What is a spring break cruise REALLY like?

[Joebucks]

My friends want to go on one. Is it really a bunch of kids? Is it really a bunch of college kids? I typically go in off-peak season, like fall and spring. I understand the crowd may get younger. Would like to hear actual experiences instead of exaggerated ones though. Thanks.

[mexicobob]

Many years ago went on a spring Break cruise with our kids. Many more young people on board than usual, especially senior in high school age group.  Was not a bad experience but prefer to go in quieter times of the year.  Also that is usually a very expensive week to cruise.  

[GTO-Girl]

11 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

My friends want to go on one. Is it really a bunch of kids? Is it really a bunch of college kids? I typically go in off-peak season, like fall and spring. I understand the crowd may get younger. Would like to hear actual experiences instead of exaggerated ones though. Thanks.

 

Pick a cruise 7 days or longer to minimize the craziness....

[cruisecraze96]

I have been on 3, all 3 were larger ships on both CCL (Dream, Breeze) and RCCL (Allure) and not one time did we feel it was overly crowded.  We actually prefer to do a cruise over spring break just because we have enjoyed ourselves more than trying to do Disney, beach, etc.

 

Kids, yes lots of kids but we have 2 and they really enjoyed all the new friends they made. My oldest daughter still has a few contacts that she talks to from previous trips we have taken.  The ones I have taken, we never experienced any issues with drunken out of control college kids.  Sadly I saw more bad behavior during a summer cruise than I have on the Spring Break ones.

 

I think part of what you want to look for though is the length of the cruise and price, even though we had our fair share of the college group we had more families because we were always on 7 or 8 day cruises that tend to cost more.  I feel from what I have heard in the past the shorter less expensive cruises tend to draw more of the hard core let's go to Mexico and Drink crowds (not that it is a horrible thing for them, fun to watch).

 

We tend to cruise during peak seasons, Spring Break and Summer just because it is easier to get off as a family and go.  We will be on the Breeze this Spring Break and I already have the Magic booked for the next one.

 

 

 

 

[BoDidly]

7 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

 

Pick a cruise 7 days or longer to minimize the craziness....

I don't know, one of our worst was on Destiny during spring break . Fights broke out above and below decks . Guardians and Security turned a blind eye  .  Rainy sea days lido be came human slip and slides.

Beer and alcohol sales were excellent  

[babe97]

Our first cruise was a 5 day on the Elation the first week of March. Looking back I say it was just awful, but we went on 11 more cruises in the next 5 years, so we still had a great time and it didn't turn us off cruises. I'd say take a 7 day or longer and stay on a high deck. We were on the first floor and the drunk kids were screaming in the halls, banging on doors, leaving tons of room service food in the halls. We would be enjoying a venue and then 20 or 30 would show up and the whole atmosphere went down hill. But while they could be indirectly annoying as a group, every single personal encounter we had with them was great. They were all really polite and friendly. They were just having fun and being a little obnoxious. But that being said we will never sail in March again! 

[splash_in_the_water]

our last cruise was during spring break aboard the Victory ....regular amount of kids....enough they had to break out of the normal room for the younger kids camp carnival...anyway not too much college dudes partying or whatever. Ran into a group of dudes a few times actually. super nice guys. they each brought a bottle of champagne and had one or two left ...i suggested they leave it for their room steward. They liked that idea and agreed that she was really nice and might appreciate it.

 

 

[shellster1]

Also, it's worth noting that all schools don't get the same week(s) off. Public schools typically get the week before or after Easter off, while it really does vary with colleges. A few years ago, I was concerned about drunk college kids, so I googled it and found a website that has more specific information of dates the universities take for spring break. I wish I could remember what site it was. My eleven-year-old goes to a private school and gets the first 2 weeks of March off every year. This is typical of many universities, but it never stops us from going. I have noticed (slightly) more groups of college kids during this time of year, but so far, it hasn't been a problem for us. I agree, 7 days or longer will be a lot better (no matter what time of year you cruise). The 3-4 day booze cruises are your best bet for seeing drunk adults everywhere. :)

Edited February 1, 2019 by shellster1
spelling

[RWolver672]

What the ship's itinerary is has a lot to do with the amount of young people partying too.  We did a five day to Cuba and there quite a few families but very few college kids.  All the rest of our cruises have been either seven or eight days.  The seven days cruises will have a mixture of ages.  The eight days seemed to have a more mature crowd.  Even to the point where they played sixties music on the Lido Deck on one of them. 

[nessz79]

We have cruised around Easter as well as during March, when our school and many others are out for spring break.  I agree with others' advice to cruise on a 7+ day cruise, preferably on a newer ship, on a higher deck.  All of those things cost more money, but it also gets you farther away from the spring break shenanigans.  🙂

 

Not that a lower deck is always bad, but we have had some recent experiences that made us say never again on a short cruise, and I imagine that could also apply to a spring break cruise.  We had people partying in their cabin, going in and out constantly, yelling in the hallways, blasting music in the hallways, and we're talking at 3 AM in the morning here.  We never complained as most of the hallway belonged to their party and we didn't want it to be obvious it was us.  So we suffered through it for the short cruise.  We have never had that problem on a high deck, like Lido (knock on wood!).

[schazzy]

We inadvertently went on a spring break cruise when we did a 7 day out of Charleston in April of 2017. We didn't see many college aged people, but there were a ton of under 18's on board. For the most part they weren't a really a problem unless you wanted to use the atrium elevators, Lido pool, hot tub, or have any ice cream. 

[Bevv]

9 hours ago, shellster1 said:

A few years ago, I was concerned about drunk college kids, so I googled it and found a website that has more specific information of dates the universities take for spring break. I wish I could remember what site it was.

https://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break

 

[Mommawo]

I will be taking a cruise in early March this year.  Mainly because it’s easier to get off work for me then.  I’m a 45 year old college student lol I’m not too rowdy. I was kinda wondering about the kid ratio then also.  Either way college kids are not gonna bother me 

[klfrodo]

My wife and I went a few years back. We were in our late 40's, early 50's. Went on a 7 day Carnival cruise.

Had a great time.

Were their some parties? Yes

Were there a few drunk kids? yes

Anything stand out over the young adults vs, the old adults partying? Not really. The youngsters are used to it while the adults try to hang like they used to.

Was it sad seeing the older ladies trying to compete with the younger ladies? Very much so.

Was is a party til you puke atmosphere? No

Was there some dancing? Yes

Was it a little bit more risqué? Yes

Did it slow down mid-week due to the kids not having the same credit limit? Yes

Edited February 1, 2019 by klfrodo

[MississippiMom]

1 hour ago, Bevv said:

https://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break

 

That’s a cool website.  I had NO idea it existed.

 

As for Spring Break cruises . . .  We are heading out on one this March, and we are traveling with lots of family, including kids.  I can’t imagine that it would be any different (people-wise) than a July cruise.  When your vacation time works around your kids’ days off of school, that’s when you travel.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We went on a 4-day cruise last March on Liberty out of Canaveral.  In theory, spring break time for some schools, but not the peak for college kids, which is later in March IIRC.

 

For age reference my wife and I were 39 and 50 at the time, respectively.  

 

Anyway, there were a few college aged kids there, but nothing too rowdy - if anything they were very amusing to observe in the Lido deck during the day.  We didn't hang out on Lido during the evening - we typically become bar flies at Alchemy or the Atrium - so perhaps things got a bit rowdier then.

 

The first couple nights were far more exciting due to the rough seas - that was when the 20 to 25 ft swells from the Nor'easters the previous week were rocking us a round a bit.  So there were a lot of green faces from sea sickness, and I suspect while alcohol consumption didn't help, more than likely the overall consumption levels went down.  (My wife and I were not affected - I guess we have sea legs - so we kept on enjoying Cheers!)

 

But after the seas calmed down there wasn't much different behavior than the other cruises we've been on.

 

YMMV, of course, and I suspect sailings out of other specific ports (e.g. Miami, FLL) may induce a greater proportion of "partiers" than Port Canaveral.

[ABQrobin]

We were on the Magic spring break 2 years ago.  It was FULL of kids ages 6-16 running amok all day and night.  Hot tubs full of kids splashing and jumping off sides into it, no one did anything about it.  Kids standing at ice cream machines holding button and letting it run out on floor, then running off.  Kids running up and down halls banging on doors all night... you get the picture.  Parents no where in site.  I had a kid in hallway, when we were just walking down Promenade, say to me as I went by "want a candy bar?" then threw it at me just missing my head.  I turned and looked at him, and he and his buddies all laughed (3 kids maybe 14 yrs old).  oops, ha ha ha....  Crap like that.  

It wasn't just the bad behavior it was that there were SO MANY of them all day long.  Every room must have been packed to capacity!  The ship just seemed way overcrowded.  We won't travel in March again, for sure.  

We still had a great cruise, 7-day Eastern Carib, loved our ports and excursions, but time on ship was like Animal House.

 

[robertlanajean]

54 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Did it slow down mid-week due to the kids not having the same credit limit? Yes

You win with this quote!

 

[rukkian]

We went on Allure of the seas last year, 2nd week of March (when all of Iowa colleges and most high schools have spring break), and saw no real issues.  Not sure if a bigger, more expensive ship made a difference.  We have Magic booked for an 8 day southern in 2020 for the same period, so I guess we will see.

[IPlayWithString]

[schazzy]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Did it slow down mid-week due to the kids not having the same credit limit? Yes

 

To somewhat quote Fried Green Tomatoes:

 

Face it, kids, I'm older and I have more credit.

Edited February 1, 2019 by schazzy

[figdu]

I would think the requirement of a 25yo in the room or on a linked booking has cut down on some college age passengers. 

[klfrodo]

24 minutes ago, figdu said:

I would think the requirement of a 25yo in the room or on a linked booking has cut down on some college age passengers. 

You only have to be 21 to get a cabin.

 

Only if someone is UNDER 21, must there be someone 25 or older in the cabin. (with caveats as soon will be seen by multiple posters)

[Athankfulheart]

We have only done a "spring break" sailing once. It was the Dream out of PC in 2012. If I remember correctly. Our cabins were on deck 6 aft. There was nothing noteworthy about the week other than maybe a higher number of families with kids. You will find badly behaved adults or poorly trained/supervised kids on any sailing if you are looking for them. 

[LHT28]

we  did  a 7 day out of TX one year

700 kids out os 2000 pax

most college age

some were so drunk coming back on the ship in Mexico  they needed wheelchairs ..then they were confined to their cabins

the younger  set  were not bad in the day but at night were running lose  all hours

vomit & other stuff  were in the halls

Yup a fun cruise  but not for us