When my mom first suggested an Alaskan cruise for my entire family (my parents, my siblings and their kids, plus my husband and kids), I was excited. But as the days grew closer, I found myself getting more and more stressed.
When you have kids, especially those under 6, packing for vacations is always a little more daunting. Not only do you have diapers and wipes (and all the things that come along with those things), you have to worry about packing cups for milk (because when do restaurants ever have cups that toddlers can drink out of effectively?), toddler cutlery, and any emergency supplies. Never mind packing for yourself!
We set out on our Alaskan cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines in early August. For 7 days, we sailed from Seattle to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, and Victoria BC before returning back to Seattle. There were so many parts that were beautiful, fun, and exciting. But there were also parts that were, well, not-so-fun. That’s just the reality of traveling with a toddler, right?
I will be sharing a series of blog posts over the coming days about our Alaska cruise experience—including products I bought that I think saved our butts, plus a packing list guide that will keep you from overpacking.
But first, let’s talk about everything we experienced on our first cruise as a family.
Let’s Talk Amenities
I went on an Alaskan cruise when I was around 13. I can’t actually remember a ton about that cruise—I know I had fun—and I know it was on a different cruise line. But compared to that cruise, and according to my mom (who has been on tons of cruises with my dad in the last few years), I definitely felt like the amenities had changed.
Firstly, your stateroom, no matter what, is going to be small. Whether you have a balcony or an interior room, it’s going to be tight with not a lot of storage space. So as your packing, consider that. It’s also something to consider when thinking about sleeping arrangements: if you have a toddler who is very finicky about their sleep, this is going to be tough. We originally planned to have a pack’n’play (provided by the ship), but there was simply nowhere to put it in the room. I mean, nowhere.
Secondly, your stateroom might not even have items you consider standard in hotel rooms. Prime example, our stateroom didn't have shampoo. I’m not joking. I know other staterooms did (my sister’s did!) but the dispensers in our shower only had body wash and hand soap. (Hand soap!) I hadn’t packed shampoo because I’d expected it—and no matter how many times I requested it from guest services, it never arrived.
When it comes to food, there is plenty of it. Depending on how you book, you might also have the unlimited drinks package, which means you can pop up to any bar and get a soda or cocktail (or beer presumably). However, outside of meal times, there isn’t a whole lot around: there are ice cream places and a candy shop, but nowhere to grab, say, a bowl of chips outside of buying some from a shop.This is to say: if you’re traveling with kids whose appetites are unpredictable, bring some reliable snacks.
One thing I found frustrating throughout our cruise was the lack of consistent information; there were times where I was told one thing and then that turned out to not be true. This can likely be chalked up to the sheer size of the cruise ship I was on; it had over 4,000 guests on it, which meant even with a huge staff, they were stretched thin. On days we weren’t in port, everything was crowded.
That being said, everything we had access to as an amenity was great; the complimentary dining room was fantastic; the specialty restaurants were great; the bar were top notch. There was no aspect of the food or entertainment that I didn’t enjoy. However, if you’re traveling with small kids, there just simply isn’t a lot for them to do and the 3 course dinners in the evening are loooong for them. There wasn’t a single night where Danny or I didn’t have to leave dinner with Violet. We tried to alternate, but it was what it was.
One other important amenity: after Covid, cruises stopped offering coffee pots in staterooms, primarily because they’re just hard to clean and cleaning so many between cruises is a chore. However, the internet (and my mom) told me I should be able to request one. I requested one for 3 days in a row and finally gave up. It was a huge pain in the butt to have to walk up to the buffet to get coffee in the morning (writing that out sounds so silly, but listen, I was sleeping with an active toddler who kicked me all night, I needed coffee), especially when my family wasn’t ready to actually go to breakfast yet. Something to consider on your trip!
To Pack or Not To Pack?
I think I acutely knew even as we were boarding our cruise that I had overpacked. And I did; I packed too much stuff we didn’t touch or need and I didn’t pack enough of stuff we did need.
One hilarious fact is this: Alaska in the summer is typically not-hot, but not-cold and can be pretty rainy. Watching the weather the week leading up to our cruise, I felt confident in what I packed: spring weather clothes, plus all our rain coats. Friends, do you think we needed those rain coats? No. It was 80+ in every single city we stopped in. According to the Alaskans we met, it was their one nice week of weather during the summer. We did not need those raincoats and I was sweating my butt off in my leggings. I had only packed 4 t-shirts and then primarily sweatshirts. I’m not sure there was any way I could have anticipated such out of the ordinary weather, but I probably should have had more t-shirts at least.
I’ll have a more in-depth packing list post coming up, but for now, here’s a summary of my suggestions for packing with a toddler:
Bring your stroller, not a baby carrier. We brought our tush baby and the snug attachment we have for it and we didn’t use it once. It’s not an easy to pack carrier either. I was very annoyed with myself about it. We used our stroller every single day, though, because Violet just isn’t big enough to walk on her own most places yet.
Pack a light number of activities for your kids. I went a little overboard with activities and we really didn’t touch them hardly at all. That felt, again, a little silly of me. A sketchbook and a pack of crayons were really all Forrest and Violet needed to entertain themselves.
Don’t bring extra electronics. Ok, so, there is no free wifi on cruise ships. There is wifi you can pay for (it was $200+ for the week and that was non-streaming). This rendered our iPads pretty much useless for the entire week. I didn’t even touch mine.
Pack clothes in outfits, not items.
Pack snacks you know your toddler will eat or that can keep him or her entertained during dinners.
Excursions with a Toddler
Full disclosure: most of them were too long or too boring for Violet. The first excursion we had planned in Juneau, I realized the day of was going to last for 5 hours until past 8pm. I just knew she wasn’t going to make it, so I stayed behind while Danny took Forrest. Even for Forrest, it was a long time with a lot of walking and moving to different locations. He enjoyed it, but he was exhausted afterwards.
Our second excursion was a train ride in Skagway up to the White Pass. I really, really enjoyed it and so did Danny… but Violet fell asleep and Forrest got very bored. As much as I enjoyed it, I did wonder if we would have had more fun just exploring Skagway on our own or taking the shorter train ride with a more active excursion. Well, hindsight is 20/20.
That is to say: vet excursions carefully before booking and do so with an eye on what your toddler is capable of. Some toddlers absolutely might love a train ride. Violet was just less than enthused!
The Best Parts
The food. It’s sounds so silly, but the food was so good and fun. Every evening, we ate at the dining room, called the Manhattan Room. It was a 3-course dinner where you pick an appetizer, an entree, and then a dessert, plus you can get drinks from the bar. It was… magical. It was my favorite part and even on really hard days, I looked forward to it.
We also enjoyed the buffet, the Garden Cafe, for breakfast and lunch every day. There was always something for everyone, and they had a huge selection of fruits and vegetables at eat meal time.
Forrest loved the pool, the arcade, and laser tag. The laser tag arena had very odd hours, so he was only able to go once, but he loved it.
Violet primarily enjoyed the Guppy room, which was primarily a room for toddlers to play. It was great for her to have somewhere to go. Unfortunately, we did catch hand foot and mouth disease from the Guppy room, so my love for it is now 50/50.
We had the unlimited drinks package and I will admit that being able to get a cocktail whenever I wanted to was a temptation too strong even for me. I loved getting a mai tai at dinner. Now that’s luxury!
The Hardest Parts
The timing of nearly everything is not set up for toddlers at all. The breakfast buffet opens at 6:30, perfect, she’s been up for an hour. None of the dining options opened before 5:30—and Violet’s bedtime is usually 6:30/7. By 5:30, she is in her prime freak out time: overstimulated and getting tired. Especially on the ship, I knew she was pretty much constantly overstimulated because of the sheer number of people around us. So that was hard.
Thus, the days become loooooong. When you’re up at 5:30am (even with the time changing to Alaskan hours) and dinner ends at 7pm at the earliest, the day becomes so long, especially with just not a lot of space for a toddler to be active and entertained. By the time we were getting off the boat, I knew Violet was totally DONE with being on that boat (never mind that she also had the early stages of HFMD at that moment, so she wasn’t feeling great).
One other note here: I found out the last night that the medical center on the boat will not treat guests under the age of 3. So I guess if your toddler gets hurt or sick, the only options is to get you off the boat. If I had known that before the cruise, I’m not sure I would have actually gone because that does seem unsafe and a little scary. This might differ based on the cruise line (and honestly, it might have been something one employee told me because they didn’t want to take Violet’s temperature—I don’t know!), but just something to keep in mind, especially if you have a toddler with medical issues.
Would I Do It Again?
When my kids are older, absolutely! I would personally not take a toddler on a cruise again. Here is my reasoning for why:
Finding out they don’t treat medical issues for under 3 years on the cruise ship scares me.
There simply isn’t enough for toddlers to do on a cruise ship and there isn’t enough space to let them safely wander/walk/explore. If you have a toddler like Violet who needs near constant stimulation, this is a nightmare.
Since Violet often needed a break, Danny and I would split up throughout the day. Without wifi or cell service at sea, we had no way to contact each other until we paid $200 for wifi. If my kids were older, I wouldn’t be so worried about splitting up and contacting each other—but not being able to text was rough for the first day.
7 days was perhaps too long for Violet (and me). A shorter cruise I might consider taking a smaller child or toddler on… but 7 days was a lot.
Have you been on an Alaskan cruise with a toddler or small kids? I’d love to learn about your experience in the comments!
