Holiday cruises loaded with kids?

[nanny4sure]

We took a cruise out of Miami for Thanksgiving. Everything was great except for the 1000 kids onboard and obviously we were one floor down from about 30 of them practicing for a marathon at midnight. I love kids, but I was amazed at how many young, 10-12, ran around unsupervised at some odd times. So moving forward and thinking about cruising again when I know kids are on break, does anyone have experience with Christmas cruising?

[firefly333]

I got off a short cruise earlier this week and plenty of kids running up and down the halls. First time I think Iv seen it that its been a bit much. my roommate got up and slammed our cabin door as hard as she could. I said to go out in her best liberarian voice and tell them to quit it.

 

I think you just have to expect it. We had dinner with a teacher who said she was surprised just how many kids were on our cruise.

[BruceMuzz]

Christmas and American Thanksgiving Cruises always carry the largest number of children.

The fact that the children are trying to behave like children is not the problem.

 

The parents who fail to behave like adults are the issue.

 

I am continually amazed at the number of teachers on these holiday cruises who are shocked and upset at the high number of children onboard.

 

Don't these teachers talk to their students during the period before the holidays?

Certainly the fact that so many are going on cruises with their parents would come up in classroom conversation, wouldn't it?

 

When I have the teachers in my office, complaining bitterly about all the children on a Christmas Cruise, I ask them how they would expect these children to take a cruise at another time, when they are required to go to school.

 

I receive the same response every time.

"This is the only time a teacher can take a vacation. Why must the children go at the same time?"

[paul929207]

Holiday cruises always attract lots of families.

[1025cruise]

If kids are not scheduled to be in school, odds are there will be a lot of them on a cruise. Its just the way it is.

 

We cruised right AFTER Thanksgiving, and I don't believe there were that many kids on board.

[luddite]

Our rule of thumb is to not cruise when kids are on a school break.

[riffatsea]

Now that I am retired from teaching, we ALWAYs try to vacation when most of the younguns are still in class!!

Thanksgiving and Christmas are sure to be full of families.

[Happy ks]

Christmas cruises are not only full of kids, they are full of extended families. Full to the point of being the most crowded cruises of the year, plus one of the most expensive times to cruise.

 

We took a couple Christmas cruises on a smaller ships, Monarch of the Sea and Vision of the Sea, when they were still here in CA. Although crowded, not so bad. Last year we cruised on Mariner of the Sea and what a difference! Crowds everywhere, people yelling to be heard, the only place of solice we could find was our own balcony. The ship was lovely and we did go again last April and the experience was totally different with a less crowded ship.

 

We will more than likely not cruise at Christmas again unless we can go on a smaller ship that doesn't attract large family groups.

[patseacruiser]

The parents who fail to behave like adults are the issue.

 

Amen. I took a 2 week cruise over Christmas and New Years. Obviously you'd expect A LOT of children because who would cruise the holiday and leave the small ones home. But the 9-14 year olds were horribly behaved. The captain had to enforce a curfew. They wandered the ship unsupervised at all hours of the day and night. They stole decorations off doors or just broke them and left them on the floor in front of the door. I don't blame the children. The holidays are very exciting - even to me as an adult - so of course they can be a little rowdy but the parents that get on the ship as if it's their vacation and no one else's is what upset me.

 

That said it was still fun and exciting and I'd probably do it again in a heart beat.

[jewopaho]

Our rule of thumb is to not cruise when kids are on a school break.

 

Bingo! Holidays, summer, spring break (which also includes hordes of America's future leaders, many of them pretty well hammered by noon) ... stay away; it's that simple. There have been dozens of threads about this very topic, and we've yet to resolve the issue. Be it the kids, their parents ... whomever! They always seem to disrupt an otherwise terrific vacation. Add to this, the fact that these are the most costly times to cruise, and it's a no-brainer. We generally sail between Thanksgiving and Christmas, just before and after spring break ... never an issue with kids run amok.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We used to enjoy cruising at Christmas -- then suddenly families caught onto this idea. Many families think it is a great holiday -- they turn the kids loose on the ship while they do their own thing.

 

We gave up Christmas cruises because of this -- we are past the age of wanting to deal with unruly children -- pushing in line at the Lido -- running around the ship at all hours of the day and night.

 

And the crew have a hard enough time doing their own jobs that they shouldn't have to policing the children.

[luddite]

Amen. I took a 2 week cruise over Christmas and New Years. Obviously you'd expect A LOT of children because who would cruise the holiday and leave the small ones home. But the 9-14 year olds were horribly behaved. The captain had to enforce a curfew. They wandered the ship unsupervised at all hours of the day and night. They stole decorations off doors or just broke them and left them on the floor in front of the door. I don't blame the children. The holidays are very exciting - even to me as an adult - so of course they can be a little rowdy but the parents that get on the ship as if it's their vacation and no one else's is what upset me.

 

That said it was still fun and exciting and I'd probably do it again in a heart beat.

 

Well said.

The ships are over-full and the staff is strained to deal with the xtra pax.

 

It really isn't fair to blame the kids for their horrible behavior as it is a direct result of bad parenting. We're well into a second generation of bad parenting which REALLY makes it a serious problem.

 

Ah well......Say law vee.

[compozer]

Now that I am retired from teaching, we ALWAYs try to vacation when most of the younguns are still in class!!

Thanksgiving and Christmas are sure to be full of families.

 

 

Our thoughts also but when I told our 30 year old son that we just booked a Med cruise next fall he said " you never take me on any cruises anymore". So I booked one next Christmas. He teaches and only has a week vacation at Christmas and spring break so we don't have much of a choice.

[RedHeadTexan]

Our first cruise was a Holland America Thanksgiving Cruise. After 7 days with a bunch of unruly kids with no parental supervision waking us up at all hours of the night (like 2-3 am), we decided we would only cruise when school was in session. Our last 4 cruises have been wonderful, and we continue to avoid school holidays like the plague. :D

[paul929207]

We usually have 5 or fewer children on our cruises.

 

We take longer cruises

We sail from non-US ports

We sail on smaller (670 passenger) ships.

[kath00]

I agree with what others say. I have a 6 and 11 year old and we sailed on the Mariner for THanksgiving this year and it was just waaaay too crowded. It's not that the kids were a problem, it's just that everything was packed and I didn't like the over-run feel of the ship, especially the shows and buffet. There were 1000 kids on the cruise.

 

This is in direct contract to our March 21st Mariner cruise, where there were 800 children on board (still a lot) but the whole thing felt much more relaxed and not nearly as chaotic. I can't put my finger on it but when all the rooms have 3rd and 4th passengers, the ships just aren't big enough anymore.

 

We have a Disney Xmas cruise scheduled for 2011 and I am very seriously thinking of rescheduling it to Spring Break 2012 instead. I just don't think I want the crazy crowds to deal with again. The staff were just trying to "get through" their days and they were not friendly or supporting -- just all business. It changed the tone of the whole cruise.

 

Katherine

[enyliram]

just off the NCL Epic dec18-dec25. there were 1300+ kids travelling with families. amazingly, never saw an unruly child, nor teen.i always travel around christmas time and this is the first cruise that everyone seemed well behaved. even so, that 1300+ number represents about 1/4 of the total passengers which is way more than most people would like. unless one of the kids were theirs.

[dustyroad]

this is why i dont go on holiday cruises or when the kids will be out of school. i do go too alaska in the summer but the kids dont seem too be a problem like with other times of the year or too southern itineries. besides, i live in the northwest and cant be certain i will get out of my airport too get too the ship if a big snow storm comes up too close the airport down for god know how many days. so far i have been very, very lucky not having problems with noisy or distruptive passengers.

 

i hope i didnt just jinxed my self :eek:.

[compozer]

BUT if that is your only choice - we want to spend Christmas with our son and we want to get out of the cold and snow for a week and that's the only time he can go. We don't want to do the Caribbean in the summer. We did spring break 13 years ago and said never again. At Christmas he gets out that Friday at 1:30 (cruise is Saturday) so we still could make a late flight to FLL but with spring break, he doesn't get out early and that means fly in the same day as the cruise - never want to do that again.

 

Maybe it is time to put pressure on the cruise line. Couldn't they hire a few extra security people to walk the halls or something??? Or post RULES and then enforce them.. They put unruly passengers off at the next port, can't they do the same with the families of these kids? If they make the parents accountable, maybe they would shape up. Oh - maybe that won't work - I volunteer at our local library. We are the after school babysitters. It is not fun - why I stay - I don't know. Many parents just don't care anymore what their kids do As long as they stay out of their hair.

 

I booked a suite so we won't have to deal with the buffet & crowds and we will have a nice balcony so we can just chill out there and maybe even eat there every meal but that's a lot of money not to be able to use all of the ships facilities. We have an aft cabin and now I'm just wondering if the kids might discover the back stairs (right next to our cabin) and the banging of that door could drive us nuts. I'm sure the "crew only" sign won't mean anything to them. And they probably can't lock it since it is an emergency exit.

 

Rats - I guess I have somt time to decide.

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

We sailed on the Freedom of the Seas last Christmas along with 2,000 children. NEVER again!

[STARFISH*4]

December 2008 second week to the Mexican Riviera 1000 kids:eek:last December 2 weeks to the Panama Canal--30 kids:)...this year to the Caribbean more than 30 but less than 1000:Di was surprised how few kids were actually cruising...which was GREAT!!

[Texas Tillie]

BUT if that is your only choice - we want to spend Christmas with our son and we want to get out of the cold and snow for a week and that's the only time he can go. We don't want to do the Caribbean in the summer. We did spring break 13 years ago and said never again. At Christmas he gets out that Friday at 1:30 (cruise is Saturday) so we still could make a late flight to FLL but with spring break, he doesn't get out early and that means fly in the same day as the cruise - never want to do that again.

 

Maybe it is time to put pressure on the cruise line. Couldn't they hire a few extra security people to walk the halls or something??? Or post RULES and then enforce them.. They put unruly passengers off at the next port, can't they do the same with the families of these kids? If they make the parents accountable, maybe they would shape up. Oh - maybe that won't work - I volunteer at our local library. We are the after school babysitters. It is not fun - why I stay - I don't know. Many parents just don't care anymore what their kids do As long as they stay out of their hair.

 

I booked a suite so we won't have to deal with the buffet & crowds and we will have a nice balcony so we can just chill out there and maybe even eat there every meal but that's a lot of money not to be able to use all of the ships facilities. We have an aft cabin and now I'm just wondering if the kids might discover the back stairs (right next to our cabin) and the banging of that door could drive us nuts. I'm sure the "crew only" sign won't mean anything to them. And they probably can't lock it since it is an emergency exit.

 

Rats - I guess I have somt time to decide.

 

Rather than booking an expensive suite on a mass market line, have you considered a regular cabin on one of the luxury lines? I can promise you that there won't be 1,000 kids, as there won't be 1,000 total passengers!

[MrsPete]

Yes, we sailed once on thanksgiving, and we won't do it again. We expected the ship to be full, but we did not anticipate just how full it would be. Negatives about sailing on a holiday:

 

This was the only royal cruise we have ever taken on which we didn't get a price drop. Even mid-summer, we had price drops.

 

Everything was crowded. The pool, the windajammer, the shows . . . The worst was that we were not assigned to a table in the main dining room a (this was pre-my time dining); rather, we were assigned to a little room off to the side. It felt like being at the kids' table.

 

The number of kids was way beyond what we expected. The kids' clubs were overfilled, and many kids did run wild.

 

We will not sail on a holiday again.

[abhb]

As a teacher, I can only go when kiddos go:mad:

[compozer]

Rather than booking an expensive suite on a mass market line, have you considered a regular cabin on one of the luxury lines? I can promise you that there won't be 1,000 kids, as there won't be 1,000 total passengers!

 

 

Our last two cruises in suites have been so much fun and we just love the aft cabins. We really don't like the crowds around the pools and prefer to be on our balcony. We usually meet some really fun people and it's like a private party in our cabin rather than yelling above other people in the varies lounges. They say once you are in a suite, it's hard to go back to a reguar room. We have been on other lines but right now would like to stay with Princess. I suppose I could give my TA a call and see what else might be alvailable. thanks for the suggestion.