RCCL,Disney,NCL,CCC: cruise for 9 & 5 yr old

[iambrink]

I have been reading this site for a week now and love the info. I am planning a cruise for 2011 and am so confused. I am one of those people that research a trip to death before making a decision and this one is no different!

 

We have never been on a cruise as we were waiting for our children to get beyond naps! So my son will be 5 and my daughter 9. I want to do a 7 day Carribean and not fussy about ports as much as the ship. Except for going to the beach, I see our priorities being the onboard kids activities, like the camps, pools, etc. A water slide and nice pool would be priority.

 

We love Disney, but I am having a really hard time justifying the prices. I love the idea of having a balcony cabin as i can see my husband and i sitting out there when the kids go to bed. I have read so many positive things about Disney's island. Do any other lines have their own island? I don't want to spend more than $4000.00 for the four of us (airfare not included, just cruise) at least for this first cruise; not sure if this is a good budget :confused:

 

I would love thoughts on best ships for this age group. They would really like going to the camps; they love activities. I know this is very subjective, but I would still like to get some thoughts!

 

thanks!

[boulders]

I have been reading this site for a week now and love the info. I am planning a cruise for 2011 and am so confused. I am one of those people that research a trip to death before making a decision and this one is no different!

 

We have never been on a cruise as we were waiting for our children to get beyond naps! So my son will be 5 and my daughter 9. I want to do a 7 day Carribean and not fussy about ports as much as the ship. Except for going to the beach, I see our priorities being the onboard kids activities, like the camps, pools, etc. A water slide and nice pool would be priority.

 

We love Disney, but I am having a really hard time justifying the prices. I love the idea of having a balcony cabin as i can see my husband and i sitting out there when the kids go to bed. I have read so many positive things about Disney's island. Do any other lines have their own island? I don't want to spend more than $4000.00 for the four of us (airfare not included, just cruise) at least for this first cruise; not sure if this is a good budget

 

I would love thoughts on best ships for this age group. They would really like going to the camps; they love activities. I know this is very subjective, but I would still like to get some thoughts!

 

thanks!

 

I'm not a person who places a great value on a balcony. Granted, I'm a solo parent, but on a cruise, even my 4 year old stays up until about 10 p.m. By that time, we're all ready to turn in, or at least read a book. An oceanview works well for us.

 

Other cruiselines indeed do have their own islands. RCCL has Labadee and Cococay. I'm not sure about the other lines you mentioned.

 

$4K can be a bit tight for a balcony, but completely doable for an oceanview.

 

My thoughts on the best ship(s) for this age group - In my experience, both CCL and RCCL did a fine job with the kids clubs for this age group. I personally didn't like CCL though. I haven't experienced the other lines yet.

 

But, the ship that I've got booked for summer 2011 is the Disney Dream. 2 stops at Castaway Cay, water roller coaster ON the ship. Cost for 4 people is roughly $3200 for 5 nights.

 

I also like RCCL's ships. There are no water slides. But, they do have the splash zone on Oasis, Freedom, Liberty and Independence. They also have flowriders. Oasis sounds like an amusement park on steroids. IME, RCCL aims their product at families with teens more than families with younger children.

 

In the end, for me, it comes down to value for the dollar. For our family of 4, it will be the Dream in 2011.

[cb at sea]

Carnival has a private beach that they share with HAL. Celebrity shares with RCI. Princess has a private island, and so does NCL, but I've heard that stop is frequently skipped due to rough seas.

 

If you can swing a balcony, it's a great thing when you have "early to bed" kids!

 

Both RCI and Carnival have great kids programs, especially for kids in your age group. Get a brochure for both lines and look them over. Go to each cruiselines website and ask them to send you a brochure---they're free. Takes about 1 week or so.

 

If you're flexible on travel dates, shop the different timeframes...you'll find a big difference in prices from week to week....

[CeleBrat]

Seasoned travelers with kids here! And have been on all of those cruiselines, although we did travel on RCCL before we had kids. Here's what I can share:

 

Disney has the most comprehensive kids programs. NCL and CCL offers similar kids club programs, with the standard arts/crafts, parties, games.

 

All of those cruise lines have their own island:

 

CCL--some of their ships stop at the Holland America island, Half Moon Cay. For the kids, there are climb-on floating water toys anchored in the shallow area of the beach,as well as a water slide. Standard fare island buffet (burgers, chicken, fruit) and some bars to purchase drinks. We found the sand at this island to be the softest we've ever encountered. We did not find any of the kids activities or counselors to be available when we stopped there.

 

NCL--offers a private island, Great Stirrup Cay. It is more "authentic" as there is not a lot of infrastructure,and the paths of the island are unpaved. The buffet is just OK, and not-so-much tropical. The Kids counselors are present on the island and do run a few activities throughout the day. Overall, we thought this island to be sllightly "run down".

 

RCCL--offers 2 private islands. We were there over 20 years ago...so can't offer any current info.

 

Disney--Castaway Cay. Our favorite island, complete with a pier for the ship to dock at (no tendering needed), and a tram to drive you to the beach. The Black Pearl (from the Pirates movie) is anchored off-shore, and makes for a great photo backdrop with Capt Jack Sparrow. There is a separate family beach and adult beach, as well as a fenced-in kids play area with a full complement of kids activities throughout the day. Also currently being built is a water slide. Great lunch buffet, with lots of variety, and shaded pavilions to eat under.

 

Hope that helps!

 

CeleBrat

[boulders]

If you can swing a balcony, it's a great thing when you have "early to bed" kids!

 

This is true, but on our last 2 cruises, my dd, aged 10 and 11 at the times, wanted to stay at the late night parties at the kids clubs. Carnival was great to provide her with a counselor escort back to the cabin at 2 am. :eek: RCCL did not provide an escort. I sent her older brother to get her around 11 or 12. She definitely would have stayed out late every night, if I'd let her. The 4 year old did poop out at the kids camp around 9 pm. So, don't count on regular bedtimes holding up on the cruise, especially on a Caribbean cruise.

[beffiegirl]

Well my kids are 9 and 5 and they love rccl. We always go on rccl.(independance on jan.31st) Though I want to go on the disney dream in 2011. I feel the same about the price....I'm so cheap so I check prices every day waiting for something to drop in price, and they usally do. Our cruise was only $1800 for 5 of us. Oceanview. My husband is afraid of the balcony with our 5yr. she's a bit wild child.....Just keep checking on the cruises you like and maybe the price will go down. but for my family we like to keep busy so rccl is perfect...though relaxing would be nice. rccl private islands are ok...labadee being better cuz it has a splash zone. hope this helps.

[crusinmama06]

My kids are the exact same age as yours - 5 and 9 :D

 

At this point, their personal favorite cruise line and ship class is Royal Caribbean Freedom Class ships - so that would be Freedom of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas - the review with all of the pictures, kids menus and kids clubs schedules from that 2009 cruise is here and yes, Royal Caribbean has a private island....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=923729

 

Same kids, few months before, did Disney Wonder and Disney World...those pictures and review is here....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=846086

 

And in just MY OPINION, our least favorite is Carnival - we've sailed on them 3 times. I just don't think we will ever be a good fit for Carnival...the review is here...the thread was shut down...tempers tempers ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1004642

[iambrink]

I am leaning towards either Carnival or RCCL. I will keep an eye out for disney deals, but i think for our first cruise i want to start a little lower on the budget! I am curious about the slides. i noticed that the slide on the disney ship has an age limit. do any of the ships have water slides for adults? My husband just loves the slides. thanks for all the commnents about the private islabds. Even with all I have researched, I didn't realise that they all had them.

 

I am not sure how i feel about "dining times" with set times. That why I threw in the NCL because their new anytime dining. i know we always have the option of going to restaurants at any time. When we went to Disney in November we did all buffets. Entertaining kids while waiting for a meal is just not relaxing, so i booked all buffets and worked out great. Anyone else opt for buffets on the ships or is there enough going on to keep the kids occupied?

[chipmaster]

I have been reading this site for a week now and love the info. I am planning a cruise for 2011 and am so confused. I am one of those people that research a trip to death before making a decision and this one is no different!

 

We have never been on a cruise as we were waiting for our children to get beyond naps! So my son will be 5 and my daughter 9. I want to do a 7 day Carribean and not fussy about ports as much as the ship. Except for going to the beach, I see our priorities being the onboard kids activities, like the camps, pools, etc. A water slide and nice pool would be priority.

 

We love Disney, but I am having a really hard time justifying the prices. I love the idea of having a balcony cabin as i can see my husband and i sitting out there when the kids go to bed. I have read so many positive things about Disney's island. Do any other lines have their own island? I don't want to spend more than $4000.00 for the four of us (airfare not included, just cruise) at least for this first cruise; not sure if this is a good budget :confused:

 

I would love thoughts on best ships for this age group. They would really like going to the camps; they love activities. I know this is very subjective, but I would still like to get some thoughts!

 

thanks!

 

If money is no an issue, Disney. You pay a pretty premium but my memories of that cruise are timeless I think worth the premium to do once, over and over again.. you have to be a real mouse and cruise fanatic IMHO.

 

Can you have fun on other lines, YES. We enjoyed our Carnival. Everything I read says RCCL would be a bit better than our Carnival Experience. Princess, that was really good too.

 

Catch the theme, they are all good, if its your first cruise I don't think you can go wrong. I might suggest go talk to a TA, whether you buy from them is another thing. Each line markets a certain atmosphere, all are kid friendly. Depending on how picky or easy going if you are more the latter you'll be fine with any of the major lines.

[dreaminofsun]

My kids were 6 and 8 on our first cruise (Disney Wonder). The kids did not have a problem in the dining room. They especially liked animators pallet because it changes from black and white to colour during the meal. The food came out quickly so there really wasn't a lot of waiting involved. The kids can also eat with the kids club so if you want to enjoy a dinner alone that is also an option. Once my kids discovered that they didn't really want to eat with us anymore!

We went on the Carnival Glory the following year when they were 7 and 9 and again the were fine in the dining room but if you don't want to eat there every night there are plenty of other more casual places to eat.

Whichever line you choose the kids will likely love cruising!

[crusinmama06]

i noticed that the slide on the disney ship has an age limit. do any of the ships have water slides for adults?

I am not sure how i feel about "dining times" with set times. Anyone else opt for buffets on the ships or is there enough going on to keep the kids occupied?

 

Slides - Carnival slides are for adults. And I believe the NCL Epic has a toilet bowl slide - which would be for adults.

 

Set Dining Times - NCL has the Freestyle - HOWEVER, they add a surcharge to those many of their specialty restaurants ranging from $10 - $25pp. And the NCL ships are made up of many many specialty dining restaurants.

 

Carnival and Royal Caribbean have both recently added a My Time Dining option to their dining times. So you can choose main seating/late seating or "my time dining" which means you can choose your own dining time. And yes, many people go on ships and just choose to eat in the buffets, deli or pizza places.

[dreaminofsun]

Just wanted to add that we enjoyed having a set time for dinner, especially when we travelled with a group of extended family as it gave us a meeting time and time to spend together each night since often during the day everyone was off doing their own thing. Even when it was just us and the kids, they were at the kids club a lot during the day (because they wanted to be there) so dinner was a nice family time.

[mrspjotter]

We did RCI Explorer last Feb with our 3 kids 9,6,6 and they loved the ship - we liked the AO kids pool and waterslide at the back of the ship as the kids would spend all day here when we were at sea and we could sit and lounge in the sun and keep an eye on them - the slide isn't very big and DH did go down it once but I wouldn't encourage it!

 

We are sailing on RCI Freedom in a few weeks so it will be interesting see what they make of the Freedom Class Ship.