Best itinereary for family with kids

[sjram]

I am in the planning stage of a family cruise next year on the Dream. We will be taking the cruise after a week long stay at Disney. There is a Western Carribean and Eastern Carribean itinerary for this ship. Has anyone done either with kids? Which is the best for a family of 6. Considering we will be coming off an amusement park high we are really going to be looking into a relaxing trip with not too many excursions and more beach days. I think I am leaning a little towards the Eastern to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten for that reason. Plus it seems to have more days at sea. The western (Cozumel, Isla Roatan, Belize, and COsta Maya) has more places that offer a different world experience that my kids have never had and I think that would be a great travel experience for them. I would really appreciate any help from your knowledge/experience on either of these itineraries. And by the way, my kids are going to be 12, 9, 5, 3. Thanks in advance!

[RENMama]

I dont think there is a bad choice. :)

 

We are doing Western on the Dream in December with our kids.

[cb at sea]

I don't think it matters, either! After the amusement parks, you'll need a rest, and St. Thomas (actually, St. John) has one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. The kids won't really care, so pick the cruise where you can get the best cabin at the best price!

[A&Emom]

I don't think it matters, either! After the amusement parks, you'll need a rest, and St. Thomas (actually, St. John) has one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. The kids won't really care, so pick the cruise where you can get the best cabin at the best price!

 

 

I totally agree.

[nybumpkin]

We've done both Eastern and Western itineraries and have visited all of these ports with our kids. As much as I love the Western ports, if you're looking for relaxing beach time I think I'd opt for Eastern. Last year we did a four-ports-in-four-days Western itinerary and by the time we reached the fourth port we were exhausted. Earlier this year we did the same Eastern itinerary that Dream will be sailing, and I really liked the schedule of port day, sea day, two port days and two sea days. The weak port on this itinerary is Nassau - you're not there long and you're there on a Sunday morning. It's a little limited. However, we took the kids to Pirates of Nassau and the kids had a good time.

[RizzoLee]

We're taking a cruise with my BFF's 2 yo twins - first cruise with kids! And we'll be TTC at that time too, lol.

 

We chose the 6 day Freedom cruise - Key West, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. We'll leave the kids onboard for KW and OR, but take them with us at GC. Their mommy doesn't feel safe bringing them to Jamaica, and is planning on having some adult time in KW. :)

[Keith1010]

I would go with the itinerary for the additional sea day. I think it makes it nicer for the children and the parents. More time to enjoy the ship and to relax. In looking over the ports, I would go with the Eastern Caribbean. I think those ports will be fine for the children.

 

Keith

[Mack2]

My rule of thumb for the longest time has been that Western Caribbean itineraries are great for "adventure/activity".

 

Eastern Caribbean itineraries are great for "shopping" and relaxation

 

Beaches? You can find beautiful beaches everywhere on a caribbean cruise.

 

On western cruises... you have stops like Cozumel and Grand Cayman, which are well known for their snorkeling and scuba diving. Belize, too, is well known for it's pristine diving. Jamaica, you can climb Dunns River Falls. Sometimes the cruise lines will take you to Cancun, Costa Maya or Playa del Carmen, which are party zones.

 

Eastern cruises take you to St. Thomas. You don't want to miss taking advantage of the large Duty Free allowable you get from St. Thomas. St. Maarten/Martin is relaxing. A butterfly farm, some beaches, an old fort on the French side... and good Rolex knock-offs. San Juan... two really nice forts... real big ones. You can tour old San Juan... see a rainforest. Nassau... Ardastra gardens is cool, march with flamingos... Atlantis is amazing... some people go to one of the hotels and use the facilities for the day.

 

I have a cool picture from Ardastra Gardens.