Pajama Sam 2
Sailing Alaska — Now It’s A Family Detail
Cruising Alaska – Now It’s a Family Fact
By Mike Miller
If you’re pondering a baby vacation to Alaska, and you’re wondering if the kids would enjoy a cruise to “The Last Frontier,” wonder eliminate. Young family members from toddlers through teens use a blast on big ships and small the vessels sail throughout the protected waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage. Aboard ship or ashore, there are numerous kid-friendly, parent-friendly, and grandparent-friendly places to see and fun actions you need to take.
It’s a fact, merely a short decade or two ago families with kids aboard best alaska cruises were as scarce as Alaskan Dall sheep lambs in a grizzly bear’s lair. Nonetheless the times have changed — hugely. Today you will see, besides the traditional hefty contingent of seniors and near-seniors aboard each ship, many families. Sometimes such groups are multi-generational, with gramps and grandmas, mums and dads, and children that range from gangly teens to babes literally in arms.
The fact? Word is out that Alaska’s attractions are sure-fire hits for travelers of little age: attractions like humongous whales breaching full size mirror out from the water, grizzly bears chasing salmon along forest creeks and rivers, icebergs (sometimes as big as a tour bus) crashing, splashing, and thundering from the faces of miles-long glaciers.
Too, there are possibilities to mush inside of a dog sled behind a team of charging huskies – after helicoptering to some lofty mountain-top glacier no less! Kids and fogeys can ride bikes through towering forests or down mountain paths and trails. They can also kayak among whales and sea lions. Whole families can fish for lunker king salmon. Or try their luck at gold-panning in creeks and streams.
Newest craze of the young along with the young-at-heart is riding a zip-line throughout the upper canopies of towering spruce and hemlock forests in Ketchikan and Juneau — hanging secure and safe inside a harness as they definitely “zip” along a steel cable some 130 feet or higher above the forest floor.
Or, less daunting, while visiting museums up and down the coast families can absorb the totemic culture and the history of Alaska’s Native peoples. They will be able to discover the period when Alaska was “Russian America.” They can view mementos of those tumultuous gold stampede to your Klondike throughout the late 1800s,
No question about it, Alaska has something exciting to provide every loved one, notwithstanding age.
But what about life aboard the cruiseships? Will young people get the experience dullsville?
Hardly. The mid- to mega-sized ships particularly are literally resorts afloat with swimming pools, spas, snack shops, cookies parlors, outdoor game courts, video arcades, and movie theaters. Special staff members aboard these vessels — with one exception — include trained youth counselors. These crew members arrange age-appropriate social activities, organize games and sports events, supervise arts and crafts, take youngsters on shipwide treasure hunts, and usually ensure that cruisers from tykes through teens enjoy their cruise as many as their parents and grandparents.
Although smallship cruiselines in Alaska do not staff their vessels with special counselors for young cruisers, the ships are without any less family-welcoming. These vessels can enter small bays and inlets where guests can view wildlife on close-by forest shores, explore waterways by kayak along with spiffy powered Zodiacs, hike remote island beaches, maybe even stop to have a natural hot springs dip in forested surroundings.
One smallship cruiseline even schedules three best alaska cruise every year especially geared for family travel.
Despite vessel size, keeping only a a handful of exceptions, cruiselines in the Alaska trade actively court family cruisers. Few such travelers, young or old, discover the experience anything other than “cool.” And they’re not referring to the weather.
Cruiseline by cruiseline here’s a rundown of kid care and family fun traveling on an best alaska cruise. The information was supplied by way of the cruiselines or extracted from company websites.
Large and Mega Size Cruiseships
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE’s 2006 Alaska voyages aboard the 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit offer youngsters age 2 through 17 many different continuous supervised activities in the course of the line’s “Camp Carnival” program.
Included in the line’s Alaska sailings certainly are a variety “simply for Alaska” projects where kids can create their very own dream catchers and totem poles and learn in regards to the region’s fascinating Native Alaskan cultures.
The Carnival Spirit offers other kid- and family-friendly amenities also, including a spacious indoor play room featuring an arts and crafts center, a 16-monitor video wall, climbing mazes, an outdoor play area, along with a computer lab.
With regards to dining, says Carnival, “Youngsters get the full ‘Fun Ship’ treatment with expanded children’s menus offering many different kids’ favorites and also a daily junior special.” The menus are included on the back of any coloring and activity book featuring word finds, mazes, tic-tac-toe, crossword puzzles, connect-the-dots, as well as other games.
Young cruiser age groups include 2- through 5-year-olds, 6 through 8, 9 through 11, and with teens 15 through 17 a program called “Club 02.” (http://www.carnival.com)
CELEBRITY CRUISES’ “Family Cruising Program” offers young peoples’ activities in four age groups:
On any given day Ship Mates (for 3- through 6-year-olds) may take part in clown party, treasure hunt, T-shirt painting, Legos, talent time, finger painting, dancing games, summer stock theater, cartoon time, computers, play stations, musical games, movies, ship tours, and chips sundae making.
A great number of same activities are around the agenda for older children also, but are undertaken on an older-age level.
Celebrity Cadets (for kids 7-9) might also include pool olympics, scavenger hunts, charades, an exercise program, board games, relays, and team trivia. Ensigns (for pre-teens 10-12) additionally enjoy karaoke, relay races, ship tours, and pizza parties.
Admiral T’s takes in two classes of teenagers, 13-15 and 16-17. Members can frequent the Teen Club, go about basketball tournaments, enjoy pool parties, and help placed on talent shows.
Celebrity vessels also offer a “Parents Night Out” program. Around the two formal nights of any seven-night voyage, Celebrity treats parents to free babysitting when counselors go ahead and take children to some pizza party for lunch. (http://www.celebrity.com)
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE’s “Club HAL” offers a style of kid-friendly facilities and age-appropriate activities. Programs for kids ages 3-12 might be found aboard 2006 Alaska-bound ships Ryndam, Statendam, Zaandam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, and Westerdam and with ages 5-12 aboard Volendam and Veendam. All eight ships possess a teen program forever 13-17. (http://www.hollandamerica.com)
Club HAL activities are designed to be age appropriate. For instance, every day activities planned for little ones ages 3 to 7 may include arts and crafts, face-painting, camp-out night, candy bar Bingo, outdoor fun, along with a pajama party.
“Tweens,” the in-between travelers 8 through 12, may learn golf putting, attend dance parties and theme nights, compete in on-deck sports events and scavenger hunts, play arcade games, tie-dye t-shirts, or just play ping-pong which includes a friend.
Teens 13-17 benefit from the Loft built to resemble a New York artist’s loft; there’s also The Oasis, a fitness deck where teens can assimilate the rays then cool off inside a one-of-a-kind waterfall. The Loft and Oasis are currently available on 2006 Alaska-bound vessels Ryndam, Statendam, Veendam, Volendam, and Zaandam. Teens will especially relish teen disco, dance lessons, arcade games, teen sports tournaments, karaoke, trivia contests, bingo, play stations, movies and health and fitness parties.
On most itineraries, Holland America provides one full-time Youth Program Director and a single or higher youth staff members. The ratio of Club HAL staff to children on board is 1:30.
Additionally you will find there is a large variety of kid-pleasing food, including special sandwiches, tacos, burgers, hot dogs and pizza. For the very young baby food, high chairs and booster seats might be requested ahead of boarding. Baby-sitting services can be obtained to get a small surcharge and special birthday parties will also be arranged.
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE notes on its web pages that the line’s Kid’s Crew and Teen’s Crew programs are packed with age-appropriate activities for kids 2 through 17. For Kid’s Crew members aged 2-12, NCL offers furniture from arts and crafts to pajama parties. Teens Crew, for cruisers 13-17 provides options like pool parties, a teenager disco, a video arcade, and a lot more.
But don’t, says NCL, give thought to these programs as “babysitting.” There’s hardly any “sitting” involved, notes the cruiseline. The programs are active, energetic, educational and, mainly, fun. (http://www.ncl.com)
PRINCESS CRUISES’ junior cruisers (ages 3 to 17) can enjoy a boatload of exciting onboard activities. Any of the line’s Alaska-bound ships have special kids and youth centers staffed by counselors who place on a course of age-specific activities day after day. Group babysitting will come in the late evenings.
Among a variety of programs for children is one of the specific to Alaska. Produced with the National Park Service, Princess’ sub-teen “Junior Ranger” program is designed to bring Glacier Bay and also the Alaska wilderness to life for a very large number children each summer. The plan features interactive games, activity books, and presentation by rangers. The corresponding “Teen Explorer” program features similar learning activities geared for older youngsters.
In a cruise industry exclusive, the Los Angeles-based California Science Center provides entertaining interactive activities. Princess youth staff have undergone extensive training at the center, designed to enthrall young passengers with award-winning science projects. Whale watching, building and racing sailboats, marine biology studies and squid dissection are a several of the activities available.
The line’s website notes that preteens are divided into two groups: Princess Pelicans ages 3-7 and Princess Pirateers, 8-12. Both groups are entertained with age-rated arts and crafts, discos, movies and cartoons, exclusive kids-only dining, hunts, karaoke and lip-sync shows, afternoon ice cream parties, pizza parties, backstage and galley tours, pajama parties, and T-shirt coloring. Says Princess’ website: “Our astounding teen centers are loaded Nintendo, movies, karaoke, giant screen TVs, card and board games, ping-pong and juke boxes.” This website also notes which the Alaska-bound Sun, Dawn, Coral, Island, and Diamond Princess ships comprise a toddler’s play area. (http://www.princess.com)
ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL creates a young peoples’ program called “Adventure Ocean” serving and entertaining travelers 3 to 17 in five different categories.
Youngest group (ages 3 through 5) these are known as Aquanauts and do finger painting, building blocks, play dough, music activities, dot dancing, and “shape Bingo.” Explorers (6-8) use a Pirate Night, go on a backstage tour, enjoy nutty nicknames, and interact with in autograph hunts. Nine to 11-year-old Voyagers do karaoke singing, possess a Ga-Ga Ball, enjoy H20 Thunder Races, and do a method walk.
Navigators (12-14) play in sports tournaments, have pool parties, is content with college night, pursue video games, and show up disco dancing sessions and also a suitable night. Older teens,15-17 and called Guests, also enjoy dancing, pool parties, DJ training, Battle of those Sexes, plus a formal night along with a Survivor Series.
RCI’s Edu-tainment programming offers:
Adventure Science, a plan of hands-on experiments and wacky entertainment (example: Staggering From the Stars, and a Wacky Water Workshop);
Adventure Art, the opportunity to exercise creativity with crafts;
Sail Into Story Some time and Adventure Family. This is a free, onboard program that allows children 3-11 so their parents to invest quality time together doing projects that can start from shipbuilding regattas to talent shows and scavenger hunts. (http://www.royalcaribbean.com)
Mid-Size Vessels
RADISSON SEVEN SEAS CRUISES’ youth program, “Club Mariner,” provides adults who need to share Alaska’s wonders along with their children or grandchildren a complimentary children’s program. “The program,” says the corporation, “offers the opportunity for families of all types of lifestyle to experience Alaska in a meaningful, enriching way.” The cruiseline’s youth program is produced the subsequent age brackets: 5-9, 10-13 and 14-17. Throughout each voyage, trained counselors offer young cruisers the opportunity to take part in numerous interactive adventures focusing on Alaska. Children will exercise their creativity with crafts while gaining knowledge about Alaska’s diverse wildlife, its unique geography, its indigenous crafts, as well as rich artistic heritage.
Kids will become familiar with about whales, salmon, glaciers and totem poles. They ought to draw and write about their adventures in the special Club Mariner scrapbook, bake chocolate “moose” cookies, go whale watching out on deck or learn all about eagles, dolphins, bears and sea lions. Notes RSSC: “Club Mariner not only causes it to be easier for families to travel together, it can help kids broaden their cultural and valuable horizons. And they’ll return home knowing more about Alaska than the rest of the 49 states combined!” (http://www.rssc.com) SILVERSEA CRUISES advises that, due to the sophisticated nature of their cruises and programs, the company will not encourage travel with young children. (http://www.silverseacruises.com)
Smaller Ships
AMERICAN SAFARI CRUISES’ Kids easily (KIN) cruises, involve luxury yacht as the schoolhouse, an Expedition Leader/Naturalist since the teacher, and also the wildlife-rich waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage as the laboratory. KIN convenes in Alaska aboard the upscale 22-passenger yacht Safari Quest together with the first of two seven-night cruises from Sitka June 17. The voyage takes in various wilderness sites and communities throughout Southeast Alaska. and ends in Juneau June 17. Another seven-night Safari Quest sailing commences July 29 while an eight-night voyage from Prince Rupert, B.C. to Juneau embarks June 26 aboard the equally luxurious 12-guest Safari Escape.
Activities abound for anyone: kayaking, hiking on a remote island developing to a full-scale picnic, hopping shore-to-shore by Zodiac, viewing whales directly from the bow or dolphins right below, collecting shells to study, and even more. Kids and adults alike are accompanied on an number of personal-choice excursions while their yacht is at anchor.
At the end of a cruise each child receives a Kids easily backpack choked with mementos within their various explorations: certificates of feat signed by the Captain and Expedition Leader, a tee shirt and cap, a pair of binoculars, disposable camera and a typed group of any of the plants observed during the cruise. This system offers kid-size pricing — two kids under 12 for starters adult fare.
Aboard other sailings throughout the season American Safaris Cruises’ three yachts offer very upscale amenities and cuisine best appreciated by sophisticated adults. These cruises the road normally discourages guests from bringing baby and doesn’t offer specifically child-oriented services. (http://www.americansafaricruises.com)
AMERICAN WEST STEAMBOAT COMPANY advises, “We tend to address mature adults and as such offer no special programs to kids and teenagers.” (http://www.americanweststeamboat.com)
THE BOAT COMPANY offers special rates for young cruisers traveling with parents: 50 percent off of the usual fare if occupying a stateroom with a parent, twenty percent off if occupying an independent cabin.
The company’s two vessels do not have separate personnel specifically assigned to youngsters on board, nonetheless the line does attempt to accommodate the desires of each and every passenger including kayaking, fishing, beach hikes, along with kid-friendly activities. (http://www.theboatcompany.com)
CLIPPER CRUISELINE has no specific children’s programs or staff for younger travelers, nonetheless the nature of many company’s routes and cruising areas (including whale sightings, bears other wildlife, and shore excursions) allow it to be appropriate for family groups. Cabins can accommodate as numerous as three guests; for larger groups two cabins might possibly be necessary. (http://www.clippercruise.com)
CRUISE WEST offers a children’s travel special aboard the Sheltered Seas Daylight Yacht Tours. Travelers 12 and under sharing a cabin who has an adult save 50 percent on Family Adventure cruise fares. Youths 13 through 21 save 25 percent.
While many of many company’s other cruises are of considerable interest for families with children, activities aboard ship are certainly not specifically geared for young travelers. Cruise West would be the largest of those smallship cruiselines serving Alaska promotions cruising options of family interest from Southeast Alaska along with its totems, glaciers, national park lands and goldrush historical points of interest to Southcentral’s Prince William Sound and beyond to Arctic waters and even Russia. (http://www.cruisewest.com)
DISCOVERY VOYAGES advises that cruises aboard the 12-passenger vessel Discovery are “definitely family friendly” and, as a matter of fact, the organization offers a 25 percent discount for little ones 12 and under. Notes a company spokeswoman: “As a result of the intimate size of our vessel we don t have specific youth directors but our staff (including Captain Dean Rand’s daughters Hannah and Heather, who was raised as part of the team the Discovery) is diverse in working on both adults and children along with being naturalists and kayaking guides.” The corporation often works with agencies and outfitters who specialize in family trips. (http://www.discoveryvoyages.com)
LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS welcomes voyagers young and old. And emerge September, Archie Comics illustrator Stan Goldberg will go into shipload of other Lindblad Expeditions travelers in the Inside Passage from Southeast Alaska to British Columbia. His mission: to construct your second in his “Little Lin” cartoon book series of educational adventures for young people. (In his first book, Fun and Games With Little Lin, released in 2005, child explorer Little Lin discovers Peru’s Galapagos Islands.)
ßIn his second work Goldberg’s young adventurer will sail to Alaska and can encounter glaciers, humpback whales, bald eagles, and all manner of other creatures and their habitats along Alaska’s and British Columbia’s Inside Passage. In future years, the Alaska-inspired Little Lin books will be distributed to families traveling aboard Lindblad Inside Passage cruises. (http://www.expeditions.com) MAPLE LEAF ADVENTURES offers families the opportunity to view Alaska’s glaciers, whales, islands, bear hot spots, beaches, hot springs and towns aboard the classic tall-ship sailing vessel Maple Leaf, a beautifully restored 92-foot sailing schooner manufacturer provided 1904. The ship takes 9 or 10 guests. The vessel’s on-board naturalist, chef and experienced crew can customize the trip’s itinerary, menu and activities to suit family interests. Typical highlights include unparalleled proximity to ice bergs, glaciers and wildlife, sailing a tall ship, and great camaraderie between guests and crew. Special activities for teens include sail training, fishing (with purchase of a fisherman’s license), hikes, along with a customizable itinerary. Accommodations are comfortable yet not luxurious. Because berths are limited to nine or ten passengers, it truly is possible for one or higher families (two families of 5, by way of example) to jointly reserve each of the berths for starters of the company’s 11-night Alaska voyages. Parents with teen-age children may reserve berths which aren’t otherwise reserved in the concurrence of prior-booked adult passengers. (http://www.mapleleafadventures.com)
State and Provincial Ferries
ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY SYSTEM (Alaska ferries) is made-to-order for family travel along Alaska’s coast. Based on vessel youngsters will likely see onboard play areas of the very young, casual meals and snack bars for any age, movies, and nature talks plus expansive glass-enclosed solariums. These are also ideal for spotting orcas (killer whales), humpback whales, playful porpoises and sea lions inside the water plus mountain goats on towering cliffsides, and (for the fortunate observer) the sight of black and brown (grizzly) bears on passing beaches. Families following or absent vehicles may embark as far south as Bellingham, Washington or Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
Larger stateroom-equipped vessels of the fleet are classified as the Columbia (931 passengers), Matanuska (745), Malaspina (701), Taku (370), and Kennicott (748). Based on the season, one or two ships sail on weekly schedules all the way to/from Bellingham and some turn around at Prince Rupert. (http://www.FerryAlaska.com)
BC FERRIES demonstrates its kid-friendliness even before a baby boards ship. Computer-savvy children or their parents have only to surf the web to http://www.bcferries.bc.ca/kidzone/establishing_shot.html and they ll meet cartoon characters Samantha (“Call me Sam”) and Cal, two seagoing doggy characters who introduce young viewers to some online activities – an electrical coloring book, a “Compare to the Ferries” memory game, as well as a virtual bridge tour.
The 700-passenger provincial ferry vessel Queen of the North encompasses Alaska state ferries at Prince Rupert for frequent usage of Southeast Alaska ports. (http://www.bcferries.com)
# # not any
Alaskan travel writer Mike Miller lives in Juneau where his current passion is publishing an informational website about Alaska cruising: http://www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com. Miller has authored or considered to be a variety of books (Fodors, Sierra Club Books, Globe Pequot, The Milepost among others). He also writes for TravelAge West (a publication for travel specialists) as well as for major newspapers and magazines.
Copyright (c) 2006 By Mike Miller — All Rights Reserved
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