Family Cruise Advisor

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Magda and Larry Slayton (pictured above) say they were “not cruising people originally,” but when Magda’s mom insisted on a cool-weather destination for her 50th wedding anniversary during the dog days of August, an Alaskan cruise seemed to be just the ticket. And so 10 adults and nine children boarded Holland America Line’s Westerdam for a seven-day cruise, roundtrip Seattle.

We caught up with the Slaytons — and sister Annette Parker and her children Cate and Andrew (pictured) — the day before the cruise ended.

“It’s been nice to see the destinations without having to pack and unpack,” Magda says. “We weren’t sure about cruising, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Cruising really works well for events such as this — with 19 members of our family on board. Everyone loved it because there was something for everyone in both the ports and on board.”

They chose Holland America Line for their first cruise because their parents are Dutch (HAL began operations in the Netherlands more than 130 years ago.) “My mother came to America on Holland America Line,” Magda says. “She crossed the Atlantic eight times on HAL ships.”

There were quite a few surprises for the Avon, Connecticut couple. “The staterooms were nicer and bigger than we had thought they would be,” Magda says. “And there were plenty of healthy options for food.” The biggest surprise, however: “We actually lost weight. We worked out every day and watched what we ate. The secret was a good balance of activity and food.”