Children on Cruises, question about cruise timing

Hello fellow Cruise Critters,

FLA resident here and am cruising on the OOTS on May 3rd. I have a question for the more seasoned "cruisers' here.

Did you notice an overwhelming amount of children on your cruise in April/May? Before I get flamed, I want to say first, I love kids and cruised as a child with my parents too. But I've been on cruises with lots of kids and have had to deal with stuff because they aren't supervised. Kids throwing ice cream cones in the pool, dirty diapers floating, sneaking into the adult areas, pressing every elevator button, etc.

I know for Florida schools Spring Break is over now and Summer vacation starts in June. I booked our cruise on May 3rd to hopefully find that sweet spot of less children. Of course that makes an assumption that most passengers are Florida residents which is not necessarily so.

So..excuse the long post. What I want to know is do you find that on RCCI cruises there are less children in April/May?

Thanks in advance

April can have Easter vacation, and many schools end session in mid-May, so depending on the date, April/May can still have a large number of children.

School should still be in session on May 3.

You might find fewer children on the longer cruises of more than 7 days. I try to book those, now that I have the time.

There might always be babies, toddlers, and home-schooled kids aboard any cruise.

RCI just finished its "kids sail free promotion". There could be the possibility of more kids than normal on any of the cruises.

I always cruised off times because my kids were homeschooled. May is usually a good time unless you leave on mother's day. You should have a low number of kids because it is after Easter and before mother's day. But, as has been said, there will always be some kids. Find a spot at the solarium pool as it is adults only. The ship is big enough you can always find quiet spots! Have fun!

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Hello fellow Cruise Critters,

 

FLA resident here and am cruising on the OOTS on May 3rd. I have a question for the more seasoned "cruisers' here.

 

Did you notice an overwhelming amount of children on your cruise in April/May? Before I get flamed, I want to say first, I love kids and cruised as a child with my parents too. But I've been on cruises with lots of kids and have had to deal with stuff because they aren't supervised. Kids throwing ice cream cones in the pool, dirty diapers floating, sneaking into the adult areas, pressing every elevator button, etc.

 

I know for Florida schools Spring Break is over now and Summer vacation starts in June. I booked our cruise on May 3rd to hopefully find that sweet spot of less children. Of course that makes an assumption that most passengers are Florida residents which is not necessarily so.

 

So..excuse the long post. What I want to know is do you find that on RCCI cruises there are less children in April/May?

 

Thanks in advance

May 3rd is well after Easter and well before the majority of schools let out for summer. You should be happy with the numbers.

That should be a pretty off time for kids. We did a four night during early May last year and I was shocked at how FEW kids there were. Colleges will be out, but pretty much all other schools are in session.

We like cruising in spring, so there are lots of kids...but they've never been a bother...the kids club keeps them busy for the most part. Sea days at the pool can be overrun, but we sit up a deck or two..so not too many kids up there! So far, kids have been a non-issue!

I won't flame ya ;) I totally understand trying to find that time of year when the ship is not truly overrun. My OWN children who have been cruising since they were babies don't like cruising with OTHER children who act like that ;)

So - to answer your question - we are going on the May 4th Allure. I don't suspect a ship with 2,000 children but I am guessing there will be a fair number. Just be forewarned.

I won't flame ya ;) I totally understand trying to find that time of year when the ship is not truly overrun. My OWN children who have been cruising since they were babies don't like cruising with OTHER children who act like that ;)

 

So - to answer your question - we are going on the May 4th Allure. I don't suspect a ship with 2,000 children but I am guessing there will be a fair number. Just be forewarned.

I agree with you Michele, BUT.............

I have been having an interesting experience lately.

Yes, no one wants to be "stuck" on a ship full of out-of-control children.

But not all children are "out of control", even when there are large numbers of them.

And it is impossible to predict what kind of parents have raised the kids on your particular cruise.

But I have been cruising lately when there were very few kids on the ships.

LOTS of older cruisers. HORDES of scooters. MUCH grumpiness.

Frankly, I miss the liveliness that children bring.

So, count me SURPRISED at my own reaction, but consider this, too, when you are picking a sail date.

:)

I agree with you Michele, BUT.............

 

I have been having an interesting experience lately.

 

Yes, no one wants to be "stuck" on a ship full of out-of-control children.

 

But not all children are "out of control", even when there are large numbers of them.

 

And it is impossible to predict what kind of parents have raised the kids on your particular cruise.

 

But I have been cruising lately when there were very few kids on the ships.

 

LOTS of older cruisers. HORDES of scooters. MUCH grumpiness.

 

Frankly, I miss the liveliness that children bring.

 

So, count me SURPRISED at my own reaction, but consider this, too, when you are picking a sail date.

 

:)

We were once on a 10 day Princess cruise with a shipload of grumpy seniors - worst cruise experience ever in regards to being onboard. Granted, not all of the pax were extremely elderly, and not all were grumpy, there was a fair percentage that were. That and after 8:00pm, there was NOTHING going on. Seems like they rolled up the sidewalks after the dinner medications kicked in! LOL. We enjoyed the ports very much, and the crew was wonderful. We hung out with the crew more than the other pax!

Thanks for all of the responses everyone. Good Points. I do love the energy and liveliness kids bring. But drunk adults, and grumpy any-agers are worse.

I'm going to be happy no matter what b/c Hey, I'm on a boat! ;-)

Happy Sailing :-)

I totally agree Carol :)