We have sailed on Disney Cruise Lines a few times and although we love it and are totally spoiled by it, we want to do something different, like Alaska, and see a NEW ship, instead of the Wonder or Magic.
But, the biggest thing for us to have a successful vacation is for it be super kid friendly and the kids club, activities for the 6 year old age group be fun, safe and appropriate. If our son doesn't like the kids club, we will never get a break for even 1 meal alone, a spa hour or two or even a nap! He loves Disney's, went to both sides in fact, the younger and older kid sides.
For this trip, we are considering Holland American?, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean or other options with excellent children's programs. We can leave out of Seattle, Vancouver, anywhere. We would need an early seating option (son is asleep by 9pm, esp after an active day) and kind of like having our table and time set. The freestyle meals cruises seem like you have to make reservations each day, which would be a pain. We don't want to pay a fee every night to eat. We arent picky eaters and don't plan to do fine dining every night, could even skip the dress up night if given that option. We dont want the hard sell at every turn, trying to get us to buy some souvenir drink or pushing spa treatments on us. We don't care about nightclubs, tequila tastings, gourmet chefs, casinos, etc. We just like a nice pool and outdoor facility on the ship and not a rowdy teenager, 20 something crowd, nor a gray/blue hair crowd that can't stand a kid yelling at the pool.
Cost isnt a huge determining factor, just that our son have fun, be safe, hit the major ports in Alaska and have some fun and authentic Alaskan excursions.
As I said, we are totally spoiled on Disney, with the kid-focused...everything and the same waiter every night, the same room attendant all week long, and their great service. We know it won't be Disney, but what would be some good alternatives, especially for Alaska, for an "inside passage" route? Looking for specific ships where others have had good children's experiences and not "you'll have a fun cruise no matter what" answers, please. We are booking for May/June 2012 timeframe.What is the best NON-DISNEY Cruise Line and Ships with Kids Club for 7-9 day Alaska Trip, with a 6 year old...?
Why not consider the best in Alaskan cruises, Princess cruises? All three of my grandchildren on 2 different cruises loved Princes. Their ages at the time were 7 and 10 year old girls and the a 4 year old boy. They spent a lot of time in the kids club, had dinners with us most of the time, went on terrific shore excursions and never had even one complaint. The 4 year old did complain however that he wanted to spend more time in the kids club. All 3 kids plus all the other relatives loved These Princess cruises. BTW, Princess has anytime dinning and no reservations are required at all. Never have I had any type of hard sell on any Princess cruise. Also Holland America is loaded with the gray hair crowd, so I would certainly stay away from them.
I would choose a cruise with Royal Caribbean.
They have a great program for children,They have fantastic youth staff to engage and entertain kids of all ages.
They offer all kinds of exciting activities for children 6- to 8-year-olds, like hands-on science experiments, scavenger hunts, theater games,etc. You can feel confident leaving your children with them because this staff has experience working with children ages 3-17.
and the ships are magnificent.
From my point of view, I would not hesitate a moment, and I would go with a Royal Caribbean ship, your children will thank you隆隆隆What is the best NON-DISNEY Cruise Line and Ships with Kids Club for 7-9 day Alaska Trip, with a 6 year old...?
Carnival is the best for kids and it's fun. The ship isn't brand new but it's nice- the fun ship in Alaska right now is the Carnival Spirit.
Link to the ship page: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_spirit/default.aspx?shipCode=SP
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