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Thread: Alaskan Cruise

  1. #1
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    Default Alaskan Cruise

    Has anyone ever taken young kids on an Alaskan cruise. My kids would be 7 and just turned 3. I understand they may not “get a lot out of it” and I’m ok with that. We would be going as part of a multigenerational trip so I would make that sacrifice to have me and them spend time with family we don’t see regularly. There will be cousins, but my kids are the youngest by far. My concern is that without the option of a pool/swimming, there just won’t be enough to entertain them for a week (especially the 3 year old). And with such a small room/such close quarters I could see her making the trip less fun for everyone.


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  2. #2
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    Default Alaskan Cruise

    We went in the summer of 2018. At the time, my kids were 12, 9, and almost 5. We had never been on a cruise before. Youngest two loved the kids club. The youngest wanted to be there all the time. Our ship had an “indoor” pool, and my kids swam a couple of times. We very much enjoyed the ports. We didn’t do any formal paid excursions, but we rented cars in Juneau and Skagway and saw way more that we could would have on an excursion and it was waaaaaay cheaper. We took princess out of Vancouver and got off in Whittier and spent 4 days in Alaska before heading back home.

    The youngest loved the food court and we would feed him there then send him to kids club then go to the sit down restaurant for dinner. There was also a game room and we played games on one of the at sea days. Room was tiny, but that’s life on a cruise.


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  3. #3
    AnnieW625's Avatar
    AnnieW625 is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Default Alaskan Cruise

    I would only consider a cruise with kids that age if there was a kids club for the days or afternoons at sea especially if the weather is too cold to be swimming. We went on an Oceania cruise (which is geared towards retirees, but there were still couples between 30-50 so it didn’t skew quite as old as I thought it would at least during the times we are and the excursions we went on) to the Baltics and while there were kids on the cruise we didn’t see them other than in the pool and on some of the excursions and there was only one maybe two families with a kid who was under age 5. And I had heard from grandparents or parents in the elevators and common areas that the teens hung out in the room and watched videos or played video games.

    Our kids who are 13 and 9 didn’t go on the cruise although DD1 would’ve probably been ok with the excursions we chose, but DD2 would’ve been bored to tears especially without a kids club. Dd1 would’ve spent all her time with us and avoided the kids club or teen club like the plague....my kids are polar opposites.

    I absolutely loved the small ship experience but if we were to ever cruise again especially with the kids we would probably opt for a cruise with at least two pools and a kids club. I also loved the variety of food in the buffet and it was not stressful to eat there vs. the nights we had dinner reservations.


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    Last edited by AnnieW625; 09-30-2019 at 01:45 PM.
    Annie
    WOHM to two wonderful little girls born in April
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    DD L, 13,
    baby 2, 4-2009 (our Tri-18 baby)

  4. #4
    newnana is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    I don't know if the timing would coincide or if he's planning to do another, but we have always wanted to do the Steve Spangler Science at Sea Alaska cruises:

    https://stevespangler.com/interactiv...r/science-sea/

  5. #5
    mom2binsd is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    If there isn't a pool and kids club, I don't think I'd consider it with a 3 year old. A multi generational trip at the beach sounds much more fun and doable with little ones.

  6. #6
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    I know at least 2 people who took multigenerational trips with little kids on an Alaskan cruise and they LOVED it. There are a variety of shore excursions that will fit any activity/mobility levels. I will admit that it is probably the only cruise I would consider taking.
    Mom to:
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  7. #7
    smilequeen is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    DS3 was 3 when we went (also with grandparents) but it was a Disney cruise. They had a pool but it was too cold, so we only went once. He went to the kids club but never lasted that long. We took him to play games, watch movies, character meets, etc. He would also still nap a bit. My older two were 7 and almost 10 and they were great. They liked the kids club and my oldest spent most of his time on the top deck on the sports court with the other kids. We planned our excursions around the kids and they loved those.
    Mama to my boys (04,07,11)

  8. #8
    LD92599 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    We took DS1 on an Alaskan cruise when he was in 5th grade. He STILL talks about it. He LOVED it. We all did. We usually cruise w/ Disney but couldn't justify the cost for Alaska. We went with Holland America. Actually, we cruised w/ Disney last week and DS1 asked when we can cruise w/ Holland America again!

    I wanted a cruise ship company that cruised Alaska ALOT. HAL does. Do it - it's memorable FOR SURE.

  9. #9
    boilermakermom is offline Bargain Alerts forum moderator
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    We went when our kids were close in age to yours. I sent you a PM.

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