Which ship for Spring Break with young teens?

[mary_228]

HAL is offering extremely cheap fares for third/fourth passengers in a cabin so I am considering sailing HAL for the first time. Which of the following ships do you think is most fun for teens? I have included the cabin cost for comparison purposes. Eurodam ($2665 for quad balcony), Nieuw Amsterdam ($3139) or Oosterdam ($2808)?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would stay with either the Eurodam or the Nieuw Amstedam as they are larger -- attrack more people from Florida with teens.

[jmps]

We have sailed on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam with our teens taking advantage of the 3rd/4th rates that HAL offers. We are going next on the Ryndam using this offer.

From my point of view, I would base the decision on the intinerary/cost/departure port rather than differences between these ships. If you were thinking of these versus a smaller HAL ship then there would be more of a reason to think about the ship itself since the smaller ships don't have quad balconies except in suites. We chose an OV on the Ryndam over a our preferred balcony on the Neiuw Amsterdam because of itinerary.

Since you are going during spring break there should be plenty of kids aboard for your teens to meet. After first trying HAL for Alaska we really like the line. We previously sailed mostly Celebrity and some RCCL.

Have a GREAT cruise!

[mary_228]

We have sailed on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam with our teens taking advantage of the 3rd/4th rates that HAL offers. We are going next on the Ryndam using this offer.


Since you are going during spring break there should be plenty of kids aboard for your teens to meet. After first trying HAL for Alaska we really like the line. We previously sailed mostly Celebrity and some RCCL.

Have a GREAT cruise!I see you are also from the Chicago area. Are you taking your kids for Spring Break as well? It is quite the challenge to get good flights to Florida at that time, and I am finding that Tampa has more favorable flights at this point, at least. Did you read any good reviews about the teen program on the Ryndam?

[jmps]

We are not going over spring break this coming year. We are going the first week in January. Our oldest is now a Sophmore (gasp) in college and we can't take both girls anymore at the same break time. We have gone every spring break for ten years. They just LOVED and still love it. They would beg to cruise every year.

The girls favorite line is RCCL. They like the climbing wall, mini golf etc... on the ships. Our favorites are Celebrity and HAL. Most are on Celebrity. How old are your teens? We found that as our girls got older it was more important to have a fairly good number of other teens onboard than the teem program itself. The older teens see the teen program as somewhat "uncool." During spring break this should not be a problem on HAL on most ships. There probably won't be the number on say RCCL but enough. It actually works out because the ship isn't overrun with kids.

If your teens are younger Celebrity and HAL seem to ramp up their child/teen programs over school breaks and they are fine.

The only issue we had was taking our older daughter (18 at the time) to Alaska on HAL in early June. There were not a lot (but some) people her age aboard. This won't be the case over spring break.

I really understand about high airfares. I bought my flights (on United) a while back and now find Southwest has the best rates to Tampa from Midway for January. I should have waited for SW to open up on our return (our cruise fell across a SW booking boundary). I recommend taking a look at SW. We took them to Ft. Lauderdale last spring break.

I like the Ryndam Western Carrib. schedule and can report back in January on how the ship felt and worked for us. The one downside is that in this class of ships there aren't any quad verandahs except in suites. As our girls got older we got two adjoining cabins but on this trip we are going to try a quad again and had to get an OV. We made the "mistake" of getting a verandah for Alaksa and now we love them.

Last spring break we took our younger daughter (then 17) with us on the Westerdam from Ft. Lauderdale to Aruba/Curacao. That was a very nice cruise. There were plenty of teens aboard.

I must say that given our experience, you will look back on these family cruise vacations and really treasure them. We sure do. You are doing a really nice thing for your family by taking them.

[mary_228]

The oldest teen is 15 and they will be sailing with their cousins who are about the same age, so I expect they can make their own fun. Sailing without them we'd definately go on RCL this time around. The free third/fourth passengers on this sailing make it irresistable for my sister, but we would still book the two cabins, I think. We have only ever shared once and that was pretty difficult, getting ready for dinner, etc. I am much more tempted by the Eurodam, the next most affordable during our week. They could do a quad balcony on that ship for less than Carnival! I think I'll put it out to bid and see if any OBC or perks come up that might make the Eurodam a little closer to the Ryndam....

We certainly have enjoyed our cruise vacations, but they sort of blend together. The land trips we have taken are much more distinctive in my memory. In fact, we started cruising so I wouldn't have to spend so much time with the kids! They (and I) loved the kids programs and our oldest has worked for HAL as Youth Staff. I just hope the Ryndam won't be too boring for them, without even a movie theater. Hopefully more parents of teens who have sailed this ship will reply.

[Typhoon1]

Another vote for Nieuw Amsterdam.

[RuthC]

I just hope the Ryndam won't be too boring for them, without even a movie theater.
The Ryndam has the Wajang Theater. It's a great place for watching a movie. The chairs are quite comfy, and have good sight-lines.

[Himself]

I would go Eurodam or Nieuw Amsterdam. The OOsterdam is a fine ship but she sails the Mexican Riviera. The Westerdam sails the Eastern and Western Caribbean as does the NA and I could highly recommend this ship. I hope your teens have a great time.

[jmps]

If you snorkel and/or dive I would for sure take the Carrib. over the Mex Riv itinerary. As you say the cousins being on board will really make the kids program itself less important.

[mary_228]

The Ryndam has the Wajang Theater. It's a great place for watching a movie. The chairs are quite comfy, and have good sight-lines. Of course, What was I thinking? They show movies in the main theater on Princess as well during the afternoons at sea.