What cruiseline would you choose to do Alaska with a 4 year old?

[tink24]

I'm trying to plan an Alaskan cruise next summer, but I can't decide which ship to book. We need something family friendly, but also with a good itinerary. Ideally we would sail out of Seattle, but Vancouver is an option as well. Which ships/cruiselines are best suited for a 4 year old?

[CeleBrat]

We did Alaska with a 4 year old--and a 2 year old, on Norwegian. The Norwegian Star to be exact, out of Seattle.

 

We chose Norwegian because we wanted a "laid back" atmosphere for this cruise, and did not want to have to pack formal wear PLUS cold weather clothing.

 

We really, really enjoyed being able to "come and go as we pleased to dinner, at any one of the restaurants.

 

Ports visited: Seattle, Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, CANADA. Lots of fun things to do in each port. If you have any specific questions--ask away!

 

Oh yeah--one more thing...we managed to find a ridiculous deal on Norwegian, so for this cruise had 2 adjoining balcony cabins for the 4 of us. It was like the kids had their own suite!

 

CeleBrat

[wrp96]

Take a look at Norwegian Pearl. It has a better itinerary than NCL Star but many of the same positives mentioned above.

[tink24]

With respect to NCL, how are their cabins? From what I can tell online, they look tiny (IMO anything under 185 square feet is tiny for 3 people). Did you feel like you had enough space? I know they can feel bigger if they are laid out well. Also, how are their kid's clubs?

[CeleBrat]

On our last Norwegian cruise this summer, we only had one cabin for the 4 of us. Although it was crowded, we ALWAYS expect to be in tight quarters on a ship.

 

The kids clubs were fun. NCL has the distinction of having a play structure (jungle gym w/netting or ball pit) in all of their clubs. My DD (now 6) would always look forward to free play b/c of it. The NCL Star also had an outdoor playground, with see-saw and bouncy animal things.

 

The activities were normal cruise-ship activities: theme parties, arts/crafts, etc.

 

CeleBrat

[tink24]

I just got an email that NCL is having a 2 for 1 sail on 3/26 so I will be sure to check out prices for the Star and the Pearl. Thanks for the input!

[lamolesky]

Our kids love the NCL Kids Club and the Freestyle option is great for kids. Plus their new promotions for Alaska look too good to refuse!

[Vacation2010]

Hi, I'm going on a cruise on Holland America on June 6 with a 3 & 4 year old, and I would love to hear about what excursions or outings you took your kids on. We are going to port in Ketchican, Sitka, and Juneau, and most of the excursions I read about have age limits that would exclude my kids, so I am looking for ideas of things to do with the kids when we go to port. Thanks!

[PattyW]

Just wanted to put out a mention for the Radiance Class of RCCL if only because the solarium on that class of ship is completely indoors. When we cruised Alaska in 2002 in July, it was too cold to swim outside. Although the solarium is generally adults only, on cold weather cruises, the ship will designate certain hours as "family swim" and will allow children to swim in the pool.

 

There may be other ships/lines with a completely indoor pool - this is simply the only line that I have been on that has one.