Alaska Criuse - Ever done with kids?

[mamacatnv]

We are contemplating an Alaskan cruise this summer 07 or next 08. The kids would be 8 & 17 - has anyone here ever done one?

If so:
What cruise line?
Inside or Outside passage?
Did you take the kids? - Did they enjoy?

 

[TiggerPiglet]

We did an Alaskan Cruise in July '05. It was Royal Atlantic Cruise line and we were on the Radiance of the Sea. Our kids were 6 and 9 and they had a great time. We did the 7 day inside passage, round trip from Vancouver. Our kids really liked the kids club. I was a little leery about letting them go, but they never wanted to leave. I'm sure your 8 year old would love it. They have a lot of things for teens too, so your 17 year old would be able to get together with kids his/her own age.
If you want to know anything else, just ask

 

[Beth76]

It was Royal Atlantic Cruise line and we were on the Radiance of the Sea.

That's actually Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. We were on the Radiance a few years ago. We didn't take our kids but plan to take them back sometime when they're older. If you're taking kids I would highly recommend RCI's Radiance or Serenade of the Seas--very family friendly. Your kids will love it! And of course you will too. Some friends of ours had their 7yo daughter with them and one of their favorite excursions was the dog sled tour.

 

[Mom21]

We did a 10 day repositioning cruise in Oct 2003 with a then 6yo. It was on RCCL. We did an inside passage that left Vancouver and ended up in LA. Wonderful. We had the most fun. Even though there were very few children, the cruise line still had lots of fun things for them to do. DD had a blast. Alaska had lots of fun excursions for her. It was gorgeous that time of year. I highly recommend it, but then again I don't vacation without dd so it wasn't an option for us.

 

[TiggerPiglet]

That's actually Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. .

Yes, that's right. I must have had a brain fart

 

[Liberty Belle]

My parents took my son on a Holland-American Alaskan cruise when he was eleven. They all had a blast.

 

[DisnyMama]

I'm so glad that someone asked this question. My DS (15) and I (it's just the two of us )want to take an Alaskan cruise but friends have told me that the Alaskan cruises are all adults and he would not enjoy it at all. I'm going to do some research on the RCCL.

 

[TxJasmine]

We went on the Carnival Spirit to Alaska when my kids were 7 and 8. They had a wonderful time, and the ship was beautiful. There weren't many kids on the ship, but there still were lots of activities for them.

There were plenty of things to do with the children in each port. In Juneau we went whale watching; in Skagway we took a tour after which they went gold panning; in Sitka we went to a wildlife rehabilitation center and we did some hiking; in Ketchikan we went to a fish hatchery and watched the salmon.

Alaska is a great place to take kids, and there are lots of good cruise lines that go there. One thing to keep in mind, is to be sure to get a ship that has a covered pool area. This way it doesn't matter what the outside temperature is.

 

[CPM]

I've had a lot of friends that have cruised Alaska with kids and they all loved it!

We will be going with our kids this summer on the Spirit. They will be 9 & 19, similar to your kid's ages.

I think the key is not to overbook excursions and try to find ones they will like too.
My son is heavily involved with the planning. We even bought him the Leap Frog talking globe for Christmas. He's so excited. We are also doing Alaska for 9 days before the cruise. I've had him help me map out the whole trip.
My daughter says she doesn't want to do any excursions while on the cruise, so be it. Less expensive for us. lol Teens @@.

 

[CPM]

Oh, I reccomend a Southbound cruise. You will see more of Alaska that way and your long flight will be before the cruise.
There is tons of info on cruisecritic.com

 

[Thumpersmom]

We went Inside Passage in June 2005. Our DS was 9 and our DD was still cooking inside ( I was 5 months preggo!)

We went on Princess Cruiselines Sapphire Princess. We went because my grandma wanted to go again to Alaska and she can no longer travel by herself. She was 88 when we went! The whole family went (23 total) so my Dniece was 5. Both kids enjoyed the kids clubs but they had weird hours. We worked around it.

It is definately a slower paced cruise then going on Disney and the packing is harder. We had great weather so a lot of unused winter clothes but you never know what you might need. I have pictures of us out on the balcony wearing shorts and my DS swam in the outdoor pool a couple of times. Our ship had an indoor pool which was awesome!!! There were multiple nights that they went swimming at night. We were also there during the 23 hours of daylight which was pretty cool.

The Glacier was great and my son had a great time watching it. Our ship broadcast it on t.v. as well so when he was cold he went in and watched it from our cabin.

 

[m&m's mom]

We went in July '06 on RCCL Radiance, Inside passage w/ a 6 year old and a 9 year old. Actually there were over 10 kids under 16 in our group of extended family members. They had a blast! Definitely a great place to go w/ kids. We are actively trying to get our DD's as traveled as we can before they go off to college so we drag the everywhere we go. Ever since babies, never had a problem.
Alaska, especially cruises are very kid friendly. Might want to stick w/ mid-level cruiselines (Royal Caribbean, Princess) to get the best kid programs.
The girls favorite thigs were the panning for gold in Juneau and dog-sledding in Skagway.

 

[CPM]

Might want to stick w/ mid-level cruiselines (Royal Caribbean, Princess) to get the best kid programs.
The girls favorite thigs were the panning for gold in Juneau and dog-sledding in Skagway.

My kids love Camp Carnival. The Spirit, CCL's ship that sails Alaska is the lines favorite ship. Great size and experience sailing Alaska, also has a naturalist onboard.