Trevor

We brought an umbrella stroller that had recline for the exact reason that we thought our youngest might nap.  It is a Maclaren I think.  Folds up nice and small and weighs very little.  If you do bring it, the smaller the better given tight spaces on the ship (elevators, hallways).  Another bonus to the stroller is airport security always sends us through the family line and at times it has probably saved us 45 minutes to an hour not standing in line!  For these reasons I would suggest bringing it if it's small enough.

Probably not a popular idea but..... You could wait until they are 3 and able to enjoy Adventure Ocean and give you a break as well.  We cruised when one was old enough for Adventure Ocean and the other was not.  It gave us some quality alone time with our youngest but would have been nice to be be able enjoy even an hour or two a day with just adults.  If you are booking it for now, consider your ship.  Some have the nursery that you could utilize while others don't have any option for kids under 3.  Also they won't be able to use the pool which was a big deal for our little guy and we didn't realize until after we had booked.  So try to find a ship with a splash area and nursery or wait and do something land based until they're 3 would my advice having gone on a ship with a young one with no splash area and no nursery (Explorer).

Probably not a popular idea but..... You could wait until they are 3 and able to enjoy Adventure Ocean and give you a break as well.  We cruised when one was old enough for Adventure Ocean and the other was not.  It gave us some quality alone time with our youngest but would have been nice to be be able enjoy even an hour or two a day with just adults.  If you are booking it for now, consider your ship.  Some have the nursery that you could utilize while others don't have any option for kids under 3.  Also they won't be able to use the pool which was a big deal for our little guy and we didn't realize until after we had booked.  So try to find a ship with a splash area and nursery or wait and do something land based until they're 3 would my advice having gone on a ship with a young one with no splash area and no nursery (Explorer).

Probably not a popular idea but..... You could wait until they are 3 and able to enjoy Adventure Ocean and give you a break as well.  We cruised when one was old enough for Adventure Ocean and the other was not.  It gave us some quality alone time with our youngest but would have been nice to be be able enjoy even an hour or two a day with just adults.  If you are booking it for now, consider your ship.  Some have the nursery that you could utilize while others don't have any option for kids under 3.  Also they won't be able to use the pool which was a big deal for our little guy and we didn't realize until after we had booked.  So try to find a ship with a splash area and nursery or wait and do something land based until they're 3 would my advice having gone on a ship with a young one with no splash area and no nursery (Explorer).

Probably not a popular idea but..... You could wait until they are 3 and able to enjoy Adventure Ocean and give you a break as well.  We cruised when one was old enough for Adventure Ocean and the other was not.  It gave us some quality alone time with our youngest but would have been nice to be be able enjoy even an hour or two a day with just adults.  If you are booking it for now, consider your ship.  Some have the nursery that you could utilize while others don't have any option for kids under 3.  Also they won't be able to use the pool which was a big deal for our little guy and we didn't realize until after we had booked.  So try to find a ship with a splash area and nursery or wait and do something land based until they're 3 would my advice having gone on a ship with a young one with no splash area and no nursery (Explorer).

If you are booking privately, my opinion is that Prince of Whales is the company to go with for Victoria Whale Watching!  I grew up in Victoria and gone with them few times and it was always good!  Also it's super easy to cab from the ship to downtown.  When we were there this summer the cabs were charging $10 flat fee from ship to town.  

If you are booking privately, my opinion is that Prince of Whales is the company to go with for Victoria Whale Watching!  I grew up in Victoria and gone with them few times and it was always good!  Also it's super easy to cab from the ship to downtown.  When we were there this summer the cabs were charging $10 flat fee from ship to town.  

We did an extended family cruise to Alaska on Explorer in August.  Our youngest was 2 and 3 months and was not a damper at all!  Some things we learned before and experienced on the ship that may help manage expectations.  1. No Nursery on Explorer so babysitting was not an option, I read above that Radiance does have it though so you are already better off!  2. No pool allowed unless fully potty trained so don't show up expecting to use the pool if they are still in diapers. 3. An umbrella stroller is a must, our large one would have been a real pain and take up lots of space in the elevator etc.  Get a reasonable umbrella stroller if you don't have one, it's worth it!  Even the odd time when he fell asleep we could just go about our day with him sound asleep in it.  We got one that reclined a bit and were happy with it.  4. We didn't miss the entertainment on his behalf.  He was happy to come and enjoyed the lights and music.  We made a point of sitting back row in case but only had to get up and go once.  As long as you're respectful of others enjoyment of the show I think nobody is upset that a toddler is there.  Depending on how much family is with you they can sit in the middle of the larger group! 5. Early supper time was great and the waiters always brought food right away for the little guy to help stay happy. 6. You specifically asked about excursions so here's what we did!  We did bring him along and he did great.  Just be mindful of what you book and if there's one you really don't want to miss that a toddler can't join on you may have to make other arrangements.  We did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the Train and Sled Dogs in Skagway and both were good for toddlers.  Another bonus is our 2 year old was free of charge on both excursions so if paying for something they won't remember is a deterrent it shouldn't be and they enjoy the moments! 7. Have fun, Alaska was an awesome trip!  An aside is I have been reading these boards for months now and just decided to jump in and comment as we had a 2 year old in Alaska recently!  Everyone is very informative and just reading the boards without asking questions helped us tons!  

We did an extended family cruise to Alaska on Explorer in August.  Our youngest was 2 and 3 months and was not a damper at all!  Some things we learned before and experienced on the ship that may help manage expectations.  1. No Nursery on Explorer so babysitting was not an option, I read above that Radiance does have it though so you are already better off!  2. No pool allowed unless fully potty trained so don't show up expecting to use the pool if they are still in diapers. 3. An umbrella stroller is a must, our large one would have been a real pain and take up lots of space in the elevator etc.  Get a reasonable umbrella stroller if you don't have one, it's worth it!  Even the odd time when he fell asleep we could just go about our day with him sound asleep in it.  We got one that reclined a bit and were happy with it.  4. We didn't miss the entertainment on his behalf.  He was happy to come and enjoyed the lights and music.  We made a point of sitting back row in case but only had to get up and go once.  As long as you're respectful of others enjoyment of the show I think nobody is upset that a toddler is there.  Depending on how much family is with you they can sit in the middle of the larger group! 5. Early supper time was great and the waiters always brought food right away for the little guy to help stay happy. 6. You specifically asked about excursions so here's what we did!  We did bring him along and he did great.  Just be mindful of what you book and if there's one you really don't want to miss that a toddler can't join on you may have to make other arrangements.  We did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the Train and Sled Dogs in Skagway and both were good for toddlers.  Another bonus is our 2 year old was free of charge on both excursions so if paying for something they won't remember is a deterrent it shouldn't be and they enjoy the moments! 7. Have fun, Alaska was an awesome trip!  An aside is I have been reading these boards for months now and just decided to jump in and comment as we had a 2 year old in Alaska recently!  Everyone is very informative and just reading the boards without asking questions helped us tons!  

We did an extended family cruise to Alaska on Explorer in August.  Our youngest was 2 and 3 months and was not a damper at all!  Some things we learned before and experienced on the ship that may help manage expectations.  1. No Nursery on Explorer so babysitting was not an option, I read above that Radiance does have it though so you are already better off!  2. No pool allowed unless fully potty trained so don't show up expecting to use the pool if they are still in diapers. 3. An umbrella stroller is a must, our large one would have been a real pain and take up lots of space in the elevator etc.  Get a reasonable umbrella stroller if you don't have one, it's worth it!  Even the odd time when he fell asleep we could just go about our day with him sound asleep in it.  We got one that reclined a bit and were happy with it.  4. We didn't miss the entertainment on his behalf.  He was happy to come and enjoyed the lights and music.  We made a point of sitting back row in case but only had to get up and go once.  As long as you're respectful of others enjoyment of the show I think nobody is upset that a toddler is there.  Depending on how much family is with you they can sit in the middle of the larger group! 5. Early supper time was great and the waiters always brought food right away for the little guy to help stay happy. 6. You specifically asked about excursions so here's what we did!  We did bring him along and he did great.  Just be mindful of what you book and if there's one you really don't want to miss that a toddler can't join on you may have to make other arrangements.  We did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the Train and Sled Dogs in Skagway and both were good for toddlers.  Another bonus is our 2 year old was free of charge on both excursions so if paying for something they won't remember is a deterrent it shouldn't be and they enjoy the moments! 7. Have fun, Alaska was an awesome trip!  An aside is I have been reading these boards for months now and just decided to jump in and comment as we had a 2 year old in Alaska recently!  Everyone is very informative and just reading the boards without asking questions helped us tons!  

We did an extended family cruise to Alaska on Explorer in August.  Our youngest was 2 and 3 months and was not a damper at all!  Some things we learned before and experienced on the ship that may help manage expectations.  1. No Nursery on Explorer so babysitting was not an option, I read above that Radiance does have it though so you are already better off!  2. No pool allowed unless fully potty trained so don't show up expecting to use the pool if they are still in diapers. 3. An umbrella stroller is a must, our large one would have been a real pain and take up lots of space in the elevator etc.  Get a reasonable umbrella stroller if you don't have one, it's worth it!  Even the odd time when he fell asleep we could just go about our day with him sound asleep in it.  We got one that reclined a bit and were happy with it.  4. We didn't miss the entertainment on his behalf.  He was happy to come and enjoyed the lights and music.  We made a point of sitting back row in case but only had to get up and go once.  As long as you're respectful of others enjoyment of the show I think nobody is upset that a toddler is there.  Depending on how much family is with you they can sit in the middle of the larger group! 5. Early supper time was great and the waiters always brought food right away for the little guy to help stay happy. 6. You specifically asked about excursions so here's what we did!  We did bring him along and he did great.  Just be mindful of what you book and if there's one you really don't want to miss that a toddler can't join on you may have to make other arrangements.  We did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the Train and Sled Dogs in Skagway and both were good for toddlers.  Another bonus is our 2 year old was free of charge on both excursions so if paying for something they won't remember is a deterrent it shouldn't be and they enjoy the moments! 7. Have fun, Alaska was an awesome trip!  An aside is I have been reading these boards for months now and just decided to jump in and comment as we had a 2 year old in Alaska recently!  Everyone is very informative and just reading the boards without asking questions helped us tons!