Jane

We are considering a 14 day Alaska Cruise tour in July or August with 2 children 8 &10. We are looking for suggestions on the must see and do parts of Alaska. Kenai as opposed to Denali for wildlife or both? Any insights on the long train rides with the kids?<BR><BR>What about the accomodations on the Princess Cruise Lines, especially the Star or Grand Princess, does anyone have any suggestions on the location of the rooms? Would you spend the extra money for the bigger room or would it not matter since there is so much else to do on the ship? are the rooms at the back really not as nice as a side view?

Paul Therault

Hi Jane,<BR><BR>I would advise doing Kenai. Better yet would be to stay a couple of days in Seward. There is so much to do for adults and kids. The ride to and from Denali is not very exciting. Nice for sleeping. The food on the train is very expensive, never mind the food in the hotel. If you rreally want to see Mt. McKinley then do Denali but I believe the mountains around Seward are more spectacular.<BR><BR>If you plan on spending little time in your cabin on the ship then book a smaller room. Only complaints are no storage and you are bumping into each other. Nice to have a cabin at the very rear of the ship since you can see in three different directions. Also you can see the beautiful wake.<BR><BR>Paul

Jane

Thanks Paul, that helps a lot. This is a trip of a lifetime for us so we're working pretty hard on getting the best of everything in. <BR><BR>I noted your post to another person enquiring about the mini-suites at the back. I thought that your comment was meant to subtly let her imagine she was riding in the back seat of the car, facing back, which is not too appealing to me. And of course we're not going on an Alaskan cruise to view a beautiful boat wake. I'm hoping we get alittle more than a bit of a side view on those back rooms. Will we?<BR><BR>Also, would it make any difference weather-wise to visit Alaska in July rather than August?

Paul Therault

Hi Jane,<BR><BR>I only gave my opinion about the rear balcony cabins. They are very popular and sell the fastest. Don't forget the ship does not sail as fast as a car. Think about the placement...... if you had a cabin on the side of the ship you can look over the rail and see the front of the ship and the rear of the ship but you are missing the view of the other side completely. So if a whale is spotted on one side you may not be on that side. If you had a rear facing cabin you would see the whales go by. Princess does not have the wrap-around balconies in the aft of the ship therefore you would not be able to see all the way to the front of the ship. You are probably really confused now.<BR><BR>July and August are the best times to see Alaska because of the warmth. It is only cold as you near the glaciers. Sometimes it is downright "hot." Rain is usually in the southern part of Alaska that is why it is better to do a one-way cruise rather than a round trip. Of course any coastal cruise whether it be the northeast or northwest ..... rain, fog and mist may be more likely. One cannot predict rain so far in advance. What is good is that most rain in the summer comes in the form of showers that are fairly brief. I sailed Alaska 5 times (June, July and August) and only ran into rain once in Juneau and it was only in the morning. So the odds are good.<BR><BR>The salmon start running in August. They actually jump up on shore when they are coming back home to die. Bears are more plentiful in August but do not plan on seeing one unless you go to a bear camp. you may be lucky. Best to see bears in a zoo. The puffins are spectacular in both July and August and you will see millions of sea birds in the Kenai Fiords. Also plenty of seals and otters. It starts to get colder after the second week of August. <BR><BR>Hopes this helps. Maybe we will hear from others concerning the rear facing cabins.<BR><BR>Paul<BR><BR>

Connie

I agree with Paul about doing the Kenai instead of Denali. <BR><BR>On a recent RV trip, we went to the Kenai then to Denali. We couldn't wait to get back down to the Kenai.<BR>If I ever get back to Alaska, I will skip Denali and spend a lot more time on the Kenai Peninsula.<BR><BR>The Kenai is lush where the Denali area is arid. The mountain scenery is a lot prettier to me on the Kenai than Denali, I think because there are more snow covered mountains there. There is more to do on the Kenai. It takes 5 hours (driving-- much longer on the train) from Anchorage to get to Denali and the trip is not very scenic. That is 10 + hours of your precious vacation time. <BR><BR>In defense of Denali, we did the 8 hour bus tour (the only way to see the park) and saw several grizzlies and moose and lots of caribou. And, it is in the $20 range which is one of the cheapest things we did. Pretty good value for the time spent.<BR><BR>On the Kenai Fiords day cruise, we saw three kinds of whales, sea lions and adorable puffins.<BR><BR>Another option for wildlife is to drive over to Homer and do a bear watching excursion. <BR><BR>

Mandy

We did the Ocean Princess cruise/tour to Denali and Fairbanks, two families with four kids total, and really wish we had just stayed in Kenai. The train trip is really boring, to the point where you are sitting at the exact same table for both long train rides. While our kids managed to amuse themselves, I think the time would have been better spent in Kenai.<BR><BR>As far as cabin selection goes, unless you are assigned a cabin with a great view, just take a quad (which are limited in number) and plan to stay out on deck where you can get a broad view. It's much better to be outside.

Bobbie

I definitely agree with Patty's second posting....I have been on 17 cruises and had different accommodations also -<BR>like she says: it isn't the cabin you remember!

Paul Therault

I, for one, always remember spectacular cabins and some spectacular blaconies. Ship design and decor are getting to be all the same (with a few exceptions). Our excitement of choosing our stateroom and itinerary are the most important of our trips.<BR><BR>To each his own.<BR><BR>Paul

steve

We went this summer on the Sun Princess with our 12 and 14 yr old sons. We got a 4 person cabin. No problem with it being too small and quite a savings - our 7 day cruise was only $3000 for the 4 of us.