Suggest a Multigenerational Cruise

[erikzen]

Sorry for the double post as I first posted this in the "Ask a Cruise Question" forum. This is probably a more appropriate place so I am reposting here. Maybe mods can delete the other post?

 

We recently returned from a family trip with my father, step-mother, wife and 2 children age 8 and 10. This was my family's first cruise but my father and step-mom are avid cruisers. It was kind of tough finding the right cruise for everyone. My parents had suggested a Regent cruise at first but I objected based on the fact that it was not geared towards kids enough. We settled on a Holland America trip to Alaska. Everyone had a great time, so much so, that my father has asked what cruise do we want to do next.

 

My father is an eternal dreamer and believes his grandkids are extremely advanced, which is why he originally suggested the Regent cruise. The kids did very well on their first cruise and preferred to spend time with us, rather than the kids' club. Even for summer there were very few kids in the club so I don't blame them. However, my father takes that as a cue to take the kids on more adult cruises. "Hey, they weren't even interested in the kids' stuff."

 

So now he's suggesting a European river cruise. However, I have the same concerns over that as I did with Regent. There only seem to be 2 companies that offer family river boat cruises - Tauck and Uniworld. Of course, I'm sure my kids would prefer to go the other way and take a Nick cruise on The Breakaway. :)

 

One other wrinkle, my step-mom has limited mobility. She usually gets around on a motorized scooter, but these seem to be banned or at least discouraged on the smaller river boat cruises. This was no problem on HAL, but I assume it will be much more difficult on a smaller, European boat. She is not wheelchair bound but can't walk on her own for long distances and isn't that steady on her feet when she does.

 

So any suggestions on a family cruise that will fit the level of sophistication my parents are looking for but be fun enough for the kids to enjoy? I think we hit the nail right on the head with Alaska, but I'm afraid our next choice is going to alienate either the youngsters or the oldsters.

[Essiesmom]

Your kids sound like the type that will have fun on any cruise you choose. I would focus more on what is available for the mobility impaired cruiser. And I would suggest you repost again, on the Disable Cruise travel board. there is a thread there now from a man who booked on a small US ship that was not at all HC friendly. He did not do due diligence in booking. But I also think you should ask on the River Cruising forum, about the HC facilities on river cruisers and in ports. Sometimes just getting ashore is a real problem. EM

[erikzen]

Yes it would seem my step-mom's mobility would be the main concern. However they have already done a Danube cruise on Uniworld so presumably they know what they are getting into. Good suggestions to post in the other forums. I'll be sure to post there as well.

[Lerin]

Do keep in mind that on some river cruises children are discouraged from being there. Some passengers pick those cruises specifically because they will not see any kids while onboard. Out of respect to them, be sure you are bringing your kids on a boat that truly welcomes them. There is a river cruising board here on cc you may want to check out.

 

 

Personally I think it's kind of sad that you don't want your kids around other kids doing kid things. :( It doesn't make them "advanced" because they are with adults.

I'd suggest finding a cruise line that is welcoming to all ages-any of the big ones(Celebrity, Princess, NCL, RC, Carnival, Costa, Thompson) that way you will have adult things to do, the kids can be with their peers doing age appropriate activities, and there are no issues with mobility.

[erikzen]

Do keep in mind that on some river cruises children are discouraged from being there. Some passengers pick those cruises specifically because they will not see any kids while onboard. Out of respect to them, be sure you are bringing your kids on a boat that truly welcomes them. There is a river cruising board here on cc you may want to check out.

 

 

Personally I think it's kind of sad that you don't want your kids around other kids doing kid things. :( It doesn't make them "advanced" because they are with adults.

I'd suggest finding a cruise line that is welcoming to all ages-any of the big ones(Celebrity, Princess, NCL, RC, Carnival, Costa, Thompson) that way you will have adult things to do, the kids can be with their peers doing age appropriate activities, and there are no issues with mobility.

 

I realize that not all river cruises are kid friendly, which is why I specifically listed Tauck and Uniworld in my original post because they have family friendly tours. I'm wondering if there are any others. Believe me, I've read enough comments on these boards about people telling others to leave the kids at home. I certainly don't want to be on a vacation where someone is prejudiced against me or my family because I'm traveling with kids. By the same token, the last thing I want to do is ruin someone else's trip.

 

My kids do plenty of kid things, believe me. :rolleyes:

 

It's not that I don't want my kids to do kid things. Grandma and Grandpa want to take their grandchildren on another vacation since the first one was such a success, but they may have unrealistic ideas about what an 11 or 9 year old child would find fun on a vacation. Grandpa is deeply subsidizing these trips and it's his vacation, too, and cruising is generally the best option for him.

 

If the kids had their way they would love a Disney or Nick cruise, but that might not be too much fun for my parents. Grandma and Grandpa want to show the kids Europe on a river boat, which may be too sophisticated for my kids to enjoy and may take away from the enjoyment of others. I'm looking for the happy medium so that all of us can enjoy our vacation. My parents have cruised on many of the lines you mention but don't find it that enjoyable anymore. They now prefer to sail on smaller vessels that hold less than 1000 and don't cater to children. (Preferred line is Regent). This is something they enjoy and want to share with their family.

 

Alaska was perfect. The ship wasn't so huge that my parents felt like they were on a megaship and HAL provided a high enough level of service to please them; there were enough ports so that the kids didn't get cabin fever, and everyone loved the itinerary and gorgeous scenery while enjoying each other's company.

 

One thing I thought of was chartering a canal barge. This way there are no other passengers to disturb and the trip can be somewhat customized to fit our needs. Seems expensive but maybe there's a way to do it on a reasonable budget.

 

This company has boats that are wheelchair accessible:

http://www.waypointcharter.com/details.php?sid=24

[sailinglisa]

I would suggest either Princess or Celebrity to the Caribbean - maybe a 7 to10 day cruise. But summer would be completely out of the picture as Princess and Celebrity do not have ships in the Caribbean during the summer months. Both have kids clubs (Princess a bit better imho than Celebrity) but plenty of adult things to do. And at their ages they would be in the same group in the kids club and could do age appropriate things together without Grandpa expecting them to be mini-adults all the time.

 

Both Princess and Celebrity have plenty of adult oriented activities and areas.

Specialty dining, etc.

 

IMHO, Grandpa needs to try and remember what it was like when he was their age and remember how boring it was for him to sit through all those adult things he had to attend.

[CruiseBuni]

I've never been on a river boat cruise so can't compare to that, but we took a family cruise to the Mediterranean which included my 8 year old niece and 11 year old nephew. They had a great time! They did some kids club stuff (Celebrity Cruise Line), but what they enjoyed most was hanging out with the family...seeing the sights (amazing tour of Vatican, but they do go to Catholic school), eating tons of gelato, playing spades (nephew), family team trivia, etc. A lot of the Greek mythology related places were of interest due to the popularity of the Percy Jackson books, so perhaps you'll find ways to relate the places you visit to things your kids are interested in as well. I really don't think my niece and nephew would have gotten more out of a kid oriented cruise. Have fun, whatever you decide!

[erikzen]

Grandpa would like his grand kids to see the world with him, while they can.

[erikzen]

The Mediterranean sounds very nice. (My daughter is an alter server, actually. :)) I'll look into what lines or trips might be a fit.

[Onessa]

There are lots of nice itineraries in Europe that could please your father, the kids and accommodate your MIL. If you stick with the smaller ships from the mainstream lines, they will all have kids programs that your kids can "plug into" as they wish and be able to handle the specific needs of your MIL's scooter. Eastern Med is great. If you want to plug into your father's wish for something a bit more "exotic" look into Black Sea itineraries (I know X has a few planned)

[RSLeesburg]

What about Cunard - isn't the Elizabeth in the med during the summer?

[jac1976]

I think your kids sound like they'd be comfortable on many different cruises. We've done the Disney thing, and honestly my kids rated the Disney ship the same as they rated our Princess ship. We've done intergenerational on Cunard and Disney. Cunard is obviously more adult oriented, but my son still had an amazing time with the nannies and just exploring the ship with us. (We also had the shuffleboard courts and basketball courts to ourselves.) Disney is more kid oriented, but there were "adult only" spaces where my mother could escape to when she needed it. Our next intergenerational cruise is coming up next summer when we do the Norwegian Fjords on Cunard's Queen Victoria. Our oldest family member will be 82, the youngest will be 6.