Can you recommend a good ship for kids?!?

[MsJersey84]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I have been on 3 cruises and a 4th coming up but we always cruise alone, but now we are thinking about doing a family cruise can you recommend a good first time family cruise ship our kids ages are 5, 9 and 14. Is it difficult cruising with children?? Should we wait for the youngest to be a little older?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated..

:confused::confused::confused:

[tef43]

Disney.

[Desert_ Dweller]

I agree... Disney .

[Boatingmom]

Royal Caribbean Any ship. We started cruising when our youngest was 3 with Disney. Way overpriced. Jumped to Royal after the first one to save. Would recommend Royal or Princess. I’d stay away from ncl or carnival until the kids are a bit older.

 

 

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[tallnthensome]

What is wrong with the Escape that you're currently booked on in your signature? It's great for kids ..... Mine loved it.

[mjkacmom]

My kids preferred a NCL over DCL, they didn’t like the kids club. We have 5 kids (now the youngest are 14), our first family cruise was when out twins were almost 5. It’s perfect, because there are things for all ages, and meals are easy. We get connecting balcony cabins, most cabins max out at 4, plus it’s nice having 2 bathrooms. Your oldest is old enough for the teen club, once my kids hit that milestone, we rarely saw them except for dinner and excursions.

 

It’s nice to have a combination of family time and couple time on a vacation. On all lines, the newer ships will have more bells and whistles for the kids, waterslides, rock climbing wall, ropes course... NCL, RCL, Carnival are all very family friendly.

[mjkacmom]

Royal Caribbean Any ship. We started cruising when our youngest was 3 with Disney. Way overpriced. Jumped to Royal after the first one to save. Would recommend Royal or Princess. I’d stay away from ncl or carnival until the kids are a bit older.

 

 

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Why? Both NCL and Carnival have ships with tons of stuff for kids.

[Barb Nahoumi]

NCL has plenty for kids to do on their larger ships.

 

The ship that you choose, will depend on the itinerary and length of cruise. I don't think that I'd recommend the short 3-4 day cruises, because they have more of a booze Cruise party atmosphere. A nice 7 day to Bermuda would be fantastic for kids of all ages.

[ColinIllinois]

NCL has plenty for kids to do on their larger ships.

 

The ship that you choose, will depend on the itinerary and length of cruise. I don't think that I'd recommend the short 3-4 day cruises, because they have more of a booze Cruise party atmosphere. A nice 7 day to Bermuda would be fantastic for kids of all ages.

 

 

Any of the NCL so-called "mega ships" have tons of stuff for the little ones to do. Just look for your best budget deal and an itinerary that you find attractive.

[bluesea777]

A colleague of mine took her family (2 kids 6 and 8) on NCL Escape and they had a great time. The kids now say they want to go back on Escape rather than go to Orlando.

 

Now you have booked the Escape, no need to look back!!

 

ENJOY!!

 

P.S. when in Bermuda go to Horseshoe Bay Beach!!! Great beach.

[DCLCrazy]

Disney, if you can afford it.

 

 

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[Sanpan]

Disney was fun. Brother and his family really enjoy it. But my nieces and nephews on family cruise 2 years ago loved Carnival Breeze. So much to do. Ages 5, 7,9, 13 and 16. At the time of our trip. I haven’t travelled yet with my grands but plan to cruise Alaska this time with them on Princes because they had a wonderful educational program when we cruised a few years ago with them and the kids on the cruise seemed to enjoy it. Enjoy. Happy cruising

 

 

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[kirsty_r]

in terms of ncl any ship from epic onwards (ie the bigger newer ships) has loads for the kids!! Even the older ones will have activities they can join in though.

[kitkat343]

Please note that children aged 3-12 are grouped together in a Disney kids club (this cuts down on whining from parents who want their 3 year old in the same kids club group as their 8 year old cousin). When you have that large an age gap, activities have to be really unstructured. Some families have reported on these forums that younger kids and kids who need more structured activities tend to be overwhelmed by Disney kids clubs. A lot of other families really love it.

 

My kids have been really happy on ncl and princess. Hal and Cunard are the other lines we’ve traveled with kids, but I think those lines are a little less geared towards kids (we knew that ahead of time and chose them for itineraries). Rc also has a great reputation with families.

 

My kids both startedcruising at the age of 2 and they loved it. 5 is a great age, since they should be a little more self sufficient then.

[Peachypooh]

We took our school aged grandchildren on the Gem. Even though it does not have all the bells and whistles of the larger ships they LOVED it! The kid's club staff was fantastic and really made sure the kids had a fun time.

[Magnusm]

We've travelled a lot with our two kids, now 9&7; their #1 preferred trip is a cruise. We've stuck with NCL as they have loved every one (started when they were 5&4). Done Getaway twice plus Dawn and Jade; stuck with warm itineraries in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Booked on the Escape in Feb. If you stick to any of the Epic+ ships they'll have blast; so much to do. Kids club also seems well run, lots of activities, small enough groups they get to know other kids.

[grandmarnnurse]

I vote for NCL or RCCL. Disney is good for young children but WAY over priced!

 

 

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[Bklynjo]

We always sail on the Breakaway from New York. My grandchildren are 5 and 11. They both love the Aqua Park and enjoy Splash Academy. There is also mini golf and a ropes course. We will be sailing on the Escape in August 2018, from New York. It's a great time for all!

[TowerOrchard]

Please note that children aged 3-12 are grouped together in a Disney kids club (this cuts down on whining from parents who want their 3 year old in the same kids club group as their 8 year old cousin). When you have that large an age gap, activities have to be really unstructured. Some families have reported on these forums that younger kids and kids who need more structured activities tend to be overwhelmed by Disney kids clubs.

This was our exact experience on Disney! The ship was beautiful and it was fun to interact with all the characters, but my kids HATED the kids' club. Too many kids, too much chaos, not enough structure and personal interaction. After two tries, they refused to go back. On the Escape, we couldn't drag them away from the kids' club - they wanted to be there every minute it was open. They also loved the waterslides and my brave 7 year old loved the ropes course, too. Keep your Escape reservation - no need to pay Disney prices when NCL does many things better than Disney does.

[kittykitty576]

Disney... Disney... Hands-down Disney!

 

I took DD on her first 3-night cruise at 6 years old. She could barely be PRIED out of the Kids Club... it was SO fun for her! Kids had an individual "Daily" for kids club. Disney goes ABOVE AND BEYOND to accommodate adult, child, and family cruisers. At dinner, they bring the kids food out first (or with the appetizers). Then, Kids Club comes into the dining room and asks if you would like your child to leave the table and go to kids club. 30 - 45 min dinner for the kids... 1.5 - 2 hr dinner for the remaining adults.

 

I would rather do a 3 or 4 day cruise on Disney rather than any other line with kids. DD also did kids club on Royal Caribbean. This was no way comparable to Disney. Royal kids club was not as fun for her, and was quite frustrating for me. There was definitely a language barrier with the RCL staff. NOT SO with Disney. Disney's Kids Club has all English-as-a-first-language staff. Now, NCL has a FABULOUS teen club, but it sounds like you're quite a few years from that.

 

Best of luck finding your family cruise!!

[Kierste]

We’ve done the Pearl and Escape with a kid... the kid’s clubs are fantastic, and our Dd has a great time (she is shy and tentative, but went the first night to kids club on both cruises and we barely saw her again lol!) There is not much to do on the smaller ships other than hang out and play the games set up by the kids club. But the Escape, we didn’t have enough time to do everything in 7 days. We love Disney, but I can’t justify their price for some characters and Disney touches. Would rather do NCL in a nice room or twice...

[klo0315]

Our kids prefer ncl ships and kids club over disney.

 

 

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[Cafedumonde]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I have been on 3 cruises and a 4th coming up but we always cruise alone, but now we are thinking about doing a family cruise can you recommend a good first time family cruise ship our kids ages are 5, 9 and 14. Is it difficult cruising with children?? Should we wait for the youngest to be a little older?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated..

:confused::confused::confused:

Our kids prefer carnival to disney or ncl.

Also, on our ncl cruise, they had lockouts for the kids club once it reached a set capacity. Disney hands out ipads to keep kids occupied.

[disneygirl10]

My 7 year old absolutely loved the Getaway. We travel just the 2 of us, definitely the easiest trip that we’ve ever taken!

He didn’t want to do the Splash Academy at all, actually complained about registering the first day..

then I finally convinced him to go an hour or so before the Splashtacular show.. he LOVED it!!! Ended up going back to the Splash Academy that night for a pajama party.

 

Even without using the kids club until the last night, there was no shortage of things for him to do on the other 6 nights. We spent most of our time on the slides, ropes course, rock climbing wall, sports deck. The plank and zip line were his favorite things on the ship.

 

They also had a “family activity” each day. ie Dodgeball, balloon animals, karaoke, etc.

 

One day they did Just Dance in the atrium for the kids. Even my shy kiddo had a blast doing it (once I convinced him with the help of a fabulous assistant cruise director).

 

Highly recommend the Getaway or similar ship on NCL.

 

 

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Edited January 1, 2018 by disneygirl10

[Cruising...our happy place]

My grandkids, ages 5, 6 and 7, love both the larger ships on NCL and Disney. Disney will not be a drawing card for them — when they are teenagers.

 

 

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