jlk166

Our group is my family (we have a 6 yr old daughter), my 75 yr old parents and my sister's family has a 2 year old son. My parents want to take a Disney cruise to Alaska so they don't have to walk alot but my sister is against that for safety reasons. My mother wants a learning type of vacation, not just sit on a beach with a casino. We live in the Northeast - any ideas? I would like Ireland or Scotland but my sister is saying it's not worth it to go because her son won't remember anything.

suze

I don't understand the comment about "safety reasons" against an Alaska cruise?

emalloy

I doubt there would be a Disney cruise to Alaska in April. There would be some in the Caribbean at that time of year though, and unless the safety reason is being exposed to lots of people in a confined area, I would not worry about a cruise. Of course some people don't find cruises fun (DH would rather have his hair set on fire and put out with a base ball bat).

Would you consider a city vacation where there might be lots of activities for all ages, like Boston with Children's museum, museum of science, duck tours, freedom trail, etc?

laurie_ann

Would you consider something like Seattle, Charleston, Santa Fe, San Antonio, New Orleans or such and then arrange some events for the "learning" part of the trip? You could find nature guide, cooking class, wine tasting, architecture guide, history guide etc, boat trip. Would be more for you to organize than on a cruise where the meals and activities are planned but you could have a more customized trip.

TC

If you actually want to entertain this diverse group, not just drag them along, a cruise is the best solution. I can't imagine a trip to Ireland or Scotland with children that young (even the 6 year old). I think a Disney cruise (to anywhere) is your best bet.

annhig

well, lots of people with young children live in or visit Ireland and Scotland so I don't think that the ideas are so outlandish, but if you like cruising, that might be your best bet for keeping this lot entertained.

if not, then you might consider renting a gite in France [you can get some nice ones for large parties - you're 8 in total I think] or a villa in Italy. visiting the sights in either place would make it educational and you could take trips out and eat together.

AS for the 2 year old not remembering things, we took our then 1 year old DD to the US and she doesn't remember a thing but we still had a wonderful time with her. Children shouldn't stop you travelling, you just have to change the way you do it.

TC

Yes, I supposed many young children do live in Ireland and Scotland. -- not sure why that is relavent. And lots of young couples drag young kids around the world. I still think to do that in the company of 75 year old grandparents who "don't want to walk a lot" and to put babies on planes for so long is for the benefit of the parents....no one else. I just spent 8 hours on a flight where a two year old ran up and down the aisles while mom and dad slept. Lovely for everyone while he screamed bloody murder when the attendants insisted he be restrained. It is surprising that some couples believe having children requires no alteration to their lives. If you have children, why not do something that might interest them as well as others? Go to Ireland and Scotland when they're off to university. Do Disney when they're babies.

annhig

TC - there is no suggestion here from the OP that they want to "Do Disney". Rather they are considering going on a disney cruise to Alaska, which I assume is a rather different experience to simply going to Disney World, and does include an element of air travel, as would most travel in the US, I assume.

as for my somewhat tongue in cheek remark about Scotland and Ireland, there is a tendency amongst some people to write off places they don't know as somehow "unsuitable" for young children forgetting that people with families usually live there quite happily.

I agree with you that it's irritating when parents fail to control their offspring, but adults on planes can be annoying too - chewing gum, playing music on badly sound-insulated equipment, pushing their seats back, being so large that they invade my space, falling asleep so I can't get out to go to the loo, needing to go to the loo when I've fallen asleep, etc. etc.