Mom’s first cruise

[Blanc1g]

In June of 2020, I will take my mother on her first ever cruise. We will travel on the Breakaway. Mom is in her mid 70’s with recent knee replacements. We will also have 3 young boys ages 7 -9. So, my question has to do with balance. For those who have traveled on the Breakaway, did you find the activities offered were varied enough for my circumstance? There will be a total of 8 travelers. But I want to be certain that my mom and the kids will all have a great time on this particular ship. Also, share your thoughts on excursions and port activities. Thank you in advance.

[richg35]

The kids will have a great time. I have triplets who are 10 now and they have been on 4 cruises and always have a blast.

 

Hard to say about your mother. Being on a ship requires a lot of walking and standing. The elevators on the Breakaway and Breakaway+ class ships are at the fore and aft, there are no mid ship elevators. You can spend a lot of time waiting for elevators because there are 4000 people on the ship and most aren't in good enough physical condition to use the stairs.

 

Does your mom like pools and water? Does she like Bingo and gambling? There are art auctions that I find to be a good way to pass time.

 

You don't say when and where you are cruising so it's hard to offer suggestions on excursions and port activities. Be sure to choose activities that don't require physical exertion if people in your group can't handle it.

 

Personally I think cruises are great vacations for families with a diverse age and interest range and I'm sure you will be fine.

[YVRBassElectric]

I think it will be hard to keep 8 people together & happy but if everyone has time to "do their own thing" I think everyone will enjoy the vacation. I am looking forward to seeing my granddaughter do the ropes coarse (someday, she 7 months old & taking her first cruise next week) 

 

I cruised Alaska with my husband 2 months before hip replacement and Caribbean 2 months after hip replacement - the Caribbean was the easier trip, hard to lie on a beach in Alaska 🙂 

[dogs4fun]

56 minutes ago, Blanc1g said:

In June of 2020, I will take my mother on her first ever cruise. We will travel on the Breakaway. Mom is in her mid 70’s with recent knee replacements. We will also have 3 young boys ages 7 -9. So, my question has to do with balance. For those who have traveled on the Breakaway, did you find the activities offered were varied enough for my circumstance? There will be a total of 8 travelers. But I want to be certain that my mom and the kids will all have a great time on this particular ship. Also, share your thoughts on excursions and port activities. Thank you in advance.

What are the ports on your cruise? There is plenty to do onboard - both for the kids and for mom.

[HappyGlampers]

Consider renting a scooter for mumsy and request a handicapped room. She can continue to keep up with the fam even when the knees get cranky😁.

 

Enjoy!

[LinnieRed]

We took my 85 year old mother on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords last year. She has balance issues, so we rented a “transportation chair” which is a lightweight, small wheelchair from our local medical supply company. I think it cost $20 for the month, and used it for long distances: airport, boarding, excursions and touring. 

We also got a collapsible, lightweight walker that fit in her suitcase. This was used around the ship for balance safety. 

With these measures in place, a great time was had by all. Plenty to do and see. 

 

 

[Blanc1g]

Thank you all for your input, but my question is more about activities. My mother can walk just fine following knee surgery. Although for extensive walking at ports, we may consider a scooter. Thanks for that suggestion. But the point of my inquiry is...If you think the ship has a variety of activities that she can enjoy as well as the kids and the rest of the traveling adults?

[Blanc1g]

The trip will be a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise with port stops in Cozumel, Belize, Casta Maya, Roatan.

[esm54687]

2 hours ago, Blanc1g said:

Thank you all for your input, but my question is more about activities. My mother can walk just fine following knee surgery. Although for extensive walking at ports, we may consider a scooter. Thanks for that suggestion. But the point of my inquiry is...If you think the ship has a variety of activities that she can enjoy as well as the kids and the rest of the traveling adults?

There are activities that will entertain ages 5 - 105.....   not everyone will like everything but everyone will like something. 

[tcruisin77]

6 hours ago, Blanc1g said:

In June of 2020, I will take my mother on her first ever cruise. We will travel on the Breakaway. Mom is in her mid 70’s with recent knee replacements. We will also have 3 young boys ages 7 -9. So, my question has to do with balance. For those who have traveled on the Breakaway, did you find the activities offered were varied enough for my circumstance? There will be a total of 8 travelers. But I want to be certain that my mom and the kids will all have a great time on this particular ship. Also, share your thoughts on excursions and port activities. Thank you in advance.

We traveled on the Escape in a party of 10 in March. Ages varied from 3-79. The kids had a ball on ropes course, water slides; mini golf, and splash academy. Older folks had a ball by the pool watching little ones, playing bingo, watching shows in the theater, visiting the casino and meeting up for dinner with the whole party of ten. My mom enjoyed going to the library and getting crossword and sudoku puzzles everyday. I truly think the Breakaway will have something for all generations. We did GSC and the day after that day, everyone wanted to stay on the ship and enjoy her rather than go off to Nassau. The time we didn’t get to go to GSC, we went to a Blue Lagoon in Nassau and enjoyed a beach day. We all really enjoyed our multigenerational cruise and hope to repeat it in 2020 if the price is right. 

[newmexicoNita]

15 hours ago, Blanc1g said:

In June of 2020, I will take my mother on her first ever cruise. We will travel on the Breakaway. Mom is in her mid 70’s with recent knee replacements. We will also have 3 young boys ages 7 -9. So, my question has to do with balance. For those who have traveled on the Breakaway, did you find the activities offered were varied enough for my circumstance? There will be a total of 8 travelers. But I want to be certain that my mom and the kids will all have a great time on this particular ship. Also, share your thoughts on excursions and port activities. Thank you in advance.

We have cruised the Breakaway and are just older than your mom. When we cruised her we were probably her age: Knee replacement is what I had just had about a year before. There is plenty to do on the ship, that is why we are cruising her again in Oct. As for the kids, the same is true; activities are a plentiful as you want them to be. I only have a  couple of of comments: one the larger ships do attract a younger crowd so there will not be as many seniors on the ship as say, the Jewel class and 2: because of the size of the ship there will be more walking involved. Otherwise I think your mom will enjoy the experience; it is rare to hear of someone who did not enjoy their first cruise.

Have a great time with the family. It is a great family vacation. 

[PelicanBill]

14 hours ago, Blanc1g said:

The trip will be a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise with port stops in Cozumel, Belize, Casta Maya, Roatan.

Find a post with Dailies from a recent 7-day Breakaway sailing and you can see the kinds of activities offered.  Many are free and some have a charge.  The kids will be well-entertained at the Kids club daytime but could get bored in the evening. There is a kids pool but little chair capacity there, adults mostly have to stand or sit on the wall next to the pool. Evenings have a variety of entertainment all over the ship.  "Rock of Ages" is the main show and too mature for 7-9 years old.  They may enjoy the Rock n Roll in Syd's when they are doing that. There is Kids Karaoke if they are hams.

 

Cozumel is great for "Beach club" escapes - pay one price, eat and play.  Also best port for shopping IMO.

Belize - do something related to nature.  A tour or snorkeling as you have access to the second largest reef in the world.

Costa Maya - there is a pool right at the port with shopping, a water park next to the port, or take the open air buses to the beach and find a place to settle and eat and drink cheap.

No experience with Roatan.

The ports boards here are a great source of info on each port.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 4/19/2019 at 5:50 PM, Blanc1g said:

Thank you all for your input, but my question is more about activities. My mother can walk just fine following knee surgery. Although for extensive walking at ports, we may consider a scooter. Thanks for that suggestion. But the point of my inquiry is...If you think the ship has a variety of activities that she can enjoy as well as the kids and the rest of the traveling adults?

yes. We took my mom (68) on the Getaway 4 months ago (the sister ship to Breakaway), together with us (mid-40s) and our 7 yo kiddo, and all of us loved it. My mom loves dancing and music and exploring the ship, as well as lounging by the pool and trying out the buffet, so she  did all of the above.  Since she doesn't know English well, I'd circle all of the activities I thought she'd be interested in, and sometimes she just ventured out on her own. She loved it.

 

Our 7 yo LOVED it as well - the water slides, the spider net, the trampoline (Bounce), rock climbing, and the ropes course! He totally loved it. He doesn't do kid's club, so it was important for us to have activities the whole family can do.

 

And all of us enjoyed the entertainment options, besides the activities.

 

Quote

The trip will be a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise with port stops in Cozumel, Belize, Caosta Maya, Roatan.

 

Our exact itinerary. Is it Harvest Cay, Belize, or Belize City, Belize?

 

 

P.S. The only 2 things we were not very thrilled about was smoke smell in the middle of the ship (a few decks) and the sub par food in MDR. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable cruise.

 

P.P.S. I have a review in my signature. We did the same destination on the Allure last month, so you can find additional destination reviews there as well.

Edited April 22, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[memoak]

I am 68 and had a total knee replacement 8 years ago and am looking at a hip replacement in the next few months.  Once I finished rehab there really was nothing I could not do - your mother should have no problems

[suzequ]

On 4/19/2019 at 5:50 PM, Blanc1g said:

Thank you all for your input, but my question is more about activities. My mother can walk just fine following knee surgery. Although for extensive walking at ports, we may consider a scooter. Thanks for that suggestion. But the point of my inquiry is...If you think the ship has a variety of activities that she can enjoy as well as the kids and the rest of the traveling adults?

 

I've been cruising for many years and finally decided that if you go into it thinking you're going to have fun, then you do.  Specifically to your question - there is an astonishing variety of activities on the Breakaway (we took her 7 or 8 times out of NYC); she's a wonderful ship.

There's usually 2 different recent release movies each day on one of the big screens (Atrium or Spice H2O), the typical silly poolside games, music everywhere, trivia games, charades, kids club events and games, demos (ice carving, towel folding, sushi, vegetable carving...), lectures on a wide variety of subjects, the rock wall, ropes course, sports court, shuffleboard, bocce ball, ping pong, mini-golf, bowling, health lectures, children's water park, water slides, game shows, family (and adult) karaoke, comedians, magicians (sometimes), Dueling Piano sing along (Howl at the Moon), fitness classes, dance lessons, arts and crafts, painting classes...  

I hope you have a wonderful time one and all! 

[FLAHAM]

Bring a Kindle loaded with books.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

I often cruise with my mother (she will turn 90 just before our next cruise) and my kids (now older teens).

 

Yes, there is plenty to do to keep all entertained...but not a lot that entertains both my kids and my mother.  That makes it a little more challenging for me.

 

Mom moves a bit slower than most (using a walker) and she likes her 3 squares a day, so a good chunk of any day is spent getting ready for a meal, getting to a meal, getting a meal, getting back to somewhere else from a meal.   I delegate this task:  I assign people to eat with gramma so that I am not doing this 3 times a day.  

 

One activity we all like is trivia, and a multi-generational team has better luck than a single generation team with most trivia themes.   We pick what trivia contests we are doing and tell everyone to meet us at such and such a time at such and such place.   

 

Mom is not a sun worshiper, but on the bigger ships she loves the waterfront for a shady place to sit during the day and watch the ocean and people go by.   Kids like the pool deck and slides more, so again, delegation:  someone with the kids, someone with gramma.

 

So with a little help from my cruising companions (my long suffering husband, my niece, or whoever I dragged along) we make it work.