cruising to Alaska- Disney style

[wilmywood]

We just got off the Wonder and now some of my family wants to go on a cruise to Alaska. I would rather just take another trip with Disney but thought I'd ask the wise travelers on this board if they had ever travelled with kids to Alaska and could they recommend a cruise line or trip. I am still pushing for the Western 7 day trip on the Magic but who knows.... maybe I'll get both!!!!

 

[TootyJane]

Actually we did the inside passage to Alaska last summer. We have 3 boys and we all had fun. We went on the Regal Princess. It was a fabulous trip and I'd recommend going to anyone!! HTH

 

[fireplug]

We spoke with a CM at the castaway club party and she stated Disney was exploring the "possibility" of a third ship (fingers AND toes are now crossed) and that it would be involved in various cruises depending on the season. and YES that even included, GASP, Alaska.

Well I could hardly contain myself, we are planning an Alaskan Cruise for 2004 and would LOVE it to be DCl......

However, Princess has some very nice packages and if DCL is not there yet we will probably go with them.



Steve

 

[pal2pluto]

Dh would love to do Alaska....I'm also interested in comments from you who have been there, done that.

 

[atigeg]

We did Alaska on Radiance of the Seas (RCCL) this past summer. We were told that we would be the "youngsters" on the ship, but that wasn't true at all. It seemed like there were even more kids than we typically see on Disney!! I would say that Radiance is a good ship for families because they have lots of kid activities such as the rock-climbing wall and self-leveling billiards tables, which were always mobbed with youngsters. The only bad thing is that the kid-themed pool is outdoors, and of course it is waaaay too cold to use it on an Alaskan trip. Seems like poor planning on RCCL's part. The indoor pool is supposed to be adults-only except during certain hours, but that was not observed...not that I blame the kids, as I sure wouldn't want to freeze my you-know-what off while swimming outside!
The ship has lots of glass for primo viewing of the magnificent vistas. RCCL offers some good shore excursions, although we learned that you can book them yourself for less money. But some (like the horseback riding) are not available independently--they are totally booked by the ships. We did things like dog sledding on a glacier, the horse ride, kayaking in an eagle reserve, and canoeing, and flying in a sea plane and a helicopter. What an adventure!! It was hubby's dream trip, although he complained the whole time about the cold (we went 4th of July week).
The time change was a killer for me...dinner time was waaaay past my bedtime. The food was good, but I didn't get to see many of the shows because they were after dinner rather than before for late seating (poor planning on RCCL's part). The staterooms were not as large as Disney's, and our verandah was over a lifeboat which obstructed our view. They should take a lesson from Disney and design their new ships to eliminate that obstruction. All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip. I would recommend RCCL over Princess for families because we met a lot of people from Princess and they were all definitely older vs. all the families on Radiance.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com