small ship cruising - Pitstops for Kids

Uncruise review of Costa Rica and Panama: Why small ship cruising is great for families

July 27, 2021 By Amy Hagstrom

Every so often, we are lucky enough to experience a trip that sets our bar higher for family travel excellence. Before we embarked on our Uncruise adventure through Costa Rica and Panama, the bar was already pretty darn high…we had experienced small ship sailing previously with Alaskan Dream Cruises and frankly, didn’t think it could be topped. While there were a few differences, Uncruise met our very high expectations, earning it a place in the top five of our list of best travel experiences. Here’s why:

Uncruise review: Why you need to book a small ship cruise

First, let’s talk about what ‘Uncruise’ actually means. It’s a travel company, of course, and after experiencing their product, I understand the reason for their somewhat unique name. Uncruise is unlike large ship cruises in every way. Like other small ship cruise companies, they are all about getting you off the ship, exploring the destinations en route. They are not a floating resort (though the ships are very cool…more on that later). On a large ship cruise, such as a Disney cruise, the ship is the destination. On Uncruise, the ship is the vessel that delivers you to the action. On our Uncruise ship, I felt satisfied that I had actually seen and experienced the countries we were cruising to. On a large ship, I never feel that way…I am simply floating past with brief stops.

Riding the skiff from our ship to an isolated island.

On a small ship cruise such as Uncruise, you will be active every day. My Apple Watch informed me that I walked and hiked an average of six miles a day on our Uncruise; it was a rare day when I didn’t garner at least 15,000 steps. Why am I sharing my fitness tracker stats? Because they prove how much exploration and activity we engaged in during our week in Costa Rica and Panama. Every single day, with one exception when surf conditions didn’t allow for a beach landing, we kayaked, hiked, paddle boarded, or snorkeled. Because we were in a small ship, we quite literally had islands to ourselves, and were almost always the only ship anchored at the eco lodges, reserves, and national parks we visited.

The Safari Voyager, our home for seven nights.

Note: the itinerary we sailed on with Uncruise will now be called Unveiled Wonders. There are additional itineraries that sail only Panama and only Costa Rica, if that’s preferred, but I recommend seeing both countries.

What you can expect from your Uncruise itinerary:

During our Central America itinerary, our days took on a predictable cadence, which was nice, because the destination and activities were always changing. On our Panama and Costa Rica itinerary, we experienced the following stops (which I’m told are similar to upcoming itineraries):

A transfer through the Panama Canal
Gulf of Panama islands
Granito de Oro and Coiba National Park, Panama
Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
Osa Conservation Area, CR
Manuel Antonio National Park, CR
Curu National Wildlife Refuge, CR

As you can see from the names of our destinations, our trip was primarily focused on outdoor exploration and wildlife viewing. We did experience some cultural moments of discovery, namely in the canal when we learned about its construction and in Coiba, where we saw one of General Noriega’s homes (now a historical site) and one of his penal colonies (now a deserted island), but overall, ours was not a cultural itinerary.

Kayaks brought from our ship to the beach by crew members for one of our ‘beach parties’.

At each day’s stop, we had multiple options in which to experience it: hikes and skiff rides were offered, as well as water activities where possible. Our family’s favorite offerings included hiking in the morning, followed by snorkeling or swimming in the afternoon. Uncruise ‘beach parties’ were offered whenever we anchored next to a sandy beach, which was often. At every stop, our on-board expedition guides led small groups within these activities, and guided us on our excursions.

A sample day with Uncruise in Central America:

As noted above, the routine of our days took on a predictable cadence, which was nice. While the timing changed insignificantly here and there to accommodate our route, every day on our Uncruise looked something like this:

Yoga on the sun deck at 6:15 am (ha, only made it to that once)
Breakfast around 7:30 am (with a continental breakfast set out earlier for those who were up)
Morning excursions rolling out from about 8:30-9:30 (depending on what group you’re in and which leader you’re going with)
Morning excursions over and back on the ship by 12 pm for lunch
Lunch for everyone around 12:30 or 1 pm
Afternoon excursions rolling out around 2 pm (sometimes, there’s a transfer to a new location first)
Afternoon excursions back to the ship around 4:30, giving everyone time to shower and freshen up
Evening cocktail hour and appetizers at 5:30 (this is when the expedition leaders give a spiel on the following day’s itinerary and guests sign up for the next day’s excursion options)
Dinner around 6:30 pm
Evening presentation by expedition leaders around 8 pm (for those with kids going to bed, the evening talk is piped into the onboard sound system in your cabins)
Pass out asleep around 10 pm…you’ll be tired!

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First time cruising with children

May 19, 2021 By Amy Hagstrom

While a lot of people absolutely love going on a vacation, especially on those nice private charters where everything is taken care of for you, and all you have to do is enjoy, planning things out is definitely a challenge. And if you also have children you intend on taking along with you, that challenge is a lot more difficult, especially with small children. They make things a lot more complicated and you need to know how to deal with all the hustle that comes when traveling with family.

First time cruising guide:

With that in mind, going out on a cruise with your children and making the most of it isn’t all that far-fetched. All you have to do is consider a couple of things when planning, and you should be set for a beautiful cruise with your kids.

Set Some Ground Rules

When children go out on their first cruise, you’ll find that almost everything is new. And their desire to explore and have fun every minute is something you’ll need to deal with because they can get in trouble very quickly if they do that out on the water, or in a city, they’ve never been to.

If you want to make sure that doesn’t happen, it’s important that you set ground rules your kids need to respect, and by all means, do this before you embark on the cruise. Cruise ships do come with their own rules and etiquette, which you’ll need to introduce your kids to, and you should make sure you explain that they should absolutely stick to the rules.

Both you and your kids head out with a single goal – to enjoy your cruise and have fun while exploring new destinations. If you set reasonable expectations for them (and for yourself), you’re already halfway there.

Go for a Small Ship Cruise

When your kids see all the things they can do on a large cruise ship, from pools to theme parks, it’s understandable that they’ll want to go there. However, there are multiple reasons why a small ship is a better idea, and that’s in addition to the obvious advantages of small ship cruising.

The first reason is the fact that you have an almost one-to-one ratio of staff to guests. If you or your children need something at any point, chances are you’ll get a staff member available to assist you within a couple of minutes. This is a seriously underrated advantage of a small ship.

But the second, and arguably a lot more important reason when you’re cruising with children, is the fact that you can keep your kids in check much easier on a small ship. It’s almost impossible for them to get lost, and even if something does happen, there’s plenty of available staff to help. And best of all, wherever you are on the ship, your kids are well within walking distance and you’ll be able to get to them within minutes.

If you want to make sure your kids enjoy the small ship cruise and don’t feel like they’re missing out, a good idea would be to include them in the planning stage of the cruise. Show them the options you’re considering, and ask them what their wishes and preferences are. You can make a family bonding activity out of this, and children tend to act a lot better if they know their wishes are being listened to.

Be Selective With Excursions

A cruise will give you a couple of options when it comes to shore excursions, and you should aim to go for ones that are kid-friendly if you want everyone to have fun. It’s a good idea to involve your kids in the planning stage, as they’ll be able to tell you what they like and dislike, and you’ll pick something everyone enjoys.

For example, going on a ride with ATVs isn’t the most family-friendly activity. On the other hand, visiting a wildlife reserve that’s full of exotic animals will make your children’s jaws drop, and they’ll remember the experience for years to come.

Here’s a tip that might come in handy – do the excursions planning as early as possible. Some of the excursions on cruise ships might come with limited availability, and the earlier you book, the better your chances of something you like being available.

Choose the Right Rooms

Last but not least, a family trip is a lot better if you choose the right room. While some small cruise ships offer large staterooms that fit an entire family, even if this isn’t the case, you’ll probably be able to get two adjacent rooms and still have your children close.

A thing to note here is that you should make sure you let the staff know about this well in advance, so they can consider it when they’re planning things for the cruise. That rule that says “the earlier you book, the better”, definitely applies here.

Aboard a small ship cruise: Day by day with Alaskan Dream Cruises

July 1, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

When I told friends and family we’d be experiencing SE Alaska on a cruise ship, the image that came to everyone’s mind included a huge ocean liner, busy ports of call, fancy restaurants, kids clubs, and maybe a climbing wall. After all, kids don’t go on those intimate small ship cruises you read about, right? Wrong! (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?) Small ship cruise options are more accessible to families with Alaskan Dream Cruises family cruise itineraries.

Why book a small ship?

Small cruise ships can go where the mega ships cannot, offer a more personal travel experience, afford families with hands-on learning and intimate ports-of-call, and include educational and cultural experts to enrich the travel experience. The cruise industry defines small ship cruising as 150 passengers or less; our Alaskan Dream cruise carried a whopping 28. Itineraries are more flexible, excursions are more in-depth, and service is more personal. A small ship cruise is also more expensive, and we know families need all the information they can gather before making such an investment. In this first of a three-part series, we offer our day-by-day Alaskan Dream Cruise experience, to help you decide if small ship cruising is for you.

An overview: nine days on the Baranof Dream in three minutes:

Day 1: Sitka to embarkation

An Alaskan Dream Cruise starts before your family boards one of their three cruise vessels. We arrived in Sitka, Alaska the day prior to our sailing, and were met at the airport by an Alaskan Dream representative. She quickly tagged all our luggage, loaded us into a van, and drove us to our hotel for the night, the Totem Square Inn. We explored the town during the evening on our own before bedtime.

The first morning of our cruise, we met our Expedition Leader Emily and our fellow passengers for a morning of Sitka sightseeing. (Our tagged luggage went directly to the ship, and we held onto only our day luggage.) Together, we toured Sitka, seeing the Alaska Raptor Center, Sitka Sound Science Center, and Sitka National Historic Park. This was a good way to get to know the other families (six families in total, with members ranging from grandparents to children; the young people ranged in age between 6-19).

At lunchtime, we boarded an Allen Marine Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest vessel (Alaska native-owned Allen Marine is a sister company of Alaskan Dream Cruises) for a tour of Sitka Sound and a rendezvous with our home for the next nine days, the Baranof Dream.

One of the most exciting moments of our cruise arrived when our Allen Marine vessel turned a corner around a small island in beautiful Sitka Sound to the sight of the Baranof Dream waiting for us. We boarded at sea, and explored our 144-foot ship. The Baranof Dream has 25 cabins, but only a handful were in use for our family cruise itinerary (passengers are generally capped at 30 during family cruises). With 28 guests onboard, we found the common spaces (such as the dining room, lounge, and sun deck) to be comfortable and never crowded.

Cabins sleep 2-3 people, depending on the type, so our family of five had two. Kids cannot occupy a cabin alone (none are connecting) so we slept three of us in the more spacious Lydonia cabin and two in a standard cabin. While cozy, Baranof Dream cabins have adequate storage space as long as you put things away after using them and assign everything a space. We met our crew and experienced our orientation to the Baranof after embarking, and learned more about our course through SE Alaska thanks to a GPS-enabled interactive map always on screen in the lounge.

Our first meal set our expectations high (they were never disappointed). All meals (and wine or beer with dinner) are included in your cost, and the dining room is casual and friendly. Kids can order off the adult menu, which always offers three choices for a main course, or the kids’ menu (with both the adult offerings and staples such as burgers, hot dogs, and excellent mac and cheese). In addition to three meals per day, ample snacks, appetizers, and drinks are offered in the lounge.

We learned to go to bed our first night with the sun still trying to set (sunset is after 11 pm) but it wasn’t hard; we were all exhausted after our first day!

Day 2: Juneau

We awoke to the Baranof Dream cruising into Juneau, Alaska, where the mega cruise ships dwarfed our small vessel. Our itinerary of a Mendenhall Glacier tour followed by time exploring the city included a last-minute surprise (not unusual on small ship cruises): we’d also be visiting a sled dog and mushers’ camp. All transportation was provided to us: we took a guided bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier, where we hiked to Nugget Falls, then were issued tickets to the Mt. Roberts Tramway in Juneau. We found the tram to be overrated, but enjoyed the excellent views and ample hiking at the top of Mt. Roberts. We enjoyed vouchers for lunch at a restaurant of our choice (we opted to watch the float planes land from The Hanger), then made our way through touristy downtown Juneau to meet our bus to Sled Dog Discovery and Mushers Camp.

We spent the better part of two hours in this beautiful camp in the Tongass National Forest, where we met sled dogs, learned about their training, and held Alaskan sled dog puppies. On every Alaskan Dream cruise are both scientific and cultural expedition leaders who spend every day with you; ours, naturalist Emily and Tlingit Alaskan Native Howard (Koo Hook) were accompanied by two youth expedition leaders, Jess and Sophia, as well. Throughout the day, they offered guidance, friendship, and knowledge.

Days on the Baranof Dream usually end with a post-dinner presentation by the expedition leaders to help us prepare for the day ahead; in this case, it ended with a special treat. Forty-five minutes after departing Juneau, we docked at a private day lodge, Orca Point Lodge, for a king crab dinner. The kids explored the rocky beach with their youth expedition leaders and learned about the intertidal zone at a touch tank, and the adults enjoyed getting to know each other better over wine and beer and gorgeous views. We loved seeing the kids try new foods at dinner, and afterward, everyone enjoyed a beach bonfire.

Day 3: Hobart Bay

Hobart Bay is a private section of Alaskan Native-owned shoreline only native-owned Alaskan Dream Cruises can access. On the itinerary: playtime! Following breakfast, each family was issued a schedule, rotating through kayaking, Zego-riding (a Zego is a personal motorized watercraft), and RTV-riding. Kayaking offered a peaceful escape onto the water, where we shared the space with a Stellar sea lion, salmon, and sea birds, and the RTVs (though too noisy for my taste) took us on a fun adventure along logging roads to view black bears and pick berries. The kids loved the Zegos best, which they could drive as we zipped around the many narrow passage-ways surrounding Hobart Bay.

In the late afternoon, crew and passengers alike gathered to participate in (or watch) the ‘Killer Whale Club’ initiation, which involved a leap into the 38 degree water of the bay. Between events, we enjoyed a BBQ lunch, and after dinner, we sat around a second bonfire with s’mores. The bartender, John, made friends with the kids onboard by making smoothies with the berries they picked, and the pastry chef, Lemmick, followed suit with a muffin-making class. During free time on the Baranof Dream, anyone can access the bridge to talk with the captain, Stu, and his crew; our boys especially loved learning to tie knots from crew member Hank.

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Why we picked a small ship cruise: Small ship cruise Alaska booking tips for families

October 2, 2013 By Amy Hagstrom

Yes, families can and should book a small ship cruise Alaska!

The day we disembarked from our Alaskan Dream Cruises small ship cruise, we toured a museum of SE Alaska in Ketchikan. It took my kids about 15 minutes to view the entire facility, so I stopped them at the exit to ask why they’d spent so little time inside.

My oldest replied, “We already saw everything in this museum in ‘real life’ during the cruise, Mom.”

He didn’t realize it, but he’d summed up the reason for booking a small ship cruise. During our nine days on Alaskan Dream Cruises’ Baranof Dream family cruise, we visited Tlingit villages, kayaked amid sea lions, jumped into the frigid water of the Inside Passage, watched glaciers calve, stomped our feet to Norwegian folk dancing, eaten king salmon and crab, seen humpback whales breaching, made native crafts, and the list goes on. The entire time, we were surrounded by multiple expedition leaders (for both adults and youth) who pointed out sights, taught us scientific and cultural facts, showed us which berries to sample off the bushes, found eagles nests and bears fishing for salmon, and helped our kids paint, sew, and carve.

A small ship cruise–and especially a small ship cruise with a family-friendly itinerary like Alaskan Dream–allows kids and adults to fully immerse themselves in the place they’ve come to visit. We picked a small cruise ship for the following reasons, all of which proved true during our cruise:

1. We wanted an unique travel experience.

Alaskan Dream Cruises is owned and operated by long-standing Alaskan company Allen Marine. As a Native-owned cruise line, Alaskan Dream–including our ship, the Baranof Dream–could access parts of SE Alaska that other cruise ships, even other small cruise ships, could not. We spent a full day and a half playing in Alaskan Dream-exclusive Hobart Bay, where we watched black bears with their cubs, kayaked calm bays, and explored the wilderness of native-owned land. We were granted access to the Haida community of Kasaan, where we watched a master carver create a canoe and learned about their ancient totems and whaling house, and we were honored by a Tsimshian dance in the reservation at Metlakatla. When we arrived in Ketchikan and shared our itinerary with locals, they all agreed we’d seen an authentic representation of their state.

We believe eco-conservationism begins with experiencing nature.

As outdoor enthusiasts, we knew that by seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and yes, tasting the wild beauty of SE Alaska, our kids would have a greater respect for the planet, a sentiment reinforced when we spoke with Alaskan Dream VP of sales and marketing Mike Wien. “I can’t imagine a better opportunity for young adults to learn how to be stewards of the environment,” Wien told us, explaining that the eco-conscious attitude that prevails aboard an Alaskan Dream ship teaches basic ecological lessons that carry over.

Small ships also enjoy a smaller carbon footprint than large cruise ships, of course, as limited on-board space forces crews to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible. We observed this practice in action on the Baranof Dream, noticing how every space is used on-board, and every item as a purpose.

We wanted to be responsible travelers.

Smaller cruise ships means smaller ports of call, which is great for both passengers who want to get off the beaten path and for local economies. The Baranof Dream stopped at only two major ports–Juneau and Ketchikan–remaining for the duration of our trip in private bays and small villages. We knew our tourism dollars were going directly to the people who had made the fine crafts we bought and the t-shirts we proudly wore. We knew our presence–under 30 guests–was not taxing the resources of our local hosts.

We wanted a flexible itinerary and ‘outside the box’ service.

With under 30 guest on-board the Baranof Dream and over 20 crew members, we were always well taken care of. More important than the prompt attention however, was the manner in which crew members adapted with the needs (or wants) of the guests. Crew members were jacks and jills of all trades–for instance, our pastry chef could also lead a kayak tour, and our steward taught yoga–and when the kids found berries while on a hike with their youth expedition leader, the bartender was happy to carry on the lesson with a class in smoothie-making. Our boys learned knot tying from the bridge crew and Tlingit crafts from our cultural guide. When an opportunity arises–in our case, to stop last-minute at a dog sled camp–plans were adjusted and schedules were reset.

Booking an Alaskan Dream Cruise: what you need to know:

Book early. Small ships fill up fast, so try to book approximately 9 months before departure if possible. But don’t book without speaking on the phone to your small ship cruise line. In the case of Alaskan Dream, their offices are located on-site in Sitka Alaska, and their office staff can be invaluable in helping you pick the right itinerary for you and your family. An itinerary may be in the works that is as-yet unadvertised, or they may be able to match particular interests with a particular cruise.

Do families need to book on a family cruise itinerary? No, on Alaskan Dream Cruises, kids are welcome on any itinerary. However, kids’ programming is only available on family cruises, and kids are much more likely to have friends their age on board (and that goes for parents, too). One aspect we loved about our family cruise was the relaxed atmosphere and the additional activities that engaged the kids in a tactile way.

Pit Stops for Kids experienced a family small ship cruise as guests of Alaskan Dream Cruises, for the purpose of review. No express opinion was required; we wanted traveling families to know about small ship cruising options!