Considering Alaska 2022 w/3 & 5 yr old kids

[jktmom]

We are considering a 7 nt. Alaska cruise for summer 2022 and I am looking for your experience cruising with little kids in AK. My 5 year old cruised 3 times pre-covid and my little guy has never been. We are looking at the 9/5/22 sailing. Specifically looking for your experiences on shore excursions with littles.

Thanks!

 

[Chemist]

We held off until our younger one was old enough to the do the excursions we wanted to do. (We wanted to do active excursions and didn't want him to slow us down.)

My advice is to see what shore excursions you want to do, and if they are a choice with your family.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We cruised to Alaska on DCL in May 2019 with a then 3 year old and 7 year old. We did private shore excursions as much as possible because I didn't want to be stuck on a group bus tour with a little one having a meltdown or getting carsick, etc.

Vancouver: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Breakfast with Bears on Grouse Mountain, Rented bikes with toddler trailer to bike around Stanley Park, visited aquarium, Flying over Canada (little one was too short so took turns with eldest)

Glacier Day: DCL Glacier Explorer excursion, took turns to save paying for kids who would have whined about the cold the whole time anyway. Spouse went on first boat, I went on second.

Skagway: Rented Green jeeps and drove to Tutshi Sled Dog camp for sled dog ride and gold panning. They both took a short nap on the drive back to the ship, then after lunch we took a Temsco helicopter to a glacier for Glacier Walk excursion.

Juneau: Whale watching tour on the Scania with Captain Alan (google Adventures in Alaska charters) Ended up being a private charter because no one else booked that day.

Ketchikan: Float plane to the Misty Fjords

I recommend grabbing first seating at dinner if you can. Many nights my little one was so tuckered out he fell asleep before dessert. My eldest absolutely adored the kids clubs. No idea how things might change with the clubs post-covid, but it was hard to pull him out. With Character meets, check the schedule and show up at the designated spot before the character appears, drawing a huge line. This will save you a long wait, especially for the characters in their Alaska outfits on Glacier Day. We only went to the Frozen stage show and I think it's not to be missed. We also signed up in advance for the Frozen character greeting and the Character breakfast, both were really fun.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

If I had it to do again I think I would have tried for the helicopter tour in Juneau to the glacier for dog sledding, because the kids were so cold on the boat (despite being dressed in many warm layers, the wind off the water was chilly) they didn't really enjoy the whale watching. If we were in Ketchikan during bear season I would have tried for a floatplane to the Anan bear observatory. I would absolutely rent a green jeep in Skagway again, but would try to go further maybe to Emerald Lake.

 

[cdoc29]

We cruised with a 4 and 7 year old in September of 2018

Juneau - Rainforest hike and Whale watching. The guide was awesome, the hike was about 1/2 mile and very easy for my children. They took the time to include them and make sure they were present when he stopped to show things along the hike. The hike takes you to the edge of the lake where you can see Mendenhall across the water. The whale watching was awesome, just be careful as the boat has open windows and my wife was very nervous about it. We saw Whales, Seals, Sea Lions. Kids loved it. We capped the day off with a meal at the twisted fish which has both excellent seafood and great burgers for the non-seafood eaters.

Skagway - We rode the train the summit, 4 year old enjoyed the first 30 minutes then became bored 7 year who loves trains had a blast. We also went to the mushers camp and got to play with the puppies and roast s'mores. My kids loved this activity and still talk about three years later. We also shopped and got ice cream in town before heading back to the ship.

Our ship at the time went to Vicoria and we went to the gardens.

My kids loved the cruise so much they convinced Grand Parents to go and now we will be booking for 9/5/202 as well.

I don't feel I missed out on anything having small kids.This next time they will be 8 and 11 and we are planning to a more extensive day hike around Mendenhall and then the Zip Line and S'mores again with Grandma in Skagway. Not sure what we will do in Ketchikan.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Worth noting that a lot of excursions won't be available for a September cruise. So it may also depend on what you hoped to do. Helicopter or dog sled on a glacier will be a no, for instance; that's usually done by mid-July. Mountains will not be snow capped.

 

[Ronneeaght]

Following along as we are considering a cruise with 4yo and 7yo in 2023. Already got some great ideas from c&k on another thread. I've bookmarked puppies and s'mores now, too!