Best non-disney cruise for kids

[sm3ds]

In your opinion what is the best cruiseline for kids in the 8-10 age range. We liked disney, but its always the most expensive. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Were looking for a carribean cruise this Fall.

[crusinmama06]

You can't go wrong with the big 3 - Royal Caribbean, Carnival or NCL. Any of those options will have plently of kid friendly things to do onboard.

[cb at sea]

Yep...they have the most "stuff" for kids and families!

[SchoolNurseMom]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but RCL has Dreamworks characters aboard some of their ships and NCL has Nickelodeon. Right?

[Keith1010]

I highly recommend Princess Cruise Lines. I have found them to have the best children's program after Disney. Their programs are very well organized and I think perfect for those of your children.

 

Keith

[boulders]

I think Princess cruise lines has a BETTER program than Disney's. Carnival and RCCL were fine too.

 

The difference between ships in the RCCL fleet are significant. My first choices would be Oasis class, RCCL Freedom class, Princess, Disney, in that order. No one other than ds3 liked Carnival. :rolleyes:

[Rob_Jen]

One great thing about Disney is the camps are open late - 12:00.

 

Most other cruise lines - RCCL/Carnival for example the camps close at 10 and then you have to pay for baby sitting if the adults want to see a late night show or whatever. This put a damper on allot of things last year on the Carnival Dream when most late night comedy shows start at 10:30-11:00. If you have late dining then you can forget about doing anything afterwards if you have small children unless you want to pay for babysitting.

 

We went on the Carnival Dream last year and our kids (6 and 4) enjoyed the ship and camp but loved the Disney magic 2 years ago and last week. Disney the camps were great -the kids are able to dine with you in the dinning rooms if you choose and about 45 minutes into your meal the counselors will come pick up your kids and take them to camp so the adults can enjoy the rest of their meals.

[Megsie1000]

Not mentioned too often on this board, but we have sailed HAL frequently and my kids have always adored the kids club. And HAL makes it attractive for families to sail b/c they often offer $0, $49 or $99 fares for 3rd and 4th passengers in the same cabin.

 

My kids were 4 & 6 and my nephew was 9 on our last cruise and each one of them begged to go to the kids club every waking moment. HAL ships don't have big waterslides and mini golf courses, but they have all the usual beach stops for their Caribbean cruises and, IMO, a great quality kids club. The kids clubs are smaller but that is actually a plus because the counselors get more personal with the kids.

[Friend100]

Will be taking my 7 and 9 year-olds to our first HAL cruise and I do think that they will enjoy it.

[6rugrats]

Not mentioned too often on this board, but we have sailed HAL frequently and my kids have always adored the kids club. And HAL makes it attractive for families to sail b/c they often offer $0, $49 or $99 fares for 3rd and 4th passengers in the same cabin.

 

I agree; my kids count our HAL cruise as one of their favorite vacations they've ever taken. They loved it.

[crusinmama06]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but RCL has Dreamworks characters aboard some of their ships and NCL has Nickelodeon. Right?

 

Yes, that is correct. RCI is Dreamworks on their newer ships. NCL is Nick on Epic, Gem and Jewel.

 

One great thing about Disney is the camps are open late - 12:00.

 

Most other cruise lines - RCCL/Carnival for example the camps close at 10 and then you have to pay for baby sitting if the adults want to see a late night show or whatever. This put a damper on allot of things last year on the Carnival Dream when most late night comedy shows start at 10:30-11:00. If you have late dining then you can forget about doing anything afterwards if you have small children unless you want to pay for babysitting.

 

We went on the Carnival Dream last year and our kids (6 and 4) enjoyed the ship and camp but loved the Disney magic 2 years ago and last week. Disney the camps were great -the kids are able to dine with you in the dinning rooms if you choose and about 45 minutes into your meal the counselors will come pick up your kids and take them to camp so the adults can enjoy the rest of their meals.

 

I think it's a misrepresentation of the other cruise lines to say that the "camps close at 10pm" - that's not exactly true. The camps stay open until 3am in some instances. But yes, the surcharge does go into effect at 10pm on RCI and CCL and after 10:30 on NCL. But as far as the kids in the camp, they have NO IDEA that the camp has changed over from no charge to a for fee service.

 

They don't physically shut the camps down and ship them somewhere else for the "charge" babysitting. It's totally seamless.

 

And RCI has the "My Time Family Dining" where they will pick the kids up in the MDR and take the kids to Adventure Ocean as well. On at least 2 nights per cruise they can dine with the kids club. :)

[crusinmama06]

I guess this was good timing - Cruise Critic Just Released their "Best 0f 2011" List - Editor's Picks

 

Best New Ship - Disney Dream

Best Cruise Line for Families - Royal Caribbean

Best Overall Value - Carnival

Best Food - Celebrity

Best Buffet - NCL

Best Entertainment - Royal Caribbean

 

See the whole list here...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4659#

[Rob_Jen]

Yes, that is correct. RCI is Dreamworks on their newer ships. NCL is Nick on Epic, Gem and Jewel.

 

 

 

I think it's a misrepresentation of the other cruise lines to say that the "camps close at 10pm" - that's not exactly true. The camps stay open until 3am in some instances. But yes, the surcharge does go into effect at 10pm on RCI and CCL and after 10:30 on NCL. But as far as the kids in the camp, they have NO IDEA that the camp has changed over from no charge to a for fee service.

 

They don't physically shut the camps down and ship them somewhere else for the "charge" babysitting. It's totally seamless.

 

And RCI has the "My Time Family Dining" where they will pick the kids up in the MDR and take the kids to Adventure Ocean as well. On at least 2 nights per cruise they can dine with the kids club. :)

 

Yes the kids can stay in the same camp and they would not know. Its just the nickle and diming that we would have to spend another $20 to go see a comedy show after $10.

 

All lines have their plus and minuses. For the age my kids are at Disney has worked out great. Maybe in a few more years we will look into RCI again. But their prices on the newer ships are similar to Disney ships now. When weighing those options - Disney wins for now.

[crusinmama06]

Yes the kids can stay in the same camp and they would not know. Its just the nickle and diming that we would have to spend another $20 to go see a comedy show after $10.

 

All lines have their plus and minuses. For the age my kids are at Disney has worked out great. Maybe in a few more years we will look into RCI again. But their prices on the newer ships are similar to Disney ships now. When weighing those options - Disney wins for now.

 

I'll pay the $10 when Liberty of the Seas (a "newer" RCI ship) is starting at $349 right now and the lowest Disney 7 night is $658 ;)

[Onessa]

As a very young kid, DD was freaked out by characters and lots of other Disney stuff. We did a Disney cruise with her when she was a bit older (7YO) and the Disney themed stuff was what she classified as "for babies" and the age groups within their kids club were a bit large so it seemed she got a litter overwhelmed with lots of older kids kind of taking things over and then lots of littler kids getting in the way. The "tighter" age grouping on RCCI and NCL and Princess were more to her liking. It just fit her personality better.

 

For the 8-10YO set, the mainline cruise lines all have great kids programs. If your kids are into some of the more "extreme" type pursuits RCCI's big ships have lots of cool things going on - wave rider, ice skating, zip lines, rock climbing.