Fjords W/ Kids

[Los_Pepes]

We are a family of 4 with the two young ones being 9 & 8. I am trying to arrange Norwegian Fjords cruise for the summer of 2015. We have done numerous Disney cruises and we all love the line.

 

As much as we love Disney, I am having a hard time justifying the incredible premium demanded for a 2015 Fjords cruise over the other lines. Can anyone provide some insight into their experiences doing Fjords (or Europe for the matter) on other lines with kids.

 

Thanks.

[cb at sea]

On cruises where you'll be sightseeing, rather than just relaxing, the ship's amenities don't matter as much.

All of the major cruise lines are "family friendly"...they all have kid's clubs! Don't worry about trying another company....you will have a wonderful time!

[Los_Pepes]

CB- Would MSC be a viable option? What are your thoughts?

[Mh2013]

We are a family of 4 with the two young ones being 9 & 8. I am trying to arrange Norwegian Fjords cruise for the summer of 2015. We have done numerous Disney cruises and we all love the line.

 

As much as we love Disney, I am having a hard time justifying the incredible premium demanded for a 2015 Fjords cruise over the other lines. Can anyone provide some insight into their experiences doing Fjords (or Europe for the matter) on other lines with kids.

 

Thanks.

 

We were on the Celebrity Infinity last sumer without kids but saw a number of kids in the kids program, seems like they were all having a great time. As far as the stops go, there would be a number of great excursion options that would be child friendly; bus tours, flamsbana train, ski jump in Oslo. The fjords were really amazing.

[Pluto_fan]

We've taken our three children on four cruises in Europe, two each on NCL and MSC. As cb mentioned, European cruises tend to be more about the ports and less about the ship. We are also Disney lovers but haven't been able to bring ourselves to pay DCL's premium...maybe when we're grandparents! :) I think as long as you go into it with an open mind and don't expect things to be just like DCL, you'll have a wonderful time.

 

One specific difference to be aware of--most cruise lines have strict age groups for the kids' programs. If your children will want to be in the same group for children's activities, make sure the lines you are considering will have them together.

 

You mentioned MSC specifically; we have sailed with them twice and really enjoyed it. They have some great 7-day fjords itineraries for next summer, if you're looking for a week-long cruise. It is more "European" than a US-based line, which I consider a plus since you're visiting Europe, but different people have different feelings about that. This thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094891&page=9 has MSC kids' club info and daily activities posted, beginning at post 173. If you have specific questions, I can try to answer them.

 

We're very excited about our fjords cruise next summer. Hope you can find something that will work for you!

[Los_Pepes]

Thanks Pluto. What ages are your kid and what Fjords cruise are you going on?

[Pluto_fan]

We'll be on the NCL Star on June 12. It's a 14-night cruise from Copenhagen all the way up the coast of Norway to the North Cape (and back). It's the longest cruise we've ever taken (and I'm a tiny bit worried about it being "too much of a good thing" :o) but I had to agree with my husband when he said, "Seven nights is too short!"

 

Our kids will be 17, 15, and 7 by then. There are a few other families with children on our roll call. On our first family cruise, our kids were 11, 9, and almost 2. We have found it to be a great way to see many places in Europe (we're currently living here but will move back to the US in a few years) that would be more complicated/difficult/expensive to visit by land.

 

Which cruises are you considering?

[jac1976]

We just did the Norwegian Fjords this summer (my daughter is 6 and my son is 9) and had a wonderful time! We were on Cunard's Queen Victoria which sailed roundtrip from Southampton, England and visited Stavanger, Olden, Flam, and Bergen.

 

With only 2 sea days, most of our time was spent in port, and not at the kids' clubs. The kids did take a dip in the pool every day (although it was chilly when you got out of the water). On our sea days, the kids begged to go to the kids' clubs and were very happy with the activities that were provided. We enjoy Cunard and have found the staff to be very welcoming to our children on both of our voyages with them, however they cater to an older audience (I think there were only about 20-30 kids registered for the kids' club while we were on board.)

 

One thing to think about is how often and when (if) your children will use the kids' clubs. On Disney they were open non stop throughout the day. On both Princess and Cunard they had an hour or two around lunch and dinner when they would close. I asked my children what they thought of the kids' clubs and they said they were all the same. (And the Disney and Princess cruises were only 6 months apart so they could compare the two pretty well.) After our experience with Princess, I decided that the only way I would pay the premium for Disney again would be if I wanted the Disney feel (and I love Disney, so that may happen), but if I was just interested in the location, I would skip Disney and go with another cruise line.

[Los_Pepes]

Thank you all for your great input. I checked DCL's prices again and they went up. Over $6,900 for an outside cabin. Might check Cunard and Princess.

[guk]

We did a cruise on p. And o aurora to the fjords the kids clubs were brilliant and actually preferred them to royal carribean independence. The also have a pool with a retractable roof which was open on most days of our cruise but was nice that knew kids would always be able to use pool regardless of weather

 

 

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[dsrdsrdsr]

... was nice that knew kids would always be able to use pool regardless of weather

 

On P&O, children (and adults) can always use the pool regardless of weather, because the pools are heated. Children can cope with the cool air when they get out, and if it's raining, they can't really get wet can they? All pools have a covered area nearby where parents can watch from if needed.

[springflowercat]

We are booked for the Fjord cruise on the Norwegian Star for June 5th with our 2 year old. We obviously won't be able to see as much with him, but I think it will still be a good time and we can play outside in nature a lot (if the weather holds up). I'm really excited although a bit nervous!

[OzCanuck]

We are booked for the Fjord cruise on the Norwegian Star for June 5th with our 2 year old. We obviously won't be able to see as much with him, but I think it will still be a good time and we can play outside in nature a lot (if the weather holds up). I'm really excited although a bit nervous!

 

We just booked the Star for the May 20th Fjords with our 3-yr old. Should be fun! It will be his 7th cruise and somewhat similar to an Alaskan cruise - ports + scenery. Just researching now what we can do but it looks like there is lots of things to keep the kid occupied..