Best Family Cruise to do after the Oasis... Planning for next Spring Break

[cuti]

We went on the Oasis for Spring Break - we have 8 yr old twins and they LOVED IT! We want to book a cruise way ahead this time since prices seem significantly lower.

 

We are unsure what to do next. I feel a little spoiled since the Oasis had everything I can imagine. We are starting to look and are thinking maybe the Allure, but would it just feel like being on the Oasis, and is that a bad thing anyway... Or Freedom of the Seas as it is big and would have a lot to do, but not "as big." The size was fine for us as service onboard was efficient.

 

Or do we try another line. I had not cruised since I was a kid, prior to this one. So I am not super familiar with which are family oriented with tons for kids to do. I see the Celebrity Cruises by RCI, but will those be "too fancy." We like nice but not "fancy/dressy"?

 

What about NCL, which ships cater to kids and are decent in size? I have a feeling that we would want a "large" ship with lots to do (even though it will be smaller - unless we go on the Allure).

 

Anyway, I would love anyone's advice. Tell me what you can.

 

THANKS!!!

[crusinmama06]

Awww Cuti, you sure did take a beating before your cruise. :( So I am so glad you had such a wonderful time onboard! :D

 

Honestly, once my kids did the Freedom class, it was very strange for them to do any other ships. They always want to know where the H20 zone and ice skating rink are. :eek:

 

I think an easy next cruise would be on a Freedom class -- just go pick Freedom or Liberty and do the opposite itinerary of the one you just did on Oasis.

 

And then the cruise after that -- you can try something different if RCI hasn't mixed up the itineraries yet.

 

I am kind of holding my breath to see how my kids are going to react to Grandeur of the Seas -- it's a Vision Class -- so we'll see. I am tired of the same old "Big Ship" itineraries ;)

[cuti]

Thanks for your ideas. What about other brands? Or do you feel RCCL is the best when it comes to kids? What about NCL or Carnival - how did they compare?

[crusinmama06]

Thanks for your ideas. What about other brands? Or do you feel RCCL is the best when it comes to kids? What about NCL or Carnival - how did they compare?

 

I always get accused of playing favorites ;) -- so I'll be nice and just say that in my family, we have a preference for Royal Caribbean. And it's my opinion only and not meant to be anyone else's opinion -- and its not meant to offend anyone else who does not share this opinion. ;) Yes, that is my disclaimer. :p

 

We talk (ad nauseum) around here about the comparisons of the cruise lines, here is one of the most recent discussions...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1176678

[jmom5]

Thanks for your ideas. What about other brands? Or do you feel RCCL is the best when it comes to kids? What about NCL or Carnival - how did they compare?

We had only cruised RCCL until this past Sept. we took our kids on the Carnival Freedom because it saved us a good amount of money, and it was unanimous that we all wished we would have stuck with RCCL. Some people think they are comparable in many ways, but the ships alone can't even come close to being comparable IMO.

[JENANDGENE]

I will say I am an RCCL girl all the way.... don't know if I'll ever switch ..

 

I have an aversion to Carnival (too many horror stories)....

 

However I WILL say that even though I have never personally sailed NCL... the new EPIC looks pretty spectacular!!

[cuti]

Thanks - so the next ?

 

Do we try the Allure (since we did the Oasis). Or do we do Freedom of the Seas?

 

Allure would be Eastern Caribbean and Freedom Western that week we are looking.

[Mack2]

I am a fan of RCCL... my first cruise with them was when I was a kid back in the 80s aboard the Song of America.

 

I have tried other lines... I liked my Celebrity Mercury cruise (pre-kids), we've been aboard Carnival now, been aboard the Grand Princess.

 

I'm afraid that I still think RCI still offers the most for the kids. I had my reservations about the other lines.. Princess was okay, but I feel there's a higher concentration of cranky old people on it (bad run-in on that one)

 

I will say that no matter what you guys do, the kids will have fun... you can MAKE it fun, regardless of which line you take. The only comparisons you have are from memory.

 

Still... after something like the Oasis?

Fugheddaboudit!

It's like when my younger brother went on a first date with someone he liked. Guy took the girl to a dinner and show in Manhattan and a carriage ride around Central Park...

It's the FIRST DATE! What're you gonna do on the second date?

McDonalds?

How do you top a first date like that?

 

 

Well... for us, it's easy... we love cruising. So it for me, it doesn't matter what we're on for the second date... we're already in love.

 

I AM interested in the Norwegian Epic.

Nickelodeon themed, multiple water slides, bowling alley... Ice bar... It launches this summer... waiting for the CC reviews.

[Mack2]

Allure would be Eastern Caribbean and Freedom Western that week we are looking.

 

Freedom class vessels are fun... that was the last RCI cruise... it's not the Oasis, but it still has that nice streetscape feeling on the Royal Promenade.

 

Western Caribbean cruises are my favorite.

Dolphin Discovery @ Cozumel

Sting Rays or Turtle Farm (which has a freshwater pool) @ Grand Cayman

Cave Tubing @ Belize

Zip Lines @ Roatan

Dunns River Falls, Rocklands Bird Sanctuary, MArtha Brae river rafting @ Jamaica

 

Western itineraries are all about adventure to me. Eastern has good shopping.

[akcruz]

We are an RCI family when sailing with the kids. Since you did Oasis Eastern why not try Freedom Western?

[cuti]

Trying to decide between Freedom or the Allure for the next probably. We like the Eastern Caribbean better (or we think anyway). Next Spring Break - Allure is Eastern, Oasis and Freedom are Western. Tough choice - hmmmm.... In the end I know if I ask 100 people, I will get 100 answers... :) But I like hearing the "why" so I can judge for myself.

[boulders]

What about Disney's new ship, Dream?

[cuti]

Tell me more... My kids are 8 and we go to Disney once a year. And they and we seem to feel that is enough Disney. My kids are not super interested in characters anymore and so I am not sure if it would feel like too much Disney.

[jmom5]

If I could afford the Oasis or Allure (family of 7 here:p) I would choose that over anything. If you aren't worried about spending a little more between the Allure and Freedom, I would go on Oasis/Allure in a heartbeat! I'm really praying that their prices come down a bit once they are both out so we can try one of them!

[cuti]

I wish I knew if stuff would change between the Oasis and Allure. I know the ship will be identical - but what about shows, restaurants, etc - it would be nice for variety in that way.

[MnAsMom]

I would go with Allure or Freedom.... or try the new NCL Epic.

[cuti]

The Epic looks great but at the time of my girls' spring break it is on a 14 day transatlantic trip... So that will not work for us.

[Mack2]

I'll break out the pictures.

 

Roatan = Zip Lines (my 8 year old)

Roatan = Monkeys

 

 

Belize = Cave Tubing

[Mack2]

Cayman = Sting Rays

 

 

Cayman = Turtle Farm

[boulders]

Tell me more... My kids are 8 and we go to Disney once a year. And they and we seem to feel that is enough Disney. My kids are not super interested in characters anymore and so I am not sure if it would feel like too much Disney.

 

The Dream is Disney's first ship in 12+ years. It's inaugural sailing is January 26, 2011. It will be larger than Disney's current 2 ships. One of the new features is a water coaster.

 

Assuming my flight to Europe leaves in 3 weeks, I'll be on my first DCL cruise in mid-May and will be able to give my own personal opinion of DCL vs RCCL. However, I went on an Adventures by Disney trip (which I highly highly recommend by the way), and the attention to detail and service were fabulous. I hope to have the same level of service on my DCL cruise.

 

DCL ships have unique features in its dining, kids clubs and entertainment. Have a look at the Disney Magic and Wonder reviews to get an idea.

 

Although, in the past, DCL cruises have been quite expensive relative to other lines, the prices have come down quite a bit in the past year and are now more similar to Oasis.

[njmomof2]

Hey, Cuti, which week in April are you looking at for your spring break? You said Eastern on Allure so I'm assuming it's either April 3rd or April 17th?

 

We're booked on April 17th for our family. Me, dh, and 2 boys, who will be 13 and 8.5 on the cruise. We are doing it as a celebration of my older son's bar mitzvah, which is in February, 2011 (we were booked on Liberty 6 night in February, but they chartered the ship out and we had to rebook). I thought long and hard about what to do, given the enormous price difference, but the thing that got me was having to pull him out of school (7th grade) for a week vs. being on school break.

 

We booked a CV cabin on Allure (Oasis that week had no more availability). Now I keep checking and both ships are sold out of that category for my week. I figured that the extra space in the cabin (199 sf) would make up for the lack of a balcony, and really, the price difference was way more than I wanted to spend. I'd rather do a Western itinerary, but we had no choice since Oasis was sold out.

 

We're booked on Liberty for this August (sailed her in November 2007) and my boys love her. They really missed the H2O zone and the flowrider when we sailed Mariner the following March before she sailed west. Now, after cruising on Oasis, I'm sure there are things that your kids loved, but I also think they would enjoy a Freedom class ship.

 

Can't comment on NCL or the larger Carnival ships, as we've only cruise on the smaller ones. I did an overnight on the Dream, and thought that in comparison to Freedom or Liberty, it just didn't do it for me. But that's my opinion.

[cuti]

Janet - my kids have off the week of the 3rd next SB. Oddly that is not tied to Easter - and they have Friday and Monday off of Easter week too - lots of time off in April, but the only full week is the 3rd. So that is when we are looking. What is a CV category? Is tha a suite?

[njmomof2]

Nope, that's the Central Park View (no balcony) cabin. It gives us 199 sf of space, and the kids' beds are a sofa bed and an upper pullman, so the bunk like feel. It's larger than the balcony cabins in space, and less money.

 

I just can't justify spending all that money for a smaller space and the balcony. Even if I did 2 cabins, it's more money. So I have this one booked and will keep looking at higher categories to see if they move at all. If the price is right, I might consider moving up to a balcony, but not at the current prices.

 

The balcony rooms on the Freedom class are larger (214 sf) than on Oasis/Allure, and if that is a bit of a squeeze for us, I can't imagine doing smaller on the new ships. So I figured 199 sf we can manage.