Alaska or Europe?

[Princess Leia]

I think I am going to wait. Thanks for your input! Alaska it is.

I hope you have a fabulous time!

 

[ldo]

good idea. i really think 6/7 is too young for what you want to do.

 

[Keyser]

I am late to the thread, but I think you're making a good choice. I'll throw one other reason out there: Much of Europe (at least that part) is something that can be experienced by land just as well, if not significantly better, than by sea. If your main goal is to see the Italian cities, just take a trip to Italy - it's not hard at all to get around Italy and you'll have much more time to actually experience Italy. It's hard for me to imagine just part of one day in Rome, for instance. Or seeing Pisa but not Florence. On the other hand, Alaska (at least that part) is much more easily experienced by sea. You can't drive to Juneau, for instance, even if you wanted to, and sailing up a fjord is pretty amazing on a ship (though I imagine there are some roads on fjords, too). Now, if the Europe cruise were more about visiting islands or several countries or something, this isn't as good of an argument, but if your main interest is the Italian cities, then a Mediterranean cruise might not be the best choice.

 

[Mirthful]

We did Alaska last year with our 6 year old son and we all loved it. He loved the humpbacks, spotting bald eagles in the trees, we spotted dall porpoises. The scenery is breathtaking. A kid in his class this year was reading a book called, "Wolves of Alaska". He told my son, "There are only wolves in Alaska". My son told him there is a lot more than wolves in Alaska because he's been there, lol.

We all want to go back & are eyeing up the 9 day itinerary

We are taking him on the Med cruise in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how he does with that. It really is more for us though, because we've never been to Europe, but hopefully he picks up a few things. He really just wants to be back on the ship and was giggling with the call from Goofy tonight about our upcoming cruise.

 

[Hundredacre]

Whichever has the shorter flight. My kids on planes=. When we do alaska we will be roadtripping it.

 

[Love2Cruz]

I just want to add I took my 7 year old to Europe this summer. We had a blast and since we took a Mediterranean cruise line she was able to really get the full cultural diversity feel of the cruise. Will she remember any of it? No. We have a huge map in our "study room" of the world and I keep going over with her the places we visited and try to get her to recall the memories..but it's a 50/50 exercise. Maybe she will recall some it in her later school years but I doubt it.
Still, we had an amazing trip and spent quality time together and visited beautiful places. I chose half day excursions instead of full day ones and the educational tours in Athens, she was pretty bored with. But would I do it again, absolutely!
I did a tour of Germany and Italy when I was in my early 20's, and I don't remember much of it either...lol..

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I know you've made your decision and, personally, I think you've made the right choice. We did the Alaska cruise when my DS was 5, did an Adventures by Disney trip when he was 6 and did the Magic Northern Europe cruises (B2B) when he was 7. He did enjoy the Europe cruise and he will definitely remember it (in fact, he wants to go back to Norway), but the European cruises are very port intensive and the Med cruise ports will be VERY hot in August (my DH and I toured Pompeii in July a few years back and it was over 100 degrees F. Not fun for younger children who may not completely understand what they are experiencing!). With airfare and possibly arriving a few days post-cruise, etc., the Europe cruises are also very expensive. We did the Alaska cruise in August and the weather was spectacular. My DS, though only 5 at the time and 8 now, still talks about dog sledding and visiting with the puppies. It really is a great cruise to take with younger children.

 

[wonderlandwego]

I know you've made your decision and, personally, I think you've made the right choice. We did the Alaska cruise when my DS was 5, did an Adventures by Disney trip when he was 6 and did the Magic Northern Europe cruises (B2B) when he was 7. He did enjoy the Europe cruise and he will definitely remember it (in fact, he wants to go back to Norway), but the European cruises are very port intensive and the Med cruise ports will be VERY hot in August (my DH and I toured Pompeii in July a few years back and it was over 100 degrees F. Not fun for younger children who may not completely understand what they are experiencing!). With airfare and possibly arriving a few days post-cruise, etc., the Europe cruises are also very expensive. We did the Alaska cruise in August and the weather was spectacular. My DS, though only 5 at the time and 8 now, still talks about dog sledding and visiting with the puppies. It really is a great cruise to take with younger children.

Thank you. I've been checking out excursions and am getting excited. The helicopter/glacier dog sledding is an absolute must for us on this trip.

 

[xlxo]

This old vid may help with the pixie dust excitement...

 

[NancyIL]

I also would've recommended Alaska in the summer - especially if you live in a hot part of the US. I have visited northern Europe in the summer, but I have no interest in traveling to the Med when it's hot. That's a destination I'd visit in the spring or fall.

 

[wonderlandwego]

Thank all for the input! I appreciate it!

I hope you have a fabulous time!

Thank you!

This old vid may help with the pixie dust excitement...

Thanks!!!!

 

[GPaLarry]

I think I am going to wait. Thanks for your input! Alaska it is.

If you going to Alaska, consider spending a week in Victoria, BC, a short hop from Vancouver, pre or post cruise. Wife and I, with daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids (7, 10 & 12) did this a month ago (we drove from home in Oregon and ferried from Port Angeles). Kids thought it was like Disneyland North. They have a Bug Zoo, Miniature Museum, British Museum (Mammoth exhibit was great), seal feeding at Fishermen's Warf (a big hit), Butchart Gardens (scavenger hunt for kids), etc. Youngest one said, "I want to stay 100 more days." They also have an Old Spaghetti Factory for picky eaters. Glad to help with additional info, if needed.