Which Ship for an 6 & 9 year old- Carnival Dream or NCL EPIC?

[rdevine10]

Hi all,

 

I currently have an NCL Epic cruise booked for thanksgiving 2012. Ship DOES look awesome, but after booking I started getting very concerned about the crowding we may experience that week.

 

So, started looking again and started seroiusly considering the Carnival Dream. The Dream will be cheaper (to be fair, I wouldnt pick Thanksgiving week though), and the EPIC seems to have increased in price, even for alternate weeks (to a level I cant even compare or justify).

 

So, which ship would be better for my kids ages (9 and 6) ? And would you pick Thanksgiving or Summer (late August) for a cruise?

 

Thanks!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Pros for Thanksgiving- better time to cruise in the Caribbean. Its pretty ideal. In August you run the risk of hurricanes.

 

Pros for Carnival- cabins are larger and more comfortable.

 

Pros for Norwegian- more food venues and ship does look awesome.

 

all things considered... I'd stick with the Thanksgiving cruise.

[FlaMommy75]

I have a five and seven year old and we went on the Carnival Legend last Thanksgiving and LOVED going that week. It was crowded but not too bad. The kids made lots of friends and loved the camp. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had decided we would cruise every year over Thanksgiving. I had booked the NCL Epic for Thanksgiving 2011 but then a few weeks ago they ran a "kids sail free" special. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving week was excluded but to save $750 I pushed our sail date on Epic to 12/3/11. We are beyond excited. The Epic looks like an amazing ship. I let the kids choose from watching youtube videos between the Epic, Dream, and FOS and they chose Epic, hands down.

I would be careful late summer with Hurricane season and I think it will be just as crowded as Thanksgiving.

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide:)

[Colorado Kat]

Late August will not be as crowded, since lots of schools start by then. But it's hit or miss with hurricanes.

[aamechs2]

We love NCL for our kids because they run their kids clubs differently (or did 18 mos ago when we cruised) You drop them off in the a.m. and then the club is open all day, they just ask that you pick them up at some point for lunch and then at a later time for dinner. This eliminates the hassle of check in at 9, check out at 11 with 100 other parents, check back in at 1 back out at 5 like we found on Carnival. (Maybe Carnival has changed this, I know RCI has the same set up) Also NCL has an area with a kids buffet within the buffet area, just for kids with their own seating (small) and lots of kid friendly food. We also love the anytime dining on NCL. Have fun either way!