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.