Which cruise line is best for 8 year old?

We just came back from a 5 day cruise on the Carnival Victory and although it was a nice cruise and a great trip it was not what I expected. We want to do another cruise and the only thing we are sure of is we want one port to be Ocho Rios. So if you were traveling with an 8 year old boy which line would you choose?

Here is a site that lists all ships that visit specific ports. Scroll down to Ocho Rios and start looking at dates around when you would want to sail.

www (dot) cruisetimetables (dot) com

Stick with Carnival, my family loves the pools, slides and Camp Carnival. :)

Just picking random dates, it looks like Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, and Princess all sail to Ocho Rios. Of those, I would say Carnival and Norwegian offer the most for an 8 year old.

I am curious as to what you did not like about Carnival?

I am curious as to what you did not like about Carnival?

I am not sure it was Carnival that we didn't care for as much as the ship we were on. We were on the Victory so it only had one waterslide with a very long line at times. There were three pools, one was adult only and always empty of people and two were for everyone. Twice I had to remove my son from the pools as drunk people were having sex in them, As the ship staff just walked by.

While at sea most of the events were for adults or bingo and most events at the kids club were more girl oriented, a lot of dance parties. Because of this he only went to a few events and we did a few of the family events. It often felt if you were not there for drinking then you should pretty much just stay in room. They were also doing a lot of loud repairs on the ship while we were at sea and had few of the decks and areas of an already smaller ship closed. This ship just came out of dry dock and it was had a lot of work still to be done. Should not have been removed from drydock.

The food was only so-so, there was often times I could not find a main entrée that even sounded good to me. And I am not a picky eater. For my son the kids menu was junk food; hotdog, hamburger, pizza, chicken nuggets. He asked our server one night if they had green beans or broccoli because he wanted some veggies instead of french fries, the did not or any regular vegetable to offer. Even on the adult menu a vegetable that was not a wedge of lettuce was hard to find. And the buffet had the same hand carved turkey 3 of the 5 days we were at sea.

The Kid Carnival was poorly ran a few of the events he wanted to attend did not start on time and ended up being a bunch of kids standing around while the staff stood around talking to each other. One of the events we attended was the digital scavenger hunt which we had fun doing but when we returned to the kids club 10 minutes before the time limit found out the prize was already given out even though the guy running it said we were the only ones to do a picture of every deck and put smiley faces on our foreheads as per directions. So I had to explain to my child why we didn't win if we were the only ones to complete two of the task. He is almost 8 he knows cheating when he sees it.

We made the most of our days at sea and our ocean view room was very roomy. With three of us in there it still had plenty of room. Although the window was so dirty you could hardly see out of it. The beds were comfy and our room attendant was very nice. He always greeted us with a smile and high five for my son. He seemed to know what were needed before we did. We also had a great server who towards the end of the cruise knew my son loved his fruit so had it waiting for him when we got to dinner. He also always made his kids menu into an origami animal by the end of the meal. It was those little things that made the trip nice. And the great times we had at port which made it a great vacation.

Hmmm... It could be you hit the party crowd because it was 5 day cruise. You should definitely try longer cruise, 7-day at least, and maybe try one of the newer ships.

Hmmm... It could be you hit the party crowd because it was 5 day cruise. You should definitely try longer cruise, 7-day at least, and maybe try one of the newer ships.

I agree - longer cruise, newer ship. My kids love NCL, and the bigger ships have amazing slides and ropes courses. The Spirit and Getaway both go to Jamaica, the Spirit is much older and smaller, so I'd chose the Getaway. I think your problem was smaller ship/shorter cruise, which tend to attract a party crowd. I wouldn't judge all Carnival cruises based on your last one (and I've never sailed Carnival).

You shouldn't limit your search to just Ocho Rios. Check for ships going to Falmouth as well. Much, much, much nicer port area and they do many of the same excursions from their as you find from Ocho Rios (Dunns River Falls, etc.).

If it's a slide you want, then you'll pretty much have to stick with Carnival....

It sounds like you may be seeking a more refined cruising experience, in which case I'd recommend Celebrity.

But you won't find any waterslides on celebrity.

I think you need to define/order what is you most want - good food, good vibe, more refined, good entertainment, good kid's club etc.

I think you may be hard-pressed to find EVERYTHING you want in one cruiseline while adding in the requirement of an itinerary that includes Ochos Rios.

I agree with others who say you cannot really judge a cruise line by their 2/4/5 day itineraries unless that is all you ever intend to sail.

You will always find better cruising experiences on a 7 night + sailing.

It sounds like you may be seeking a more refined cruising experience, in which case I'd recommend Celebrity.

 

 

 

But you won't find any waterslides on celebrity.

 

 

 

I think you need to define/order what is you most want - good food, good vibe, more refined, good entertainment, good kid's club etc.

 

 

 

I think you may be hard-pressed to find EVERYTHING you want in one cruiseline while adding in the requirement of an itinerary that includes Ochos Rios.

 

 

 

I agree with others who say you cannot really judge a cruise line by their 2/4/5 day itineraries unless that is all you ever intend to sail.

 

 

 

You will always find better cruising experiences on a 7 night + sailing.

I am considering Celebrity Constellation for March break 2016. I will be traveling with 2 boys ages 6 and 9. We have only sailed with Disney and my kids didn't really enjoy the kids program. Can you please tell me what you/your kids enjoy onboard? I haven't heard much about kids activities on Celebrity. Thanks!

Don't really know if I am looking for a refined cruise per say, just one that is family friendly and has things for us to do as a family unit. With the Victory it felt like you were supposed to take your child and drop them off at kids club all day, not my idea of a family vacation.

I am considering Celebrity Constellation for March break 2016. I will be traveling with 2 boys ages 6 and 9. We have only sailed with Disney and my kids didn't really enjoy the kids program. Can you please tell me what you/your kids enjoy onboard? I haven't heard much about kids activities on Celebrity. Thanks!

KVICKERS, I responded to you on the thread you posted on the Celebrity board:D

My kids were 7 and 8 when we sailed REFLECTION - and loved it!!!! X is by far their favourite. For my son (7) he felt like a superstar because of his allergies, not an afterthought. I posted more on the Celebrity thread. Also, if you search the cruise reviews on this site for Reflection, you can read my full review. It was posted shortly after our November 14-21st 2014 cruise.

They way i see it, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. The parents who LOVE Carnival, are likely to have kids who LOVE carnival. Likewise, Parents who love X are likely to have raised the kind of kids who love X.

There is a misconception that all kids need rock walls, ziplines, waveriders and waterslides to enjoy a cruise.

KVICKERS, I responded to you on the thread you posted on the Celebrity board:D

 

 

 

My kids were 7 and 8 when we sailed REFLECTION - and loved it!!!! X is by far their favourite. For my son (7) he felt like a superstar because of his allergies, not an afterthought. I posted more on the Celebrity thread. Also, if you search the cruise reviews on this site for Reflection, you can read my full review. It was posted shortly after our November 14-21st 2014 cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

They way i see it, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. The parents who LOVE Carnival, are likely to have kids who LOVE carnival. Likewise, Parents who love X are likely to have raised the kind of kids who love X.

 

 

 

There is a misconception that all kids need rock walls, ziplines, waveriders and waterslides to enjoy a cruise.

Thanks for your feedback, Queen of Oakville! Very helpful and greatly appreciated!

We have only sailed with Disney and my kids didn't really enjoy the kids program.

Wow, seriously? Just kidding of course, but I can't imagine our kids saying that. We did lot of Holland America cruises with our kids before we found Disney. Then we tried to go back to HAL and they were bored stiff. The Disney clubs can be a bit crazy and overwhelming so maybe HAL or X would be a good option. Way less kids and way more personalized attention. Also, shorter kids club hours and fewer activities and things geared towards kids.

Wow, seriously? Just kidding of course, but I can't imagine our kids saying that. We did lot of Holland America cruises with our kids before we found Disney. Then we tried to go back to HAL and they were bored stiff. The Disney clubs can be a bit crazy and overwhelming so maybe HAL or X would be a good option. Way less kids and way more personalized attention. Also, shorter kids club hours and fewer activities and things geared towards kids.

My kids loved our DCL cruises, loved the character meets, loved the Aquaduck ... but were just not big fans of the kids club. Too many kids. Not enough adult oversight. Too much yelling and screaming. While other kids clearly loved the kid's club - it depends on the child. We find the same experience on Royal. They'll go to the kid's club because they know we want some alone time, but they are not begging to go. When we pick them up from FUN factory, we hear "please can we stay longer". When we pick them up from adventure ocean, they make a beeline to the door and are ready to go.

My kids loved our DCL cruises, loved the character meets, loved the Aquaduck ... but were just not big fans of the kids club. Too many kids. Not enough adult oversight. Too much yelling and screaming. While other kids clearly loved the kid's club - it depends on the child. We find the same experience on Royal. They'll go to the kid's club because they know we want some alone time, but they are not begging to go. When we pick them up from FUN factory, we hear "please can we stay longer". When we pick them up from adventure ocean, they make a beeline to the door and are ready to go.

Just curious what your kids thought of the Carnival Dream?

I am not sure it was Carnival that we didn't care for as much as the ship we were on. We were on the Victory so it only had one waterslide with a very long line at times. There were three pools, one was adult only and always empty of people and two were for everyone. Twice I had to remove my son from the pools as drunk people were having sex in them, As the ship staff just walked by.

 

While at sea most of the events were for adults or bingo and most events at the kids club were more girl oriented, a lot of dance parties. Because of this he only went to a few events and we did a few of the family events. It often felt if you were not there for drinking then you should pretty much just stay in room. They were also doing a lot of loud repairs on the ship while we were at sea and had few of the decks and areas of an already smaller ship closed. This ship just came out of dry dock and it was had a lot of work still to be done. Should not have been removed from drydock.

 

The food was only so-so, there was often times I could not find a main entrée that even sounded good to me. And I am not a picky eater. For my son the kids menu was junk food; hotdog, hamburger, pizza, chicken nuggets. He asked our server one night if they had green beans or broccoli because he wanted some veggies instead of french fries, the did not or any regular vegetable to offer. Even on the adult menu a vegetable that was not a wedge of lettuce was hard to find. And the buffet had the same hand carved turkey 3 of the 5 days we were at sea.

 

The Kid Carnival was poorly ran a few of the events he wanted to attend did not start on time and ended up being a bunch of kids standing around while the staff stood around talking to each other. One of the events we attended was the digital scavenger hunt which we had fun doing but when we returned to the kids club 10 minutes before the time limit found out the prize was already given out even though the guy running it said we were the only ones to do a picture of every deck and put smiley faces on our foreheads as per directions. So I had to explain to my child why we didn't win if we were the only ones to complete two of the task. He is almost 8 he knows cheating when he sees it.

 

We made the most of our days at sea and our ocean view room was very roomy. With three of us in there it still had plenty of room. Although the window was so dirty you could hardly see out of it. The beds were comfy and our room attendant was very nice. He always greeted us with a smile and high five for my son. He seemed to know what were needed before we did. We also had a great server who towards the end of the cruise knew my son loved his fruit so had it waiting for him when we got to dinner. He also always made his kids menu into an origami animal by the end of the meal. It was those little things that made the trip nice. And the great times we had at port which made it a great vacation.

Btw, your child can order from the adult menu, on carnival or any line (at least any line we've sailed). My kid rarely orders from the kid menu as we don't do crap foods. We never had a problem ordering steamed veggies rather than fries on RCL or DCL. We often either order dd her plate or share, depending on what she wants and what we're ordering.

Disney to me, is the most family friendly, family fun, but doesn't have the port you're looking for.

I'd look at newer ships, with longer cruises, even it is carnival. The newer ships offer more and the longer ship tend to have a less partying group (unless you go during thanksgiving or spring break).

We did one carnival trip.and it was our least favorite. Since then we have tried RCL, DLC, and most recently Princess. We enjoyed them all and I could hardly get my kids out if the princess club. The booze element were less on DLC and Princess. We enjoyed RCL but there were times the club music was a little too much for my family and we listen to popular music. I do encourage you to try again. After our first cruise I didn't really care to do it again. Since them, we have had 3 great trips.

Just curious what your kids thought of the Carnival Dream?

They HATED it. But to be fair - they were much younger.

My son HATED camp carnival. He was 3 (I think) and did not want to go. When we dropped him off, we'd get a call asking us to pick him up. My daughter went (reluctantly) - she was probably 4. She never found the counsellors that friendly, and she was always being bullied by another girl who would pull toys away from her. When she complained to the counsellors they would not do anything. A year later (granted a year can make a huge difference in a child's development) we sailed Eurodam, and my kids LOVED Club HAL. THey still rate it their second fave kid's club (Second to X's Fun FActory).

They LOVED the waterslide. Unfortunately, they did not meet the height restrictions. But it wasn't being monitored for the first part of the week. About mid-week, they started turning away kids. Now I'm all for safety, but I'm also about consistency. You can't allow a young kid to enjoy something fun, and then take it away from them. They should have been monitoring height from day 1.

I wasn't a huge fan of the service on Dream - but to be fair, I think we just had a really bad server. He lectured me about food safety (letting my daughter eat her steak mid-rare). He lectured me about knife safety everytime he placed a steak knife on the table. He questioned me about how much money I made, how much my house is worth, and deliberately tried to make me feel guilty for being a "have". He also tried to "blackmail" me into giving him cash tips - said he didn't see any of the auto-tips. I'm sure it would have been a better experience, with a different waiter.

About a year after sailing Dream, she was stuck at sea and then carnival proceed to have issues with many of their ships. I lost faith in them, and had no desire to sail them again.

They HATED it. But to be fair - they were much younger.

 

 

 

My son HATED camp carnival. He was 3 (I think) and did not want to go. When we dropped him off, we'd get a call asking us to pick him up. My daughter went (reluctantly) - she was probably 4. She never found the counsellors that friendly, and she was always being bullied by another girl who would pull toys away from her. When she complained to the counsellors they would not do anything. A year later (granted a year can make a huge difference in a child's development) we sailed Eurodam, and my kids LOVED Club HAL. THey still rate it their second fave kid's club (Second to X's Fun FActory).

 

 

 

They LOVED the waterslide. Unfortunately, they did not meet the height restrictions. But it wasn't being monitored for the first part of the week. About mid-week, they started turning away kids. Now I'm all for safety, but I'm also about consistency. You can't allow a young kid to enjoy something fun, and then take it away from them. They should have been monitoring height from day 1.

 

 

 

I wasn't a huge fan of the service on Dream - but to be fair, I think we just had a really bad server. He lectured me about food safety (letting my daughter eat her steak mid-rare). He lectured me about knife safety everytime he placed a steak knife on the table. He questioned me about how much money I made, how much my house is worth, and deliberately tried to make me feel guilty for being a "have". He also tried to "blackmail" me into giving him cash tips - said he didn't see any of the auto-tips. I'm sure it would have been a better experience, with a different waiter.

 

 

 

 

 

About a year after sailing Dream, she was stuck at sea and then carnival proceed to have issues with many of their ships. I lost faith in them, and had no desire to sail them again.

Thanks so much for your feedback, Queen of Oakville. I truly appreciate your comments in helping me make the decision for our first cruise following a Disney cruise. Seems to be a little tougher than I thought! But enjoying the planning stage.

My kids loved our DCL cruises, loved the character meets, loved the Aquaduck ... but were just not big fans of the kids club. Too many kids. Not enough adult oversight. Too much yelling and screaming. While other kids clearly loved the kid's club - it depends on the child. We find the same experience on Royal. They'll go to the kid's club because they know we want some alone time, but they are not begging to go. When we pick them up from FUN factory, we hear "please can we stay longer". When we pick them up from adventure ocean, they make a beeline to the door and are ready to go.

Yeah I agree, it depends on the child. When we were on the Fantasy the kids clubs was too overwhelming for our 3yr old, but our then 6yr old loved it. Had no problem with the adult oversight, I think Disney does that better than anyone with the arm bands and their security procedures, etc.

Have you tried one of the smaller Disney ships? We just did the Magic after sailing on the Fantasy a few years prior and it was a much better experience in the kids clubs. Was less crowded and chaotic that on the larger ships.

Kvickers - I'm happy to help :D

I'm by NO means a cruising expert, but I can tell you what my family likes. We've sailed all the major lines with the exception of NCL. Feel free to ask any questions.

Since the post is going towards kids clubs I will post my daughter's 9 year old favorites:

1 - Disney Fantasy

2- Royal Caribbean (OASIS and Allure)

3- Norwegian Getaway (because the waterslides are so much fun)

4- Carnival the cruise was terrible but the kids clun on the Breeze was ok, I hated the orange redish (seasoning) french fries served on the ship..

Have fun!!

Michelle

I think it highly depends on the ship. I cruised on Carnival in February and the kids seemed to really enjoy it, they were high fiving and giving hugs to the camp counselors on the way off the ship. It was a 7-day cruise, though to Mexico, Ocho Rios, and Grand Cayman. There was drinking but I saw more families than anything. It was definitely NOT the party ship I've heard about. I'm bringing my kids on Norwegian next June. Fingers crossed.