seattle-swarm
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2010
What a goldmine of information here! Thanks everyone!
I was randomly reading through several of the posts and wanted to know about appropriate age of children. We have a 6 and 3 year old so is there enough for the 3 year old to enjoy himself? This is a Make-A-wish trip for him and we want him to have a blast.
Thanks!
Thanks for the post Ellester.
I am noticing the under 5 age on a lot of things my older kids want to do. My DD will be 4.5 when we go next year.
Thanks for the post Ellester.
I am noticing the under 5 age on a lot of things my older kids want to do. My DD will be 4.5 when we go next year.
I enthusiastically second this! The sea life we saw was amazing and, right when we arrived at the "beach" there were two bald eagles on a rock just off shore. And we had a close encounter with the dreaded Lions Mane jellyfish, which resulted in a fun story to share.In Ketchikan we went to the Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure through Disney. Yes, we snorkeled in the waters of Alaska! The staff were all super and just as promised, they made it informative, showed us lots of great wildlife and kept us warm!! We would HIGHLY recommend this excursion!!
How old are your older kids? We contemplated splitting up on excursions but then decided we just didn't want to do that on a family vacation. There really was so much for all ages. A trip of a lifetime!
My 2 cents: there are a lot of trails at Mendenhall Glacier as well as a visitors' center, so you could spend a lot of time there. The "hike" to Nugget Falls is more of a leisurely stroll, so should be just fine for your kids. Mt. Roberts Tramway was running when we were there but the top of Mt Roberts was engulfed in clouds, so we didn't bother heading up. We just figured there wouldn't be much of a view. That all being said, we went to Mendenhall, then walked around downtown and, by the time we did all that, we were ready to head back to the ship and relax for a bit.Would you all say that in Juneau there is enough to do with the Glacier, Nugget Falls and the Mt. Robert Tramway for a good part of the day? Is an excursion necessary? Keep in mind, we will have a 6.5YO and a 4YO in tow. I know that both boys will want to explore the glacier and falls.
thanks!
Misseulalie,
Take it from someone who had 2 excursions cancelled due to weather, there are always other options. We had a morning helicopter tour cancelled in Juneau due to the weather. We went to Disney but they didn't have any free slots in the afternoon excursions so we just went into town and booked through another company. There are booths in Juneau where the shuttle bus drops you off.
We also had a float plane tour cancelled in Ketchikan due to rain, rain, and more rain. We went to the Ketchikan visitors building which is a short walk from where you get off the ship and there were all kinds of booths in there booking tours.
Our helicopter tour in Juneau was the absolute highlight of our trip and the best part is, they were much cheaper than Disney for the same excursion. So don't give up if the weather is bad. Just go book an excursion on your own. Enjoy your cruise!
Would you all say that in Juneau there is enough to do with the Glacier, Nugget Falls and the Mt. Robert Tramway for a good part of the day? Is an excursion necessary? Keep in mind, we will have a 6.5YO and a 4YO in tow. I know that both boys will want to explore the glacier and falls. thanks!
If we book a DCL dog sled excursion and it gets cancelled (as I hear it is the most cancelled activity) What are our options? I do not want to "waste" a day on the ship. Are there typically spots on other excursions? Does DCL help you book other activities? I would be ok with a whale watching activity.
Thanks, It would worry me that we would go from excursion of a life-time to a sad walk around the city if it was cancelled.
Last question- how many helicopters are there per excursion? My husband is a bit worried about leaving the baby on board and the both of us on a helicopter. He would feel better if we split our group and go on separate helicopters.
Thank you for the advice!With young kids, all that could easily fill up your day. We only spent about an hour at Mendenhall due to having to catch a scheduled bus back but we easily could have spent much longer. There were things to do and see in the visitors' center that we just kind of breezed by and we didn't have time to hike all the way to the falls. It was an easy walk, but we just didn't have the time. I think you would be fine without an excursion. The tramway is right there in the middle of town where the shuttle dropped us off. If it is really foggy, you could just skip it until later in the day or altogether.