Opinions please -upscale cruise March Break, kids 10 & 12

[cdnliving]

Hello. We are planning our first ever cruise on/about Mar. 10th. We are opting for a cruise over a Caribbean land holiday this year because our kids are at the ages where they like to be busy seeing, doing, exploring and we thought a cruise might fit the bill. In looking at the numerous cruising selections, I am completely baffled by the number of offerings. Additionally, the photos on the websites are rather limited and it's difficult to get a good feel for the number/types of activities offered. The reviews on this site have been fabulous to read, but I'm afraid I am overwhelmed with information overload. So, I turn to you with the hopes that you experienced cruisers might be able to help us out...... If you can recommend anything that meets the following criteria, or share your personal experiences with regards to the activity offerings & ship design/layout we would be most grateful. Our criteria are as follows:

 

- an upscale ship that is classic and not over the top "vegas style" (I'm not a big fan of overly bright colours, neon lights etc, hordes of people

- layout of the ship - nicely appointed with a small ship "feel" (the reviews seem to recommend the newer ships as they are more luxurioius, but these seem to feel so big and almost overwhelming as opposed to classic and intimate - is there a newer luxurious ship with a small ship feel?

- my kids want don't want to feel lost in a sea of people, but rather feel like they are part of the crew & guests- if that makes any sense....

- price is not a concern

- lots of activities - not so much the surf machines and all the latest gizmos but good family fun and childrens activities - lots of them

- a kids club for certain - hopefully one that has some interesting offerings both creative, educational and fun and games - one where the counsellors actively participate with the children and add excitement and interest to the activities

- a waterslide would be nice, but not absolutely necessary

- Adult offerings - are there any family focused cruises that have gourmet cooking classes, golf lessons, photography classes, spanish classes etc for the adults? If so any recommendations based on experience...

 

We are going through March break, so I would think that there will be lots of children on any of the ships - is that so? We really like the style of the Holland American ships but from reading a few posts and talking to a few people, I get the sense that they are not so child friendly (although HAL is now marketing them this way, since Carnival took them over). Our kids are really looking forward to meeting other kids their ages. Also, interestingly, I looked at the carnival cruiselines "carnival capers" which outlines the numerous activities offered and thought my kids would enjoy these - they seemed to have more variety than Carnival - is that so?

We hadn't really considered Carnival Cruises up to this point.

 

I apologize for this very long post, and thankyou all for taking the time to read it. ANY insights/recommendations or offerings of information on the activites/kids clubs that you yourself experienced would be most welcome and appreciated. Thanks so much........cdn

[wrp96]

Listening to what you want I would avoid Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, or Princess and look at HAL or Celebrity. While there tend to be less kids on HAL and Celebrity, they still do a good job in entertaining kids from what I've read plus having the activities which you seem to want. During spring break times, there will be kids onboard even HAL and Celebrity but the other cruiselines will be packed with kids.

[abitaturbodog]

You might get more opinions if you post your quesion in the "Ask a Cruise Question" forum. I've found that this family fourm does not get much "traffic."

 

In recent history, I've only been on Carnival and as the previous poster said, Carnival would not provide what your family is looking for.

 

Good luck!

[kitty9]

To be honest, upscale and mass market lines don't really go together. Upscale means lines such as Crystal, Seabourn, Regent and Silversea and those lines don't cater to families. The closest you come to a more premium cruise line is Celebrity. If you're looking for a cruise in 2007, you're really pushing it because at that time of year, cruises generally book pretty quickly, many times a year away. Carnival, while great for kids, isn't in any way upscale. It's your basic mass market line that offers basically the same things as all the other mass market lines. HAL really attracts a much older crowd and their kid's program isn't considered the best. None of the mass market lines offer all the fancy activities you ask about. The only line that offers all those things is Crystal, with their Creative Learning Institute, which operates on all their cruises. They offer free classes in investments, computer science, foreign language, piano, cooking and wine. But, Crystal doesn't attract families---I've been on 15 of their cruises and the most kids I've seen on their ships is 2 or 3.

 

To get what you want, you're going to have to sacrifice some things. You want lots of activities, but only the big ships with lots of passengers offer those things. You want upscale where you feel more like a family member rather than just a face in a very huge crowd---but that feeling only exists on the luxury lines and they don't have all the fun activities for kids. So I guess what I'm saying is that you have to decide what's more important---an upscale/luxury experience on a small ship with fewer passengers and not many kids, or a mass market cruise line that offers lots of things for both kids and adults, but will be large and have lots of people on board. Remember, no cruise will offer exactly what you want, so you need to decide what's most important.

[de13]

Our interests have been similar to OP. We have 2 children - will be 12 and 8 in March. Not sure how close to March 10 you need to be...

We are trying the 15 nt. TA on Celebrity on March 18th to Europe. We are off from school for 2 week break from NJ.

We like that it is a somewhat newer and larger ship, though the Transatlantic should have more of a "classic" cruise feel, while traveling TA.

Our one concern is whether there will be any other children.

 

We have been on Carnival (prob not again), NCL, (enjoyed but depended on ship), RCCL, and Princess. One some, it really depends on the ship and sailing more then the line. As previously posted it will be hard to find all you are looking for.

We like:

a larger, newer ship (though not over 100K)

with smaller number of people (they do vary for same tonnage)

not overrun by children, just enough for our children to enjoy.

Good food and service

 

We have found the best so far we have sailed is NCL and Princess, but are now really looking forward to Celebrity.

What you describe as activities you like/dislike is similar to us. We also like some of the sports available like golf nets and children enjoy basketball courts. It is nice for them to get outside fresh air and play outside in the courts. We all look forward to the better cuisine on some lines.

Good luck on your decision. My children are now so hooked on cruising...

[cdnliving]

Kitty - thankyou for summing it all up in a nutshell - I wish I had talked to you three days ago!! I have spent countless hours on this very question!

De13 - we should be joining you on your cruise. I am actually going to look into that right now!! It's funny because we had planned to go to Europe this summer (June) when the weather is a bit nicer, but this might be a good compromise!

If anyone else has struggled with these same compromises, I'd love to hear what you decided, and how it worked out. Those insights are great & helpful! Thanks all.....

[nhmomjcd]

We want to sail on Regent thru the Mediterranean this summer, but are really worried that our teenagers will be bored out of their minds. There are some posts in the Regent boards about teenagers on board the holiday cruises and having a great time.

 

What was the concensus on which cruise lines to choose then to avoid the crowds of kids, yet keep them happy and entertained?

 

Hoping to make a decision soon!