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.
 
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: humongous 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.

Large and Mega Size Cruiseships

Carnival Cruise Lines' 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 2009 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 has 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.


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 during 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.