Journey to Alaska via Ship!

Summer 2024 our family decided to switch things up a bit. We swapped out our regular summer beach vacation for a 7-day Alaskan cruise. This was a bucket list trip for my 82-year-old mother. She had traveled all over the world as a military wife but had never been to Alaska. I started planning a little over a year out. Researching the best months to cruise and the best cruise lines that would provide services and entertainment for seniors and autistic kids was my primary goal.

Royal Caribbean was the best fit for my kids due to their partnership with Autism On the Seas. Although we were not traveling on an Autism of the Seas sailing, I knew they would be familiar with the accommodations we may need. The concern for my mom, who has mobility issues, was the size of the Royal Caribbean ships that sailed to Alaska. The Odyssey and Oasis of the Seas are large ships in their fleet. For this reason, we decided it was best to rent a scooter for her. This was the best decision ever! We rented a scooter from Scootaround, picked it up at the port on embarkation day, and dropped it off once we debarked. I highly recommend doing this if you have anyone in your party with mobility issues.

When cruising, I highly recommend flying in at least one day before you are scheduled to board the ship. This will help with any flight delays or cancellations. I also recommend travel insurance in the event of an emergency and you can’t make your trip as planned. We decided to fly two days in advance. We were flying from the east coast to Seattle, Washington. None of us had been to Seattle, so we wanted to see a bit of the city, give everyone’s body a chance to adjust to the time difference, and recover from the 6-hour flight. Yes, 6 hours! To make it bearable for everyone, pack plenty of snacks and make sure movies/shows are downloaded on the kids’ phones and tablets prior to getting to the airport. Even if your airline has in-flight entertainment options, it’s best to have a backup in the event of technical difficulties.

Next up was choosing a hotel for our Seattle stay. This is where social media came in handy. There is a Facebook group for just about everything, including Alaskan cruise planning. I joined a couple of Facebook groups, including a group that was created for our particular sailing, and stalked all the posts for ideas on where to stay and what to do while in Seattle and Alaska. A lot of people recommended Hyatt House because it had a shuttle bus to the port (for a fee) and it was directly across the street from the Space Needle, one of Seattle’s major attractions. Since we were not going to have a car, I thought this was the best option for us. This was a great choice! Upon arrival, our room was not ready, and we were starving. The hotel does not have a lunch dining option, but they do have a free breakfast buffet and a dinner menu for an additional fee. There are many dining options around the hotel, anything from pizza to Thai to Greek. There is also a McDonalds less than a block from the hotel for those kiddos needing their chicken nugget fix. If you need drinks and snacks, do not purchase them from the hotel. There is a 7-11 convenience store about 2 blocks from the hotel and the prices are much cheaper than at the hotel.

One of Seattle’s nicknames is the Rain City, and it did just that while we were there. There was never a torrential downpour, but there were intermittent showers throughout the day. The weather coupled with our tiredness from a full day of travel didn’t allow us to explore as much of the city as I had originally planned. This is where I had to remind myself to be flexible. Yes, I could have dragged everyone out in the rain grumpy and tired but what type of mood would that put on the trip? After all, it is a family vacation and not just my vacation. I had to temper my expectations and allow us to go with the flow. If you do have more time in Seattle and your family is up to it, Seattle does have a CityPASS that is similar to the ones that most major cities offer. The CityPASS gives you admission to the Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, and you can choose three additional admissions to five other attractions. Three of those options, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture, and Pacific Science Center are all within walking distance of the Hyatt House. We could have seen four of the five allotted attractions without leaving a three-block radius of our hotel. I did not pre-purchase the CityPASS which made it an easier decision to only go to the Space Needle and let everyone have a chance to rest up while in Seattle.

I reserved our spots on the shuttle bus to the port when we checked into the hotel. The shuttle bus is operated by a third-party vendor. Reservations are made at the hotel, but you pay the shuttle driver once you get to the port. At the time of our sailing, the fee was $10 per person. Once at the port, we dropped our baggage off with the porters for our cruise line and picked up my mother’s scooter. One thing to note is that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity leave out of the same pier. If both are embarking on that day it can be very chaotic and difficult to know where you need to go. All the workers for each cruise line were very helpful in directing us where to go. Our shuttle dropped us off by the Celebrity baggage area, so we had to backtrack to get to the Royal Caribbean porters. Scooter pick-up was quick and easy. Mom getting used to driving the scooter was a different story. If your family member is not familiar with using a scooter, I would suggest they practice beforehand at a local grocery store. No heels were clipped, or kids knocked down, but several pieces of furniture were banged into during her scooter experience.

After I booked the cruise, I completed a Guest Special Needs Form for my mother and two children. This form alerts Royal Caribbean that people in your party need special assistance. On this form, you can request things such as priority boarding, a shower seat, a mini fridge (the one in the room is a cooler), and a sharps container. Most people don’t know that you can also request special dietary accommodation. If your child has a limited diet and will only eat a few types of things the ship will try to procure it and have it available for your child in the main dining room. I didn’t do this because I use trips to get my son to expand his food choices if I know there are things on the menu we can revert to if he doesn’t like the new food choice. Thanks to lobster night he now has a new seafood he likes. He may have to wait until our next cruise to get that delicacy again!

As mentioned earlier, Royal Caribbean is likely one of the most Autism-friendly cruise lines due to its affiliation with Autism On The Seas. While they do offer great services such as priority boarding, food procurement, The Autism Channel, Autism friendly Films, toy lending programs, activities, and cruising social stories, the one thing they and the other cruise lines tend to lack is an Autism friendly kids club. All kids’ clubs that my kids have gone to on cruise ships have been loud and chaotic, which is quite challenging for kids on the spectrum. They have never stayed more than an hour – even in the kids’ club on Disney Cruises. Dropping the kids off to play so I can get a bit of respite is never an option for me. I get it, space is a luxury on a cruise ship, but I would love to see at least one cruise line invest in a quiet room for kids who need a break from the chaos while in the kid’s club. Even if it’s just a space where kids can sit and watch their individual choice of movies/calming sounds/music with headphones on to give them a chance to reset, this could make Kid’s Clubs a more viable option for a lot of families.

Our cruise went to Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, and Victoria, British Columbia. I was limited in my excursion options due to my mother having to use a scooter. We did not do an organized excursion in Sitka or Victoria, but we did in Skagway and Juneau. If I were to repeat this cruise, I would opt for a route that included Ketchikan instead of Sitka. There seemed to be more fun excursions in Ketchikan and the scooter made it difficult getting into the city of Sitka. To get to the city, you need to take a 15-minute bus ride from the port. There is only one ADA-accessible bus, so if you miss it in either direction, you will have a long wait. With the unpredictable Alaskan weather, it may be a wet long wait, which we found out firsthand. Our ship was only docked in Canada for 5 hours and there wasn’t much near the port. We didn’t want to deal with the logistics of navigating the scooter with such a short window of time. It was also our last stop, and I figured we might need a bit of rest before our planned early departure from the ship the next morning.

In Skagway, we booked The Big Nugget tour through the cruise ship. It transported us back into the Alaskan gold rush era complete with a tour guide in full costume. The tour included an insightful presentation about the history of the Iditarod race, a chance to hold sled dog puppies, panning for gold, and a BBQ lunch. The kids loved the sled dogs and Shelby found $27 worth of gold flakes! Our Juneau excursion was a bit of a bummer due to the weather. We booked a Mendenhall Glacier visit and Salmon Bake. It rained the entire time at the glacier. Most of our visit was spent in the visitors’ center trying to stay dry. The salmon bake did not go well with my crew of picky eaters, so we did not stay long. We did manage to do a little souvenir shopping when we got back to the port.

The Port Valet program at the Port of Seattle is amazing. This program allows you to set your luggage that you plan to check at the airport out the night before and Port Valet will check you in for your flight, leave your boarding passes in your room the night before departure, and take your luggage directly to the airport. When you arrive at the airport, you can go directly through security and to your gate. This was a lifesaver. We didn’t have to worry about searching for our luggage at the port and dragging it to the airport. I wish other port cities had this service.

I spent nine days in one room with my mom and two kids. Daily Divine Dates were a must to keep my sanity. Alaska provides an amazing back drop to commune with God. I used the balcony more on this cruise than any other cruise where we had a balcony. It’s hard to deny the presence of God looking out on the expanse of the ocean and the majestic landscape of the Alaskan coastline. Since I was the chief organizer for everyone, it was not the most relaxing vacation, but many great memories were made, and a destination was crossed off our bucket lists. If quality time is your kids’ love language, then this trip will be just what the doctor ordered. As you journey through life, remember to eat well and travel often!

*Donna’s Travel Tip: Check your cruise price often! Many cruise lines will honor a lower cruise price if you find one on their website after you book. If you still have a balance, they can do a price adjustment. If your trip is paid off, they may issue you an onboard credit for the difference. All cruise lines are different, and policies frequently change. A good travel agent will stay on top of this for you.