dbrook1 Posted March 31, 2008 #1 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have only been on one cruise and that was a Disney Cruise 3 nights. LOVED it! Anyways, we are wanting to go on another cruise but I would like to go a little longer maybe on Carnival, but I am a worried mother. So I am looking for honest opions and personal experiences please! Several will be great too! The reason why I loved Disney is I knew that there were families all on board and it was a family atmosphere. I hate the idea of my kids being around a bunch of drunk loud obnoxious people and concerned that other ships are this way? I don't know this is why I am asking. If it were just me and my husband I would be partying with them...lol. But I like to know my kids are safe and not exposed to alot of wildness. Does this make any sense? How are the kid programs on Carnival and do your recommend this ship....it is the Imagination I believe. It's a five day cruise to Mexico. Thank you for your honesty and opions!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted March 31, 2008 #2 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Shorter cruises are going to attract some partiers. I have cruised on all the lines at this point and don't think that any of them are loud obnoxious drunk fests. Avoid spring breakers. For a family with multi-generations... I recommend Celebrity. It is laid back- not many drinkers onboard. The older people will like that it is quieter and the kids program is fantastic. Celebrity attracts the same type of people I saw on my Disney cruise. Everyone dresses conservatively and the passengers have always been really polite on Celebrity- the kids too. Also, they do cater to kids on Celebrity. The crew loves them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted March 31, 2008 #3 Share Posted March 31, 2008 How old are the kids? It might effect what cruise to choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I&MsMom Posted March 31, 2008 #4 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Well, mine is not the most unbiased opinion out there, but here goes!;) We picked Carnival for our first cruise for one single reason: they let a 2 year old in camp AND changed diapers. DD was 25 months on our first cruise, and she has an older brother - I knew there was no way I could sell her on the: you're too little to go to that cool place your brother just went off to routine. We had such a great time, and we thought it was such a good value for our travel dollar that we've never been tempted to try another line. We KNOW we're ALL going to have an amazingly terrific time on Carnival! :D As for the "drunk and disorderly" rep - I honestly can say in our six Carnival cruises since January 2005, I've never encountered anything like that. I can only surmise it's a relic from many years ago. Sigh. There are lots of families on Carnival. We've met all sorts of people, a lot of them very well traveled. In general, we've found it to be a pretty laid-back group of people who are looking to just have some fun (and that is not defined by getting drunk). Sure, we've witnessed the stagger-back-on-board-at-the-last-minute shuffle with a few passengers on our stops in Cozumel, but I sincerely doubt that particular dance is unique to Carnival!:eek: We've had nothing but good experiences with the Camp - whether our kids were just two of thirty under 18, or whether they were among 700-800 others. If you have any questions I might be able to answer, please feel free, and I'll do my best!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrook1 Posted March 31, 2008 Author #5 Share Posted March 31, 2008 In case it matters, my daughters are 11 and 15. My 15 yr old thinks she is 20 so she has to be watched alot..........LOL........Like all teenage girls do. So that was another worry. Anyways the only time we can take the cruise is July 12th week and we live close to tampa or cape canaviral that is why I decided on carnival imagination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted March 31, 2008 #6 Share Posted March 31, 2008 There is more for teens to do on a RCCL Voyager/Freedom class ship than Imagination. And Freedom is moving to PC, so that would be an option. But if you are watching a budget, then Imagination would be fine, I guess...lol. I worry about recomending any Carnival ship that ends in an -ion anymore. :eek: I went on Elation and had a great time (it was November)...then I went on Sensation (August) and those people shouldn't have been allowed out of the house, let alone on a cruiseship. It was horrible the way the passengers treated the crew AND the ship. :( So read the reviews. And read them during the time you are going because the ships can vary greatly pending on time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISER2B Posted April 1, 2008 #7 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I have to agree with I&MsMOM. My first cruise was with my boys-age 13 and 8 at the time. We sailed Carnival Fascination from Miami to Key West and Cozumel - 5d/4n. My oldest was a typical boy not very social and did not like all the Teen events - his female cousin did and she was 15. He did make friends and they hung out all day. He was back in the cabin by 11pm each night if not earlier. I bought him a soda card and he had a room key. That was all he needed. He ate breakfast and lunch when he wanted but dinner was a family affair - no excuses. My youngest loved Camp Carnival. We had a hard time getting him out for dinner. We did tip the Camp staff as they were great and deserved it. We or rather my hubby, brought him to the camp each morning after breakfast and we picked him up each evening before dinner and then back again after dinner. You didn't say what ports were involved but this is waht we did: Key West - Butterfly House or whatever it was called. Walked a little around. Had ice cream. Bought sandals and souveniers. Just a relaxing afternoon. Very inexpensive except for the Butterfly place but we all loved it. Cozumel: Taxi to Paradise Beach ($12 + $3 tip each way) for 4 of us. No fee in Paradise. They set up a table and 4 lounge chairs and then gave us 4 rafts. Order drinks for hubby and me and soda for the kids and a nacho plate. There was a climbing tower and trampoline in the water. My oldest loved it. My youngest was too busy shell hunting. Hubby and the youngest kid went in a rowboat they had for no charge. I think I spent about $65 total for 4 hours of fun. Both kids want to cruise again so I am planning a big family event for 2010. Questions, let me know. PS. I also did not run into any "drunks". When we went, school had just ended and the cruise ended right before July 4th. Water was like glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare karatemom2 Posted April 1, 2008 #8 Share Posted April 1, 2008 We have cruised with Disney, Carnival, RCL, NCL and Princess. I can honestly say that we have found that next to Disney, Princess has the best family atmosphere of any of the lines we have traveled on. It is not a party ship, but it isn't old and stuffy either. We have found the kids program on Princess to be excellent with great counselors and a wide assortment of creative activities. Princess offers a nice balance for all ages and the ambience and decor are elegant like Disney, but not snooty at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikcho Posted April 1, 2008 #9 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I second the recommendation for Princess - they maybe a little pricier than Carnival but the ships are great and very well maintained, the staff is great and the other passengers are accross the board - families, younger and older kids, older adults, etc, something for everyone. Don't know much about their teengae programs but we did visit the teen club and it seemed very cool - it depends on whether your kids like to hang out at orgainzed activities. In terms of Carinival Imagination - I have done over 20 ship inspections as part of my job and I have to say the Imagination was the worst ship I've seen (just the ship, never been on an actual cruise). It looked very old and run down, lots of stains on the carper, cigarette smell in some cabins, broken and chipped off things, I have never seen a ship that looked so bad, reminded me of an old Atlantic City hotel. That said, if the ship itself is not important to you, it may be a good cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlmaule Posted April 1, 2008 #10 Share Posted April 1, 2008 We are going on Imagination next week - I'll let you know how it was! We did a lot of research into kids programs and chose Carnival because of that - but our son is only 7 so his experience will be different than yours. In terms of Carinival Imagination - I have done over 20 ship inspections as part of my job and I have to say the Imagination was the worst ship I've seen (just the ship, never been on an actual cruise). It looked very old and run down, lots of stains on the carper, cigarette smell in some cabins, broken and chipped off things, I have never seen a ship that looked so bad, reminded me of an old Atlantic City hotel. That said, if the ship itself is not important to you, it may be a good cruise. Imagination was just refurbished - have you seen it since then? I hear it is beautiful now..... :cool: Tamara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calenita Posted April 2, 2008 #11 Share Posted April 2, 2008 I'm also wondering what cruise people recommend for VERY active 14,12 and 8 year old. Just did NCL and are thinking of Princess or RCCL for next feb/march in the Caribbean. My kids love sports - spent a lot of time playing basketball on NCL Jewel. They would adore a rock wall or bowling. Since we are Canadians they all skate and love that. They liked going to kids club on NCL. We chose NCL because of price, itinerary and Freestyle which we thought would suit our then 7-year-old (It did!) but think we could handle something else next time. Would love to do Disney but aren't crazy about the itinerary or price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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