Antonintassie

Thanks I will have a look at Crystal ,cost is not really an issue the time of year maybe a problem as we can only really travel in Jan due to work and my sons schooling.The Caribbean is not an area we have considered as it is difficult to access from Australia so our destinations are somewhat limited.

If you have the money, look at Crystal. Ships are larger, about a 1000 passengers, all inclusive, have amenities for teens and younger as many travel with their wealthy grandparents, and have excellent service and food. Crystal is not cheap but for luxury lines they seem to be the most youth/kid friendly. And they have a reputation of being awake late since Crystal is not port intensive.

 

For a lower price point, Celebrity is worth a look.

The demographic on the West Indies cruise was the oldest we've ever experienced. We felt young on that cruise!

 

Azamara is really not for teenagers or children...there is nothing for them to do.

Thank you I must admit we where in the younger crowd on the Royal Princess but we met some really interesting and fun people with some great life stories.

The particular cruise we where looking at only had a couple of sea days and our son is an older teen who really does not need entertaining .

We have had a great deal of trouble identifying an option for future cruise holidays as we like to book suites and travel on interesting port intensive intineries .Windstar was another option we were looking at .

Thank You for the replies it looks like Azamara is not going to work ,we will keep looking .It is a shame as the larger ship mainstream product just does not offer the higher level of amenities we prefer.

Hi

We are a late forties couple with an older teenage son ,and have travelled extensively .Due to a number of work factors we had hoped that cruising would provide a solid base for travelling and remaining in contact with work.

Our first cruise was on the Royal Princess in the Med and it really did not "click" with us the ship itself was asleep at 8.00 pm and a number of the passenger base where grumpy ,demanding and difficult which did not make

for a pleasant experience .

We are looking at the Azamara Quest in Asia Jan 2015 as an option is Azamara a friendly ,fun place to be with high end service and facilities ,which would suit our age group?

Kind Regards

Tony

Recently sailed in the med dark suits in the majority some tuxedos

Hi I would not worry as a male I travel with a suit which s easy and my wife brings a couple of dresses she can wear during the day or blings them up for evenings .

Just remember Europe can be very hot in summer ( we live in Tasmania which has a similiar climate to NZ) so think about how the weather will be on your port stops

Whats the problem with dinner taking 2 hours ? Its not a race people .The constant hostility towards children by some of the cruising club also is out of order ,get over it people kids travel with their parents and to expect them to be hidden away is stupid ,how do you think children get exposure to social activities and learn and develop into articulate adults ( you can not learn that on youtube) .

Cruising is an age inclusive holiday product .

alas the pre dinner G and T does affect one dinner co-ordination

Thanks

We looked at flying into Genoa but ex Dubai it involves a change in Rome which we would rather avoid

many thanks

Thanks Gents

Hi Thanks for the reply

I am self employed so internet is one of those items I just end up paying for ,are the speeds ok for web based email communications ? and is the phone reception ok ? it was very patchy on our Royal Princess cruise in Sept .

I do appreciate the larger MSC inet packages they offer I ended up having two order 2 x of the largest Princess offered .

As an aside can anyone advise me if the UK and mainland Europe have a holiday break over Christmas / New Year and how long it is ?

Kind Regards

Tony

The cruise lines conditions are specific that they are not responsible for the daily care of passengers only "medical treatment" it is unrealistic to expect a ships crew to provide ongoing care and supervision for any passenger who is not physically or mentally capable of independent travel.

Personally I think it is far to common that passengers are allowed to board who are totally unfit for travel and dealing with any emergency that may arise .

The available crew for nuclear vessels is limited hence the reason most vavies stick with convential powered ships.

I is a highly specialised area and finding personnel would be nigh impossible

Go Dave

Many thanks for your help

Thanks for the reply the sofa bed sounds like it will be ok our son is 6 2 " the smoking sounds reasonably well managed we are all non smokers .

We are looking at 22 days in Europe over Dec/Jan 2015 so outdoors will be hit and miss anyway but we will get plenty of sun in Tasmania / Dubai anyway.

Jet lag is hard with younger kids we used to fly Australia to Calgary which was tough

Thanks for the feedback

I am actually working on learning some Italian in the near future I just need to get Arabic sorted first

Hi

We have been to Italy 3 times in recent years but never Genoa we are a couple with a teen son who enjoy food ,wine and sites .

Couple of questions

If we fly Dubai / Milan is rail a good option to Genoa ?

Hotels in Genoa where is a good location ?

Is Genoa a city where we can fill in two or three days ( wish we had more time )

We have only been on one cruise ( Royal Princess) and we have mixed feelings about the concept but want to give it another try with a non us based cruise line .

Kind Regards

Tony

Hi are you in a deck 12 YC2 suite and if so how is the sofa bed ? I have a tall teen who would be sleeping on it

Kind Regards

Tony

Hi

on our Med cruise my teenage son who was taking a picture from the area above ,assisted a lady near the retreat pool who was actually blown of her feat it was always windy in this area even alongside.

Good Morning Tim

We are new to crusing but like the look of the yacht club concept this class of ship with YC in the Arabian Gulf would be fantastic

Kind Regards

Tony

Come cruise companies this is a great part of the world for cruising how about some better ships and cruises

Hi

We spend some time in Dubai and as most seasoned travellers would be aware this is becoming one of the most important air hubs in the world and tourism is growing at an amazing rate.

Why then is the region so poorily serviced by cruise lines in particular higher end products which would be well received in this region as it is very much expected.

The weather in the region Nov to April is perfect for cruising and travel and there are lots of interesting sites in a relatively small geographic area .

I really think that if a product that offered higher end products to cruisers moved in it would be well received .

It would be nice if they added yacht club to one of this class sailing the Arabian Gulf

Thanks it is the non US based cruises I am interested in so I may have a wait