KiwiGal117

We are trying to decide between RCLs Harmony of the Sea and Disney's Magic for next summer in the Med. Two families with boys aged 11 and 12 at time of sailing. Both are very active, athletic kids. Am concerned that Disney might be too young for the boys. HOS is going to be a much bigger boat with more physical activities, but of course when you say "Disney" to the kids, they get all excited. I'm concerned that they may be disappointed - only because of their ages because it seems like the activities and meet and greets are probably more of interest to younger children. Cost coming in about the same (give or take $100) for a balcony on either. Ports are basically the same. Food - I'm confused - everyone has a different opinion, so I guess it probably shouldn't be a factor. Has anyone had experience on Disney with this age of child? Thoughts??

I'd check Air New Zealand (they fly LAX-SYD too). Family-friendly, polite & helpful flight attendants. Great complimentary activity pack for young ones, nice modern planes with great video entertainment systems. They have 'Sky Couch" on Boeing 777-300 flights - seat bottoms fold up and make it almost like a bed, for stretching out. Not on all planes yet. http://www.airnewzealand.ca/upgrade-to-skycouch

Priced fairly competitively. Flew with them a dozen times, they are "best in class", imho.

Agreed! We took my son from Vancouver to Auckland direct when he was three. Tons for the kids to do (the goodie bag when you get on will keep them busy for ages) and the flight attendants were very helpful and understanding. They even had a little video game controllers in the seats so kids could play a variety of games on the screens. Given his age he didn't fully utilize, but they had great games for his age. That was 7 plus years ago, so assume it is all that and more now! Plus, if it's an overnight flight they will likely sleep most of the way.

We did a similar cruise two years ago with our then 9 year old. We did an itinerary that included Montenegro. While it is a very beautiful place, and quite spectacular to sail into, there isn't a lot to do there (you can walk around the old walled town, which is nice). We made the mistake of taking an open air bus tour (a hop on hop off style, but there really wasn't anywhere to hop on or off!!). Anyway this tour takes you to an area that gets something like 7000 ml of rain a year - so it's pretty much always raining. Did I mention the tour was an open air bus?? A very unfortunate start to our cruise. We were soaked in spite of the thin plastic rain ponchos they provided, and my son's camera was ruined.

What we did to make sure everyone was happy was in most ports you could simply get off and buy a ticket on the ship organized bus to the town centre and we walked around viewing the sites, and then would find a local beach for a swim. This was particularly successful in the Greek Islands where everything is close at hand. Of course in places like Athens you might prefer to take a tour so you can see the major historical sites. Dubrovnik was fantastic, and I highly recommend it. You can tour the walled town, then head toward the water, and find the little walkway to the beach.

We were thinking of getting walkie-talkies to stay in touch (in addition to the contract, role playing - all great ideas!) Does anyone know what the general rules are on the cruise lines about bringing them on board? I'm pretty sure I saw people using them two years ago when we were on RCL. My son will be 12 when we next cruise and I want to give him and his friend a bit of independence.

I was just looking at booking Harmony of the Seas (their new Oasis class ship) for next year, and noticed that they did have a third pullman bed in the balcony cabins (at least the one I had looked at). Perhaps if you call RCL they can point you in the right direction in terms of what to book.

We are considering a cruise out of Florida leaving around 27 or 28 of December, returning 3 or 4 January. Travelling with friends, total of 3 children aged 8, 10 and 11.

Assume it will be very busy as its school holidays, but interested in hearing from others who have travelled with kids during this time in the past. Are there special New Year's activities that are kid friendly? Is there a special NYE menu in the MDR or is it better to book specialty dining? The ships we are looking at are the Explorer, Allure and (I think) Freedom. We sailed Splendour in the Med last summer (FABULOUS) but limited things for kids to do, as our son did not want to take part in the Adventure Ocean activities. Thinking it will be better because he'll have friends on board, so more likely to take part in the organized activities.

Would love to hear from anyone who has done this before with some info, tips, etc. Thanks all!:)

Considering a cruise out of Florida leaving around Dec 27 or 28. Has anyone done a NYE cruise with kids before. Travelling with friends, kids are 8, 10 and 11.

Have cruised twice before on Legend and Splendour. Thinking of a bigger ship this time that will have more activities for the kids. Any suggestions? Explorer, Freedom, Independence and possibly Allure are all options.

Do they offer a special NYE dinner in the MDR or is it better to book specialty dining? Does the kids club do anything special for NYE?

Any recommendations, or tips?? Thanks everyone!:)

Just back from the Splendour - I like Diet Coke, but did not order the package (although bought it for DS). I was fine with the water, lemonade, fruit punch, etc. that was available for free. It was so hot the water was probably the best thing anyway!