7nt from Port Canaveral w/10&8yr old

[atr1216]

My husband and I want to book a cruise with our children to celebrate our 40th birthdays. We were originally going to take a land trip by ourselves but then thought we'd like to celebrate with the kids as well. A cruise seems ideal since it would enable us to get some alone time as the kids could hopefully have a blast in the kids clubs while we do so. Anyone have suggestions based on the criteria below? Totally open to suggestions, thanks :)

 

1. Need to depart from Port Canaveral in early Apr 2015 for a 7nt cruise

2, Kids are 8, 8, 10 & 10 and not super into characters. I would like them all to be in the same kids club together.

3. I'm not sure how my kids will enjoy long, formal dinners.

4. I assume we need 2 staterooms so price is a factor given we need two.

6. Ideal would be a verandah but open to oceanview...will we even be in the room much for it to matter? Or is the room just incredibly more enjoyable with a verandah?

5. I am a little worried about excessive crowding in pool and dining areas.

6. Aside from excursions and an occasional fruity drink, we will not be spending $ on board (ie: won't be shopping in the stores, going to dining with and upcharge or going to the spa).

7. We'd like a good mix of non-cheesy shows and activities.

8. We're not interested in casinos.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

It sounds like you will be doing an Easter cruise and I would avoid Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean if you are worried about crowding. They do Port Canaveral.

 

My suggestion would be to do Caribbean Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale, based on what you have said- for the following reasons...

 

Crowding around pools- Princess has the best pools afloat. I really love them. They never feel crowded.

 

Princess Youth Program "Shockwaves" are for kids 8-12. This would keep all the kids in the same group. There is an outdoor movie screen and a variety of pools for the kids and fun activities and places to explore on board.

 

As for the rooms- for six people you will need connecting rooms and for the Caribbean- there is really no need for a balcony. So you could save money by getting connecting or adjoining cabins.

Edited April 1, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[atr1216]

Omg, didn't even realize that weekend I was looking at departing is Easter!!

 

Thank you for letting me know about Princess, good to know they have great pools too! The only issues are that their port is an additional 2 hrs drive and it looks like the date I need only has balcony rooms available, so the cruise is getting up there expense-wise.

 

How bad are the crowds on other lines (DCL, RCL)? I don't mind a bit...but given the high price of this vacation, I know it will get really frustrating if we're never able to get a spot at the pool or if it takes a really long time to get through a buffet line because it's so crowded.

[A2Mich]

My husband and I want to book a cruise with our children to celebrate our 40th birthdays. We were originally going to take a land trip by ourselves but then thought we'd like to celebrate with the kids as well. A cruise seems ideal since it would enable us to get some alone time as the kids could hopefully have a blast in the kids clubs while we do so. Anyone have suggestions based on the criteria below? Totally open to suggestions, thanks :)

 

1. Need to depart from Port Canaveral in early Apr 2015 for a 7nt cruise

2, Kids are 8, 8, 10 & 10 and not super into characters. I would like them all to be in the same kids club together.

3. I'm not sure how my kids will enjoy long, formal dinners.

4. I assume we need 2 staterooms so price is a factor given we need two.

6. Ideal would be a verandah but open to oceanview...will we even be in the room much for it to matter? Or is the room just incredibly more enjoyable with a verandah?

5. I am a little worried about excessive crowding in pool and dining areas.

6. Aside from excursions and an occasional fruity drink, we will not be spending $ on board (ie: won't be shopping in the stores, going to dining with and upcharge or going to the spa).

7. We'd like a good mix of non-cheesy shows and activities.

8. We're not interested in casinos.

 

Well we booked for April 19, 2015. Our kids will be 1, 8, and 10 at the time we sail. HINT HINT - my kids might want somebody to play with at AO! Anyway, if you can deal with one bathroom, you can book either an FI, FP, or FO cabin. These cabins have one king, two bunks, and a sleeper sofa. The FP and FO cabins have a tub in the bathroom (not sure about the FI). These cabins are about 325 sq ft. Might be a less expensive option than 2 cabins, but then again, maybe not.

 

Like you, we don't care about the casino, spa, or specialty dining (unless our TA pays for a specialty dinner). We might buy t-shirts or other items like that in the onboard shops, but are not big shoppers.

 

As for the formal dinners, if you book early seating dinner, and have the kids in Adventure Ocean, you can sign them up for the My Family Time Dining. You all go to early seating dinner in the MDR, but the staff rushes the kids' meals out as the AO staff will be picking the kids up at the MDR entry, and the adults can finish dinner at their leisure.

 

We've never sailed on RCI before, so we're hoping we've made the right decision, and from what I've gathered, it appears that we have. We can't afford Disney Cruise Line, as the airfare from CO to FL is already a big chunk of change!

[cb at sea]

As the ships sail full everytime, crowding will be no more or less over a holiday....the ships are designed for a full load.

 

RCI has some ships that have a balcony that connects to an inside cabin....specifically Voyager and Freedom class ships. That could be a cost effective option. The kids won't be in the room except to sleep, and you will have the balcony to enjoy, with or without the kids!

 

Sea days on ANY cruiseline will have crowded pool areas...can't be helped.

[mjkacmom]

I disagree with cb at sea - on holiday weeks, there will be a lot more children. On our Breakaway cruise, during a holiday week, there were about 1200 children. The following week, about 200. Ships do sail full, but during a vacation week, those cabins that can hold 4, will hold 4, those that can hold 3, will hold 3.

 

That said, it has never bothered me - I don't use the pools on the ships (except in the spa), or the hot tubs (which are usually PACKED with kids during a holiday cruise).

[atr1216]

Well we booked for April 19, 2015. Our kids will be 1, 8, and 10 at the time we sail. HINT HINT - my kids might want somebody to play with at AO! Anyway, if you can deal with one bathroom, you can book either an FI, FP, or FO cabin. These cabins have one king, two bunks, and a sleeper sofa. The FP and FO cabins have a tub in the bathroom (not sure about the FI). These cabins are about 325 sq ft. Might be a less expensive option than 2 cabins, but then again, maybe not.

 

Like you, we don't care about the casino, spa, or specialty dining (unless our TA pays for a specialty dinner). We might buy t-shirts or other items like that in the onboard shops, but are not big shoppers.

 

As for the formal dinners, if you book early seating dinner, and have the kids in Adventure Ocean, you can sign them up for the My Family Time Dining. You all go to early seating dinner in the MDR, but the staff rushes the kids' meals out as the AO staff will be picking the kids up at the MDR entry, and the adults can finish dinner at their leisure.

 

We've never sailed on RCI before, so we're hoping we've made the right decision, and from what I've gathered, it appears that we have. We can't afford Disney Cruise Line, as the airfare from CO to FL is already a big chunk of change!

 

Thank you so much for that info on the rooms that sleep 6!! I called & it looks like the option we'll go with. Love that they'll get the kids from dinner...thought only Disney did that. We are going earlier in Apr, maybe I'll be able to get you a preview for your trip :)

 

As the ships sail full everytime, crowding will be no more or less over a holiday....the ships are designed for a full load.

 

RCI has some ships that have a balcony that connects to an inside cabin....specifically Voyager and Freedom class ships. That could be a cost effective option. The kids won't be in the room except to sleep, and you will have the balcony to enjoy, with or without the kids!

 

Sea days on ANY cruiseline will have crowded pool areas...can't be helped.

 

I'm going to ask about those cabins w/balcony that connect to an inside room, that is awesome to know!!

[atr1216]

As the ships sail full everytime, crowding will be no more or less over a holiday....the ships are designed for a full load.

 

RCI has some ships that have a balcony that connects to an inside cabin....specifically Voyager and Freedom class ships. That could be a cost effective option. The kids won't be in the room except to sleep, and you will have the balcony to enjoy, with or without the kids!

 

Sea days on ANY cruiseline will have crowded pool areas...can't be helped.

 

Do you know if Freedom of the Seas has the balcony that connects to an inside room? TA didn't have any knowledge of it.

 

I also found 2 mid ship connecting rooms with balconies for about $1600 more than the Family Oceanview all the way forward. Trying to decide if I should spend more for mid ship with balcony.

[A2Mich]

Do you know if Freedom of the Seas has the balcony that connects to an inside room? TA didn't have any knowledge of it.

 

I also found 2 mid ship connecting rooms with balconies for about $1600 more than the Family Oceanview all the way forward. Trying to decide if I should spend more for mid ship with balcony.

 

 

Depends on what you can comfortably afford to spend. $1600 more? I wouldn't spend that, as I could find better used for that much extra $. I would also be worried about having the kids in a balcony room, as accidents can happen. The upside for sure would be having 2 bathrooms though. We had a balcony one time and although it was great, we didn't spend enough time on it to justify that kind of price, but that's just us. You may very well spend more time out there than we did.

 

 

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[ltzol]

We just got off Freedom last Sunday and we had rooms 9696 and 9701. The combination is a balcony and connecting inside. It was PERFECT for us. I would book this combination any time. It was pretty far aft, but the walk didn't seem that long. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to snag these rooms:)

[Speasda]

I have been wrong before but I have never found connecting rooms on a Princess ship. Our family of 5 has been shut out of Princess as result.

 

We stayed on the RCL Freedom of the Seas in the Family Oceanview. The room was great for 5 but I am worried about 6 in there. The sofa converts to a double bed. If your 8 year olds are like mine it is going to a tight sleeping situation. The closet was VERY large in the room. Seemed like a lot if wasted space- perhaps if you bring a sleeping bag this is an option to rotate kids??

 

We keep going back to NCL as they are a good blend of price value and family friendly.

 

 

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[Speasda]

I have been wrong before but I have never found connecting rooms on a Princess ship. Our family of 5 has been shut out of Princess as result.

 

We stayed on the RCL Freedom of the Seas in the Family Oceanview. The room was great for 5 but I am worried about 6 in there. The sofa converts to a double bed. If your 8 year olds are like mine it is going to a tight sleeping situation. The closet was VERY large in the room. Seemed like a lot if wasted space- perhaps if you bring a sleeping bag this is an option to rotate kids??

 

We keep going back to NCL as they are a good blend of price value and family friendly.

 

 

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