2babybears Posted January 18, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Hi, I am going on my first cruise to Alaska on NCL Pearl mid May. We have 2 kids age 5 and 15mo (at time of cruise). Fortunately, I will be traveling with extended family (grandparents and my awesome sister and bro in law who love my kids). We have booked 2 mini-suites....I know it may be a little tight but it should be fine - I hope. I am wondering what excursions we could do that would be suitable for my youngest (daughter). My son (5) is up for almost anything and usually has fun. I know he would love the whale watching and the dog sled excursions.....but I am betting that it wouldn't be a great idea for my daughter. Any thoughts? Also, should I bring a carseat for my DH? I am assuming I should bring a stroller - should I bring her big stroller or just a little one? Any tips, advice, suggestions on any of this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!! Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted January 18, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Bring and umbrella stroller. Always a good idea. As for excursions- you may find that you will have fun just letting the 15 month old run around when off the ship. I personally enjoyed exploring the towns on foot. In fact, the only excursion I have done was the Whitepass train ride in Skagway. Otherwise we did the skyride in Juneau and shopped in Ketchikan. Excursions with a 15 month old aren't going to be that great. I think they will get restless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2babybears Posted January 19, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Hi, Just wondering how the train ride was? I am considering it with my family and am wondering if it is worth it? Is there room to move about? How long was the trip? Thanks, Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMommyof2 Posted January 20, 2008 #4 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Hi, I am going on my first cruise to Alaska on NCL Pearl mid May. We have 2 kids age 5 and 15mo (at time of cruise). Fortunately, I will be traveling with extended family (grandparents and my awesome sister and bro in law who love my kids). We have booked 2 mini-suites....I know it may be a little tight but it should be fine - I hope. I am wondering what excursions we could do that would be suitable for my youngest (daughter). My son (5) is up for almost anything and usually has fun. I know he would love the whale watching and the dog sled excursions.....but I am betting that it wouldn't be a great idea for my daughter. Any thoughts? Also, should I bring a carseat for my DH? I am assuming I should bring a stroller - should I bring her big stroller or just a little one? Any tips, advice, suggestions on any of this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!! Kim Bring an umbrella stoller for sure. We took our DS on a whale watching excursion in Seward. He was 14 months at the time. He love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onmiown3 Posted January 21, 2008 #5 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi, Just wondering how the train ride was? I am considering it with my family and am wondering if it is worth it? Is there room to move about? How long was the trip? Thanks, Kim Hi Kim, If memory serves, it was about 90-120 minutes. The train is VERY narrow. The aisle was about the width of an airplane aisle. No room to move about. I think it would be a great trip for any train or nature enthusiast. We certainly enjoyed it, but we were child-free (more below). In the end, we did not take our 17 month old tot on this excursion. My sister and her spouse baby-sat him on the ship in the morning while we rode the train. Then, they did an afternoon excursion while we walked around Skagway with the tot in a stroller. The town is cute, and chock full of stores. There was one in particular catering to kids souvenirs. Unfortunately the name escapes me. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeleBrat Posted January 21, 2008 #6 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We went to Alaska when the kids were 20 months and 4 years old. Had a GREAT time! We also took an NCL ship--the NCL Star, primarily due to the freestyle dining, so we wouldn't have to pack extra (fancy!) clothes for dinner. We did alot of fun things: JUNEAU--took the Skyway up to top of "mountain". Lots of pretty flowers and paths up there. KETCHIKAN--just wandered around the town. It's a very-neat logging town. SKAGWAY--rented a car and drove to about an hour inland. There is a thread on the Alaska boards written by a guy who lives up there, who provides a detailed mile-by-mile account of what is on the one road inland. Very cool! We stopped and saw things like: blackberry bushes, a desert (really!), a crystal lake, a prospectors graveyard, and SNOW!!!!! (We are from Florida, so it was very exciting to finally let the kids see real snow!) We took a picnic lunch and ate at an abandoned mining camp. This drive was definitely the highlight of our trip because most of the time we were the only ones in the area. At one point, we stopped the car and my DH aid down on the road. For about a mile in each direction there was nothing--no cars, no people, zilch! And yes--we brought along car seats specifically for this car trip. VICTORIA, CANADA--took a horse-drawn carriage ride. Let me know if you want more info about the car trip. I will see if I can find the link with the route--and maybe upload a few pics. CeleBrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2babybears Posted January 21, 2008 Author #7 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Wow! Thanks so much for all the info. This really helps. Yes, I would love more info on the car trip. It sounds like a great adventure. Do you know if I van/vehicle big enough for 8? We'll have 6 adults and 2 kids. Thanks again for the info!! How was your 20 mo old on the trip? Was there enough on the cruise to entertain him/her? My daughter (will be 15 mo) really likes space to just roam around and hang out. She is still mostly crawling now and we tend to hang at home quite a bit b/c of the crawling, eating everything she finds on the ground and the fact that it is winter here in Seattle. I know my son (5) will be fine - he'll be great! He will pretty much entertain himself. I am just worried about my little girl. Thanks again! Kim PS was it tight storing the car seats in the room? and did you bring a guard rail for the bed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratatouille Posted March 29, 2008 #8 Share Posted March 29, 2008 SKAGWAY--rented a car and drove to about an hour inland. There is a thread on the Alaska boards written by a guy who lives up there, who provides a detailed mile-by-mile account of what is on the one road inland. Very cool! We stopped and saw things like: blackberry bushes, a desert (really!), a crystal lake, a prospectors graveyard, and SNOW!!!!! (We are from Florida, so it was very exciting to finally let the kids see real snow!) We took a picnic lunch and ate at an abandoned mining camp. This drive was definitely the highlight of our trip because most of the time we were the only ones in the area. At one point, we stopped the car and my DH aid down on the road. For about a mile in each direction there was nothing--no cars, no people, zilch! And yes--we brought along car seats specifically for this car trip. Let me know if you want more info about the car trip. I will see if I can find the link with the route--and maybe upload a few pics. CeleBrat I would also like to know more about this drive, it sounds like a fun day. We also live in a warm climate and our daughter would love to see snow, although she understands we're going in August and she might only see it from a distance. I don't want her to get her heart set on actually touching snow!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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