Costa and kids

[Jacob0525]

I am considering booking a seven night cruise the week of Thanksgiving. The price is really good because kids sail for free. The ship is the Costa Atlantica. Does anyone know how their kid's program is? Thanks.

[fatcat04]

Last we sailed with Costa was in the Carib on the Costa Mediterranea in March '08 and kiddo, then 6 years old, had a wonderful time... much better than on the Carnival Pride a month ago. His counselors always remembered his name, they played fun games, gave away prizes, and all in all he loved it. Plus, unlike our Carnival experience, all the people working there actually seemed to like kids. The kids club on Carnival was one of only two things that I really did not like about our Feb cruise.. so I am not trying to be very negative about Carnival. It was just a bit shocking since I had heard how kid friendly Carnival is and it actually turned out that our kid had a better time on Costa in the Squok Club. Your mileage may vary but that was just our experience.

[Jacob0525]

Fatcat04,

How are the kids programs on HAL? If we don't go on Costa, we may go on the Ryndam out of Tampa. Tampa is about an hour and half from us. I know the ship went through a refurb in 2004. Thanks again for your help.

[fatcat04]

I'll let you know in a little over a week. When I last talked to HAL they are expecting 80 some odd kids on this cruise so that is nice. :)

[Jacob0525]

Ok great. Looking forward to hearing from you. The Costa Atlantica had the best price for 2 adults and 2 kids for Thanksgiving week. Is there a kid's pool on the Atlantica?

[grandma bev]

Fatcat04,

How are the kids programs on HAL? If we don't go on Costa, we may go on the Ryndam out of Tampa. Tampa is about an hour and half from us. I know the ship went through a refurb in 2004. Thanks again for your help.

We sailed the Ryndam just after the beautiful refurb. It was a Christmas cruise, not overrun with children, Santa arrived on the topmost deck, was there with elves, Christmas festivities in which the children took part, and as always, HAL staff is lovely, and the ship is exactly the right size for us (not too large). We have been on other HAL ships that have few children, and those that were there got special attention and seemed to have a wonderful time. One set of parents said they chose HAL for that reason. Hope this helps.

Bev

[fatcat04]

We sailed the Ryndam just after the beautiful refurb. It was a Christmas cruise, not overrun with children, Santa arrived on the topmost deck, was there with elves, Christmas festivities in which the children took part, and as always, HAL staff is lovely, and the ship is exactly the right size for us (not too large). We have been on other HAL ships that have few children, and those that were there got special attention and seemed to have a wonderful time. One set of parents said they chose HAL for that reason. Hope this helps.

Bev

 

Good to know.. we are actually looking at the Maasdam for a Canadian cruise and had wondered about the size. I really would like to try one of HAL's more "petite" ships as I have heard such lovely things about the cruise experience.

 

 

Jacob0525,

About the Atlantica and kiddie pool... if she is like the Costa Med, her sister ship, there is a small baby pool on deck 11. There is an adults only pool in back and the lido pool in the middle is for everyone. There is a water slide but it does not go into a pool and is only open for certain hours and not open if the weather is even questionable due to the wind risk. DH and DS both tried it and liked it but after Blizzard Beach and Wet n' Wild.. well not much compares. It also does have a retractable roof so if there is bad weather, the lido pool area can still be used. We spent so much time on the beaches we visited, kiddo didn't use the lido pool more than once and the most I did was sun around the pool. Which itenerary are you looking into?

[Jacob0525]

We are looking in to Thanksgiving week. I believe it's a western caribbean cruise to Key West, Belize, and Costa Maya.

Thanks for your help Bev.

[grandma bev]

We are looking in to Thanksgiving week. I believe it's a western caribbean cruise to Key West, Belize, and Costa Maya.

 

Thanks for your help Bev.

You're welcome. It just so happens we have been on the sister ship to the Atlantica, the Carnival Sprit, for an 8 day cruise Christmas '07. She isn't much larger than HAL ships, carries a max of about 2700 pax. Great layout, very easy to get around (better than HAL ships). She was very heavily and gaudily decorated, as you would expect with a Carnivale theme. We favor the HAL decor - very elegant and understated, with lovely art work throughout their ships and little plaques explaining each piece. But that certainly didn't keep us from having a great cruise.

Let us know what you decide. We sail Atlantica from Copenhagen on July 12. You may be aware that Costa isn't quite as "upscale" as HAL, thus the lower prices. HAL is more "sedate" - crew and pax alike. You may like the more lively Italian influence. We enjoy both!

 

Bev