Sleeping family of four, which line? which stateroom category?

[Jo and Rob]

Advice please. We will be cruising with Oliver and Emily (who will be 9 and 6 by next Summer) I am very open minded as to which cruise line we take and am currently considering Princess, P&O, and Royal Caribbean.

 

I was introduced to cruising in Feb on the Crown Princess and was spoilt by a mini-suite (the children stayed with Granny and Grandad). We loved the extra attention and formal nights of Princess, P&O comes hightly recommended in terms of finesse and quality food, I shall get first hand experience of RCI next month with the children but need to have some insight before booking for next year. :confused:

 

My concern is the basic balcony rooms on Princess and P&O look tiny on the plans...where would the children sleep? Rob does love a balcony. Any pictures would be really helpful or advice!

[Twickenham]

If you're looking for finesse, I would have a look at Holland America as well.

 

I have stayed in quad balcony cabins on both Princess and Holland America - both times my parents and I, so 3 adults. The cabin on HAL was a bit bigger than on Princess, but the big thing for me was a sofa-bed instead of an upper berth, although I don't do uppers - on Princess, I slipped the mattress out of the berth onto the floor! Actually, I got to sample the upper berth mattress on HAL as well, as the steward placed the mattress onto my sofabed mattress for extra comfort. While Princess had foam mattresses in their upper berths, HAL had a proper sprung one. Also, as we were in a VD cabin on the Noordam, the balcony was huge!

 

HAL also has some excellent 3rd/4th person rates these days, so you might find that for similar cruises on HAL and Princess, HAL costs less.

[Wavesprite]

We cruised with our two children (3 and 6 at the time) on the NCL Star and everynight the couch turned into a double bed and they slept there, we were in a queen. We were in a balcony room. I booked a cruise for this coming October on the Carnival Splendor, balcony room (8a category) and there is a couch that turns into a twin, and a fold out of the wall bunk. We will be in a king.

[Jo and Rob]

2 votes for HAL so far, what are the kids clubs like?

[jmom5]

I have never been on HAL, but I have friends that have and that line definitely does not cater to kids. If you are making this a family/kids cruise, I would go with Royal Caribbean and one of their Freedom Class or the Oasis. There is so much for kids to do on those ships, they would have the time of their lives...fun for the adults too.

There are many options for rooms, depending on how much you want to spend. They have all different suites that would comfortably sleep 4, and they even have family staterooms that don't cost quite as much as a suite, but they sleep up to 6 people. The suites come with perks though, if you like that "pampered" feel. Note, the Jr. Suites on RC are larger than a normal balcony stateroom, but you don't get all the perks that the other suiterooms get. Maybe try a grand suite.

[Jo and Rob]

I have never been on HAL, but I have friends that have and that line definitely does not cater to kids. If you are making this a family/kids cruise, I would go with Royal Caribbean and one of their Freedom Class or the Oasis. There is so much for kids to do on those ships, they would have the time of their lives...fun for the adults too.

There are many options for rooms, depending on how much you want to spend. They have all different suites that would comfortably sleep 4, and they even have family staterooms that don't cost quite as much as a suite, but they sleep up to 6 people. The suites come with perks though, if you like that "pampered" feel. Note, the Jr. Suites on RC are larger than a normal balcony stateroom, but you don't get all the perks that the other suiterooms get. Maybe try a grand suite.

 

thanks for the advice on HAL that is exactly what I needed to know, as for a suite, unless we win the lottery that is not an option I'm afraid! I'm looking for the maximum space for the least amount of money while still having a balcony.

[jmom5]

Well, the category D1 balconies on RC are about 215 square feet, the Jr. suites are something like 300 square feet and they all have a balcony and have a larger bathroom (I believe with a tub, but not certain).

 

The family staterooms I talked about don't have balconies, although, on Oasis, I think they may have some with balconies. I am waiting on the price of the Oasis to come down before I book, so I am not too familiar with it yet.

 

Good luck choosing, watch out, cruising is highly addictive!

[RoadTripFanatic]

We cruised on HAL in '07 w/ DD who was 6 1/2 at the time. We had a cabin for three and she slept on the pull-out sofa in our room. We did have a balcony.

DD loved the HAL kids club. I was very happy with the care that she received from them. They were very attentive and very friendly.

[Twickenham]

HAL is definitely going for the family market more than they used to. Our HAL cruise was a 10-day on the Noordam. I cannot comment on the Kids Club, but there were quite a few children on board and all seemed to be having a good time. If going with HAL I would definitely go with one of the larger ships, as they seem to cater more to families.

 

I think you probably need to do some research on the kids clubs of the various lines you're interested in, and assess the opinions given with what's important to you. Example: a review of Princess' desserts I read said they weren't sweet enough - well, as I do not like overly-sweet desserts, that for me was a positive. My point is - we can give you the information, but only you know what will untimately be the most important for you and your family.

[Wavesprite]

I wouldn't vote for HAL either. We took my son when he was 2 and he was the only child on board. He couldn't go in the kids club at all...the cruisers were a little "older".

[lmg1230]

We have cruised on both Princess (on the Diamond Princess in Alaska and the Emerald Princess in the Baltics) and HAL (once on the Eurodam in the Caribbean) with our two daughters (currently ages 13 and 6). They loved the kids club on both ships, however, if pressed to choose one then my older daughter has a slight preference for Princess. If you are on one of the larger ships, and particularly if you are cruising during school holidays, then I think both lines are child-friendly.

 

I preferred the decor/ambiance on HAL slightly over Princess and the reduced rates for 3rd/4th guests gives a definite advantage over what we have to pay on Princess. However, I am now looking at booking a Mediterranean cruise for the summer 2011 and we are leaning towards Princess primarily because of the sleeping arrangements. On HAL we had a full suite which had a pull-out sofa that meant that the two girls had to sleep together (not a good thing as the little one is a kicker!). Also the pull-out was directly across from our bed which meant that for my youngest daughter to go to sleep then all the lights in the cabin needed to be out. On Princess we book a mini-suite which has a pull-out sofa and a pull-down berth which means the girls have their own beds. As well it is shaped more as a long rectangle rather than a square so the pull-out is at one end of the room and our bed at the other which means our little one can go to bed and I can still have a reading lamp on while she falls asleep.

 

Lisa

[MnAsMom]

I have only cruised on RCCL out of the lines you mentioned. My children had a FANTASTIC time (they liked it so much we are cruising again in 2 weeks). Royal Caribbean really took care of our children... I have nothing but good things to say about Adventure Ocean. Our boys are 4 and 8.

 

Edited to add that we had a Balcony cabin and the sofa pulls down into a bed for the kids to sleep together. They liked it... I thought it was rather firm though. I will be asking for some kind of mattress pad this time to try to make it a bit more comfy! I think the kids were so tired after their days in camp or on shore they would have happily slept on the floor! :) We loved having a balcony... don't know if we would cruise again without one!

[smoothy]

Here is a photo of a balcony room on the Celebrity Millenium set up for 4 people. It works very well for the space available, we had the attendant fold up the couch but leave the pullman down during the day so the boys could watch a show or read a book and be out of the way (the few times they weren't in the kids club that is :) ).

 

[crusinmama06]

I see you'll be sailing on Independence in June -- don't know which balcony category. We've been on Independence and Freedom (her sister ship). On Independence we had a Junior Suite center AFT (1406 and 1706) which is larger than a regular JS and on Freedom, we opted for the Grand Suite (1298).

 

If you are traveling with 4 and choose to go on RCI and can swing the JS, you might want to do it. The JS comes with the bath tub and walk in closet. It's bigger than the regular balcony. On our next cruise, we'll be right back in an AFT JS.

 

This is JS 1406 on RCI Independence of the Seas

 

 

 

 

 

 

[imsulin]

We cruised on HAL in '07 w/ DD who was 6 1/2 at the time. We had a cabin for three and she slept on the pull-out sofa in our room. We did have a balcony.

DD loved the HAL kids club. I was very happy with the care that she received from them. They were very attentive and very friendly.

 

I was just going to say that on my last two HAL cruises the kids on-board seemed to be having a great time with the Kids' Club activities! The staff during dinner was also very attentive, and I remember seeing some "custom-made" desserts for them. HAL also has great 3/4 rates, and their cabin and bathroom sizes are bigger than RCI (at least the ships I've been on). I wouldn't discount HAL just yet. It's a classy line with great service!

[rolloman]

I was just off the Independence of the Seas and I agree 100% with Cruisinmama. The Aft junior suites are perfect for what you are looking for on any Freedom Class ship. (Liberty, Freedom, Independence). The balconys in the aft are HUGE!

[Jo and Rob]

We have an E1 balcony on Indy and it is a connecting room so fingers crossed that the neighbours won't be noisy!!

[Alison1466]

We have 2 girls age 7 and 9 now. We have been on Disney, Carnival and Holland America with them. Disney and Carnival had great kids clubs and tons of kids on board. HAL had fewer kids, but my girls are pretty shy and really only want to hang out with each other, us and the kids' club staff so they liked HAL alot! We are going on a 35 day cruise with them this summer (HAL Maasdam Voyage of the Vikings) and this is the first time we haven't had 2 rooms or a mini suite so this may be an adjustment. But, we talked about the options (going to the Med for 10 days in 2 rooms for the same cost as going on the VOV for 35 days in 1 room) and decided as a family to "go for it". So...I am sure I will post a review about my adventures!

I guess my point is--you have a vacation budget--then look at a few different lines and see what you can get for your money. The 3/4 passenger rate on the Maasdam was $499 (for 35 days!!!) You just can't beat that. Other cruises charge almost full fare for the 3rd/4th passenger.

Good Luck!

[jmom5]

That is really cheap for 35 days! I wish I could go on a 35 day cruise, that would be pure heaven to me! But for our upcoming Liberty of the Seas cruise in September, we are only paying $200.50 for the 3rd/4th guest for 7 nights, which to me is a steal and that's the same price we paid for the 3rd/4th guest on our first (and last :D) Carnival cruise last September. I think it all depends on the time of year and obviously supply and demand for what they charge.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Advice please. We will be cruising with Oliver and Emily (who will be 9 and 6 by next Summer) I am very open minded as to which cruise line we take and am currently considering Princess, P&O, and Royal Caribbean.

 

I was introduced to cruising in Feb on the Crown Princess and was spoilt by a mini-suite (the children stayed with Granny and Grandad). We loved the extra attention and formal nights of Princess, P&O comes hightly recommended in terms of finesse and quality food, I shall get first hand experience of RCI next month with the children but need to have some insight before booking for next year. :confused:

 

My concern is the basic balcony rooms on Princess and P&O look tiny on the plans...where would the children sleep? Rob does love a balcony. Any pictures would be really helpful or advice!

 

We like our space, but won't pay the $$$ for a full suite - rather take a longer vacation! :)

 

With two kids, now 10 & 7, we've travelled on Carnival - category 11, RCI - Junior Suite, and Princess - minisuite. We've been comfortable and had enough space for all the kids' stuff!

Some ships have a double sofa bed, others have one lower sofabed and one upper pulldown. You'd have to check the configuration of each cabin / ship specifically. Consider also whether your two will sleep well together in a double pull out sofa bed - we used to put pillows between them, but as they grow, this will be more difficult to do.

 

The nice part of the bigger cabins instead of the balcony, is that the kids beds' are a few feet beside you, in the sitting area.

 

In a regular balcony, what usually happens is that the kids are both in uppers, and the uppers are pulled out of the ceiling or wall right above the regular beds, so the kids are literally right on top of you. There is no sitting area.

 

Some ships have water play areas and water slides. Others don't. Some RCI ships and Carnival (I know you didn't mention Carnival, but they should be mentioned here) have waterslides. The RCI ones are smaller slides than on the Carnival ships. Our kids really liked the Carnival slides. Some RCI ships have rock climbing walls.

 

RCI & Carnival's pools are salt water (filtered, but from the ocean - so very salty). Princess' pools are fresh water. Princess does not have any water slides or water play areas.

 

All lines have kids' clubs - my kids have loved most of them. The one time they didn't was due to the staff - not as warm and fuzzy as on some other ships.

 

Princess has an Unlimted Ultimate drink card where you can get floats and smoothies and other virgin foo foo drinks in addition to the pop. Other lines don't offer this.

 

Princess has extended hours for full menu on its buffets, so you can feed the kids a full proper meal at an odd time. Carnival & RCI cut back on the buffet offerings after 2 pm, so mostly hot dogs & burgers, and otherwise nothing much else until dinner time. We liked the flexibility of the longer offered full buffet on Princess, especially when the kids were younger.

 

I think (like some other posters here) that you need to figure out what matters to your kids specifically, and pick the ship with the activites that they would prefer.

 

Enjoy!

[jmom5]

All of the Freedom class ships on RCCL and the Genesis class ships (Oasis and the soon coming Allure) have all freshwater pools and water play areas.

And all RCCL ships have the rock climbing wall.

[Jo and Rob]

We have just found a good deal on the Eclipse so we are really interested with your views with Celebrity too please. We are looking at a partially obstructed balcony C2, no idea as yet where! We were even considering an outside cabin to try and keep the costs down so we are delighted if we can get a balcony after all.