I am considering an Alaskan cruise with my sister and our daughters ages 12, 9 and 7 for late June- early July 2005. Any and all advice, from chosing a ship, to deciding shore excursions would be appreciated. We've never cruised before, so real basic information and things to consider, hidden costs etc would be appreciated. I'm overseas now so I can't just pop into a travel agency. But we will be doing the trip to Alaska from NJ. Thanks!

You need to consider how much TIME you have, if only 7 days, then probably a round trip cruise would be best? With 5 I assume you are looking at 2 cabins? You NEED to book this NOW as triples are in short supply. Superior for inside passage scenery are Vancouver round trips, but Seattle may be more cost effective. Be sure to consider time in ports. Budget FULLY for costly excursions, they make an Alaska trip. But with a 7 year old your choices may be more limited? Anyway- do your homework, head to your library and take out Alaska cruise books, look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your touring options. Have plans and reservations IN PLACE before you go, don't waste time in port deciding what to do.

Thanks for your tips. A few more questions, please.

I am in China now and don't have access to a library or English language book stores with ample travel guides. Or travel agent who would have brochures to thumb through for that matter. Any web sites you can recommend to get details about shore excursions? I need to do this all by web and email.

I am also curious, why would a 7 year old limit our options? Do you not travel with children? My kids were in 10 different countries in 2004 alone. (off to Bangkok on Thursday). We travel all the time due to these Chinese holidays when everything here shuts down and while we do make our plans child friendly, we certainly never feel limited in what we do. Are there age or height restrictions on certain shore excursions? Or something else I am not aware of?

Can you explain why a Roundtrip would save time? I thought that would allow for less time doing shore excursions? What would be the "must sees?"

And can anyone out there allay my concerns and pre-conceptions of taking an Alaskan cruise. I am not a fan of tours to begin with, can't stand Disneyland or Club Med places where I feel "processed" by the experience.

Thanks for your help.

COST- is the reason why a 7 year old may limit you?? As an example- if you want a glacier dog sledding- it's $400 per person. You also have to think carefully on some tours due to time? Some 7 year olds can't tolerate anything more than an hour without being disruptive. You can get a shore excursion list from most any cruiseline, go to the web sites.
YOU need to determine- how much time you are looking at?? A one way cruise is never recommended by me without an additional week for interior Alaska traveling. There is more time required in flights as well as cost. Look at Holland American, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean etc via web sites- they will have the itinerary posted. Port times and glacier listed. Spend some time reading Alaska posts, go to www.cruisecritic.com Alaska board, www.cruisemates.com Alaska board and get familiar with what is available.

Thanks so much. I will check out those sites.