What about bringing 8 & 10 y/o boys?

[LHT28]

Have the rules changed when I wasn't looking? I thought the age limit was 13!

 

Mura

I do not think there was a rule.....we have seen young children onboard

age range 5 +

All well behaved

maybe 4 maximum on any one of the cruises we have been on with Oceania

 

Lyn

[Mura]

Lyn, as far as I can recall at least when Oceania was starting up they were keeping the Renaissance "rules" and the age limit was one.

 

In our Oceania cruises we have never seen young children on board so I guess I assumed this was the case. And it's certainly true that the few young teens we've seen on board have been extremely polite. So I guess my memory was wrong!

[Bruin Steve]

Copying directly from my Oceania 2009 European Collection catalog from my last Oceania cruise:

 

"Children, Infants and Unaccompanied Minors

All guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by and occupy the same accommodations as an adult aged 25 years or older. Oceania may restrict the number of children on board. Oceania Cruises is unable to accept infants less than six months of age."

 

I believe this has always been to policy on Oceania...

 

So, there MAY be children as young as six months and, obviously, children under 18 must not be cruising alone...

 

But, definitely children of virtually all ages are allowed.

 

That said, there are typically very few children because Oceania really does not cater to children--no Childrens Programs or activities...

 

But, some parents DO and CAN bring their children along...

Obviously, you'd expect fewer children when schools are in session...

 

But, the combination of being smaller ships, a little higher prices and no childrens programs or activities makes it so that, as a practical matter, children are rare...

[Ladyoz]

I have only been on one "O" cruise last year in the MED and there were quite a few children on board which did surprise me after reading CC.

One extended family had 9 children with them . They wore numbered tshirts. There were also a few babies only a few months old.

There were other children as well. So if this is the itinerary you want to do go for it. You will love it. I saw one little girl in the GDR one night quietly reading a book while her parents lingered over dinner conversing with their tablemates.

[Mura]

My husband and I are notoriously "anti-children" and that was one reason we started out on Renaissance. But I have to say that the few children we've seen on Oceania cruises have all been beautifully behaved. Admittedly, the youngest we've seen have been about 13.

 

As others have said, you know your children and if they will be happy in a largely adult atmosphere with little to no provision for children's activities or interests. (Mostly no.)

 

While a screaming child will drive us nuts, your well behaved children would NOT.

 

On larger ships on other lines where there have been lots of children, the programs designed for them kept them out of our way most of the time ... and when they were present, they also were very well behaved. Not like some of the children we see in the supermarket ...

 

But I agree that you shouldn't be deterred by the possibility that SOME other passengers will be unhappy to see younger children.

[2kiwis]

We are grandparents and spend a great deal of time with our grandchildren (on holiday and at home) but being honest, when it comes to our cruises, we cruise on O because it is small, intimate and there are usually no children on board.

 

However, we have just come off a cruise that had a family of five boys aged from about 7 to teenagers. The boys were exceptionally well behaved and we hardly ever saw them. We assumed that, as they had each other for company, it was not so boring for them. The older children tended to look after the younger ones and, at all time, they were quiet and very polite. We met up with them on shore several times where they were having a great time with their parents. I do not believe there were any passengers that had a problem with these children being on board, but had they not acted they way they did, perhaps it would be a different story?

 

As stated in the previous postings, O is not designed for the average boisterous child who wants to run around having a great time, and I am quite sure many passengers would be really upset if they had to tolerate this kind of behaviour while trying to relax around the pool and in the restaurants. We would not take our grandchildren as, even though they are well behaved, they would feel oppressed and bored, and we would not feel relaxed as we would be very conscious of the mindset of the other passengers.

 

Only you as a parent will know if your children would be happy in these surroundings. Having said that, quiet well-behaved children would be more acceptable on board than loud inconsiderate adults!