cruising with a 4 and 6 year old

We're thinking about cruising with our kids next summer, probably the end of June, possibly April. My daughter will be 6 in March and my son will be 4 in May. Are there any cruise lines where they'd be in the same age group?

We're thinking about cruising with our kids next summer, probably the end of June, possibly April. My daughter will be 6 in March and my son will be 4 in May. Are there any cruise lines where they'd be in the same age group?

They would technically be in 2 different age groups with RCCL. That said, we asked permission to have one of our children register in another age group to be with a cousin and they had no problems with it. To ensure it would not be an issue, I contacted RCCL via e-mail prior to the cruise and got an OK for it. I printed it out and took it to the ship just in case they said no. In fact, the staff were already made aware of the request by corporate offices and were waiting for us.

That said, if you older child decides to join the lower group, they do not let them go back and forth between groups. You must stay in the ONE where you are registered. There are lots more fun things to do in the 6-8 age group according to my kids, so they never would want to drop a category again (my twins were 5 last March and permitted to go up to the 6-8 category).

Either way, I am sure your kids will LOVE their cruise.

They would be in the same group on Princess.

Carnival would let them go together - maybe to the younger group, maybe not. I'm going to be dealing with that this summer with 2 cousins.

HAVE FUN!

They would be in the same age group on Disney and HAL.

Just came off of the Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). They did not allow my 3 year old to see/be with our 7-year old. 3-year old was very upset and they had to page me. Would choose a bigger ship (with a larger play area) and/or a more kid-friendly cruise line. Missed the little things-for example they had no cups with lids on the ship (spilled drinks everywhere), no chocolate milk at dinner. The Enchantment also had no other kids activities around the ship (other than at the kids club)-no kids night shows, no kids pool activities or movies, etc. The ship was nice but look at other lines/ships, especially with young kids.

Just came off of the Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). They did not allow my 3 year old to see/be with our 7-year old. 3-year old was very upset and they had to page me. Would choose a bigger ship (with a larger play area) and/or a more kid-friendly cruise line. Missed the little things-for example they had no cups with lids on the ship (spilled drinks everywhere), no chocolate milk at dinner. The Enchantment also had no other kids activities around the ship (other than at the kids club)-no kids night shows, no kids pool activities or movies, etc. The ship was nice but look at other lines/ships, especially with young kids.

Sorry you had such a bad experience...however...I can completely understand RCI policy...I wouldn't expect a 3 year old to be in with the group that has 7 year olds in it or vice-versa.

The kids club area on the Enchantment is basically a couple of rooms with a few toys. It is pretty small, therefore my 3-year old could see/hear her 7-year old sister but could not be in the room with her (right next door). I would choose a ship with a larger kids area (more spread out with more amenities), which would make it easier to keep the younger ones entertained/distracted. The staff was really nice, just not enough space or the "wow" factor when it came to the kids club area.

Just came off of the Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). They did not allow my 3 year old to see/be with our 7-year old. 3-year old was very upset and they had to page me. Would choose a bigger ship (with a larger play area) and/or a more kid-friendly cruise line. Missed the little things-for example they had no cups with lids on the ship (spilled drinks everywhere), no chocolate milk at dinner. The Enchantment also had no other kids activities around the ship (other than at the kids club)-no kids night shows, no kids pool activities or movies, etc. The ship was nice but look at other lines/ships, especially with young kids.

When our kid was that little (she was 23 months and 3 on her first couple of cruises), I brought a couple of sippy cups for her (plus a little container of dishwashing liquid for washing these in the sink). At meals, the waiter was happy to fill them for me. I believe Carnival had chocolate milk cartons. I would check to see if your cabin has a mini-fridge (Princess has them) and then you can store one of those small milk cartons in it (I would take put it in the ice bucket that has ice in it and stick it in the fridge).

Usually the kids' staff doesn't take the kids to the pools (there's no lifeguards and certainly would be a safety issue for a crew member to watch a group of kids in the pool). They would prefer a parent to accompany his/her child to the pool area. And definitely cruise lines don't allow kids in diapers (even swim diapers) into the pools.

We haven't sailed on Royal Caribbean (just Carnival and Princess), but I do remember Carnival having activities such as cookie decorating and family karaoke as part of the kids' program. Also both Carnival and Princess had Passenger Scavenger Hunt (before child, we had a group of kids coming up to us to get us to sign off on boxes for them, and I was very surprised. It hadn't occurred to me that there were any kids on board). There were also mocktail parties in the disco -- a private party for just them. And also, kids' dinners. You take your kids to the buffet area and sign them in. Usually there's a section reserved for them, and after wards they are escorted to the kids' program area for the evening activities.

If you try to book for a time when there are plenty of kids on board, you'll find a more active program. And maybe the younger ones will click with their fellow 3-year-olds so that they don't need their older siblings -- and that is a good thing for both the 3-year-olds and the 7-year-olds.

My daughter has outgrown sippie cups, however am used to most restaurants serving kids drinks in cups with a lid/straw. Did not expect the staff to take the kids to the pool/swimming. Wished that the pool movie had some kids movies (I guess that is limited to the Disney cruises). Also maybe some outdoor activities (not just confined to the small kids area). May have to cough up the $ and stick to Disney.

My daughter has outgrown sippie cups, however am used to most restaurants serving kids drinks in cups with a lid/straw. Did not expect the staff to take the kids to the pool/swimming. Wished that the pool movie had some kids movies (I guess that is limited to the Disney cruises). Also maybe some outdoor activities (not just confined to the small kids area). May have to cough up the $ and stick to Disney.

RCI does not provide lids as they are not environmentally friendly. They want people to use the plastic cups that can be washed and reused - they do provide straws, but remember, all paper and plastic has to be recycled on the ship, so they do not want to create unnecessary waste.

The movies on our cruise were geared more towards the teens than little kids, but they did show several kid movies in the kids club. I tried to talk my son into watching Guardians of the Galaxy with me, but he wanted to go to the club to be with his friends.

In terms of outdoor activities, our cruise had family scavenger hunt, family ring toss, family bean bag toss, family shuffle board, family Wii bowling tournament, pirate parade, talent show, etc. Maybe we had more activities because it was longer cruise and had more sea days. Did you have a lot of kids on Enchantment? There were close to 600 on Grandeur this past week.

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Carnival will show kid-friendly movies in their kids' program rooms. We weren't on any ships with the big outdoor screen until a couple of cruises ago and that was with Princess. During the day, mostly kid appropriate movies on that screen (since it was during the holidays, movies like "Elf" were shown) and on the cabin TV for much of the day, one channel devoted to kid-friendly movies.