Alaska Cruisetour or on your own? With a teen

[Genawithane]

We're planning to do an Alaska cruise this August and are trying to pin down details. We have a 16 year old and are interested in knowing what ships are more teen-filled. Also, we're planning to do a pre or post-cruise land tour. We're pretty active but out of shape - we canoe, hike, bike, etc. What do folks think about rolling your own vs. taking the cruiseline's cruisetours?

[the2006Junket]

Hi Gena,

 

We're going to Alaska for the first time this August too, so I can't tell you from personal experience, but will share with you the decisions we made and why...in case it's helpful. :)

 

We're a group of 5 families -- all with teens and some younger kids. We chose the Radiance of the Seas, southbound departing 8/6/09. I think any ship will have families with kids in AK in early August, but we hope that the Radiance will be a little more fun and family-friendly. The ship has a few additional amenities that we hope will be fun for the teens (rock climbing wall, mini golf) as well as the kids center and arcade. I was a little concerned that HAL or Princess would skew a little older and less family-friendly.

 

We also researched the cruisetours and decided that we could do the same things for less money and without having to be part of a large group. I also got the sense that few kids/teens are on these cruisetours and that they skew older. As long as you are willing to do some research and your own driving or training, doing your own touring seems very doable....after all it's not a foreign country (drive on the right side, signs in English etc);). I just couldn't see our teens enjoying the rather sedentary cruisetours (lots of bus and train time) and we have planned lots of adventurous activities for our pre-cruise time.

 

Hope this perspective is helpful and I'll be happy to share our experiences when we get back!

 

Lynne

[vbmom87]

We're planning to do an Alaska cruise this August and are trying to pin down details. We have a 16 year old and are interested in knowing what ships are more teen-filled. Also, we're planning to do a pre or post-cruise land tour. We're pretty active but out of shape - we canoe, hike, bike, etc. What do folks think about rolling your own vs. taking the cruiseline's cruisetours?

 

 

It amounts to different strokes for different folks. It is easy to plan a land tour on your own. You can customize it to your own interests. YOu are free to stop for however long you want, whenever you want. We debated long and hard about which way to go. I spent a lot of time researching what I wanted to see in Alaska. In the end, I couldn't find a cruisetour that took in all the sites I wanted. We know many who went on cruisetours and loved them. As I stated, what works for one will not work for another. If you do decide on a cruisetour, don't just randomly sign up for one because the price or dates work for you. Make sure you study and compare your options. If wanting to go to Denali, stay away from tours that say "Natural History Tour." To get into the Park and have a better chance of seeing wildlife you need at least the Tundra Wilderness tour.

 

I would guess your teen would like being on your own better. I am not sure what the cruisetours age range is in Alaska. We went on a bus tour in Europe several years ago in the summer. We were suprised how many high school and college aged kids were on our particular tour. (many grandparents were treating their children and grandchildren to a European vacation) We brought our daughter who was 13 at the time and she actually had a good time. However, you never know what the ages will be on your tour. We actually loved the bus tour we took in Europe, however, for Alaska, I think it is best to do it on your own if you are able. There are no language barriers in Alaska and very few roads. You really can't get lost.

 

As far as best cruiseline for teens, you can do some searches, or maybe someone else will respond. I do know I have read many posts by Budget Queen (quite the Alaskan expert on this forum, having cruised to Alaska well over 20 times) and she says that the age demographics are pretty much the same on all the ships for the Alaska sailings.

[Rosieo]

We are taking our 17 year old son. There is no way he would want to sit on a tour bus and personally neither would I. I know many people do but it isn't for us, personal preference. We want the freedom to stop where ever and whenever we want. We also rented a RV and saved a lot using the Toursaver book. My son has taken an active part in the planning process. We have spent months researching what we want to do and we have a pretty good game plan yet it is flexible in case we get someplace and want to stay longer or find something that we want to do that I haven't found out about.

[kenish]

My 15yo (at the time) son and I took a NB cruise out of Vancouver last year. We spent 4 more days seeing ANC and Denali. Everything except the cruise itself was planned independently. A lot of research and effort but worth every minute IMO. We saw cruisetour passengers and buses during the land portion and were glad we were on our own. We would pull over to watch a moose or take pictures of a jaw-dropping view and the cruise buses would charge by at 70mph rushing to the next prepackaged "experience" or to the next bland hotel (many are deliberately located in isolated spots to help ensure a captive audience). I'm sure everyone "saw" Alaska (as you have on TV) but wonder how many "experienced" Alaska, had any sense of the place, or left feeling any connection that left them itching to return?

 

All Alaska cruises in summer have plenty of teens and yours will find plenty of friends. We took HAL desipite their image of an older demographic. There were over 100 passengers between 2-17 out of 1500 total. My son made a lot of new friends, their facilities and staff were outstanding (son's words), and he enjoyed it a lot more than Carnival which supposedly has more appeal to teens. It's quality vs. quantity, on Carnival there were a lot more teens. Many were "bad news" (again son's words), they were running amok while security just stood back and watched, and one family was put off the ship midcruise. On our HAL cruise, adults mentioned to me on several occasions that they saw my son with others and were impressed with how polite and well-behaved all the teens were. I had to be sure they were not confusing my son with someone else (just kidding!). FYI, if you go to the ship reviews here on CC, and look up passenger reviews (not the professional reviews), you will find kids facilities rated by age group. HAL really rated high for teens (other cruise lines were better for other ages), so that helped with my selection and CC was right on!

 

Here are "active" things we did (we did walking tours in all of the ports to see the sights and museums):

 

Vancouver- Rented bikes and pedaled around Stanley Park seawall trail (8 miles). Walked all over the city sightseeing.

 

Ketchikan- SE Sea Kayaks, walked to Totem Heritage Ctr

 

Juneau- Glacier helo landing, Harv & Marv whalewatching.

 

Skagway- Tour with "Dyea Dave", up White Pass in his van, down on the train. Mountain biking to various sights on the outskirts of town.

 

Denali- Whitewater rafting with Denali Outdoor Center.

 

Talkeetna- Flightseeing cancelled 2x due to weather. :mad:

 

Hope this helps! I was LOL on your "Roll your own" comment. That's what our generation did in our impetuous youth but don't want our teens doing! :D

[Budget Queen]

If you are open to going interior Alaska on your own, do so. As noted, VERY few kids are on cruisetours.

 

However, it depends what your reference is for "cruisetours". The above advice is for extended interior Alaska traveling, NOT shore excurions in port.

 

For many, Alaska is the priority, a teen will have a great time, no matter what the line- IF involved in the planning and of interest??? I am not an advocate of making Alaska plans based on the "kids". :) You can make some poor choices for "Alaska" in my opinion, sometimes doing so.

 

I have traveled Alaska on 5 different lines, demographics was all ages, with the bulk middle aged and above ON all lines.

 

So, perhaps, do your homework and take out Alaska travel books from your library. The MORE you know, and understand about traveling Alaska, the better your choices will be for your trip.