Has anyone taken a 14 month old baby on an Alaskan cruise??

Question

My brother and his wife are thinking about taking their baby on an Alaskan cruise this summer. I was just wondering if anyone has done this, what their experience was? How hard is it to cruise with a baby? And what about air travel? Do they need their own seat on the plane? Are they charged for on the cruise ship, or are they free??

Answer 1

They will need to check with the cruise line for specific information. However things to keep in mind-

The kids program on every line that goes to Alaska does not accept children for drop off who aren't potty trained or are under 3.  Royal Caribbean does have a Fisher Price activity program for parents and toddlers to participate in together, but it is not a drop off program and it isn't an all day program.

Your brother will have to pay for their baby. They won't have to pay the full fare for the baby but rather the "third person" rate which is less than the full fare for the first two occupants of the cabin.

For a lot of reasons your brother shouldn't book anything lower than an outside cabin.  Insides are the smallest category of cabin, they're cramped already and adding a pack n play to the mix makes things even tighter.  In Alaska you really want an outside cabin to begin with, but for your brother there's the added benefit that outsides and balconies are larger that insides.

As for air travel, the baby can travel on the lap of one of the parents at no extra charge.

A travel agent that specializes in cruises can help them out further.  I recommend Cruise Planners www.mycruiseplanner.net 888-286-9827, they are very experienced with Alaska AND family cruising.  They don't charge service fees and they have the same specials and offers as the big online sites as well as the cruise lines.