South Pacific cruise with children ex melb or syd advice please

[nickykat]

I'm after some advice on a cruise I am planning with my extended family. Want to go to South Pacific, anywhere from May-Jan.

 

Travelling with my husband and our 3 kids, my brother, SIL and 2 kids and my parents. My parents have been on several cruises, all from overseas, the rest of us have never been on one.

 

I am based in Melbourne and would rather go ex Melb, but would travel to Sydney if needed. I think my options ex Melb are Princess (Golden Princess) or P&O (Pacific Jewel). Ex Sydney also Carnival (Spirit or Legend), Royal Carribean and Celebrity X.

 

Kids age from 3-10, a couple of them not great with masses of crowds or waiting too long in lines eg for eating, so quick seating and being able to eat when we want would be important I think. An absolute must is a really good kids club.

 

A few of the kids have food allergies/intolerances so would need this catered for.

 

Would like entertainment such as trivia nights, wine tastings, bands. Facilities- pools and spas most important.

 

Don't want to pay heaps of extras for food/drinks on board, a prepaid drinks package would be good.

 

Any advice on weather i.e season to travel? Looks like June/July best as dry season?, but very limited sailings then, and none ex melb.

 

Leaning towards Golden Princess ex Melb in late Oct, but really unsure!

 

Any advice greatly appreciated :)

[The_Big_M]

October is probably a bit later than ideal, but is still a decent time to visit the south pacific, so I think that's a worthwhile option to explore.

 

That time frame isn't school hols though? so on Princess probably won't have so many children on board for kids club. For the children, it's better to go when there are more onboard, which means during school holidays. OTOH that's going to conflict with a desire for shorter queues. School hols means more children onboard for kids club, which means more queues. Works both ways.

 

Also, if you want pools and spas, better to be going later. Mentioned a preference for June/July, but you'll find it too cool to use the pool on the way there, especially out of Melbourne at that time. Good for the destination, not so good for the journey in terms of pool activities.

 

So you'll need to prioritise what's most important and then the choice should be obvious!

[sherri3802]

I'm also from Melbourne and our first cruise a few years back was to the Sth Pacific, leaving Melbourne in January on the Sun Princess.

One of my workmates was also, by coincidence, on the same cruise with her two young sons.

 

There were over 400 children on board.

 

Leaving from Melbourne was great. No hassles with worrying about flights or the weight of suitcases and it didn't take long to get on board.

 

The princess line was better than a P&O ship we went on a year or so later, as far as the buffet went, because the buffet was open around the clock whereas on P&O it closed between meals.

 

There were also free hamburgers and such near the pool area plus a free pizza place. If you have children, that would be a bonus. The dining room was open for meals at breakfast and lunch also and was not crowded then.

 

My husband bought a coffee drinks package and from memory, I think there may be a soft drink package available but not sure.

 

I have to admit, it was quite hot at our Sth pacific destinations and a cyclone had gone through Fiji but did not affect the places we went.

 

If you have school age children, the summer holidays might suit you as you have more choice of cruises. It's why we chose January, because I used to teach and I found the term breaks didn't always coincide well with when cruises were leaving & returning, so I was a bit restricted. In jan you will be able to choose some of the longer 10 or 12 day cruises too.

 

I'd go in January if I were you-sunny weather, lots of other children on board, and if I could, I would leave from Melbourne.

 

Oh and I meant to add, in one of the other couples we travelled with, the wife had to have a gluten free diet and they catered exceptionally well for her. No trouble at all. In fact each night they would bring her the menu for the next evening and ask her what she wanted, and prepare it specially, gluten free.

Edited December 28, 2014 by sherri3802

[Tara Jane]

We have been on carnival spirit out of school hols and there were still hundreds of kids who had taken the time off. The water features of the spirit are by far the best of any of the ships we have been on, celebrity, RC, carnival, Princess, P and O. I have taken the grandchildren 9 and 4 on princess and P and O. They absolutely loved the kids club particularly the P and O. Had trouble getting them out of it to feed them!!! They had an earlier sitting for the kids to have dinner in the buffet but only one adult could accompany the kids which is a bit of a shame for family dining.

Being from Melbourne we would prefer to go from here too but practically speaking we always end up going from Sydney. Essential is to go the day before and have a night to avoid any last minute flight disruptions. I can highly recommend for a basic room the ibis budget (used to be formula 1) at Sydney airport. They have rooms to accommodate 3 and also family room of queen and bunk to sleep 4.

I would not consider taking my grandkids on celebrity, have just come off the century where many of the kids seemed bored of the kids club. It just isn't set up for kids. RC I would consider, but my first choice with the ages of your kids would be carnival. It is quite a bit more lively than RC and a lot more than celebrity but for extended families that would be the way I would go without hesitation. If it was adults only then celebrity is my choice. Hope this helps.

[nickykat]

Thank you for all your information. Celebrity definitely out then! Tara Jane, what did you think about the comparison between P and O and Princess specifically? And what is the dining like on Carnival in terms of waiting times- set times or more flexible? I must say the water slides look amazing on the spirit, my kids would have a ball!

 

I am a bit worried about the RCI not having the buffet open all the time, when my kids are hungry they kind of want to eat NOW!!!

 

I'm not fussed about not travelling in school holidays, in fact my kids come from a tiny country school (25 kids!!) so the less children around the better, and use of pools a priority, so that has helped me decide in terms of when to travel, thanks sherri and Big M.

 

:)

[rkmw]

Thank you for all your information. Celebrity definitely out then! Tara Jane, what did you think about the comparison between P and O and Princess specifically? And what is the dining like on Carnival in terms of waiting times- set times or more flexible? I must say the water slides look amazing on the spirit, my kids would have a ball!

 

I am a bit worried about the RCI not having the buffet open all the time, when my kids are hungry they kind of want to eat NOW!!!

 

I'm not fussed about not travelling in school holidays, in fact my kids come from a tiny country school (25 kids!!) so the less children around the better, and use of pools a priority, so that has helped me decide in terms of when to travel, thanks sherri and Big M.

 

:)

 

if you can cruise out of Melbourne you will be saving heaps of $$$ and time and the Golden Princess has not been to Sydney but its pretty big and the buffett will be open from about 6am to 11pm at night plus you have other dining options also

 

i would go princess over p&o any day

[mtn_couple]

I would not consider taking my grandkids on celebrity, have just come off the century where many of the kids seemed bored of the kids club. It just isn't set up for kids. RC I would consider, but my first choice with the ages of your kids would be carnival. It is quite a bit more lively than RC and a lot more than celebrity but for extended families that would be the way I would go without hesitation. If it was adults only then celebrity is my choice. Hope this helps.

 

I totally disagree. We took our son on Carnival Spirit at 2 years old, Voyager of the Seas (Royal Carribean) at 3 years old and Celebrity Solstice at 4 years old. Celebrity is the ONLY kids club he liked and WANTED to go to. We always go during non-school holidays too. On Carnival there were WAY too many kids, by the time we'd lined up to sign into kids club the session was well and truly started and the kids club space simply was too crowded with soooo many kids, he hated it. Same with Royal Carribean, he liked the character parades and character breakfasts but hated their kids club. Celebrity Solstice he really loved because there weren't so many kids, in fact only 9 kids in his age group (3-5 years) on the ship which meant the club was heaps more personalised and the staff did what the kids wanted to do and gave them a lot more personalised attention. We loved Solstice so much, we've booked again. I guess it depends on your kid's personalities, we are from a small country town and my son does not like lots of children, he's not used to it and it scares him.

 

Also keep in mind the different policies for the different cruise lines. Carnival will take kids from 2 years old and will change nappies, but Royal Carribean and Celebrity the kids have to be 3+ and fully toilet trained (no pull-ups).

[The_Big_M]

Agreed, I wouldn't rule out Celebrity kids club. Many children enjoy their product, so it may have been that particular cruise/kids, or even the ship, but Century won't be operating here when you're looking. I'd weigh up the rest of the elements.

 

That said, in your position I'd prefer a cruise out of Melbourne, which Celebrity don't do.

[kuldalai]

GOLDEN PRINCESS is the way to go, don't even consider P & O Australia .

Golden has two South Pacific departures round trip ex Melbourne, one in October, 2015 and one in March 2016 .

 

If the Princess people who plan the itineraries in Miami had any idea they would schedule back to back round trip South Pacific itineraries ex Melbourne from late May to early August each year . It is freezing in Melbourne, Tasmania, and Adelaide in those months whilst that is the best time to visit the South Pacific.

 

But the brains trust in Miami still keep scheduling cruises to the South Pacific from Australia in the Southern summer which is stinking hot and humid in the Pacific, and cyclones in Northern Australia .

[sherri3802]

GOLDEN PRINCESS is the way to go, don't even consider P & O Australia .

Golden has two South Pacific departures round trip ex Melbourne, one in October, 2015 and one in March 2016 .

 

If the Princess people who plan the itineraries in Miami had any idea they would schedule back to back round trip South Pacific itineraries ex Melbourne from late May to early August each year . It is freezing in Melbourne, Tasmania, and Adelaide in those months whilst that is the best time to visit the South Pacific.

 

But the brains trust in Miami still keep scheduling cruises to the South Pacific from Australia in the Southern summer which is stinking hot and humid in the Pacific, and cyclones in Northern Australia .

 

:) I have sometimes wondered exactly the same thing.

Cruises out of Sydney are a dime a dozen all year round, but we are a bit limited here in Melbourne-or have been in the past.

 

Now I wouldn't say it is always freezing here in May-August. We do have the odd nice day.:D

But it would definitely be a tempting time to leave on a cruise to the sth Pacific.

 

I am also a bit surprised that cruise lines don't get out their sheets of term dates (which are readily available online, years in advance) and try to work in with them in some way so there is always a cruise starting/finishing in the term break.

 

I realise some of the private schools may not have exactly the same dates but there is enough overlap that you would be able to cater pretty well for most families.

[nickykat]

Thank you all. Since posting have found out the only months my brother can go is late may-June due to his job, so we've decided to go with Carnival in June ex Sydney. I completely agree with you both Sherri and kuldalai, if there was a princess cruise leaving from melb at the same time we would have booked it just for the convenience of not traveling to Sydney. Oh and Sherri, I live in the dandenong ranges, it's always freezing here!! Went to Adelaide last July, it was positively balmy!!

[6666oz]

I live in the dandenong ranges, it's always freezing here!!

 

Its 40'c on Saturday that should warm you up :)

[Hailzmick]

Thank you for all your information. Celebrity definitely out then! Tara Jane, what did you think about the comparison between P and O and Princess specifically? And what is the dining like on Carnival in terms of waiting times- set times or more flexible? I must say the water slides look amazing on the spirit, my kids would have a ball!

 

 

 

I am a bit worried about the RCI not having the buffet open all the time, when my kids are hungry they kind of want to eat NOW!!!

 

 

 

I'm not fussed about not travelling in school holidays, in fact my kids come from a tiny country school (25 kids!!) so the less children around the better, and use of pools a priority, so that has helped me decide in terms of when to travel, thanks sherri and Big M.

 

 

 

:)

 

 

On the Princess cruise I went on, which was over the Christmas holidays out of Melbourne, there were only 30 people under 30 years old- including babies. So the kids club didn't run.

It was great that it was out of Melbourne, although Bass Straight was a killer- lots of people were seasick. RCI are amazing- & you can always order room service 24/7 if the Windjammer isn't open. (It was never closed when I was hungry- & the Park Cafe have slightly different hours- so something is generally open!)

Oasis have the skating rink now too- always millions of things to do for anyone of any age!

Good luck with your choice. It's hard to tick all the boxes, but RCI are the closest in my opinion. :-)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums