looking for a family cruise

[ahoy newcruiser]

My wife and I just returned from our first cruise. We where surprised how many families where cruising with small children. Decided to look into a Carribean cruise for the two of us and our 3 children ages 4,5 and 7 in November or December. Looking for suggestions from families of 5 or more. Do we need 2 cabins or can we all fit in a Suite? Disney cruises seem to be quite expensive. Are there other options that are comparable.

Thanks for the help.

[chipmaster]

It all comes down to you how you like to travel

 

Suite is expensive but does give you perks, views and all in one room.

 

Two cabins allows for parental privacy if you are comfortable allowing your kids to sleep alone. I've done this booked a parent in each room and two kids in one and one in the other and once on board put all the kids in one cabin.

 

Disney has some perks and huge premiums. You have to really have both the $ and desire to do the mouse, or IMHO two cabins on Carnival will be cheaper, one inside one outside or two inside cabins.

[Stratus22]

We are going as a family of 4 on RCCl. The kids programs are some of the best I've read about. Talking with people on these boards convinced me to go with RCCL. We wanted to do Disney first but like ya said, the $$$ is wow! We plan on going on that boat in 2015. Just waiting for the little one to be 4. I would also book 2 rooms. We grabbed a GS on EOS because the price was right for us.

RCCL's Adventure program seems to be filled with fun activities for all ages and I love their idea of "My Family time Dining!" AO comes and pickes up your kids. Leaves a lot of alone time for Hubby and Myself!!;)

[Bonnie J.]

If you book early enough you can get connecting cabins - there is a door between the cabins. And check with family cruising here. If there are two bunks, you may be able to get a roll-a-way bed but then it will be very tight in the cabin even though the steward will collapse it during the day. You can also ask the sq. footage of a cabin befofre you book it. RCCL & Carnival have wonderful children's programs so look at booth.

[newbiecruiser09]

We traveled as a family of 4 on RCI and doing it again in Dec. We do 2 connecting rooms. Gives you 2 bathrooms, a place for the younger ones to sleep w/o everyone sitting in the dark as well, and some privacy as well. Priced out the suite vs 2 rooms (even balcony) and 2 rooms were cheaper. Disney was waaaaay too expensive for us to justify it (will do the parks if we want the Disney experience) Our DD loved AO and had a blast with all the activites. RCI is very family friendly. There may not be a ton of kids if you cruise when school is in session but there is still a lot for the kids to do.

[Friend100]

Decided to look into a Carribean cruise for the two of us and our 3 children ages 4,5 and 7 in November or December. Looking for suggestions from families of 5 or more. Do we need 2 cabins or can we all fit in a Suite?

 

For Disney ships they have non-suite cabin that can sleep 5. For the Dream/Fantasy class of ships, they are cat 8 OV cabins (241 sq ft) and cat 4 verandah cabins (300 sq ft). Most cabins have split bathrooms, meaning one bathroom has a sink and a toilet, the other bathroom has another sink and a tub. It will still be tight when comparing to 2 cabins. The benefits for 2 cabins are 1 extra queen-size bed, extra toilet, extra tub/shower (depends on the cabin category you book), and just more spaces in general.

 

Disney cruises seem to be quite expensive. Are there other options that are comparable.

 

That depends on how you define "comparable". For Disney-theme entertainment and Disney-styled magical experience on a cruise ship, then NO, Disney cruise is the only place you can get this unique experience. But for an enjoyable cruising experience on a cruise ship visiting nice ports then YES, there are plenty of choices for families. All the mainstream lines invite families and have different type of activities for children. Different lines have different atmosphere. Some are more fun and freestyle, while others may feel a bit more upscale and traditional. They may not have non-suite that can sleep 5, they may not always have everything designed with family as their first priority, but families can still have fun on all them.

[LadyShiva]

Another option is NCL, with a 2 bedroom suite. The kids get a bedroom and bathroom, and parents get a very nice room. You share the separate living room, and also get a balcony. I love this room for the tub with a window to watch the world float by. :)

 

The price for this cabin is less than a regular balcony on Disney, and you don't have to worry about assigned dining times. My daughter thinks the kids clubs on NCL are better than Disney (less of the extremely loud chaos that Disney seems to foster with their one huge room for all 300 kids).

 

We tend to take kiddo to the buffet to pick and choose from all the selections (most of the MDR food is also here), and then return her to the Kids Club before going out on our date to a restaurant of our choice. She's happy to play with her friends, and we get to dress up or not.

 

Our next cruise will be our first cruise in the Haven on the Jewel, and I'm looking forward to having a private area with a small pool for kiddo (she's not a yeller, thank goodness!), a hot tub for DH, and comfy chairs for my mom and I to relax and watch kiddo/read books from. The Haven pool isn't that deep, so it works for kiddo. We can also have food delivered to us by the Haven butler from wherever.

 

That works for recuperation/reconnect time for our family!

[kitty9]

Unless you can find connecting cabins, that is two cabins with an in cabin connecting door, I would not get two cabins with kids as young as yours. Besides, cruise lines will tell you that you have to have one adult booked in each cabin.

 

One of the negatives of getting two cabins is that two of your kids will be paying the full adult fares. That can be a lot of money for such young kids. If you can find a family cabin (they have those on Carnival and Celebrity), they can easily fit two adults and three kids. The Family View cabins on Celebrity accommodate 5 very easily and their balconies are huge, and that way, your kids are only paying the third person fares instead of the full fares.

[Friend100]

Here are the family inside and OV staterooms on Liberty of the Seas. They aren't classified as suites.

 

Family OV: 338 sq ft, sleep 6

 

 

Family Interior: 323 sq ft, sleep 6

 

Promenade Family Interior: 300 sq ft, sleep 6

 

 

And on the Allure of the Seas below:

 

Family OV: 271 sq ft, sleep 6

 

Family Interior: 260 sq ft, sleep 6

[ahoy newcruiser]

Thank you to everyone. I didn't realize there where so many options. Please keep the suggestions coming, and if anyone has a 4 or 5 day cruise their family loved please let me know. We havn't decided yet which itinerary we want.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Unless you can find connecting cabins, that is two cabins with an in cabin connecting door, I would not get two cabins with kids as young as yours. Besides, cruise lines will tell you that you have to have one adult booked in each cabin.

 

One of the negatives of getting two cabins is that two of your kids will be paying the full adult fares. That can be a lot of money for such young kids. If you can find a family cabin (they have those on Carnival and Celebrity), they can easily fit two adults and three kids. The Family View cabins on Celebrity accommodate 5 very easily and their balconies are huge, and that way, your kids are only paying the third person fares instead of the full fares.

 

I would look into getting a big enough suite for the five of you. Else, as others have said, connecting cabins, with your bookings marked as "no upgrade." But I wouldn't have your kids in one cabin with the door closed -- not at their ages. Have your kids participate in the kids' programs so they will have fun, and you can enjoy some adult time together. Some cruiselines even have post-10pm kidsitting for a small charge (I know that Carnival and Princess does).

[Stratus22]

We are going on Explorer of the seas to Bermuda/Caribbean for 9 days. You can always grab a family suite on the EOS. We picked EOS cause we do not want to fly. To much $$$.

[newbiecruiser09]

Thank you to everyone. I didn't realize there where so many options. Please keep the suggestions coming, and if anyone has a 4 or 5 day cruise their family loved please let me know. We havn't decided yet which itinerary we want.

 

 

WE have done a 4 nighter out of MIA on Majesty as a family (kids were 6 & 12) It was a port a day which was ok for us but meant getting up early each morning. (our kids are ok with that--not sure yours will be especially if little ones are not used to staying up late as ours tended to with all the activities). Had a great time in all ports. The ship is also one of the oldest and smallest, which was again ok with us. It was the kids first cruise and they did not need all the bells and whistles the newer, bigger ships have. (and we did not need the price tag of them!) They did LOVE 1) AO (had to pull DD out of there each night!) 2) rock climbing wall 3) sports court 4) all the food choices 5) family time at the pool.

 

We are taking another 4 nighter in Dec that only has one port and 2 sea days. Will be interesting to see how we like that vs port intensive.

 

Check out some of the ports of call threads to get an idea of some of the things to do in port. That may be helpful in deciding where to go.

[shipgeeks]

I can't answer very well re accommodations....but, I notice that you are from PA. Have you considered Baltimore as a departure port? Both RCI and Carnival sail from there. Both have kids' programs and nice itineraries.

[ahoy newcruiser]

We have. Sailed out of New Jersey on our first trip in May. It was still very chilly on the decks and by the pool. We would like to go in November/December though, and don't think the weather will co-opperate. Also would like a 4/5 night trip and itinerary to cruise to warm weather at that time will be too long.

[emmtee]

I've done family cruises with lots of nieces and nephews on both RC and Princess. Much as I love Princess, they don't do towel animals, and the kids really enjoyed them on the RC cruise. I seem to recall my siblings saying they liked the kids' activities better on the RC cruise as well. Also, we were able to get some adjoining cabins on RC, but our Princess ship didn't have them in the category we needed. My companions on my upcoming Carnival cruise are all adults, but we were able to get adjoining cabins with no problem.