Need help from experienced cruisers

[bellaprincess98]

I am having a hard time. I've only been on 1 cruise with NCL 3 years ago and we had a great time. Now I have 2 boys (6 and 3 by the time we cruise) and I've had my eye on a Disney Cruise. Lately, however, I've been seeing a few reviews that havent been to good about Disney, and they all seem to saying the same things. Things like how bad the service is, how chaotic the kids club is, and also how dirty and overcrowded the pools are.

 

I certainly dont want to spend a lot of money on a cruise that isnt worth it. Should I try a different line? Like maybe RC or Carnival?

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[timh111]

What I would do is read the most current posts of cruisers that have sailed ANY ship you are considering taking. Keep in mind that what you read is a possibility on ANY ship or with any cruise line. ALSO, keep in mind that many unhappy people (those that no matter how good the cruise was, will harp and explode the bad things no matter how minor) that just have nothing good to say about any cruise. I have been on 7 cruises and as you cruise more, you tend to find yourself comparing the cruise to past cruises you have been on.I have tried to stay more open minded now when I cruise and try not to compare. Most problems encountered on previous cruises are corrected in time. You want to have a good time so make sure you book an itinerary you want. All in all, it's a dice toss no matter who, what or where!!

[SelectSys]

I am having a hard time... I've had my eye on a Disney Cruise. Lately, however, I've been seeing a few reviews that havent been to good about Disney, and they all seem to saying the same things. Things like how bad the service is, how chaotic the kids club is, and also how dirty and overcrowded the pools are...

 

While it has been a while since I was on Disney our experience with young kids on Disney was great. I would go again if the right trip came up. I especially liked the on board entertainment for the family and Castaway Cay.

[kitty9]

Conde Nast Traveler just rated Disney Cruise Line very high in their most recent Gold List of the best of the best---and their Gold List is a pretty tough list to make. You really can't make a determination of how good/bad a cruise line is by reading a couple of reviews. Remember, a very small percentage of total cruisers come on Cruise Critic. I think it's something less than 2%.

[HappiTravels]

Hey # 1TravelMom, you have almost the exact same family situation as yours. Our 2 daughters are 21 and 7. That is why we started cruising as we felt that it would be a good cross section for everyone.

[larronry]

I've sailed on several cruise lines and have had good and bad experiences (on the same cruise line).

 

I think there are a lot of things to look at. First what I've heard about Disney is that they are older ships and for younger kids that are afraid of characters not a good choice (of course the bigger rooms are nice). Will like to hear what is said when their new ships come out.

 

Carnival is great with kids who are 2 years old (camp carnival takes kids that young) and children in diapers because they change them or will phone you.

 

I personally never will take NCL again even though I'm sure our experience will never happen again having a bus break down on a ships tour and being the last couple taking a taxi back (took hours long story) and having the gangway being raised when we got there is just something I'll never forgive them for. If you are on a ships tour you are supposed to be safe.

 

Princess was a nice cruise.

 

Looking at Princess vs. Carnival vs RCCL assuming kids over 4 and not in diapers you have to look at your personality and cruiselines personality is and the activities on board. If you like rock climbing and surf boarding then go for RCCL. If a child is under 4 then you have to look at the ages for the kids programs along with the other activities.

[CeleBrat]

Here's a thought--why don't you look at cruisinmama's site to check out all the various activities each of the cruise lines has? That way, you can see if anything jumps out at you (or the kids) as looking like it would be really, really fun.

 

CeleBrat

[bellaprincess98]

Here's a thought--why don't you look at cruisinmama's site to check out all the various activities each of the cruise lines has? That way, you can see if anything jumps out at you (or the kids) as looking like it would be really, really fun.

 

CeleBrat

 

 

Where is her site?

[samnsky]

We leave Sunday for our first cruise. We are sailing on the Carnival Legend and we have a 3 yr old and soon to be 7 year old (she turns 7 on the cruise) sailing with us. We didn't select this particular cruise because my in-laws are the ones paying for/planning this big family trip. I will come back and give a review. I am definitely worried about there being enough for our daughters to do, but after reading a lot of posts, am faithful that they will be just fine. Good luck with your cruise research....and I will come back and let you know how we liked it...

[larronry]

Right now Carnival is our favorite cruise as it's bests for our 4 year old son. Seems that the kids on the ship love the kids program and prefer it to being with their parents for the most part for the younger ages. Your kids should have a good time on the Legend.

[Mack2]

I've been on two Disney cruises.. although the last one was aboard the Magic almost 4 years ago.

 

My kids were 18mos, 3, and 6.

 

 

I remember that I felt the service was excellent. Accessibility to the characters was outstanding. I do remember walking around parts of the ship, and feeling that the ship was getting old... but I also remember an army of yellow jump-suited "cast-members" (maintenance) constantly touching up the ship.

 

Both cruises back then, near the end of the week, I do remember seeing rust in the toilet water... I don't drink that stuff... but it was disconcerting.

---------------------------------

I will say that the DCL shows are OUTSTANDING. I was lucky enough to see the Hercules show our first DCL cruise, and then their new Disney Dreams (or something like that) show on our last. Disney does a FANTASTIC job with their stage productions.

 

Also, Castaway Cay is very well done in terms of various cruise lines' private islands.

 

The three restaurants you rotate to are amazing. Food is food, but the ambiance of each venue is satisfying somehow.

----------------------------------

Regardless of which cruise line you take, I've always found that my kids are completely happy with the kids activities.... I can say that they enjoyed RCI's Adventure Ocean a little more than our last cruise's Camp Carnival. They enjoyed Princess's kids thing, even though I wasn't too happy that my eldest son's age group was held in a conference room. Seriously, a conference room with the tables moved to the sides (aboard the Grand Princess)

 

We took then aboard Disney when they were very young... and Disney makes young kids deliriously happy. So... even if I noticed the rusty toilet water, or the kiddie pool constantly being closed for hours at a time to get disinfected after a bioharzardous "accident"... seeing the children deliriously happy made the trip SO worth it.

 

 

edit:

I actually want to book the new Disney ship in 2011, because my youngest doesn't remember the Disney cruise she went on... She'll be 7, and my eldest will be 12. The boys might not appreciate it as much anymore... but it's definitely something I hope everyone tries at least once while the kids are appreciative of the whole Disney brain-washing/entertainment/marketing machine.

[bellaprincess98]

I've been on two Disney cruises.. although the last one was aboard the Magic almost 4 years ago.

 

My kids were 18mos, 3, and 6.

 

 

I remember that I felt the service was excellent. Accessibility to the characters was outstanding. I do remember walking around parts of the ship, and feeling that the ship was getting old... but I also remember an army of yellow jump-suited "cast-members" (maintenance) constantly touching up the ship.

 

Both cruises back then, near the end of the week, I do remember seeing rust in the toilet water... I don't drink that stuff... but it was disconcerting.

---------------------------------

I will say that the DCL shows are OUTSTANDING. I was lucky enough to see the Hercules show our first DCL cruise, and then their new Disney Dreams (or something like that) show on our last. Disney does a FANTASTIC job with their stage productions.

 

Also, Castaway Cay is very well done in terms of various cruise lines' private islands.

 

The three restaurants you rotate to are amazing. Food is food, but the ambiance of each venue is satisfying somehow.

----------------------------------

Regardless of which cruise line you take, I've always found that my kids are completely happy with the kids activities.... I can say that they enjoyed RCI's Adventure Ocean a little more than our last cruise's Camp Carnival. They enjoyed Princess's kids thing, even though I wasn't too happy that my eldest son's age group was held in a conference room. Seriously, a conference room with the tables moved to the sides (aboard the Grand Princess)

 

We took then aboard Disney when they were very young... and Disney makes young kids deliriously happy. So... even if I noticed the rusty toilet water, or the kiddie pool constantly being closed for hours at a time to get disinfected after a bioharzardous "accident"... seeing the children deliriously happy made the trip SO worth it.

 

 

edit:

I actually want to book the new Disney ship in 2011, because my youngest doesn't remember the Disney cruise she went on... She'll be 7, and my eldest will be 12. The boys might not appreciate it as much anymore... but it's definitely something I hope everyone tries at least once while the kids are appreciative of the whole Disney brain-washing/entertainment/marketing machine.

 

Thanks very much for your report. I am leaning towards Disney myself because my kids are at that perfect age for it and a RC cruise might be better when they are older.

[Warm Breezes]

We went on the Disney Wonder and Magic for our first 2 cruises. On our first cruise our kids were 7 and 4 and the second they were 10 and 7. I thought they were great cruises for our kids at that age. Since then we have gone on NCL (1x) and Carnival(3x). We have not had a bad cruise on any of them and have felt that we got what we paid for on all of them. Some lines were better in one area than another but they all met and/or exceeded our expectations. We definately paid more for our Disney cruises but the entertainment, food, kids clubs, and private island were worth it to us at a time when our kids were young enough to enjoy the Disney "Magic" and "Wonder". IMHO, I would go for Disney at that age.

[loveysbydesign]

We've been on RCCL and Disny and would go for Disney for kiddos your age. We just cruised on the Magic this past May and had a great time! Chaos in the kids clubs can vary depending on when you are going...and will also vary on different cruise lines. The more kids onboard the more chaotic it will be. We had fantastic service and food and the activities and shows were amazing. Also depending on when you go Disney is not always that much more expensive!