Has anyone cruised Alaska with a 6 year old?

[sbhammond]

My husband and I are relative cruise novices, but we love to travel. Now that our twins are six, we are hoping to go on more cruises. (We have been on a Carribean cruise and our girls loved the RCL "camp!") I have always thought that Alaska was beautiful, but I am concerned that the other cruisers will be older with no children, that it would be too cold to swim in the pool, and that my husband and I would be disappointed if we could do some of the great excursions because our girls are too young. Any thoughts, advice, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Kerry's Girls]

I haven't done Alaska with my twins, but in January for their 4th birthday we did a two week LA r/t to Hawaii cruise that's famous for being overwhelmingly older cruisers because of the length of the cruise and the 10 sea days. There were very few kids on board, but we had a ball. We were actually planning to do Alaska for their 5th birthday, but found a great deal on a different itinerary, so we're saving Alaska for the next year. You could look at the excursion options ahead of time - I'd think Alaska would be heaven for 6 year olds and there'd be something in every port that you all would enjoy as a family. Also, many ships have indoor pools (or pools with retracting roofs for use on Alaska cruises).

 

Best,

Mia

[CassCruise]

In 2006 we did a b2b on the Diamond Princess with our girls who were then aged 6&8. To this date this is their most favorite cruise and something we all still rave about. They swam everyday - the Diamond has a covered/heated pool but often they swam at the aft pool (outside).

 

On the way up in Ketchikan we went with Michelle from Island Wings and spent several hours watching bears catch salmon (admittedly our dd who was 6 did fall asleep for a while!), in Juneau we went on a helicopter to do dog sledding on a glacier and in Skagway the girls stayed onboard whilst we hired a car and drove to Emerald Lake. On the way back our 6 year old desperately wanted to do the train ride which both girls absolutely loved and were not bored at all, in Juneau we did a whale watching tour and in Ketchikan we did the Lumberjack Show and Duck Tour (phew!!!) but can honestly say it was just amazing - I had planned to the nth degree but was happy to go with the flow if need be and it all worked to perfection - the girls, dh and I had the most marvelous of times, I can't recommend it highly enough.

 

There were very few children in the kids club as we went the first two weeks in September but they still had a blast and still nagged incessantly to go:rolleyes:. They had a ranger come and talk to them in Glacier Bay which they also found fascinating. Don't hesitate just go LOL!!!!!! The Alaskan boards are amazing for their info.

 

If you have any questions just let me know!

 

Jane

[CeleBrat]

Our kids were actually younger than 6 when we did Alaska. And like the poster above explains, there is a lot to do with kids in Alaska. Lots of fun, hands-on activities.

 

We also chose to sail on the NCL Star so the kids could make use of the Kids Club and on-board playground and pools.

 

So--go for it! Have a great time in Alaska!

 

CeleBrat

[lmg1230]

Another thumbs up from our family! We sailed to Alaska two years ago on the Diamond Princess when our daughters were 4 and 10. They had a wonderful time!

Lisa

[dougpeng]

I also brought my young children (4 and 1 years old) onto an Alaskan cruise aboard the Sapphire Princess, which is a twin ship to the Diamond Princess. I made an entire website about young children onboard the Sapphire Princess. check the forum http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=20303800 which contains a link to my website.

[boulders]

I'm taking ds4 (and dd11 and ds13) to Alaska next month. As another poster, mentioned, there are tons of hands-on activities to do. He'll be going whale watching, kayaking, gold panning etc etc.

[nunk]

My five year old LOVED our Alaska cruise on the Serenade early last month. He loved the Adventure Ocean club and would have spent all his time in there if we had let him! Besides the great club, he really did love the "beautiful Alaska" as he called it several times while we sat together for lunch, watching the scenery float by.

 

Go and enjoy it!

[bbcruiser]

We just went to Alaska June 21 on NCL Pearl with a 3 y.o. and 6 y.o. This is the third Alaska cruise for our 6 y.o. and he has more fun each time. There were at least 50 kids or so in his age group 6-9 y.o. in Kids Crew. Never a dull moment. His favorite part of the cruise was the Kids Crew.

 

The White Pass train ride in Skagway was enjoyed by both kids. We bought our tickets at the depot (took a chance it might be sold out), and saved ourselves about $100 (turns out our 3 y.o. is free at the depot prices). Tickets for adults and kids were $10 cheaper per person. The nice thing was that our car only had about 12 people in it (gave the kids lots of room to move around in--important since this is a 3 hour ride), while the cruise ship cars (which were behind us, same engine/train) were about 80-90% full.

 

In Skagway, there's a park (Mollie Walsh Park) about a block off the main road in town (walkable from cruise ship) that the kids love. We've made a trip there for all 3 cruises and it's one of the kids' favorites.

 

There's a salmon hatchery (walkable distance even for 6 y.o.) in Ketchikan (we didn't go in, but saw salmon coming up the river on our August cruise). Our kids enjoyed the funicular ride up to Cape Fox Lodge also.

 

In Juneau, you can take a bus to Mendenhall Glacier (short hike to get to it from visitors center) for $7/person. Since most excursions are somewhat long in Alaska, we choose to do some independent things just in case the kids get antsy (that gives us freedom to get back to the ship if we need to).

 

Our kids seemed to enjoy the more mundane things: children's storytime at the Ketchikan library, exploring the children's section of the Juneau library, getting a snack in town, playing at Mollie Walsh playground, etc. No need to spend a lot of money entertaining them. If you can, try to go with another family or some grandparents. That way, if you want to do a longer excursion, they can watch the kids. Also, I've read a few lines have kids programs while in port (NCL did not), so the kids can stay on board the ship, while you explore the port.

 

Don't worry about the kids not enjoying an Alaska cruise, they will. :D

[quanmama]

Our DS was 6yo when we took our Alaska cruise last year. He had a blast! He loved the sled dog ride!

[bbcruiser]

We did pack for swimming, but it was cold the week we went. It didn't stop the teenagers from swimming and using the hot tubs though;)

 

Weather can vary because the people 2 weeks before us talked about it being 80 degrees on their cruise (read it on the boards).

[bensmom1]

We're taking our 6-year-old on NCL Pearl next month. He loved the kids club on Carnival a couple of years ago, so expect he will enjoy NCL's, too. I thought NCL does have the kids club available while in port, but we only plan to use it while at sea anyway. We opted for less expensive shore excursions that we think he'll enjoy as well--Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, White Pass railroad in Skagway, and the lumberjack show in Ketchikan--each will also allow at least a little free time in the ports.

[bbcruiser]

I think you have to pay for Kids Crew while in port. Ask them at the sign up time when you get on the ship.

[sbhammond]

It all sounds wonderful (especially the dog-sledding!) You have convinced me. Thanks for your advice.:)

[rebeccalouise]

On most of the ships there is a small fee to leave the kids onboard for the whole port day. This is usually $ 6.00 per hour from 12-2 only (so $ 12)- what a deal!

 

I have done Alaska four times/ 3 of those time with kids ages 5, 8 and 12. In June, July and August there will be kids- don't worry.

 

Late May and early June is the best time to go because the whales are making their migration and you can see many spouting and I actually saw an orka jump out of the water ala Free Willy. August is probably the worst month because it tends to rain.

 

Alaska is scenic and a great cruise for families.

 

As for pools- on Norwegian they were heated. On Princess there was an indoor heated pool. Most of the lines do heat the pools in Alaska. If you have any questions about this call the cruise line directly.

[A&Emom]

We are just back from cruising Alaska(7/4-7/11) on the Sapphire Princess with our 6yo & 2yo. We had a blast and my 6yo dd is already planning a return trip for when her brother can do more of the "fun" things.

 

This was a multi-generation, family vacation so there were built-in playmates for my daughter. However, there were quite a few other near-age children on the ship, so she made some new friends as well and now has an e-mail pal.

 

Before we boarded our ship in Whittier we took the "Prince William Sound" tour. The "Toursaver" book made this and and a few other excursions more affordable. Seeing Glaiciers upclose was amazing but my daughter like seeing the family of otters and jellyfish floating by the most.

 

She went to the kids program on the ship for the first few days until we were just too busy. Day 2 on the ship was Glacier Bay. Park rangers came on and conducted a wonderfully imformative program. My daughter was thrilled to leave the Kids Club with her Jr Ranger's badge, a stuffed eagle and eagle feather.

 

In Skagway, we rented a car and using "Murray's Guide" drove the "White Pass & Yukon" route. This was the cheapest family excursion and the highlight of our trip because we saw a wild, black bear on the highway around mile 31. Our daugter took several pictures of it using our digital camera. We have quite a few pictures of it's butt as it ambled away.

 

In Juneau she did the helicopter & dogsledding tour and in Ketchikan she took the Bering Sea tour. She enjoyed them both. Especially the helicopter ride.

 

On the ship she spent plenty of time in both the covered indoor pool and outdoor pool as well as the hot tub. Both pools were heated and we had plenty of sunshine and warm weather last week. All in all I woulld say a well planned trip with your 6yo shoud be lots of fun for you both.