Best time to cruise for the least amount of children on the boat

[paul929207]

1) Avoid Carnival, Princess, RCCL and all the mainstream lines. Reason, many of the folk that cruise these come from a level that these days give little regard to education and think nothing about pulling their kids out of school for cheaper and convenience of crusing during school time.

 

2) Go very high end during school seaon, the people that go here are generally well heeled and thus value eduction and won't pull their kids out. Also are generally older and their kids won't be the ones that run around like crazy drunk adults.

I think you are over generalizing. We went on 5 princess cruises last year and had less than 25 kids total. Yes, some Princess cruises attract families, but not all.

[Jolimont]

Alaska outside of school vacation times, and preferably on Princess. You'll run into more oxygen tanks than children.

[printingchick]

Also, I think others have mentioned that longer cruises draw fewer children than longer cruises. Less than 7 days and you'll have a lot more kids than longer than 7-day cruises. REALLY long cruises and you'll be traveling primarilly with retirees, because many people can't take that much time off all at once.

[JustUs275]

BTW - I am not a mean person, I just prefer my vacations to be quiet and relaxing without unsupervised children being allowed to galavant all over the ship.

 

I don't classify you as mean or grumpy because you prefer a cruise with few children. I have already raised my daughters and now thoroughly enjoy my three young grandchildren. And I enjoy it when the house is quiet and peaceful again after they leave. ;) However I agree with you and other posts that we are going on this cruise more for relaxation (celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary with our first cruise!), which is why we booked while most schools are still in session...but it's only a 4 day cruise so I'm sure there will probably be more children than I realized when booking.

 

Good info here on some different cruise lines to look into for future "just us 2" cruises. Now in 2 years or so, we do plan on doing a Disney World and/or a Disney family cruise with the grands! :eek::D:D

Edited April 29, 2010 by JustUs275

[cruiserbryce]

generally speaking the times when the ships have the most cruises are the times when school is out. Also...b/c of the cost the longer cruises tend to also have less children

[Widespreadpanic]

We were told (by a employee of the ship) there were 1200 children on the Car. Princess the second week of Jan. 2011, and 600 the following week, so the first three weeks of Jan. seem heavy with children. Do you think it matters whether the cruise originates in a US port or, say, San Juan? We, too, are looking for the least number of kids but are limited to two of the first three weeks in Jan.

[Sherrie74]

It's pretty much a no brainer. Go whenever school is in..

 

When is school in for everyone in US / Canada? LOL

 

Our Thanksgivings are different, our Spring breaks are all over the calender from late Feb - Apr. Many farm districts have their break when they can get students to help to start working the soil. Sorry, just being the devils advocate. These days parents dont think twice about pulling their kids out so school.

 

One time I think is would be good is right after Labour Day as all schools will be in then or should be.

 

We just went Mar 27th on Celebrity and we didnt see many children and we had the late seating and there were no children in our eyescan anyway. The only children we were up close and active with were the two that pulled a button out of the leather sofa in the Cafe while the parents were up getting their coffee. Kids played on it and used the buttons as hand holds to climb up it. We tried to entice them down but they didnt listen and only when the botton popped did they for a second think maybe they were in trouble.

[vacation luvver]

If you are going to the Caribbean you will find almost no children on the early December cruises...especially if you take something longer then a week.

Not so! On November 26, 2006 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving), I went on a cruise on the Nowegian Dawn. It was an eleven-night cruise. We returned to New York on December 7. It was early December, and it was longer than a week, and the ship went to the Western Caribbean, and there were children on the ship! I guess it was because the cruiseline was NCL. And so many children are home-schooled nowadays, so their parents can take them on a cruise whenever they like. And travel is so educational.

[Hlitner]

generally speaking the times when the ships have the most cruises are the times when school is out. Also...b/c of the cost the longer cruises tend to also have less children

 

This post confuses me (nothing new). What do the ships do when they don't have the "most cruises." The reality is that all the mass market cruise ships operate 52 weeks a year except for the times they are taken out of service for a drydock (this usually happens once every few years for 1-2 weeks) :)

 

Hank

[jewopaho]

Hey all. I realize that cruising is a very popular family vacation choice. I love to cruise but am not exactly "kid friendly". My question is when and with which cruise line would be my best option to maximize the amount of adult guests and minimize the number of child guests. Every time I cruise there are a gazillion kids on board - even in the adults only areas of the ship which is annoying. BTW - I am not a mean person, I just prefer my vacations to be quiet and relaxing without unsupervised children being allowed to galavant all over the ship.

You've received a ton of advice here ... and after reading through it, I'm wondering whether you're more educated or further confused. Yes, there are exceptions here and there ... but generally speaking, the closer to (and just after) school vacations are best. We're veterans of over 40 cruises, and the week after Thanksgiving and the one before Christmas work best for us ... better prices, too. We must have done at least 25 such cruises, largely on Princess, with several on Royal Caribbean ... never had a problem with unruly kids. Of course, you could opt for a boutique cruise line ... but it comes at a pretty steep price. Longer cruises and those with more exotic itineraries also attract more adults ... they have the time and wherewithall. I hope this helps wade you through this thread ... have a terrific cruise.

 

Al

[Steamboatin]

Anytime during your tour of service with the US Navy.:D

[serene56]

Princess during Presidents week in February had over 800 kids onboard.

 

We now try to cruise in September.

 

People tend NOT to take the kids out of school when it first starts. I have yet to sail with more then 35 kids in Sept.

[Ethel5]

1) Avoid Carnival, Princess, RCCL and all the mainstream lines. Reason, many of the folk that cruise these come from a level that these days give little regard to education and think nothing about pulling their kids out of school for cheaper and convenience of crusing during school time.

 

2) Go very high end during school seaon, the people that go here are generally well heeled and thus value eduction and won't pull their kids out. Also are generally older and their kids won't be the ones that run around like crazy drunk adults.

 

Are you REALLY saying that rich people value education and that people who earn less don't???:rolleyes:

[room010]

As others have said, if you can stretch your budget then go for longer cruises on the luxury lines - Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, etc which tend to offer fewer "family" facilities, kids clubs, etc and therefore attract fewer people with young kids. Obviously avoid the major holidays and school vacation times. We sailed from Sydney to Beijing in Feb/Apr (Regent) and there was only one child on board. Can't have been much fun for her.

[cruiserbryce]

general rule of thumb...if school's out theres gonna be a lot of kids

[wwcruisers]

It's pretty much a no brainer. Go whenever school is in..

 

LOL -- Easier said than done, my friend! ;)

DH and I usually try to sail sometime between New Years and Spring Break -- but we've found that many eastern school districts have something known as "winter break", which can apparently strike anywhere without warning. :eek:

Of all the cruises we've taken, the one with the fewest kids was our Panama Canal transit -- 2 weeks in late April, on Radiance of the Seas.

[kcwiak]

1) Avoid Carnival, Princess, RCCL and all the mainstream lines. Reason, many of the folk that cruise these come from a level that these days give little regard to education and think nothing about pulling their kids out of school for cheaper and convenience of crusing during school time.

 

2) Go very high end during school seaon, the people that go here are generally well heeled and thus value eduction and won't pull their kids out. Also are generally older and their kids won't be the ones that run around like crazy drunk adults.

 

You must be joking. Although I noticed this was your last post, ever, on cc; I could not help answering. Maybe someone will see this and not feel like a poorly educated and low earning individual.

 

We have two children, currently 6 and 8. We have no issue with taking our children out of school in order to vacation. The experience itself is an education. In addition, we make sure to have all the work they would be doing in school and make sure they complete it on a daily basis.

 

I think you may be a little off as previous posts praise children and their parents for taking them out of school. Did you hit your head?

Edited July 24, 2012 by kcwiak

[Travelcat2]

I have to agree that I do not understand why children need to be taken out of school to cruise. It is definitely an education -- but one that can be enjoyed during school breaks and the summer when they do not have to be burdened with homework and can fully enjoy the adventure. Part of this enjoyment is meeting children from other parts of the country/world onboard and learning the differences between where they each live.

 

From an adult standpoint, is there ever a time we can enjoy without children? We meticiously check school calendars to learn when every significant school break will be and book cruises during those times. We also select a cruise line that appeals mostly to adults. There are adults of all ages with different reasons for wanting adult time on a cruise. Parents may be given a break from their young children for a week while relatives watch them and they can hopefully enjoy a childless vacation. Teachers and child caregivers also need a break once in a while. Then there are people who have raised their children -- spent years doing everything they could to make vacations an enriching and fun experience for their children and now would like some time for themselves.

 

Just wanted to stick in my 2 cents.

[marco]

There's probably hardly any cruise (save for a 100 day world cruise) that will have NO kids on it, but if you take a cruise during the school year and for 10 days or longer, there will not be a lot of children. We annually take a Caribbean cruise end of Jan/early Feb for 10-14 days and I think there are usually a dozen or so (or less) kids on board.

[michmike]

1st of all, we cruise HAL which has relatively few urchins on board. That having been said, buddy and I do a head count of the little darlins the first day, and then divide that total by the number of days on the cruise (28 kids, 7 day cruise, means we have to toss 4 overboard a day)

 

It is relatively easy to winnow them out as Mom and Dad tend to be clueless anyway. By day 4 or 5 it is MUCH quieter and it becomes more of a challenge to find them unwatched... but hey, trails of tootsie rolls will work. Days 6 and 7 are bliss, w/ myriad quiet corners where we can enjoy a good book w/o the patter of little feet and petulant whining.

 

Now that we are mid 60s, we avoid school holiday periods and such, as our backs can't handle hoisting more than 7 or 8 kids a day.

[michmike]

I love children but I could not eat a whole one:D

 

 

*laffin* love it!! a kindred spirit.

[aohkay]

1st of all, we cruise HAL which has relatively few urchins on board. That having been said, buddy and I do a head count of the little darlins the first day, and then divide that total by the number of days on the cruise (28 kids, 7 day cruise, means we have to toss 4 overboard a day)quote]

 

Actually laughed out loud. Very cute! :)

[TeaBag]

Avoid holiday cruises on any line. If you have the time try a transatlantic, particularly on Celebrity. We have hardly seen any kids on the long cruises we have taken but you do see some and they are generally very well behaved.

[luddite]

Not mean at all. Kids are like flatulemce-can't stand your own, much less someone elses.

 

First two weeks of November and December, last two weeks of January are your best times. Holland and Princess.

[McDebbie]

I've never seen many kids in September or October either. And because it is still hurricane season the prices tend to be lower.