Sunday, April 21, 2024

15 Best Alaska Cruises for Families with Kids and or Teens 2024

alaska family cruise

Juneau contains inland adventures with panoramic views and large gold mines. This area contains fewer than 1,000 residents, yet it is an important port of call for the cruise lines. Expeditions involve watching polar bears come so close you can almost touch them, using tandem kayaks, experiencing hands-on science, nature lessons provided by naturalists, and more. They can be immersed in heritage and culture along with various types of folklore.

Find Your Alaska Cruise Vacation

When considering an Alaska family small ship cruise, we suggest age 6 and older. Some ships will allow children as young as 2 years old or even babies. Most small Alaskan cruise lines do not provide babysitting services, video games or kids clubs that separate families. Instead, they provide off-vessel activities and onboard programs designed to bring families together. This line has all kinds of options for ages 3 to 17, with supervised activities and dedicated play- and hang-out centers for kids and teens on most ships. Beyond the usual assortment of arts and crafts and movie nights, kids on Princess ships also get access to educational programs (with a focus on wildlife and the environment).

Best Kids' Clubs on Cruise Ships

Alaska family small ship cruise itineraries embark in Juneau, Sitka, Gustavus, Petersburg, Ketchikan or Anchorage. Arriving two days early will give you more time to relax, acclimatize and enjoy the port prior to the cruise. Many flights to Alaska are routed through Seattle and an overnight may be required for return flights to the East Coast.

Must-Sees for Your Once in a Lifetime Alaska Cruise Vacation

In 2020, Carnival Spirit sails week-long roundtrip cruises from Seattle, and Carnival Miracle will offer 10- and 11-day Alaska cruises from San Francisco for the first time ever. A mix of itineraries includes Inside Passage ports of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, cruising Tracy Arm Fjord, and Victoria, British Columbia. Take the kids on a weeklong exploration of the 49th State, and you'll have plenty of cruise ships and itineraries to choose from. Our experts will work with you to plan the best Alaskan family cruise package for a seamless vacation.

Best Cruise Booking Sites for Families

alaska family cruise

There are also cruises that combine both Hawaii and Alaska, providing some fun in the sun combined with exploring all the splendor of Alaskan beauty. If you enjoy history, you may want to go to Icy Strait Point which features a completely restored salmon cannery originally built in 1912 that was converted to a museum. For the adventure seeker, this same area contains a 5,330-foot-long ascent with a 1,300-foot ride on the ZipRider. Additionally, they have combined wilderness attractions with urban life to create a well-rounded appreciation for all Alaska offers. Dara is a travel writer, political news junkie, and part-time actress. Born in south, she spent her childhood hopping around the U.S., even venturing as far away as Kodiak, Alaska.

alaska family cruise

Skagway

Whether you board the 84-passenger Safari Endeavour or the 22-passenger Safari Quest, each voyage with UnCruise Adventures is full of surprises for the entire family. The onboard expedition team is always at hand to exp[lain the family-friendly entertainment and adventure options on offer. If a cruise line partners with the National Geographic Society, you undoubtedly expect adventure when you get onto one of their ships, right?

Our Family Alaska Cruise: A Vacation We'll Never Forget Royal Caribbean Cruises

Cunard is one of the world’s oldest cruise lines, so it offers some of the most fabulous Alaskan cruises for families. Cunard gives you the chance to cruise the waters of the Last Frontier and take in the wonderous — all with a British flair. Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Society partner, delivers adventure and so much more. The cruise line is renowned for its educational, culture-focused Alaskan cruises where nature is, of course, the shining star of the vacation. The smaller ship offers casual environment that is nevery overcrowded. Royal Caribbean International’s Alaskan cruise is the perfect fit for the whole family.

Skagway, Alaska

Rush across the snow on a dog sled with a professional musher, fly fish for salmon in fresh rivers and soar over miles of glacial tundra in a helicopter. Watch migrating humpback whales from the deck of a catamaran or Native craftsman carve a traditional totem pole, and expand your Alaska cruise experience. On a cruise to Alaska, live a nature lover's dream in the land where guests can catch postcard-worthy sights. Valdez is situated in Prince William Sound and serves as the gateway to the interior of Alaska. Often referred to as the "Little Switzerland", Valdez is known for its breathtaking panorama of snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

The Best Expedition Cruises For Families to Book in 2024 Condé Nast Traveler - Condé Nast Traveler

The Best Expedition Cruises For Families to Book in 2024 Condé Nast Traveler.

Posted: Tue, 26 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Pair your cruise with an Alaska land tour for the ultimate Alaska family vacation package. Or extend your Alaska family small ship cruise with a private tour to Denali National Park, Katmai National Park or Kenai Fjords National Park. We offer a number of kid friendly Alaskan cruise and land tour combos with special youth and child rates. We recommend this cruise for all ages, but it is perhaps the best Alaska cruise for families with younger school-age children. Due to their interest in a mix of wilderness, Native culture, port visits and soft adventure activities, they will be able to interact with locals and be active.

Denali National Park takes you out of the city altogether, into a wilderness full of spruce forests and snow-capped mountain peaks. On our family Alaska cruise, we created lifetime memories by sharing glacier spotting, dog sledding, flightseeing and other adventures with our teens. When planning a trip to Alaska, many travelers wonder if it's better to explore the state by land or by sea. Suppose your family isn't into the big-ship lifestyle and wants a small-ship, off-the-beaten-path experience that's also geared toward families with kids and teens?

They range from 7-11 days in duration departing from various ports. Another good option for those families with older children is Oceania’s Regatta, which allows kids older than 6-months to sail. There are no babysitting or nanny services available for children under five.

Royal Caribbean offers a plethora of family-friendly excursions and activities. They depart from Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Seward, Alaska. Celebrity Cruises will provide you with the trip of a lifetime if you’re planning a family cruise to Alaska. The ship has a variety of exciting activities for all ages, such as pools, water slides, themed events, and spas. If your family enjoys the outdoors, tack on an excursion to Banff National Park or Lake Louise. Disney Cruise Line's 1,754-passenger Disney Wonder (which can carry 2,713 guests when completely full) is the perfect size ship for a family cruise to Alaska.

The excursion starts with a helicopter ride above an emerald-green forest to the plateau of Mendenhall Glacier, one of Alaska's most noted sights. On a vast snow field, the huskies howled excitedly as our guide harnessed our team, explaining how lead dogs steer the sled and wheel dogs add muscle. We boarded our ship, the 2,466-passenger Radiance of the Seas®, and immediately sailed away. Early on in our sailing, a day of cruising to Hubbard Glacier gave us time to explore the ship. Booking a flightseeing trip to Denali National Park and Preserve, which was one of the most memorable experiences of our Alaska vacation. During your stopover, you’ll enjoy sampling the dense rainforests and reliving the iconic Klondike Gold Rush.

The Wild & Woolly Alaska Cruise detailed above is among our bestsellers of small ship Alaska cruises for families due to its active, all-ages appeal. But ultimately, the best Alaskan cruise for families depends on each family’s personal needs & preferences. Read some testimonials from our past family travelers to see a range of styles and trips. And let AdventureSmith Explorations show you more about Alaska with kids and families.

Please take the time to learn more about experiencing Alaska's Native cultures and share in our acknowledgment of their histories before you visit Alaska. Conveniently located an hour and a half from Anchorage, Whittier is a small town on the shore of the glacier-filled Prince William Sound. Our Alaska cruise departure ports have big personalities and loads of attractions. Ketchikan, Alaska is one of the best spots along Alaska's Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.

For starters, the onboard specialists give lectures and tours to ensure you don’t miss out on anything. All ships come equipped with kayaks, so you get to explore places you never imagined. Whichever ship your family hops onto, you’ll find lots of activities and day-long entertainment for all ages.

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