What is your favorite cruise line/ship with Kids?

I'd like to book a cruise when my daughters are 4 and 2/3 years old. What is your favorite cruise line/ship for this age and why?

Thank you for your input!!!

For that age (and especially because they are girls), I have to say Disney. There are not many little girls who are not entranced by princesses. The characters (not just princesses) make many appearances.

I would highly recommend Royal Caribbean, especially Allure (or Oasis)! We took DD at almost 2 1/2. She loved the splash zone, carousel, play room, nursery, toddler mini golf, ice skating, the shows, face painting, balloon animals & exploring the ship! We did the character breakfast with Shrek which she really liked. We used the nursery ($8/hour) one night and she wanted to go back. Also, the toy lending program for the cabin was great!

If your children are not potty trained by the time you plan to cruise, make sure the ship you choose has a "splash zone" for the diapered set! Not all ships have that...and diapers are NOT allowed in the pools! Just a "heads up"!

Also check on the age requirements for the clubs. Most won't take kids under 3 in their programs. Those that don't usually have some sort of 'Mommy & Me' times.

Carnival starts their programs at 2.

My favourite cruise with our family, was aboard the Disney Fantasy. Nobody does children's entertainment like Disney, after all, who can compete with Snow White, Captain Jack Sparrow and Mickey Mouse just dropping by the kids club for some high fives and hugs.

We like to tell the story of going back for our 7 year old 4 times within a few hours to take her out of the kids club for the evening. Each time we were met with significant resistance and pleading for more time. Many other parents had the same problem. As we were on vacation and under no time constraints we let her stay. Finally we got a message that the kids club was closing and to come get our child. This all sounds normal until you realize the kids club closes at midnight. We sort of slunk in with a "please don't judge me" worry but were then confronted with many many other parents also picking their children up at this upstanding parenting hour.

It really was an amazing trip, our son also had a great time.

The problem is that Disney is very popular and is starting to become prohibitively expensive. Do to occupational demands, we can only travel in high season. I just priced out the same trip we were on the summer before last and Disney wants close to $7000 for four people for a week. This is a lot for 7 days, especially for a middle class couple. When airfare, hotels, etc are added, it's hard to justify. Supply and demand unfortunately.

If you can travel outside the summer, winter and spring breaks, their prices are considerably lower.

Hands Down Disney...the best was on Disney Magic. It's perfect even for those under 3.

The problem is that Disney is very popular and is starting to become prohibitively expensive.

I really would love to book a Disney Cruise, but it does seem extremely expensive... :(

I know this is a surprising answer but...it's Princess. Been on the Disney Fantasy and the Royal Princess with the kid and she, unequivocally, voted for Princess. More individualized attention, more arts and crafts in the kid's club, more structured activities, etc. I like them both but kid said she wanted to live at Princess Pelican club!

I really would love to book a Disney Cruise, but it does seem extremely expensive... :(

It doesn't have to be.

1-use a TA, shop around for the best obc, this will at least cover tips.

2-look for deals, book with disney visa get a $50 GC, get % back when you use your disney visa. We used our visa all year, and had $400 to use. ( I use it place of debit card and pay off each month, I even have cell phone bill and gym on it).

3-there are no/limited extra cost, child care for under 3 is $6 an hour. But soda is included, the h2o products are supplied in stateroom, no additional cost for characters and you can use your own camera/have the handler use your own camera-limited to no buying on board photos at $20 each.

4. buy your 'gifts' before hand. Rather than spending $$ in the on board gift shop, I bought dd's treats/toys before hand, spending way less than if I had gotten her anything from the gift shop.

5. travel off season, and get a lower cat room.

The club and lab and nursery have open house hours-if you don't want to drop your kid off, and there are family activities, dance party, crafts, all that. There is a kid's pool and a splash zone (fun when the kid's pool is shut down because someone didn't follow the rules).

DD and her cousins never cared for Disney - none of them have ever been into the princess thing, and the kids room tends to be a free-for-all (lots of ages mixed together). DD in particular has always been "creeped out" by the people in large costumes, and when she was little we had to avoid them. But if your kids are into Disney and like the parks and stuff -- it could be a better fit for you and yours.

We tend to go with the smaller RCCI ships -- the 3-9YO set seem to really like their Adventure Ocean. The counselors maintain good order, the activities are geared to each age group. For the under 3YO group, there are not too many activities open to them. I'm not sure if you meant two-thirds (9M) or 2-to-3YO. If you can wait until younger one is 3YO; RCCI can be a great option.

One major plus for Disney is that their cabins are very family friendly, and larger than the standard ones on other lines. Most of them also come with tubs, so bathing the little one won't be an issue. So one can skimp and go with an interior w/ Disney when they would need to upgrade to a larger room on another cruise.

Other pluses: Castaway Cay is the best private island in the cruise business. Try to get it on your itinerary if you go w/ Disney

- They know kids. All the staff there are excellent with kids, and know how to create big smiles on kids

- the shows are top notch Disney originals

Minuses:

-$$$ Any way you cut it, it's not cheap

- Food wasn't as good as other cruises I've been on, and hard to find food after 10pm

- Still have the problem of early sleeping kids (not Disney's fault)

My son likes Celebrity best and you can see from my signature that we cruise often. I like it too. The pools are very crowded and not wildly exciting though. Nothing to write home about. But all in all- the service and total experience is wonderful on Celebrity IMO.

If your children are little fish- then Princess is a great choice too. They have the best pools- better than Disney, Royal, Carnival, etc. There is also a good kids program.

Royal is good. For me the pools are just so, so. Youth programs are good. Food is good. Service good.

If you are a Disney-fanatic, you'll love Disney cruises. I'm not. I did one for my son- he loved it. I have no desire to do another.

I've got to go against the group. We are HUGE Disney nuts and ranked our Disney cruise our least favorite. The kids clubs were nice but seemed overly crowded and rushed. For what we paid, never again. We like Royal, Princess, and even find some of the Carnival ships nice. NCL is by far our favorite. We love the family suites and the perks that go with it. The kids crew is fantastic and the kids seem to get so much individual attention. We also feel they do anytime dining the best which we prefer. I will add we've never been on a cruise and had a bad time, regardless of the line. We just love NCLs atmosphere, they seem more laid back, and relaxed. Good luck with your decision and have a great trip.

My issues with Disney's kid club was it was sooo chaotic. Kids running everywhere. I felt overwhelmed just walking around. Too much stimulation for my tastes. Kid liked the Disney club but loved Princess because it was quieter and had more projects that she liked to participate in. It also had an outdoor play area where she could ride hot wheels around slide down the slides, etc.

Carnival was great for my family group. We had five kids from 2 to 9 and they loved it. Carnival accepts 2+ in their camp, unlike most lines that start at 3. Much cheaper than Disney, too. The staff was wonderful to my dd and nieces and nephew. We celebrated DD's 4th birthday on board and dining staff couldn't have made it more fun.

I cannot say enough great things about the RCL Oasis (same as Allure). Went with two 3 years olds and we barely even used kids club (which was amazing by the way) because there was so much to do with the kids. They loved the kid shows, the breakfasts w characters, dance parties, puppet shows, amazing kids pool area, and the best part for them was the Boardwalk w free carousel, free face paining and balloon animals plus play areas. We also loved the private island Labadee with them. The water at the beach we went to was the calmest and warmest we encountered and my son that is usually afraid o fwater overcame his fear and walked right in. We were originally torn between Oasis and a Disney cruise but figured on Oasis we could get a balcony for price of inside on Disney and we were just so amazed to see what the ship had to offer.

I cannot say enough great things about the RCL Oasis (same as Allure). Went with two 3 years olds and we barely even used kids club (which was amazing by the way) because there was so much to do with the kids. They loved the kid shows, the breakfasts w characters, dance parties, puppet shows, amazing kids pool area, and the best part for them was the Boardwalk w free carousel, free face paining and balloon animals plus play areas. We also loved the private island Labadee with them. The water at the beach we went to was the calmest and warmest we encountered and my son that is usually afraid o fwater overcame his fear and walked right in. We were originally torn between Oasis and a Disney cruise but figured on Oasis we could get a balcony for price of inside on Disney and we were just so amazed to see what the ship had to offer.

what characters? I'm shopping for a new cruise line (disney left our port). I taught dd the characters so she'd be excited to meet them.

Were the play area's open for families? How was the service? (Keeping mind Disney is great for service, ime).

Nevermind, I looked it up. Not sailing from a home port.

Happy new years!!

I cruise with an almost-7-ear old and a 3 1/2 year old on Disney. They are begging to go again.

We went off-season, so it was cheaper, and we drove to the port. I felt very comfortable on Disney as a family - pretty much everyone was a parent/grandparent and understood that kids sometimes get fussy, and the staff was just excellent with the kids. The staterooms were geared towards families (bathtubs), the shows were streamed to the room tv so that parents could watch while the kids slept, there was a curtain dividing the two sets of beds.

That said, I agree that the kids' club was chaotic - even though it was offseason and the ship wasn't full. I didn't think there was as much geared for the smaller kids. I think my oldest spent an hour or two a day in the kids' club. The youngest was overwhelmed in general and didn't want to leave me to go to the kids' club. We did go to "family time" for half an hour or so every day when parents are allowed in with their kids.

There was plenty to do on Disney - characters to see (lines), movies to watch, etc. It was an amazing experience I am glad I was able to give them...but next time we are cruising on Carnival or RCL.

The kids LOVED seeing Mickey, and loved the stores (little one ran away from me once to get to the shop, and he has yet to sleep without his Mickey Mouse doll, a year later). But overall, I think they just liked the cruising experience.

We danced in one of the smaller lounges after dinner every night. We swam in the pool. We watched movies and ate ice cream and watched the water and sat in a lounge and colored or read stories and went to the deck parties and ordered room service (the kids were so excited that ice cream bars and cookies could be delivered to the room). We didn't do any official excursions, just took a taxi to the beach or wandered around the markets.

I would not necessarily count on your kids spending a ton of time in the kids' club at those ages (mine have gone to day care since they were babies but still balked), and you can have a terrific experience on any line with just the regular every day cruising kind of stuff.

Both of our granddaughters enjoyed Celebrity as young children and it's still their favorite as teens.

Often people overlook Celebrity as a choice when cruising with children.

LuLu

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RCL has the best for kids ..

We have always cruised Carnival so I can only speak of them, but I highly recommend Carnival for kids! My 5 year old and 3 year old are about to do their 4th/3rd cruises in March. All on Carnival and wonderful experiences every time!

I cannot say enough great things about the RCL Oasis (same as Allure). Went with two 3 years olds and we barely even used kids club (which was amazing by the way) because there was so much to do with the kids. They loved the kid shows, the breakfasts w characters, dance parties, puppet shows, amazing kids pool area, and the best part for them was the Boardwalk w free carousel, free face paining and balloon animals plus play areas. We also loved the private island Labadee with them. The water at the beach we went to was the calmest and warmest we encountered and my son that is usually afraid o fwater overcame his fear and walked right in. We were originally torn between Oasis and a Disney cruise but figured on Oasis we could get a balcony for price of inside on Disney and we were just so amazed to see what the ship had to offer.

Ditto too all of this! my 3yo son had the best time on Oasis. We were blown away with all of the things to do that were specifically tailored to kids/families.

Disney was awesome for ours when they were ages 3 and 5. They would love to do it again, but it's pretty expensive. We loved this Disney Cruise and we all had a great time. We felt our kids were thooroughly entertained, not just being babysat. This time we opted for the Norwegian's Epic to the W. Caribbean. We are all very excited. The ship looks awesome and kid friendly with 3 really cool water slides, and a Nickelodeon theme for kids.

Next time we would like to try Royal Caribbean and their Dreamworks theme. Those ships look like a lot of fun too!

From everything I read when researching the best cruise ships for kids, I found:

Anything Disney

Royal Carribean - Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas etc.

Norwegian Epic and Breakaway

Hope that helps!