Best Alaska Trip for Family with Teen

[Chemist]

THERE IS ACTUALLY NOTHING TO DO/EXPLORE IN WHITTIER!
(There are no restaurants, no rental cars, nothing to do)

Sorry for yelling, needed to get that out there. You will need to take an excursion of some sort from the cruise port back to Anchorage. There are some really nice ones that include multiple stops (glacier sightseeing, animals, etc), or you can take a bus directly to Anchorage and explore there.

We used https://alaskacruisetransfer.com/tours/whittier-anchorage-narrated-direct-bus-shuttle-transfer/.

 

[jimmymc]

Thank you for your response! We can only spend one night after the cruise ends before we need to fly home. We will prioritize excursions in port and want to see as much of Alaska as possible. We are leaning towards Princess due to time in port/preferred docking locations as well as Alaskan food/activities on board. I’m afraid that NCL will nickel and dime us and that the kids focused activities (go carts/waterslides) won’t be open for the majority of the cruise.

It was true that the go karts and waterslides weren't open as often as I would've liked on the Encore, and many things cost extra. For either cruise, I recommend bringing a book or tablet with some downloaded content. You'll inevitably have some gaps in the schedule on sea days between activities, and it will probably be too cold to swim on glacier days.

I would recommend princess for the port times and glacier viewing. The shows might not be as good, but I think you can still entertain yourselves for a few hours if there's nothing scheduled that interests you.

 

[jimmymc]

THERE IS ACTUALLY NOTHING TO DO/EXPLORE IN WHITTIER!
(There are no restaurants, no rental cars, nothing to do)

Sorry for yelling, needed to get that out there. You will need to take an excursion of some sort from the cruise port back to Anchorage. There are some really nice ones that include multiple stops (glacier sightseeing, animals, etc), or you can take a bus directly to Anchorage and explore there.

We used https://alaskacruisetransfer.com/tours/whittier-anchorage-narrated-direct-bus-shuttle-transfer/.

I can second this. Book a tour, train, or bus back to Anchorage the day you disembark. Then it's up to you if you take the red eye or spend a night in Anchorage.

 

[Liastaob]

I'm currently on that exact same NCL cruise, and I’d agree we didn't have nearly enough time at most of the ports. I'd probably pick a different cruise line were I to do Alaska again.

 

[Dust2]

I'm currently on that exact same NCL cruise, and I’d agree we didn't have nearly enough time at most of the ports. I'd probably pick a different cruise line were I to do Alaska again.

I’m sorry to hear that your cruise isn’t working out as well as you hoped. Thank you for letting me know about your experience.

 

[Liastaob]

I’m sorry to hear that your cruise isn’t working out as well as you hoped. Thank you for letting me know about your experience.

I honestly think I've been spoiled by Disney

 

[tidefan]

I like Princess and would do Princess every time. The itinerary is much better, and, as mentioned prior, the NCL dock in Ketchikan is a good bit out of town actually. Princess docks right in town. Our DD is now 22, but has been on a number of Princess cruises and she loved them as a teen. Those Alaska cruises in the Summer tend to skew younger.

Actually, I would cruise Princess over NCL even in the Caribbean as well, but maybe that's just me, but when your kids turn 18, Virgin beats them all...

 

[Liastaob]

I like Princess and would do Princess every time. The itinerary is much better, and, as mentioned prior, the NCL dock in Ketchikan is a good bit out of town actually. Princess docks right in town. Our DD is now 22, but has been on a number of Princess cruises and she loved them as a teen. Those Alaska cruises in the Summer tend to skew younger.

Actually, I would cruise Princess over NCL even in the Caribbean as well, but maybe that's just me, but when your kids turn 18, Virgin beats them all...

Yeah, a significant chunk of time we spent at Ketchikan was on a bus. On the plus side, the lumberjack show was pretty fun. I just wish we'd had some time to tour the town afterwards.

On another note, the Encore seems way more crowded than the Wish or Treasure; I have no idea why that is, since the capacity is almost identical.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Victoria is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Especially at night.
But I agree with others that princess is probably option.
If there is any way to stay longer take it. Because it’s a long way to return for what I think are the true highlights.
Denali and the Kenai peninsula

 

[Dust2]

I honestly think I've been spoiled by Disney

We are in the same boat. We’ve cruised a total of 4 times, all with Disney. Unfortunately they are too expensive and don’t visit Glacier Bay so we are branching out. It’s difficult to learn the ropes with different lines and I really appreciate the advice.

 

[Liastaob]

We are in the same boat. We’ve cruised a total of 4 times, all with Disney. Unfortunately they are too expensive and don’t visit Glacier Bay so we are branching out. It’s difficult to learn the ropes with different lines and I really appreciate the advice.

Same thing! I kind of chose Norwegian on a whim, due to the timing of the cruise and they allegedly had a pretty good kids program. I don't want to be too negative, but it's... not the best.

 

[ZYX2008]

I'd go with Princess. My kids/teens LOVED our Princess cruise to Alaska and were not bored. There are plenty of kids on Princess in the summer and they have lots of planned activities to accommodate them. For our cruise, they had lots of cultural activities too - they brought on Iditarod puppies and had a Park Ranger in the kids' club for Glacier Bay day. We've since cruised Princess in the Mediterranean and have another cruise with them scheduled for next year.

 

[Chemist]

Honestly, maybe we went too early in the summer (2nd week of June), but there weren't very many kids on the ship and my kid was kind of bored some of the time. There wasn't really a critical mass of kids. (And they don't get to visit with the puppies anymore.).