Could we fit in with Oceania?

[sofa.king]

We've sailed all the mainstream lines like NCL, Royal, Carnival, Princess, Holland.  Two adults and two kids 11 and 13.

We're not into dressing and the kids are decently up well behaved.  How much more upscale is Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn and the other luxury lines.  Would we be eye-sores as passengers?  Should we even care about what other think?  We prefer a more laid back vacation, but some of the itineraries on these luxury lines are very enticing, especially for my teen.

Edited April 2 by sofa.king

[edgee]

Generally there are zero kid focused activities on O and very few kids travel on O. Only you can decide if that is the environment where your teen can be happy.

[sofa.king]

7 minutes ago, edgee said:

Generally there are zero kid focused activities on O and very few kids travel on O. Only you can decide if that is the environment where your teen can be happy.

Thanks @edgee

 

It's the itineraries and ports of call we like and not too concerned about the onboard amenities as we would be exploring each day.  Kids may go to the pool on sea days and don't particularly like the kids clubs.

Edited April 2 by sofa.king

[edgee]

2 minutes ago, sofa.king said:

Thanks @edgee

 

It's the itineraries and ports of call we like and not too concerned about the onboard amenities as we would be exploring each day.  Kids may go to the pool on sea days and don't particularly like the kids clubs.

Pool and the area around them are pretty small, but if the itineraries are what they are most interested in, that is most important.

[Treasure Hunter]

If you’ve been on Princess, Oceania is the most like the smaller Princess ships ( in fact the Sirena was a Princess ship) . The most exciting event on Oceania is trivia which is a blood sport. The food is good but I don’t really see kids having fun. If you find an itinerary you absolutely love give it a try but we took our teens to Iceland and Tahiti on Princess for much less money.

[jonthomas]

There is nothing that is intended for children.

Most of the patrons on O prefer a child free, quiet atmosphere. If we didn't   we would sail other lines.

One of the reasons we do not sail celebrity any longer is that we don't want to be on a ship with children. For that we sail royal Carib  where they can do as little or as much as they wish.

We have sailed Viking several times. No one under 18.

 

Unfortunately our preferred line O does not have this policy.

Most will not be as brutally honest as I have been. They will publicly tolerate the odd child or two but will privately grumble.

I always wonder why parents bring children onto a ship with nothing for them, a generally much older clientele, possibly several sea days.

So there you have it.

[Treasure Hunter]

There are very few sea days on most Oceania itineraries. If you go try to pick one of those. You will see grumpy glances. 

[lorimay]

We traveled extensively with our kids when they were the age of yours. They were extremely well-behaved and fit in anywhere. There would have been no complaints from other passengers about them because of behavior. They also did not care for kid's clubs on cruises. However, they would have been very bored on Oceania. Please remember that the average age on Oceania skews VERY senior. The ship is dead by 9pm. The nightly entertainment doesn't start until 9:30pm and maybe a quarter of the passengers even stay up for that. The only other entertainment is in the bars.

 

For most people, it's all about dining in the specialty restaurants. The excursions included with Simply More are group bus excursions at a slow pace, geared for older travelers. 

 

If your kids are picky eaters, the specialty restaurants, which are the highlight of the cruise, will be wasted on them. The buffet is great, so they could find something to eat, but the specialty dining is slow and probably not great for kids that age.

 

I think the cons of the ship's atmosphere would outweigh the pros of the itinerary. 

[cjwags]

Just back from 12 days in Japan on Riveria.  There was one family with children (two teens and three young girls).  They appeared bored most of the time.  On our Med cruise on Vista last summer there were a few more children as art of a multi generational family, but they also seemed as though there just wasn't enough for them to do.  Having done several cruises with Celebrity when my kids were preteens and teens, it was a perfect fit.  Still more upscale than RC, NCL, etc. but lots for kids to do and a more family friendly environment.  My suggestion would be unless there is no other line doing the itinerary you are looking at, save Oceania for when you are empty nesters! 🙂

Hope that helps!

[PhD-iva]

I was on a 17 day voyage in February on a Regent ship with a lot of sea days. I only saw one 12-year-old child. He was the son of guest lecturers on the ship, and they were traveling with his grandmother, who only spoke German. My trivia team adopted him, and he really added a lot to our experience. The maximum size for trivia teams is six, and we had six before he joined our team. No one complained that we had “too many” on our team. He was such a cute young man, generally well-behaved, unless he had consumed too much sugar. A few afternoons, he was very twitchy and rambunctious. But we all loved him. I think he was quite the mascot wherever he went on the ship. And let me just say that, although this was not on an Oceania cruise ship, Regent skews very old as well.

When I was about 10 years old, my family traveled internationally, including on a cruise ship. We were pretty wild, not well-behaved like most of these children you are hearing about, but the international travels really had an impact on me (hopefully for the better).

[mauibabes]

You did not mention the itinerary or ship you were booking but if Alaska, they do have things for the kids. We were on a Rio to Miami cruise and had one 9 year old so she had about 200 grandparents interacting with her.  She was adopted by the Entertainment team and she saw parts of the ship that none of us saw. She had a fabulous time and she was a delight for her grandparents that she was traveling with as her parents were teachers and had a different holiday schedule.  If the kids are busy with you on tours, they will survive fine and the internet will also provide some entertainment. They will eat well, no cost for their drinks or drink packages required. 
Bring them on and plan to have a great trip on a special itinerary. My wife read a FB post and the family was bringing 11 kids with them and 32 all totaled for a 50th Anniversary cruise.  Talk to your travel agent and Oceania about the specific activities they might enjoy on your cruise. 
Mauibabes
 

 

[sunlover12]

@sofa.kingI wouldn’t be concerned what others think or if you will fit in. You know your kids better than anyone. Find an itinerary that the kids will enjoy and go for it. 

I have 2 grandchildren that are similar ages as your 2 children. They are 12 and 10.  They went on a 7-day Norwegian cruise last year with their parents. They weren’t all that interested in the kids club as they found it rather boring. They are well behaved and loved the fancy restaurants on the ship and the fun excursions they went on. 

 

Yes, Oceania skews older but they have some great and fun itineraries that all ages can enjoy. 

[ORV]

Assuming you do go on Oceania have you narrowed down a ship, itinerary, and room category? Most rooms are not really set up for multiple occupancy. 

[sofa.king]

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts. It is reassuring that we wouldn’t be totally out of place.  We have no issues booking two rooms and have some do on the last couple cruises.  I think we found what we’re looking for on X so will try that line.  

[Jancruz]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

Assuming you do go on Oceania have you narrowed down a ship, itinerary, and room category? Most rooms are not really set up for multiple occupancy. 

We have  6 great grandchildren from 2 to 12 and we travel on Oceania 4 or 4 times a year..BUT when we take the kids we are on NCL and they love it..I personally would not take kids on O....

Jancruz1

[Techno123]

Personally I think it depends on you and your children.

 

The parents I dislike (note I say parents not children) are the ones who lie on a sun bed (usually with a drink in hand) whilst allowing their children to rampage around the ship unsupervised - leaping in the hot tubs, taking over the pool, running screaming down the corridors and being a pain in the dining room (although adults can behave equally poorly😜)

 

Children who are relatively self sufficient, who are well supervised, have been brought up to sit and eat properly at the table and who are worn out by daily excursions don't need children's clubs as such because their parents engage with them. We have a Vista cruise booked and there does seem to be a fair amount to keep one occupied - artists loft, needlepoint group, pickle ball, bocce, golf driving and putting, swimming pool, trivia etc plus there are usually daily activities held by the entertainment team.

 

Please don't be put off as it is only the parents who choose to absolve themselves of responsibility for their children the second they step onboard who are probably not a good fit for the likes of Seabourn, Oceania, Regent etc.

[cruisemom42]

 

I agree with those who've said it depends on the individual family. I come from a traveling family. Both my sister and I were taken to Europe for the first time in our young teens (I was 14). I went on my first cruise at age 9. Back then there was not really much catering on ships for kids but I loved it anyway. 

 

We took DS on his first cruise when he was 5 and to Rome when he was 7. Never sailed on NCL or Carnival or RCL, the so-called "family lines" and he still had a great time. 

 

12 hours ago, cjwags said:

They appeared bored most of the time. 

 

I'm curious. How does one appear bored?

 

[cjwags]

34 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I agree with those who've said it depends on the individual family. I come from a traveling family. Both my sister and I were taken to Europe for the first time in our young teens (I was 14). I went on my first cruise at age 9. Back then there was not really much catering on ships for kids but I loved it anyway. 

 

We took DS on his first cruise when he was 5 and to Rome when he was 7. Never sailed on NCL or Carnival or RCL, the so-called "family lines" and he still had a great time. 

 

 

I'm curious. How does one appear bored?

 

Our observations were them all sitting at the tables with parents during Bingo, tea, trivia, etc.  They had coloring pages, toys, etc.  but often displayed signs of boredom and we even overheard them saying as such to their parents.  We were on one tour with a family, and observed the children asking to do something else, etc.  I certainly think all families are welcome on lines such as Oceania, however they need to assess what their children like and don't like to make such a decision.  I traveled extensively with my own children when they were young.  Some experiences were better than others, but we always made memories!

[jonthomas]

15 hours ago, lorimay said:

We traveled extensively with our kids when they were the age of yours. They were extremely well-behaved and fit in anywhere. There would have been no complaints from other passengers about them because of behavior. They also did not care for kid's clubs on cruises. However, they would have been very bored on Oceania. Please remember that the average age on Oceania skews VERY senior. The ship is dead by 9pm. The nightly entertainment doesn't start until 9:30pm and maybe a quarter of the passengers even stay up for that. The only other entertainment is in the bars.

 

For most people, it's all about dining in the specialty restaurants. The excursions included with Simply More are group bus excursions at a slow pace, geared for older travelers. 

 

If your kids are picky eaters, the specialty restaurants, which are the highlight of the cruise, will be wasted on them. The buffet is great, so they could find something to eat, but the specialty dining is slow and probably not great for kids that age.

 

I think the cons of the ship's atmosphere would outweigh the pros of the itinerary. 

 

Its not about kids clubs....a different line has so much more to offer than just kids clubs...ours were fascinated by the magic, acrobatics, lights sounds and electrifying displays during the shows...the ample kids pools, the games,  the ability to meet and play with other children and that is all outside of kids clubs.

 

Its about choice.

An O ship has NO choices for them. Why would anyone want that? We were in the Carib in Jan, two ports cancelled, several sea days. No matter the itin, be prepared for several sea days.

 

Unless of course children would like to be in the library for the day, there are several kids books there. But even then, the old timers that love this sanctuary would not be pleased.

 

One more thought, if they are teenagers, very interested in History and Geography, the lectures for European ports are wonderful and so are the ports. This is more of an educational trip rather than recreational. But even then I would  not bring teens or tweens where they have no others to meet and socialize with. 

 

[edgee]

Interesting discussion, but the OP has already disengaged, saying they are going to cruise on Celebrity.

[Jancruz]

39 minutes ago, edgee said:

Interesting discussion, but the OP has already disengaged, saying they are going to cruise on Celebrity.

True and in my opinion for the kids a great choice..

Jancruz1

[kibutzer]

18 hours ago, sofa.king said:

We've sailed all the mainstream lines like NCL, Royal, Carnival, Princess, Holland.  Two adults and two kids 11 and 13.

We're not into dressing and the kids are decently up well behaved.  How much more upscale is Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn and the other luxury lines.  Would we be eye-sores as passengers?  Should we even care about what other think?  We prefer a more laid back vacation, but some of the itineraries on these luxury lines are very enticing, especially for my teen.

Generally there is little to do for children that age. Unless they are into reading, or it is a port intensive cruise not sire they would enjoy. 

[jonthomas]

They made a good decision.  We will also be on a celeb ship next Dec with ours. 

I would not sail celeb if it was just us but with the kids it is ideal.

We were fortunate to find our niche. O suits us in every way.

[Berlee]

On 4/2/2024 at 4:32 PM, sofa.king said:

We've sailed all the mainstream lines like NCL, Royal, Carnival, Princess, Holland.  Two adults and two kids 11 and 13.

We're not into dressing and the kids are decently up well behaved.  How much more upscale is Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn and the other luxury lines.  Would we be eye-sores as passengers?  Should we even care about what other think?  We prefer a more laid back vacation, but some of the itineraries on these luxury lines are very enticing, especially for my teen.

My sis and I are in our 50’s , and we love Seabourn.  We don’t dress up , nice jeans and a top.   The people we met on Seabourn were so much fun.  Three cruises with them , and our fave so far.   We’ve done Oceania in 2019 , and I got kicked out of the Asian restaurant for wearing jeans maybe ?  It’s not more relaxed so I’ve been told.  Oceania is 5.5 star, Seabourn is 6, so idk if that helps 😉.  Ps we don’t “party”.  

[Berlee]

Just now, Berlee said:

Asian

 

Just now, Berlee said:

My sis and I are in our 50’s , and we love Seabourn.  We don’t dress up , nice jeans and a top.   The people we met on Seabourn were so much fun.  Three cruises with them , and our fave so far.   We’ve done Oceania in 2019 , and I got kicked out of the Asian restaurant for wearing jeans maybe ?  It’s not more relaxed so I’ve been told.  Oceania is 5.5 star, Seabourn is 6, so idk if that helps 😉.  Ps we don’t “party”.  

Shalom MOT