Alaskan cruise with 3 and 5 yr old ..

[escapeperth]

HI there - please excuse my lack of etiquette as this is first time on forum! We are planning cruise in Alaska and have few days either side to spend sightseeing ... any suggestions would be appreciated. (landing in Vancouver? maybe) We are thinking of a HAL or after reading forum maybe Celebrity line ?

Thankyou in advance for your expertise and help ~

[rebeccalouise]

If deciding between the two- I'd do Celebrity. The kids program is way better on Celebrity. The Fun Factory has a climbing frame, ball pit, leap frog games, a science and art room, a reading/games/movie area and the most caring staff I have encountered. Holland has a small room with a few video games and very little else. It isn't horrible (my son liked it because he loves playing with other kids) but your 3 and 5 year old will LOVE the Fun Factory on Celebrity. I think the Celebrity ships in general are nicer. While the food and service are good on Holland- the diningrooms are smaller and more claustrophobic. Celebrity has the huge two story diningroom with plenty of space between tables and very attentive servers that love kids. I just can't speak more highly of Celebrity. I also think the Millenium class ships are great for surveying the sea and land.

 

As for excursions- I really liked Fairbanks. We did a train ride there in a domed railroad car and I thought it was a great way to see the Alaska countryside. In Fairbanks you can pan for gold and ride through and abandoned gold mine. There are about 20 hours of daylight there in the summer and the flowers are as big as cabbages. You can dine outside until midnight. It was really cool.

 

IMO the best part is the cruise but if you have to chose between Denali or Fairbanks- do Fairbanks.

 

I haven't been to Mt. McKinley but that might be a neat excursion too.

 

If you stop end or begin in Vancouver- you will be "wowed" by the city. It is huge. They offer a trolley type bus that circumnavigates the city and there are lovely parks, Chinatown, etc. I really enjoyed Vancouver. If you pick an itinerary with Victoria, British Columbia that is also very lovely. Even if you sail out of Seattle- that is another great city.

 

Alaska is a wonderful experience. The scenery from the ship is spectacular. This is the one cruise that you do need a balcony.

[escapeperth]

Thanks so much for that info - we are coming from Australia so i think going into Vancouver and having 2 nights to look around - Which ship personally would you choose between .. Millineum or Infinity? Is this a better choice than a RCL cruise for 7 night Inside Passage Alaskan cruise?

It is difficult for us to choose as we don't hear much about the varying options available ~

Is August or September better for visability factor?

[CC Help Michell]

Thanks so much for that info - we are coming from Australia so i think going into Vancouver and having 2 nights to look around - Which ship personally would you choose between .. Millineum or Infinity? Is this a better choice than a RCL cruise for 7 night Inside Passage Alaskan cruise?

It is difficult for us to choose as we don't hear much about the varying options available ~

Is August or September better for visability factor?

 

Have you visited the Alaska Ports of Call board here at Cruise Critic? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

It's a tremendous resource, and you will find lots of discussions there about Alaskan itineraries, roundtrip versus one way, glacier viewing options, etc. You will find information there about all the options, especially if you are thinking of adding a land visit to the interior of Alaska to your trip (many options for that, too). One thing to think about is the kind of itinerary you want, particularly in the area of glacier viewing -- that can help decide which ship or cruiseline you'd want to take. For example, if you decide you want to see Glacier Bay, neither RCI or Celebrity go there.

 

Have fun planning -- Alaska is an amazingly beautiful place!

[rebeccalouise]

Thanks so much for that info - we are coming from Australia so i think going into Vancouver and having 2 nights to look around - Which ship personally would you choose between .. Millineum or Infinity? Is this a better choice than a RCL cruise for 7 night Inside Passage Alaskan cruise?

It is difficult for us to choose as we don't hear much about the varying options available ~

Is August or September better for visability factor?

 

Millenium and Infinity are identical ships. I have sailed Millenium twice though and it is a great ship and crew. Millenium is superior to Radiance of the Seas. I would choose Celebrity over Radiance for many reasons. The youth program on Celebrity is better. Ambiance and cleanliness were better on Celebrity. I prefer the layout of the Millenium class ships. All the ships you mentioned do the inside passage.

 

August and September are not the ideal months to go. August can be rainy and there are less daylight hours in September. I would go anytime between the end of May- early July.

[Paumavista]

That's interesting that you've rated the Celebrity ship having a much better kids facility/program........everyone has their favorites....but since I often rely on CruiseCritic information and ratings....I thought your opinion interesting. I have been on Serende (sister to Radiance) and I thought they had one of the best programs I've seen and an absolutely wonderful outdoor swimming/play area. I've never been on Celebrity and one of the main reasons has been that the reviews/ratings of their kid programs havent been as good as some of my comparisons.

 

If you check on the "review" section for both of these ships and click under family/kids programs....Millineum is rated only 3 starts where Radiance is rated 5 stars.

 

Because I take anywhere from 2 to 6 children with me at any time the kids programs are probably my TOP deciding factor for a ship. If my kids are having a good time then DH and I enjoy ourselves.

 

Anyway,......I appreciate your opinion.

 

Judy

(mom to 9....but who's counting)

[rebeccalouise]

Celebrity does not bill itself as a family vacation line. Royal Caribbean owns both and each line tries to attract different demographics. On Celebrity it is a decidedly adult ship. There are no rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, waterslides, etc. So adults don't feel that they are on a kiddy cruise. However, because Celebrity doesn't want kids running around and causing problems- they have wonderful programs for young children. They do offer programs for tweens and teens also but I can't rate that area- since my son (13 at the time) didn't participate in the youth activities and stuck with the family.

 

My younger son (age 8)has been on all the lines (unard,Holland, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian and Disney). Apart from Disney-he likes the "Millenium" best. He knows we are doing RC in two days and is very excited but he says that he doesn't like Adventure Ocean. I hope this time around he will have a better experience. My son loves the youth programs so if he doesn't rave about AO- I can't say that it great. I wasn't thrilled with it on Radiance but am more than willing to give it a try on Indy.

 

I wanted to add that I was Constellation over Easter in 2006. I overheard a lady in the buffet say "Look there are children on this ship". She hadn't seen any until then. She was shocked when I told her that there were 300 kids onboard (from infant-18). Celebrity manages to provide a quite, sophisticated cruise, while still managing to entertain 300 kids. It is a win-win.

[escapeperth]

Thankyou for both of your responses - as we are actually doing this cruise for my 40th birthday - we are looking for something a little luxurious with a reasonable kids club for my 3 and 5 yr old to go to - how you have described it Rebecca is just as we would like it - maybe next time we will do the Disney for them - but we have bribed them into Hong Kong Disney on the way home from cruise to Oz if they behave!!