New England/Canada -good for families w/ older kids

[Kasupe]

We are a family of 4 with 2 boys ages 17 and 21. Is the New England/ Canada cruise good for this age bracket? Worried that the ship would be filled with older people. We don't want to fly and do not want to cruise into hurricane territory in late August.

[ShipsandDipper]

We did the CB itinerary (Halifax, Saint John, Bar Harbor, Boston, Newport) in October 2008. We're closing in on 40, and I often thought we were some of the youngest people on the ship. It seemed like there were something like 10 kids on board (of course, it was during school).

 

That said, we weren't on the ship that much. There was one sea day on the way to Halifax, and every other day was a port day. If your boys would be interested in the ports, then maybe the demographics of the ship wouldn't matter too much.

[Clutterlady]

In August you will see a lot of families!! When school is in session this cruise is skewed with an older demographic. We will be doing this cruise for the second time in September. Ports are great and I think your children will love this cruise:)

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

The cruise has lot of ports, so there is not much time on the ship,

 

as for what to do ashore, loads of things regards history, battles and wild life, assume your kids are not into shopping,

 

however some good sporting sites to go to. Ice Hockey etc

 

 

yours Shogun

[SailBadtheSinner]

Kasupe wrote: .....We don't want to fly and do not want to cruise into hurricane territory in late August.....

 

FYI, the hurricane season, 6/1 - 11/30, for the Atlantic coast of the US includes New England. New England does not get a direct hit every year from a hurricane, but there are off shore misses that can negatively :( impact the sea conditions of your cruise.

 

 

SBtS

[Clutterlady]

Kasupe wrote: .....We don't want to fly and do not want to cruise into hurricane territory in late August.....

 

FYI, the hurricane season, 6/1 - 11/30, for the Atlantic coast of the US includes New England. New England does not get a direct hit every year from a hurricane, but there are off shore misses that can negatively :( impact the sea conditions of your cruise.

 

 

SBtS

 

Yes, this is true and you need to be aware that there may be a change in plans!! We have done this once with Carnival and once with Princess. We have lucked out both times with wonderful warm weather. Hope that this year will be the same:)

[framer]

The CB got slammed last year on the NE cruise. It was the cruise after ours and the ship rolled over 30 deg some claimed much higher and the spa pool was completely emptied. Those northeaster can be as bad as some hurricanes.

 

Remember many a hurricane from the south travel to the North Atlantic.

 

The wife loves rollercoasters :eek: so were cool about any weather.

 

framer

[RosieRoo]

You will see lots of families with kids in the summer. This is a good itinerary for that age group as well. Check out the jet boat tour in St. John. Google it, it is much cheaper if you book it on your own instead of through the cruiselines. Make sure you tell them you have older kids so they will book you when the tide is the strongest. It's a blast, my kids (20 &23) have done it twice. Boston is a great walking city. They would like Faneuil Hall or you could visit Fenway Park. Newport is also a cool place. There is so much to do in the places you will visit, they will never be bored. We have done the Canada/New England cruises twice with our kids and their friends. Just keep in mind that it is different from doing the Caribbean, you will see a lot of fog. It's a little weird at first.

[Langley Cruisers]

OP, if this is a longer itinerary, there will be older people onboard. On our (RCI) Canada/New Englad cruise in September 2008, we were among the youngest onboard (late 40's). We saw only a few kids. We loved the longer cruise (9 nights) and the ports were great.

 

However, I do want to address your hurricane concerns: as someone else already mentioned hurricane season is in effect until late in the year, and we were affected by Hurricane Kyle on the above mentioned cruise. We completely missed our stop at Charlottetown, PEI because the Captain needed to "outrun" the remnants of this hurricane. We spent an extra day in glorious Quebec City - it was beautiful! This was actually the second time we have encountered a hurricane on a cruise; interesting, but not the end of the world. The Captain and his staff will always put your safety first and foremost.

 

You have no control over the weather, or who will be onboard. Choose the itinerary that suits your family best, and enjoy your cruise experience.

[DonnaK]

My kids were 16 and 14 when we did this cruise, the last week of August in 2008. There weren't very many children on the ship at all, but they still had a good time hanging out with each other. Since there was only one sea day, the ports were more of the focus than the ship. We loved the itinerary, and the kids enjoyed visiting the ports, but really, they prefer warmer, beachy vacations.

 

We're doing the 9 day Bermuda and Caribbean itinerary on the CB this coming July.

[spittler]

My kids were 16 and 14 when we did this cruise, the last week of August in 2008. There weren't very many children on the ship at all, but they still had a good time hanging out with each other. Since there was only one sea day, the ports were more of the focus than the ship. We loved the itinerary, and the kids enjoyed visiting the ports, but really, they prefer warmer, beachy vacations.

 

We're doing the 9 day Bermuda and Caribbean itinerary on the CB this coming July.

 

 

Which week are you going? I'm going 7/2. And yes, there should be lots of kids onboard since it's a fairly short cruise and it's in the summer.

[Kasupe]

We will be going on August 21st. We have not booked yet, still looking into it.

[Thurston Howell lll]

Hope you and the kids have a great cruise! Us "old people" will try to stay out of the way.

[DonnaK]

Which week are you going? I'm going 7/2. And yes, there should be lots of kids onboard since it's a fairly short cruise and it's in the summer.

 

 

July 29

[Coral]

If you think the kids will enjoy the ports - go for it. It is very port intensive so you won't be on the ship much.

[don2738]

The Canada / New England itinerary is an older crowd, as compared to a Caribbean cruise for instance. My 18 year old daughter liked it, but she mostly hung out with me. If the ports look good to them, then it won't matter too much if there are fewer kids on the ship. We went August 2009, and will likely do it again this year. I posted a review with lots of pictures:

 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1347192/cr09/cp09.html

 

[DeepWaterMariner]

Our daughters were 18 and 16 when we took them on this type of cruise. The older daughter cried when she found out we weren't going to the Caribbean. There were no kids on the ship but ours enjoyed the touring ashore. We found that taking the kids on different types of cruises helped to expand their horizons. I think it really depends on your kids and how flexible they are in enjoying interesting places rather than beaches and adventurous tours.