Rhapsody or Dawn Princess - Which is best for kids?

[croydonCruiser]

We are looking at booking a cruise to New Zealand on either the Rhapsody or Dawn Princess, but are having trouble deciding on which ship. Aside from the obvious advantage (for us) of the DP sailing from Melbourne, we can't split the two. I think we would be equally happy with either ship, so now we are looking at which one would be better for the kids! :p

 

We have two of them, a girl age 10 and a boy age 9. If anyone has sailed on either, or preferably both, and has used the kids clubs, which one do you think is best? They got a bit bored last time in the Pacific Sun kids club, and that was only 8 days, so I'm hoping that either of these will be a bit better!

[tassie cruiser]

Hi Jo,

 

I probably cant help too much as we havent been on Rhapsody yet (in another 60 sleeps we will :p) We have been on Dawn Princess and Pacific Dawn... Both were great but I think P&O seem to be the best regarding kids club.. Princess seems to cater more for the older people where P&O more for the younger people..... Have read quite a few reviews re this and even inc. Rhapsody people still rate P&O best for kids.... You prob didnt want to hear that though :D.... In saying that though my kids had the best time on both... No matter what you end up deciding I am sure they will have a great time.... if it is school holidays there will be lots of kids onboard.... Fiona:)

[The_Big_M]

Haven't tried Rhapsody's kid's club yet, but was disappointed with Pacific Sun's kids club as well, compared to Celebrity's.

 

Given RCL and Celebrity are related lines, but RCL has more a reputation for families/children, I'm expecting the RCL kids club to be of a similar standard to Celebrity.

 

Unfortunately that doesn't help with the Princess comparison much - in your shoes, if it's holiday time as I presume I'd take the Princess choice assuming similar cruise cost as the home port is a big time and likely cost (plus saves luggage hassle) advantage. Over holidays there will be lots of children onboard anyway, so they should be fully staffed and have all the activities available.

[dea71]

Hi Jo

 

We haven't sailed on Princess (have heard that the kids club for older kids is very good though).

 

We have and are about to sail on Rhapsody and thought the kids club was GREAT - my kids are only 4 and 6 though. It was alot more organised, with alot of variety and the crew were fantastic.

 

The pool area is good for kids (not just one deep pool).

 

They have Family Time Dining - the Adventure Ocean crew come and pick the kids up from the dining room after their dinner is finished (about when your mains are coming out I think). The kids menu had quite a few choices too.

 

We are on Rhapsody from the 8th November - I can get some copies of activites for your kids age groups if you like. My daughter will be in 6-8's and my little boy is in 3-5's (not much help there!) - but I can pick up other daily sheets for the older kids.

 

Cheers

Dea

[croydonCruiser]

Thanks for the replies everyone. They've been really helpful. We've now decided not to go one the DP as it misses the Bay of Islands, and we are really keen to see that. So that means flying to Sydney, and choosing between ROS and Sun Princess :D.

 

Dea, if you are able to get some copies of the activities for the 8-12's group, that would be fantastic! The family time dining sounds good too, although our may be a bit old for that. They tend to eat off an adult menu, mainly because we are vegetarian, and kids menus are usually pretty lacking in vegie options! :rolleyes:

[RD MULLET]

Both of my kids, both Boys, prefer the Rhapsody:D to the P & O ones:(. They refused to go to the Kids club on the Sun when we were last on it, which meant they had to hang around with us the whole time.:eek: Ages are 11 and 15 so close to yours.

[croydonCruiser]

RD MULLET, I see that you last sailed in the PS in Jan, to Bali. We've booked the PS 16 night cruise to Indonesia in Sept next year. The price for past passengers was so good that I couldn't resist :D. We're not sure whether we will actually go though - the kids are not too keen on going on the PS again, but the itinerary is fantastic.

 

Anyway, thanks for your comments. It's interesting that your kids agreed with our on the PS, but seemed happy with the ROS. That's good to know.

[dea71]

HI Jo

 

I have just found this info on Mariner of the Seas - with some good info on the Adventure Ocean programs - with daily activity programs for all ages. Thought it might give you some ideas - from what I can tell the activities are pretty similar across the fleet.

 

http://www.cruisegoers.com/mariner/adventure-ocean/voyagers-ages-9-11/

 

 

There are also lots of food pics - yummo!!!

 

HTH

Dea:)

[JenNZ]

Hi, we went on Dawn Princess last year then took our boys on Rhapsody of the Seas in January this year. Our boys who were 4 and 7 at the time had a wonderful time and absolutely loved the Adventure Ocean kids club. Of the 2 ships I would highly recommend Rhapsody for children. Jennie :)

[IngFam]

Hi there,

 

I haven't been on Rhapsody, but have been on P&O Dawn and also Princess Dawn just last month, my children, 15, 11 and 9 loved the P&O kids club but unfortunately the Princess one they didn't like and out of 13 days I think they only went twice. I've heard the Rhapsody kids club is very good compared to Princess.

 

 

Deb

[croydonCruiser]

Dea, thanks for the link. The Adventure Ocean program looks pretty good. I had a good look through the menus. You're right - yummy!!! There are quite a few vegetarian options as well. :D

 

Thanks also Deb and Jennie, for your comments. It really looks as though Royal Caribbean is the way to go. We're now looking at booking the Radiance for 2011. It looks pretty amazing!