Intergenerational Alaskan Cruise

A recent (11/7/10) New York Times Travel Section article, 7 Caribbean Resorts that Go All Out for Families, extolled the virtues of child-friendly Caribbean resorts that provide nannies as well as plenty of kid-centric activities. This type of vacation was never our family's style, but we put our preferences aside to take just this kind of trip on a cruise boat to Alaska when Allan's mom's turned 80.  

Alaskan Glaciers Seen from the Ship

For her present, Lillian had requested a trip with her sons and grandchildren. Because her mobility was limited, we wouldn't be able to do our typical adventures. She proposed the cruise as a compromise. We could spend time with her at meals and while the ship was moving but once the ship docked at a port, we could go off on our adventures while she relaxed in her cabin. It seemed like as "win-win" an idea as we were going to get.

Kids Explore Alaskan Port of Call with Faithful Friends

We were skeptical, however, when Lillian suggested the children could attend the ship's Kids Club so we could get some much-needed alone time. Because our then six-year-olds despised going to their school's after care program, we assumed they would feel similarly about the ship's kid care option. Much to our surprise, they ended up loving it, eagerly going twice a day. They even went to a few children-only dinners with their group, waving to us proudly from across the room.

Kids loved their parent-free dinners

The plan was working better than we dared hope. Grandmas was enjoying both her time with the children and her time alone; the kids were enjoying time with grandma, time with other kids, and time with mom and dad. The four of us plus Uncle Martin were seeing picturesque Alaskan towns at each port-of-call.

The Birthday Girl Happily Stayed on the Ship

The only problem was that Allan and I were miserable! We were seasick on top of having caught some kind of stomach bug and spent a lot of time being nauseous. This meant sometimes skipping the ship's sumptuous buffet to subsist on saltine crackers. I remember trying to watch glaciers calving (breaking off) in the distance from the ship's deck, and ending up flopping back down in a deck chair.We also felt very claustrophobic on a boat and very removed from the sights we were seeing.

But this trip wasn't about us. After five days,the ship reached its destination and we said goodbye to Lillian and Martin. They were going back home and we were heading to Anchorage via a rental car. Allan and I were finally feeling better and were certainly more comfortable traveling about on our own.

But we will never forget how happy we made Lillian--giving her exactly the birthday present she wanted.