What is the longest cruise you've done with your kids?

[woostergirl]

What is the longest cruise you've done with your kids? How old were your kids at the time? What cruise line? Did everyone enjoy the cruise? What were your considerations when booking the longer cruise?

 

We went on a 9 night cruise this summer with my kids ages 7 and 11 which was really fun. I'm considering a cruise that is 15 days in 2024. The kids will be 9 and 13 by that time. I appreciate hearing about your experiences with long cruises with kids! Thanks!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

8 days with an 11 yo. RCI's Allure. 7 days last year on RCI's Harmony.

 

We are doing 10 days in a couple of months. He is still 11. Enchanted Princess.

We usually go on 7 day cruises, especially if the cruising falls on a one week long school break.

 

I don't think my kid would mind a longer cruise at all. But my stomach would mind, since we all eat like crazy when we cruise.

We sailed on a 10 day cruise when he was 7, but the ship broke down on day 3, so it doesn't count.

[scubaslayer]

My kids have only done 1 week cruises. The first one they were 9 & 10. I honestly think they would have been fine with and definitely now as teens with any length cruise. The reason we stick to 1 week cruises is because of school and work schedules, plus the cost. I would love to do a Panama cruise or a transatlantic but between cost and convincing work to give me that many days in a row it likely won't happen anytime soon.

[ama123]

11 days when my daughter was 9, almost 10. We all had a great time. It was over spring break, she missed a day or two additional from school but at that age it wasn't a big deal. 

[woostergirl]

1 hour ago, ama123 said:

11 days when my daughter was 9, almost 10. We all had a great time. It was over spring break, she missed a day or two additional from school but at that age it wasn't a big deal. 

Thank you! Love hearing about all the experiences of longer cruises with kids!

Yes, missing school would be my main concern as the cruise I'm interested in is in February...But maybe they can keep up online.

 

[ama123]

1 hour ago, woostergirl said:

Thank you! Love hearing about all the experiences of longer cruises with kids!

Yes, missing school would be my main concern as the cruise I'm interested in is in February...But maybe they can keep up online.

 

 

All of our other cruises have been 7-8 days. The 11 day was definitely one of all of our favorites. My daughter really loved the kids clubs at that age so she spent a lot of time there as well. 

[Woody14]

did 12 days in Europe when the kids where 10 & 12.   They had spent 10 days in England visiting friends and family before the cruise and they had no issues with the cruise, they would happily exchanged a few days of friends and family time in England with cruising.

[mjmalino]

We did a 12 night Mediterranean when the kids were 11 and 10. 

[Onessa]

we did a 14-day Celebrity Mediterranean cruise with our middle schooler.  It was November and the Thanksgiving break mitigated the time out of school. 

We worked very closely (and very early) with all of her teachers.  She did all of her math lessons on the plane on the way over (thank goodness she is great in Math, because I was looking over her shoulder and was mystified).  Her social studies class was doing a unit on ancient cultures and was scheduled to do Greece -- her teacher gave her a pass.  She had to do a report on volcanoes for science. No problems reading her book for English for a few hours one at-sea day when it was a bit too chilly and rough to do much of anything with her friends.  We had two stops in France and started in Spain, so her foreign language teachers also gave her a pass (she brought back some treats with Spanish and with French labels as a bonus).  She is really very good at managing her time, and is a good student so the teachers knew she wouldn't be just sitting by the pool.

It was a great experience (Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey).  She met a bunch of girls her age -- an American girl whose parents worked at the embassy in London, another whose mother was stationed with NATO at The Hauge, and sisters whose father worked for the Italian office of a US manufacturer on the first leg of our trip.  And then made friends with a brother and sister from Portugal in the second leg. 

[woostergirl]

@Onessa How wonderful for her and your whole family! I will keep this in mind for the future. Traveling is so good for kids. My daughter has a few more years in middle school so maybe I can squeeze a long cruise in!

[AndyLovesCruises]

We are on a 11 night cruise with a 15 month old in Jan, quite nervous to be honest.  

[oyme]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:59 AM, woostergirl said:

What is the longest cruise you've done with your kids? How old were your kids at the time? What cruise line? Did everyone enjoy the cruise? What were your considerations when booking the longer cruise?

 

We went on a 9 night cruise this summer with my kids ages 7 and 11 which was really fun. I'm considering a cruise that is 15 days in 2024. The kids will be 9 and 13 by that time. I appreciate hearing about your experiences with long cruises with kids! Thanks!

 

A 2 week long Hawaiian islands cruise. My son was 2 or 3, I think he might have been 3. Everyone had a blast, yes. Our consideration was mostly itinerary we wanted to sail from California and we wanted to go to Hawaii. If I recall, it did both. I mean 2nd consideration was price, CL was a bonus but negotiable.  We really feel our experiences with sailing with our kids have mostly been positive even when CLs had less entertainment options we all still had fun. We've sailed with Princess once or 2x with our kiddo and even though it didnt have all the bells and whistles like water slides, etc. all my kid needed was the Kid's Club. He always loves the kids clubs. Our upcoming cruise is our first with 2 kids and our daughter so maybe having 2 kids will change the experience to a less positive one? Time will tell. This will be our son/oldest's 5th or 6th cruise... but our daughter's  1st!

[oyme]

On 9/20/2022 at 10:39 AM, woostergirl said:

Thank you! Love hearing about all the experiences of longer cruises with kids!

Yes, missing school would be my main concern as the cruise I'm interested in is in February...But maybe they can keep up online.

 

I've never had problems having my son make-up his work. Teachers have always been very accomadtaing/understanding. My son is a gifted student but he's also very lazy. So he has the ability but not the drive ...but we're still able to just get it done. I can only speak for us and our experiences but I'd say up to 14 days would be doable but not any more than that. A child who struggles more academically might need a tutor or something. If your kids normally can keep up and get decent grades with no assistance then I'd say give it a try and don't worry unless you have one bad experience. Worth a try at least once! When my son struggles with motivation after a trip I remind him this is the price we pay for vacations. lol. He thinks it's worth it when I remind him lol, gentle reminders help.

Edited November 20, 2022 by oyme

[kasi1979]

We´ve travelled 14 days with our 3 year old, her first cruise at age 9 month, we took a 12 day cruise and have cruised several times with her or 7 to 12 days, she´s now 8 years old. We would not mind longer cruises however school vacations and prices were not in our favour so far.

[boulders]

24 nights in the summer to the Med  and 22 nights to Antarctica over Christmas. I shared a cabin with a 7/8 year old and 2 teens for both cruises. The kids missed about 8 days of school for the second cruise. 5 days before break and 3 days after break. The oldest had his senior year high school exams about 2 weeks after we returned from Antarctica. He did just as well as if he'd been in school. We sailed Holland America for both cruises. 

 

 

[linz98144]

Just returned from a 14 night with a 7 and 11 year old. Just me as my husband couldn't come. It was great. 

Prior to the pandemic we went on a 16 day. They were 5 and 9? My husband did come that time. Also a great cruise. 

We homeschool so think of a cruise of a prolonged field trip. Aside from tons of fun, we also incorporate culture, history and geography. 

Currently planning a group homeschool cruise, which will include a lot of socialization as well. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by linz98144

[Essiesmom]

Depending on how many older children on the group cruise,  you might inquire at guest services…or have them write a letter to the captain…requesting a talk with the environmental officer about pollution and waste management.  And maybe an officer could talk about navigation…and driving the ship…nothing ventured, nothing gained.  EM

[strobellayjam]

14 days  with both DDs.  Their first cruises respectively were 10 days when they were 1.5 years old. 

[Vs1023]

12 day repositioning cruise. Kids were 14 and 8.

[Onessa]

On 10/31/2022 at 2:59 PM, woostergirl said:

@Onessa How wonderful for her and your whole family! I will keep this in mind for the future. Traveling is so good for kids. My daughter has a few more years in middle school so maybe I can squeeze a long cruise in!

Middle school was a perfect time -- she really appreciated everything.  High school was a problem because she was involved in a very active marching band and several sports -- so our trips were primarily chaperoning her band trips!

[jlacy1987]

I have a 14 year old stepson so our cruises are a bit limited so that they don't conflict with my husband's custody schedule (stepson is at his mom's every other weekend). He's been on a 5 day on Carnival Sunrise (was meant to be a Bermuda cruise but a hurricane caused us to not ever make it to Bermuda) and we also just did a 5 day cruise on NCL Breakaway with him and our now 3 year old daughter. 

 

In September we'll be doing our first 7 day cruise with the kids, a cruise to Alaska, when my daughter is 3.5 years old and my stepson is 15. 

[soozles]

We’re doing a 12 night iceland/Ireland cruise this summer with our kids who will be almost 4 and 4.5 at the time we travel… we’ve done an 8 day and no one wanted to get off. 

[willoL]

24 days on HAL with our 14 and 18 year old teens. But, that was meant to be a 2020 cruise delayed by the pandemic, so I had no qualms about taking 12 & 16 year olds on a transatlantic voyage of that length.

 

My kids could have done a long trip even as elementary school aged kids, I think, though the youngest might've gotten homesick earlier, like toddler/preschool/early elementary. We've never had a hard time finding enough physical activity on a ship to meet those needs, and mine always liked the extra freedoms of cruising. (Selecting their own meals, availability of kid clubs away from me, etc.)

 

10 days to Alaska when they were grade/middle school aged left them begging for more time at sea, not bored.

 

We had a wonderful time on both of the above trips, but booking two separate staterooms (or having some kind of privacy division) is vital for my introverted family on almost any trip beyond a few days. Three of the four of us really require alone time to recharge our emotional batteries! With two unexpected years to save up for the HAL voyage, we upgraded from Inside + Verandah to Inside + Corner-aft-Neptune-Suite, and that made life REALLY nice. 😄