8-11 day advice

[ufyellowfin]

Just got back from MSC seaside out of POM. Wife and I have decided to book another cruise for our 10th anniversary in 2021. Our two kids will be coming with us as we can’t go cruising without them. We enjoy seeing them experience different cultures even if it may only be for 8 hours in port. 

We want to do an Eastern Caribbean longer than 8 days which is not hard to find at all. What I’m having trouble with is trying to find one that has a ship that is kid friendly. By that I mean one with a water park or slides. Carnival looks like they have a journeys cruise on the breeze but that is 14 days and may be too long. 

RC and NCL have a bunch from PC , Tampa, FTL but they are on the older ships that look more geared for elderly or couples with no kids. I looked at Celebrity but don’t think they are as kid friendly as what we are looking for.

Can someone point me to a ship I may be overlooking? 

[1025cruise]

If you're looking for a water park and slides, then that will pretty much limit you to RCI, NCL, and Carnival.

With that said, most Eastern routes will be 7 days, that is bread and butter for the cruise lines. Anything longer is usually difficult to schedule for families.

[RSLeesburg]

When are you traveling?   We have done a 9-day on RCI Navigator but that was Southern.  Very nice trip and the ship had lots to do - no water parks, but flowrider, sports court, mini golf, rock climbing wall, ice skating, arcade and kids club. We are doing 10 day on Serenade that is Eastern over Christmas - a bit less, sports court, pool tables, movie theater, arcade, rock climbing, and mini golf.  I believe that Carnival has Sunshine doing 8 day trips out of FL - there may be a water slide on that ship.  

[cb at sea]

I don't think those slides and stuff will provide more than a couple hours of "entertainment".  There is plenty for kids to do that is not "poolside".

As far as "family friendly" goes...all of the mainstream lines welcome families!  No worries about that.

[ufyellowfin]

15 hours ago, RSLeesburg said:

When are you traveling?   We have done a 9-day on RCI Navigator but that was Southern.  Very nice trip and the ship had lots to do - no water parks, but flowrider, sports court, mini golf, rock climbing wall, ice skating, arcade and kids club. We are doing 10 day on Serenade that is Eastern over Christmas - a bit less, sports court, pool tables, movie theater, arcade, rock climbing, and mini golf.  I believe that Carnival has Sunshine doing 8 day trips out of FL - there may be a water slide on that ship.  

Next summer earliest... we’ve been on sunshine twice and enjoyed it both times. I would not be against going back on. 

 

To the other 99.9 percent of people I would agree that the slides are not a big deal. Unfortunately my son is in the other .1%. He’s just now at the size where he can start riding the bigger kid slides so that was his only  request, a “really cool slide.”

 

We may may suck it up and save harder for one of the Disney 8-9 day cruises.

Edited April 6, 2019 by ufyellowfin

[RSLeesburg]

RCI Adventure has a 10 day Eastern in July, but you need to sail out of NJ.   If you can wait and sail over Christmas, there are a lot more options - 14 night Southern/Eastern on NCL Pearl, 9 day Southern In Explorer, 8 day Southern on Carnival Horizon, 8 day Southern on Carnival Breeze,  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

how old will the kids be, OP?

[CharmCity2000]

On 4/4/2019 at 3:54 AM, ufyellowfin said:

Just got back from MSC seaside out of POM. Wife and I have decided to book another cruise for our 10th anniversary in 2021. Our two kids will be coming with us as we can’t go cruising without them. We enjoy seeing them experience different cultures even if it may only be for 8 hours in port. 

We want to do an Eastern Caribbean longer than 8 days which is not hard to find at all. What I’m having trouble with is trying to find one that has a ship that is kid friendly. By that I mean one with a water park or slides. Carnival looks like they have a journeys cruise on the breeze but that is 14 days and may be too long. 

RC and NCL have a bunch from PC , Tampa, FTL but they are on the older ships that look more geared for elderly or couples with no kids. I looked at Celebrity but don’t think they are as kid friendly as what we are looking for.

Can someone point me to a ship I may be overlooking? 

Hello

 

i just booked Celebrity Reflection for Dec 23, 2020.  It’s 12 nights out of FLL.  I was looking for the same type of things you are and just couldn’t find it.  My kids will be 10 and 13 by the time we sail.  

 

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the kids would do on the ship since it’s missing all the “fun” outdoor things.  I really like their kids club concept: stem, art, activity, and cooking.  They’re all things my kids like in moderation.  My kids also like ship scavenger hunts and bingo and they seem to offer that.  The kids clubs also have xboxes and Xbox tournaments.

 

This itinerary goes to Panama but does not cross the canal.  We will do an excursion for that.  On the itinerary I found the ports would provide a lot of the “fun” stuff.

 

In Cozumel, we’ll go to Playa Mia which has the waterpark and aqua park.  Grand Cayman will probably be a relaxing beach day.  In Colon, we’ll go see the locks and hopefully a cruise through the canal.  For Cartagena, I found a local tour that is a scavenger hunt through the city and the fort.  In Costa Rica, we’ll go zip lining.  Roatán and Costa Maya will probably involve some sort of beach, scuba, or snorkeling.

 

Im hoping that the trip will be a nice mix of education, fun activities, and relaxation.

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by CharmCity2000