Cruising with kids

[jen2423]

My husband and I have crusied with RCL twice and now want to take our kids. Their ages ranges from 11-3. We are considering different cruise lines but don't know which one would be best. We have 4 kids so price is also of high importance. We don't want to break the budget on the cruise itself and not have any money to do anything at the stops. My kids are very well behaved and I think they will do well on a cruise. I just want them to have as much fun as we do. We are also not the type of parents who drop of their kids and forget about them. We want to do this as a family. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which cruise lines would be best?

[printingchick]

I would recommend either Carnival or Royal Caribbean. I have taken my kids on both, although when in your kids' age range, it was Carnival.

 

These two main-stream cruise lines offer lots of activities for kids and they market themselves to young people and families. You should probably avoid the cruise lines that market to an older crowd. Those tend to be more costly anyway.

 

Carnival will likely be less expensive and, if you plan to keep the kids with you at the main pool, they will have many other kids around and the pools have slides.

 

Royal Caribbean is better if your kids like a lot of sporty activities. Their ships have stuff like rock-climbing walls, ice skating, in-line skating and the surfing pool, in addition to the water parks and mini-golf you get on Carnival.

 

I'm sure I'll get blasted from both sides, but I'd probably go Carnival with younger kids, Royal Caribbean with older pre-teens and teens. But I'm sure they will enjoy either!

 

Carnival's prices will nearly always start lower. Royal Caribbean, however, WILL refund the difference between the price you paid and any lower prices advertised later on that is not some sort of special sale for new bookings only. I booked my next cruise, departing in early March, a full year in advance. The price has dropped over $150 per person. This may be less likely if you're booking during a holiday week. But I have typically caught at least one significant price decrease on my RCL cruises. I used to think RCL was a lot more than Carnival, but that has not always proven to be the case for my cruises.

 

ENJOY!! My kids LOVE cruising!

[leaveitallbehind]

RCI has very good kids programs. We have three kids over an eight year age range who have experienced virtually every program offered over our cruise years. I don't think you - or your kids - would be disappointed with them.

[cb at sea]

Do some research on your ports of call---get a guidebook. Many, many things are so easy to do on your own, without booking those high-priced excursions, but you have to KNOW about them!

There's only so much you can do about the price of the cruise itself, but you can save a bundle on "excursions" and activities if you have information! The cruiselines count on cruisers who don't know a thing about where they're going, and are afraid to venture out on their own. RESEARCH!!!! The guidebooks will tell you about every point of interest, beaches, shopping, food....and transportation options, how much it will cost to get there, how far away it is....any safety issues (and most places are quite safe!) and anything else you may need to know. It will be the best investment you'll make.