Young Kids on Older Ships?

[NoMadSean]

My wife and I are looking at a bunch of different options for 2024. Seems like itineraries for us that are the most interesting have the older boats, and I'm reading that those are better for adults than kids. Specifically, we are looking at a 7-Day on the Enchantment that hits Belize, Honduras, and Mexico in April or summer cruises to Alaska on Radiance or Brilliance. Our daughter will be about 6 1/2 then. I posted on the general board about Disney vs other lines since we are taking the Wish in June. I'm confidence we would enjoy the medium and larger RC boats

I would love some feedback from people who have sailed with younger kids on those ships or similar ones. Bonus if you've done Alaska. How was the experience for the kids? If my kid isn't having fun, we won't have fun. 

[twangster]

Older ships don't have all the whiz bang stuff on newer ships but at one time those old ships were new ships and families sailed them and had great family cruise experiences.  

 

Generations change without doubt but do your kids require all the new whiz bang stuff or else the entire trip is a disaster?  Old ships have the same internet as new ships now so kids can be glued to their devices on both old and new ships equally.  How much does the rest matter?

 

Hotels haven't changed much over the years in terms of kids amenities.  Can your family pull off a land vacation that doesn't include a hotel that is a mini theme park to keep your kids occupied?   Back in the day a pool in a hotel was all it took to make a great hotel experience.   What do you look for in a hotel?

 

If you were to fly the family to Europe for a land vacation what accommodations would you seek that are specific to your kids needs?  How about Hawaii?  Is the destination good enough or your does your family require a lot of activities tailored for youth to make it a great vacation?  No judgement if that is what you must do for a land vacation, it's your vacation money.  Spend it to keep your group satisfied. 

 

Sometimes though people focus so much on the ship, like with a serious case of FOMO, they miss out on a better itinerary to more interesting destinations.  At their core older ships provide all the basic necessities for a great family vacation while experiencing new and interesting destinations.  

 

Maybe ask your kids... better destinations or ship with more stuff?

[Tatka]

We just sailed on Enchantment for 12 day ...and there were about 10 kids. Parents said that their kids had lots of fun in kids club.

We also sailed on Grandeur for several Christmas/New Year cruises with almost 600 kids.. We saw teens gathering in public areas and having conversations, but most younger kids were in kids club.

[Joseph2017China]

6 1/2 I would not worry about the ship for the kid.   Wait for those worries in the teenage years.  For now, a kid would not know the difference

 

[Rouque]

Your daughter will be fine on the smaller ships.  I used to have to drag my kids out of Adventure Ocean at night and in the morning they were so excited to go back and play.  My boys have a million awards metals from the games the staff ran. Depending on the cruise, we tried to do excursions the kids would enjoy as well - lots of snorkeling in the Caribbean (my boys are both swimmers).  We did take the kids to Alaska.  They were a little older by then so we did zip-lining and bike riding although 6.5 may be too young for those types of excursions.

[smokeybandit]

It all depends what your kid needs to be entertained.

My 11 yr old had no issues on Radiance class ships, other than the tiny arcade.

[NoMadSean]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Older ships don't have all the whiz bang stuff on newer ships but at one time those old ships were new ships and families sailed them and had great family cruise experiences.  

 

Generations change without doubt but do your kids require all the new whiz bang stuff or else the entire trip is a disaster?  Old ships have the same internet as new ships now so kids can be glued to their devices on both old and new ships equally.  How much does the rest matter?

 

Hotels haven't changed much over the years in terms of kids amenities.  Can your family pull off a land vacation that doesn't include a hotel that is a mini theme park to keep your kids occupied?   Back in the day a pool in a hotel was all it took to make a great hotel experience.   What do you look for in a hotel?

 

If you were to fly the family to Europe for a land vacation what accommodations would you seek that are specific to your kids needs?  How about Hawaii?  Is the destination good enough or your does your family require a lot of activities tailored for youth to make it a great vacation?  No judgement if that is what you must do for a land vacation, it's your vacation money.  Spend it to keep your group satisfied. 

 

Sometimes though people focus so much on the ship, like with a serious case of FOMO, they miss out on a better itinerary to more interesting destinations.  At their core older ships provide all the basic necessities for a great family vacation while experiencing new and interesting destinations.  

 

Maybe ask your kids... better destinations or ship with more stuff?

Our big motivation for cruising is built in childcare and activities that will keep my 6 yo happy.  No Hawaii or Europe for a few years. This year is the big one - staying on resort at Disney, then Disney Wish. I don't think we need, as someone said in another thread, the Disney pixie dust again. My kid much cares about the destinations. My wife cares about destinations and is generally preferring the destinations from the smaller boats.  

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, NoMadSean said:

We are looking at a 7-Day on the Enchantment that hits Belize, Honduras, and Mexico in April or summer cruises to Alaska on Radiance or Brilliance. Our daughter will be about 6 1/2 then. 

We sailed on Enchantment of the Seas when my kids were around that age and we had a great time. On that cruise, I remember that the kids would be begging for us to drop them off at Adventure Ocean as soon as it opened in the morning. 😂
 

We sailed to Alaska as well (on Holland America which is considered an “old people” cruise line) and still, the kids had a great time. They didn’t even hit the kids club on that cruise. That cruise was ALL about the ports of call. We did so much ashore that, by the time we got back on the ship, the kids would be exhausted and ready to call it a night (all of us were!).

 

Over the years, I’ve watched how my kids interests have changed when we cruise. When they were younger, they actually enjoyed the smaller kids clubs more. I guess they liked the personal attention and simpler things (it was easier to keep them entertained with basic activities at that age). They didn’t like the huge, overly elaborate clubs with hundreds of kids on ships like Allure of the Seas and Disney Fantasy (I guess they found them overwhelming). 
 

Now, at 11 and 13 years of age, they’re not as interested in going to the kids club as much (last time we sailed as a family, they didn’t go to the kids club a single day). Instead, they’re more interested in what activities are happening around the ship, so I’ve started looking at the newer and larger ships that cater to their evolving interests. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tapi

[GJustice]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

It all depends what your kid needs to be entertained.
If she "requires" lots of bright colors and noise, then small ships MIGHT not be as entertaining. If she's able to entertain herself (reading, devices), watching the water go by the window, playing in the kid's programs, she'll be fine on smaller ships.

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by GJustice