Why did we choose Alaska?
We put a lot of effort into choosing the right destination for cruise adventures. We thought we could share some of the reasons behind choosing this particular cruise over others. When choosing a cruise, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration and we took all of these things into account when choosing this one.
- Who is taking the cruise? We knew we wanted to offer a unique adventure to our fellow Type 1 families that would be easy to get to and easy to go on. When considering your first vacation post diagnosis its always better to travel to places where you know you will get quality medical care. Since our families would all be affected by T1D, we considered them as our primary travelers.
- What kind of ship do you want to take? Different cruise lines have different focuses, and the wrong cruise line or ship can ruin a vacation. Since we knew it was for guests of all ages, we focused on the four cruise lines we feel best cater to families. All of these lines have their pros and cons, and we took amenities, group availability, itineraries and pricing into consideration. One of the cruise lines had a limited number of ships sailing Alaska, and couldn’t reliably support our group. Another line is significantly more expensive without group amenities and the third charges extra for many of their on board activities, leaving Royal Caribbean with the best balance of factors.
- When do you want to go? We knew summer was a short window, but the best bet for most families. Here in California, most kids are done with school by the 15th of June and are going back the second week of August. Knowing this, we began looking at the itineraries that were available.
- Where do you want to go? Taking our travelers into consideration, we looked at the primary cruising locations from a US port. The most popular being the Caribbean (sailing from Florida, Louisiana or Texas), the Mexican Riviera (sailing from Los Angeles or San Diego), the Northeastern Seaboard (sailing from New York, New Jersey, Maryland or Maine) and Alaska (sailing from Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver). Each area has its pros and cons. The weather must be considered. Excess heat can change insulin usage and cause failures in equipment. A cooler climate should be considered. Confidence in receiving medical care was also a consideration. The safety of our clientele is always a consideration for us. Traveling with Diabetic Alert Dogs could affect the ability of those passengers to disembark in foreign ports, so US ports would favor those travelers. Finally, the quality of the adventure was important to us. Some ports require shore excursions as they are nothing more than a shopping center on a pier, and some ports are actual towns that can be explored without additional cost and planning.
Taking all of these things into account, we landed on this adventure. Going to Alaska ensures that we will be in mostly US ports, making medical care easy and readily available. Also, the weather in Alaska will be cool, allowing for easier insulin storage and usage. Taking the RCCL Quantum of the Seas ensures there will be activities for all ages, including iFly, FlowRider, rock climbing and bumper cars among others – all included at no additional charge. RCCL also gave us the best amenities for our group and the added bonus of the donation to the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. Finally, Alaska is an amazing part of our country that many people don’t see but want to as a bucket list destination. You will see things in Alaska that you cannot see anywhere else. The ports we are visiting are all towns that can be explored on foot or experienced through shore excursions. You will never feel afraid to get in a cab, ask for directions or pull out your dollars. I myself was hesitant to go to Alaska the first time – why would you leave the lovely warm summer to go to the cold? But it is AMAZING and this will be our third time. Please consider joining us on this adventure, you won’t regret it!
