Two cruises(different ship) with children 5 and 8

[kat32cruiser]

First time poster, long time lurker. We are at a crossroads here and would love some input. We are currently booked on a large family vacation(reunion of sorts)on the Escape(sailing out Nov 28th). We then went ahead and booked Disney world and universal afterwards for just our family of 4.

 

However, my husband and I are anticipating very high crowds at Disney and are having "buyers remorse" so to speak - we've gone 3 times in as many years. If you can be bored of Disney my husband and I are at that stage. My kids are excited to go to Disney but I don't think they would be heart broken over not going again right now. We are debating jumping on the getaway Dec 6th instead of Disney and then heading to universal for the remaining 6 days of our trip. Budgeting is coming into play here - By not doing Disney we can save approx. $1500.

 

My question is, has anyone ever done two cruises with kids(1 day off the ship then back on to another)? Was there ever a sense of the kids being bored? Was it just too much "sea" time? This will be our first time on NCL but have sailed the smaller class ships on RCCL and the kids absolutely loved it. NCL seems to fit more in line with our personalities and what we are looking for in a vacation. There is the option to jump on the Oasis of the seas to have a full other type of ship experience, but the Getaway seems to cater more to children my kids age.

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If it was only coming down to my husband and I we would GLADLY jump on that second cruise, but our 5 and 8 year olds are making us second guess doing that.

[Demonyte]

Can't help with anything about kids but we did that kind of "almost B2B" in 2013 after NCL had discontinued alternating itineraries from Miami and it was a PITA, changing directly from one ship to another I might be willing to do, but having to stay a night in a hotel in the middle just was too much of a hassle IMO.

[kat32cruiser]

You've got that right! Changing to a hotel for that one night is a pain and definitely factoring into part of my hesitation. It's actually why we looked up Oasis of the seas that leaves the same day Escape comes back into Miami. However, my kids are just too small for the flowrider/zipline and a few other things on the ship so I am hesitating - I think RCCL is catering to tween/teen age group from what I can see.

 

It's not a crappy predicament to be in at all. We are fortunate to be able to go on these longer trips and away from the piles of snow that are currently on the ground!

[beckyjohns]

I've never done what you're asking about, but I'll give you my 2 cents.

 

I have twin boys who are 8. We've been on many, many Carnival ships with them. Last year, we were lucky enough to take them on both the Allure and the Oasis, about 6 months apart. They were 7, so close to your kids' ages. They LOVED the big RCCL ships! There really was a lot for them to do on those ships and they loved all the shows. Compared to Carnival, the shows were much better on RCCL mega ships.

 

We are taking our first NCL cruise in November with them, on the Getaway, which we're looking forward to. Having not been on any NCL ships, I get the sense that the Escape and the Getaway will be more similar than different in terms of entertainment and activities, etc.

 

If you're worried that they kids might be bored doing 2 weeks on ships, you might be better off to do a different line for the 2nd cruise so that there's more variety? I would highly recommend either the Oasis or the Allure for kids around that age. I think there would be enough difference between that and the Escape that they wouldn't get bored.

 

As mentioned above, I would try for another ship that leaves the same day you arrive back, then you don't have to deal with a hotel.

[kat32cruiser]

Thank you for that reply. I'm not sure why I got the sense that there wasn't much "on the go" for kids that age. I guess we need to give it some serious consideration. Both prices are almost identical on both ships so that isn't factoring in at all....

 

It may be time to get out the old pen and paper and make a pros and cons list. :)

[beckyjohns]

My kids weren't old enough for the flowrider, but they loved the rock walls, the splash area at the pool and the ice skating. They loved the water show, watched it either 2 or 3 times, can't remember which, even though it was the same show repeated! The loved the ice skating show. There were also some midday water and ice skating shows that were for the kids/family.

[ncklhaus]

If it were me, I would do the Escape/hotel/Getaway route. I'd love to be able to compare the two ships and since they are similar, you'll already know your way around. The hotel stop in the middle will give you a chance to regroup before going back on a ship. You can stock up on anything you ran out of, etc. No matter which way you do it, you'll have to pack up so that's not an issue. Maybe you could find a hotel that has self serve laundry and then you only need to pack for one week. Just my 2 cents.

[cb at sea]

Yeah.. a hotel with laundry would be a HUGE plus, unless your ship, the Escape, has a laundry for you to use. RCI has no such animal!!!

[wilmingtech]

We have 4 kids ages 8-16. We did a cruise last year on RCIs Freedom OTS. My kids would all take the cruise over going to Disney (Especially us as parents).

 

We have lived in Orlando before and have done Disney 3 times. We also used to have a year round pass to sea world and have done Universal as well.

 

This past year was our first cruise ever. So they may be choosing a cruise over Disney because of our past experiences. But as adults its a no-brainer. Besides, other than pictures your 5yo wont remember much about disney by the time they get to 13 other than the fact they went.

 

I'd do the cruise, stay in a nice hotel out in Cocoa Beach for a day and then go back on another ship.

 

There will be plenty for the kids to do on the ship. They wont be bored.

 

-Sean

[SMerritt]

First time poster, long time lurker. We are at a crossroads here and would love some input. We are currently booked on a large family vacation(reunion of sorts)on the Escape(sailing out Nov 28th). We then went ahead and booked Disney world and universal afterwards for just our family of 4.

 

However, my husband and I are anticipating very high crowds at Disney and are having "buyers remorse" so to speak - we've gone 3 times in as many years. If you can be bored of Disney my husband and I are at that stage. My kids are excited to go to Disney but I don't think they would be heart broken over not going again right now. We are debating jumping on the getaway Dec 6th instead of Disney and then heading to universal for the remaining 6 days of our trip. Budgeting is coming into play here - By not doing Disney we can save approx. $1500.

 

My question is, has anyone ever done two cruises with kids(1 day off the ship then back on to another)? Was there ever a sense of the kids being bored? Was it just too much "sea" time? This will be our first time on NCL but have sailed the smaller class ships on RCCL and the kids absolutely loved it. NCL seems to fit more in line with our personalities and what we are looking for in a vacation. There is the option to jump on the Oasis of the seas to have a full other type of ship experience, but the Getaway seems to cater more to children my kids age.

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! If it was only coming down to my husband and I we would GLADLY jump on that second cruise, but our 5 and 8 year olds are making us second guess doing that.

 

It is a no-brainer for us. NCL Loves Children! RCL needs to start considering them.

 

Our Grandkids amongst other little people were bored with the Oasis Boardwalk on the first day.....the children's rooms were obviously an afterthought - dark and dreary with no real activities. The nightly entertainment was nil, except for the water show. It was the first cruise that we saw teens hanging out in the stairways and just watching movies in the cabin.

 

The last cruise on The Getaway, we were feeling guilty, the kids 4 & 6 wanted to spend most of the cruise in Splash Academy, the small ropes course, and pools. There are also daily activities that parents can join in, like sand painting and sea shell mosaic classes. Also a Sponge Bob Breakfast!

 

Opinins Vary - do your homework on each CL site, but our 4 nieces and nephews and grandkids vote NCL now everytime!

[corley05]

My two youngest kids are 5 and 7 so get your age dilemna. But I have to say I think you are mistaken about Disney being crowded the beginning of december. The week after thanksgiving is the slowest of the year (or close to it) and the beginning of december is not crowded, its one of the best times to go.

 

If it were me I would do Disney. It won't be long before they are over the disney thing. Mickey's very merry christmas party is so great for the kids too. Disney is super magical during the holidays. But this is just my opinion.

 

You will have fun no matter what you do.

[wilmingtech]

My two youngest kids are 5 and 7 so get your age dilemna. But I have to say I think you are mistaken about Disney being crowded the beginning of december. The week after thanksgiving is the slowest of the year (or close to it) and the beginning of december is not crowded, its one of the best times to go.

 

If it were me I would do Disney. It won't be long before they are over the disney thing. Mickey's very merry christmas party is so great for the kids too. Disney is super magical during the holidays. But this is just my opinion.

 

You will have fun no matter what you do.

 

Fully agree with this. The weekend after Thanksgiving will have more than your average amount of locals but very little US tourists spending that Holiday in FL. The Monday after Turkey day is probably the slowest day of the year for Disney.

 

-Sean

[kat32cruiser]

Thanks all for the replies. We've decided to keep Disney. If it was just my husband and I there would be no question that we would be doing two cruises, but one cruise will likely be enough for the kids and if we love NCL(which I fully expect we will) our next trip will be two cruises!

 

Thanks again!

[hansolosmom]

I think you made a good choice with the cruise/Disney option. Like you said if it were just you two the cruises would be great but I'd also be afraid about what the kids would do, especially at that age and not knowing if they'd be tall enough/big enough for some of the activities - like the ropes course etc.

[Jenjer]

I think you made a good choice.

My 2 cents would have been Escape and then Oasis. Having cruised Getaway and Allure. My kids find things they love about each line. A week on Escape and then a week on Getaway would be too much of the same. Just like a week on Oasis and a week on Allure would be too much of the same.

 

In fact we tend to go back and forth between RCI and NCL.

 

Have fun at Disney.

[Meredithe]

My boys are now 9 and 10, but were 7 and 8 when we did our longest cruise (28 days) and they loved it. We did a back to belly cruise earlier this year, with an overnight at a hotel between the sailings and it was fantastic. We packed suitcases that were specifically for each trip and then one that was designated for both trips, made it seamless. For me and my family it would be a no brainer... 2 cruises ;)