Sea Princess in Alaska for a family?

[DrmnOfMaui]

We are fairly new to cruising... actually, we have never cruised yet, but have a Southern Caribbean cruise planned for this summer on Royal Caribbean. We have a feeling that we are really going to like cruising and are beginning to explore an Alaskan cruise for 2010. I have found an Alaskan itinerary that goes out of San Francisco next summer on the Sea Princess. As we are researching the cabins available it seems that only 10 balcony cabins on the whole ship are available for 4 people. Does anyone have any input on this ship and if it is a good ship for families? We are in California, so we would be able to drive to San Francisco to the port and we find that extremely appealing! Any thoughts on this ship or itinerary?

 

The itinerary is as follows:

 

San Francisco

Cruising

Victoria, British Columbia

Cruising (Inside Passage)

Juneau, Alaska

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising)

Haines, Alaska (or Skagway)

Ketchikan, Alaska

At Sea

At Sea

San Francisco, California

 

 

 

• What did your kids like about Alaska? Or on the contrary, what did they not like? I've read a couple of posts stating that the Alaskan cruises were the favorites of some families, but they didn't really explain why.
  
• What were some of your favorite excursions?
  
• Any suggestions on what not to miss?
  
• If you traveled on Princess (we are looking at the Sea Princess) what did your kids like/dislike about the cruise line?
  

 

 

Thanks so much for any input!

 

Kim K.

[junglejane]

Hi, Kim. We are a family of four and are also looking at the Sea Princess San Francisco RT to Alaska for 2010. I think the problem is that the Sea Princess didn't do this itinerary in 2008, and the 2009 trips don't start until May 24. So we'll have to wait for some reviews to come back.

 

I'm a little worried it may be too many sea days for an Alaska itinerary with kids. So we're also looking at the Golden Princess Seattle RT that includes Glacier Bay. But the idea of leaving from San Francisco is very attractive. We can imagine a fun pre-cruise visit to the City.

 

We went to Alaska in 2006 with our kids on Celebrity when they were 5 and 9. The thing to keep in mind about Alaska is that many of the most popular shore excursions involve helicopter rides or float planes, and get very expensive. Take a look at sample shore excursions to get an idea and prepare yourself for some serious sticker shock. For example, in 2006 I went on a helicopter trip to the glaciers with my 85 year old mom. It was $395 pp. While I did that, DH took the kids on Captain Larry's whale watching exhibition. In Ketchikan we went to the raptor center, and in Sitka we went on some Rainforest excursion. Check out the Alaska board for tips on what to do in various ports.

 

Overall, our kids have loved their Princess cruises. We really like the Grand class ships. We did a 3 day repo cruise on the Dawn Princess (sister ship of the Sea Princess) and weren't crazy about it, but chalked it up to it being a repo cruise. Overall, Princess has a very good kids program. Our kids are going on their 5th Princess cruise in July. How old will your kids be?

 

Junglejane

[firefly4423]

give it a shot! Im sure they would love it, and better yet they get to see something not many people do. Of course a lot of people go to the carribean and other sunny places, but alaska is a great place too!

[DrmnOfMaui]

Thanks for the responses!

 

Jane, we called Princess today to ask about the ship and why there were only a few balconies set for 4 people. She explained that the ship is older and that it basically was not really made to put 4 people in a cabin comfortably. She stated that 4 in a cabin will be extremely tight. We really like the SF departure, but I'm not sure this ship is going to work for us.... I'm curious to see if anyone has anything else to say!

 

We are pretty committed to Alaska and I was really excited to hear how much fun you and your family had there. I hear over and over again how much people enjoy their Alaska trips and am really eager to see if for myself!:)

[junglejane]

Four in a standard balcony or inside cabin would be extremely tight. We always get two side by side cabins. (Or you could do a balcony and an inside). Depending on the cruise, you may be pleasantly surprised at how the price compares to four in a cabin. Also, right now the 2010 prices seem quite high, and personally I am optimistically hoping they'll come down.

 

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to find connecting cabins on Princess. We usually have to make do with connecting via the door in the balcony partition (on the Grand class ships -- I'm not sure if that's true on the Sea Princess). Celebrity has a lot more connecting cabins.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.:)

[Nancyquilts]

We can tell you more at the end of the month. We'll be on the May 24th cruise with our family of 11. One couple and their son have a balcony cabin with room for three (at least), and one couple have their children across the hall in an inside. I'm sure it will work out well. I can remember when there were 4 in an inside room on one cruise. Nancy

[RickEk]

You might want to look into a mini-suite on the Sea Princess. They are very large compared with mini-suites on the Grand-class ships and should be able to handle 4 easily.

[junglejane]

You might want to look into a mini-suite on the Sea Princess. They are very large compared with mini-suites on the Grand-class ships and should be able to handle 4 easily.

 

The deck plans for Sea Princess show all the mini-suites as being available for 3 but not 4.

[junglejane]

We can tell you more at the end of the month. We'll be on the May 24th cruise with our family of 11. One couple and their son have a balcony cabin with room for three (at least), and one couple have their children across the hall in an inside. I'm sure it will work out well. I can remember when there were 4 in an inside room on one cruise. Nancy

 

Nancy, please do come back with a report about your cruise! I'll be especially interested to hear any info you might have about how the kids in your group liked all the sea days and how they kept themselves entertained during those days.:)

[DrmnOfMaui]

Nancy, please do come back with a report about your cruise! I'll be especially interested to hear any info you might have about how the kids in your group liked all the sea days and how they kept themselves entertained during those days.:)

 

Me too!!!!