First Cruise in 5 years, first cruise ever for kids - what do we need to know??

[MarinerBride]

We're sailing on Freedom next month for 4 nights with our 2 kids (6 and 9), as well as with my parents. We're in a junior suite and my parents are next door. We haven't sailed in 5 years, so I know things have changed, plus this is the first cruise ever for our kids. What do we need to know for the kids? How has dining changed (we were always early dine kind of people)? We've got a Water Park Cabana reserved for CocoCay and Atlantis Water Park reserved for Nassau.

[Biker19]

28 minutes ago, MarinerBride said:

What do we need to know for the kids?

Do a search here and read Adventure Ocean info. Other than the menu, early dining hasn't changed much since your last sailing.

[MarinerBride]

Oops, I lied - it's been 10 years since we've cruised. 🙈

[MarinerBride]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Do a search here and read Adventure Ocean info. Other than the menu, early dining hasn't changed much since your last sailing.

Where do we even sign up for early dining?

[Biker19]

17 minutes ago, MarinerBride said:

Where do we even sign up for early dining?

You have to contact whomever you booked with to choose that - this close in early traditional may be full but they may accommodate you on board.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

For us we find it better for our daughter shes 9 to use the buffet. Not one to sit at a table and get waited on and we find the choice better for her. Also the buffet gives flexibility if we are off ship or enjoying ourselves without worrying about getting back for an early dinner. 

Kids clubs I've heard are great and need to get children registered on first day. Our dau prefers to spend the holiday with us rather then the kids club and we enjoy doing activities with her as well. 

Edited November 25, 2022 by FamilyCruiserUK

[MarinerBride]

13 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You have to contact whomever you booked with to choose that - this close in early traditional may be full but they may accommodate you on board.

I just found it on our SeaPass - we're in traditional early dining!

[jbrinkm]

I think Freedom class ships are fantastic for first cruises with kids at the ages of yours! Our first two cruises with our kids were on Independence and Liberty and we were super happy to start with those - plenty for kids to do without it being overwhelming. Now that we have teens, we've bumped up to Oasis class and the shift to a newer class of ship was exciting for them at their ages now. So that is not really advice, just a kudos for your ship choice! It will also be nice to have extra family around to help with the kids so you could possibly have some time with just the two of you here and there. That was one of the biggest challenges for me - being on vacation but still feeling like I had to keep constant eyes on my kids (pool, railings, getting lost, etc.). 

 

Two favorites from our trips back then were the ice cream machine at the pool, and the cupcake class (extra $$). Animal towels were also a big hit in the stateroom. 

 

As far as dining, you could look at the menus ahead of time and be right on time or early for dinner to get your orders in immediately. The servers always seem fantastic with kids and eating quickly plus the interactions with the staff can help the meal go quickly. You can do as @FamilyCruiserUK suggested and mix it up with the Windjammer buffet some days. If you like to be waited on but dinners are tough, you can try the dining room for lunch and dinner at WJ. You know your kids best and how you think they'll do with a sit down meal at night. And if things start going south before dessert, the wait staff is usually happy to box it up and you can take it to the room for later. 

 

There's a family cruising forum on here. You can read through some of the posts here and I'm sure people can help answer more specific questions as they come up:

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

Edited November 25, 2022 by jbrinkm

[LB_NJ]

In 10 years my guess is quality has declined.

[Dayman9966]

Look into the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island, if you can book a room for the day, you get 4 free passes to Atlantis waterpark.  It may save you a ton if you can still do it.

[broadwaybaby123]

Sign the kids up for the free Adventure Ocean kids club!  My niece loved it when she was their age!