Cruising with Kids (3&7)

[woodie841]

Hi all!! My husband and I have been on approximately 15 cruises - Carnival, RCCL and Disney.  Since having kids we've enjoyed Disney and recently sailed on Carnival which wasn't the most family-friendly experience.  We'd like to try RCCL but we want to know if the kids' clubs are as enjoyable as those on Disney.  Our kids loved them on Disney but didn't even want to go on Carnival; plus, they weren't open around the clock on Carnival like they are on Disney which made it difficult to plan our day.  So, you might ask... if you love Disney why are you even looking at anything else?? Because of the price! Disney is just so expensive and if we can have a comparable experience on another cruise line and actually get to do more with our money, we would prefer to do so.  

 

Thanks for any thoughts/advice that you have... if you haven't experienced multiple cruise lines, please don't reply. I do appreciate your time but we know Disney is great... we're just asking how it compares to RCCL.... THANK YOU!!! 

[davekathy]

23 minutes ago, woodie841 said:

Hi all!! My husband and I have been on approximately 15 cruises - Carnival, RCCL and Disney.  Since having kids we've enjoyed Disney and recently sailed on Carnival which wasn't the most family-friendly experience.  We'd like to try RCCL but we want to know if the kids' clubs are as enjoyable as those on Disney.  Our kids loved them on Disney but didn't even want to go on Carnival; plus, they weren't open around the clock on Carnival like they are on Disney which made it difficult to plan our day.  So, you might ask... if you love Disney why are you even looking at anything else?? Because of the price! Disney is just so expensive and if we can have a comparable experience on another cruise line and actually get to do more with our money, we would prefer to do so.  

 

Thanks for any thoughts/advice that you have... if you haven't experienced multiple cruise lines, please don't reply. I do appreciate your time but we know Disney is great... we're just asking how it compares to RCCL.... THANK YOU!!! 

Now that's funny. 🙄 Welcome to CC. Since your question is specific to RC you may also consider asking your question on the RCI forum.

[toads45froggy]

Whoa... thats oddly specific. How do you plan to enforce that stipulation?

[Essiesmom]

There is a forum here for Family Cruising, and it does tend to concentrate on those with children.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/

 

But I have never seen anyone say that a cruise line had their family program open 24/7.  Most close for lunch and dinner and have a cost after 10pm and close by 1-2am.  EM

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, woodie841 said:

Hi all!! My husband and I have been on approximately 15 cruises - Carnival, RCCL and Disney.  Since having kids we've enjoyed Disney and recently sailed on Carnival which wasn't the most family-friendly experience.  We'd like to try RCCL but we want to know if the kids' clubs are as enjoyable as those on Disney....

 

... if you haven't experienced multiple cruise lines, please don't reply....

 

Sorry, my experience is only limited to RCCL and Celebrity, but I am going to answer anyway as you are asking about RCCL and we have 27 years experience with them. (you can choose not to read if you want).  We have cruised extensively with our children when they were young on RCCL and they loved their kids programs. They grew up cruising over the years with RCCL.

 

Their clubs are very well run, segregated to target the different age groups with age appropriate activities, and are diverse in their activities offered.  The club's staff also have educational backgrounds specific to areas of child related programs, and are well vetted in terms of background checks. The RCCL ships are also very family oriented in terms of on board activities and venues that are also quite diverse and unique in the industry.  I am certain you and your kids will find RCCL to be a very good line for your expectations - and one that will be far more reasonable in cost than Disney. 

 

BTW, as mentioned by another poster, I also have never heard of round the clock children's programs as many cruise lines impose a 1 AM curfew for those under 18 - which is the case with RCCL.

Edited August 9, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Tapi]

My kids are 7 and 9. They have sailed on Disney, Royal, MSC, Carnival, and Holland America. Of all listed, they like Royal the best, MSC second, and Disney third. 

 

- Royal, specifically the newer Oasis class ships, are technological marvels. There’s so much to do, not only for the kids, but for the adults as well. Professional and impressive stage entertainment (some of the best I’ve seen at sea), a myriad of high energy activities, and great kid facilities. My kids absolutely love Adventure Ocean. They always begged to attend. It’s hard to do everything that is offered, even on a weeklong cruise. We tried, and found ourselves exhausted after a few days. You just can’t do it all. Kid activities aside, adult activities and dining venues are plentiful. 

 

- MSC, specifically the Meraviglia, is our second choice. Great kid facilities as well, many activities for the kids outside of the kids club including at the indoors Sportsplex, parades, kids talent show, an amazing water park, and even official Cirque du Soleil performances. All without sacrificing adult entertainment. The best part about MSC with kids is that they offer very competitive pricing, many times including kids sail free promotions. Our last cruise on MSC was in the Mediterranean in an Aurea Duplex Suite (a 2 story loft style suite with separate bedroom,  2 bathrooms, walk in closet / dressing room, our own jacuzzi tub in our forward facing terrace, unlimited drink package, free massages, dedicated sitting area  in the main dining room with open seating, and access to a private, suite only solarium deck). All for half (yes, HALF) the price of a standard balcony stateroom on the Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral with zero perks the year before!! We couldn’t believe it. 

 

- Disney: You can’t deny what a wonderful product Disney delivers, and they truly offer some of the best customer service of any cruise line we’ve sailed on. The stage entertainment is truly top notch, and we’ve never seen kid facilities as expansive as on the Fantasy.  But in my humble opinion, unless you’re a big Disney fan, it’s extremely hard to swallow Disney’s grossly overinflated pricing. Taking pixie dust and Disney magic out, they deliver a product that is similar to other mass market lines in several departments. My kids had a fantastic time, but they didn’t particularly care for the kids club. As wonderful as it was, the kids found it to be claustrophobic (and if you think about it, it is, since it has few windows and little outdoor light). They also didn’t like that once you check in, you’re not going anywhere (except for a short list of activities). They prefer kids programs where they get to move around different venues around the ship. They also hated eating meals at the club. They said that they’d bring trays of cheese sandwiches and chicken nuggets, which tended to be stale or cold by the time they got there. So we learned to never leave them at the club during meal hours. On my end, I found that Disney sacrifices too much adult entertainment in favor of kid entertainment (which should be expected when sailing on a cruise line that caters heavily to children). The only time that we truly enjoyed time as adults was when we went out for dinner at Palo.

 

With all of that said, I think that Royal’s newest ships offer an absolutely wonderful and balanced experience for families, with plenty to do for all family members, no matter the age, and usually at much more affordable prices than Disney. Of all the cruise lines we’ve sailed on, I consider that they offer the best product for families. I understand how hard it can be to escape from the claws of the mouse (I know, since some of our best friends are Disney fans who only sail on Disney, and just the thought of branching out to other cruise lines makes them gag), but I truly believe that you should give Royal a try. I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Tapi

[Itchy&Scratchy]

My 8 yo has been on RCI, Princess and NCL. Alas, he has refused to go to kid's club on all three. That is not a reflection on cruise lines, ships or the kid's program quality. Our friends' kids are the same age and a little older and they LOVED the kid's club on all of these ships.

DS loves cruising, though. And it's not all about the kid's club.