RCCL vs Carnival DD 11 and DS 8

[mom2two2]

Hello everyone. I thought that I would post this here instead of on the individual boards in the hopes of getting maybe a little more impartial opinion.

 

We are thinking about booking a cruise in Feb 2011 for the family. There will be 2 adults, DD will be 11 and DS will be 8 at the time of sailing. We do not plan to send them to the kids club much as DD is very shy and we want to hang out and spend time with the kids.

 

I am really torn as to which line to choose. I like RCCL (having cruised once with them no kids 8 years ago) but the prices are SO much higher than the Early Saver Rates on Carnival. My TA has advised us to avoid the shorter cruises as they tend to attract more partying. We are looking at a 7 day out of FL on the Liberty but I still worry due to Carnival's past reputation. I know that they have worked hard to get away from that but I just want to make sure the kids are welcome aboard and that we feel comfortable as a family.

 

Let me say that I have NO problem with partying ;) and do enjoy partaking myself sometimes. But this particular vacation we want to gear towards the kids and family time.

 

Can anyone recommend anything for us? I really like the idea of being able to get a Balcony cabin with Carnival in my price range but worry maybe I should take the Interior with RCCL to be "safe"?

 

I am overwhelmed with details, trying to sort this out....

mom2two2

[KeithMoon]

I share in your concerns. We've only cruised DCL, but due to the ridiculous prices, we've decided to book with Carnival's new Dream in March. From what I've read on these boards, it does seem that the partying tends to be on the shorter cruises.

[mom2two2]

We actually looked at DCL as well. I was willing to pay a little more to get the whole Disney experience but when I saw just how much more they wanted there was no way. I just refuse to pay that price for a ship that is about 10 years old and ports that I think are just so so.

 

The Carnival itinerary we are looking at is 7 days (Liberty) so I am hoping no college bender type crowd.

[chrislynnet]

I have heard that too about the short duration Carnival ships. My son (then 11) and I took our first cruise on the 5-day Carnival Paradise. We had a great time with no problems at all. Having said that, we're trying out RCI this time with Radiance of the Seas. He'll be 13.

 

I really think that if you avoid the shorter weekenders AND spring break crowds then you should be fine with either line.

[boulders]

I've sailed on both RCCL and Carnival with my kids, aged 13 and under. DD10 had the best time on Carnival and DS13 had the best time on RCCL. Mom had the best time on RCCL. On Carnival, the kids camps for the under 12 are excellent. There wasn't enough activities for me and ds though.

 

IMO: I know that ships on RCCL vary significantly within the line in terms of amenities, rooms, layout of the ship. The same is probably true of Carnival. Older ships on either line will be less expensive and have fewer amenities. Newer ships will have more amenities and be more expensive. Make sure you are not comparing apples to oranges.

[cb at sea]

It really doesn't matter which line you choose--you can do as much or as little as a family as you like! Your TA is right---shorter cruises do tend to have folks trying to stuff 10 lbs of fun into a 5 lb bag, so to speak!

Both RCI and Carnival welcome families!

[scubareader]

I have a feeling that if you go with Carnival your children will want to spend alot of time in camp carnival on their own if they find out about it. When we went to Canada last May on the Splendor our 7 year old was constantly "I want to go to camp carnival" . So if you want more family time together I would say RCCL. ...But I would point out that the best time we had together on the splendor was doing the family scavanger hunt together. so there are activities that you will be able to do together on Carnival that could be fun too. I would look at price comparisons and save as much as possible so that I could apply that money toward excursion time.

[spaceflower77]

"We are thinking about booking a cruise in Feb 2011 for the family. There will be 2 adults, DD will be 11 and DS will be 8 at the time of sailing. We do not plan to send them to the kids club much as DD is very shy and we want to hang out and spend time with the kids.

 

I am really torn as to which line to choose. I like RCCL (having cruised once with them no kids 8 years ago) but the prices are SO much higher than the Early Saver Rates on Carnival. My TA has advised us to avoid the shorter cruises as they tend to attract more partying. We are looking at a 7 day out of FL on the Liberty but I still worry due to Carnival's past reputation. I know that they have worked hard to get away from that but I just want to make sure the kids are welcome aboard and that we feel comfortable as a family."

 

 

 

 

 

I understand all of your issues!!! We took our 3 and 8 year old on the Carnival Conquest last year (due in great part to pricing, it was $1500 for the four of us), and it was the BEST vacation we have ever had. The kids enjoyed CC but also wanted to have dinner with us in the restaraunt every night, and swim in the pool. CC closed mid day for a couple of hours, for lunch and etc., so you still get a lot of time with your kids, also they don't have to go all the time! You'll get a printout every day which states activities so you can be sure you don't miss anything they want to do. We felt there was a great balance of family time but really enjoyed our grown up time alone in the adult hot tubs with a Drink of the Day (DOD). Also, excursion days were family days, we took the kids to the beach and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. The kids brought sand buckets and toys for playing and my 8 year old had snorkel gear.

 

We went on a 7 day in Oct. over Halloween and it was AWESOME! The kids had costumes, there weren't many kids at all even on board. In fact, there were a lot of homosexuals (for the Halloween cruise) and you'd think there would be loud flamboyant people all over the ship but there were not. They had fantastic interesting costumes and were respectful and fun. It was wonderful and relaxing and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. The only people I wouldn't want to cruise with would be a bunch of college Freshman over Spring Break! Probably not even when I WAS a college freshman! ;)

 

We booked a cruise for my son's 10th birthday next October and we'll be taking all 3 of our kids on the Triumph out of New Orleans. My older 2 keep telling our youngest about what to expect and we're all SO excited! That one we got for a grand total of $2,000. I can't imagine spending so much more when we have so much fun on CCL.

[crusinmama06]

Your TA is right. ;)

 

But I guess I have a question, so the RCCL is more expensive for the interior? Which RCCL ship? Gotta compares apples and apples. :)

[scubareader]

Your TA is right. ;)

 

But I guess I have a question, so the RCCL is more expensive for the interior? Which RCCL ship? Gotta compares apples and apples. :)

 

When we went on the Monarch our inside cabin was 119 sq ft and on the paradise it was 185 sq ft. Does the different RCCL ships have different size rooms for the interior?