Has anyone cruised over Spring Break?

I'm considering a cruise on Liberty next March 27th leaving from Galveston Texas, stopping in Honduras, Belize and Cozumel.

This is going to be my Honeymoon and I was wondering since it is leaving on Easter, and is Spring Break for most American schools, if the ship going to be over run with small children? (Under the age of 16)

Has anyone have and experience cruising this week? Is there a considerable difference in the amount of children aboard?

We wouldn't normally mind children aboard, but since this is our honeymoon, the last thing we would want is more children then usual running around! Or at least to the point where it would make a difference in our cruise.

Thank you!

We did a back to back on Liberty this past March. The first was March 19 and the second was March 23. As far as young people, the first cruise had more college age kids, and the second cruise had many more children.

I'm considering a cruise on Liberty next March 27th leaving from Galveston Texas, stopping in Honduras, Belize and Cozumel.

 

This is going to be my Honeymoon and I was wondering since it is leaving on Easter, and is Spring Break for most American schools, if the ship going to be over run with small children? (Under the age of 16)

 

Has anyone have and experience cruising this week? Is there a considerable difference in the amount of children aboard?

 

We wouldn't normally mind children aboard, but since this is our honeymoon, the last thing we would want is more children then usual running around! Or at least to the point where it would make a difference in our cruise.

 

Thank you!

For the most part American children in elementary, middle and high school, Spring break can begin the week prior to Easter or the week after Easter.

Yes, there may be a higher percentage of children on board. Our experience has been that it depends on the itinerary.

FWIW, we did this once by mistake out of New Orleans. The ship was over run with kids. Blocking the stairs, playing in the elevators, switching the do not disturb and make up room tags...you know being kids. ;-)

We try to avoid that situation now. I'm not sure I would sign up for that on my honeymoon.

FWIW, we did this once by mistake out of New Orleans. The ship was over run with kids. Blocking the stairs, playing in the elevators, switching the do not disturb and make up room tags...you know being kids. ;-)

 

We try to avoid that situation now. I'm not sure I would sign up for that on my honeymoon.

Same here. I love kiddos, but I try to avoid being overrun with bunches of kids when I'm on my always much-anticipated vacation.

Right now we only cruise on Spring Break, and yes there will be many families on board. We will be on the week before and will have a 22 year old, a 19 year old and two 17 year olds with us.

Unlike other posters we have not been bothered by young people on our trips, maybe because we have been sailing as a family and not as a couple. That being said there are still plenty of adult only hang out places on the ship.

I'm considering a cruise on Liberty next March 27th leaving from Galveston Texas, stopping in Honduras, Belize and Cozumel.

 

This is going to be my Honeymoon and I was wondering since it is leaving on Easter, and is Spring Break for most American schools, if the ship going to be over run with small children? (Under the age of 16)

 

Has anyone have and experience cruising this week? Is there a considerable difference in the amount of children aboard?

 

We wouldn't normally mind children aboard, but since this is our honeymoon, the last thing we would want is more children then usual running around! Or at least to the point where it would make a difference in our cruise.

 

Thank you!

Texas schools are on spring break next year week of 13th and the colleges are the week of the 20th.

You will be sailing the week after spring break is pretty much finished in texas and over half the people out of galveston are Texans normally.

Right now we only cruise on Spring Break, and yes there will be many families on board. We will be on the week before and will have a 22 year old, a 19 year old and two 17 year olds with us.

 

Unlike other posters we have not been bothered by young people on our trips, maybe because we have been sailing as a family and not as a couple. That being said there are still plenty of adult only hang out places on the ship.

I have a similar experience to yours - we have sailed spring break multiple times, and though there are more children aboard at that time, we haven't found it to be an issue.

This year, I will say that it seemed the teen crowd was dominating the whirlpools in the main pool area. That didn't bother me, because I don't really desire to hang out there, but if that is someplace you like to be, then it would have been difficult on that cruise, unless you wanted to squeeze in with the teens. It didn't affect the Solarium area, though.

If you're looking for a honeymoon where you can avoid kids, I think you've made a bad choice in both the cruise as well as the timing. I've cruised over spring break and there was almost nothing BUT young families. A cruise in general is not the most romantic or private option if that's what you're looking for, but they are a lot of fun and a great way to meet new people and have a ton of fun. Also, the bigger the ship, the more likely it is going to have kids and families on board. The older and smaller ships are more likely to have more adults "only."

I would suggest an all-inclusive land resort, perhaps Secrets Maroma Beach in Mexico, Sandals Resorts anywhere, I did Couples Swept Away in Negril Jamaica last year and it was very much like a honeymoon and loved it!!! All these places are adults and couples only. If that's what you're looking for, I'd change plans and postpone the cruise for the next vacation.

I should mention that these all-inclusives all include unlimited alcohol as well.

We were on Navagator this past March 15th cruise in the height of spring break and I would never sail that week again. The ship truely was overun with little ones. I am OK with the kiddies but spring break the kiddies were everywhere. We went to the Windjammer for Breakfast and there was no seating and kiddies running around everywhere. We had all our meals on board ship either in the dining room or specialty restaurants after that. A much more controled atmosphere. I would take the other ladies advice and go to an all inclusive land based resort for your honeymoon and save the cruise for one of your anniversaries. We did a day pass at one of the Secrets resorts in Cozumel, very nice beach, swimming pool and restaurants.

WE cruised ***** Independence of the seas , a sister ship of Liberty, over Easter this year. There were plenty of young children, but we had no issues with them.

Where there was an issue was during dinner. I am guessing OP has not been on a RC cruise before, so a short explanation. these ships have a dining room that has 3 levels. And they have 2 dining options. Level 1 and 2 are used for what is called traditional dining, where everybody shows up at the same time and then dinner is served. there are 2 variations, early seating and late seating.

early seating , for example my eat at 6:00, and late seating may eat at 8:30.

You are assigned a particular table, and eat at that same table, with the same wait staff every night.

For those that do not like to eat at those times, there is another option called My Time Dining. In this case, you make a reservation to eat a a particular time, say 7:00 for example, and you ideally will get to eat at that time. And you have the option to change that from night to night to give you some flexibility. you generally may not sit at the same table every night, and may not have the same waiter every night, but in practice, we generally have had the same waiter the entire cruise.

There are two host stations at the entrance to MTD, where you check in and are assigned to the next available table. One station is for those with reservations, and one for those without. Most times there is little to no lines at either station, except for the more popular times.

What happened during this years Easter cruise, there were so many large family groups, that MTD had trouble having enough large tables to accommodate them, so there was a huge line waiting for those large tables in the reservation line. For those familiar with these ships, the line extended out to the elevators.

Since we only needed a table for 2, and since there was no line at the station for no reservations, we just went there and were seated immediately. Just told them we had a reservation for 2, and they said "oh OK".

I agree with Coloradogurl We have Cruised 7 times and I don't regret for one minute booking an All Inclusive Resort for our Honeymoon.

We loved all of our cruises but sometimes you just want that quiet time. There are always lots of people and lines here and there.

We chose and adult only all inclusive, it was quiet, romantic and most of the other couples were also on their honeymoon.

It really depends on what environment is most important to you, either way you will be on your honeymoon so enjoy!

We cruised March 14th out of Tampa - NEVER AGAIN. There were quite a few families with young kids but they weren't the problem. It was the drunk, rude, disrespectful college kids who were the problem. They didn't care that they were blocking people from walking/running on the walking/running track; they didn't care that they were scaring little children on tenders to/from Belize with their drunken screaming/shouting; they didn't care that they left a filthy mess behind on the deck when they were done partying for the day making extra work for the ship's crew. But just our opinion. Some people think that kind of behavior was okay since it was spring break. :confused:

Only one time. I think it was on the Navigator if I remember right. I'll never do it again. Very unruly and way too much drunkenness. During a pool party one night, one of the drunk ones chose to dive into the netting covering an empty swimming pool (closed for cleaning). He went all the way down and cracked his head open causing us to re-route back to land to get him emergency medical treatment. I don't deal with drunk kids well and now know better than to choose a spring break cruise.

I'm a retired principal, and when I was working we either cruised at Spring Break or not at all!:rolleyes: Out of 8 consecutive Spring Break cruises from Galveston, we only had a problem once, and that was when Texas Spring Break coincided with Holy Week, and what seemed like the entire population of Mexico was on board with half the children in Texas!:eek:

Spring Break will be over in Texas and for almost every college in the country the week you're looking at. There will still be children, but not as many as if you chose one of the weeks that Texas public schools are on break. We always got at least a balcony so we had quiet outdoor space, avoided the Windjammer and the main pool, and ate on the late side, (whether that was in traditional or when we switched to MTD) and we always had a great adult experience.

Take that for what it's worth. After 30 years in education, I didn't even notice the kids unless they were doing something that would make me "go principal" on them! I love seeing children enjoying themselves and having fun on a ship.

I sailed out of New Orleans during Spring Break for almost everyone in Louisiana, including colleges, and it was packed with children. This was on Carnival, though. I didn't really have a huge problem as we spent most of our time in the casino and kids weren't in there. I read other comments from people on my cruise who said they had serious issues with all the kids running amok with no parents watching them but I guess they were out by the pool. I know the elevators were a huge problem, kids rode them like a ride at the fair and pushed every button. Expect it to be packed with kids, better to be prepared for it.

We were on Navagator this past March 15th cruise in the height of spring break and I would never sail that week again. The ship truely was overun with little ones. I am OK with the kiddies but spring break the kiddies were everywhere. We went to the Windjammer for Breakfast and there was no seating and kiddies running around everywhere. We had all our meals on board ship either in the dining room or specialty restaurants after that. A much more controled atmosphere. I would take the other ladies advice and go to an all inclusive land based resort for your honeymoon and save the cruise for one of your anniversaries. We did a day pass at one of the Secrets resorts in Cozumel, very nice beach, swimming pool and restaurants.

It's funny that we were on Freedom the same week and had virtually no problems except for the second to last night there were a few kids running amok in the halls, but other than that, even though there were many kids on board, it was not a problem at all. I think sometimes it's just luck of the draw.

Will there be lots of kids? Yes, of course. However Spring break for Texas is not Easter. The busiest time is during the spring break for Texas. If you are not matching up with that, it will help.

As a teacher, I am locked into these cruises. However, it has not been a problem in the past. Go ahead an book while the prices are lower.

This is hard to answer because you will have people that went once during Spring Break and had a terrible time, and others who have gone and had a great time. Yes, there will most likely be more kids and families. We never had a problem with this ourselves during our spring break cruise. You can always find a quieter, less crowded location if you want to get away from it all.

I cruised Liberty the end of March this year and it was overrun with young kids! Where it was really annoying was WJ. If you stay away from the height time or places that should help to eliminate some of it. Dine late; go to late shows, and stay to clubs and adult pools, and that should help. If it is Easter it will be little kid central.

I would also try to check the party university close to the TX port and when their Spring break is, because the FL Gators took over 2/3 Liberty in early March, and the reports were nuts of the college kids running amuck, and wild. Apparently keeping bartenders, security and cleaning staff very busy. Maybe that is more or not to your liking. That is a route I believe is very favorable for college kids.

Congrats on your wedding! Happy sailing and Liberty is big and very beautiful.

We sailed the week before Easter this year on NoS. we missed Texas spring break but it was Holy Week in Mexico. 2/3 of the ship was from Mexico and spoke Spanish. Not that it impacted our enjoyment of the cruise, but we prefer a more diverse community. . If I had to cruise that week I would look for a ship out of Florida if diversity of the passengers is important to you.

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I cruised Liberty the end of March this year and it was overrun with young kids! Where it was really annoying was WJ. If you stay away from the height time or places that should help to eliminate some of it. Dine late; go to late shows, and stay to clubs and adult pools, and that should help. If it is Easter it will be little kid central.

 

I would also try to check the party university close to the TX port and when their Spring break is, because the FL Gators took over 2/3 Liberty in early March, and the reports were nuts of the college kids running amuck, and wild. Apparently keeping bartenders, security and cleaning staff very busy. Maybe that is more or not to your liking. That is a route I believe is very favorable for college kids.

 

Congrats on your wedding! Happy sailing and Liberty is big and very beautiful.

What? There is no party university near any of the ports in the Galveston/Houston area. Where did you get that idea?

We cruised on March 22 on Freedom of the Seas. Lots of children. Didn't really bother us but we just went to other areas of the ship. Not many college age kids but we were doing Eastern Caribbean. I think that a lot of college age go western Caribbean to go to Mexico because drinking age is 18.

We love kids but purposely schedule our cruises during times when it is unlikely for the ship to be overrun with kids. We're forty-somethings who prefer the "adult" cruise atmosphere.

If the preference is a cruise with primarily adults, avoid the following:

1. The summer months (late May through early September)

2. Holiday season (late December through early January)

3. Spring break months (March and April).

Longer cruises, i.e. 9+ days, also have less kids.

I have done a couple of spring breaks. We're talking around 900-1000 kids out of 3500 cruisers. They congregate in certain areas, elevators, stairways, hot tubs. Didn't bother me too much but I was on the ship with my own kids. Not sure I would like that on my honeymoon.