Triumph over Spring Break with 3 Kids

[hawkinsh]

This will be our very first cruise. Will be wife and I with our 3 kids (ages 5-11). My Mother-n-law is also with us, and we have adjoining rooms booked. I am the most excited, and our oldest son still says he is not going.

 

Hearing lots of people say this is a "party" boat. We are not "party" people. will we regret this cruise?

 

What will there be for my kiddos to do? What are the kids clubs like?

[topaz123]

We had the Misfortune of booking a cruise during "college" spring break some years ago. Our daughter was 11. It was the absolute worst experience ever....like being at a Frat party....constant drunk young people, yelling and screaming all night, up and down the halls....the ship was out of control. From that day on, we always checked the calendar to see it is NOT college spring break. Our daughter always enjoyed the kid's activity.,they had a superb crew that bonded well with the kids, and they went on treasure hunts, and more. really fun.....

[BoDidly]

No Sir , not me :eek: Party Galore :eek:

[njmomof2]

It depends on whether it's over a college break or regular schools. If it's less than 7 days, and the colleges are off (which is usually in March), it might be more partying.

 

If it's at least 7 days, and it's in April, then most colleges are back in school, and you might have more kids for your kids to hang out with.

 

I'm sorry your older son doesn't seem to want to go. My kids love cruising and it's the #1 vacation choice for our family.

[maldenmusic]

We did one on spring break a few years ago and honestly it wasn't too bad.

[amyh13]

We have cruised the past 4 years on spring break. My kids keep asking when I am going to book this year's cruise. Current ages DS10, DD6. They LOVE it. Both of them like the clubs. My oldest is getting a little more independent so we let him play mini golf or basketball while we are hanging out by the pool. If we are in the cabin taking a break before getting ready for dinner, he will go and get an ice cream.

 

We like to have fun but with kids, we are usually in bed before 11 every night as the kids clubs close at 10. Our experience is that it is mostly families and not a lot of craziness going on.

 

Enjoy. They will love it and so will you. Just curious, why does the 11 yo not want to go?

[summersigh]

I think an 11 year old is a bit young to make the decision not to go on a family trip. (I taught Middle School for 28 years so I know that age group very well :D ) I think what I'd do is make a "deal" that he goes on this first cruise and if he doesn't like it after trying it he won't have to go again.

 

You know your child best .... this is just a thought :)

[denrusk]

We have cruised over spring break for the past 8 years. We have never had an issue any more than any other time. There will be mostly elementary school age kids. The shorter cruises do attract more partying, but that is true year round. The kids will have a great time. The kids club is the reason we have cruised Carnival for the last 8 years.

[hawkinsh]

Just curious, why does the 11 yo not want to go?

 

Good question. He is convinced that the ship is going to sink. Crazy, I know. But he is serious.

[hawkinsh]

I think an 11 year old is a bit young to make the decision not to go on a family trip. (I taught Middle School for 28 years so I know that age group very well :D ) I think what I'd do is make a "deal" that he goes on this first cruise and if he doesn't like it after trying it he won't have to go again.

 

You know your child best .... this is just a thought :)

 

I agree with you. He does not get to decide. He is going, and I am sure he will end up having a good time. We will see I guess.

[ginjer2911]

Our last cruise was during spring break. I was really worried about it being a party cruise, but really wasn't. There was plenty of kids for my kids to play with. The only time we saw drunk college kids was when we were watching for the pier runners in Cozumel. But with kids we didn't go to the lounges or late night parties.

[cb at sea]

How long is the cruise? 3-4 nighters certainly have their share of "partiers", while longer trips won't. You are under NO obligation to join in the party! It's really no different than being in a hotel with folks on vacation...you simply do YOUR thing, and they will do theirs!

[Xerxella]

Good question. He is convinced that the ship is going to sink. Crazy, I know. But he is serious.

 

 

 

My son was convinced too. The boat sinks in Frozen and the parents die. The kids know the basics of the Titanic story.

 

We had a long talk about the life boats and the life jackets and how they're in the room. We did the muster drill and talked about it and how they'd be with us almost all the time. If they weren't with us in an emergency the staff would know to bring the kids to us. (I know that's not exactly how it works, but it was reassuring). And we talked about how no Disney boat had ever sunk and this one wouldn't either.

 

Once we got moving and he realized we couldn't even feel the boat moving he forgot all about it and had a great time.

[summersigh]

I agree with you. He does not get to decide. He is going, and I am sure he will end up having a good time. We will see I guess.

:D I hope I didn't sound presumptive - I really figured you'd never be able to totally relax if your son wasn't with you and I believe he'll love cruising once he experiences it. I mean, what kid that age wouldn't love the idea of unlimited ice cream and pizza 24/7 :D

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

Your kids will love it! There are a lot of kids on the cruise and so many activities for them. I cruise every spring break since I'm a teacher. I have been taking my nephew since he was 8. He is now 17, and still has a great time.

[skrufy]

Spring break for the colleges are over by April. You might encounter some young adults but not many. There should be lots of kids your kids age on board. The kids clubs get rave reviews. Drop them off and dont worry about them. For future reference, the younger crowd takes the 3,4 or 5 day cruises most of the year. The longer the cruise, the majority of the passengers tend to get older.We now look for at least a 10 day cruise. 7 days go by too fast. Our first cruise was a 3 day in August and it was a party boat.but nothing got out of hand. Have a great cruise experience on your first one.

[hawkinsh]

:D I hope I didn't sound presumptive - I really figured you'd never be able to totally relax if your son wasn't with you and I believe he'll love cruising once he experiences it. I mean, what kid that age wouldn't love the idea of unlimited ice cream and pizza 24/7 :D

 

I did not take it that way at all. Actually though, he would have been fine with his grandparents. They already told him they might go somewhere and take him. Mom & I just put our foot down and told him to deal with it. He is going with us.

 

I know that once we are out and going he will have a great time.

 

Though, if I was honest, him staying on land with his grandparents would probably mean fewer fights with his brother and sister -- LOL! But we are going as a family, like it or not!

[hawkinsh]

Spring break for the colleges are over by April. You might encounter some young adults but not many. There should be lots of kids your kids age on board. The kids clubs get rave reviews. Drop them off and dont worry about them. For future reference, the younger crowd takes the 3,4 or 5 day cruises most of the year. The longer the cruise, the majority of the passengers tend to get older.We now look for at least a 10 day cruise. 7 days go by too fast. Our first cruise was a 3 day in August and it was a party boat.but nothing got out of hand. Have a great cruise experience on your first one.

 

Actually our SB cruise is March 18-23 (5 Night). Guess we will just have to hope for the best.

[hawkinsh]

Your kids will love it! There are a lot of kids on the cruise and so many activities for them. I cruise every spring break since I'm a teacher. I have been taking my nephew since he was 8. He is now 17, and still has a great time.

 

Wife and I are also teachers. We usually do Disney, but thought we give a cruise a try.

[hawkinsh]

My son was convinced too. The boat sinks in Frozen and the parents die. The kids know the basics of the Titanic story.

 

We had a long talk about the life boats and the life jackets and how they're in the room. We did the muster drill and talked about it and how they'd be with us almost all the time. If they weren't with us in an emergency the staff would know to bring the kids to us. (I know that's not exactly how it works, but it was reassuring). And we talked about how no Disney boat had ever sunk and this one wouldn't either.

 

Once we got moving and he realized we couldn't even feel the boat moving he forgot all about it and had a great time.

 

 

He has not problems with the dinner cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle or Ride the Ducks in Branson, MO. But when we have taken excursions out on the sightseeing boats in places like Chicago, he is white knuckled. Go figure?

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

Wife and I are also teachers. We usually do Disney, but thought we give a cruise a try.

 

Yes, give the cruise a try during spring break. It is so much more relaxing than Disney during spring break. We went to Disney for Spring Break vacation for 5 years, but for the last 4 years we have been cruising instead(they have great deals at this time). We now go to Disney during the summer.

[fam2cruise]

I cruised on Triumph last year out of Texas for Spring Break. My kids are 3 and 7, Texas is our home port so many schools and colleges on Spring Break. We had a blast! The kids did a couple activities in the kids club, we hung out at the pool mostly, did shuffle board, mini golf, arcade, art gallery and shows (artsy family) just explored. We saw some people having a good time for sure but nothing inappropriate (and we're pretty conservative). Go and have a great time! I did Chefs Table for the first time and it was fabulous!

[IPlayWithString]

I think an 11 year old is a bit young to make the decision not to go on a family trip. (I taught Middle School for 28 years so I know that age group very well :D ) I think what I'd do is make a "deal" that he goes on this first cruise and if he doesn't like it after trying it he won't have to go again.

 

You know your child best .... this is just a thought :)

 

That's pretty much the same deal we make with our soon to be 13 yr old son on a lot of things.:D He's autistic, so we know that certain things (at least upon first glance) might seem like they're going to be overwhelming to him so we ask that he at least TRY it before he decides he hates it forever. When we took him on his first cruise about 3 years ago, he was pretty sure he was not going to like it. We weren't sure if WE (the adults) were going to like it either but it's more budget friendly for us than a land-based vacation (which in the past has cost us upwards of 5-6 grand for a week). We fell in love after that first 5 day cruise out of Jaxport on the Fascination and have been cruising ever since.

[weddingdiva]

The first and only cruise I have been on was the Carnival Elation two Spring Breaks ago. It was college and local public school Spring Break for most and it was not a problem at all. In fact, there was no noise on our hallway at night at all! We were truly surprised to find out on Day 2 that there was a huge high school band group on board! I understand it depends on the deck for some noise issues though; our deck was deep in the ship away from the clubs, etc.

We have a cruise booked for this coming Spring Break on the Triumph with the 12 yo & 16yo. They are both excited, mainly because they are picky eaters and LOVE the idea of so many food options all day/night and being able to try as many things as they want in the main dining room.

:p

[Mutumbojimbo]

We just did Fall Break on the Triumph and had a good time. My son is a little too old for Camp Ocean, but he enjoyed his teen club, and really had fun with miniature golf and the water slide. If Spring Break is anything like Fall, there will be a lot of other children on board to hang out with.

 

You might remind your son that there won't be any ice bergs in the Caribbean (except the inflatable ones at eh beach resorts). I hope y'all have fun!!