Cruising w/ 4 kids - Which cruiseline?

[Alaska_or_bust]

My husband and I just returned from our first cruise on NCL's Pearl, and liked it so much we want to take the kids on a 3 or 4 night cruise out of Florida. Our kids are 10 (twins), 6 and 4. Having problems trying to decide which cruiseline to choose - NCL, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Disney. The problem we are having is trying to find either one cabin for all 6 of us or 2 connecting cabins - one for us and the other for the kids. Also, we liked NCL's Freestyle cruising and didn't know if any of the others offered anything like this - eating when you want and where vs assigned seats and times. Any suggestions or input on the different cruiselines would be greatly appreciated.

[crusinmama06]

You would need 2 cabins...I *think* the highest number of people in the ships sailing 3/4 nights are 5 people in the cabin.

 

As far as dining - Disney is set dining times - 5:45 pm main seating on the Wonder (3/4 days) - and 8pm (I think) for the late seating. I am doing a review of THAT ship right now. So look for that thread here at the Fam board.

 

The other 3/4 nights are Carnival Sensation, RCCL Sovereign, RCCL Majesty.

 

Carnival is set dining times - same as Disney. RCCL right NOW is set dining times, but some ships are implementing "My Time Dining". I don't know how soon that will become available.

 

There are a few special sailings where you can hop on a RCCL newer ship for less days. But I think those sailings are coming up pretty soon.

 

The 3/4 day sailings are generally the oldest in each cruise line's fleet. So you may want to factor that in as well.

 

The Wonder was in great shape. I've been on RCCL Sovereign twice (pre-kids) and Carnival Sensation. They all have their pluses. It all depends on what you enjoy on your vacation.

[CanadianTwosome]

We're going to be on the Pearl with our ten year old in January - I'd love to know what your twins thought of the Kid's Crew and activities available to their age group!!

 

Did you stay in two cabins on the Pearl? We visited roll call friends in an AB suite on the Star and they had their own master bedroom with a Queen or King sized bed (not sure which) with a beautiful bathtub and shower (in a windowed alcove... *sigh*), and there was also a separate bedroom with its own bathroom that was within the suite but separate from the living area and master bedroom. They were travelling with all their kids and grandkids and the little ones were able to 'sleep over' at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin. With only the first two occupants paying full fare and the rest paying supplementals, even with the higher fare for the suite, it may not be much more than booking two cabins, depending on what category you're looking at.

 

I can only talk about NCL at this point, because my past cruises on other lines were too long ago to be relevant, but we've been extremely satisfied and happy with our experience - as you appear to have been as well. It's not that we feel any need to be 'loyal' to NCL, it's just how things have worked out with schedules, itineraries, and prices. I believe every cruise line will offer a wonderful experience, and they really are more similar than they are different. As Cruisinmama has pointed out, most other lines have implemented some sort of non-traditional dining similar to NCL's, but NCL remains ahead of the game as far as the number of choices goes. I don't know whether you have any interest in the surcharge venues, though, so if not, the number of choices is more in keeping with what is included on other lines.

 

The bottom line is that any ship you choose is likely to be a great experience. My recommendation is always to think first about where you'd like to go on your next cruise. Once you've figured that out, decide on a time of year, and have a look at what's available for that time frame. Narrow it down to a few choices and then discuss it with your family; check out the ports and the ship amenities and see if you can pick one that will give everyone something to look forward to. :)

[wrp96]

If you want to be in one room, if you want to sail during the winter, you might look at Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas or Navigator of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale. Both ships offer Family Oceanview Staterooms that accommodate up to 6 people - they cannot be booked online so you have to call RCCL directly or book with a travel agent.

[Alaska_or_bust]

CanadianTwosome:

 

We didn't take the kids with us on the Pearl. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary, and hadn't spent more than one night alone since we started having kids, so we left them at home. So I can't help you with any of your questions. We had a balcony on the 10th floor, port side (10510), and it had plenty of room, plus an excellent view during Glacier Bay - we saw them first and longer before they turned the ship for the other side to view. From what did see of the kids, they spent a lot of time at the pool and were having a good time. I still need to write a review, but if you have any questions, my e-mail is hadams@walbridge.com.

 

wrp96:

 

Thanks for the info - I had looked at a couple of Royal Caribbean's ships and saw that they had a family suite, which was a little out of my price range. I will have to give them a call and check on the Family Oceanview, which I assume would be more reasonable.

[CanadianTwosome]

CanadianTwosome:

 

We didn't take the kids with us on the Pearl. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary, and hadn't spent more than one night alone since we started having kids, so we left them at home. So I can't help you with any of your questions. We had a balcony on the 10th floor, port side (10510), and it had plenty of room, plus an excellent view during Glacier Bay - we saw them first and longer before they turned the ship for the other side to view. From what did see of the kids, they spent a lot of time at the pool and were having a good time. I still need to write a review, but if you have any questions, my e-mail is hadams@walbridge.com.

 

wrp96:

 

Thanks for the info - I had looked at a couple of Royal Caribbean's ships and saw that they had a family suite, which was a little out of my price range. I will have to give them a call and check on the Family Oceanview, which I assume would be more reasonable.

 

No worries, she'd got experiences on other ships to give her an idea. :)

 

I did a little comparison of the AB on a random 5 nighter on NCL and it looks like it's more expensive than booking two separate cabins, which I know many people do. :)