's lots of room for little ones to run around there. The totem pole park in Ketchikan would also be a good choice for a little one, again lots of room to roam.

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Thanks for all of the replies. While I agree that the Tahitian Princess is probably not the best ship, there was a specific reason that we chose this one - the itinerary. However, after further research and taking on board all of the comments and suggestions from both this post and the one on the Alaskan forum, we are now reconsidering the ship and looking at NCL, Carnival, and RCCL.

 

I have to disagree with posters who recommend a land tour as being easier and more relaxing with a young baby. To me, a land tour would be far more stressful. We do not have a car, as we do not need one, so would need to rent a car and spend time driving to wherever we vacationed - a stress that neither myself nor my husband enjoy. Other than that, we would need to fly - again, a total stress with all the rules of security and the delays. We actually just returned from Boston (we live in Vancouver) and, although the baby was an angel on all flights, mom and dad were incredibly frazzled due to long delays and much waiting around at airports - again, not my idea of a relaxing vacation! The cruise seemed to be the perfect option, as we live a 5 minute walk away from the port in Vancouver (hence the need for a RT) so all we would need to do is board...Once on board, we absolutely know and expect that we wouldn't be doing all the things we would do if we did not have a child with us, but that is no different to everyday life anyways - things change when you have a baby. However, with three adults going on the trip, we figured this would be manageable as we could switch off staying with the baby and no one would ever have to eat alone. In fact, we were not even planning on taking the baby into the dining room and would make use of the casual dining, such as buffet and room service. As for missing excursions, once again that is what we were expecting anyways but as long as at least two of us can do some of the things I don't see that it is an issue we would need to cancel our trip over. This is a very important trip for my friend (who is terminally ill) and we just want to make it the best possible experience that she could have - if this means going on a different ship with a different itinerary, so be it.

 

I really appreciate the comments and advice from people who have actually done this trip with a child under two, as it does seem perfectly do-able providing you know what to expect and are realistic!

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Did not know your friend was terminally ill. This does make a difference. Your expectations are very reasonable, and I think you would probably have fun and do well. A lot of the enjoyment of cruising has to do with attitude. People who just lose it over small things and let it ruin their trip never have a good time. Sounds as if you have things in perspective.

 

Have a great trip. My only advice would be for you to make sure you purchase trip insurance, just in case.

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When I think about the excursions that we did on our Alaska trip (before my DS was born), only one of them would not have been doable with a toddler. We could have brought him along on the rainforest tour in Ketchikan, the whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour in Juneau and the White Pass railway tour in Skagway. I wouldn't have taken him on the dogsledding trip that we did. Don't necessarily discount the ability to go on excursions. I would say, though, that some of these involved bus rides to get to the site, and the driver narrated most of the time. If your toddler is talkative, you might take that into consideration.

 

We took my 2 year old son on the Tahitian Princess to Tahiti with us. We did 2 excursions with him and then we each did one on our own. It worked out perfectly, as DH did one that I did not want to do, and I did one that he was not interested in.

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I'm sorry to hear about your friend's illness. I think if she really wants to do the Tahitian itinerary (and it really is a fantastic itinerary!), you could probably make that ship work for you. Perhaps you and your spouse could take turns, one of you eating in the dining room and one of you eating with your little one? I don't think it'd be the ideal ship for a child because of the buffet being closed at night, but as ShelbysMom shows, the Tahitian can be done with little ones. I wouldn't necessarily avoid the dining room entirely with the little one--try it the first night when people are more casual anyway, and if it's a disaster, then you can just have room service or pizza instead. We found the crew on the Tahitian last year to be really wonderful, maybe the best in the Princess fleet, and I'm sure they'll do their best to help take care of all of you.

 

Another option is that since I assume you'll be traveling in 2 cabins, perhaps think about bringing along a someone who can babysit. We've considered taking perhaps DH's sister or my cousin, so we'd have someone to watch our son a few of the evenings, since we'd have no qualms about leaving him with either of them. I don't know if you have someone in your life who would be a good fit for that or if financially/logistically that would work, but just something to think about.

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Thanks for the encouragement, calikak. We have been pondering all of the other cruise lines and, while NCL seems ideal for the flexibility/casual aspect and RCCL is ideal for the family friendly approach, neither one has a great itinerary. We would be cutting down to 7 nights, and only make two ports. While we do want to be on a ship that works for us, we also want to actually see Alaska (even if it means wandering around the town with the baby in a stroller). We had considered taking along another person as we do have two cabins. The problem is, the baby (14 months at the time) is classed as a full paying passenger and is the second person in one of the cabins (even though she will really be in our cabin in a crib). To take another person, we would need to book a third cabin at the single person rate (around $5000) and, as we are already being charged almost $4000 for the baby, we really can't afford another cabin! I'm almost of the mind to just keep our original plans and just do lots of planning! Keep the suggestions coming, please!

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Thanks for the encouragement, calikak. We have been pondering all of the other cruise lines and, while NCL seems ideal for the flexibility/casual aspect and RCCL is ideal for the family friendly approach, neither one has a great itinerary. We would be cutting down to 7 nights, and only make two ports. While we do want to be on a ship that works for us, we also want to actually see Alaska (even if it means wandering around the town with the baby in a stroller). We had considered taking along another person as we do have two cabins. The problem is, the baby (14 months at the time) is classed as a full paying passenger and is the second person in one of the cabins (even though she will really be in our cabin in a crib). To take another person, we would need to book a third cabin at the single person rate (around $5000) and, as we are already being charged almost $4000 for the baby, we really can't afford another cabin! I'm almost of the mind to just keep our original plans and just do lots of planning! Keep the suggestions coming, please!

 

Remember that you can book the baby as the third person in your cabin, and then the rate will be less (more like $1000 on that sailing I believe). But there are limited numbers of three-person cabins, and on that ship they're only available for inside, balcony, minisuite, and suites (so, no outside/porthole cabins).

 

It really is a very very tempting itinerary...if that's the thing that's most important to you, check out some of the high-end cruise lines like Crystal and Silversea. I can't remember which ones, but some of them are now catering to kids because their grandparent-aged clientel wants to bring their grandchildren along. The high-end lines tend to have smaller ships that go to more interesting ports--big ships need a big pier to dock at and/or the infrastructure to allow them to tender large numbers of passengers ashore, so they can only go to ports that can handle a big ship. Smaller ships can go to smaller places without overwhelming them (hence Princess using its smallest ship for its more interesting itinerary). Just be careful to ask about each cruise line's minimum age--some have a minimum age of like 5 or 6 years old, whereas most mainstream cruise lines are more like 6 months or a year at most.

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I am so sorry to hear that people were so negative to you (I didn't read the thread but I assume it is just because of the baby?) Cruising is IDEAL for traveling with little ones - you don't have to lug stuff around from hotel to hotel yet get to see lots of places. There's lots of neat new things for the little ones to experience on a ship, and yes, the crew does tend to dote on them quite a lot. Worst case, if you experience a meltdown, you can head to your cabin and order room service, and still take in the view from the balcony or go for a long, distracting walk on deck.

 

A few thoughts on kids activities for toddlers based on my limited experience (2 cruises) that you can sort into the pros and cons lists accordingly. :D

 

We did Alaska with a younger baby (he was 6 months at the time) on RCCL and just got off of NCL (E. Caribbean itinerary.) Despite not being eligible for kids programs per se, each had something to offer.

 

NCL is probably the better option IMO; while RCCL has AquaTots, NCL had an "under two zoo" pretty much all day, every day (9 to 5) which was essentially an unused boardroom filled with toys. There was no attendant (so a parent had to be there the whole time) but every time we went there was no one else there so it was awesome for our son to just have at 'er with all the toys. :) It was well away from the actual kids club, so the little guy didn't see other kids/toys/etc. and get mad that he wasn't allowed to play there which was good! NCL also only charges port fees and taxes under the age of two which is a bonus.

 

NCL also does "freestyle" which if you want to try a dining room, is easier to work around and if the little one has a screaming fit one night, the odds of sitting with the same people again are next to nothing. :p We found the buffet food on our ship to be great - lots of variety - but food is so subjective that YMMV. ;) Each ship is going to be different of course, but I would recommend NCL and definitely travel with them again.

 

I know it's not in consideration for you but since I'm here, in comparison, RCCL's Aquatots was the same time each morning (9:30), again in an unused boardroom, but only for 45 minutes. With time zone changes (yes, on the Alaska itinerary, really!) it sucked because nap time got royally messed up if we wanted to hit up the play time. There was an attendant but a parent still had to be there so no real advantage except they wiped off the toys with wipes instead of us.;)

 

And finally, regarding Alaska excursions... there are definitely some family friendly things to do and even if you don't go on a proper tour you will still see some amazing things there!

 

If you want to be really flexible and play it by ear, you can book local tours that are (seemingly) more reliable than, say, booking a non-ship sponsored tour in an impoverished country. Mendenhall glacier tours or the sky tram are easy to set up once in Juneau, and you can get tickets for the White Pass railway and/or bus tour in Skagway, or at least you could when we were there, just two examples. We didn't see anything tour-wise that caught our fancy in Ketchikan, but walked around town towards Creek Street, did a walkthrough of Dolly's House (former brothel) and watched an amazing amount of salmon as well as some seals in the creek. It was a great day!

 

Good luck finding a ship/itinerary for your trip! I hope my input was useful somehow.

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Thanks for the encouragement, calikak. We have been pondering all of the other cruise lines and, while NCL seems ideal for the flexibility/casual aspect and RCCL is ideal for the family friendly approach, neither one has a great itinerary. We would be cutting down to 7 nights, and only make two ports. While we do want to be on a ship that works for us, we also want to actually see Alaska (even if it means wandering around the town with the baby in a stroller). We had considered taking along another person as we do have two cabins. The problem is, the baby (14 months at the time) is classed as a full paying passenger and is the second person in one of the cabins (even though she will really be in our cabin in a crib). To take another person, we would need to book a third cabin at the single person rate (around $5000) and, as we are already being charged almost $4000 for the baby, we really can't afford another cabin! I'm almost of the mind to just keep our original plans and just do lots of planning! Keep the suggestions coming, please!

 

Did you see this article?

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=628

 

Also, I agree you should check on the third person price in a cabin. Those are often very reasonable. Maybe you can make it work afterall!!! Keep us posted on how things turn out. We wish you a great trip!!!

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I did check out the "cruising with babies" article - thanks! I spoke with Princess yesterday about having the baby as a third person. The agent (like my TA) told me that it was actually cheaper to book 2 cabins for 2 guests (the baby being classed as one) than to book the baby as a third person and then book a single cabin. I also got the agents thoughts on sailing with the baby. She was actually very honest and told me that the ship didn't have much in the way of kid's activities (though she questioned how much time a 1 year old would realistically spend at kid's club anyways) and advised me that some of the excursions would not be suitable - both things that I was aware of. She did not anticipate it being a problem for other passengers, providing I "go for a walk" if the baby became disruptive (which I would do anywhere, not just on a cruise!). She also pointed out that even if I didn't want to eat in the dining room, there was 24 hour room service, the buffet, and the pizza cafe, which were all far more casual options! After much research, we have decided that the 7 day RT itineraries are just too restricted, and doing a B2B would mean having to get off, arrange somewhere to stay, get back on, etc...I think it's way easier just to stick with what we have - don't even need a taxi to the port in Vancouver, can't be more convenient than that! Thanks everyone for all of the input!

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I did check out the "cruising with babies" article - thanks! I spoke with Princess yesterday about having the baby as a third person. The agent (like my TA) told me that it was actually cheaper to book 2 cabins for 2 guests (the baby being classed as one) than to book the baby as a third person and then book a single cabin. I also got the agents thoughts on sailing with the baby. She was actually very honest and told me that the ship didn't have much in the way of kid's activities (though she questioned how much time a 1 year old would realistically spend at kid's club anyways) and advised me that some of the excursions would not be suitable - both things that I was aware of. She did not anticipate it being a problem for other passengers, providing I "go for a walk" if the baby became disruptive (which I would do anywhere, not just on a cruise!). She also pointed out that even if I didn't want to eat in the dining room, there was 24 hour room service, the buffet, and the pizza cafe, which were all far more casual options! After much research, we have decided that the 7 day RT itineraries are just too restricted, and doing a B2B would mean having to get off, arrange somewhere to stay, get back on, etc...I think it's way easier just to stick with what we have - don't even need a taxi to the port in Vancouver, can't be more convenient than that! Thanks everyone for all of the input!

 

I took a look at the Tahitian Itinerary and can understand why you want to go with that trip. It goes to a lot of ports and you will see a lot of Alaska. As far as excursions, I am sure you will be able to figure out some that will work for all of you. Hopefully your friend will not mind doing excursions by herself if they will not work for your baby. She should not miss out on some of the great excursions Alaska has to offer.

 

As you continue to plan, I am sure you will have everything in place to make this a great trip for all of you.

 

Please post after your trip to let us know how it went.

 

Have a great trip!!!

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Just a heads-up, the Tahitian, Royal and Pacific Princess's buffets are NOT open 24-hours. All other Princess ships have 24-hour buffets, but these three ships do not. Sometiems the reps at Princess don't know that and don't give people the right info, so I wanted to pass that along. Room service is 24 hours, however, and the pizza place is available for casual evening dining--they basically just turn some of the tables in the buffet into a sit-down pizza place. I think there a couple of pasta options there as well.

 

When are you planning to go? Please do come back and tell us about your experiences! I have been tempted to book us on the Tahitian for a Vancouver to Honolulu sailing because we have a wedding to go to on Oahu this fall, but am (1) waiting for pricing to come down, and (2) concerned about dining with the little guy.

 

I hope you and your friend have a fantastic time on your cruise!

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  • 3 weeks later...
After being talked out of my current plan for doing the 14 day Tahitian Princess by those on the Alaska forum, I am now appealing to you to share your thoughts on the best Alaska cruiseline for infants. The only stipulation is that we need to do a RT out of Vancouver (where we live). I am undecided between NCL, Carnival, and Celebrity. My baby will be 14 months when we plan to go, and it seems that all 3 only offer programs for kids over 2. Any thoughts/suggestions/feedback?

 

I read you are going ahead with the Tahitian. I just wanted to let you know that I read this trip had come down in price recently. You might want to check if it has gone down since you booked. You can get an adjustment before final payment.

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