best for a BIG family

[jerblu]

Well, maybe not quite so big as all that, but.... I have three children, and their spouses (spice?) and 5 grandchildren, aged 3 months to 8 years. So I'd need 4 cabins, for 4 couples, with the grandchildren in their parents' cabins.

 

8 adults, 5 kids. What's my best options? For kid programs that they would enjoy, and for relaxation and security for their parents, so that they would not be worrying all the time.

 

TIA

[boulders]

I think that Disney is the only cruiseline that will take 3 month olds. All other cruiselines have a 6 month age minimum. How old are the other children?

[jerblu]

We are not planning this for soon. By the time we are ready, our youngest grandchild will be at least 6 months old, perhaps a year.

 

Jerry

[lucigo]

Without knowing your priorities its hard to say. Where do you want to go? Do you want a bigger ship or a smaller ship? How big of an issue is cost? Do you want a 4, 5, or 7 night trip?

 

I can tell you I have 4 kids and 2 steps, and we have been cruising for about 5 years now. With smaller kids I personally really like the smaller ships, like Carnival's Fantasy Class. There are lots of things for kids to do and its less work to get from point A to point B, there are fewer kids in the camp and therefore the kids get more personalized attention, better chance to win prizes, etc. Carnival is really good with the kids. I'm sure the other lines are also, we have just found something that works and have had a hard time changing, however we are trying Holland America at the end of this month and hope the 2 kids we are taking will like it.

 

I can tell you that Carnival will give the parents each a pager or cell phone (on the Fantasy last Feb we got cell phones) so that they can page/call you if they need you/your child needs you. These also come in handy in that if your friends/family also have a child at camp you can call each other.

 

All this said, we really didn't take advantage of Camp Carnival until my youngest turned 3 and entered preschool. Up to that point he was too attached to mom and didn't want to go. We did let him try for short periods of time. Before he turned 2 we took advantage of the under 2 play time during lunch, and they will also let you check out toys to take to your cabin, but we never used the babysitters (thats what my teenagers are for! LOL)

 

Good luck and have fun researching!

[boulders]

Age is not the question

We are not planning this for soon. By the time we are ready, our youngest grandchild will be at least 6 months old, perhaps a year.

 

Jerry

 

 

Actually, age IS the question.

 

You asked:

8 adults, 5 kids. What's my best options? For kid programs that they would enjoy, and for relaxation and security for their parents, so that they would not be worrying all the time.

 

The recommendations for best experience is going to totally depend on the ages of the children. Recommendations for sailing with a 6 month old is going to be different than sailing with a 15 month old and are going to be different for a 2 1/2 year old, again with a 4 year old and again with an 8 year old.

 

Finally, if your children are planning to give you more grandchildren, be aware that no ship allows a woman who has entered her 24th week of pregnancy to sail.

[jerblu]

I appreciate that feedback. I currently have a 3.5 month old, two 5yr olds, a 6yr old and an 8 yr old. I'm thinking of next summer.

 

As far as ship size is concerned, I would hope it would be large enough to have decent stabilizers; my wife gets seasick in the bathtub. Otherwise we dont particularly care about the size of the ship except that it should have enough activities that the entire family will enjoy it, and that the kids themselves should be happy. It is very unlikely that anyone will be pregnant.

 

If further specifications or interests are needed, I can say that our entire family is interested in good food and wine, and that my wife and I are pretty good ballroom and ArgTango dancers.

[boulders]

Your options will be better once the little one is 12 months old. RCCL's Oasis of the Seas has a nursery, so at 6 months of age, you will be covered on Oasis. Disney also has a nursery with babysitting for anyone under 3. Other RCCL ships have in cabin babysitting for a fee for those over 12 months. For the other children, there will be good supervised programs on any ship.

 

My experience/research has been with RCCL, Carnival, Disney and Celebrity. Of these, I personally would go with RCCL/Disney/Celebrity. Disney will have more of the wow factor for any little girls (I have more boys than girls, so not much of a wow factor with princesses :p) Celebrity will have better dining. RCCL will have more activities. None of these have ballroom dancing though. Perhaps Princess or HAL does??:confused:

 

You will probably need to make compromises between family friendly and good food and ballroom dancing. I haven't sailed on any of the ships that you have, but I highly suspect the food on these mainstream lines that I've mentioned will not be as good as what you have experienced on the smaller ships. It's just a matter of with a ship serving 3000 people, the quality can not be as good as a ship with a few hundred.

 

Have fun planning!:D

[jerblu]

Thanks Boulders.

 

I know the food will be different than on Crystal, but that is not a significant issue; the bid deal is the kids. I want them to have a really good time. Also their parents, but I think that if the grandkids have a good time, then their parents will too.

 

And my wife and I can do tango or rhumba on a postage stamp floor if we have to.:)

 

I am curious as to why you give Carnival short shrift. I thought they had a great kids program.

[lds26]

When we were researching a ship for our upcoming family cruise we also went through many ship's before chosing the Carnival Freedom. We too are cruising with our children. Our children range in age from 4-19 (5 in total). We wanted to make sure that everyone had fun and we are bringing Grama on the trip as well so we have to make sure she enjoys too.

The reasons we chose the Carnival Freedom was mainly price and amenities. They have Camp Carnival for the 2 lil boys, Club o2 for the Eldest son and one daughter and lots of programming for the eldest Daughter. When we had gone prior on Carnival we found many families enjoying themselves as well as elderly folks having plenty of fun. We thought that Grama would have a great time as well so we chose this. When we compared this particular 8 day cruise to any comparible ones we found that the price was wayyyyy less and we chose to do that instead. I dont know if you will be footing the entire cost or your children will be paying thier own way but I would say give Carnival a chance first and see how they feel after.

 

Well thats my 2 cents worth enjoy your trip!

[jerblu]

I hadnt thought to ask this, but I guess I should. With 8 adults and 5 kids, the costs will mount up, and I am planning to pay for the trip for everyone. Are there some cruise lines where the kids will get a much less expensive fare?

[boulders]

Carnival has a good kids program for 2-5. For adults and older kids, though, there are better choices. It is one of the cheapest and generally you get what you pay for. You asked which one was the best - and I wouldn't include Carnival in "best". Possibly most bang for the buck, but not best.

 

Since most of the kids are in the 5-8 year range, I'd give the edge to Disney. They would most likely give the "best" experience for the children. The baby will be almost free on Disney.

 

3rd and 4th passenger rates will be much less than 1st and 2nd passenger rates on whatever line you choose. If any of the family's have 3 children, I would book one of their children as the 3rd or 4th passenger in a different stateroom than the rest, unless you get a stateroom that sleeps 5 or more. Both Disney and RCCL have those. Older Carnival ships have those as well.

 

P.S. Disney is sailing the Mediterranean this spring and summer. They have a kids sail free promotion on the spring Mediterranean cruises.

[lds26]

I hadnt thought to ask this, but I guess I should. With 8 adults and 5 kids, the costs will mount up, and I am planning to pay for the trip for everyone. Are there some cruise lines where the kids will get a much less expensive fare?

 

With Carnival children and adults pay the same fare. How they work it is person 1 & 2 per stateroom pay full price then person 3&4 & 5 pay a discounted fare. It doesnt matter if the person who is 3,4,5 are adult or children if that makes any sense.

 

When we booked we tried to work it so each stateroom had a past guest per room which resulted in a lower rate then went with grama being person #2 in the one room so she paid more than we did for our kids. I hope this is not too mixed up .... it makes sense in my head rofl! Im hopin it translates to the page!:o

[Nebr.cruiser]

Third and fourth passenger rates are usually somewhat cheaper than the first two passengers in a cabin. There are even kids sail free rates. NCL sometimes has kids for $99-$199 for seven days. Costa and MSC often (usually) have kids free--these are Italian lines, however and are not always favorites of North American passengers--I haven't tried them, but probably will someday. I've seen other lines with very cheap kid rates occasionally.

 

On all the 'free' or lower rates, the passenger must still pay the port fees and taxes.

 

Most ships have decent kid's programs for various ages, but if babysitting for babies (under 2) is important, you need to look at Disney or maybe RCCL (not sure about that one)?

 

We took our two sons, spouses and five grandkids on a cruise five years ago, the Carnival Triumph, and everyone had a great time.

 

If you want to be close together, consider booking connecting or adjoining rooms. If everyone would be better off not being so close, at least try to be on the same deck. Rooms for five, or more, if needed, are a little hard to find, but they are out there.

 

Right now, if you are able to pay the first and second person rates in NCL's Garden Villa, the 3-8th? (not sure how many can fit in that superlative suite) are going for $199--I did a fake booking just to see how much it would be to take the grandkids in that. Still pretty expensive, but what a way to sail! (I've never sailed in that suite, but we did get to see one on a cabin crawl. Wow.)

 

Have a great time. We're trying to figure out a cruise taking the five grandkids ourselves this winter. It'll be easier now that they are 6-10 rather than 3-5.

[ruffs]

Jerry,

 

I'm sure you know quite a bit more about cruising than we do, but I think NCL might be something to consider. Maybe try a cruise on your own on NCL, or on a few other lines, until you find the best line to cruise with your family. That might be our approach if in a similar circumstance.

 

That said, are you looking to adopt any more children? We are solidly into our 40's, are not much maintenance, and would like you to consider us for adoption. We can offer several grand-children, all of which are older than a few months and will help the others.

 

We would also be willing to go with you as you evaluate several lines for potential suitability. You can see how our kids react to different kids clubs, etc.

 

Just a thought.

 

Otherwise if you decide to go a different direction, have a great time and enjoy your cruise.

[beastiemom]

We have sailed Disney as a large family and it was a wonderful experience! My parents took us as a 40th Annivesary present. We had my parents (in their 60s), my DB and SIL my neice and nephew (5&7), my DB and his GF, and my DH, myself and our three kids (4,7, and 10). We ended up on a cruise that went to Castaway Cay twice-which was fabulous. There was plenty of entertainment for the young crew, and my DB and his GF had plenty of "adult" time. One night we book just the adults for a diner at their adults only restaurant and we all agreed-it was a special time for us kids and our parents. The waitstaff at the restaurant was unbelievable-they treated our kids like prince and princesses. I didn't even have to cut my son's steak. They let my 7 year old order off the adult menu (he is a big eater and loves "adult" food). The food, I thought, was above average. For the little ones, the ship was not too big to handle, and the Mickey slide was a big hit. The shows are really geared for the kids. Mine and my husband's favorite memory from the cruise was watching my 4 year old and her 5 year old cousin memorized as the snow fell during one of the performances inside the theatre. Truly priceless. I will say Disney can be pricier than some cruises, but I just got an email the other day that kids can sail free on 3,4 and 7 night sailings. You can contact me if you want more details-even suggestions for how added special fun for the kids at the beginning of the trip. Oh-and my parents booked OV rooms for us to save a little money-and I was a little worried about my youngest and a balcony:eek:. The rooms were good sized and I liked the bathrooms-the window was huge and we did not feel claustrophobic at all (we had been in a balcony the time before we sailed).

 

That being said, my DH, myself and my three kids are booked on a SB cruise with another family on RCCL. The kids are older now (by the cruise, they will be 6,8, and 12), and I thought the more things to do on the ship would be better for my older two, just MHO.

[sbhdmh]

FYI: MSC has kids sail free and sometimes offers a family deal where if you book balcony cabins the second is half price. This could be quite a big savings. We sailed Lirica in Northern Europe this summer with our 4 year old. She had a great time but is very social so she is easy to please. The kids club brought the kids to the shows each evening and then dancing in the disco afterwards. Very different from what I've read on CC about what other lines are doing. 2 Saltwater pools, video games and mini golf were pretty much the extent of the child friendly activities on board. If you are looking for the whole rock climbing wall, splashzone experience MSC won't give you that. (They have some newer and larger ships but I don't think that is their style.) My dd was thrilled to see the shows and dance in the lounges (she found one favorite band she had to see every night). It's a very European atmosphere with 5 languages spoken on board. It could be an interesting experience for the kids but different from more mainstream lines. Enjoy your trip.

 

p.s. Ruffs - you crack me up!

[jerblu]

Thanks everyone, especially Ruffs, whose offer I am considering carefully. It's a serious commitment, tho; I have to decide whether I'm up to parenting a 40 yr old. The discipline problems might get pretty fierce.

[familyfiveCalgary]

After being on Independence of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) without kids, there were many time my husband and I looked at each other and said "the kids would love that!" Ours are 4, 9 and 11 and we checked out everything including the kids clubs onboard... their daily schedules looked like things our girls would like, (different activities every 20 min for the 3-5 yr group) along with the H20 zone (kids pools/spray park), rock climbing, even ice skating (being Canadian we had to strap on the complimentary blue skate Royal has and zoom around the other passengers!). The older adventurous kids lined up for the Wave rider and many were rock climbing up to reach the parrots at the top of the climbing wall. There were also soccer/basketball courts to play on as well as mini golf. To be honest there weren't many kids around the main pool because they were all so busy! There was also a free frozen yogurt machine on the pool deck. There was a nice mix of different generations on the same ships... it is a bigger ship so the stabilizers were good and we felt fine. Getting around wasn't too hard especially using deck 5's Royal Promenade, saw a few parents zooming along with strollers. Actually their two 3 yr old twins looked like they were having a great time. Food was great, service was great, the cruise director was amazing and funny, and there are adult only hot tubs and pool as well.... even a boxing ring in the fitness centre! We had a balcony room and though the balcony was nice we really didn't use it much. Room was great though not much smaller than most hotel rooms.

 

We're now booking our next cruise with the kids and I've read that Carnival does a pretty good job too... it was between Carnival Spirit 8 day and Royal's Radiance of the Seas for the 11 day Mexican Riviera itinerary for almost the same price. (Mar 22 - Apr 2, 2010 our spring break in Calgary). Since we're a family of five we need to book 2 rooms, so a little more $ as 2 kids are paying regular fare, but I consider the extra bathroom and tv (and the extra 170 square feet) worth it. If we had family travelling with us we could have booked the 3rd child in their room but oh well. It won't have the H20 zone or ice skating or the wave rider, but it does have a small waterslide on the top deck with a kids pool so I think they'll enjoy it... It is a smaller ship so we'll see how we do, we're looking at the deck 3 oceanview cabins midship.... Carnival would have been good too, more waterslides and perhaps a younger family atmosphere.

 

We compared to All inclusives like Club Med ($13k CAD for 2 weeks in Ixtapa), Beaches in Jamaica (again >$10k CAD) and we could go to the Mayan Riviera again at Sandos Playacar (very kid oriented smaller resort -great kids club -great beach -good food, for about $10k) but we've been there twice and would like to try somewhere else..... but most AIs don't allow 5 to a room (or if they do they aren't very good resorts) and two rooms often don't work if there aren't 2 adults in each or at least one adult per child (Cuba/Dom Rep). So in my opinion, even with this recession, all inclusive beach resorts are getting too pricey (and are are kinda boring once the sun sets). We've done Hawaii which was nice in a 2 bedroom condo, but I don't really feel like cooking and cleaning this time and a kids club gives us some adult time. So we'll try a family cruise vacation where we know the kids clubs are run with reputable staff and we'll have a classy dinner every evening and maybe some alone time too without kids.

 

Good luck with your planning!

Family of Five :)

[jerblu]

Thank you very much FamilfFiveCalgary. That was a splendid discussion and comparison.

[RENMama]

We have a group of 9 adults (36-60's) and 6 kids (2, 4, 6, 6, 8, 8) sailing Carnival Dream this Dec. 5 groups of people. We book seperately and we will mostly just meet up for dinner. Weve vacationed with each couple/family before and we are all in agreement that while its nice to know people on the ship, that nobody dictates what the group is doing. We will entertain ourselves and it if that includes them great, if not, thats great too. Its a vacation we all just happen to be on at the same time.

We may do a shore excursion or two with some of them.

Its always alot of fun!!

 

FTR, we are a family of 5 and will be staying in one of the Carnival Dreams new oceanview family rooms. We priced out 2 inside cabins and the oceanview room that sleeps 5was cheaper. Around 2500 for the week total for the 5 of us. The kids prices dropped to under 400 each for the week.