Mid-April vs. Late Sept. Cruise - advice please

[CatDiego257]

On 11/13/2023 at 4:07 PM, MMDown Under said:

I couldn't understand the comments on Luminosa being inferior, as I thought it was a beautiful ship.  I would happily cruise on her again if she did longer cruises, esp to the South Pacific islands.  However, I have never cruised on a ship with water slides, etc., so can understand the attraction of these for children. 

Thanks for this comment, I didn't realize one of Splendor's main attractions was a water slide. That will definitely mean more families with kids, which is something to consider. Splendor looks to have more dining choices and of course the port would be gorgeous. 

 

[cruiser3775]

I did a Pacific Islands cruise with Splendor this year. It was out of school holiday time, but there were some children aboard, but not in huge numbers.  They obviously had an excellent childrens' program which kept them busy and away from the more adult areas of the ship.  I'm not greatly tolerant of other people's children en masse any more, but I didn't find them a problem.  The water slides are on the top deck and not near anything else much. You can sit on the deck below and watch what is happening without joining in.

I thought the food choices on Splendor were very good. There is a lot of variety and choice. They do Asian food very well, unlike Princess, for example, where everything is so bland and westernised.  Their buffet is very large and offers some good healthy choices.

Edited November 15, 2023 by cruiser3775

[Aussieflyer]

10 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

I did a Pacific Islands cruise with Splendor this year. It was out of school holiday time, but there were some children aboard, but not in huge numbers.  They obviously had an excellent childrens' program which kept them busy and away from the more adult areas of the ship.  I'm not greatly tolerant of other people's children en masse any more, but I didn't find them a problem.  The water slides are on the top deck and not near anything else much. You can sit on the deck below and watch what is happening without joining in.

I thought the food choices on Splendor were very good. There is a lot of variety and choice. They do Asian food very well, unlike Princess, for example, where everything is so bland and westernised.  Their buffet is very large and offers some good healthy choices.

I did Splendor to the Pacific Islands in school holiday time (stupidly didn't check dates) and the ship was heaving with kids, big, middle, little, in pushers, babies, extended families (cousins, in laws) etc. I have never seen so many tattoos and sleeveless athletic singlets in one place before. 😃 That said, we did have a good time but I wouldn't repeat it. It was the only ship where the buffet was better than the MDR.

[CatDiego257]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:12 PM, cruiser3775 said:

The four seasons are opposites, so your Fall (we call it Autumn) is opposite to our Spring. In the southern parts of Australia, that's September, October, November. 

In the tropical parts of the country, there are no conventional temperate climate seasons, so September/October is the Dry season - a good time to come for those areas, though June to August is a little better.

If you want to see the desert landscapes of Central Australia, come in your summer. 

Also look at public holidays.  In April, if it is Easter time, plus school holidays, things will be busy and get booked out.  School holidays vary from state to state a little, and should be avoided if you can There will be a lot of children on a cruise that co-incides with our school holiday breaks. Here's a list for 2024:
https://www.holidays-info.com/australia/school-holidays/2024/

Thank you - I very much appreciate the link to the school holidays! So for a GBR cruise I would look to the Queensland schedule, yes? If so we are in good stead, as we plan to take the Sept. 27 - Oct. 6 Carnival cruise out of Syndey. 

 

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, CatDiego257 said:

Thank you - I very much appreciate the link to the school holidays! So for a GBR cruise I would look to the Queensland schedule, yes? If so we are in good stead, as we plan to take the Sept. 27 - Oct. 6 Carnival cruise out of Syndey. 

 

You could check NSW and Vic school holidays also, as many passengers travel interstate.  Queensland is like Florida.  

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, CatDiego257 said:

Thank you - I very much appreciate the link to the school holidays! So for a GBR cruise I would look to the Queensland schedule, yes? If so we are in good stead, as we plan to take the Sept. 27 - Oct. 6 Carnival cruise out of Syndey. 

 

Those dates will have plenty of kids aboard, with i being at the start of the school holidays for NSW.

[cruiser3775]

Our biggest populated states are NSW and Victoria. The dates you mention fall into their school holiday period. The ship will be packed with children then.  You need a cruise that starts mid October to avoid this.  But be aware that the later in the year you get, the less enjoyable the weather will be in the tropics.   Early September, before the school holidays start, would be a better choice.

[MicCanberra]

Kids don't worry me too much as they tend to do things and go to activities that I don't.

[MMDown Under]

31 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Kids don't worry me too much as they tend to do things and go to activities that I don't.

You are lucky.  I enjoy well behaved children, as they are delightful.  I don't enjoy children whose parents let them run wild.  Like pushing all the buttons on the lift.  Was not a problem when I could walk the stairs!  

 

[Over from NZ]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Kids don't worry me too much as they tend to do things and go to activities that I don't.

Would much rather have a reasonable number of kids onboard! If there's no kids.. then that strongly indicates a very geriatric age demographic! 🤣

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Kids don't worry me too much as they tend to do things and go to activities that I don't.

They won't let me play at kids club, so I go to bars instead. 🤣

[MMDown Under]

14 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

Would much rather have a reasonable number of kids onboard! If there's no kids.. then that strongly indicates a very geriatric age demographic! 🤣

Not necessarily, not all adults have children.  My girls don't have children.  They are both well travelled.  I think they would enjoy a Virgin cruise. 

[MicCanberra]

16 minutes ago, arxcards said:

They won't let me play at kids club, so I go to bars instead. 🤣

Exactly

[MicCanberra]

You don't have to do a virgin cruise just because you don't have kids,

[ceeceeDee]

I remember that on a New Years 10 days cruise to the South Pacific, there were apparently 500 kids on board. We hardly saw them. And, no we weren't bleary eyed from all the cocktails!😂

Same with a Caribbean cruise on a mega ship. No idea how many kids on board, but they were mostly seen around the pool and waterslide areas. Certainly not running amok in the hallways or fooling around with the lift buttons.

Luck of the draw I guess. On another cruise there were kids stampeding down the hallway towards us. I adopted my award winning resting ***** face and they at least slowed down.🤣

[Cruisers47]

32 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

You don't have to do a virgin cruise just because you don't have kids,

You can avoid kids most of the time.   I have been reading about how a lot of people are wary of the large ships!   We were on Wonder of the Seas on the Med last year.   As we don’t go on the water slides etc and are not pool swimmers, we prefer to sit on the lower decks to read and we had no problems.    The entertainment was magnificent and the MDR was excellent because of the many different people we met.  A lot of families stick to the buffet!

 

Eileen

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

You don't have to do a virgin cruise just because you don't have kids,

A definite dilemma for those with immaculate conception 😉

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

I remember that on a New Years 10 days cruise to the South Pacific, there were apparently 500 kids on board. We hardly saw them. And, no we weren't bleary eyed from all the cocktails!😂

Same with a Caribbean cruise on a mega ship. No idea how many kids on board, but they were mostly seen around the pool and waterslide areas. Certainly not running amok in the hallways or fooling around with the lift buttons.

Luck of the draw I guess. On another cruise there were kids stampeding down the hallway towards us. I adopted my award winning resting ***** face and they at least slowed down.🤣

I tried out a few words, and none quite fit.

[ceeceeDee]

6 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I tried out a few words, and none quite fit.

Breeder's term for female dog😉🐶

[arxcards]

10 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Breeder's term for female dog😉🐶

Ahh, OK. Makes more sense than all the other ones I was trying 🤣

[ceeceeDee]

Just now, arxcards said:

Ahh, OK. Makes more sense than all the other ones I was trying 🤣

Mods obviously didn't like the word and censored it. Fair enough, I guess. It's a term I often use and and had no idea anyone would find it offensive.☹️

[Jean C]

19 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

I remember that on a New Years 10 days cruise to the South Pacific, there were apparently 500 kids on board. We hardly saw them. And, no we weren't bleary eyed from all the cocktails!😂

Same with a Caribbean cruise on a mega ship. No idea how many kids on board, but they were mostly seen around the pool and waterslide areas. Certainly not running amok in the hallways or fooling around with the lift buttons.

Luck of the draw I guess. On another cruise there were kids stampeding down the hallway towards us. I adopted my award winning resting ***** face and they at least slowed down.🤣

I've never had a problem with kids on cruises, as you say, you never see them and the few you do see can be quite delightful! I quite like watching them in the dining room, especially the younger ones. All seem to have a good sense of occasion and behave well (hope my own grandkids follow suit). On one cruise someone (probably kids) would occasionally press all the lift buttons, but it wasn't all day every day - frustrating for those with mobility issues though, but hey, we're on holiday, what's the rush?