longer cruises with a kid?

[xitappers2bx]

I'm cruising for the first time on HAL next month, and am getting really excited and starting to think towards next years' cruise.

 

I know HAL really does the longer cruises well, and I was thinking of a 18-25 day cruise but really don't want to do it if there's only a tiny chance there will be other kids on board. I love my 8 year old (she'll be 9 next year) but she needs to play with kids her own age so that when she's with the grown ups she's the pleasant traveller.

 

has anyone here travelled with their child(ren) on a longer cruise? were there other kids? or is this a really terrible idea i need to put off for a few more years? (i've been waiting for a few years to even consider doing this)

[jtl513]

If she's not a self-entertainer I think it's probably not a great idea. You might find other kids her age on-board, but what if she doesn't really like them?

[Modern_Viking]

A two week cruise during a school holiday period would likely have several children on-board, although not huge numbers. I'm not sure about the longer cruises you are considering (about 3 weeks), and you did not mention the time period.

 

Besides, were you thinking of taking her out of school? That could be problematic.

 

A collectors cruise might work out fine, but that isn't really a single longer cruise, if that is what you wanted.

[jackretired]

In 2012 on the 42 day cruise from FLL to Rome and back, there was at least one child.

 

Are you home schooling?

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our recent 20 day cruise there were only about a dozen children on the ship.

[catl331]

could be others or not. Definitely if attached to a holiday week or in summer. HAL does Alaska in summer so it won't be too hot on the decks but other lines in the Carib. everyone roasts during the summer on the decks and ports. Will there be enough for her to see and understand in the Med.? I hate the plane over. We did a Venice to Venice and eventually I was tired of seeing ruins and also of eating (can you believe that one).

[lvz2cruz]

We have done 12 and 14 day cruises with our kids.

 

We homeschooled(youngest is now in college and we did from K through 12th). One of our greatest perks was being able to travel in off season with half the crowds at half the price.

 

There were cruises they were the only kids onboard. Our girls are 2 years apart and did fine together. Our son was about 10 or less those times and did great. There were times the various staff captains or captain had their children onboard and they would go to the youth club events. Events were much toned down like board games, video games, scavenger hunts and science lab things.

The age rules were relaxed and all three were allowed to participate if they wanted.

 

Our girls who were teens often went to the shows with the youth workers and then the coffee lounge and they had a great time.

 

I think it was easy for our kids because they had each other. It could be tougher if your daughter is the only one.

Our kids never felt the cruise was too long, got bored, or tired. We were careful to mix getting up early busy days with a few days of letting them sleep as long as they wanted and taking it easy. They NEVER go to bed early on the ship--too much to do, so don't count on that.

 

What time of year are you traveling?

[KirkNC]

We started taking our daughter on longer cruises when she was ten but she has also always been good at entertaining herself. I would not count on a lot of playmates on a three week cruise.