Dad and his 2 daughters looking for a nice cruise this July

[Drrandall]

I have not been on a cruise in 12 years. I went on Majesty of the Season and Sensation with my ex. It's my 50th Bday in July and just wanna take my 2 daughters 7 and 12 on a nice cruise vacation. Can't believe how many choices. I really wanted to try Harmony of the seas but it's a little expensive. I gotta have a balcony. Carnival has Splendor available for a reasonable price. Any recommendations for a single dad traveling with his daughters? Which ships stand out that are kid friendly? Any destination is fine. 6 or 7 nights.

Also, I have a passport but my girls do not. Anyone ever have problems taking their kids on a cruise without a passport? Thanks for your help!

[SuiteTraveler]

Here are the best ships for families:

 

RCCL

Oasis Class

Freedom Class

Quantum Class

 

Carnival:

Magic

Breeze

Vista

 

NCL:

Epic

Getaway

Breakaway

Escape

 

Disney

All ships

 

MSC

Seaside

 

Whereas RCCL feels like being in a giant theme park with rides and flow riders and zip lines, NCL feels like being in a Las Vegas Casino hotel with a waterpark.

 

Right now NCL is offering Free at Sea, where you get to pick from 5 perks. One perk is that your 3rd guest would sail for free.

 

Your girls would need:

CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 16 do NOT need to show a photo ID but will need to present:

• Original State Issued Birth Certificate
  

-Puerto Rico birth certificate issued AFTER 7/1/10 (birth certificates prior to this date are not acceptible.

-Original Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by the U.S. Dept. of State

-Original Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

In addition, if their mother is alive, you would need a Notarized letter of permission from her to take them out of the country. Here is the sort of letter of permission you would need:

I or WE (PARENT'S NAMES)the parents of (CHILD'S NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH) authorize (YOUR NAME, RELATIONSHIP AND DATE OF BIRTH) to take (CHILD'S NAME, RELATIONSHIP AND DATE OF BIRTH) on the following cruise from (EXAMPLE: JANUARY 23, 2015 TO FEBRUARY 12, 2015) TO (EXAMPLE: FORT LAUDERDALE TO THE CARIBBEAN, INCLUDING STOPS IN PUERTO RICO, ST. THOMAS, ST. KITTS etc...) as well as to or from any other locations needed for his/her safe return..

 

I or WE (PARENT NAME) authorize ( YOUR NAME ) to sign legal documentation/waivers for ( CHILD'S NAME ) TO PARTICIPATE in any activities WHERE REQUIRED (i.e. Rock Climbing, Flowrider, Bungee Trampoline, Inline Skating, Ice Skating AS WELL AS ANY OFF SHIP EXCURSIONS).

 

I or WE (PARENT NAME) authorize ( YOUR NAME ) to supervise the child and IF NECESSARY MAKE ANY NEEDED MEDICAL OR OTHER EMERGENCY DECISIONS FOR ( CHILD'S NAME ) ON MY/OUR BEHALF IF WE CANNOT BE CONTACTED).

 

SIGNED BY THE PARENT AND NOTARIZED

If you are in the US, you can easily find a notary at most UPS and Fedex places or there is such thing as a traveling notary who will come to you.

Edited April 1, 2017 by SuiteTraveler

[MicCanberra]

I would think Royal, Carnival or NCL would cater for the kids best.

[Drrandall]

Thanks guys

[TruckerDave]

You questions are impossible to answer at this point without more info. What is your budget? and Where do you want to go and sail from are the first three things you need to ask yourself before you can begin planning. For example, one poster mentioned three NCL ships...1 sails from NYC and the other 2 are in Europe all summer.

[Drrandall]

You questions are impossible to answer at this point without more info. What is your budget? and Where do you want to go and sail from are the first three things you need to ask yourself before you can begin planning. For example, one poster mentioned three NCL ships...1 sails from NYC and the other 2 are in Europe all summer.

 

 

Hey trucker Dave. We are doing a 6 or 7 night cruise to the Caribbean. Cant go to Europe with no passports. I don't have a budget. Don't care where we go or leave from. Just want a nice kid friendly ship that isn't Disney.

[TruckerDave]

Hey trucker Dave. We are doing a 6 or 7 night cruise to the Caribbean. Cant go to Europe with no passports. I don't have a budget. Don't care where we go or leave from. Just want a nice kid friendly ship that isn't Disney.

 

 

Ok, now we can work with it a bit. The "big 3" (NCL,CCL,RCCL) are all about the same at the end of the day. (The fan boys/girls of each will disagree and the folks with axes to grind will as well). If you want bigger and sometimes newer ships (with more fancy stuff) then you are most likely looking at leaving form Port Canaveral (Orlando), Port Everglades (Ft Laurderdale), Miami, Houston (Galveston). Other ports tend to get the older and/or smaller ships Mobile, Jacksonville, Tampa, Charleston. (Not saying one is better than the other just that you are not going to get (for example) Carnival's newest show pony ship here in Charleston. We have an older smaller ship).

 

I would start by going on each lines website and looking at the dates you want to sail to start with. (keep in mind some lines send some of their ships to Europe and Alaska during the summer, so they will have fewer options in July for the Caribbean than in Jan). Each cruise line has its own section on this site so you can go to that section and scan the threads for discussion on each ship. If you find one that interests you.. Really (In my opinion) you best best is to just pick a line go to their website and see what they have to offer and then check the other lines as well and see what gets you interested. (I tend to skip most of the reviews on here as so many seam to get all worked up over the smallest things in my opinion. But you can read them if you like, some do go on and on and on ranting about stuff).

[Drrandall]

thanks dave. what I've heard is you cant go wrong with Carnival and kids. I do like the newer bigger ships but i didn't wanna blow too much money. Carnival Splendor has a decent cruise with a suite for only $3400 for all 3 of us. Not bad IMO. Anyway. Thanks for your response. Talk to ya later

[Aquahound]

thanks dave. what I've heard is you cant go wrong with Carnival and kids. I do like the newer bigger ships but i didn't wanna blow too much money. Carnival Splendor has a decent cruise with a suite for only $3400 for all 3 of us. Not bad IMO. Anyway. Thanks for your response. Talk to ya later

 

Personally, I think RCI's Oasis Class are the best of the mega ships. Call me a fan boy, I don't care. I'll cruise most any line and so far, those were my favorite and I do think they are set apart from NCL and CCL. That said, Oasis Class tends to be priced high and perhaps out of your budget.

 

Take a look at Norwegian Escape. We had a great time on that ship. The Free at Sea promotions still apply and you might possibly still be able to find a third-person-free promotion. It's worth looking in to.