Just Back From Alaska With 2 Year Old

[ceilidh1]

Hi All!

We just returned from a 2 week cruise to Alaska with Princess. It was our 2 year old's second cruise and I thought I would post a few things that cropped up for us this time!

 

Firstly, we booked a mini suite rather than a balcony this time as we wanted the bathtub. This was a great decision as the first cruise was very tough with a child that was (and still is) terrified of showers! The tub worked out well and the extra space in the room was great. There was more than enough room for a crib/pack n play but our experience first time round was that our little one would not sleep in the crib but was fine in bed with us. We just did that this time and she slept great and napped in the bed during the day with no problems. The only problem we had with the room was that the light switches and lamps were at perfect height for a toddler, so she constantly switched them on and off! She was also able to reach the door to the room and open it - very dangerous as those heavy doors slam shut and would easily have caught her fingers, not to mention the fact that she could have slipped out. We kept the door locked and it was fine.

 

We used the children's area a lot. The staff were more than happy to have one person stay and allowed us to participate in all of the activities. We were on Sapphire Princess and they had a great outdoor play area with trikes and a slide - she loved that! The tough part was getting her to leave or getting her to understand that they just didn't stay open 24/7!

 

The first cruise we had almost all of our meals in the buffet as we didn't want to disturb guests in the dining room and didn't think the little one would sit through a real dinner. This time round, she did far better in the dining room than the buffet - I think there was just too much going on in the buffet and too many distractions. The dining room staff were fantastic with her - bringing her fruit and entertaining her while we waited for food. Many guests commented on how well behaved she was. We also took markers and a coloring book and a small bag of playdough to every meal - kept her entertained for hours!

 

We didn't book any excursions as we had already done them on the previous 2 trips. In Juneau, there are 2 great playgounds - one near St. Nicolas Chruch and another about 3 blocks up the street from there. If it's raining, there is a nice childrens room in the public library and free internet access for adults! We had glorious weather so took the shuttle out to Mendenhall Glacier. There is a pebbly "beach" area near the lake and the little one and I spent 2 hours playing there while dad and cruise friend hiked out to the waterfall. The only thing to remember about Mendenhall is that you can't take in any food (including snacks) because of the bears, so your time there may be limited by that! In Skagway, we hiked up to Lower Falls Lake (supposedly half a mile, but felt more like 2!) I carried the little one in an ergo carrier and it was fine, but there were some pretty steep parts. The walk was pleasant, but the lake was not too impressive. I was vey impressed that our toddler walked the entire way back down with me clinging for dear life to her "leash". We also found a nice little playground in Mollie Walsh Park, which took up an hour or so. In Ketchikan, we took the Funicular and then walked down the Married Man's Trail to Creek Street. We also walked over to city park (no playground but nice grassy areas to run around in) and visited the fish hatchery and totem pole place. She really enjoyed both!

 

The majority of other passengers were great with our little one, but there were a handful that pointedly got up and moved tables if we sat close to them - even before we had sat down, so no way were they being disturbed! There was also one lady who was downright nasty and came out of her cabin to complain about my 2 year old's squeals of delight as she walked down the hallway and saw balloons on one of the doors. I could understand if it was midnight, but it was 5:30 in the evening! I got quite upset at first, but then we saw the same lady on 3 other occasions, and each time she was complaining very loudly about something! We had quite a few young babies on this cruise and a number of toddlers, and about 80 kids aged 3-16. None of them seemed out of control, though the older kids seemed to take over the pool and hot tubs a lot of the time (no parents could be seen supervising, either!) Not an issue for us as out toddler was only 99% toilet trained and I didn't want to risk the 1% "accident" ratio being when she was in the pool!

 

Aside from the kids area, my daughter's favorite activity onboard was dancing. We would take her into the different lounges when there was nothing on in them and let her jump around on the dancefloor. No one was bothered as we had the lounge to ourselves and it tired her out ready for bedtime. We took her to the production shows and she happily sat through at least 4-5 numbers before getting fidgety. We always sat at the back, so as soon as she started squirming I just left with her and we listened to the music (and danced) from just outside the theatre where she wasn't disturbing anyone.

 

Overrall, I would say this cruise went way better than I had anticipated. I was nervous as our 2 year old is so active and doesn't seem to stop for a second. I was concerned that after the first day or so we would be constantly trying to keep her entertained and out of trouble. This was never an issue - there was always something for her to do or see, or simply walk laps around the outside decks! On the negative side, we didn't get to do many of the "adult" activities onboard, but we had known this beforehand and had not done any on the previous cruise with her either so we were not disappointed. I still have to say that one of the greatest things about crusing with a small child is having an excuse to nap during the day! I would lay on the bed with her and within minutes we would both be sleeping - often waking 3 hours later! My husband even napped on a few occasions, which is unheard of for him! I hate to admit, but we "napped" through most of glacier bay!

 

Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer...

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back! :D And sorry you an into some grumpy passengers. :( So what would you say the average age of the passengers were? Was it an older crowd?

[6rugrats]

Very nice review! Thanks for posting it.

[tmitchell82]

Thanks for the feedback. We are taking DD who will be 5 on her first cruise later this year so it is good to hear how things went. Good point about watching the doors. I know how hard the can slam when you have the balcony door open.

[sandytoes03]

Nice to hear you had fun! It makes me sad to hear about the grumpy woman and the other people who would move away from you. Oh well, it obviously didn't spoil your fun!

[JACJAM]

Thanks for sharing. My DD will be 14 1/2 months old when we cruise to Alaska, but we also have a 3 night land tour I'm worried about. Riding in a bus for 2 hours break then back on the bus for another 1-2 hours.

 

Did you use the cruise lines pack n' play, and what cruise line were you on?

[PassionFruit]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Alaska is still tied with the Panama Canal as my FAVORITE cruises, and I think it would be one of the best places to take a little one. Especially if you've been before and aren't trying to do everything for the first time. Alaska is just so relaxing. Sitting on the balcony reading a book and watching for whales while the little ones nap is my idea of a vacation! I'm hoping DH and I can take the kids maybe for our next cruise. Thanks for the review of how you did things -- it makes me want to do it all the more!

[boilermaker98]

Thanks for the post. We're doing an Alaskan cruise with our 2yo in a few weeks. It's helpful to have some ideas to burn her energy!!

[ceilidh1]

Welcome back! :D And sorry you an into some grumpy passengers. :( So what would you say the average age of the passengers were? Was it an older crowd?

 

Actually, the passengers on this cruise seemed younger than the usual Alaska crowd. I would say the averagve age was around 35-40! We also noticed LOTS of first time cruisers - I think the 2-for-1 pricing brought out a lot of folks who wouldn't normally go for this kind of thing. Our first Alaska cruise on the Tahitian (small ship) was predominantly the 60 and older crowd - we had the only child onboard for that one! It was a much different experience this time round....

[ceilidh1]

Thanks for sharing. My DD will be 14 1/2 months old when we cruise to Alaska, but we also have a 3 night land tour I'm worried about. Riding in a bus for 2 hours break then back on the bus for another 1-2 hours.

 

Did you use the cruise lines pack n' play, and what cruise line were you on?

 

 

We sailed with Princess. We did not use the crib this time round as we found that DD refused to sleep in it the first time. We just put her in bed in the middle of us and she slept just fine. The mini suite also had a sofa bed (wouldn't let a little one sleep on it, but sometimes hubby moved there if she got a little squirmy in bed). On her first cruise she was 14 months old and we did the 3 hour White Pass train with her - she did just fine sitting through that.

[nothriver]

Thanks for your review! We are planning our first cruise and my daughter will be turning 4. I think she is just as active now as when she was 2, and unfortunatley, she is much louder, so it should be an interesting vacation trying to keep her busy and quiet. :)

 

I know this is a little off topic regarding traveling with a toddler, but can you tell me more about the specific requirements regarding food at Mendenhall? I'm really looking forward to seeing Mendenhall, but looks like we'd have to miss lunch entirely if we can't bring food at all, my kids are 4 and 15 and always starved. We have a whale watch in the afternoon that can pick us up from Mendenhall. I knew I needed to pack sealed snacks because opened food is not allowed off the ship but do the requlations at Mendenhall state absolutely no food? I was planning to bring trail mix and granola bars to eat after our morning hike before the bus picks us up. I really had my heart set on the 3.5 mile hike. If absolutely no food is allowed, I don't know what to do.

 

Thanks for any information!

[ceilidh1]

Thanks for your review! We are planning our first cruise and my daughter will be turning 4. I think she is just as active now as when she was 2, and unfortunatley, she is much louder, so it should be an interesting vacation trying to keep her busy and quiet. :)

 

I know this is a little off topic regarding traveling with a toddler, but can you tell me more about the specific requirements regarding food at Mendenhall? I'm really looking forward to seeing Mendenhall, but looks like we'd have to miss lunch entirely if we can't bring food at all, my kids are 4 and 15 and always starved. We have a whale watch in the afternoon that can pick us up from Mendenhall. I knew I needed to pack sealed snacks because opened food is not allowed off the ship but do the requlations at Mendenhall state absolutely no food? I was planning to bring trail mix and granola bars to eat after our morning hike before the bus picks us up. I really had my heart set on the 3.5 mile hike. If absolutely no food is allowed, I don't know what to do.

 

Thanks for any information!

 

 

There are signs as you drive into the parking lot of Mendenhall stating that food is not allowed in the park because of bears. I did not know this beforehand and had packed snacks for the little one. I also did not notice the signs as we were on a bus and I was busy gathering all our belongings. Stupidly, I sat on a bench near the visitor centre and allowed my toddler to snack on a bag of goldfish. I was severely chastised by a ranger and told that the mere scent of food could attract bears - so while they won't search you and deny you entry if carrying food, they are none too tolerant if they see you eating it. I would just suggest carrying it in sealed containers/bags that are inside a pocketbook/backpack and just don't open them in the park?

[jojop]

Thanks for your review! We have an upcoming cruise with our 3 y/o son and 5 y/o daughter. Your review made me feel much better about bringing kids on board.

[nothriver]

There are signs as you drive into the parking lot of Mendenhall stating that food is not allowed in the park because of bears. I did not know this beforehand and had packed snacks for the little one. I also did not notice the signs as we were on a bus and I was busy gathering all our belongings. Stupidly, I sat on a bench near the visitor centre and allowed my toddler to snack on a bag of goldfish. I was severely chastised by a ranger and told that the mere scent of food could attract bears - so while they won't search you and deny you entry if carrying food, they are none too tolerant if they see you eating it. I would just suggest carrying it in sealed containers/bags that are inside a pocketbook/backpack and just don't open them in the park?

 

Thanks! We'll be taking a bus up, hiking, then wanting to eat after the hike. Maybe I can store my snacks somewhere at the visitor center? I think I'll just call them directly and ask. I don't really want to be out on the trail with my snacks either - least we become snacks for the bears!