cruising with 16 and 20 year old sons

Our family is considering a 7 day Alaskan cruise in August 2007. Although my husband and I would opt for a small boat or a land tour if it were just the two of us, a big cruise ship with lots of amenities is probably the best bet to keep our sons happy. Can anyone recommend a ship that would be a good fit for the 16 and 20 year olds and also keep us adults happy? (good service, good food, etc). It%26#39;s our first time visiting Alaska. We%26#39;ll embark from Seattle or Vancouver. Thank you!

cruising with 16 and 20 year old sons

I think you%26#39;d be suprised at the good time your sons would have on a small ship cruise in Alaska. Cruise West gives a lot of personal attention to all ages and abilities. Because the ship is small, it gets so much closer to the real Alaska. On the bigger ships, the Alaska you came to see is so far away from the ship that you need all those fancy ammenities. On the small ship, you%26#39;re so close to shore that you don%26#39;t ever want to leave the deck for fear you%26#39;ll miss something. I finally made myself go to bed one night even though we were right next to a calving glacier. I was just worn out from all I had seen that day!

Do be prepared for an older ship and smaller, basic staterooms. The food is really good, though no huge buffets. And if you%26#39;re worried about attention span, you do get to spend time in ports where your sons can stretch their legs for a while. Cruise West prices may seem high compared to the ship%26#39;s age, but the personal service you%26#39;re going to get with only 100 people on board is so worth it.

I%26#39;d recommend an Inside Passage cruise in Southeast with Cruise West, then a land tour in Southcentral and the Interior. Take the train between Whittier and Anchorage, and Talkeetna and Denali. Cruise West might have land tour add-ons, but I%26#39;d recommend you put your own itinerary together for the land part. Their land tours aren%26#39;t as good as their cruises.

Good Luck!

cruising with 16 and 20 year old sons

I agree with the recommendation for Cruise West. We did on of these in May. In my opinion, if you are going to be on a huge ship you might as well go to the Caribbean. See my post to someone asking bout cruises for their ';over 50'; parents.

Many thanks for the advice!!

I disagree with the small ship suggestions. Unless your sons are REALLY into nature they will get bored. In a larger ship there is more to do than look at the scenery. And on a larger ship the age group is more varied. We are going to cruise next June on the Coral Princess northbound as a graduation present (high school) for my son - his choice! Princess (the Coral) is not as big as some of the ships, i.e. Royal Caribbean and Carnival - it has 1,900 passengers and that is not huge! We got a balcony so we could see all the scenery we want but my son likes to do other things and meet other kids on board and I am afraid with Cruise West all you will get are over 60%26#39;s and retirees. He loves to cruise so this is a good choice for us. After we have four days in Talkeetna and Denali. Godd luck with planning.