KalamityJane

I would pick a sailing based on itinerary, but that’s my personal preference. What are your choices for these ships?

 

 

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The KSF sailings, so mostly Caribbean. My first choice would be Europe but none of those have the promo.

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I’m torn between Oasis class and refurbished Freedom class or Anthem.

As far as I can tell, the Oasis and Allure do not have water slides, right? If not, that’s a deal breaker and would knock them out of the running.

Harmony/Symphony look amazing and I’m drawn to them because there is more to do and people say they feel less crowded.

Anthem and refurbed Freedom class being smaller is a plus and they seem to have more water slides, laser tag etc.

Kids will be 5, 7, 10 at sailing and won’t probably spend a ton of time in the clubs. They are all tall so height mins prob won’t be an issue. The just turned 5yo is 46.5” to give you an idea.

What would you pick?

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Check out Norwegian Air. We flew from Copenhagen to FLL for 200 ow and that was the upgraded LowFare+ that includes bags, seat assignments and meals.

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Thanks!! I think we may be doing Royal because of the Kids Sail Free promo.

I'm debating between the Oasis class or one of the refurbished smaller ones, like Adventure or Independence. I've heard the bigger ships actually don't feel as crowded as the smaller ones... More to research!

I have 3 really active kids, 5, almost 7 and 9.5. We did a 15 night TA on Disney last year and were not impressed with the food or kids clubs.

I’m now trying to decide between Carnival or Royal for our next cruise with the kids.

1 of the kids is GF, 1 is highly sensitive to sugar and they all cannot do food dyes - which makes food a bit annoying but they are used to eating simply and clean. Fresh fruit/veggies/smoothies/ cold cuts/eggs/burgers etc

Which line is better for kid’s food?

Which club is more interactive with the kids?(DCL seemed to leave them to their own devices)

I think I’ve narrowed it down to Oasis class for RCCL and Breeze/Magic or Vista class on Carnival.

Also, if a ship is less crowded feeling, that would be a big plus for hubby :)

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Yes, we all have passports. My kids are similar ages to your grandkids.

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With the KSF, are kids still free if they are the second person on the reservation (as in a family of 5, 2 rooms, 1 adult in each room)?

I know normally we end up paying for 4 adults, 1 kid this way.

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I've been googling and searching to no avail. I tried the links in the OP but they were broken. I'm trying to find out if bus 26 runs on weekends and goes to/past Tivoli Gardens. We get in to Langelinie on a Saturday morning :)

Thanks!

Our kids are 10 & 6 and they loved Freedom. They enjoyed the separate kids pool area. We liked that it was still on the same level as the main pool deck for the adults. Kids club was great. It doesn't have slides, but it does have the DreamWorks experience characters onboard as well. Flowrider is fun if they meet the height requirement. 10 year old did, but 6 year old did not. Our waiters in the main dining room were also phenomenal when it came to the kids at dinner. They were treated so well and it made the experience so much more enjoyable for us that they were so accommodating.

This is great to hear!! Do you happen to know the height requirement on the Flowrider?

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The height restrictions are going to be the kicker, youngest just turned 3 and is 40", middle is almost 5 and 45", oldest is 7.5 and 52". If the 3yo grows 2" before we go, then we would be set :) should be doable, they grow about 2-3" a year.

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I'm a little confused:confused:. Have you done the western ports before to determine they are not desirable? If you've not done them, they are pretty nice. I'd go west for the price difference :)

I've done them but not with kids. I am definitely interested in some of the port options, especially in Cozumel, for kids :) either way we will have a great time, just wondering if the extra 2 days and different ports made the difference.

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WOW! Harmony is impressive! Thanks for the heads up :) Last time we sailed with RCI, it was on the Sovereign of the Seas :D so it's been quite a while.

Awesome, I will check that out! Freedom is the one with the waterworks, right?

I suppose my question is, are the eastern and southern ports worth an extra ~2k :D Though that pretty much answers my question...

I'm looking on the Vista and we can do a 6 day Western for 3900, 8 day Eastern for 5700 or 8 day Southern for 5900, all in a FH suite.

So my question is, do we book the 6 day and deal with the Western ports (we have not taken the kids to these, so they are new to us) and enjoy the savings, or go for the better ports but pay a lot more for them?

Should add that I would be okay with booking far out for a much better deal, these prices are for early 2017, I can do much better in later 2017 but we'd like to cruise in this year as well.

I'm exploring my options for a family cruise and wondering what you all would consider the best ship in RCI for younger kids? I'm specifically looking for a decent kids club and great water area/slides. I don't mind smaller ships. Kids will be 8, 5.5 and 4. We are looking at Sept 2016 - April 2017 with flexibility because kids are homeschooled, at least 6 nights and probably out of Florida.

So far it looks like Freedom class may work for us?

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We are priced out as well, because I can't fathom paying DCL prices when we could use that money elsewhere. The WBPC went up 2200 in 2 years for us :(

Speaking of elsewhere... We are very seriously considering the new Carnival Vista, would Carnival be decent enough of a comparison to DCL or should we stick to NCL or RCI? I have younger kids so RCI doesn't have quite as much they can do as far as the Flowrider, etc.

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Holy cow, I priced out a Family Harbor OV for Jan 2018, 8 day Eastern or Southern for 2800-3100. That's some serious savings.

I'd like to get in on the Vista earlier than that though, but I'm looking at paying around 5600 for the 8 day Family Harbor Suite in Jan 2016. Any way to finagle things cheaper? I saw you can get Carnival gift cards for 10% off, that is my wheelhouse. I looked at Costco as a TA but apparently they don't service Carnival. Give me all you got :)

You didn't say which ship was $4000 on CCL. I have been on Disney 4 times and while it is pricey if you can afford it, it is worth it IMO. The entertainment is incredible compared to CCL, which is not geared to kids.

 

The kids clubs are open all day until late at night. My grandkids from 3-12 loved it and never wanted to leave. On CCL the clubs are not open all the time. Someone else may speak to that, we have only done Carnival once with the kids, and that was AK which is so different than the Caribbean so they were not in there much. They did like it but there were times it was inconvenient because they closed. And I think they charge after 10 PM and Disney does not.

 

Carnival's water park is probably better on all ships you mentioned, but the Aqua Duck on Disney is a lot of fun.

 

Dinner is more kid friendly on Disney. The rotating dining rooms is a nice difference than other lines. The characters are available on sea days and that is fun, even for me to watch without my kids. Overall I just love the ambiance of Disney.

 

I will say that the food is no better on Disney than Carnival. But the staterooms are or seem larger than Carnival. And the split bathroom is nice, you can be bathing kids and others can use the rest room while you are. I think the Vista added that on Carnival in some cabins so that may be a moot point.

 

If one afford it I think Disney is worth a try. It really is a different experience. But Carnival is great and I would rather cruise more often for less since we are retired now and can go more than once a year. But if I ever got a great deal I would go on Disney again, even without the kids!

You are so talking me back into Disney and noooo! We are a huge Disney family, have Disneyland annual passes (and live in Idaho for what it's worth) and with family in Orlando, spend a decent time at WDW too. I only say noooo because I literally have been saving for a westbound Panama Canal cruise with Disney since 2014, and I've had them booked in 2015 and 2016 and had to cancel for various reasons. I know DCL like the back of my hand at this point as far as info goes :D The prices just came out for the WBPC and I can't fathom paying 10k without bar bill, gratuities and excursions on DCL. The CCL ship I was comparing the 7 night DCL Wonder Bahamian was the CCL Vista, and there's just so much more to do on the Vista. I would like for my kids to be in the kids club at points, but we are used to having them around and we likely will be doing a lot together as a family.

Don't worry though, all the money I saved up for DCL is likely going to go towards Disneyland :D

I showed my 7.5yo some of the stuff on the Vista and she is psyched up to go on the SkyRide and watch movies in the Imax, and my 5yo boy is dying to go on the tube slide. I think we may have a winner here!

Have you considered the Magic out of Port Canaveral? It just got Guy's BBQ, along with Guys Burgers, and Blue Iguana.

 

 

 

We are waiting a year for the Vista, when the prices are likely to come down a bit.

 

 

 

We've been on the Breeze for our last two but won't be sailing her again in the foreseeable future since it will be moving to Galveston to replace the Magic, which is moving to Port Canaveral.

 

 

 

We've chosen the Magic for our next trip, and I think it has pretty much everything on your list. I would assume the prices would be much better than what you've listed, even in the summer (I'm assuming you're looking at the summer with your kids).

The Magic did get put on our list! I was looking at jan/feb pricing actually on both ships, go figure :) how is the Magic as far as feeling crowded goes? I may actually book a cruise sooner (early 2017) and Vista in later 2017/early 2018, just for pricing.

Does the Magic have the Hasbro game night or no?

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I want to do one of those Havana suites on the Vista but price to high for us currently

I don't know if it makes a difference but the Breeze will be sailing from Galveston in another month

can be a PITA sailing from their

Boo, guess that one is off the list (though we do have family in Dallas we could see if we cruised out of Galveston). From what I'm pricing out, it's DCL at ~5700/ 7 night Bahamian (roughly but that is about as good as I'm going to get with 5 people with DCL), ~4000 with Carnival in a FH suite on the Vista.

I'm debating booking the Vista in a FH suite for a 6 or 8 night Caribbean, but have heard good things about the Sunshine and the Breeze. Kids are 7.5, 5 and 3. I'm looking for

- good slides/water area (height/age restrictions?)

- good prices (obviously this is relative to Disney ;)

- beverage plan

- kids clubs that are involving and not just a madhouse

I'm a total n00b to CCL so if you all you give me some kind guidance as to why you love Carnival and maybe which ship might fit us better, I would be so appreciative! I'm crossing RCI off of my list for now due to the stuff like Flowrider being age limiting. My kids will likely want to play in the water or club most days.

Also, what shows are the best in your opinion?

ETA: I'm definitely looking for the Hasbro game night and Guy's BBQ on the boat too.

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Oh, and we can cruise whenever though summer is tricky because we have a farm. Kids are homeschooled. We prefer low season and 6-7+ night cruises.

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We were planning on a DCL cruise but I can't fathom paying their prices. I'm looking for a line/ship with good water slides/pools/splash park, great kid's clubs (kids are 3, 5 and 7.5 currently) and decent stuff to do on board for adults.

The kids absolutely adore swimming and are daredevils (and are tall if that helps with height restrictions, youngest is 40 plus inches and just turned 3). Hubby likes the casino and a good movie theater would be nice.

As far as ports go, we haven't cruised with kids so that's open. We debated Alaska but may wait a couple of years to do that so the kids can do more excursions. I have family in Florida so cruising out of there is great.

I'm mostly concerned about the kids clubs so hubby and I can have some time off and secondly about activities on board.

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They have scones, clotted cream and jam?? I haven't had those since I was in Europe!! Now I'm really excited! When/where is the high tea?

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