Hve you sailed on the smaller ships with kids in summer?

[Scrapchick]

I'd like to hear from anyone who has sailed on ships like the Pacific/Royal/Tahitian with kids...

We're interested in a couple of itineraries next summer on the smaller ships but are aware there are no dedicated kids facilities on board. We were on the Ruby last week and the future cruise girl contacted the Royal for us to ask how many kids were on board and apparently they've been averaging 50-100 per voyage recently.

I'd like to know exactly how it works on the ships when there are no dedicated spaces for the kids and public rooms are used instead. We have a very social, well cruised 8 year old and kids facilities are something we have to take into account when picking our voyages.

If you've cruised the smaller ships with your kids, please share your experiences with me!

[phillipahain]

Having been on all the small ships can say theres very little public space even for adults especially if the weather is inclement so you land up back in your cabin

So IMHO they are not the ships to bring kids on unless your kids are happy to all get together in the cabin and play scrabble etc all day

[Spender Nui]

I think it would be cruel and unfair to the child.

If you haven't sailed on these ships they are scaled down on all activities and have absolutely nothing for kids to do.

Keep in mind that these ships were built for a cruise line that not only discouraged children but prohibited them.

[Toto2Kansas]

Originally Posted by Spender Nui

I think it would be cruel and unfair to the child.

If you haven't sailed on these ships they are scaled down on all activities and have absolutely nothing for kids to do.

Keep in mind that these ships were built for a cruise line that not only discouraged children but prohibited them.

Although we have only sailed on one of the small ships once in the past, with two and three coming up shortly, I have to agree with you here.

Unless the child or children doesn't enjoy normal 'kids activities', these smaller ships would not be in the running, IMHO. Remember there is only one small pool, and as you said, no dedicated childrens programs onboard. Along with a very small buffet and assigned dining. no anytime dining offered.

[Scrapchick]

Precisely why I want to hear from someone who has actually done this with kids, rather than just has an opinion about it... I appreciate the replies so far, but would still like to hear from anyone who has actually done it. I'm not interested in torturing my child, and by extension, myself. I would not book such a cruise unless I was comfortable enough it would work for all the family.

I have sailed on one of these ships, before my child was born and before it became a Princess ship, hence my concern in the first place.

[junglejane]

"Cruel and unfair" seems a bit strong to me. We just got off the Crown Princess British Isles cruise with our 8 and 12 year old DD's. Each day we took our kids with us on all day shore excursions (private tours), came back to the ship, did Early Traditional Dining, and then mostly we just collapsed in bed. I took my 8 year old to one show, the magician, during the entire 12 day cruise. The rest of the time we were too exhausted to make much use of the ship's amenities. Given that, I can foresee the theoretical possibility of picking a smaller ship if it had an itinerary I wanted and not many sea days.

[Scrapchick]

Originally Posted by junglejane

"Cruel and unfair" seems a bit strong to me. We just got off the Crown Princess British Isles cruise with our 8 and 12 year old DD's. Each day we took our kids with us on all day shore excursions (private tours), came back to the ship, did Early Traditional Dining, and then mostly we just collapsed in bed. I took my 8 year old to one show, the magician, during the entire 12 day cruise. The rest of the time we were too exhausted to make much use of the ship's amenities. Given that, I can foresee the theoretical possibility of picking a smaller ship if it had an itinerary I wanted and not many sea days.

We also recently got off the Crown British Isles itinerary... Where the smaller ships differ is that they weren't originally built for Princess and don't have a dedicated kids club on board. They were built for Rennaissance Cruises, since out of business, who didn't allow kids on the ships. When they went out of business, Princess bought some of the ships and renamed them.

They do have youth counselors on board and activities offered when there are a certain amount of kids on board, which is why we enquired about it via the future cruise consultant on the Ruby last week and explained our concerns. That s why she contacted the staff on the Royal, currently doing the cruise we are interested in, to find out if anyone actually sailed with kids on the ship and how it worked. She got a reply saying there were between 50-100 kids per cruise at the moment, but no info on exactly how the kids program worked.

What I am trying to ascertain, and what is clearly getting lost here in the replies, is exactly what sort of kids program there is, when public rooms are utliised for activities, as opposed to having a youth center like on the bigger ships. I'm extremely jetlagged right now and not at my most coherent, so maybe I am not making it clear what I want to know. I am merely trying to gather information from those who have gone before as to whether or not this would be an option to consider.

[karatemom2]

We had considered a cruise on the Pacific Princess in Alaska this summer, but decided on a B2B on the Diamond instead. When doing our research I seemed to remember coming across a thread or two on this topic. I did a search and came up with the following which does have comments from people who have actually cruised with kids. Hope this helps!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...cific+princess

[where2next]

ok

I dont have kids. Yet I grew up sailing as a child on ships like the Pacific Princess and smaller....so to me I don't understand why kids NEED a kids program as I certainly didn;t

with that said..

I was just on the Pacific Princess for Alaska ~ there were 15 kids on board

They met with them 2 times in the card room to give them information on the Glaciar Bay kids program

They then had 2 nights of wii fit for them

They had 1 night of movie that was a older Disney Movie set up to view in the card room

That's it.

The kids onboard were savvy and very experienced travellers. They were quite content reading their books, doing school work, socializing with other adult passengers, attending lectures on the ports etc. They did exactly what all the other adults were doing on the ship.

I do know that several of them had ipods fully loaded and 1 of them had brought a portable DVD player.

You have seen the ships and you know that there isn't enough public space to seperate out a kids program area. Each cruise director is different on what they might be able to pull out of a hat to entertain your child on a ship that DOES NOT market themselves to children.

Side note...the pool by the spa is now for PRIVATE PAID ADULT USE ONLY, their version of the sanctuary

You know your kids better than any of us. Are they able to entertain themselves? The fact that you used the words torture my child...says VOLUMES to me that deep down you already have your answer.

but then again, that's just my interpretation

[Scrapchick]

Originally Posted by where2next

ok

I dont have kids. Yet I grew up sailing as a child on ships like the Pacific Princess and smaller....so to me I don't understand why kids NEED a kids program as I certainly didn;t

with that said..

I was just on the Pacific Princess for Alaska ~ there were 15 kids on board

They met with them 2 times in the card room to give them information on the Glaciar Bay kids program

They then had 2 nights of wii fit for them

They had 1 night of movie that was a older Disney Movie set up to view in the card room

That's it.

The kids onboard were savvy and very experienced travellers. They were quite content reading their books, doing school work, socializing with other adult passengers, attending lectures on the ports etc. They did exactly what all the other adults were doing on the ship.

I do know that several of them had ipods fully loaded and 1 of them had brought a portable DVD player.

You have seen the ships and you know that there isn't enough public space to seperate out a kids program area. Each cruise director is different on what they might be able to pull out of a hat to entertain your child on a ship that DOES NOT market themselves to children.

Side note...the pool by the spa is now for PRIVATE PAID ADULT USE ONLY, their version of the sanctuary

You know your kids better than any of us. Are they able to entertain themselves? The fact that you used the words torture my child...says VOLUMES to me that deep down you already have your answer.

but then again, that's just my interpretation

My older neighbors don't see the need for parks in our town either and think kids today should just play in the streets as they did in their youth... I used to think like you, until I became a parent. I think if you did have kids your thinking would change somewhat, but I take your point.

My referring to not wanting to torture my kid was in response to the suggestion that it would be cruel to take a child on such a cruise.

Thank you for the information you provided. It was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for and does indeed help to clarify my thinking about whether or not the smaller ships would work for us at this stage. I appreciate you taking the time to reply in such detail.

[where2next]

Originally Posted by Scrapchick

My older neighbors don't see the need for parks in our town either and think kids today should just play in the streets as they did in their youth... I used to think like you, until I became a parent. I think if you did have kids your thinking would change somewhat, but I take your point.

My referring to not wanting to torture my kid was in response to the suggestion that it would be cruel to take a child on such a cruise.

Thank you for the information you provided. It was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for and does indeed help to clarify my thinking about whether or not the smaller ships would work for us at this stage. I appreciate you taking the time to reply in such detail.

Well, I would never advocate kids to play in the streets..

but I would get on a soap box to say that with the right type of traveling youngster a kids program is not necessary.

Now that I'm 44 and I look back at my 35 years of sailing. I can say that many of my life skils were learned upon cruise ships at an early age.

My background in sales and marketing came from learning to interact with all demographics. When I began cruising I listened intently to the older generation. I learned to identify what was actually being said to me and how to particpate in conversation politely and with knowledge.

In addition, these social skills served me well as I grew up

I brought my school work onboard and received 1st hand tutorials about WW2 from veterans.

I learned about faraways lands from seasoned travelers onboard who inspired me with stories of pyramids, the panama canal, and islands that people ate coconuts and pineapples every day and swam in waters that were 85 degrees. The port lectures were incredible back then, as shopping was rarely discussed. I was receiving an education in geography, archeology, culture, etc. and I didn't even know it. I absorbed it like a sponge

Before anytime dining and buffets for dinner, you were assigned and remained at your table each evening.
One 14 day cruise we were seated at a table of 10 with people from Mexico City.
They spoke no English.
I was studying Spanish in High School and became the table translator
(against my will) but I flourished, my vocabulary and verbage skills improved dramatically and I was inspired to pursue learning more languages at the young age of 14

On my 1st cruise I learned about napkin folding, marzipan maneuvering and that continued for decades, by the time I was 17 I could very easily throw a formal dinner party.

My eye-hand coordination became so much better once I learned how to skeet shoot, play shuffleboard and ping pong

After 7 years of astronomy classes onboard various cruises by the navigators when I entered college I was able to test out of Astronomy with an A on the test, without opening a book

As I grew older, there were sommeliers onboard and I was allowed in European style to sample wine, learn about wine pairings and appreciate how your meal could go from extraordinary to melt in your mouth PHENOMENAL.

When I was about 15 or 16, I learned from the Greek and Italian crew members that were prevalent at that time in cruising the art of flirtation.
I learned that it truly is a gift and that just because a man is charming doesnt mean he doesnt have the same behavior with all women. As I observed this from a far and then participated in this interesting dance of innuedo..these lessons served me well once I entered the dating world.

I learned at a very early age to like spending time with me, that I could entertain me and enjoy myself.

To say "I'm bored" was forbidden in our household and I can honestly say
I was never bored on a cruise ship way back then when kids were never seen onboard and a kids program was never even thought of.

These were just a few of my experiences cruising as a child.

As you know, If you do this cruise you will have to really explain to your child the differences of the ships and they might not see any other kids and no kids program. It's about the itinerary and spending time with the family. If they agree to it then the problem is solved and everything else will be whipped cream!

I hope your kids will get as much out of cruising as I did when I was child and young adult!

[whycruisewhynot]

Don't know if you are still checking this, but we are on the Pacific Princess 10 night tahitian cruise, Oct 9th. We have a 5 year old son. We have been told that Princess will not put together a kids program unless 20 children under 17 are on board. We just checked and there are only 5 children currently scheduled for the cruise. We have traveled extensively with our son, and feel the days will be kept busy on shore.

Will let you know our exact experience, in a month.

[paul929207]

We were on the Tahitian Princess for two 18 night cruises this summer. The first, I think there were 4 childen - A teenage boy, a girl about 10, a boy about 8 and a boy about two (the last two were the children of the maitre 'd).

On the second leg, there were also 4 children - a girl about 14, the same 10 year old girl, a 2 year old boy and a 1 year old girl (daughter of staff captain).

[pedirn]

We sailed this summer on the Sea Princess (which to me is a small ship) with our 10 year old grandson. He did attend the informative session the first night to find out about the children's program but got turned off by the girl doing the talk. That being said, he spent his time with us for the full 10 days. He was very social and enjoyed his Alaskan cruise but did comment that he really like the last two cruises (RCCL) as there was more to do. I think he would have been better off if we had sailed on the Diamond or Sapphire (but he wanted a 10 day cruise and that eliminated all but the Sea Princess). It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the cruise...he did, it was just different from others where there were more activities and program staff that seem to like children more than the one we met on the first night.

[Toto2Kansas]

Pedirn-I can remember when the Sea Princess was a large ship, way back when. (The Sun Class ships are actually our all time favorite size).

When comparing the Sea to the Pacific, huge difference. The Sea is over 77000 tons and has a dedicated childrens area/program onboard and can carry over 2000 passengers, where as the Pacific is just over 30000 tons and only carrys around 700.
Which actually makes the Sea Princess sound almost huge in comparison.

[paul929207]

Originally Posted by Toto2Kansas

Pedirn-I can remember when the Sea Princess was a large ship, way back when. (The Sun Class ships are actually our all time favorite size).

When comparing the Sea to the Pacific, huge difference. The Sea is over 77000 tons and has a dedicated childrens area/program onboard and can carry over 2000 passengers, where as the Pacific is just over 30000 tons and only carrys around 700.
Which actually makes the Sea Princess sound almost huge in comparison.

It just depends on the directin of your comparison. Sun P vs Pacific P, the Sun is huge. But the Sun P vs the Oasis of the Seas and the Sun is a large tender.

[piper28]

FWIW, I'd be shocked if those ships are running 50-100 kids, regardless of what they told you. Couple years ago when I was on the Royal we had an above average number of kids on the ship, and I think that was around 20.

(Have to admit, I don't know that I'd personally want to be on one of those ships if there were 50-100 kids on it. Just not my cup of tea.)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

When Pacific Princess first entered the Princess fleet, after it was an R ship , it came to Australia, and a limit of 25 children, was put on it for each cruise , as it did not have the faclities to cope with any more.
We cruised several times on her then, with about half that number of children, but can assure you that those kids , who were lucky enough to be aboard, had the the most wonderful time of their lives.

[paul929207]

We have 3 cruises on the Pacific, 1 on the Royal and 4 on the Tahitian. I don't think threre were 50 kids combined on the 8 cruises.

[Toto2Kansas]

Last cruise we sailed on the Tahitian, there was only one small child onboard. Our next cruise there are 5, as my TA checked for another passenger on our roll call for us. I was actually surprised to see 5 children on this sailing, although we didn't ask their ages and they could just be under 18 and still considered children by Princess standards.

With the smaller ships, and only one pool, and limited space, there are not usually a lot of children that would be comfortable on these ships (read bored). But there are some that love it, so it all depends on the child and their interests in hanging out with parents the entire cruise, and vice versa.