I will be on the Voyager next month and am already thinking of which cruise to book while I am on board and I have a couple of questions...I think that I would like to do Alaska and am looking at the May 24 sailing. Is Alaska kid friendly. I do notice that they have a kids program on this sailing. Usually it is just my husband and myself or myself and my mom that cruises but I would love our 5 year old to get a taste of cruising and see all the amazing wildlife that Alaska has to offer. The excursions look like lot's of fun, but again wondering about kid friendliness of Alaska and Radisson....Clare

That sailing date a lot of kids are still in school and it's early in the season, so there will probably be few children on board. On our 2001 sailing there were less than 10 kids on board ship. Those that were there were well behaved and entertained by the "children's activity director" (my name for the RSSC staffer in charge of kids.

Hi......

I dont know where to start but want to say that cruises, to me, are not for kids.
The Radisson is an environment for adults who want to refelect on life not deal with it. As such I feel kids do not belong in such an environment.

they need to earn it rather than be given it. This is a bastion for those who have endured and survived. This is a place to relax after raising a family. This is a respite to the rigors of life.

There are plenty of lines eager for your dollar this is , as Brer Rabbit said," a hiding place'.
I love kids , but not on cruises.............

Well said Dan, in fact you say many things so well!!! I'm still using the " LA-Sydney to torture people in hell" comment. We have experienced a boatful of kids on the Diamond 2 summers ago, and i still wake up in the night over it (just kidding, but it was really bad). As is typical in my opinion the parents of these kids were the most obvoxious people i've ever met. So we had the complete mixed bag. They literally took over the ship. Babies are easier to have around.

Oh, one more thing that i just have to say. I have also been on cruises with wonderful children that behaved perfectly. The Diamond episode was just so bad that it stands out. The kids on that trip were 10-16ish, there were small ones that were fine.

I could not agree more! Well said.

Dan, Perfectly written, we could not agree more. That being said I am taking my adult daughter on a RSSC Caribbean cruise this March. It took a lot of deliberation, as I feel you should have to "earn' the Radisson experience. However, we are living overseas, she is saving for a first house and cannot afford a vacation. I debated a mid priced cruise line, but being the RSSC snob that I have become, did not want to "step back". So she will understand why her parents love Radisson!
Cheers, Pam

As the parent of a 2 and a 4 year old, I have to agree with the others. We leave our children at home because we feel cruising is our 'adult only' vacation.

That being said, I too, want to take our kids to Alaska one day; however, I feel they need to be old enough to KNOW what is expected of them in terms of behavior, etc. A 4 year old, much less a 2 year old, does not and for that reason we chose not to take them.

There is plenty of time for them to cruise, and they will, once they understand proper etiquette for doing so.

Just my 2 cents...

Anthony

While I agree with your post wholeheartedly HawaiiDan,
If the ship "accepts" children as was posted above
by Kathy ( they have a " Children's activity director?") WHO KNEW??
then the ship is maybe "geared towards adults" but not an adult only ship so you can't expect there to be no kids at all.
If you are looking for an adult only cruise for sure you gotta go on an Adult only ship Dan such as SeaDream Yacht Club or Oceania.

Maybe we've been fortunate, but the most disruptive fellow passengers we've encountered were rude (and/or drunk) adults. The kids we've seen here and there were delightful and well-managed by good parents.

I hope someday to meet Anthony and Paige's boys and Little Fish on a cruise ship. I am sure they will be wonderful little travelers.

Add my dos centavos to Anthony's comment ;) . But on the few times I have seen small children on the Mariner, they have been well behaved and unobtrusive. The nature of RSSC crusing does not necessarily attract familes with loads of small children. And those who do bring them on board seem to know and respect other passenger's space. There have been a couple of cases talked about here where the diamond ran rampant with teenagers, that option clearly failed as we have not heard about such a occurence since then.

I think it is more likely that you will run into some rude passengers who could possibly ruin an otherwise relaxing and stress free voyage, than into young ones running rampant ringing doorbells ;)

To answer crusinclare's original question,

Yes, during the Alaska season Radisson runs "Club mariner" a daily program specifically tailored to kids and divided into three age groups (starting at age 5). I have not personally experienced it (yet) but when I have asked people I've met on the ship or the actual Radisson staff, everyone says they are all small groups and that the kids really enjoy it...it's like going to a fun school all day! Some of the shore excursions are tagged "club mariner" so that you know which ones are the kid friendly ones.

Frankly, there is so much to see and do in each Alaskan port that there is no shortage of "kid friendly" activities, by age group. And some of them don't require a huge $$$ outlay.

On our late July cruise this year, there were several families and I think the youngest child I saw was about 5, the only one that age. Most were 8-12 (guessing) and then some teenagers. The young one,6 or 7, on the White Pass RR was asleep. Personally I think 5 is too young to appreciate Alaska; 10-12 would be much better. The only noise I heard was from the pool one day, pretty chilly but they were enjoying.

On our cruise to Alaska last year, there was a group on an incentive trip, and some of them were families, probably two dozen kids total - mostly older than 5. They were not a problem, running rampant or misbehaving at dinner. I have no idea what the children's program was like, but expect it met Radisson standards. You know your kid - will she/he be confined on a boat or enchanted? I wouldn't go on a Carnival cruise just to please him/her. We took a 5 year old and an 8 year old on a 3-week trip to Europe by train many years ago [they're now 32 and 35] and we all still remember it fondly.

David

On my recent Mariner trip, I can only account for what I saw (don't know if there were more children or not). I saw 2 boys together around 10 - 12 years of age. They were fine, they were "playing ball" near the elevators but stopped when they saw us walking by. There may have been other children and if yes, they were so well behaved I didn't notice them.

There were 2 couples, (not together) each had an infant I would say less than a year old.

I had no problem with any of them, but I would have been annoyed if the infant would have started crying/screaming at dinner in the dining room, and yes, both infants by both couples were brought to the dining room.

One of the reasons I choose Radisson was because it was not considered "child friendly".

I have no problem with kids, but if an infant starts screaming during dinner, that would get to me.

In my case, I had no problems with any of the above, the rude people I encountered were adults.

This topic rears its head now and then, and the comments are always all over the place, according to one's experiences, just like food and other subjective topics. That ill-fated plan (for one of the weeks at least) on the Diamond a few years ago where kids went free (it may have even been all inclusive, but no in-room bottles) was a disaster, and you noticed RSSC has not revived it. All kinds of problems with teenagers choking the room service staff's ability to keep up, people ordering drinks from room service. I'm glad I wasn't on that one. I have always enjoyed seeing children on my cruises, because they were all well-behaved. If I were on a cruise when mine were younger, a scream from a baby in CR would mean an embarrassing exit with the child.

I am the mother of four (all but the 30 year old are in their twenties). If they had to "earn" the privilege of traveling me, I would be solo all the time. They simply cannot afford what RSSC charges, and I do not wish to go with the lines that they could pay for. I feel I have "earned" the right to take them where I please, so long as they behave well, even if I pay for it. I am a SKI person (spending kid's inheritence) and enjoy every minute when we can have the family together, and all of them love family vacations, luckily. Of course, I am not married, and my friends just don't "get" cruising (working on that with MUSH)

Anthony, you will know when your boys are ready for RSSC. Until then, you know the options you have for travel to neat places....Disney does a great job according to one of the associates in my office (but he'll say, of course it is not like that line you take!), and then there are the crewed private charters in the Caribbean, which for two families are much less than RSSC with much the same amenities, except the cabins, of course, but no charge for excursions!

I'm happy to say that even when I've encountered rude adults, I have split from them so suddenly that I don't even remember them!

We took our 3 kids (8, 7, and 4) on the Mariner to Alaska this past June and had a wonderful time. The Club Mariner staff was great and there were about 15-20 kids under 12 in the program. They even had evening programs 2 nights which included dinner for the kids. Those were the nights we tried the 2 specialty restaurants. Overall, our experience was very positive.

Just coming back from Alaska on the Sapphire Princess- there weren't that many kids on board- school was back in session. But the kids that were on board were loving it more than the adults were on the tours that we were on.
Jan

Paige and I have debated ad nauseum about 'other' cruise lines. To be honest (this is selfish) , I cannot bring myself to do them even with the kids. We have decided that we will cruise with them when they are ready.

Until then, we will do as Olivia suggested as well as look at all-inclusive family friendly vacations in the Carribean.

Anthony

Yikes, a pretty explosive topic, but still am glad that I raised the subject. My husband and I are older parents...young at heart as we like to say. I agree that most vacations are exactly that...vacations from every day life. The only issue with the comments has been the "earning it". I believe that it is up to us, the parents to make sure that our children are prepared for the trip and are age appropriate and will not interfere with others enjoying their vacations, after all that is what room service is for... My parents were born and raised in rural Ireland...farmers, and their families did not have the means for a nice vacation. My parents dream was to give their children (myself) what they did not have and I certainly want to continue that tradition. I do not think that children have to earn the right to take a nice vacation. I think it is a parents right and even a wonderful responsibility to show our children the more wonderful parts of the world..after all isn't there enough sadness (ie; Katrina and IraQ) in our present time. I would certainly expect my child to act appropriately during a vacation...but also would encourage him to explore and even wonder at the beauty that Alaska or any where else has to offer..again just my thoughts, for what they are worth...clare

We took our 3 grandchildren (with their parents) on the Alaska Radisson cruise in June and it was a marvelous vacation. The children - ages 4.5, 7 and 9 - loved it and the children's program was great. They only participated in it when we were on the ship and thoroughly enjoyed the many excursions. We did take turns doing shore excursions that would appeal to children. They loved room service - were no trouble in the dining room and were catered to by all the staff. I thought it a perfect family vacation.
I will admit we had 5 adults in the group so it was easy to take turns doing kids stuff. There are really no baby sitters aboard so they need to be able and willing to stay in the children's program if you want any time alone. Five is the minimum age for the childrens program but they had no problem with our 4.5 yr. old - because her sisters were there. I will admit the older the better, but this was a birthday cruise so we just did it.
Good luck

Claire your first post asked what we thought kiddo..
I agree with you , as we have never felt that taking our kids ( my stepkids, his kids) on vacation was because they earned it.. it was to all be together and show them there is more to life than ..............well you get the picture.
But, ya gotta know, when any post gets to kidlets and/or smoking things go haywire..
lol

Clare: (I love that name!!) Could it have been County Clare? I am a Keane from Clare, Cork and Kerry - my mother a Keane married my father a Keane ...Oh I hear what you are saying - my daughter has an only child (Keane) and she & her husband are "older" parents work hard at their professions and want to take Keane with them as often a possible -

Gotta speak up.
Earning and a sence of value is the baisis of todays society.

One of the largest problems today is persons expecting things they have no comprehension of.

Giving a child a luxury vacation that many have saved and worked for all their lives distorts that childs value system to the max. if they start at the top then any thing they can do as adults will be, in their eyes, failure.

If a child starts at the top... what does he have to look foward to...... nothing. This brings on greater dispair in later life. Well meaning parents try to give too much instead of imparting a value system. This is what a parent is supposed to do..... give direction and support.

By giving too much too soon we create frustration and anger later in life. Give them the world and what will happen to them when they can not acheive better...../????

It is like raising a child on Caviar and lobster as normal fare. How can the poor child understand and appreciate them. He can't. not possible...and a terrible diservice to them..this is the seeds of frustrstion and suicide in young adults who got it all.....with nothing left to do , at a young age what else is their in life drugs..rebellion. In most cases yes.

It is only for the satisfaction of the adult.....at the expence of the poor kid.......let the child grow to appreciate the value of and experience that he acheived.....How fill the child grow if he gets it all as a child. how will he prove himself to his parents as worthy of their approval. Which all Kids want.

The value of somthing given for free is just that...nothing...zero..nada..zip.

As a parent is critcaly important to help the child grow....not create your best little buddy to marvel at your good taste and fortune...... Come on....smell the roses and start at the bottom and work up..... you owe your kids that.. you owe our society that.... y6ou owe it to yourself.

Joanna my husbands family is from Cork..traced back to 1500's..county cork..

Joanna my husbands family is from Cork..traced back to 1500's..county cork..

Claudia: My family was not the sort to trace the family back to the 1500's - lucky if they remembered their birthdays - we are VERY Irish - the good the bad and the ugly - but it works

Joanna..my mom is from Kerry and my dad is from dungarvan just outside of waterford...ireland is a wonderful place and I must say it is fun to be first generation.....clare

Clare: We visited last year for 2 weeks - amazing - we'll talk on our cruise whenever that may be -

The PG offers the Ambassadors of the Environment program every summer. They are expecting kids.

My goodness. Interesting responses on this topic. Can't imagine why folks who book a cruise with a kid club offering would be bummed with having kids aboard. I want my grandkids to realize that working hard, going to school, and managing their lives could bring them rewards. I also want to be a part of their experience in learning this. My grandkids will be on RSSC when kids club is offered. They will love having napkins placed in their laps and ordering "courses". They already find the adventure in thinking up new ways to make place cards (hershey bar squares with the awful squeeze tube frosting for writing last Easter dinner)and think that sushi chefs are awesome. They will always be supervised on cruises as they are in any land venue and held to the same standard: mindful and respectful of others' space and comporting themselves as citiznes, not heathens. They didn't earn that, instead, they were taught that.

Well said, vaitape - couldn't agree more. While there is something to be said for "earning" experiences, there's also something to be said for exposing children to broader experiences. I do not see anything inherently wrong with bringing children aboard a luxury cruise as long as proper decorum and behavior is maintained. I would hate to think that we as parents are so ineffectual that we have no influence on their development and that they are simply a product of their environment.

My two yen (yes, cheaper than 2 cents).

Masaki

PS: having said this, we are likely to look at sailing Disney at least a few times as Little Fish gets older to give her a more kid-friendly cruising atmosphere than RSSC. I draw the line at crusing Carnivore again though. :D

May I please say something as I find this topic very interesting. We have no children, I need to say that first.

I agree and disagree with all the posts here.

If you have children, then I see nothing wrong with takeing them on a vacation regardless of the cost. If the ship/hotel/resort accepts them than this is the way it is. I don't think a child will grow up not understanding things if it's explained to them. Perhaps the problem is with Radisson accepting them?

My husband got to go to Aspen skiing as a child, got what would be considered luxury vacations, not because he wanted them, because his parents did and they took the kids because they had no choice and they refused to settle for less. He was expected to behave as any adult would and was taught something important, manners, by being in that kind of environment. He was taught that these vacation were a privilege because his father got an education, worked hard and earned the right to that privlidge. It showed him what it meant to be succesful and he strived for that, it instilled a good work ethic and manners. He knows how to earn money the honest way and does, and as the old saying goes "the value of a dollar". He said it was a joke, because when he was 10 years old he ordered a lobster and knew how to eat it, doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate the fact of the price of a lobster or that he earns the money now to buy that lobster.

I think these days, it's not because of the money a trip costs, but I think in some cases, (and this is something I talk about with my friends all the time and is in no way directed at anyone here), both parents work and to have some peace, they give their kids what they want "they buy their peace".

I see this on a regular basis, a 13 year old in a mall with a $2,500 handbag, diamond earrings, cell phone in hand, designer sunglasses. I see this more damaging than a luxury vacation.

Takeing a child on a luxury cruise/vacation doesn't mean they have to earn it, they earned it by being the child and you not leaving them home.

Giving a child a handful of money to go out and buy those desinger $300 glasses, $2500 handbag etc etc is perhaps more damaging than a family vacation, i.e., the vacation they may not know how much it costs, and if they have never experienced less costly how will they know it's top of the line?

I personally don't think that takeing a child on a luxury vacation is a bad thing, maybe it shows hard work pays off. That going to school, getting an education, and working hard allows you to achieve these things. In my opinion it's all about how it's handeled by the parents. Now personally I don't think a 5 year old will understand this maybe (the values) wheather it's on a Disney cruise or a Radisson cruise. I mean I just don't see a 5 year old calling for room service or understanding the difference.

That's how my hubby saw it, he saw his father work hard and earn the money and he followed in those footsteps.

When I go out to a nice upscale restaurant, and there are children allowed to run free, go under my table and upset my evening, come up to me to chat and take things off the table (and yes this has happened) that to me is worse, than having well behaved kids whom I didn't even notice. If parents are willing to accept the responsiblity of bringing the children on a cruise and makeing sure they don't annoy other people (but I would expect this on any ship regardless of price) then I personally don't see a problem.

I could take it a step further and ask, what about private school vs public school? Mercedes vs a Chrysler (nothing wrong with Chrysler, just using it as a price thing)? Does that mean that parents don't get to have a big house and their children live in it because it's more expensive than a small house? All these things are luxury with price tags.

The children that misbehaved on that Radisson cruise, I blame it on the parents, they did not control their children, it's not because they were on Radisson, it's because they were not brought up properly in my opinion. Where were the parental supervision and responsibllity of the parent to "know what the kids were doing" when not in a "child supervised program".?

I think that if you want to take your children anywhere, they must be supervised at all times, not given free rein to run free. If you want "free time" then they are in a "child supervised program", when that's not available, then the parent must take responsibility and not have free time, or they must behave the same as at home, I mean would a kid just call up and order a lot of takeout? But I would expect this anywhere, at home, or on any vacation regardless of the cost.

Personally I think that a commercial on TV that says "kids first" etc and I think most people here know what I'm talking about, in today's society, it's all about "kids first", is more damaging. Kids don't necessarily understand the meaning of that expression and therefore "demand" things. I personally don't think it's the luxury vacation that is harmful, I think it's everyday life that is not teaching the values and lessons, like respect, manners, and charity (giving/helping less fortunate). A good friend of mine who is 51 said, when he grew up he grew up with "respect your elders", men got up to give ladies their seats or an older person on a cane his seat, now, he says it's almost all gone from the younger generations. Maybe that is the "bigger" problem than a luxury cruise.

I hope I didn't step on anyone's toes or offend anyone. My post is in no way directed towards anyone here, it was a general opinion about a topic that I have very often with friends and find very interesting and I hope it is viewed that way.

Jean,

Very well said. I try to expose my granddaughters to some finer things in life. When they were very small we did dress up dinners and I make them fun to teach them about decorum at the table. They don't have family dinners like we did growing up. They aren't exposed to some things I was. They are 8 and I often remind them of the fun we had when they were 5 -6 and we wore our best jewels to dinner (actually we wore Mardi Gras Beads). But I used best china etc. to teach them, white table clothes and napkins.

Could they go on RSSC? Yes. Would I take them? No. Why? I'd probably go with them on a Princess/RCCL cruise where there is more activity directed at their fun. I think they'd be bored and I'd want them to enjoy the experiences.

As for the ladies/gentlemen who call it SKI I don't see it that way, I see it as you are spending your money. I have no children, but I am a child, I never think about inheritance, I think about not wanting my mom to godforbid die. I want her to be happy and enjoy her time, she earned it.
I don't see it as my money. I always thought that my parents' money was money they earned to spend on themselves and I have same opportunity , to earn money and spend the money I earned.

I've heard grown adult children who have become successful in their own right "waiting for their inheritance" or children not wanting to "earn their way" because they are "waiting for their inheritance" either way, sorry but I don't think that's a good thing either way, to me that is worse than a child being exposed to a luxury trip.

I do understand that people may want to travel "child free" I being childless, enjoy that as well, but then maybe it needs to be looked at differently. Maybe Radisson needs to make some crusies "child friendly" and some not so that everyone can have a choice.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, as it's not directed towards anyone, just my opinion.

Jean,

I agree with your thoughts.

My kids are 16 and 11. To be quite honest I think they would be bored in a Radisson type cruise. We have taken them in numerous trips including Europe and they have really enjoyed themselves and, IMO, also learned a lot. But those trips were an experience completly different from a Radisson cruise. I'm sure if I brought them on a Radisson cruise they would behave and be sociable but it would not be the kind of vacation they would enjoy.

My husband refuses to go in the Princess/ Royal Caribbean kind of cruises but my kids enjoy those. Sometimes my parents/ sister takes them on those and they have a great time. So, everybody is happy! :)

I see ChatKat and Cruiseluv and what you are saying and I agree.

Having been on the Mariner, I don't think it's a ship that would make a child's vacation enjoyable, it's too adult oriented, but not because of the cost.

I honestly agree that a child could/would be bored on the trip I was on, the two young boys that I saw once, looked extremely bored.

My opinion was purely about the price of the trip or the luxury of the trip not if they would enjoy themselves with the activities offered.

Boredom would be my concern as well. Spoiling them with luxury is not an issue I think, since a 5 year old is not going to see this as luxury, but tedium--they would rather have a hotdog than caviar. Waiting a couple of years would help, I think 5 is awfully young, 7 or 8 would be better, and perhaps a more mainstream cruiseline, with more organized children's activities would help as well.

I only experienced a problem once, on the PG. We had booked a deep-discount post-9/11 special, and had inadvertently booked on Easter weekend (would have anyways.) It was really only a minor hassle, the kids completely took over the tiny swimming pool, so that despite the very hot weather in April, it was basically unavailable to adults. At least it kept them occupied they were otherwise nicely behaved.