Alaska cruise with a child

Anyone out there been on a recent Alaskan cruise with a child? Looking
for cruise line suggestions, not-to-miss itinerary items, leaving kids
on ship vs. taking them on excursions opinions, etc.

Thanx, Shawn

An Alaskan cruise can be a wonderful
experience for a child, if the child is
mature enough to appreciate the sights,
etc. of the Alaskan wilderness. You've
seen on glacier / whale / critter you've
seen them all and where is the video game.
Otherwise it is DULLSVILLE. Nothing like
two hours of pine trees to really excite
a child. The result is unfortunate for
the child, the parents, and those lucky
enough to be near them.
You definitely do not want to leave the
younguns on the ship without
supervision; for their sake as well as
the other travelers.
I would suggest that about age 10 would
be a good lower limit if the kids are
supposed to really get anything out of
the trip.
Cheers, and it is a great trip,
John
3 times so far and a 4th this coming spring.

shawnabbtt wrote:
Anyone out there been on a recent Alaskan cruise with a child? Looking
for cruise line suggestions, not-to-miss itinerary items, leaving kids
on ship vs. taking them on excursions opinions, etc.

Thanx, Shawn

Choice #3 leave the squealing rugrat at home!
"shawnabbtt" wrote in message
oups.com...
Anyone out there been on a recent Alaskan cruise with a child? Looking
for cruise line suggestions, not-to-miss itinerary items, leaving kids
on ship vs. taking them on excursions opinions, etc.

Thanx, Shawn

On 11/07/2005 6:26 PM shawnabbtt plucked Senior Frog's Magic Twanger
and said:

Anyone out there been on a recent Alaskan cruise with a child? Looking
for cruise line suggestions, not-to-miss itinerary items, leaving kids
on ship vs. taking them on excursions opinions, etc.

Thanx, Shawn



Shawn,

You know your children better than anyone. Would they feel abandoned if
you left them behind in the care of children's program staff? Have you
already picked out some excursions that you know your kids wouldn't
enjoy? Part of the cruise experience with children is seeing the joy
and excitement in their faces learning about different places and
cultures. My niece and I still laugh about the time we snorkeled the
coral reefs off Key Largo. A tropical fish swam very close to her and
she thought it was a barracuda. She was trying to say barracuda,
barracuda through her face mask while under water. It came out sounding
like Bah-ha poo-bah

Kathleen lives in Minnesota and was not very keen on Alaska. We managed
to get a special pass to tour the Montserrat Volcano Observatory when
Kathleen was a pre-teen. It was such a treat for me to see Kathleen
totally be absorbed by the volcanologist's talk and tour. Afterwards
she told me that it wasn't better than shopping in Mexico but it was
right up there. Kathleen is married and now 24. When she has kids she
plans to take them on cruises and land tours.

So that's my 2 cents. Unless your child has no desire to go on
excursions, take him/her.

--
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Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
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