Which Cruise for Active Sports Family?

[leeleemarie]

Looking for a 10-day cruise for next Easter break that is family-oriented & has a very active kids program for a sports-fanatic, mature, 11-year old boy.

Just got off the Dawn Princess yesterday (1st cruise). My husband & I are in our late 30's & traveled with our son, who is very well behaved & we couldn’t imagine vacationing without.

I’d have to say that I didn’t feel the Dawn Princess's 8-12 yr old program was suited for our son as his group shared a room & activities with the younger age group & would have rather been in the teen center. Unfortunately, the pool the kids were allowed in was too small and overcrowded. His personality & interests are more geared towards sports, so he preferred to spend his time on the basketball court, playing ping pong & shuffleboard with us & some friends he met onboard.

We're looking to find a cruise line/ship that offers a kids program with planned outside daytime activites to include pool games, water slide (or even their own pool), basketball, ping pong, shuffleboard, cards, rock climbing wall, golf, etc. As well as activities or tournaments or contests allowing kids & adults to enjoy together.

We're also looking for evening entertainment that is kid friendly, such as a sports night, arcade night, disco night, etc. As well as planned evening activities appropriate for his age that would allow the adults to enjoy a dinner or two alone.

Our past experience with all-inclusive resorts has definitely spoiled us, but my husband & I have found a new love…cruising! Now, we just need to find the right cruise for all of us. Any suggestions as to what cruise lines/ships we should investigate, as well as any personal experiences you could share would be greatly appreciated.

[natesfirewife]

We have sailed on Royal Caribbean and my kids have liked it, although there wasn't very much activities outside. We are going to try Norwegian with the CC Group Cruise aboard the Star for an 8 night sailing to Mexico. The ship stops in Acapulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo. It sails 04/02/06. I have been researching NCL and they have gotten good reviews when it comes to kids activities. The ship has a seperate kids area for the pool with water slides and a regular pool with more water slides. Email me if you have any questions, we already have a big interest from families with all ages of kids. Right now the kids that are booked range from 3 to 13.

 

Misty

[Soxfan05]

We booked a Voyager class ship with RCCL on the advice of others and our TA. We were told it was "more refined" than Carnival and offered great amenities for an active family.

[whale-watcher]

Kids programs must vary from sailing to sailing, because when we were on the Dawn in January, my 2 boys (then 6 and 11) had a great time. They had a free arcade night, a virtual golf night, a ping pong night, and basketball shoot-off. There was also a pre-teen disco night, but my 11yo boy wanted nothing to do with that...No pool games with the kids though -- i think they require parental supervision in the pools for safety reasons -- but the kids did get together at the pool for water games most afternoons. We didn't sail during a school vacation period, and with fewer kids on board they may have been able to have more activities and modify the kids program to meet my children's interests.

 

But for our next cruise, we are seriously considering the new, stretched RC Enchantment of the Seas, which will feature an additional pool and a bungee trampoline in addition to the rock wall after it goes into drydock this spring.

[natesfirewife]

I saw that too, the Enchantment looks pretty cool. :) We like the Radiance class ships with Royal Caribbean. They have the basketball, mini-golf, rock climbing wall, and much more. Can't wait to go in August on the Serenade to Alaska.

 

Misty