It has been several years since we have cruised and have never cruised with young children. Next July, we hoped to take our daughters and their family on a Disney cruise but can't find one available when we can go. I chose Disney because I've heard rave reviews about the activities for children onboard. Truthfully, our grandchildren are not all that into Disney (unAmerican, I know) and the cost of those cruises is crazy expensive.
This site was very helpful to me in years past, so I thought I would throw this out there to see if I could get some consensus about the best ship to sail with kids ages 8 (2 girls) and 11/12 (boys), other than Disney.
We were looking at the Norwegian Breakaway. Through today, they are offering a free unlimited beverage package. I see that the "free" package is charged $20 per person per day for the 1st and 2nd passengers in each cabin for gratuities. Anyone done this? Is it worth it? Could you drink what you wanted at the bars/pool or were you limited? The ship looks like it has lots of sports things for the boys to do and pool activities for the girls. And they all love mini golf. But I've read reviews that the lines are long for all activities and some people never got to do any of it because it was way too crowded.
Do you have to pay for the extras on NCL? I saw a few reviews where you had to pay for movies in the room and for the entertainment on the ship and some other things that I expected would be included in the cruise.
Any help/advice you can lend to me is much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.
Best Cruise for Family With Children Ages 8 to 12
in Family Cruises
Posted
It has been several years since we have cruised and have never cruised with young children. Next July, we hoped to take our daughters and their family on a Disney cruise but can't find one available when we can go. I chose Disney because I've heard rave reviews about the activities for children onboard. Truthfully, our grandchildren are not all that into Disney (unAmerican, I know) and the cost of those cruises is crazy expensive.
This site was very helpful to me in years past, so I thought I would throw this out there to see if I could get some consensus about the best ship to sail with kids ages 8 (2 girls) and 11/12 (boys), other than Disney.
We were looking at the Norwegian Breakaway. Through today, they are offering a free unlimited beverage package. I see that the "free" package is charged $20 per person per day for the 1st and 2nd passengers in each cabin for gratuities. Anyone done this? Is it worth it? Could you drink what you wanted at the bars/pool or were you limited? The ship looks like it has lots of sports things for the boys to do and pool activities for the girls. And they all love mini golf. But I've read reviews that the lines are long for all activities and some people never got to do any of it because it was way too crowded.
Do you have to pay for the extras on NCL? I saw a few reviews where you had to pay for movies in the room and for the entertainment on the ship and some other things that I expected would be included in the cruise.
Any help/advice you can lend to me is much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.