My family of 4 (2 boys ages 9 &11) are taking an Alaskan cruise from Seward to Vancouver BC in July. We will spend 3 days in Girdwood at Aleyeska resort. While there we will take a company sponsored tour to Kenai Fjords. From Girdwood we will take a train to Seward to board our cruise. Our cruise stops in Skagway, Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan.

We are interested in taking a kayak, canoe or float trip cruise to a glacier. Any suggestions on which port to do this in?

Since we are taking a train from Girdwood to Seward we had originally not planned to take another train excursion. However, I keep hearing great reviews about the train ride in Skagway. Has anyone been on both routes? Are they quite different in scenery?

We are also interested in the zipline/adventure park tour in Skagway. Has anyone done that specific zipline? Others are offered, but Skagway is the only one our youngest son is eligible for. I'm sure we would all enjoy it, but if it is not spectacular we'll skip it. We vacation in other destinations that offer ziplines so this isn't our one and only opportunity.

Thanks much for any advice!

We've taken a couple canoe trips in Alaska that I think the kids would like. The Mendenhall Lake Canoe tour is in Juneau and the Glacier Lake Canoe Safari goes to Haines from Skagway. The canoe trip in Skagway is better (longer, but more expensive) but we did the one in Juneau so we had time to take an evening whale watch there. There were kids the age of yours on both tours.
We're taking a tour with Southeast Sea Kayaks in Ketchikan in August, but you'll be there before us. You might want to check them out.
The train to Seward has very different scenery than the one to White Pass. Personally, unless the kids are really into railroads, I'd skip the White Pass RR. It's a very long day.

Hope you have a great trip!

Thanks 3Doxens. We've booked a glacier rafting trip in Juneau (the kids' preferred mode of water transportation!) I did decide to skip the Skagway railroad. It does sound like a longer day than they would be up for.

Thanks again for the information!

Any zipline is pretty cool in my book, and would be even more so for most kid around that age.

At Alyeska-hike the Winner Creek Trail-cool way to cross the creek in a hand pulled car thingy. Your boys might want to paraglide from the top of the mountain. We did a helicopter/glacier landing/dog sledding there and really enjoyed it. Double Musky, the restaurant at the top of the tram, and the hibachi restaraunt in the Alyeska are all good. Alyeska has a nice indoor pool with great views of the mountain. We also did the Glacier hiking tour on top of the mountain and I would just rate it as ok.

Thanks spirobulldog! I had read about the Winner Creek Trail and plan to fit it in our schedule. It was offered as an optional (for a fee) excursion with our company trip, but I've read that there is no need for a guide and the trailhead can easily accessed from the resort. Did you do it on your own?

Yeah, just do it on your own. Ride the tram to the top and eat a cheap lunch there. Pretty good salmon chowder for lunch. The train is very good scenary. I have't done any other trains, but I think 3 -4 hours would be enough for me in one trip, unless you really like trains. I would plan on eating a meal on the train.