Non-primetime cruising with 3 kids

[jamesgjr]

Booked on NCL Dawn for Dec 1 for ten days. Afraid kids 13.12.7 will be bored. I've heard holiday cruises are a zoo. Can you guys help a first time cruiser ?

 

James

[cruisinqt]

We have always cruised off season with our 2 children and every time there's been plenty of children on board for them to play with.;) Instead of there being 800 children, there may just be 150, but there's still plenty of kids for them to play with. You have to remember that there are lots of people out there who home school their children. There are also a lot of people from other countries that have different holidays and time off from school than what we do. And then there are the kids who go to school year round and have 1 week off every other month. I wouldn't worry about there not being other children there, that doesn't happen very often. And if there did happen to be a shortage of children, then your kids would have the run of the house in the children's area. They wouldn't have to fight with other children over the gameboys, the paints, the crafts, the t-shirt painting, or any of the other fun things that are offered in the kids area.:)

[cali-croozer]

Just encourage your kids to make friends with the kids who are on board. We sailed in May once, and although there weren't that many kids on board, there were enough for each of my boys to make several friends. This is no time to be shy; you may have to help your kids a little the first day (encourage them to say hello to potential friend at the pool, for example.........sometimes, all that's needed is for somebody to make the first move.) Of course, have them attend any get togethers for their age groups.

[serene56]

We always sail during off season.. and there are always kids onbaord-- jsut not many. Camps will still be opened and I dont think your kids will be bored if you dont let them be. (no hanging in the cabin during the day)

[kitty9]

The one main thing that will greatly limit the number of kids on board is that you're taking a 10 day cruise---not many parents can pull their kids from school for what could amount to two full weeks. It's a fact that cruises longer than 7 days attract an older crowd, plus the fact that you're cruising right after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas will greatly limit the number of kids. While others have said they have seen lots of kids during off-time cruises, I've experienced just the opposite on all my cruises---and I would bet that the other posters were on 7 day cruises. I did an 11 day cruise and there were exactly 4 kids on board, with only one being school age and he was from Sweden. I also recently did a 10 day cruise and there were only 23 kids on board, and most of those were toddlers. If you were taking a 7 day cruise, then I would say the you had a chance of seeing other kids on board, but when you say you're on a 10 day cruise, and that cruise is right between two big cruising holidays, the chances of having even 100 kids is not that great.

[jamesgjr]

Yikes, now I'm really confused, final payment day is approaching rapidly. HELP!

Woul NCL let me know if kids are booked onboard?:confused::confused::rolleyes:

 

James

[serene56]

Darcie is correct-im sorry I wasnt paying closer attention to the 10 day cruise. Our cruises have been the 7 days ones. I also agree with Darcie about the longer cruises have even less kids for the reasons stated by her. its harder for parents to take kids out of school for 2 weeks periods at a time. And cruising the begining of Dec makes it even rougher.

 

You can call NCL 5 times and get 5 different answers. I wouldnt depend on any of the answers to be correct.

 

I dont think your kids will be bored. THe ship still will run the camp- and there will be a few kids onboard also. Just not many. (did you take early seating for dinner?)

 

The only time I would be worried about them being bored is the first sea day. #1its gonna be too cold for them to swim til at least the 2nd day... once you get to the ports they will be busy doig other stuff.

[sandyneck]

Hi, we homeschool so we always cruise when school is in session. We have done five 7 day cruises and there have been at least 50 other kids on board. We did a 15 day Panama Canal and there were about 10 kids, only 2 were the ages of my kids (9&10) They still went to Camp Carnival and had fun playing with the toddlers. We are a "do everything together" kind of family so we just brought the kids to bingo, art auctions, galley tours, and played board games. The kids never were bored. It just depends on your kids personalities, but I do think since you are doing a 10 day there is a chance there will be fewer kids onboard. On the up side, they were VERY spoiled by all the crew and other passengers on the cruise. Everyone knew their names and went out of their way to do special things for them. It was very nice. You will have a great time no matter how many kids are on board. There is so much to do as a family, even if there aren't many kids on board, you should still have fun.

[gregandamy]

We've taken the kids (7 & 3) on a 10 day on the Dawn. They had a great time, they stayed with us the whole time. We went into port everyday and hit activites all day on sea days. They were never bored and never complained. It wasn't a holiday week and there were about 150-200 kids. We all like it so much we're doing it again Feb, 06.

[abitaturbodog]

We've booked a 7 day cruise for the week after Thanksgiving because there would be less children on board -- and we have 2 boys (8 & 9 y/o)!!

 

I don't want my kids spending most of their time in the kid's club or playing with lots of other children. I want to enjoy our vacation together as a family. Yes, I'm sure that they'll make a couple of new friends, but when my son wants to play ping-pong, go swimming, etc., I want to be able to enjoy it with him and have shared memories of our time together.

 

So don't worry so much about how many kids will be on board. Take these 10 days to reconnect and play with your kids! As the commercial says, it's "priceless."

[minivanmama]

We are taking 10 day cruise on the Dawn over thanksgiving break with two teens. I am sure there will be other families with kids. I like taking off that week because it is not usually loaded with new material but full of fall parties for younger kids. Now that my kids are older they will have to contact teachers for long term assignments and study on board. We cruised on the Dawn before also around a holiday weekend and kids loved it. Since my husband and I cannot take off during the warm months and school vacations are too expensive, we do pull them out. My oldest is not a great student and it can be hard on him to miss work. On the other hand he has had hands-on experiences through travel he would never have experienced in a classroom. The cruise ship also give a sense of familiar security for kids to come back to after being on excursions. They can't wait for the ships pool, pizza or favorite snack. The room becomes a second home. I must also say my kids don't generally spend time in the kids club. Our vacations have always been a family experience. One of our favorite cruise rituals have been a late night swim before bed. They just loved the pools and whirlpools all lite up at night. My advise: ENJOY YOUR KIDS NOW THEY GROW UP SO FAST! You will not regret the time to invest with you kids.:)