Best Cruise Line for Iceland with a Child? DCL is out.

[disneygirl10]

HI!!!

 

So, I've been impatiently and anxiously awaiting DCL's summer Norwegian Fjords/Iceland itineraries.

 

The day is finally here!!! Am I booked? Nope.

 

For me and my 6 year old the price for a standard balcony room was $13,216.62. No thanks, Disney.

 

Now I am looking elsewhere..that's where you come in ..

 

Can someone recommend a cruise line with enough family activities for my son and I? It's just me and him so we won't utilize a kid's club often.

 

I like MSC's Germany/Iceland itinerary..although it looks to be close to sold out in categories that I'm interested in. Anyone have experiences,faves, ideas?

 

Thanks!!!

[cb at sea]

ALL mainstream cruiselines will have family activities...plenty on EVERY cruise line. For your itinerary, the PORTS are the thing...the ship is merely transportation. The "luxury" lines don't offer much for kids. But RCI, HAL, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL and Princess will have plenty for both of you.

[disneygirl10]

ALL mainstream cruiselines will have family activities...plenty on EVERY cruise line. For your itinerary, the PORTS are the thing...the ship is merely transportation. The "luxury" lines don't offer much for kids. But RCI, HAL, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL and Princess will have plenty for both of you.

 

Agree, I don't need flow riders etc. We would have 3 sea days though. I can bring a few games, but would like other options provided by the ship as well.

[Essiesmom]

What year are you looking at? I can't believe Disney is just now releasing these for this summer...And what time/month? Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose Reykjavik as you Port of Call. Then the month you want to sail. It will tell you who is calling there, and their itineraries.

 

That said, I'm not sure there is a lot in Iceland that a 6 y/o would appreciate. Unless he is into plate tectonics, volcanoes, Nordic culture, landscape...I think he would be bored. (I have been twice). EM

[disneygirl10]

What year are you looking at? I can't believe Disney is just now releasing these for this summer...And what time/month? Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose Reykjavik as you Port of Call. Then the month you want to sail. It will tell you who is calling there, and their itineraries.

 

That said, I'm not sure there is a lot in Iceland that a 6 y/o would appreciate. Unless he is into plate tectonics, volcanoes, Nordic culture, landscape...I think he would be bored. (I have been twice). EM

 

Sorry..should have specified- 2017 summer prices/itneraries. Been waiting for months.

 

I think he would love Iceland! His 1st request was Antartica..second Iceland.. Third- Alaska.

 

I'm considering MSC because they have the dates that work best for us (August). I don't really know anything about them. Wondering if they have kid appropriate shows? And anything else outside of a kid's club that would interest him.

[kitkat343]

Please bear in mind that I haven't been Iceland, but I did want to note that your son's third choice of Alaska is a great itinerary for kids. There are a ton of kid friendly cruise lines in Alaska over the summer. Princess has a great kids club for Alaska (in previous years a naturalist went onboard to help the kids learn about Alaskan wildlife, but I'd post in the Princess or Alaska board to see if that is still the case). There are a lot of kid friendly excursions, including a helicopter to a dogsled camp on top of a mountain. Alaska is pretty expensive though so you'd want to price out the excursions and the cruise before booking. Both HAL and Princess have Panamax ships that do the one way northbound or southbound route, and these ships can get closer to the glaciers because they are narrower than other cruise ships.

[Pitzel]

We are taking our 6 yo on the Norwegian Fjords itinerary on NCL in 2017. We had looked at the dates that included Iceland, but decided that we couldn't make the length of the trip work for us, so we scaled back to a shorter cruise length. We have a minisuite on the NCL Jade for way less than what DCL would have charged us for an inside room on a similar voyage.

[Pluto_fan]

Last summer we did a 14-night Norway cruise (all the way up to Longyearbyen) on MSC with 7 sea days. Our daughter was 7 at the time; it was our third MSC cruise. It was a fantastic trip and our daughter had a great time. The sea days generally alternated with port days, which was nice. On sea days, she would typically go to the kids' club for a few hours, either for the morning or the afternoon session, and we would spend the other part of the day doing something together...using the pool, playing games, etc. She enjoyed the kids' club but I'm sure it's not like Disney's. She was usually one of 10-20 kids, very diverse in nationality and language, but the counselors seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping kids engaged. I don't remember there being many organized family activities, however. We had early seating for dinner, and afterward we usually went to the show as a family. Again not like Disney, but certainly family-friendly...not a lot of dialogue due to the international mix of passengers, but singing, dancing, and several acrobatic-type shows which my daughter enjoyed. I'd be happy to try to answer any specific questions if you have them.

 

I think Iceland would be a great trip for a child who enjoys nature. I was looking at Norway + Iceland for our cruise last summer, but the all-Norway itinerary fit our schedule best.

 

Happy cruising!