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Up close and really,
really personal, kids
and parents make
friends
with an Alaska sea lion momma and her own youngster.
(Photo by Kevin
Smith, courtesy of Mapleleaf Adventures.)
Cruisin'
Alaska - Suddenly It's a Family Thing
By
Mike Miller, Publisher, www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com
Some years back it was easy to describe most Alaska cruiseship
passengers with one word: Seniors.
Energetic, friendly, curious,
fun-loving, savvy - oh yes. But agewise, most were seniors.
My wife and I, with kids in tow, would
often go down to the Juneau cruiseship dock in the summertime to greet
the arriving "ships of summer" and their passengers. Almost always the
sight was the same: Active oldsters plus occasional teens or sub-teens
traveling with a grandparent. But whole families with children...well
they were scarce as Dall sheep lambs in a grizzly bear's
lair.
But the times have changed. Today you'll
find - in addition to lots of senior and near-senior travelers
- a noticeable and ever-growing contingent of families. Often
these groups are multi-generational with gramps and grandmas, moms and
dads, and kids that range from gangly teenagers to babes literally in
arms.
Alaska's attractions are sure-fire hits
for travelers of all ages: humunguous whales breaching full length out
of the water, grizzly bears chasing salmon along forested creeks and
rivers, icebergs (sometimes as big as a tour bus) crashing, splashing,
and thundering off the face of miles-long glaciers. No question about
it, Alaska has something exciting to offer every family member,
regardless of age.
Aboard many ships - especially mid- to
mega-sized cruiseliners in the Alaska trade - trained youth
directors and counselors arrange age-appropriate social events,
organize games, take youngsters on shipwide treasure hunts, and
generally see to it that young cruisers from tykes through teens enjoy
their sea-going experience as much as their parents and grandparents.
One small ship cruiseline schedules three Alaska cruises each year
especially geared to family travel.
Following is a company-by-company
rundown, with information supplied to AlaskaCruisingReport.com by the
cruiselines or taken from company websites. (For more information about
each line, its vessels and its 2008 itineraries and cruising programs, click
here to view the comprehensive report 2008
Alaska Cruises.)
Large and Mega Size Cruiseships
Carnival
Cruise Lines' 2006 Alaska voyages aboard the
2,124-passenger Carnival
Spirit offer youngsters age 2 through 17 a variety of fun
and supervised activities as part of the line's highly-rated "Camp
Carnival" program.
Included in the line's Alaska sailings
(Glacier Route voyages between Vancouver and Whittier/Anchorage plus
Glacier Bay roundtrips from Vancouver) are a number of "just for
Alaska" activities where kids can make their own dream catchers and
totem poles and learn about the region's fascinating Native American
cultures.
The 88,500-ton Carnival
Spirit
offers a number of family-friendly amenities including a spacious
indoor play room featuring an arts and crafts center, a 16-monitor
video wall, climbing mazes, and a computer lab, along with an outdoor
play area.
When it comes to dining, says Carnival,
"Youngsters get the full 'Fun Ship' treatment with expanded children's
menus offering a variety of kids' favorites as well as a daily junior
special. The menus are included on the back of a fun coloring and
activity book which features word finds, mazes, tic-tac-toe, crossword
puzzles, connect-the-dots, and other games. Crayons are also included.
Young cruiser age groups include 2-
through 5-year-olds, 6 through 8, 9 through 11, and - for teens 15
through 17 - a program called "Club 02."
Celebrity
Cruises' "Family Cruising Program" offers young peoples'
activities in four age groups:
Ship Mates, for 3- through 6-year-olds, may on any given day enjoy a
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 ice
cream sundae making.
Many of these same activities are on the
agenda for older children as well, but are undertaken on an older-age
level.
Celebrity Cadets, for kids 7-9, might
also include pastimes such as pool olympics, scavenger hunts, charades,
a fitness program, board games, relays, and team trivia.
Ensigns, for pre-teens 10-12. can
additionally enjoy Karaoke, relay races, ship tours, and pizza parties.
Admiral T's is for two classes
of teenagers, 13-15 and 16-17. Members can frequent the Teen Club,
engage in basketball tournaments, enjoy pool parties, and help put on
talent shows.
Celebrity vessels also offer "Parents
Night Out" program. On the two formal nights of a seven-night voyage,
Celebrity treats parents to free babysitting when counselors take the
children to a pizza party for dinner.
Holland
America Line's “Club HAL”
provides a wide variety of exciting kid friendly facilities and
age-appropriate activities. Programs for children ages 3-12
may be found aboard 2008 Alaska-bound ships Ryndam, Statendam, Zaandam, Amsterdam, Oosterdam, and Westerdam and for
ages 5-12 aboard Volendam
and Veendam.
All ships have a teen program for kids ages 13-17.
Club HAL activities are designed to be
age appropriate. For example, daily activities planned for children
ages 3 to 7 may include arts and crafts,
face-painting, camp-out night, candy bar Bingo, outdoor fun, and a
pajama party.
Tweens, the "in-between" travelers 8
through 12, might learn golf putting, have dance parties and theme
nights, compete in on-deck sports events and scavenger hunts, play
arcade games, tie-dye t-shirts, or simply play ping-pong with a friend.
For teens 13-17 there is The Loft
designed to resemble a New York artist's loft; there's also The Oasis,
a private deck where teens can soak up the rays then cool off in a
one-of-a-kind waterfall. The Loft and Oasis are currently available on
Alaska-bound vessels Ryndam, Statendam, Veendam, Volendam,
and Zaandam.
Teens will especially enjoy the teen disco, dance lessons, arcade
games, teen sports tournaments, karaoke, trivia contests, bingo, play
stations, movies and hot tub parties.
On most itineraries, Holland
America provides at least one full-time Youth Program Director and one
or more youth staff members. The ratio of Club HAL staff to children on
board is 1:30. Club HAL Youth Program Directors hold degrees in
education, childhood development, recreation, leisure studies or
related fields.
Additional family services include
serving a wide variety of kid-pleasing food, including special
sandwiches, tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. Baby food, high
chairs and booster seats may be requested in advance of boarding.
Baby-sitting services are available for a small surcharge and special
kid-friendly birthday parties can also be arranged.
Norwegian
Cruise Line notes on its web pages that its Kid's Crew and
Teen's Crew programs are filled with age-appropriate activities for
youngsters 2 through 17. For Kid's Crew members age 2-12, NCL offers
everything from arts and crafts to pajama parties. Teens Crew, for
cruisers 13-17 provides options like pool parties, a teen disco, a
video arcade, and more.
But don't, says NCL, think of these
programs as "babysitting."
"There's very little sitting involved,"
says the cruiseline. The programs are active, energetic, educational
and, most importantly, fun. The complimentary programs include
age-appropriate, supervised activities, a T-shirt for painting, Mom's
and Dad's night out, a Kid's/Teen's Crew News, chef's hat (for cooking
classes), a birthday party (for kids celebrating a birthday) and use of
the child care center.
Princess
Cruises' junior cruisers - ages 3 to 17 - can enjoy a
boatload of exciting onboard activities. All of the line's Alaska-bound
ships have special kids and youth centers staffed by counselors who put
on a program of age-specific activities each day. Group babysitting is
available in the late evenings.
Among a number of programs for
youngsters is one specific to Alaska. Produced with the National Park
Service, Princess' sub-teen "Junior Ranger" program is designed to
bring Glacier Bay and the Alaska wilderness to life for thousands of
children each summer.The program features interactive games, activity
books, and presentation by rangers. The corresponding "Teen Explorer"
program features similar learning activities geared for older
participants.
In a cruise industry exclusive, the Los
Angeles-based California Science Center provides entertaining
interactive activities. Princes 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 few of the
activities available.
The line's website notes that youngsters
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 packed with Nintendo, movies, karaoke, giant screen
TVs, card and board games, ping-pong and juke boxes." The site also
notes that the Alaska-bound Sun, Dawn, Coral, Island, and Diamond ships
also offer a toddler's play area.
Royal
Caribbean International provides a young peoples' program
called "Adventure Ocean," serving and entertaining travelers 3 to 17 in
five different categories.
Youngest group, ages 3 through 5, are
called Aquanauts and do finger painting, Camp Aquanaut, building
blocks, play dough, music activities, dot dancing, and "shape Bingo."
Explorers, 6-8, have a Pirate Night, go on a backstage tour, enjoy
nutty nicknames, and engage in autograph hunts. Nine to 11-year-old
Voyagers do Karaoke singing, have a Ga-Ga Ball, enjoy H20 Thunder
Races, and do an art walk.
Navigators, 12-14, play in sports
tournaments, have pool parties, enjoy a college night, engage in video
games, and attend disco dancing sessions as well as a formal night.
Older teens,15-17 and called Guests, also enjoy dancing, pool parties,
DJ training, Battle of the Sexes, plus a formal night and a Survivor
Series.
RCI's Edu-tainment programming offers:
Adventure Science through a blend of
hands-on experiments and wacky entertainment (example: Staggering
Through the Stars, and a Wacky Water Workshop);
Adventure Art, by Crayola, which offers
youngsters the opportunity to exercise their creativity with crafts;
Sail Into Story Time; and
Adventure Family. The latter is a free,
onboard program that allows children 3-11 and their parents to spend
quality time together doing projects that range from shipbuilding
regattas to talent shows and scavenger hunts.
Mid-Size Vessels
Regent
Seven Seas Cruises' youth program, "Club
Mariner," provides adults who want to share
Alaska’s wonders with their children or grandchildren a
complimentary children’s program. "The program," says the
company, "offers the opportunity for every member of the family to
experience Alaska in a meaningful, enriching way."
The cruiseline's celebrated youth
program is designed for three age groups: 5-9, 10-13 and
14-17. Throughout each voyage, trained counselors
offer young cruisers the opportunity to participate in a variety of
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, and its rich artistic heritage.
Kids will learn about whales, salmon,
glaciers and totem poles. They might draw and write about
their adventures in their 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 makes it easier for families to travel together, it helps kids
broaden their cultural and educational horizons. And
they’ll return home knowing more about Alaska than all the
other 49 states combined!”
Silversea Cruises advises this website that, due to the
sophisticated nature of its cruises and programs, the company does not
seek to encourage travel with young children.
Smaller Ships
American
Safari Cruises' “Kids in Nature,” or
KIN cruises, include a luxury yacht as the schoolhouse, an Expedition
Leader/Naturalist as the teacher, and the wildlife-rich waters of
Alaska’s Inside Passage as the laboratory. KIN convenes in
Alaska during summer vacation aboard the upscale 22-passenger yacht Safari Quest with
the first of two seven-night cruises from Sitkain July. The voyage
takes in various wilderness sites, sights and communities throughout
Southeast Alaska. The journey ends in Juneau. Another seven-night
sailing commences in July.
Activities abound for all ages:
kayaking, hiking on a remote island followed by a full-scale picnic,
hopping shore-to-shore by Zodiac, viewing whales directly off the bow
or dolphins right below, collecting shells to study, and more. With 9
crew members to serve no more than 22 guests, kids and adults alike are
accompanied on a variety of personal-choice excursions while the yacht
is at anchor.
At the end of a week of up-close
adventure, the crew of the Safari
Quest presents each family member with a photo disc of
several hundred images to share and reminisce for years to come. In
addition, each child receives a Kids in Nature backpack filled with
mementos of their various explorations including a certificate of
achievement signed by the Captain and Expedition Leader, a
tee shirt and cap, a pair of binoculars, disposable camera and a typed
list of all of the flora and fauna observed during the cruise. Far from
the typical family vacation getaway, a yacht cruise provides kids a fun
way to learn about nature and other cultures.The program offers
kid-size pricing – two kids under 12 for 1 adult
fare.
Aboard other sailings during the season
American Safaris Cruises' three mega yachts offer very upscale
amenities and cuisine best appreciated by sophisticated adults. For
these cruises the line normally discourages guests from bringing young
children and does not normally offer child-oriented services.
The
Boat Company offers special rates for young cruisers
traveling with parents: 50 percent off the usual fare if occupying a
stateroom with a parent, 20 percent off if occupying a separate cabin.
The company's two vessels do not have
separate personnel specifically assigned to youngsters on board, but
the line does try to accommodate the desires of each passenger
including kayaking, fishing, beach hikes, and other kid-friendly
activities.
Cruise West If you believe
that your child or grandchild would enjoy cruising through Glacier Bay
National Park (and what child wouldn't, with whales, sea lions, sea
otters, and seals to view in the water plus grizzly bears, black bears,
mountain goats, and moose to see along the shore), Cruise West has a
special deal for you. The small-ship cruiseline offers reduced pricing
on three-night and four-night roundtrip cruises out of Juneau for
families traveling with kids 18 and younger. There are savings of up to
75 percent off some fares. Fares start at $1,799 per adult and $900 for
one child.
Discovery
Voyages advises that cruises aboard the 12-passenger
vessel Discovery
are definitely "family friendly" and, in fact, the company offers a 25
percent discount for children 12 and under.
Notes a company spokeswoman: "Due to the
intimate size of our vessel we do not have specific youth directors but
our staff (including Captain Dean Rand's daughters Hannah and Heather
who grew up on board the Discovery)
is diverse in working with both adults and children as well as being
naturalists and kayaking guides." The company often works with agencies
and outfitters who specialize in family trips.
Lindblad
Expeditions welcomes voyagers young and old aboard the
twin vessels Sea Bird
and Sea Lion.
And since the start of cruise season 2006 the "young" have had a
special treat to make their voyages interesting and fun: a 24-page book
of comics, games, puzzles, and nature notes called "Fun and Games with
Lil Lin - the Wonderful State of Alaska." The book, which is mailed to
young cruisers in advance of Alaska voyages, was created by
noted cartoonist Stan Goldberg of Archie Comics fame. He created the
book following his own Lindblad cruise to Alaska and British Columbia
duirng the summer of 2005. In the book Goldberg's young adventurer
encounters the same sights that a young traveler can see from the deck
of the Sea Bird
or the Sea Lion:
humpback whales, bald eagles, thundering glaciers, and all manner of
other creatures and their habitats along Alaska's and British
Columbia's Inside Passage.
Majestic
America Line is allowing children 12 years of age or
under to cruise free when traveling aboard the Empress of
the North sternwheeler as the third or fourth passenger,
sharing a stateroom with two paying adults. Cruise rates are waived for
children when they share a stateroom with adults outfitted for three or
four guests, but port charges, handling fees and fuel surcharge apply
for each child. The offer is not combinable with other offers. Space is
limited.
Maple
Leaf Adventures offers families the opportunity to view
Alaska’s glaciers, whales, islands, bear hotspots, beaches,
hot springs and towns aboard the classic tall ship Maple Leaf. The
beautifully restored 92-foot schooner (built more than a century ago,
in 1904) has operated tours on the coast since 1986.
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, based on expert knowledge of the area.
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 kids include
engaging naturalist interpretation, sail training, fishing (with
purchase of a fishing license), hikes, and a customizable itinerary.
Maple Leaf Adventures trips are listed
by Frommer’s travel guide as a “Best Travel
Experience.” Trips operate in Alaska and on the British
Columbia coast and focus on natural history and cultural history.
Accommodations are comfortable but not luxurious.
Because berths are limited to nine or
ten passengers, it is possible for one or more families (two families
of five, for instance) to jointly reserve all the berths for one of the
company's 11-night Alaska voyages. Parents with teen-age children may
reserve berths that are not otherwise reserved with the concurrence of
prior-booked adult passengers.
State and Provincial Ferries
Alaska
Marine Highway System (Alaska ferries) is made-to-order
for family travel both summer and winter with - depending on vessels -
play areas for the very young, casual meals and snack bars for any age,
movies, and nature talks plus expansive glass-enclosed solariums. These
are ideal for spotting orcas (killer whales), humpback whales, playful
porpoises and sea lions in the water plus mountain goats on towering
cliffsides, and (for the very fortunate observer) the sight of black
and brown (grizzly) bears on passing beaches. Virtually everywhere
there are American Bald Eagles. Naturalists and interpreters from the
U.S. Forest Service play an important role aboard many of the ships,
informing passengers young and old about the wild creatures and the
wild lands of the Tongass National Forest through which the ferries
travel. To learn more about the USFS programs aboard Alaska ferries,
see Set
Sail for Alaska's National Forests.
Families with or without vehicles may
embark as far south as Bellingham, Washington or Prince Rupert, B.C.
Within Alaska they can connect with smaller off-line ferries
that provide access to more remote communities. For
venturesome visitors there are monthly sailings even along the Aleutian
Islands chain from April through October.
Larger stateroom-equipped vessels of the
fleet are the Columbia
(931 passengers), Matanuska
(745), Malaspina
(701), Taku
(370), and Kennicott
(748) - all of which serve the Southeast Alaska panhandle. Depending on
the season, one or two ships sail on weekly schedules all the way
to/from Bellingham while others turn around at Prince Rupert.
Cruising by ferry, families may pick
their own itineraries and may lay over at any port for as long as they
wish, then pick up another ferry on a subsequent day. Too, they can
bring along the family auto or RV and, if they want, they can cruise to
and within Alaska heading one direction and travel the other
by road.
BC Ferries demonstrates its kid-friendliness even before
a family boards their ships.
Computer-savvy children or their parents
have only to surf the web to http://www.bcferries.bc.ca/kidzone/establishing_shot.html
and they will meet cartoon characters Samantha ("Call me Sam") and Cal,
two seagoing doggy characters who introduce young viewers to three
online activities - an electronic coloring book, a "Match the Ferries"
memory game, and a virtual bridge tour.
At the provincial ferry line's home page http://www.bcferries.com,
parents can link to "About BC Ferries" and select virtual tours of the
line's 35 coastal vessels including the
Northern Adventure.
This modern, attractive vessel connects with Alaska state ferries at
the port of Prince Rupert for frequent access to Southeast
Alaska ports.
Among vessel areas of special interest
to youngsters is a children's play area and an electronic
games room.
Additional amenities on the Northern Adventure
include: cafeteria, gift shop, tourist information, telephones,
elevator, a
licensed lounge, and
washrooms for passengers wtih disabilities. The ship's passenger and
crew capacity is 544; it can transport 80 autos.
In the summer the vessel operates on an
alternating schedule of two northbound or two southbound sailings
between Prince Rupert and road-accessible Port Hardy on
British Columbia's Vancouver Island. Toll-free contact is
1-888-223-3779.
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