do specific Royal Caribbean ships offer kids options close to DCL?

[eskiemomo]

we had cruised RC about 5-6 times in the past but ever since kids we have cruised Disney. After sticker shock this morning trying to book a DCL Europe cruise I'm thinking perhaps the kids are old enough now to try RC again?

 

Kids will be ages 3 and 6. Royal Caribbean has a huge fleet, and we're open to different itineraries for 2016, so I need some help in narrowing down choices! Which Royal Caribbean ships would be good choices in terms of offering childcare, kids club, adults only areas, any cabins with baths in the staterooms?

[moki'smommy]

In my experience many lines offer kid programs and adult only areas. Most have age groupings far smaller than DCL's 3-12 in the OC/OL, even though DCL divides activities into "suggested" ages. However, on some other lines you will find a cost for the kid program outside of certain hours.

 

I have no recent experience on Royal. We were on Celebrity (their upscale sibling) and the one young family we talked to highly praised the kid program...but the hours were limited.

 

I'm sure you'll encounter someone here with more current Royal experience to better answer your questions.

[Tapi]

We've done Allure of the Seas as well as Enchantment of the Seas recently with our 5 and 3 year olds. Both cruises were fantastic and our kids loved the Royal Babies and Tots program as well as Adventure Ocean.

 

Allure of the Seas is headed to Europe, and she will definitely keep kids entertained. Their kids program starts at 6 months of age. They'll have activities planned all day, many sponsored by Crayola, Fisher Price and Mattel. There's a dedicated water park with a splash area as well as temperature controlled pools. There's also a carousel in the Boardwalk area. Because of Royal's partnership with Dreamworks, expect lots of activities with characters from the movies Shrek, Madagascar, Kung fu Panda and How to Train your Dragon. There will be parades, water shows, ice skating shows, as well as character breakfasts. The list of daily activities is very long, and even in cabin, expect a dedicated Adventure Ocean TV channel.

 

In addition to all of that, you have zip lining, rock wall climbing and the double surf riders for the older kids. With all of that said, kids will be absolutely entertained. No question about it.

 

More than once, we had to drag the kids away from Adventure Ocean. They just didn't want to leave!

Edited March 26, 2015 by Tapi

[LuCruise]

Depends on what you're looking for but definitely yes

 

• All have kids club that is supposed to be great (organized activities, split by ages)
  
• Some RCL ships have Dreamworks (Quantum, Oasis, Allure, Freedom Class, Voyager, Mariner) - this means meet and greets, parades, shows, character breakfast
  
• activities such as mini golf, rock climbing, arcade, ice skating, sports court
  
• 3D movies
  
• H20 Splash zone (some)
  
• FlowRider (kids must be a certain height to boogie board - and another height to stand)
  
• caraousal on Allure / Oasis
  
• Aqua show and acrobatic shows on Allure/Oasis
  
• roller blading and bumper cars Quantum and Anthem
  
• some have special classes such as cupcake decorating or jewelry making
  
• the newest ship coming out next spring called Harmony, has a waterslide
  

 

Sounds pretty kid friendly and comparable for kids (but in different ways) to me!

 

We're going next spring with our 10.5 and 6.5 year olds.

 

PS - In terms of a bath, you may have to go to a higher category room such as a suite (someone can probably answer that better as I'm not quite sure which ones have a bath, but I don't believe the standard interior, outside ones do)

Edited March 27, 2015 by LuCruise

[Loonbeam]

The Liberty of the Seas had a kids club I'd consider about 80 percent of Disney's facilities but actually had better facilities that worked for adults and kids (like the ice rink). Other than the lack of Disney characters, I'd be fine with it.