Best short cruise w/ kids?

[beckzay]

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but I can't seem to find anything when I use the search feature. Anyway, we are starting to think about planning our first family cruise (My husband and I have cruise 3 times by ourselves--Fantasy and Sovereign of the Seas) and would like everyone's opinion on which line/ship would be best. We are looking for a lot of activities-not too concerned about the clubs, cause I don't think the kids (ages 4, 11, 11) will want to use them that much, but want there to be enough to keep them busy. We want a short cruise (3-5 days) out of Florida. Not picky about food either, at least I'm not cooking! If anyone has any experiences they would like to share I would love it!

[mandm1]

If you are not concerned about kids' prgrams (which I have found both have very good programs) then I would go with the Sovereign becasue she has the basketball and rock climbing wall now. It just seems to add a little mor that your kids might enjoy. Dh and I have done Fantasy and a voyager calss ship. Our dear friends did Sovereign before the voyager class ship and loved it - in fact they think they like a smaller (than voyager class) ship a little better. Have a great time!

[familyof3]

Hi.

 

All of our cruises have been 7 days or longer, but I think there is a high probability that your kids will LOVE spending time in Adventure Ocean, even on the shorter cruise! There is a big variety of activies (art, science, indoor games, outdoor games, movies). My bet is that you'll have to PULL them away when it's time to leave.

 

Our son (now age 7) cruises with us. He started out as an Aquanaut (ages 3-5). Now he's an Explorer (ages 6-8). We feel very comfortable taking him with us on Royal Caribbean because we know he'll have a vacation all his own in Adventure Ocean. There's even a special dining room menu for the kids.

 

Again, I'm not entirely sure about the details of Adventure Ocean on the shorter cruises. But our experience with the Royal Caribbean kid's program has been very positive. If you can swing a longer cruise (i.e. 7 days), you will be on a bigger ship and the Adventure Ocean facilities may include a mini rock wall, ball pit, pool area, dining with counselors, etc.

 

Have fun!

[PEGLEG]

Go on Disney

[Fredmon]

Our first cruise with the kids (then 6 and 9) was on the Sovereign and they loved it. We were going to go on Dsiney but they don't have a casino which we thought was a big disadvantage. The ports were good (all I remember were Nassau and Cococay) and the staff on the ship were unbelievably friendly with the kids. (My 6-year-old son bought a captain's hat at the store on the first day and by the second day all the crew members were calling him, "Liitle Cap'n." He loved it.) Plus we have been to Disney World three or four times and well, you know, too much of a good thing can sometimes be too much.

 

Anyway, I'm sure you'll have god time no matter what ship you choose.

 

Cheers,

 

Fred

[cofgren]

I second the disney ship.the disney wonder does three and four night cruises.If you are concerned about the casino action then book a three day, it is a quick cruise and you always can go to atlantis in nassau for the day[they have a great casino there].

[GrannyJ]

Majesty of the Seas has 3 and 4-night cruises out of Miami. We took the 4-night cruise last month with a 12-year-old and she loved it. Excellent children's program with lots of activities. Ports are Nassau, CocoCay and Key West. Nassau's a loss in my opinion, but you can go to the beach, to Ardastra Gardens to see the marching flamingos or other excursions. Just be careful crossing the streets - pedestrians are considered fair game as far as I can tell. The hairbraiders will drive you crazy....a simple "no" doesn't suffice. CocoCay is great - excellent snorkeling and a "waterpark" of sorts for the kids plus a beach BBQ. Key West has some fun and educational things to do that you can walk to easily: aquarium, museums, lighthouse, Hemingway House, Southermost Point. It's a friendly, safe town with a lot of interesting shops and some great food (try the Key Lime pie).

I thought the food on the ship was good to very good. The cabins, however, are tiny, especially if you have more than two occupants. We got along fine, though, as we weren't in the cabin very much. They're fine for a 3 or 4-night cruise.

[cyndyt]

My 4 children (11, 8,5 & 4) loved the 4 day Majesty. All enjoyed the children's programme. Favourite port was Coco Cay. They were never bored and the staff was great with them.

[lhawley]

Hands down. the disney cruise. They make it so kid and adult friendly you feel very safe on all their trips. the embarking and debarking is family style smoother. The staff are geared toward kids because that is what they are known for! The food is disney style. Remember that Disney puts there name on this ship and they know people expect magic. We did it twice. once for the 4 day and 3 day land. and once for the 7 day cruise!! loved it. We personally preferred the longer cruise as opposed to the land which had us running to much in long lines and crowds at the parks. but it is a personal choice. The private beach is the highlight!!

[Lonesloane]

We took our girls in March on the Enchantment of the Seas, ages 7 & 9, with friends who have two ages 3 and 11. They loved, loved, loved the Adventure Ocean club all of them and this March we are going again only on the Majesty of the Seas, I'm sure your children will enjoy it!

[berd0625]

My daughter (13) and I cruised on Majesty last year for the 4 day and we both loved it. We were together during the day and at dinner, then she went to the club and I went to the casino. Couldn't ask for a better vacation.

[kari333]

My kids have all loved the Disney Cruise. They went on the 4 night cruise twice out of Port Canaveral and didn't want to get off the ship.

The service is outstanding, the kids club is wonderful (they didn't want to come out of it) and the ship is extremely clean. You usually can't go wrong with Disney. They will love it and you will enjoy it too! You can check it out at Disney on -line and you can request a free video.

[old bag]

My kids liked the Disney cruise, but they've liked every cruise we've been on -- I have to agree that Disney's private island is the best part (we did find the Disney aspect of it to be annoying, though). CocoCay, RCCL's private island was also AS well received by the entire family as Disney's private island.

 

My kids also enjoyed St. Thomas (on both Grandeur and Magic) -- the second time we were there we took a cab to Coral world -- great for young and old a like.

 

Happy and safe travels,

 

Bonnie

[hardingk]

I would go on either a 4 day Majesty cruise to the Bahamas and Cococay out of Miami. They they can enjoy the private beach in Cococay and there is lots for kids to do on the ship.

 

There is also the Enchantment out of Ft. lauderdale that does 4&5 day cruises to Key West, Cozumel, & or Belize or Grand Cayman & Jamaica. The is a little bit more for the kids on the ship and lots for them to do in Cozumel, shop in Key West, snorkel in Belize or try snorkel Stingray city in Grand Caymen and climb Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. Either way you will have a great time. I wouldn't do Disney because it is almost double the price. You are paying to the Disney name!!

 

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!

[Bonnie and Lenny]

The Monday To Friday One Is Awesome, Something To Do Every Day, No Days At Sea...

Monday To Friday Bahamas,key West Coco Cay...and You Get The Week-end Before And The Week-end After To Get Ready And Recupe!

[beckzay]

Thanks everyone! So many choices...guess I better start doing some research. Disney was our first choice, and someday I would love to do it, just not this year. It's way too expensive and I'd like to see if the kids even enjoy cruising first before we spend that much money on one. Thanks again, I'm sure I'll have many more questions.

[yarlenna]

If you are ever going to do Disney for a cruise, do it while the kids are still young. Teens would probably have a negative attitude towards Mickey etc. Voyager type ships would be great for teens.

My only concern with RCI is that their cabins are very very small. It will be like sleeping in a closet. If that is OK with you, go for it. Otherwise, I would go Carnival.

[beckzay]

I agree about the cabins. My husband and I have sailed on both the Carnival Fantasy and RCCI Sovereign of the Seas. The cabins on SOS were a lot smaller,we thought. I'm just hoping there is enough to keep them happy during the day/night if they don't go to the kids clubs. I know there would be plenty on Disney to keep them entertained, just worried about other lines.

[yarlenna]

RCI comments: Sovereign doesn't have all the great stuff for kids that the newer RCI ships have. There IS the rock climbing wall and some smallish saltwater pools. There's NO miniature golf, or ice skating.

 

Carnival comments: The waterslide on Fantasy isn't open very much either, but it IS special when it is open. The 24 hour pizza is a hit with kids of all ages.

 

On either ship, I would NOT count on the kids being so enchanted that you won't see them. They MAY require some input/entertainment from you. How much there is for them depends on many things.

1. Which ship you select

2. How many kids there are on that particular sailing

3. What kinds of stuff your kids like to do.

Any ship (even Disney) is not really an amusement park at sea. It is more like summer camp on the water, as far as the activities are concerned.

 

Safety is another issue all together. The people who look after the kids are really busy. They need to be entertainment for the kids PLUS at the same time they have to look after them. If you have more than 2 children, you can appreciate how easily one kid can get into trouble. I guess what I am saying is that the children's program is part of the entertainment thing - not a substitute for parental supervision. Whenever I brought the kids on a cruise, it was THEIR vacation. Yes, I didn't have to cook or clean - but all the other parental stuff was mine. I suppose we could have hired a sitter and brought him/her on the cruise to supervise the kids, but I wanted to share the wonderful cruise experiences with them.

[beckzay]

yarleena- My thoughts exactly. I want it to be a vacation for the family, I don't want to ship my kids off (unless it's THEIR choice) to a "program". I have sailed 3 times without them, now it's their turn to experience it. My kids are active, they like sports and swimming. They wouldn't think relaxing by the pool all day would be much fun. I think we've decided on the Majesty because we think the ports of call would be good for the kids, especially coco cay. My husband and I loved it there.

[CaribbeanCruisesRock]

3 day or 4 day caribbean cruise maybe?

[goodml]

My kids have sailed on the Fantasy and the Sovereign (among others) and they loved them both. Believe me, if they haven't been on a Voyager class ship yet they won't know what they are missing. Either of these ships are a great place to start. The cabin thing on the Fantasy is definitely an advantage if you're travelling 4 in a cabin but we did fine in a tiny little inside cabin on the Sovereign as well. You just have to be a bit more organized. Coco Cay was a big advantage with the Sovereign. The first time we took our kids on a cruise (Fantasy) we had decided that we would MAKE them go to the kid's program one evening so that we could have some time to ourselves and the rest of the time they'd be with us. Are you kidding? They got so hooked on the programs that we barely saw them. Frankly, I was a little insulted that they didn't care if they saw us or not! At that time they had a desk set up in the terminal and the kids got lots of info before they even boarded the ship. On our last cruise on the Victory there was a desk set up after we boarded. They always look so forward to meeting the counsellors and the other kids. Your kids are still at great ages to take advantage of the scheduled activities in the programs. Keep an open mind. You definitely do not have to spend the extra $$ on Disney for your kids (and you) to have a great time.