What cruise line for kids BESIDES Carnival?

[bensmom1]

We just got back from a Carnival cruise w/DS, 3.5 years old. We were VERY happy w/Camp Carnival, but I'm just wondering what line we might try next year--we are thinking of an Alaska cruise next time, so I think Disney is out . . . would you recommend RCL, Princess, or Norwegian for young kids? Or should we stick w/Carnival? thanks!

[wrp96]

I highly recommend Royal Caribbean for families, but for Alaska cruising I would recommend looking at Princess.

[I&MsMom]

Our first cruise was on Carnival, and we loved it so much we've taken three more since, and we're booking the Freedom Greece and Turkey cruise next year!

 

To be honest, the value is so high, and we've had nothing but great experiences, we haven't been tempted to look elsewhere! I suppose, at some point, we'll exhaust their itineraries, but then, on the other hand, who would have thought they'd offer a 12 night eastern med?

 

It seems from responses elsewhere that you can't go wrong with many of the others, though.

 

Have fun with whatever you decide!

[TennisLover]

My kids have had a great time on Carnival, but I have heard that Royal Caribbean has even more activities -- with the rock climbing wall, skating, adventures ocean club, etc. A friend of mine went with two small boys and said they were really busy every day on the ship!

 

We're looking forward to our first RCCL cruise in February.

[mrleo33]

We have taken our two children aged 3 and 5 on four cruises in the past 14 months and I think that tied for first place for the best Kid's Club's would be the Carnival Liberty and the Norwegian Spirit (check out the kid's facilities on these ships, and don't miss Buccaneer Bay on the Spirit) It makes you wish you were a kid again. 2nd place would be Royal Carribean's Enchantment of the Seas and 3rd would go to Carnival Sensation (which I understand is having some issues based on some unique circumstances, and I probably would not book this ship until they have the wrinkles ironed out). I would be very comfortable taking my family on the majority of Carnival or Royal Caribbean's ships and our experience with NCL's kid's club was very positive, however I cannot generlize too much because children's facilities vary so much from ship to ship. For example the facilities on the Spirit were extensive and they had so much to offer, however that ship is very unusual since it was originally deployed for the asian market and it is very different than any other ship in their fleet, so I would make a choice based on the ship itself rather than just looking at the line.

I have not cruised Princess yet so cannot give much of an opinion there, but it is hard to beat any of Carnival's newer ships for kids.

[jaredp1990]

Believe it or not I have had a great experience on HAL with their childrens activites. On the Veendam last year, although there were no dedicated children's facilities, the astaff made it one of the best cruises that I have ever been on. Now especially since almost all of their ships have the Signature of Excellence upgrades and the new teen centers, I would strongly reccomend HAL. Some say it is not for children but do not listen to them. As a teen, I foud it to be one of the best cruises I have ever been on yet their dress code is more strict so if that is an issue, you might want to lean away from HAL, but I like wearing my Tuxedo and Suit. So whicever line you go with, I am sure you will be happy. Also, I did enjoy RCL and Princess but was not impressed with Carnival when I sailed on the Holiday. I do not even believe that they had children's activites on the ship at all. Either that or we never saw them because no guide was ever delievered to the stateroom.

[crusinmama06]

We've done Disney, NCL and RCCL with 2 kids....I am back to booking just RCCL. We just weren't as impressed on the other lines.

 

You would be happy with any of the Voyager class ships on RCCL.

[FrogLover215]

We did Carnival with the kids twice but our last cruise with them we went with Royal Caribbean (just wanted a change, since we cruise the same itinerary each time). I definitely give RC a thumbs-up. We thought Carnival was nice too, but the kids' area on RC was so much better.

[Onessa]

The lines you mentioned are making a concerted effort to attract families - as a result the kids programs are all pretty solid.

 

RCCI's formal kid's program and facilties are always very high quality. The faciltiies vary a bit from ship to ship, but the program and staff are always excellent. RCCI ships also have a number of non-kids program related facilities that are kid friendly - climbing walls, put-put golf, some have ice skating and/or roller blading.

 

Princess's kids programs are great fun. With Princess and HAL, you'll find the facilites will vary from ship to ship. On Princesses' part that is becoming less of a issue, but verify the facilities before you committ.

 

My DD's favorite is NCL - again their facilities will vary - but their activities are bit less "frantic". As much craft work, down time, and quiet games as there are the more physical games.

 

NCL usually has female employees in their kids programs. I found RCCI generally has male (particularly in the older age brackets). Other lines gender is less predictable.

 

DD's always had a great time on all the cruises we've taken.

[Onessa]

We've done Disney, NCL and RCCL with 2 kids....I am back to booking just RCCL. We just weren't as impressed on the other lines.

 

You would be happy with any of the Voyager class ships on RCCL.

 

Voyager-class don't really do the inside passage. If you are thinking AK, RCCI Radiance-class is a good choice, or any of the Princess ships sailing that area is good. I haven't tried HAL or NCL in AK. Select ship and line by itinerary for the most enjoyable AK cruise. Then consider kid's programs. You'll have a lot of time in port with a variety of opportunities on land - be sure you see the sights and hit the ports that most interest your family.

[Cruising Fam]

We've done Alaska on RCCL Radiance of the Seas with a 5 year old and a 7 year old. Both had a blast. Loved the Adventure Ocean program, late night snacks in the Seaview Cafe, getting dressed up 'fancy' in the dining room on occasion, drinks in the centrum, and a couple of the shows were their favorites---Mosaic espcially. The Royal Family Suite at the rear of the ship with two bedrooms is wonderful.

 

We'll be taking the same trip this summer on Serenade of the Seas with the addition of our niece and her parents in the adjacent cabin.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Also, I did enjoy RCL and Princess but was not impressed with Carnival when I sailed on the Holiday. I do not even believe that they had children's activites on the ship at all. Either that or we never saw them because no guide was ever delievered to the stateroom.

 

The last time we went on the Holiday was in 1999 but there was a kids' program on that ship. Perhaps, you needed to ask--maybe the steward forget to put the guide in your cabin. My daughter seems to prefer Carnival over Princess, but she does like Princess.

 

One thing to remember is that the quantity of kids on a cruise will determine how active the program will be. If there's a lot of kids aboard (summer, winter and spring breaks), then there will be more activities. If there are few kids aboard, there won't be as much going on.

[Nliedel]

My boys LOVED RCI. I cannot say enough nice things about it.

[bruce-r]

My kids preferred Princess over RCI in just about all areas. So did I. I would definitely pick Princess over all other cruise lines, with the exception of maybe HAL, for Alaska.

[Cruise Arizona]

We took our kids on the 14 day Infinity Cruise to Hawaii in November of last year, and with 57 total kids from 3-17 in the program and plenty of conselers, they got lots of individual attention and had lots of fun. It might not be as good as RCI, Disney, and Carnival, but compared to staying at home, the kids 7 & 9, thought it was better than a week at Disney World.

[Kuffam]

We've cruised NCL's Pride of America (POA) and Disney's Wounder. Truth be told, my daughter (5) preferred POA. DW and I think it's because of the staff, we sailed in January and they did not have a lot of children and the staff was really out going. On Disney (sailed in December) there were more kids and she got lost in the shuffle.

 

By far Disney has the best facilities for children and families. There are always movies and cartoons on TV, First run movies in the theater (We saw The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the day it opened to the public), Disney style broadway shows, and children friendly playroom and pool.

 

Yet we enjoy NCL for it's Freestyle dinning and dress. The children's club is not as nice as on Disney and the hours are shorter. But in Hawaii there was a lot of shore time and we rented a car and traveled where we wanted- when we wanted. Stopped off at a park to let the kids play at the playground- had a picnic by the seashore- ice cream under a banyan tree.

[kgfam]

We were very happy with Camp Carnival as well although it's been a couple of years since we've cruised with that line. Since then we've been on Princess (Diamond in 2004 and Island just 2 weeks ago). Our kids ages 6,9, and 11 love the kids program on Princess just as well as Carnival and that makes us happy because we tend to prefer Princess for the food and entertainment over Carnival. I must mention, the cruise we just came off was 15 days and the kids loved every minute they were in the Fun Zone!:o

[msbr]

I am afriad we were disappointed w/ the CCL program aboard the Legend. We have decided to return to RCI.

[TIEGIRL]

Royal Caribbean all the way!

:)

[dosi]

Well our favorite childrens program is on a line you didn't mention. We found that Celebrity had the best program. There was very little watching of videos and things like that. They had the children do a talent program one night for the parents that was fantastic. All of the staff seemed to really enjoy their jobs and the children. We would pick Celebrity, Carnival, NCL and Princess in that order if we were basing our choice just on the children's programs.

[bbcruiser]

Our 3 y.o. enjoyed Kids Crew on the Norwegian Star. He is pretty easy going, so I'm not sure if all kids will like it. They take the kids out to dinner one night so the parents can have an adult-only dinner. They have port-day activities for the kids, but at an extra fee. You can find a lot to do with kids in the ports (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria) and we didn't sign him up for any port-day activities.

 

What I especially liked about the Norwegian Star is that the AB Penthouse suites have an extra bedroom for the kids. It gives you so much more privacy that way. Also, the master bedroom and bath can be closed off with two sliding pocket doors. There is a new ship, the Norwegian Pearl that will be sailing the Glacier Bay itineary next year and it looks like they'll have the same type of Penthouse suites available (and the courtyard villas sound like they'll have the same set-up, but more pricey because of access to a private courtyard). We have sailed both of NCL's Alaska itinearies and prefer the Glacier Bay itineary because of longer port times.

 

Hope this helps. I've heard and read good things about Royal Carribean's programs on these boards, too. We just know that our son enjoyed Kid's Crew and we loved having the extra privacy in the Penthouse Suite. I'm not sure what level suite you would need on Royal Carribean to get the same amount of privacy.

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

I agree with some of the other posts. YEs, Carnival is great witht hekids camp, but RCCL is just as good.

[seattle2000]

I've enjoyed reading all the kids club tips so far. One question though - if NCL closes their kids club during port days, how often is it actually open on the 7 day Alaska cruises? We are planning on going with NCL because they accept 2 year olds, but if the club is only open a few hours for the whole trip, we may rethink this.

[4merlurker]

I've enjoyed reading all the kids club tips so far. One question though - if NCL closes their kids club during port days, how often is it actually open on the 7 day Alaska cruises? We are planning on going with NCL because they accept 2 year olds, but if the club is only open a few hours for the whole trip, we may rethink this.

 

It's not that they close it - they just charge for what they call "group sitting" on port days. After 5pm until 10pm it goes back to no charge. From 10pm to 1am they charge again.

 

~Connie

[Calicruisefamily]

Try Rc "Voyager of the Seas". Our daughter had the best time last year. We are taking her back for a second time :D They have so much to do for kids our daughter never wanted to leave.

Voyager Western Caribbean 12/16/06 "Our First AFT"

Voyager Eastern Caribbean 11/05

S.S. Azure Seas Baja 11/90