Need a new cruise line -- Advice?

[seafarer71]

Hello All,

 

My wife and I are seasoned cruisers who have been cruising since the mid 90's. We have sailed on Royal Carribean, Princess multiple times, and Carnival one time waaaaay back in 1994. Since having kids (now 7 and 5) we've been on Disney once, and most recently, just got off the Carnival Glory this past weekend. The Gory was the single worst cruise I've been on. I loved the ports, but hated just about everything else. The food was cafeteria quality (at best), lines for everything, rude passengers, and the crew seemed overworked and miserable. All shows were either not appropriate for kids, or far too late for them to attend. My kids loved the kids club on Disney, and we practically had to drag them out of them. On the Glory, the kids couldn't wait to leave after 1.5 hours, and didn't want to come back. It was also obvious to me that the kid's club staff also had morale issues, and it was evident in their interactions with the kids.

 

I booked Carnival because I was told by several people that the kids programming was great, but I just didn't see it. We love Disney, but often find it price prohibitive. We are an easygoing family, and want to cruise again, but I will not sail with Carnival again.

 

Perhaps cruising has changed on us, and we just miss the "way it used to be". Or perhaps we just haven't found the right line I do know that I prefer smaller ships....not the mega ships so prevalent today. I'm attracted to Holland and Celebrity, but am not sure if these lines would offer much for the kids. I'm nervous about Royal in that I think it would be very similar to Carnival.

 

Can anyone offer me any advice on choosing another line to try? Any input/advice would be appreciated.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I can compare lines I've done NCL(3x), Carnival(1x), Royal(3x), Costa(1x), Oceania(1x), Cunard(3x), Holland(2x), Princess(5x) and Celebrity(8x).

 

We just came back from Alaska on Celebrity Infinity and loved it so much that we are booked on Celebrity Summit (8/12/12). I am also planning to return to Alaska next summer and am doing a B2B on Celebrity Millenium. That's how much we loved it.

 

Hands down I like Celebrity. They have an extremely good crew, great dining options, great entertainment, and the ships never feel crowded. The youth staff is exceedingly caring and friendly. The atmosphere in the youth program is fun without being hyper. My son absolutely adores Celebrity and begged to go back. We did Princess and Holland last summer and he wasn't as thrilled with either of those lines. In fact, I thought perhaps our cruising days were over last year but Celebrity has made us addicts again.

[Onessa]

We've done NCL(1x), Royal(6x), Princess(2x) and Celebrity(2x). All had great kids programs -- Princess was the most structured and I think the kids deserve some down time as well. My DD loved NCL the one cruise we did with them. Quality of counselors I've give to Royal, and we've run into the same counselors on a couple of cruises so they seem to have good retention. Celebrity seems really nice and DD liked the first cruise we did with them, but on the second cruise she had aged into their teen club and she did not like their teen program as much as RCCI's (the counselors had let some 11YOs age "up" and that did not go well with the 12-14YO age group :))

 

RCCI is always nice because even if the kids programing does not interest the kids, there is plenty of other stuff on board to keep them occupied.

[Keith1010]

Celebrity has a very nice children's program and to me is great for both kids and the parents.

 

Keith

[Sweetiepieani]

We've cruised Carnival since 2001 and we now have a 10 month old. We did research and ended up booking a RC cruise because Carnival really didnt have a program for kids under 2 years old. Disney was just too expensive. We sale in August-lets see how RC is.

[crusinmama06]

We had the same experience on our 3 Carnival cruises. I think you hit the nail on the head - it seems like a morale problem in the kids club.

 

We have had the BEST experience with NCL Kids Crew and RCL Adventure Ocean. We keep jumping back and forth between these ships because of how wonderful the counselors have been with my girls.

 

The great service extends to the crew as well :)

[Cruise a holic]

Hello All,

 

My wife and I are seasoned cruisers who have been cruising since the mid 90's. We have sailed on Royal Carribean, Princess multiple times, and Carnival one time waaaaay back in 1994. Since having kids (now 7 and 5) we've been on Disney once, and most recently, just got off the Carnival Glory this past weekend. The Gory was the single worst cruise I've been on. I loved the ports, but hated just about everything else. The food was cafeteria quality (at best), lines for everything, rude passengers, and the crew seemed overworked and miserable. All shows were either not appropriate for kids, or far too late for them to attend. My kids loved the kids club on Disney, and we practically had to drag them out of them. On the Glory, the kids couldn't wait to leave after 1.5 hours, and didn't want to come back. It was also obvious to me that the kid's club staff also had morale issues, and it was evident in their interactions with the kids.

 

I booked Carnival because I was told by several people that the kids programming was great, but I just didn't see it. We love Disney, but often find it price prohibitive. We are an easygoing family, and want to cruise again, but I will not sail with Carnival again.

 

Perhaps cruising has changed on us, and we just miss the "way it used to be". Or perhaps we just haven't found the right line I do know that I prefer smaller ships....not the mega ships so prevalent today. I'm attracted to Holland and Celebrity, but am not sure if these lines would offer much for the kids. I'm nervous about Royal in that I think it would be very similar to Carnival.

 

Can anyone offer me any advice on choosing another line to try? Any input/advice would be appreciated.

 

I am a fan of celebrity, but when we travel with our family that includes kids of all ages Royal Caribbean is the best. If you can go on the Oasis or Allure, you will be in for a real treat! So many activities for kids and adults. Many different venues for dining. The shows are great. They have the best overall facilities of any other cruise line for all ages. I have also sailed on the Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas- also wonderful but not as spectacular as the Oasis class. The cabins are very comfortable and we had a central park view connecting cabin on the 9th floor which worked out wonderful for us. The kids were in the first cabin and we were next door. We had two bathrooms and plenty of light and cabin storage for all. The cost wasn't prohibitive either. The cost of a mini suite for four would have been about the same, and only one bathroom and no privacy for all. Enjoy your cruise and consider Celebrity's sister line, Royal Caribbean.

[2CuteKiddies]

RCL's Adventure Ocean is great. Our daughter was 3 1/2 when we did a 4-day on Monarch of the Seas last year. The dining room environment on that ship was terrible for young kids (maybe because it was a shorter cruise), but Adventure Ocean was great! They did some very cool activities, including Pirate Night where the kids dressed up like pirates, marched in a pirate parade to the ship's theater, and did a skit onstage!

 

We did a Carnival cruise when she was 2 1/2 and she loved the kids club, but the activities and Adventure Ocean staff really stand out.

[Julienatul]

We had the same experience on our 3 Carnival cruises. I think you hit the nail on the head - it seems like a morale problem in the kids club.

 

We have had the BEST experience with NCL Kids Crew and RCL Adventure Ocean. We keep jumping back and forth between these ships because of how wonderful the counselors have been with my girls.

 

The great service extends to the crew as well :)

 

I agree with cruisinmama06. We have experienced the best kids club on NCL and now that is our "line of choice" for price and quality. I am not pleased with Carnival lately although my kids always have fun in the kids club but as you say the morale and quality has declined greatly.

[Sherylee]

Hi everyone. I've been cruising on Norwegian for the longest time and find they are kid friendly on every ship I've been on. I just went on Norwegian Gem in August and they had babysitting, a huge slide at the pool area, rock climbing, etc. My sister has a one year old and she also found that Norwegian is great for kids. Does anyone have children under a year old?

[crusinmama06]

Hi everyone. I've been cruising on Norwegian for the longest time and find they are kid friendly on every ship I've been on. I just went on Norwegian Gem in August and they had babysitting, a huge slide at the pool area, rock climbing, etc. My sister has a one year old and she also found that Norwegian is great for kids. Does anyone have children under a year old?

 

Nope - not anymore. My girls started cruising at 7 months. The one started on Disney - the other on Norwegian.

 

If I was cruising with a 1 year old again - it would be on Royal Caribbean - in the past few years - they have moved ahead of the pack with what they offer that age group.

[sprockie]

I've been on Hal and Carnival with my kids (now 6 and 10). We like HAL very much (can't resist the 3rd and 4th passenger free rates) - just booked one for next winter. We're not nightlife people, but enjoy the great food, itineraries and HALF MOON CAY is voted #1 private island - it's magnificent. My kids use the kids club on occasion, we spend most of our time together. The kids club is small, but many have given it great reviews for the individualized attention. Yes HAL attracts an older crowd, and we are in our 40's. This works well for us because there never seems to be overcrowding at the pool etc. - smaller ships as well.

Carnival, offered a decent product as far as kids clubs, but it was a bit on the wild side for us - I can do without videos playing all day on the big screen at the pool so loud I can't hear my kids.

Hope this helps you in some way.

[njm5378]

I do not have a lot of experience but can speak to the experience I have. Our children 14,11,6 all loved the activities suited to their age groups on Freedom of the seas. We couldn't get our 6 year old out of adventure ocean except to go to the splash park, she never wanted to leave. Our 11year old loved the Flowrider and even did private lessons. And our 14 year old loved the teen lounge and the movie screening room. The whole family enjoyed the Dreamworks breakfast and the shows. Very well suited to familys. We have close friends that did a Disney cruise. Their words were they loved it because they love the disney characters, but if you do not have strong ties to the disney characters it is probably not worth the money. They have chosen to go back to disney world versus the cruise this winter.

[kitty9]

My God kidlets love RCI and NCL. They said the largest ships of RCI, like Oasis, were their absolute favorites. They are ages 3, 7 and 11. The younger two loved Adventure Ocean and the oldest one loved all the activities on Oasis. Can't keep them from asking when they can go back. They also liked NCL, but RCI is their favorite.

[alj1208]

Celebrity has my vote for families seeking an upscale experience. We cruised Celebrity with a 4 year old. We were on the Eclipse. Amazing experience for us (the adults). Our son loved the kids club. Very professional and fun-- AND it's not crowded. If you want more kid-oriented bells and whistles, I agree with those who recommend RCI's larger ships. However, if your kids would have fun in the kids club and are happy with a basic pool and whatever you're doing on shore, then try Celebrity. You won't be disappointed. It's very family-friendly without being kid-centric (if that makes sense - it does to us!).

[tikcho]

Kids club is a definite deal-maker or breaker for us - if mommy and daddy do not get some alone time, it is not a vacation for us. To that extent I'd stick to Princess and Celebrity. Yes, I know they are not the typical choice (RCI) but we have found ships that are not specifically targeted to kids and offer a bit higher price range offer much better kids clubs. We have experience with both the little kiddie (3-5) rooms and the 6-10 age range as we usually travel with a bunch of friends and have lots of kids in the group. Princess offers great staff-to-kid ratio for the younger kids and their clubs (on the Crown, Ruby and Caribbean) offer lots of action packed in the club. Celebrity generally attracts less kids but the counselors are awesome and pay so much attention to each kid. They also offer the best activities (not just stay in the room and do arts type) - they take the kids to some of the shows at night, they do games and scavenger hunts, take them for ice cream. My son always begs us to go for more. We have done NCL as well but they attract so many kids that the kids club was a mad house and my son hated it.

[Cwusinbunny]

I will say - we were spoiled in our pre-children days! We went on all the major lines - celebrity, RCI, Carnival, NCL, Princess. We do not have a lot of cash - I've earned the money for this cruise by doing online surveys, focus groups, consumer panels. I work full time and need that money to pay bills. So this has been a long time coming.

 

We like balconies - scratch that - we LOVE balconies - so I stared doing price shopping along the lines - the Allure and Oasis priced out almost equal to the Fantasy for Oct. 2013 for the same type of cabin.

 

Our kids will be 5 and 6 - honestly, I don't care about rock climbing, ice skating, boogie boarding or the casino - I am not a huge fan of the floating city mantra. So for us, Disney it is! I know I will get a quality product - the kids I am sure will love the programs. I have all the navigators from previous western carribean Fantasy cruises and it looks like there will be an opportunity for my favorite activity - sitting in the sun with a pretty colored drink just drowsing the day away!

 

My life is crazy - two kids, a two hour one way commute, caring for my elderly parents - and working full time - volunteering at church, trying to be active in the schools - so for me, I just want R and R with the fam! Disney seems to deliver just what we want.

[TEJKcruise]

But then, I have never tried Celebrity or RCI...

 

We have taken our four kids on several cruises, and the NCL kids club and teens club has been the clear favourite. The counsellors are nice, and always accept our severely allergic son (now 5 years old), making sure he does not come into contact with food (it does mean he doesn't get to go to the Teddy Bears Picnic, though). The teens simply disappear on sea days, they have so much fun with their peers in the teens club...

 

I do not recommend MSC (my kids speak three languages, but Italian is not one of them!), nor AIDA (German Carnival Cruise subsidiary), as they don't really play with the kids, but simply try to make them take part in a show. It is a nice show, but my kids did not want to take part in it, so got rather bored...

 

Good luck!

[wallyworld583]

We took our grand daughters, age 7 & 10 on NCL. They had a good time. Next year we took them on RCCL. At the end of the cruise they both said they do not want to do NCL again! Their reasons, without input from anyone else, the RCCL ship was nicer, the programs on RCCL were better, and the food and service were better. Thought that was pretty observant for 8 and 11 since wife and I had the same opinions. Oh btw, wife and I are planning another cruise and the 11 yo asked if WE were going to go snorkeling again! Think I need to get her a Crown and Anchor number of her own!

[rs4341]

I recently completed my 35th cruise. Of late I have been cruising Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, and Carnival. I have had good and bad cruises on all of them. In reality, it depends on the crew the week you sail. The food can be good or bad, depending on the chef. It all boils down to what you are looking for.

 

Carnival is for mass appeal, it’s like going to the neighborhood cafeteria. You will find large lower to upper middle class families just hanging out looking for a large meal and mass entertainment. The main dining room menu is extremely restricted as of about a year ago. I haven't cruised RCL in a while, but it is basically the same.

 

Princess is a step up. A little more class, upper middle class clientele. Lido deck food needs a serious upgrade. The ships are very nice and spacious.

 

Celebrity is a step up from Princess. The main dining room food is generally very good, especially the deserts. The lido deck is just alright, watch out for the salads on Solstice class ships, in my opinion they salad bars aren't properly refrigerated, they don’t use ice. The Italian Steakhouse alternative dining venue is a waste. On Solstice class ships, the closet in balcony staterooms is much too small and the rooms way too narrow. You will find a higher class of people on Celebrity. Their ships are very spacious as far as the public areas are concerned.

 

Holland America is my current favorite. They have the most comfortable beds, the best lido deck food, and a very good menu in the main dining room. The clientele is older and higher class. What you give up with Holland America is larger ships; their ships are small by today's standard. They also have the friendliest crew.

 

I haven't mentioned NCL, well the last time I was on an NCL ship the food was not really edible. It's been awhile since I tried one of their cruises, but I still don't here good things about their food and their newest ships feel really crowded.

[miamifam]

We have cruised on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean with our children from toddler age. They are now 8 and 11 years old.

We have been very happy with the kids programs and entertainment options on NCL. Our last cruise was on RCCL Allure...large ship, many fun activites but we missed NCL's kids programs and entertainment.