Transatlantic w/ kids...what will they have for activities??

[Bubblesonboard]

I am booked for a 14night TA on BotS this Aug. I am traveling with school age kids. We are trying to make the trip very educational, studying each port, all about ocean currents, animals, learning all about modern ships and how they work. But I'm worried with that the sea days will be all focused toward the average sailer...which seems to be a tad older than school age!

 

Will there be kid activities on these ships? Was hoping for a ship tour at least.

 

Right now I can't find any young people on the roll call. Will they close the kids area if there are not enough kids on the ship?

 

Also, do you have any tips for long cruise with kids? We travel a ton with the kids, this trip came up as a last minute group vacation. So I have less than 60 days to prep for it.

 

TIA for help!

Bubbles

[Clarea]

Royal will still have Adventure Ocean for the choldren. On our Legend transatlantic cruise last fall, there were ony 2 children on board, and they had the entire AO staff to themselves.

[Iluvcruising2]

yes, I think they will have very few kids on a TA.

 

That said, better plan something more for them to do.

[Bubblesonboard]

Royal will still have Adventure Ocean for the choldren. On our Legend transatlantic cruise last fall, there were ony 2 children on board, and they had the entire AO staff to themselves.

 

That sounds nice...having the staff to themselves. Could be very good.

 

yes, I think they will have very few kids on a TA.

 

That said, better plan something more for them to do.

 

We defiantly will plan things to do...just hoping the kids have fun stuff planned for them outside the stuff I am planning. Mommy wants a bit of a break also.

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

We sailed a few transatlantics with our school age kids and they loved it, there are fewer kids but they get more attention because of that.

 

Our kids always had a great time on those cruises.

 

Happy sailing

 

Brian J

[Twolittleboys]

I am pretty much wondering the same thing as we will be on the Oasis transatlantic in September. So far very few kids were mentioned on the roll call and I am a bit worried about it. Of course the Oasis does offer a lot of activities but my sons have always enjoyed AO a lot - not sure how much fun it will be if they are the only ones there (they generally enjoy the ball games etc.). Unfortunately, we have only one port day, the rest are all sea days. I am hoping that there will be at least a handful of kids!

[Bubblesonboard]

I am pretty much wondering the same thing as we will be on the Oasis transatlantic in September. So far very few kids were mentioned on the roll call and I am a bit worried about it. Of course the Oasis does offer a lot of activities but my sons have always enjoyed AO a lot - not sure how much fun it will be if they are the only ones there (they generally enjoy the ball games etc.). Unfortunately, we have only one port day, the rest are all sea days. I am hoping that there will be at least a handful of kids!

 

We might pass in the ocean...we don't get back until Sept 14th. Thankfully we are traveling with a family who have the same gender/age of kids as mine. So they will have a mix of playing with a sibling, a friend or in a group. We have 6 days at port, I think...so it should be a nice mix of activity and chillin out.

[Twolittleboys]

We might pass in the ocean...we don't get back until Sept 14th. Thankfully we are traveling with a family who have the same gender/age of kids as mine. So they will have a mix of playing with a sibling, a friend or in a group. We have 6 days at port, I think...so it should be a nice mix of activity and chillin out.

 

Sounds great! In that case I really wouldn't worry. For us the Oasis ta just happened to fit perfectly into our vacation plans (and will save us the long transatlantic flight!) and I am looking forward to exploring the Oasis. All our cruises were during less busy times/less busy itineraries as far as kids are concerned so my boys are used to not having tons of kids aboard. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be at least some - 20 or so at AO would be perfect.

[Bubblesonboard]

Sounds great! In that case I really wouldn't worry. For us the Oasis ta just happened to fit perfectly into our vacation plans (and will save us the long transatlantic flight!) and I am looking forward to exploring the Oasis. All our cruises were during less busy times/less busy itineraries as far as kids are concerned so my boys are used to not having tons of kids aboard. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be at least some - 20 or so at AO would be perfect.

 

We cruised last year in the Med...it was a packed cruise on the Sunshine (carnival)...there were maybe 20 kids that used the CC (Camp Carnival). It was nice when did they go in there (only one sea day so we were busy...and the LOVE the dinners in the MDR so they ate with us most nights) the camp was quiet and they got lost of attention. I like it that way. And honestly so do they.

 

I was reading a blog review of a lady who passed out gifts as a random act of kindness...was thinking of having the boys do something like that one day on the ship...maybe win over some of the people who are not thrilled with kids crashing their cruise.

 

I have not personally been affected by kid negative cruisers, but reading some of the threads about loud kids and unruly kids, I can see why they are not favored quests. Maybe my family will change the mind of a few passengers.

 

Enjoy your cruise! We too found the price of the cruise almost better than pricey airline tickets...and had a wonderful itinerary. (ICELAND!!! can't wait)

[mjldvlks]

Part of the reason there are frequently fewer children on TAs is the fact that TAs are typically while school is in session. Since OP's TA begins in August, that might not be as big an issue. Having said that, on our TA on Independences, while I did not take a census, there were quite a few kids on board. They even had a kids talent show that they broadcast on the ships TV channel. I think it is fair to say there are likely to be fewer kids, but I think only two would be an anomaly even on a TA.

[TravelerThom]

On the May 2014 Liberty TA we were doing a scavenger hunt to collect signatures from ship personnel from as many countries as possible. We found out that one of the few Russians on the staff was in the nursery, so off we went. There were two staff members for one tot!

 

Yes, I have seen some children who could use a little more "parenting", but I have also gone out of my way more than once to compliment parents on how well their children behaved (including those at the table beside us on a [different] TA, who did have one melt-down, dealt with appropriately [comforted and removed from the MDR to recover], but otherwise pleasant for the entire crossing).

 

Thom