Best Non- Disney Ship for kids

We are considering taking our kids on their 1st ever cruise next November and I am looking for help in choosing a ship. We are not looking at Disney because it is just to expensive for what we would need.

We are looking for a ship that has activities for kids to do with their parents. I keep reading about all the amazing kids clubs but I don't think that my 12 year old son will go to them. My 7 year old daughter will, for sure. But our son will want to be with us. He is just to shy for the clubs. So what ships have fun activities for kids that don't' including having to be in a kids club to do them?

We would also be looking at either a 2 bedroom suite or 2 rooms. We don't all want to cram into 1 room.

Can anyone give me some guidance on what ships I should be looking at?

Thanks!

The new ships from Carnival (Vista), NCL (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape) and RCCL (Oasis, Grandeur, Allure) all have tons of stuff people can do on board - waterparks, ice skating, ropes courses, flow rider, bowling, etc. But you might find the cost pretty comparable to Disney.

Disney is the only one that has a tremendous amount of specific-family programming. RCCL usually has one activity in the afternoons on sea days. Carnival has a family comedy show,

However, don't be afraid to just book a ship with some really good ports and not worry about all of the extras onboard. We have had great cruises on smaller ships that may only have a water slide or mini golf or maybe nothing more than a pool. If you are in port 4 (or more) days like a typical Western or Southern Carribean, you will spend lots of time snorkeling, or cave tubing, or zip lining, or exploring together as a family off the ship. I personally find the cost of a lot of the newer ships too much for me - because I don't need an ice rink or ropes course on the ship since I can do those things at our local parks. I prefer a better itinerary.

My kids have had fun at sea day activities that were not specifically geared towards kids. My daughter and I did a hip-hop dance class once on Carnival. I think we did juggling one cruise (maybe NCL?). Learning to make towel animals is fun. Bring some card games, books and plan on just hanging out together and you will be fine on any ship you go on! My cruise criteria is ports, cost, then ship amenities last!!

Subscribing as I'm interested too in the answers. Totally agree wtih you in the price for Disney.

We've booked a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. So much for kids and to do as a family...rock wall, flowrider, mini golf, H20 zone, ice skating, arcade, Dreamworks meet and greets, parades, and amazing shows including Aqua Show and other DreamWorks shows.

Allure and Oasis do not have waterslides yet, but the new Harmony will have one.

They do have family suites or you could get two connecting rooms.

We have a DS now aged 11. He has been on Disney, NCL, and HAL. We have done RCCL and Celebrity without him as well. His least favorite line was actually Disney. It was way too crowded in both the kids club and the activities. I have never seen a pool so crowded and we were still in low season. :eek:

He liked the HAL club just as much as the NCL one, which means he LOVED them. Both weren't super crowded, had lots of different activities and good counsellors. HAL had a great video game program with Xbox but weird sports court rules. NCL had the circus program which was really popular.

I agree that pick a good itinerary and room and worry less about which ship. You really only do the water slides or mini-golf once or twice. Look for a good sized pool and generous cabins.

We've only done Royal so I cannot compare. I have a 10 and 4 year old and the 4 year old is not a fan of the club. Adventure ocean does run family activities so we did those plus there is so much to do around the ship. Flow rider, ice skating, rock wall, sports court, zip line, etc. They also show movies some evenings in the Aqua theater. We cannot justify the cost for Disney so we choose RCCL. My daughter happens to love the kids club so she goes pretty often.

The kids pool area on the ship is fun too, but we also enjoyed the adult pools (not the solarium as they have to be over 16).

We really like Carnival, have gone on two with the kids and one upcoming cruise in February. They are 9 & 6, they both have loved the kids club we usually put them in there about 2 hours a day after dinner mostly. They love the pools and all of the ports. Are first cruise we did the Grand Suite, which is only one room but its very roomy. I think you can also do two regular rooms adjoining.

Most Carnival ships will have a water park area for kids, as will the newer Royal and NCL ships. Newer ships also have more activities, like rock climbing walls, rope courses, etc. If water slides are important, the only Royal ship with them is Harmony. All the Carnival ships, and I think all the NCL ships, have at least one slide. Royal ships have Dreamworks characters (and a tv channel that plays only Dreamworks movies). Carnival has Dr. Seuss.

I've only taken one toddler on one ship, so I don't have personal experience with kids clubs, but I did a lot of research.

A personal favorite is Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. They have DreamWorks characters onboard (think Kung Fu Panda) as well as the Barbie Premium Experience. There are 3-D film showings and Broadway-style shows. Plus, there are a lot of activities for slightly older children like ice skating, surfing through simulators, and rock climbing. Anyone I know who has been on one of these ships with their children has absolutely loved it!

The Carnival Breeze and Carnival Sunshine are also great for children. I would say that Carnival is probably the most cost-effective option out there and is way cheaper than Disney. They have one of the largest aqua parks with a massive dump bucket. Dr. Seuss can be found onboard, as well as the popular Hasbro game show. In addition, the ships have a ropes course with two different levels of challenge.

Another great line for families is Norwegian. One thing that I love about this line is that you're never rushed to do anything. There are no time constraints on dinner so you don't have to worry about missing it. Their ships Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway have a Splash Academy where kids can explore activities like arts and crafts. They have a partnership with Nickelodeon, so kids can meet Spongebob Squarepants and his friends. They have the largest water park at sea and is the only line to have Wii games available onboard. :)

We went on our first-ever cruise last year - Carnival Breeze, and my boys (twins, 11 at the time) were in tears when we disembarked. We had the best time ever. Ropes course, mini-putt, basketball, waterslides, PG comedy shows, Hasbro Game Show, Seuss Breakfast. The food in the MDR was amazing. I was super skeptical before we tried cruising, but we all loved it. Our balcony room was beautiful. I slept like a log every night.

They didn't love the kids club - but I think it's because they were at the older age range, and they said that everyone there was younger than them. They also said there were a lot of video games in the kids club - which is fine - but they weren't keen to play video games on their vacation - they wanted mini putt! :)

I'd look at the Carnival Breeze or Vista. The newer NCL and RC ships look amazing as well.

My kids loved both Princess and Carnival. They are really pretty easy going and have fun, even if we are on one with less bells and whistles. My tween likes the Princess programs more as he is a spots kid and they seem to be more "active;" our last trip on the Conquest with all the getting ready for the Christmas performance was way too artsy for him. But he still had a blast.

I agree with others that say set your budget and pick your ports as your primary factor. We have always cruised with 2 rooms - a balcony for us and an inside across the hall for the kids (my mother went with them in their room when they were younger).

If you go with Carnival, which I personally have consistently found to have the lowest rates (we cruise at holidays so can't price shop like many others can), I would chose a newer ship like Vista, Breeze, Magic, Dream or even Sunshine. We absolutely love the Sunshine and will sail her whenever we can.

I just got off the Norwegian Star for my first cruise (with a 6 and year old). I felt a little bad that there wasn't much for kids on the ship. When I booked it, I was looking at the cool ports, the price and the perks (free drinks!). I wish I'd researched the specifics of the ship a little more. The staff at the kids club was great, but the facility was like a small gym daycare...not somewhere my kids would want to spend a lot of time. That being said, we still had a blast! They loved the shows at night, even though they weren't geared for kids. Next time, I'll book a newer, larger ship that specifically lists family entertainment.

Royal is our first pickwhen traveling with the children. They were particuallary happy with Feedon of the Seas. Ice rink, Flow Rider, and the kids clubs were fantastic. Having said that Carnival is a very close second!

I just got off the Norwegian Star for my first cruise (with a 6 and year old). I felt a little bad that there wasn't much for kids on the ship. When I booked it, I was looking at the cool ports, the price and the perks (free drinks!). I wish I'd researched the specifics of the ship a little more. The staff at the kids club was great, but the facility was like a small gym daycare...not somewhere my kids would want to spend a lot of time. That being said, we still had a blast! They loved the shows at night, even though they weren't geared for kids. Next time, I'll book a newer, larger ship that specifically lists family entertainment.

We are looking at taking our 6 year old son on the Norwegian Star in November for the 21 day Dubai-Singapore cruise. I just read your comment and am now concerned. Will he have enough to entertain him? Did your 6 year old like the kids pool area?

Any advice you can offer is appreciated.

Personally- if your kids like theme parks- go to a theme park and have a ball. A ship is not a theme park. The rock climbing, flow rider, water slides are ok but aren't comparable to a theme park and the novelty will wear off almost instantly. What makes cruises fun is doing things as a family- whether it be going to trivia together (a family favorite) or games shows, comedy shows, magic shows, etc. or hanging by the pool- there is something for everyone on a ship. Their are cooking lessons, napkin and towel folding, Movies outside.

Most kids enjoy exploring a large ship. We have done all the mainstream lines and my favorite is Regal Princess. I've booked it again because we had such a great time- never bored. Things for everyone to do- great food. Highly recommend.

Personally kids like most ships, but I would avoid Holland America. My son didn't like them as much as the other cruise lines. Passengers on Holland are older and more annoyed by kids (as a general rule).

We have chosen Carnival for our first cruise with our 3.5 year olds. It fit nicely within our budget, and our children love Dr. Seuss. We will be cruising the Carnival Dream, which is one of the larger ships with extended family and friends in September.

As our children age, we will likely gravitate more towards the Royal Caribbean ships. For now though, I can't see paying for ice rinks, rock walls, and flow riders since our children aren't old enough to participate.

We are looking at taking our 6 year old son on the Norwegian Star in November for the 21 day Dubai-Singapore cruise. I just read your comment and am now concerned. Will he have enough to entertain him? Did your 6 year old like the kids pool area?

Any advice you can offer is appreciated.

Our 3.5 year old loved the kids pool area on the Star's Baltic cruise 2 years ago. It's small and not impressive compared to newer ship's kids splash areas, but my son loved it. But he'd previously sailed on the Coral Princess and HAL Ryndam, both of which are extremely old ships with few kids amenities (we pick cruises for the itineraries not ship amenities). He also loved the kids club - there were special theme nights such as pirates night and the kids all learned circus moves and performed on the big stage. But this was only a 10 night cruise with a ton of kids on board - I don't know how many kids would be on a 21 day cruise from Dubai to Singapore. On the previous cruises we took on different lines with very few kids, they scaled back on organized activities and mostly let the kids do what they wanted. You might want to post your question in the destination board or NCL's board to see if anyone has been on a long cruise with young children.

Go to the roll call for your cruise. My guess is there will be very few school age children on a 21 day cruise.

As long as you can be your child's playmate for 21 days- I think things will be fine. The youth program will be open if even one child is onboard, so go there the first day. It will be a fun place for your child and it will give you a break once in a while.

I did a lot of research before settling on RCCL and their Dream works partnership.

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We're going on Carnival Splendor with our 8 and 5 year old and leave in a few days. I'll let you know how it is. We chose it for the ports and the cost. Royal Caribbean for the same itinerary was $1000 more.

I'm hoping the kids club will be fun for them and that there are fun family things to do on the sea days.

Can anyone tell me if the evening shows are kid appropriate?

We're on the Celebrity Millennium (Alaska) next week with an 11-month old and a 3.5 year old. And it's the first cruise for all of us...will see if we are tempting fate or not? :)

We just got back from our cruise. My kids loved Camp Carnival. It kept them busy and gave us some downtime. I saw lots of older kids hanging out by the pools or playing ping pong.

Having done all of RCCL big ship classes the new Harmony is by far the best and a step above Allure. Just a few of the kid features are on my video.

P&O Ventura despite being advertised as family friendly isn't. 1 it isn't friendly & 2 outside of clubs(which are good) the is nothing for kids at all.

We have had fantastic experiences on carnival, Royal and celebrity boats with our small children. We've rock climbed, we've ice skates, we've ridden the water slides. We pick active itineraries (less days at sea, more days exploring) and take advantage of what is available.

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We (myself and my 6 year old) are doing the DCL Fantasy this December. I can justify their Very Merrytime Cruise (bc of the uniqueness) price, but won't pay their Alaska prices- so we are doing NCL Pearl in June '17.

I was a little nervous at first, especially because most DCL people say that "nothing compares to Disney", but as other have stated, I think the ports will provide plenty for him to do, and we can hang out and play games together on the ship.

It's tough too because the kid's clubs aren't a huge deal to me, even on DCL, because the point for me is for us to spend some qt together. So Family entertainment was important. At the end of the day though, like others have said- most of the amenities on the new ships are things that we already do at home. So even if you can see a couple of shows and hang out playing cards or board games it will still be great. If I was doing a warm weather cruise the pools would have been more important, so just make sure there are at least a few things that you know your children will enjoy.

What also helped me tremendously was reading trip reports here! Search reports for the specific cruise you're looking at, find the ones that have similar aged children.

Have a wonderful cruise!! :)

I'm curious, does Disney have more scheduled family activities on the ship during sea days? I think this is where we struggled because during the day on our CCL cruise, there really weren't many scheduled activities that interested us and the camp provided that for the kids. We don't gamble or play bingo and there was only so much trivia I could take, so it left us bored sometimes during the sea days.