Torn on where to cruise and with what company (5yo & 3yo)

[ama223]

DH and I went on an adult-only trip last year and had a blast - RC, Explorer of the Seas.

 

We're thinking about booking a cruise for 2012 and are wondering if our boys (they'll be 5.5 and a little over 3 at the time we are looking at - 5/2012) will have any fun? We just booked a trip on the Disney Fantasy just in case we decide to go that way.. but are open to looking at other cruise lines.

 

We want to do a ship that has a good kids club that our boys could go to together so they won't be nervous about going - buddy system type of thing. I know the 3yo will have to be potty trained, but that should be no issue by then. We don't want to always send them, but an adult dinner 1 or 2x a cruise would be nice and activities/fun things to keep them entertained are a must..

 

We're drawn to Disney CL because it sounds like a lot of fun for them, but we go to WDW often, so wondering if we should try another cruise line. Plus - let's be honest - the Disney cruise ain't cheap ;)

 

We're open to suggestions on cruises ranging from 7-10 days leaving from the Eastern US.. any ideas for us?

[cb at sea]

If you enjoyed Explorer before, you will enjoy it with the kids, too! Or, one of the Freedom clas ships....tons for everyone to do and less expensive than Disney! Both boys will be able to use AO (kid's club) assuming the potty-training goes according to plan!

Whatever you end up picking, you'll have a blast!

[victoriasmommy]

NCL Epic.

here's my review

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=75970

the kids club is 2-5 so your boys wouldnt be seperated

Myself,bf & DD went right after thanksgiving...

then my parents and brother and his family decided to take a family vacation & decided to do it again...

disney was like triple the price... and we thought about oasis or allure but they also cost more.

[sharktums]

I would recommend either the Explorer, Freedom, or Oasis class on Royal Caribbean. Fantastic ships, great kids program, and a nice ship for the parents as well!

 

My daughter is drooling over the Disney Cruise Line commercials, but she'll have just as much fun on our two upcoming Royal Caribbean cruises as she would on ONE Disney (yup the cost is pretty much double!)

[boulders]

For that age group, I'd stick to the Fantasy. DS5 has been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Disney. He's had great fun on every cruise, so I don't think you can go wrong with whatever you choose. Fantasy will be a brand new ship in 5/2012 and it's totally aimed for kids in that age group. Other lines are more aimed towards adults and older teens.

[crzgrl66]

I may get blasted for this but in my opinion for children 3 & 5, Disney can't be beat. Don't get me wrong, my kids loved the RCCL's Freedom Class, but my youngest was 7 when we went and he really missed the Disney kids club.

 

Disney also has longer kid club hours, without 2 hour breaks throughout the day.

 

You may want to check the age and height requirements for the slides, rockwalls etc. for the different cruise lines before you make a decision. There is also a height requirement for the new aquaduck on DCL.

 

Also keep in mind that the evening entertainment on Disney is geared for the whole family. RCCL & Carnival have some shows that are "family appropriate" but they don't come close to the caliber of a Disney show.

 

No matter which you choose, you will make great family memories!

[Mom2B&Z]

But we just had a blast on the NCL Sun with our 5.5 and 3yo sons. We chose the eastern carribean because the ports were more family friendly than the western (in our opinion, of course). What we really liked was the ship was small, so pretty much everyone on board knew the boys by the end of the cruise :) The kids club was simple but very adept at keeping both boys well entertained, and they have a prime location near the bow of deck 6. As you said, the kids are together which was very helpful. The kids pool is very small, but the hot tub adjacent to it can't be beat! There were lots of small quiet spots around the ship, as well as agreat outdoor eating area where we didn't have to be quiet all the time!

This being said, we live in a small town, spend a lot of time in museums and tend to avoid big theme parks so it doesn't take much to impress my two boys ;)

[rjm11]

Another vote for NCL- we took our first family cruise with them last summer (NCL Pearl) when the kids were 4 and 3. Very family friendly- and kids don't have to be potty trained for their kids club (they give you a pager for diaper changes) since they accept kids starting at age 2.

 

I also really like the freestyle dining- totally flexible with kids- you just show up to any of the 10-14 (more on the Epic) restaurants on board at any time, and ask for a table for however many you have. No set times, no dining with strangers, no reservations required. This was great for the kids.

 

Also, the price is so much lower than Disney and the new RCCL ships, that we could afford a full suite on NCL, which came with tons of perks like priority embarkation (no line- personal escort onto the ship through a secret entrance), a butler to serve meals in the room if we wanted, a concierge, reserved seating for all the shows, a special restaurant for breakfast and lunch just for the suite passengers, etc. etc. Totally worth it, and made travel with smaller kids completely painless!

[Babyberger]

DH and I went on an adult-only trip last year and had a blast - RC, Explorer of the Seas.

 

We're thinking about booking a cruise for 2012 and are wondering if our boys (they'll be 5.5 and a little over 3 at the time we are looking at - 5/2012) will have any fun? We just booked a trip on the Disney Fantasy just in case we decide to go that way.. but are open to looking at other cruise lines.

 

We want to do a ship that has a good kids club that our boys could go to together so they won't be nervous about going - buddy system type of thing. I know the 3yo will have to be potty trained, but that should be no issue by then. We don't want to always send them, but an adult dinner 1 or 2x a cruise would be nice and activities/fun things to keep them entertained are a must..

 

We're drawn to Disney CL because it sounds like a lot of fun for them, but we go to WDW often, so wondering if we should try another cruise line. Plus - let's be honest - the Disney cruise ain't cheap ;)

 

We're open to suggestions on cruises ranging from 7-10 days leaving from the Eastern US.. any ideas for us?

 

Thought maybe I would chime in and offer our experiences as well ;) I understand the visiting WDW part of your dilema. We have annual passes and spend A LOT of weekends there, to the point that we had to take last year off becuase we were "Disney'd Out". This year we are Disney freaks again :) And because we really do love Disney and all it has to offer, we keep looking into their cruises. What ends up taking it back off the table for us, is obviously the fact that we already do character dining, character experiences and get to visit the magic of Disney on a fairly regular basis. But beyond that knowing that the land cant compare to a cruise, we then look at price, lengths of the cruises, etc. And honestly Disney just isnt offering a 7 night that we want right now. Not to say that we will never go, but for our one big vacation a year we want a 7 night.

 

Sooooo....we have been on the RCI Freedom of the Seas back in June of 09, and recently on the Oasis of the Seas. When we sailed Freedom my daughter had just turned 4 and my son was almost turning 6. They LOVED Freedom! We ice skated, played mini golf, played in the pools and H2O zone and of course they LOVED camp!!! They cried getting off the ship!!! Fast forward a year and a half to Oasis, DD was now 5 and DS now 7. They chose not to ice skate this year but had a blast playing on the Boardwalk and ridigng the carousel, playing A LOT of mini golf, and countless hours in the pools!!! They enjoyed watching the ice show and again just had such a fabulous time. Next up is Allure that will have the Dreamworks experience, which they are just absolutely insane about! Breakfast with Shrek, dancing with the Penguins....they want to go NOW!!!

 

Ultimately you have to do what works best for your family and your budget, but I have absolutely no problems recommending any of the RCI ships and Adventure Ocean (camp) staff!

[ama223]

Thank you all!! I think right now we are leaning towards an NCL cruise... it's such a hard decision! I guess it's a good problem to have, which cruise to pick. :D

 

I'd love to do Disney, but I just can't justify the price right now.. maybe when the kids are a bit older it will make more sense.

[jlrn366419]

Are the NCL cruises 'smoky'? I was looking into that as an option for a cruise w/my son who will be 2 or 3 by the time we cruise.

[Mom2B&Z]

If you mean a lot of people smoking in public areas, there was definitely some on the Sun when we were on her. However, there was none in the eating areas, near the kids pool or any of the places we went. We quickly learned which side of the main pool was for smoking. We heard MANY people complaining about how restrictive the smoking policies were.

The only smokey place was the casino, and the kids aren't allowed in there. We purposefully avoided that area, as we had no reason to go through it.

Are the NCL cruises 'smoky'? I was looking into that as an option for a cruise w/my son who will be 2 or 3 by the time we cruise.

[rjm11]

My experience with NCL was similar- the only place I ever thought it was "smokey" was the casino.... smelled stale in there. Our room, the restaurants, the theatre, the kids areas, the bars/lounges, all had no smoke smell to them at all.