Not been on a cruise before - viable with a nine year old?

[davidkjackson891]

We are a couple with a nine year old son. We've not been on a cruise before so the idea is rather new to us. It does appear that some cruise companies are child friendly espeically cruises in the summer holidays. 

 

One idea would be a short four or five day cruise to somewhere as local as possible such as Amsterdam. This would also reduce our expenditure!

 

One problem is that my wife is concerned that she will get "sea sick" as she routinely gets car sick. I assume most journeys are calm. Is sea sickness likely?

 

Another concern is that of noise issues. I imagine the cabins are not well insulated from their neighbours and there might well be alcohol-induced noise permeating our cabin. Or noise such as TV or radio. Is that a realistic possiblity? 

 

Finally, do you have any tips for what to do or not to do when travelling with a nine or so year old? Do you have any suggestions for specific UK-based journeys that work well with children (they can be longer than a few days if you like)? Many thanks.  

[cruisinqt]

Most people with seasickness get the behind the ear patches from their doctors. I usually take Bonine along which is available at most stores but I’ve never needed it. Most of the time you don’t even realize you’re on the sea because the ships are huge with big stabilizers on them. But I have been on a few cruises that were a little rocky. 
 

I’ve never really noticed much noise from the cabins next door. It’s just like a hotel room, for the most part you don’t hear a peep but occasionally you’ll get a noisy neighbor. 
 

One of the reasons I started cruising over 20 years ago was because of the free child care and great kids programs on cruise ships. It’s nice to have a break from them occasionally but still have them along for the fun. The kids centers break the kids up into groups like 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, & 12-15 but each cruise line does it differently. The workers have to have a degree in a child related field so most of them are teachers. They do fun stuff like scavenger hunts, arts & crafts, board games, and watch kids movies. You can drop them off in the morning with a break for lunch and dinner and after 10 pm it’s no longer free. But it’s still very cheap and is usually under $10 an hour. 

 

 

[Bloodgem]

Hi welcome to CC(Cruise Critics).

We always travel down the day before, the cruise, and stop overnight in a hotel.

[MBP&O2/O]

Motion sickness in a car is a totally different thing to motion sickness at sea. Being bounced about in a car and a gentle 5 degree roll on a ship? Too many people get psyched up about the potential for sea sickness. Don't worry about it.

Ships masters generally try to avoid the real 'ooh nasty' weather, but sometimes excretea occurs and it might get choppy.

IMHO do not take OTC medication without checking the side effects. Many people recommend many drugs but none of them know your allergies and / or intolerances.

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

Most people with seasickness get the behind the ear patches from their doctors. I usually take Bonine along which is available at most stores but I’ve never needed it. Most of the time you don’t even realize you’re on the sea because the ships are huge with big stabilizers on them. But I have been on a few cruises that were a little rocky. 

 

 

There are a number of seasickness remedies available before suggesting pax use the Scopolamine transdermal patch, which I believe in UK, similar to Canada, is/was available over the counter. Only in USA is it a prescription medication. However, many pax have significant side affects with this medication.

 

Wrist bands, ginger, gravol, etc are highly recommended before getting into the patch.

 

With respect to ships, the size of a ship has very little bearing on the sea keeping abilities in seas. Stabilisers are also only effective against transverse motion, as they have no effect on longitudinal or pitching. Having worked on the great British liners of the 60's & 70's, I would much rather be on SS Oriana, SS Canberra or SS QE2 rather than any of the modern mega ships in rough seas.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Heidi13

[cruisinqt]

I wasn’t going to get technical but perhaps it’s warranted with the various comments I’m seeing. A ship will be affected by rough seas in two ways, roll and pitch. The roll is when waves hit the side of the ship (side to side motion) which the stabilizers help with. Pitch comes from front and aft of the ship. Larger and longer ships sit atop waves more and are less affected by pitch. According to numerous maritime websites, “The degree in which a ship will roll, pitch and yaw in different sea conditions depends on its inherent stability. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the ship, the less likely it is to be affected by rough weather.” Therefore, larger ships will be less affected by rough seas than smaller ones, that’s a fact. However, the bigger ships have a larger lever arm which will increase the motion felt when you’re up high on the ship or if you at either end of the ship. So there is some merit to a smaller ship feeling slightly more stable in those specific areas (very high or at the very end or way up front.) But for overall stability of a ship (and I’ve been on many ships with over 20 years of cruising) I’ve personally found the larger ships much more stable. 
 

As for cabin location, lower and in the center is best. The ship pivots around its center of mass which is down very low and in the middle. So you’ll want a cabin closest to that area if you don’t want to feel motion in your cabin while sleeping. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. We are here to help. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by cruisinqt

[MBP&O2/O]

Apart from "Maritime Websites"  ...... have you ever read Derretts " Ship Stability for Masters and Mates"  ?

That explains various aspects of ship Stability including  GM, GZ, and Curves of Statical Stability in more depth 😵‍💫

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Apart from "Maritime Websites"  ...... have you ever read Derretts " Ship Stability for Masters and Mates"  ?

That explains various aspects of ship Stability including  GM, GZ, and Curves of Statical Stability in more depth 😵‍💫

My father was in the navy so being a military brat naval things fascinate me. So was my husband, his father served in the Navy in World War 2 and boy did he have some good stories. I really miss him. Anyways, I’ve inherited tons of naval books from both of them and read quite a few so there’s a good chance I’ve read it but I’ll have to check to make sure. (Though if it’s a really new or recent book I might not have it.) I can’t check the collection right now since I’m letting my cousin go through it, he loves these types of books too. I do remember a book that really fascinated me though, it was called “Stability And Trim For The Ships Officer.” I liked it because it broke things down really well without getting too complicated. You should check it out sometime it’s a good read. I may even bring it with me on my upcoming transatlantic cruise since we will be having lots of sea days. I had planned on bringing some of my father in laws old World War 2 books but now you’ve got me missing all of those naval books. 

[John Bull]

On 3/22/2023 at 7:29 PM, cruisinqt said:

Larger and longer ships sit atop waves more and are less affected by pitch. (pitch is wave-to-wave bow-to-stern movement)  

As a general rule of thumb, the larger the ship, the less likely it is to be affected by rough weather.” Therefore, larger ships will be less affected by rough seas than smaller ones, that’s a fact.

Big ships will be ploughing thro a number of waves at the same time whereas small ones are more likely to pitch between wave-tops and troughs, hence the saying "A good big 'un is more stable than a good little-un".

 

However, the bigger ships have a larger lever arm which will increase the motion felt when you’re up high on the ship (that's side-to-side roll)

Higher cabins are more expensive, hence the sayings "the more you pay, the more you sway" & "choose a cabin as low as your ego allows"

 

Steering a big tall ship is more difficult in high wind, same as trucks on high river crossings. This need not concern you, unless the captain asks you to take the helm
 

As for cabin location, lower and in the center is best. The ship pivots around its center of mass which is down very low and in the middle

Mid-ships is more stable than bow or stern, hence "the seats on a see-saw are thrilling, the centre of a see-saw is boring"

 

 

 

Hi David, and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

That's taken care of the stability issues, all of which will probably be irrelevant unless you experience high seas

 

Cabin choice. Stability covered above. Check deck plans - if you can choose your cabin, go for a deck that's sandwiched between two decks of cabins. For instance you don't want to be under the theatre or casino.

Near a bank of lifts is convenient on large ships, but you can get late-night passenger noise from the lift lobbies if you're right alongside them.  Surprisingly, lift motors aren't noisy.

Noisy neighbours are the luck of the draw.

Three main choices are inside or ocean view or balcony.

Inside can feel claustrophobic, and it's  difficult to tell which way the ship's travelling, whether you're at sea or in port, whether it's day or night, wet or fine. Can be overcome to a degree by leaving your TV on, tuned to the ship's masthead camera and sound muted

Ocean View. Most have a fixed picture window. Only cabins on very low decks have portholes - in the unlikely event of stormy weather the steward may lower the heavy porthole covers, effectively turning it into an inside cabin.

Balcony cabins. Once you've had a balcony cabin it's difficult to go back to anything else. They're usually quite a bit more expensive. Perhaps something to look forward to on a future cruise.  

 

Kids. There tend to be fewer kids on small ships, and big ships have far more and better facilities than small ones - and they have the "wow" factor.

 

Three matters not mentioned ..............

 

Avoid very short cruises, a one or two-night cruise is favoured by stags & hens.

 

I always advise Brits to take their first cruise on a Brit-orientated ship, like P&O or Marella (not Fred Olsen, which isn't geared to your age, let alone junior's age.).

There's a lot to learn without complications like ship's currency or add-ons like service charges.

US ships do tend to have a bigger "wow" factor, but on a first cruise you'll be wowed anyway on pretty-well any cruise ship

 

Use a cruise-specialist travel agent. We're not permitted to name agents on Cruise Critic, so google "Cruise specialists UK."  

Once you've narrowed-down a few cruises, use the phone - much easier to discuss the options, and specialists can help with the pros & cons of cruise lines, ships & itineraries, and things like cabin selection, dining choices, on-board costs, etc.. You'll soon figure which agent is most knowledgeable and helpful. When you've decided which cruise, if your preferred agent isn't the cheapest give them the opportunity to match the best offer.

 

All first cruises are great, have a good one.

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

[MBP&O2/O]

QT,  Derretts was mandatory reading for all deck officers studying for Certificates of Competency ........ and that was 50 years ago!  Most people bought their own. I still have mine .... along with various other memory joggers 😏 such as Principles for Second Mates  Elements of Navigation, Cargo work for Deck Officers  and Meteorology for Mariners ... Derretts is still referred to as the Stabiility Bible as far as UK Certificates are concerned.

[Heidi13]

On 3/22/2023 at 12:29 PM, cruisinqt said:

Therefore, larger ships will be less affected by rough seas than smaller ones, that’s a fact.

 

Not wanting to hijack the OP's thread, but I really enjoy discussions on ship's stability. which I learned from the same source as MBP&O2/0 - Derretts Stability for Masters & Mates, the Stability Bible.

 

In addition, my almost 30 yrs in command of pax vessels, confirm my previous post that size of ship does not greatly influence sea keeping ability in heavy weather.

[Izzywiz]

As you are from the UK and have a 9 year old, may I suggest that you look at Marella cruises (part of the Tui group) in the Med if you are thinking of school summer holidays. 
They have several different options:

* a 7 night cruise 

* a 14 night cruise

* a pre-cruise hotel stay with a choice of hotels, number of nights and board options 

* a post cruise stay as above

The cruise is inclusive of drinks and gratuities.

We are going with our grandsons - 11 and 14 (+ parents but we don’t mention them) for our 4th cruise and stay this July. We have sailed on our own on many different cruise lines but find the convenience of the Tui packages very good with the family.

We fly from our local airport (lots of different choices) to either Palma, Majorca or Corfu, transport is included from the airport to the ship and hotel, there are several different itineraries from each home port and the ships cater for children very well with lots of activities available for all the different age groups.

The family members were quite worried about sea sickness before their first cruise but all 4 have been fine and are excitedly looking forward to this year’s jaunt.

[Harters]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:05 AM, John Bull said:

We're not permitted to name agents on Cruise Critic,

Although CC does it for you with this helpful article:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=3850

[John Bull]

22 minutes ago, Harters said:

Although CC does it for you with this helpful article:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=3850

 

Thanks for that.

I've book-marked it & it'll save my typing finger ...............and coded suggestions 🙂 

It kinda makes a nonsense of the rule, or mebbe it's because in the UK there isn't the plethora of small one-man-band agencies that there seems to be in the US

 

JB 🙂

[MBP&O2/O]

Just used the link. Somewhat out of date results and some very dodgy companies mentioned .... least wise 'dodgy' by the number of negative issues raised on the Tripadvisor Cruise forum.

[Harters]

Interesting in itself that Tripadvisor, which owns Cruise Critic, allows discussion about cruise travel agents on TA, but not CC.

 

But we digress from helping the OP.