I've offered to do some research on Alaskan Cruises on what could become a very large family trip (not sure if I'll even be going yet). I've never been on a cruise, and never done much research on Alaska travel. I'm not sure where to begin. I've read a lot of your posts already and am on information overload. Can someone get me started in the right direction? We're probably looking at a week long journey next July-ish and people that will be traveling range in age from 3 - 80 years old - so something for everyone would be nice - ranging from active to not so-active. What cruise lines are the best? What are your recommended tours or lines? And any ways to save money for a large group? Any tips, tricks and advice much appreciated. Thanks!

I answered on the Alaska board, basically you need to figure out first, how much time are you investing?? If you can add at least 5 days to a 7 day cruise, a one way is a great option. Otherwise my preferred sailings are round trip Vancouver. Usually group rates kick in after 8 double cabins booked.

In 2003 we did an inside passage on Holland America (7 day Vancouver round trip) and met a couple in their late 70s who brought their family of 18 people with them. The age range was around 6 to 60. They had a ball. The HA ships cover their pool areas so kids could swim and do water things even through it was cold outside. HA also upgraded the grandparents to a balancy suite which they stocked with sodas/beer/hors'deuvers and had an open door policy for the family every afternoon before dinner. At dinner the family had a huge round table in the dining room that I think accomodated everyone. The whole experience worked very well for their family. (The date of the cruise was the week before July 4th.) Good luck!

There are many options for Alaska. I prefer the one way Seward to Vancouver itinerary (or vice versa) as opposed to the R/T Seattle or Vancouver.

You need to decide on a budget first as there are wide ranges of price.

I suggest you do some research on www.cruisecritic.com. You will find much more info there than here.

I agree with kfusto that the Seward to Vancouver itinerary is a great one. You get to see more of the Alaska coast and the tidal glaciers and still get the Inside Passage. I liked going south because it got warmer as we went ! I don't know what the cruise lines would do for discounts to large groups, but you might want to see if there is a travel agent in your area who specializes in cruises. They can often negotiate with the cruise lines for discounts, upgrades or other perks. We went with Princess because we liked their itinerary the best (it hit College Fjord and my mom really wanted to go there - it was fabulous). Most of the cruises have one week itineraries so once you decide which line and which itinerary, you are pretty much set to go.

I can understand the stress something like this can produce. I did the planning recently for a trip to Brazil that ended up being 10 friends and family members. I told everyone up front that I was planning the trip my husband and I liked and if they wanted to join in that was great - I was not going to be "tour director" for everyone. It really ended up being a wonderful trip and everyone was very appreciative of all of the work I put in. But I really didn't do any more planning or researching than I would have done to just plan a trip for the two of us. So maybe you need to look at it that way. Plan the trip you want and then see if others want to go along.