<p>I realize the OTHER cc forum is more appropriate for this question, but I get such excellent advice here I thought I’d try.</p>
<p>If you have taken an Alaskan cruise please let me know which cruise line & ports of call that you enjoyed. Also, did you take your college aged kids? I wonder if they’d be bored?</p>
<p>My inlaws, SIL/husband/21year old nephew/13year old niece just got back from an Alaskan cruise…they went on Princess, and also did the week land trip to Denali. Everyone including the 21 year old had a great time!</p>
<p>My favorite stop was Sitka. It was a small town with Russian influence and one that I had remember reading about in Weekly Reader from grade school! I also enjoyed renting a car in Skagway and driving to the Yukon to see the world’s smallest desert- Carcross. </p>
<p>Try and get a balcony. We lucked out and were upgraded to one. We took Carnival from Seward south to Vancouver. Wonderful trip!</p>
<p>thumper, my friends may have been on the same cruise (just got back from Alaskan cruise on Princess Line) They went with a large extended family group of all ages and everyone had a fantastic time. The kids tended to stay up way too late because it never got dark… but they all had a great time. Now my wife wants to go.</p>
<p>We went some years ago for an inside passage week-long cruise on Royal Caribbean. The stops were Skagway, Sitka, and Juneau. I cannot remember where we did what, but we took the train ride, which was fun, and we did the white-water raft (float, really) and enjoyed it. We also just hired a local boat owner to take us out to see some wildlife and saw some otters or sea lions and some bald eagles. We had quite a nice trip, but our kids were younger.</p>
<p>Did the Celebrity Infinity last year to Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway. Wonderful. The train excursion was a highlight.</p>
<p>We went on Golden Princess, Inside Passage. Had a 7-day cruise, Seattle r/t. It was fun but would have liked to see land portion, including Denali. We invited our kids but neither could get away. Went with several other couples – my buddy & her H plus some old HS classmates of H’s. had a lot of fun. </p>
<p>Would recommend traditional meal, first seating. We went on our own to evening tea at Empress Restaurant in Victoria, which we enjoyed. Enjoyed all stops and walking around on our own. Did join a few small land tours and saw some wildlife. Would bring some binoculars, if you can. </p>
<p>We did have balcony cabin, which was nice for viewing glaciers, but not essential.</p>
<p>Two years ago for my husband’s 50th birthday we sailed on Holland America’s Statendam with two teenagers (13 and 17) from Vancouver to Seward through the Inside Passage. We stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and also sailed into Glacier Bay. It was the trip of a lifetime! We all loved it and even though Holland America has a reputation for catering mostly to an older crowd, my kids enjoyed themselves quite a bit. Once we reached Seward instead of doing a land tour with a cruise line, we took a train to Anchorage (beautiful!) and then rented a car there and drove ourselves to Denali. It was less expensive that way plus we had more flexibility with how much time we spent there. We would do it again in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>^^We also went on Holland America, probably @4-5 years ago, but a different ship and itinerary…with our kids who were a bit younger (maybe 12 & 15 at the time)…we LOVED our trip! Sailing through Glacier Bay was definitely a highlight of the trip…I forget each city, but remember Sitka…we flew into Seattle and stopped at Vancouver on the way back down…LOVED everything about the trip!! The kids did too! Saw a ton of gorgeous wildlife including bears…we did a kayak trip which was spectacular…</p>
<p>We have been on a number of cruises to warm weather destinations, so it was definitely strange to see so many passengers with heavy winter coats on board the ship! We went in August and it was still cold enough for heavy jackets and gloves, etc.</p>
<p>We loved walking around downtown Victoria on Vancouver island…</p>
<p>The kids won’t be bored! It’s really a fascinating adventure.</p>
<p>Not the cruise you are thinking of, but out of Anchorage (technically, I think it is Whittier), there was a day cruise to see lots of glaciers. Going on a small boat allows you to get really close.</p>
<p>May I pose another question re Alaskan cruise recommendations? Anyone out there done a smaller ship cruise that they’d recommend that isn’t a zillion dollars?</p>
<p>My in laws took the whole family on an Alaskan cruise in 2007. We sailed the Inside Passage on the Coral Princess from Vancouver to Anchorage. It was awesome! I frequented Cruise Critic for advice, and we set up our day trips in port locally, rather than through the ship — we had some great land adventures, thanks to the advice of the Cruise Critic post-ers.</p>
<p>We did the Golden Princess in June 2011, inside passage, round trip from Seattle. DS had just graduated from high school and younger DS was 9. Everybody had a blast. Being from Texas, the Alaska weather in June was fabulous. In Juneau, we toured the Mendenhall Glacier and did a whale-watching boat trip. Both were fantastic. In Ketchikan, we did the lumberjack show and walked around the very cute town. In Skagway, we did a bus tour – in a small bus, 16-passenger van – that went up the same route as the White Pass Railroad, but was less expensive. Our van driver was from Scotland, but he taught English at a community college in Arizona and spent his summers in Skagway. He was wonderful.</p>
<p>We just did a five-day cruise to Mexico (Progreso and Cozumel), but the Alaska cruise is still #1!</p>
<p>I just got back from a 7 day cruise going north from Vancouver to Seward. </p>
<p>I sailed on the Celebrity Millennium. I loved it! If you go, try to get a suite with a balcony. I was in a Sky Suite and it was really nice. </p>
<p>You have a “butler” who is really helpful with any questions you have about the cruise while you are sailing or about ports. </p>
<p>My family booked excursions through the cruise and it worked out pretty well. We went to 4 ports and sailed for 1 day on the inside passage and 1 day when we got really close to the Hubbard glacier, which was amazing.</p>
<p>We took the Coral Princess last year from Anchorage/Whittier to Vancouver. We sailed through Glacier Bay, went to Hubbard Glacier, and stopped at Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. We had a fabulous trip! There were some college-aged kids who seemed to be enjoying themselves, and my d was not happy that we went without her! (But it was our 30th anniversary so . . .)</p>
<p>We did the small boat tour through Prince William Sound in Whittier before we got on the ship, and it was great. We went with Major Marine Tours, and we got very close to the glaciers. </p>
<p>In Juneau, we did whale watching with Orca Cruises, and they then dropped us off and picked us up at Mendenhall Glacier.</p>
<p>Our favorite, though, was kayaking in Ketchikan with Southeast Sea Kayak. They take only 6 people out on a tour (3 kayaks), but we were the only people who went! It was an amazing excursion.</p>
<p>I would advise a one-way trip, either up from Vancouver or down from Anchorage. Otherwise, you don’t get far north enough to see a lot of the most beautiful landscapes.</p>
<p>" did you take your college aged kids? I wonder if they’d be bored?"</p>
<p>Oh no, college aged kids will not be bored. There are so many things to do on a cruise boat, and if you pick a newer, larger boat, your odds are that the entertainment will be excellent. Princess is a great choice for kids, also RCCL and Carnival (if they are newer boats). They have so many things to do, particularly for the Alaska and Caribbean cruises. Tons of entertainment. What are their interests?</p>
<p>The other cc forum is great to read individual reviews and specific boat reviews, to help you narrow it down. But my best advice is STAY AWAY from older, smaller boats.</p>
<p>I agree with chedva, go either up or down. No round trips, you don’t see as much.</p>
<p>We did a Lindblad cruise from Juneau to Sitka a few years ago. This is a smaller boat, around 80 people, I think, and the activities are nature-oriented. Small boats can adapt to the circumstances and get a lot closer to glaciers than large cruise ships. It was expensive, and not for older people with mobility problems, but a great trip.</p>
<p>^^I have always wanted to go on a smaller boat. Always wanted to try Windstar Cruises (to the Caribbean). I just don’t think there is enough to entertain kids, though, whether younger or college aged, so we’ll have to wait till it’s parents only. It seems like it would be fun to really get to know the other passengers.</p>
<p>^Different strokes…I have no desire to get to know the other passengers. The part of cruising I enjoy the LEAST is when I’m forced to dine with strangers. I can make small talk for 5 min by the pool, but it’s draining to me to have to do it for an entire meal. And my husband is no help at all.</p>
<p>Our first 2 cruises we were assigned ‘permanent’ tablemates. Happily, the last 2 we’ve had our kids and were able to get a table of 4. This cruise would have 8, so no problem :-).</p>