New to cruising not sure what ship or line to pick

[foxygrl]

So we are planing a cruise me my mother (senior) her husband and my two boys 7,8 years old. i was thinking the star wars at sea on the fantasy. so if we all squished in a family suite with balcony it is over $11,696. they are not into disney like mickey and such but they are cool with star wars. but there is no guarantee that they could be the kids on stage doing the training and meeting darth. so that makes me unsure to pick a disney cruise. it is nice that there are free soft drinks in the pool area where other ships have free ice tea coffee some juices and water. cast away cay is awesome and i know my kids would love it! but other than the aqua duck water area and arcade will my kids be bored on the ship? i know disney goes all out so it would be worth it to check it out?? should we skip the star wars and just do a disney cruise?

 

my second pick was norwegian escape they have a cool ropes course ninja turtle mini golf and 3 or more water slides. i know they have alot of adults on board so there are a lot of adult restaurants i am worried there will not be enough choices for kids???

 

Any help from you all would be great. :)

[Grandma Dazzles]

Would suggest looking at Royal Caribbean, especially Oasis class of ships; or a Voyageur class or Freedom class ship. Very family oriented with something for all ages.

[SuiteTraveler]

The Disney cruise - your boys are almost out of the best age group for this - this cruise is mostly designed for kids under 8, so if you want to do a Disney cruise, now would be the time to do it. One of the things they do on these ships is something special called Fish Extender - google it and find a Fish Extender group on your cruise to join in. They also have things such as Pirate night with fireworks and

 

On the Disney ship, there is Aladdin and Wishes - both are family shows. In fact all shows on Disney are family shows.

 

The Escape is more like a Las Vegas Casino Resort with a waterpark and ropes course, rock climbing and mini golf. The shows are all adult oriented and not really suited to children except the dance show Burn the Floor which your boys may or may not like.

 

You don't mention looking at 2 of the most family oriented ships at sea:

Oasis of the Sea

Allure of the Sea

These are both Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ships and they are also the largest ships in the world but never feel crowded - they are great for multi-generational family cruises. I think you definitely ought to consider these ships as they are AMAZING and the shows are great for all ages as well! They have spectacular shows such as high diving, ice skating, acrobats, as well as a Broadway Musical (Cats on one ship and Mama Mia! on the other.)

[foxygrl]

yes SuiteTraveler i did forget those. boy this is a hard decision not even sure what to do. i looked and if we went on the fantasy on a non star wars week we could pay 10k and get a Concierge suite. and the concierge sure offers alot on disney not sure we would use it all though.

 

ncl offers free 3rd and 4th person + free wifi or drinks. it isnt technically free but it does discount alot.

[janetz]

It is your first cruise. Your kids are young and will have a ball no matter what ship you choose, but I know when we take our children on vacation we tend to think more about what the kids would want then ourselves.

You can get two balcony cabins, one being a quad.

Really, the kids clubs onboard are great and they will have ball without a ton of bells and whistles.

The Escape may be good, or if you don't want as big as Oasis and Allure, you could do the RC, Freedom Of The Seas. :)

[avenger71]

Kids cruise for free on MSC. Just thought I'd mention that in case money is an issue.

[cb at sea]

I agree with Janetz....Disney is expensive...and the kids will have fun on Carnival, RCI or NCL, and even, Celebrity...they have a great kid's club and 7 & 8 are perfect ages for those activities!

[SPacificbound]

Three adults and two kids in the same cabin does not sound like a relaxing vacation to me.

 

Why not take a look at Royal Caribbean. Any ship from Voyager class on up will have plenty to do for your boys.

 

I think you should be able to find two cabins for almost $12,000.

[philsr1939]

We have been on the Oasis and would like to cruise with Princess. Are there any ships similar to RC Oasis?

Thanks

[Grandma Dazzles]

We have been on the Oasis and would like to cruise with Princess. Are there any ships similar to RC Oasis?

Thanks

 

Oasis class of ships are pretty unique. I don't think any other ships compare.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

The Royal, Regal (and Majestic) are the largest Princess Ships. If you are looking for rock climbing walls, waterslides, etc, you will not find that on Princess. Princess leans more towards traditional ships. We cruised Royal Caribbean when kids were young. Now kids are grown (20's) and we all completely enjoy our time on Princess ships. Tons to do, great food, nice shows, entertaining crew, but no "attractions" unless you consider, putting green, ping pong, swimming attractions.

[happymanitee]

Depends on your budget. I have always heard Disney is the best, but for my family of 5 who cruises in the summer, it would cost over $10,000. My budget is a max of $5000.

 

I can get two adjoining rooms on a Royal freedom or voyager class ship for less than $5k, so that is what we do. My kids LOVE the kids club! In fact, they are there so much that they have never even done the ice skating or rock wall. They are either in the pool or at kids club.

 

I also like cruises with a lot of ports ( like Royal Caribbeans Adventure of the Seas). We spend our days on exciting excursions together, we eat dinner on the ship together, then the kids go to kids club and my husband and I have some kid-free time. It's perfect!

[foxygrl]

Depends on your budget. I have always heard Disney is the best, but for my family of 5 who cruises in the summer, it would cost over $10,000. My budget is a max of $5000.

 

I can get two adjoining rooms on a Royal freedom or voyager class ship for less than $5k, so that is what we do. My kids LOVE the kids club! In fact, they are there so much that they have never even done the ice skating or rock wall. They are either in the pool or at kids club.

 

I also like cruises with a lot of ports ( like Royal Caribbeans Adventure of the Seas). We spend our days on exciting excursions together, we eat dinner on the ship together, then the kids go to kids club and my husband and I have some kid-free time. It's perfect!

how old are your kids Happymanitee? not sure mine would want to go to the kids club?

[philsr1939]

Thanks guys. I took me Grand kids on a Disney cruise and 10,000.00 seems correct. We have been on 29 cruises and RC is never a disappoint. Thanks for all of your input.

[happymanitee]

how old are your kids Happymanitee? not sure mine would want to go to the kids club?

 

When we started cruising, they were 5, 8, and 10. We've only been on 3 cruises and have a 4th booked for next summer, but now they are 12, 10, and 7. My son (the middle child) is not very social, so I didn't know if he would like it. But, he actually begs to go back the most. The 12-year old was bummed this past summer because she is now too old for the kids club.

I know they play a lot of different games and run around a lot in there.

 

If you want a bunch of different opinions on the kids club, you can search the Royal Caribbean threads. I know I have seen posts where some kids don't like it, so you could get both sides of the story. It's probably the same with Disney and Carnival.

 

In truth, I think a Star Wars cruise sounds great too, but my husband already flips out at my budget of $5000, so I know I'll never talk him into anything more expensive.

[champagne123]

Another vote for RCCL Oasis/Allure/Harmony. 2 Connecting balcony cabins. 3 adults and 2 children in one cabin sounds like torture to me :):):)

[Trishyfishy64]

We LOVE Disney. You can't beat the service. I also love how there's no gambling on board. My son is now 15 years old and much, much prefers Disney to any other. We feel pampered, the food is excellent and there's plenty of non-Disney stuff to do as well. We took my elderly parents on their first cruise ever on a Disney cruise and they were hooked. The port windows are massive. The ships are gorgeous. I don't think there's anything negative we've ever experienced on a Disney cruise and we've sailed four of them. Yes, they're more expensive, but they're worth every penny! You don't have to be young to enjoy a Disney cruise.