Travel tips for taking a Princess Alaska cruise, including tips for trips with tween and teen aged children.
Click to read also: Road Trip Games for the Entire Family – Including Teens!
Why We Decided to Go On an Alaska Cruise
What You'll Find on This Page
My mom grew up in Alaska, and I’ve always wanted to go. It’s hard to reach the state, and cruises take you to some of the most beautiful places. I also talked to several people I knew who had been on Alaska cruises. Every single person, even the ones who really are not “cruise people” recommended it.
My kids and I toured a Princess cruise ship several years ago, while it was in port but heading to Alaska. That experience got all of us even more interested in a potential Alaska trip some day!
Then, this spring, I found a fantastic deal on tickets, so I jumped at the chance.
Choosing the Right Cruise
We ultimately chose our cruise based on price, but there were a few things that made is a great choice for us:
- We could all fit into a single room, which meant that we got a deal where I only paid taxes and fees and gratuities for my two youngest kids.
- The cruise left from San Francisco and returned to the same port, so we didn’t have to worry about plane tickets or hotels in addition to the cost of the cruise.
- I really wanted a room with a balcony. This ship had several that fit our price range, and it was well worth paying for!
- The ship stopped at ports I was interested in.
- We could get a flat rate deal that included all necessary expenses – even tips.
Traveling with Kids – A Note On Rooms
My three younger kids and I were all in one pretty small room for this cruise. The couch turned into one bed, and a second bed dropped down from the ceiling. These were put away during the day to make more room.
As I mentioned before, I splurged a bit to get a room with a balcony. This was well worth the cost, for us! We had amazing weather on this cruise, and we all spent hours on the balcony, just watching the ocean. There are public spaces where you can do this, but we are all pretty introverted and having our own balcony space was wonderful. The balcony also made a space where we could go and be alone for a while if we got tired of being crammed all together in a room but didn’t want to go somewhere on the ship where we would be surrounded by random people.
If you don’t have the budget for a balcony, there are quiet public spaces on every ship – you just have to find them.
On Board Activities
There was a lot to do on the ship, and we got a schedule of events every day. Princess cruises are known for their live shows, and the ones we went to were impressive.
Our ship had both kid and teen spaces with ship-provided adult supervision. My kids didn’t spend a ton of time in these spaces, but there were tweens and teens who clearly loved going there.
There were a ton of activities that we didn’t particularly care for, but there was always something interesting. We loved the (hilarious) cooking demonstration, I joined the ship’s pop choir (we performed a mini concert the last day of sailing), and my kids were very proud to win the “find crew members from as many countries as possible” scavenger hunt. I really wish I’d taken a photo of their scavenger sheet before we handed it in – they found people from over 60 countries working on board! Ryan Redington, last year’s Iditarod champion, came on board with a couple of his pups one day and gave a fascinating talk about his life. The crew clearly works to make sure they have activities for literally everyone.
Alaska Cruise Shore Excursions
Shore excursions are not included in the price of the cruise, and they are pricey!
We paid for two excursions run by the cruise ship, in ports where, when I searched online, I wasn’t seeing a lot that we could do on our own. They were both good experiences. I also bought a couple of experiences in port from local vendors. One was a great experience; the other one was just okay (the just okay experience was technically in Canada, not Alaska; in fairness to Alaska I feel that that is important to note). In one port we had a wonderful time walking around on our own all day, but that city was also exceptionally accessible.
Definitely factor shore excursion prices in when you are budgeting for your trip. I spent a lot of time researching ports before we arrived, and that paid off since it helped me be smarter about what I paid for where.
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Alaska Cruise Packing Tips
Cruise ship cabins are pretty small, and since we were cramming four people in one room we just packed IKEA Frakta bags. They are inexpensive, super durable, and they don’t take up any space at all once they are unpacked. I also liked having one to use as a laundry bag on board the ship.
Cruise ship walls are magnetic, so I bought these magnetic metal hooks for our room. We used them to hang our lanyards, lightweight jackets, and even my handbag from the wall of the room. They were also useful for posting the schedule of the day and our ship’s itinerary on the wall.
Alaska weather varies a lot in the summer! We brought rain jackets and umbrellas that we never used, but we had exceptionally amazing weather, and actually wound up having hotter weather than is really comfortable for a couple of days. But even with the hot weather on land, the sea days were kind of cold. So our recommendation is to pack layers.
Budgeting and Saving on a Cruise
We bought our tickets pretty close to the sailing date, and I think that helped us get a good deal since there were obviously still cabins open on the ship. But there also seem to be deals from time to time year round. So you can probably get a decent deal further into the future if you watch for a sale.
The place where we saved the most money was actually by bringing snacks on board that we could eat when we were in port. The ship had plenty of food, but you can’t take ship food into port. You can, however, bring pre-packaged snacks like granola bars. I had packed snacks because my family can’t eat gluten and that sometimes makes eating while traveling really difficult. But food in the ports was super expensive, so it was also a money saver for us to have snacks we could bring with us. We also sometimes returned to the ship for lunch before heading back out for the afternoon. Lunch on the ship was included in our cruise cost, even on days when we were in port.
We also brought laundry sheets, which are super easy to pack and saved us paying for laundry detergent on board. I discovered Lazy Coconuts laundry sheets when we traveled to Europe in 2022, and we actually use them for laundry at home now, too!
Hidden Costs to Watch Out For
Cruise ships can have a lot of hidden costs! Internet and laundry can cost extra. Although, on our ship, it looked like you had to pay for laundry and then you didn’t! So be sure to ask to make sure, especially if you are on a Princess Cruise ship like ours.
Other hidden costs included some room service items and eating in certain parts of the ship. We opted into the premier package, which unlocked more room service options (but not all of them), as well as internet on more devices. I upgraded for the internet, but actually ordering tea for evening room service became a fun daily ritual for us, and that was only possible with the premium package option. Even with the premier package, some sizes of bottled water were free and others were not, so you really have to pay attention.
Managing Onboard Expenses
Everyone on the cruise ship has a medallion, which you can easily use to pay for things. Just make sure you don’t enable this for anyone who is too young to understand that it isn’t free; it’s still money. If they are scanning your medallion, there’s a good chance it will cost something.
It’s also a good idea to check your bill before you return to port. It’s a lot easier to reverse charging errors (and they do happen; for example we had pre-paid port fees and were initially being double charged for these) before you get off the ship.
Making The Most of Family Time
Cruise ships can make for wonderful family time. You’re in close quarters and it can be a big win if you lean into the experience. We loved exploring the ship together, experiencing new things together, and eating meals we didn’t have to cook or clean up!
What We Loved Best
Cruise ships are the rare family vacation where moms get to relax too. I had to do laundry, but that was about it. Meals were taken care of, and we unpacked once and were done with it.
We created our own little traditions while we were on the ship like evening tea. We also really enjoyed learning a little bit about some of the crew members. They work incredibly hard and lead interesting lives.
Cruise ships offer days packed with activities, but intentionally planning for down time was a big win for my family. It also means time for magical moments, like this one where we saw a whale. It made me think of this spouting whale craft we made when the kids were tiny.
What We Would Change Next Time
Honestly, this was an incredible vacation. The only thing I would change would be to get closer to the glacier, but that wasn’t possible because of all of the ice in the water the day we were there. Maybe someday I’ll get to go back!
Have you ever been on a cruise – to Alaska, or somewhere else? Is there a family vacation you especially recommend for us to try sometime?
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
When we went on a cruise, my Mom booked through a travel agent and booking the excursions through the agent were cheaper and meant we had smaller groups for the excursions. But I agree, the excursions can be incredibly expensive, but also can be so worth it.
That’s the big thing I remember from our cruise over a decade ago, that and we loved going to tea time that was offered in the afternoon for our Caribbean cruise, we were one of the few there.
At some point, we want to go on an Alaskan cruise.
That’s good to know about travel agents booking the excursions!
We had high teas on this cruise too, and they were very fun. I think you’d love an Alaskan cruise.