Easter cruise?

[39august]

What has been your experience taking a cruise that leaves on Easter or Easter weekend, please? I wouldn't think an Easter departure cruise would have a lot of families with children, as aren't most US schools in session the week after Easter?

[olemissreb]

Actually many schools in my area are on Spring Break the week after Easter. That was the reason we cruised on the Adventure of the Seas 2 years ago. The ship departed on Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny even visited my DS's at our hotel prior to boarding the ship.:)

 

It was a great cruise. My youngest son made a ton of new friends on board and would have spent most of his time in the Kids Club, but we insisted that the boys come with us on excursions and eat dinner with us every evening.

[paul929207]

We were on the Ocena Princess for a 30 day cruise over Easter. There was one child. The Captain's 2 year old son.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our longer cruises -- 20 days or more that were over Easter -- most had only a couple of children.

One year on our South American cruise we had 9 children on board.

But on shorter cruises -- yes the ships had quite a few children on board -- so we avoid the shorter cruises.

Our area does not have spring breaks -- so many parents don't worry if they take their children out of school.

Any also in our area many children are home schooled.

[jerseygirl3]

What has been your experience taking a cruise that leaves on Easter or Easter weekend, please? I wouldn't think an Easter departure cruise would have a lot of families with children, as aren't most US schools in session the week after Easter?

 

If you go on one of the more family-friendly cruiselines (I.e. Carnival, RCI, NCL) there will probably be lots of families as many schools are off the week following Easter. We were onboard Celebrity Silhouette 12 nighter this past Easter and although my sister brought her 12 year old twins (they took them out of school for 3 days since it was a longer cruise) there were not that many kids inboard. I think that was more because it was Celebrity vs Carnival and it was 12 nights.

 

Jo-Ann

[sail7seas]

We sailed Maasdam for a ten day Easter cruise this year and it was wonderful.

The children were well entertained and never a bother to us in any way.

We enjoyed our cruise.

 

[SuitCaseBears]

I think the number of kids depends on school vacations; kid friendliness of the cruise line; and length of the cruise.

 

Cruises of 14+ days tend to have fewer kids.

[gma_pat]

I would think that week long or so cruises the week prior and the week following Easter (at least in the US) would have the most opportunities for finding more children on board then other times in the spring.

[fishywood]

More and more school districts are having their "Spring recess" during the coldest part of the winter (sometime between mid February to early March) without regard to when Easter falls. You still see some large cities giving students a week or so off spanning the dates from the first night of Passover through Easter Monday, but rarely beyond that. In 2009 I boarded a 14-night Panama canal cruise on Easter Sunday and could count the number of kids on one hand. Two years later was on a 10-night Caribbean that left Saturday of Easter weekend; there were just a few dozen teenagers on board but the cruise director told me that more than 600 kids had been on the week before.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The LAUSD (the second biggest school district in the country) always takes off the week leading up to Easter -- now, and years, years ago when I was a student). But many of the parochial schools in this area take off the week following Easter.

 

We took a three day cruise during Easter weekend years ago and it ended up being a college spring break cruise.

[chipq]

It also depends how early Easter falls. Also, at least for this year out west, the spring vacations were all spread out. Wife is an educator in a different district and had two weeks off for Spring Break that were completely different than my kids two weeks off with Easter falling in the middle. No Spring break family vacation for us this past year.

 

 

ChipQ http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[39august]

I am looking at April 20, 2014 Easter. That seems awfully late for spring break type vacations. I know it is too late for college kids. Maybe I'll just take a chance.

[cb at sea]

Even if there are kids (and there will be some!), they are kept busy and don't bother anyone (except, perhaps, their parents!)