Excursions for Alaska with toddlers

[Jeweledrose]

hello all! We can’t wait! First Disney cruise. We are leaving for Alaska at the end of May and although I’ve read as many topics as I can find I can’t find too much about what to do with young kids (age almost 2 and 4). A lot of threads are either old or for older kids. Anyone gone recent years and have any thoughts on excursions for small children? Ours have traveled quite a bit but I don’t want to do a long train ride etc as our older son would be bored and it wouldn’t be fun for us or other passengers. Any excursions you’ve found that work particularly well for this age? We do not utilize nursery or kids club at all, they will be with us.
Right now al I have booked is the dog sled musher in Juneau , but could alter this as well.
Any other tips for a first time Disney cruiser are also appreciated! We’ve done many celebrity, regent of seven seas, etc but no Disney! Excited to give it a try.
Thank you!!

 

[lklgoodman]

My dd was 6 yrs old when did our Alaskan cruise. She enjoyed the lumber jack show in Ketchikan. In Juneau we went on a tour of 3 places--a salmon hatchery (very boring) , a tour of Glacier Garden rainforest, beautiful plants/flowers, and Mendenhall glacier. It's been 5 yrs since we went. There's a trail to get to the glacier. I think it was around a mile walk. We saw a momma bear with 2 cubs, right where the bus dropped us off. Make sure you get pics with the fab 5 in their special Alaskan outfits.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I would agree. Lumberjack show was action packed. It’ll keep their attention.

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

Any interest in whale watching? We're doing that in Juneau and a sled dog camp in Skagway. We have 5 kids between 3 and 6 in our group.

 

[dmbcrush5]

Without a doubt, the Taku Glacier Lodge seaplane tour was the best excursion we did in Alaska (Juneau). The pickup is a 3 minute shuttle ride from the port and the seaplanes all fly in in the morning, so you can watch from the ship as they land and taxi to the pickup. Our kids (7 and 2.5) loved watching that while eating breakfast. They LOVED the flight - it was super smooth and only about 25 minutes long each way. As you can imagine, the views are breathtaking and they provided an extra seat cushion, so our little guy could see perfectly. It would have been fine if he wanted to sit in our lap, but he had his own seat and wanted to use it! The view of the glacier at the lodge is jaw dropping and watching the bear stalk the grill and continuously get chased up the tree by the lodge staff (they are serious about safety) was hysterical to the kids and a big crowd-pleaser. Once the food was done cooking, they moved all of us away so the bear could get to work on the scraps. The food was INCREDIBLE! It's pricey, but worth every penny and we'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Jeweledrose]

I would agree. Lumberjack show was action packed. It’ll keep their attention.

The lumberjack show did not seem like something I would be interested in but so many people recommend it! Maybe we will give that a try. Thank you!

 

[Jeweledrose]

Any interest in whale watching? We're doing that in Juneau and a sled dog camp in Skagway. We have 5 kids between 3 and 6 in our group.

I enjoy whale watching but I know my son and he’s a great behaved boy, but he is a go go guy, and I just know he could not sit bored on a boat for several hours. I worry we would regret going . When they are older, we can come again and whale watching will be great!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We haven't gone yet, but we are taking our soon to be 3 year-old on the first Alaska cruise in May. We have booked a green jeep to drive ourselves in Skagway, because like you I did not want to be trapped on the train with bored kids. This way we can stop and let them run around. We will drive it up to Carcross and stop at one of the gold panning/dog mushing summer camps so they can pet the puppies. Juneau we are doing whale watching, we did that in Hawaii and they had a great time then. Ketchikan we have a floatplane booked but that one will be dependent on weather.

 

[Yokelridesagain]

Having done Alaska twice with kids in a similar age range:

1) Whale watching in Juneau: it's a fun boat ride, and they will see whales. No, they probably won't remember it, but you will remember them seeing it.

2) Ketchikan-Float plane to Misty Fjords. This is not a budget option, but most kids like airplanes and this is an exciting and beautiful experience. The planes are loud, so kids who need more than physical proximity to parents will not enjoy.

3) White Pass Railway in Skagway-The early elementary kids enjoyed this more than the really little kids, but it is a train ride, after all, and is spectacular.

 

[Dug720]

I enjoy whale watching but I know my son and he’s a great behaved boy, but he is a go go guy, and I just know he could not sit bored on a boat for several hours. I worry we would regret going . When they are older, we can come again and whale watching will be great!

There is one that includes some education - you go to a pot that has been dropped and pull it up and look at (and touch some if you want) things that have come in. You are also helping to check for an invasive crab species they do NOT want to find - as part of it. Hands-on and pretty active. The guide also gave us lots of information about humpbacks while we were going to the area where they had been sighted. We also saw sea lions and orcas on the way. You're definitely not "sitting bored" during the trip if you pick the right one. And once you're in the midst of a humpback feeding, anyone who is bored is not doing it right.

 

[cmph]

I enjoy whale watching but I know my son and he’s a great behaved boy, but he is a go go guy, and I just know he could not sit bored on a boat for several hours. I worry we would regret going . When they are older, we can come again and whale watching will be great!

You're describing my nephew, who was 2 last summer when we all went. But he enjoyed whale watching. We did a private one and saw many whales. He was go-go on the ship, so I actually think he was ok with some time with less movement (although you can walk around the boat, you're not strapped to a seat the whole time). The key was that he was entertained by the ride itself and the animals. He also LOVED the eagles in Ketchikan, when they swooped down to catch fish; our bus tour there was otherwise boring. He slept through their excursion in Skagway, which involved sled dog puppies and I think gold panning? (We split up 3 ways that day, and I was ziplining.) It sounded ideal for a toddler, but again - I think he was go-go so much on the ship, he just crashed once he was strapped into his stroller. I don't think my sister was impressed with that excursion and wished they had picked something else, esp since he slept through the puppies part! I guess the primary point here is to pick something they can do but not something you're doing just for or because of them... in case they crash LOL!

 

[Jeweledrose]

Thanks everyone! I’m going to look at a few of these . We may do a few activities with companies not related to the ship. We generally do this on cruises and rarely have taken cruise sponsored excursions but with little kids now somehow it sounded easier.