Families on QM2 - some thoughts

[paul1959]

We sailed the QM2 march 10 cruise to the Caribbean: My wife and I, a 14 year old son, and 7 year old daughter.

 

First of all, the QM2 IS a family ship. This is despite an agent of a major cruise agency telling us that it would be awful for a family. There are fewer children on board than most lines, but for us, this was a plus. (50 kids under 18) Our children were never exposed to any unseemly behavior on the part of adults - no drunkeness, no lewdness, no foul language, no contests of women stuffing fruit in their swimsuits, no game shows, no topless decks, nothing at all that was not G rated. Some may wonder how we could possibly enjoyed a cruise without all this. Now, we are FAR from prudes, but we don't want to spend our vacation worrying about what our kids might be seeing.

 

For the 7 year old - the ZONE was fantastic. The staff was energetic, outgoing and all the kids on board loved Shan and Jo, the leaders. They are open 9-12,2-5, and 8-midnight (these are the hours for the 7 -12 crowd, younger ages are different.) Computer games, arts and crafts, storytime, play time on the Minnows Deck, shows, tours, you name it. The kids did it. There were 8 or 9 kids in this age group. Enough to have fun, but small enough that they got lots of attention and became a close knit group. All deck pools are open to kids, but there is no need to do any other pool but the minnows pool. In fact, as adults, we preferred this one. Deck 8 was too crowded, deck 12 too hot, deck 13 too windy. The only problem was that many adults liked to be in the same pool - which was no problem for the kids - but when the kids got rambuncious (cannonballs), old ladies tend to complain. Now, why in the world would you get into a kids' pool and expect it to be quiet? The staff was VERY supportive of the kids and would remind people that this was the minnow's deck and they were there as guests of the children. Most people enjoyed being around the kids pool. They kids were never noisy or out of control. They just were kids having fun. There is tons of food for kids. Our daughter did very well with both the adult menu and kids menu. Kings Court is great for kids, but the Britannia was equally good. Our daughter loved the cruise. Her favorites? 24/7 ice cream, the pool, and the Zone. She dressed up for formal nights and the Zone staff took them to the evening shows. Many people remarked on how good the kids were and how well behaved they were.

 

Our 14 year old: He met the other teens the first morning and they were inseperable ever since. Again, there were about 9-12 of them. He ws the only American. They were great kids - the kind you hope your teen would hang out with. They had involved parents with similar standards and expectations. We were lucky. They would meet at the Zone, but it is really not geared toward their age, so they would go hang someplace else. The sports deck was largely unused by the older crowd on board, so they would golf, play basketball, tennis, sunbathe, and Eat, eat, eat. They liked the movies at Illuminations and loved the movies outside on Deck 13 at night. As teenagers do, however, they mostly just hung out. Usually at Kings Court in the off hours or in each others' rooms. They were quickly recognized by staff and passengers alike. And we would hear reports on what they were doing from both staff and passengers. We never heard one critical word. The passengers loved seeing good kids being good kids. The teens were always respectful and considerate. They often provided entertainment. One rough day at sea, the Deck 12 pool became a wave pool. The teen boys body surfed and did tricks in the enormous flood. The whole room was laughing at them. One older man told me it made him want to be young again to have such fun. The kids would stay up late in the Kings Court and chat with staff and eat. By the 6th or 7th day, passengers were stopping to tell us how nice it was to see good kids. I'm not bragging at all - if anything, just grateful, because we were worried about what there would be for him to do and were so happy he found other strong, happy kids to be with. They all dressed up for formal nights and on the last night, all 9 ate together at the Britannia. So, in a nutshell, don't worry about taking a teenager along. They will love it.

 

One caveat - AVOID the short cruises. The 4 day Easter cruise has 400 kids on it and the ship's staff simply can't handle those numbers. The Zone is great, but not that big. 40 kids in 7-12 age group would be tops. The best part of the zone was the intimacy of the small group.

 

We had two staterooms - both inside - and it was great. We would NEVER have survived all four of us with the pull down berths.

 

other thoughts to follow as things come to mind.

Paul

[Highlander0108]

Thanks Paul for the words of encouragement. We are going on the October tandem transatlantic on QM2 with our 2 children, 6 and 9. My 9 year old son will appreciate the significance of this cruise, sailing out of NYC with QE2 for the last time, far more than my 6 year old daughter. We are planning on a UK vacation afterwards for the entire family. Both have been on 2 other cruises and love to travel on ships. The Costa Club was crowed the first time, with over 500 kids, but our last Bermuda cruise, there were under 50 kids and they enjoyed it even better. It sounds like they will get close attention on QM2.

[Atomica]

Very nice writeup! You've probably given great hope to anyone looking into taking their family on a QM2 trip :)

 

I never believe what travel agents tell me anymore (except my own, who is fantastic.) At best, the majority of them are misinformed and still clinging to the old stereotypes (HAL is for seniors, Carnival is a drunken frat-fest, etc. etc).

[Spot2006]

Thank you very much we your comments. Myself and my husband are taking our 2 year old son on the QM2 in September and we were thinking of cancelling it due to thinking that my son would not be catered for and would not enjoy the experience. But it like comments like yours that change are minds and remember why we booked it.

[pb82]

Here are a few photos and handouts from the QM2 Children's Zone.

[Cortesefam]

Paul: We're sailing on the QM2 in August, and your account reinforces our confidence that we've made a good decision to try the QM2.

 

Were there any particular activities on the days at sea that your kids/family enjoyed?

 

Thanks

[paul1959]

The Zone does such a great job of keeping things varied, that we did very little other than participate. Our 7 year old's days at sea went something like this:

 

8:00 "Get out of bed! It's almost time to go to the Zone"

(she bounced up)

9:00 - 12:00 Zone activities: beach bag making, boat tour, scrapbook making, scavenger hunt, autograph scavenger hunt, board games, fuze beads, arts and crafts, painting boxes, making necklaces/ key fobs.

 

12:00 - 2:00 - Lunch. Swimming in Minnows Pool or Deck 12 if cold. Most adults are gone at lunch time. Ice cream every meal!

 

2:00-5:00 - More Zone stuff - outdoor games on deck. FUN! (Hockey on scooters, water fights, climbing toys, ball games)

 

5:00 Dinner at King's court or children's Tea at Chef's Galley. (kids favorites - hamburger, hot dog, chix nuggets, pasta) Fresh fruit, veggies/dip.

 

This is where the early dinner seating might be good if you wanted to eat as family. We liked our nightly "date".

 

6:00 - TV watching while we dressed for dinner and had drinks. We walked the decks, went up to look out on 11, kept her busy while wife finished up. This was fun Dad time.

 

8:00 (6:00 if younger) Zone - the big show of the night in Royal court Theater - they sit in front row. Everyone thinks they are cute and even better if they are dressed up.

 

10:00 - Zone was darkened, they showed a movie and kids lay on mats. Some slept, some stayed up. VERY cute. After we were done dancing or having drinks at Commodore Club we would pick her up and go down one deck to bed.

 

It is MUCH easier to live aft if you have a kid!

Paul

[Ginger11]

Hi Paul, as someone who has nothing but praise for the Zone and their terrific staff (and I don't work for Cunard!) I am glad to hear that they are equally good for older kids. My son is three and I have taken him on the QM2 twice and both times I have been very happy with the children's program. The travel agent who told you that there is nothing for kids onthe QM2 obviously didn't know what he or she was talking about.

 

The first cruise I took him on was a short 4-day trip over Labor Day Weekend and there were not a a big number of children. I do agree that I don't think the Zone could cope with the 400 kids you described on the Easter cruise. As wonderful as there staff are they just don't have the physical space.

 

Ginger

[Brit and proud]

We sailed the QM2 march 10 cruise to the Caribbean: My wife and I, a 14 year old son, and 7 year old daughter.

 

First of all, the QM2 IS a family ship. This is despite an agent of a major cruise agency telling us that it would be awful for a family. There are fewer children on board than most lines, but for us, this was a plus. (50 kids under 18) Our children were never exposed to any unseemly behavior on the part of adults - no drunkeness, no lewdness, no foul language, no contests of women stuffing fruit in their swimsuits, no game shows, no topless decks, nothing at all that was not G rated. Some may wonder how we could possibly enjoyed a cruise without all this. Now, we are FAR from prudes, but we don't want to spend our vacation worrying about what our kids might be seeing.

 

Paul

 

 

 

Hi Paul i take it you didnt visit the Golden Lion on the afternoon prior to Tortola ?....the pianist was competing with a Kareooki (sp) session from 6 guests.......sooooo glad it wasnt the St Paddys day (clue to Island of birth) or they would have been worse....

 

5 hour of drinking beer and chasers, as one round was delivered another was ordered.....they did get spoken to by ships staff and started to behave....(with security of ex British Army Gurkas & ex Royal Marine Master at Arms...i would have done so ;) )

 

Over the course of the whole cruise i have not heard a group of idiots spoken about so much.....

 

I can only say on how i found it, and the very few children / teens we came across where a credit to their families and country,

 

steve

[paul1959]

So THAT'S what happened to that afternoon I couldn't remember! I was so hoarse from all that singing and my head...the whole ship was spinning. I don't know why everyone wasn't sea sick!

 

No, you're right. I would have to say as a general rule we didn't take our kids to any of the lounges/bars. We did do lunch at the Golden Lion a couple times. But I guess this just reinforces my belief that kids just don't belong around lounges or bars for the most part. Even the QM2 can harbor some clods.

 

My wife told me she heard about that group on the elevator. I know some bawdy Irish songs..."Who Put the Overalls in Mistress Murphy's Chowder" was always one of my favorites.

 

Paul