Multigen Alaska cruise (and how to convince MIL re safety, enviro concerns?)

[jgs2003]

Hello cruisers,

 

The search function is still down, so I haven't had a chance to search the boards for info related to my questions, so I apologize if there has been any recent posting on either of these questions.

 

My husband and I have proposed an Alaskan cruise in August to my in-laws as a family vacation option. We're interested in doing a 7 day, one-way cruise so that DH and I can continue on with a land tour of AK after the cruise, and my in-laws can fly home.

 

We need to find a cruise that can meet the following requirements:

-We'll be traveling with our baby, who will be 1 at that time, so ideally we'd like to find a cruise that is really baby-friendly, with in-cabin babysitting and possibly crib rental.

-My father-in-law has serious back problems, so I'd like to find a cruise that will allow him to sit and relax in comfort while DH and I can do more active things.

 

BUT we first have to convince my mother in law, who has cruised in the past but now feels that it is dangerous (she is thinking specifically of the Greek cruise ship that sank recently and said something else to us about a Russian ship, but I have no idea what she meant by that). I think she may also have concerns about environmental friendliness, but I really think that she is mostly concerned about safety.

 

DH and I have cruised once before, with Princess in the Caribbean, and had no concerns whatsoever, and I don't believe that she had any safety concerns when she took cruises with her husband a few years back to Bermuda, but she has since declared that she won't cruise again. We feel like this would be a terrific vacation for everyone, so we want to show her that it is safe, etc.

 

Question 1: Cruise line recommendation? I am leaning towards Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, after researching RC, Princess, Celebrity and Norwegian. I like how they have in-cabin babysitting and the baby playgroups. I would prefer anytime-style dining, like on Princess, but I guess we can't have it all :) (BTW are babies welcomed in the main dining rooms, or will we have to book a babysitter if we want to have a more formal dining experience?)

 

Haven't looked into Carnival bec. I am wary of the "party boat" connotation (more for my in-laws than myself), but if you really like that line better than RC, tell me why!

 

Question 2: Any resources (newspaper articles, statements by cruise lines, a thread on this board) that I can show to my MIL to convince her? The lure of vacationing with her (only) grandchild may be enough to convince her, but I really want to assuage her concerns.

 

Thank you so much!

Jody

[Budget Queen]

Not sure of your MIL's concerns, but you may be better off not pushing this?? Frankly it sounds like some "excuses" that are not the reality of cruising re safety, and perhaps cruising isnt for her??

 

 

You need to really think your interior planning through, there are baby friendl area, but plenty that aren't the best idea, as well as tours that wouldn't be the best idea either.

 

As for your baby in the dining room question- it would be VERY rare a baby could tolerate the extended formal dining of your RCI choice. Would one of you ALWAYS be willing to bail out if the baby causes disruptions???

 

 

You definately have the wrong idea on Carnival. Alaska sailings have the passenger demographics like all other cruiselines- with the bulk of passengers being middle aged and above, there are NO party ships.

 

I think NCL is an excellent choice with freestyle avaiable, but they do not do one way sailings.

[jgs2003]

Thanks, BudgetQueen, for setting me straight re. Carnival---after I posted I read the "Radiance vs. Spirit" thread and saw that I was wrong, it does sound like a great ship, itinerary etc.

 

Knowing my MIL, if we show her actual information, she could very well change her mind. She does this all the time (says she won't do something and then changes her mind). She has a feeling that cruise lines aren't responsible companies, which is based mostly on the news reports re. the ship that sank, virus breakouts, etc. I think that these things are always hyped up and cruises are a lot more responsible these days, and that cruising is no more dangerous or risky than any other type of vacation or travel. Which is why I want to present her with some research, which I think she would respect and take into account.

 

Although I initially thought Norwegian could be a real possibility, the fact that they only do round-trip is a real con, because we really want to do a land tour afterward, although you're right, we'll have to manage our expectations given that we have a baby and it might not be possible to do everything. It's possible that given the various factors involved, it might just make more sense to do a roundtrip in the hopes that this wouldn't be our only trip to AK!

 

P.S. I don't know that we'd actually WANT to take the baby in the dining room (hence the desire for a line that offers in-cabin babysitting), just curious if it happened.

[Budget Queen]

Keep thinking about this. :) My point with NCL, is, you would have no problem with getting a table for your group only and at any time 6pm -10pm. You can expect some waits at peak time, BUT you can get a pager and come back, or try a later time etc.

 

With RCI, Carnival times and tables are set. There is alternative dining available via buffet, room service.

 

You might want to see if you can get a Cruise Travel magazine copy. Try your library?? The last issue did have an Alaska cruise article to perhaps give your MIL?? Again from your library- look for Alaska by Cruiseship, another excellent cruise resource.

[ewheelock]

Check again with the other cruise lines about any time dining because most of them are also offering any time or my time dining.

[tee_harbor]

Well, I'll be honest, which may not be what you want to hear. :)

 

A ship struck a rock and had to be evacuated last year between Sitka and Juneau. However, it was one of the riverboat style ships, which may have contributed to the need to evacuate, plus, it's not a major line, which may be what led to some kid fresh out of mariners' training being allowed to navigate the ship at night.

 

Anyway, Alaska has a long history of shipwrecks. This is not the Jungle Ride at Disneyland. However, we also have the Coast Guard that can reach any ship within minutes, and some of the finest search and rescue crews in the world. Our many fishing boats also respond to every emergency--they were the first to reach last year's wreck. I don't know if the same could be said for cruising the Caribbean or the coast of Africa, for example.

 

The last fatalities that I can think of was on a Canadian ferry wreck a couple of years ago. As I said, it happens.

 

The Norwalk viruses happen on cruise ships all around the world.

 

As for environmental issues, there is a constant area of vigilance for Alaska. The cruise ship companies are in business to make money and occasionally need to be reminded that certain policies are not keeping Alaska pristine clean. IMO, it's the number of ships that directly effect the environment, rather than the occasional discharge of raw sewage right at the dock.

[tekdiva]

I don't know about the Russian ship but the Greek ship accident happened last April... and accidents happen on planes, trains, cars, buses, bikes, and ships.

 

If your in-laws don't want to go, maybe they would like to spend a week with their grandchild.... ;)

[Onessa]

Dining room -- it depends upon the temprament of your child. Head to the Family threads under special interest for ideas how to best handle kids and dining. Even those lines with fixed dining times do a good job handling tables with young kids -- on our Thanksgiving cruise onboard the Splendour of the Seas, we had an 18MO at the table across the aisle, a 2YO just behind us and several other infants/toddlers within eye/earshot. I'd say that the kids posed fewer problems than the slightly older couple on the table for two next to us -- rather loud and quite demanding! The young ones never caused any problems at all. The 18MO dined with his parents every night - but the wait staff made certain that their meal was a bit faster paced! :)

 

Ships - Radiance would be an excellent choice for your FIL. Lots of little nooks and crannies with lots of windows and comfy chairs. My favorite cruises have been aboard the Radiance -- and there is no better designed ship for a AK itinerary (just SO much glass!)

 

Safety -- there have been train wrecks, plane crashes and ship sinkings (not to mention car wrecks!). There are no guarentees in life.

 

But work to understand her concerns. Is it that MIL is afraid that the boat will sink? Is she afraid of an outbreak of disease? Is she afraid of shipboard crime? My late mother would do the same thing you say your MIL does -- come up with some strange idea (the car I was driving was unsafe, for example) and she would cling that idea until I pushed her (was it my car in particular, or the make/model of vehicle? Was it the way the car handled or what would happen to it in a crash? Was it the brakes or the tires or the steering? In the end, she brushed it off with something about the color (black is dangerous?) and agreed she would be ok riding with me) Sometimes she could just be a thrill a minute, but she was right "someday you will miss me" -- and I do.

 

If you honestly think that they will enjoy the trip, by all means -- press the issue. They should share the joy of your son. All too soon you will not have the opportunity for them to be able to travel with you.

[jgs2003]

Thanks, tee harbor for the info, I think that this was one of the incidents that my MIL was talking about, so at least now I know the story.

 

Of course, cruising is probably one of the safer ways to take a vacation and maybe even to travel, but they don't highly publicize "everyday" deaths, disappearances, etc. the way they publicize a ship capsizing or a passenger's disappearance.

 

The larger issue is that MIL thinks that just about any corporation is "evil" and is part of some sort of conspiracy to make money at the expense of others. Of course, cruise lines are no saints (I did read up on RCI's large settlement back in the 90s after they were caught on tape dumping waste right into the water.) But I will certainly try to talk with her about her concerns now that I have some more info.

 

(Tekdiva: Much as I would love a vacation without the baby for a week, I think he will still be too young to leave behind...maybe next year ;)

 

Thanks again!

Jody

[Onessa]

If it helps, on our 2005 AK cruise on RCCI to AK, our ship responded to and rescued the crew of a fishing vessal that was sinking in very rough seas -- sp big corporations can do good things as well as bad!:)

[tee_harbor]

Just wanted to link to two stories in the Juneau Empire that show the sort of pull and tug that goes on between AK citizens, our gov't--both Fed and State--excursion companies, and naturally, the cruise ship industry.

 

I think, as a visitor, it may be hard to get a sense of the size and scope of this industry and what its possible effects are.

 

Anyway, landings on the Ice Field: http://www.juneaublogger.com/updates/?p=309 Just basically an announcement about a meeting for 'discussion.' These are always interesting, because the excursion companies come out and talk about tax revenue and employment, citizens complain about their quality of life being disrupted, and environmental groups come with their charts and numbers. And then the Forest Service does what they were going to do all along.

 

Waste Water: http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/032608/sta_261872957.shtml