Our Alaskan Cruise: The Start of a Year-Long Adventure

Mendenhall Glacier

A Rocky Start to Our Grand Adventure

Our start to our family gap year wasn’t exactly smooth. We had booked a cruise before we hatched this plan to travel the world. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a cruise person. I get seasick. Cooper gets seasick. And I am not a giant fan of buffets or big crowds.

But Ash? He had never been on a cruise and wanted to try one. So there we were, kicking off our grand international family travel adventure with an Alaskan family vacation, starting with a cruise.

The Reality of Cruising: Long Lines and Tiny Rooms

Parts of it were, admittedly, terrific. We left from Vancouver and happened to be there for Canada Day, which felt like walking into a sea of maple leaves and cheerful Canadians. The hotel handed out maple syrup-flavored cookies shaped like little Canadian flags and maple leaves, which the kids adored. We wandered the beautiful city, taking it all in, and it was an excellent start.

Then, boarding day arrived, and my enthusiasm took a nosedive. We were greeted by lines—long, twisting, endless lines. And when we were finally through with the lines, we were shuffled into briefings—so many briefings.

We finally got to our room, and I almost laughed. This? This was where we would sleep? It was barely big enough for one of us to turn around, let alone all four of us to sleep. At one point, I was convinced someone would end up in the hallway just to stretch out. But we were there. We were committed.

Excursions Gone Wrong

Once our Alaskan family vacation was in full swing, things were… okay, if still clunky. Excursions turned out to be very costly. Even worse, some were just plain disappointing.

One afternoon, we sat in a boat with a guide who assured us we’d see wildlife. After a few hours of staring at… absolutely nothing, I began to suspect we had been scammed. $200 per person to see a whole lot of nothing. The Denali excursion wasn’t much better. We signed up for a Jeep tour, thinking we were in for a thrilling adventure, but it ended up being a slow crawl, bumper to bumper, with the Jeep in front of us.

Occasionally, we stopped so the group could catch up. Cooper fell asleep mid-tour, and Ash swore I was fired from all future excursion planning.

Finding the Magic: Glacier Landings and Dog Sledding

But then… things finally started looking up. In Juneau, we bundled up in all our cold-weather gear and boarded a helicopter—our first-ever helicopter ride! The trip took us up to Mendenhall Glacier, and stepping out onto that ice felt like we had landed on another planet. The guide handed the kids ski poles, and they poked around at the snow and ice, testing their footing and drinking pure, fresh glacier water. We even made little snowballs, marveling at the bright blue hues in the ice, and for the first time, it felt like, yes, we were really in Alaska.

From then on, our Alaska family vacation kept impressing. We visited an ice museum, watched salmon bake over open fires, and even tried dog sledding. We soaked in hot springs and braved the taste of reindeer hot dogs, which Cooper wasn’t entirely sure about but ended up loving. I convinced everyone to humor me with a trip to the North Pole for the obligatory Santa photos. Lila and Cooper rolled their eyes, but they did it.

The Reindeer Walk: Cooper vs. Gus

Our absolute favorite memory, though, was a reindeer walk. And I’m not talking about a few reindeer—there were at least 30. They were huge, minus one sulky teenage reindeer named Gus. Gus seemed to take issue with Cooper, who was thrilled to be surrounded by animals, and it quickly became clear this reindeer was not a fan. Gus sidled up to Cooper every chance he got and nudged him off the path with his horns, herding him into the bushes.

Poor Cooper, who would have taken home every animal he met if he could, spent the walk being put in his place by a territorial teenage reindeer.

An Alaskan Family Vacation to Remember

It was a beginning we wouldn’t easily forget. And while getting the kids off their screens had been a challenge at times, the terrible WiFi on the ship had worked in our favor. We played cards, laughed over our ridiculous excursions, and stared in awe at the gorgeous glaciers.

Our Alaskan family vacation— the first stop on our year-long journey— had its ups and downs, but in the end, it left us with stories, memories, and a newfound appreciation for reindeer with strong opinions.