Newbie - thinking of cruising with children - HELP!

[lisag1ll]

Hi all,

 

Wonder if you can help me here?

 

I'm thinking of booking a 5 night cruise from Tampa to Carribean on the Sensation with my 3 children aged 4, 6 & 8 and I'm planning to bring Grandad along to help me with the kids.

 

As it's our first time cruising I wondered if you could recommend which room/level to book - we would prefer an ocean view cabin that will sleep 5. Unfortunately if we have to book 2 rooms it will put the cruise out of our price range so for 5 nights we have to learn to put up with Grandad's snoring :p

 

I also wanted to know what activities there are for young children - I also don't really want to put them in the kids club much as Grandad (and myself) want to spend as much time as he can with them but I wasn't sure what other activities there are other than the kids clubs.

 

We wouldn't normally have thought of a cruise but we've booked a 3 week vacation and 2 weeks of it is being spent in the Disney area doing all the theme parks and I couldn't decide what to do for the 3rd week. It's a toss up between a week at the beach in Sarasota or 5 days on a cruise/2 days in Tampa.

 

I'd be really grateful to hear of your views of cruising with kids.

 

PS could anybody let me know which drinks are Free on the Sensation.

 

Many thanks

 

Lisa

[LadySpoilt]

Wonder if you can help me here?

I'm thinking of booking a 5 night cruise from Tampa to Carribean on the Sensation with my 3 children aged 4, 6 & 8 and I'm planning to bring Grandad along to help me with the kids.

I'd be really grateful to hear of your views of cruising with kids.

Many thanks

Lisa

 

Lisa,

We've cruised with our sons (now 22 and 19) since they were roughly your childrens ages (they began cruising at 5 and 8)..........and have never regretted a moment of it. Actually the boys are as hooked as their parents, and rarely want to do any other vacation. LOL--I have visions of them still going with us when they are in there 40's........ON MY MONEY OF COURSE!!:rolleyes:

As far as leaving them in Camp Carnival...that's a personal choice, many parents do utilize this option. We never left our sons there though as we were happier having them with us, as these vacations were times for us to be together. (DH traveled over 50% of time so family time together was at a premium...and we utilized it).

You'll probably get many varied opinions regarding "views of cruising with kids" but in my opinion...you won't regret it.........neither will your kids:)

Spoilt

[HOSKI]

We have taken DD since she was nine months old and she will be on her 7th cruise for her 5th birthday. She loves camp carnival and loves to cruise.

 

Some people are very opposed to cruising with children so be prepared for some of those responding to your post. I'm not sure how many of the old posts are left but if you do a search for posts with my user name you will be sure to come across some about our experience of crusing w/child.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

We are cruising w/ our 21 month old and 4 year old in March, our first cruise. Yes, beware of the anti children people that are sure to show up here. But don't listen, cruising is the perfect FAMILY vacation! If I were you, I would ask this same question on the family cruising board on Cruise Critic, too. We booked the Miracle out of Tampa. It is a 7 day. We booked a 7a which is a balcony cabin, but is partialy obstructed, so it costs less than the other balcony cabins. From what I understand, there are 2 full beds (that can be made into a king) and a couch that makes out into a bed and an upper that comes out of the ceiling. BUT I am not sure if you can have 5 in that kind of cabin or not. I am thinking you can't since it is called a quad, but I am not sure. I would call Carnival. You may be able to book an outside and and inside right across the hall for less than you think. There are lots of online agencies, that we are not allowed to mention anymore, that have very good prices, sometimes less than carnival direct, so shop around. Good Luck! :)

 

Here is the link to the family cruising board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=49

[Snowball]

The Sensation is one of Carnival's ship that are allowed to have rollaway beds, so they should have oceanview or inside cabins that can accomodate your family of 5 in one cabin. I agree that cruising is a wonderful family vacation that your kids will remember forever. My daughter has been on 2 cruises already with another one booked for next year, and she absolutely loves our cruise vacations. Your children are the perfect age for Camp Carnival too - they will have plenty of activities for them to enjoy! :)

[taszmom]

We are taking our 5yr old daughter on her 5th cruise in October. We have been cruising with her since she was 2. We always invite Grandmom to come along because she loves to spend the time with her. Grandmom is a great babysitter when we need her, however, she is a BIG TIME snorer so she always gets her own room. We book her a 1A GTY and cross-reference our booking with hers and usally results in her getting a nice upgrade and a room close to us. We were booked in a Cat 8A balcony on the Legend and she got a 5A just down the hall from us. Though it was obstructed, it certainly was un upgrade from the 1A. Anyway, my dd loves the children's programs and can't wait to get there every morning. We usually feed her early drop her off around 7pm at the childrens program and enjoy a late 8pm dinner. grandmom could also pick her up when we needed her to.

 

As far as the drinks...you can purchase Soda cards. You can get breakfast juices in the morning...I can't remember if they have it all day. My dd drinks water or milk and occasionally a lemonade. I can't remember ever paying for any of those.

 

Having 5 in a room is ok with smaller children. The quint setup is 2 twin beds, 2 upper beds and a rollaway (comes in for the night, goes away during the day). If your little ones don't mind sharing a bed, you can tell the room steward to not bring in the rollaway. Whether you go inside or oceanview, the layout & size of the room is the same. Unfortunately on the Sensation there are no connecting staterooms. You can try booking a double (older kid & grandpa) and then a triple (you and the 2 smaller children) right next to each other. The 8 yr old will be so exhausted I'm sure the snoring won't be a bother.

[cruisinqt]

We let our kids decide whether they will go into the kids program or not. But most of the time they prefer to go there. They had their faces painted like a pirate and went on a treasure hunt - that was one of their favorites. There have also been ice cream sundae parties, all night slumberless parties, building volcanoes and making them explode, and all types of neat stuff!:D

 

But if your kids prefer not to go to the kids program, there's lots of other things to do. There's an arcade with virtual reality games. There are several pools to swim in and the 214 ft. spiral water slide is always a hit. There are always fun things going on at the pool like the horse races or the hairy chest contest. Those are really funny.:) But the kids program offers a lot. They have playstation 2, computers, pizza parties, and video game tournaments. There is usually one night that they paint or tye dye t-shirts. And there is usually jewelry making and scavenger hunts too.

 

 

The kids can stay aboard in the kids program for free if you wish to go ashore and do an excursion that does not allow little ones along. We never did that because we wanted to have some quality family time together. We did make one rule, and that was that we would have dinner together every evening. And that we would do at least one activity all together as a family each day. Other than that, the kids could stay in the kids program all they wanted. And that's where they wanted to be.:)

[Cotton]

I have no comments to make about kids on a cruise, so I'll skip to the beverages you asked about...No charge for the following:

On the Lido Deck: Lemonade, fruitpunch, iced tea, coffee, juice, and tap water.

Room service: Same as above, but also milk and chocolate milk.

Dining room: Children under 12 (all of yours!):) can have complimentary soft drinks, or any of the above.

Should you decide to purchase the 'soda cards' for the kiddies, just remember that you don't have to use them in the dining room. Not sure about the Lido Deck dining.

[kathyjack]

We will be cruising in January with our daughter/husband/8 year old granddaughter. This will be her 2nd cruise. She loves cruising. By all means take them to dinner with you in the main dining room. The last time we cruised with granddaughter, she was 2. The wait staff/madtre d's just loved her and treated her like a little princess. I think they really miss their own children, so they really cater to the little ones. There was always a waiter or matre' d at our table playing with her. Have fun.

[VentureMan_2000]

Regarding 5 in a room. I contacted Carnival and asked them about this. They said that you would need to use two cabins as only 4 max is allowed in one cabin. If you did that, you would have to purchase 4 full fair tickets and one child (Och!). Your best bet is to call Carnival and confirm with them what they told me.

[drmbldr]

We cruised on the Inspiration out of New Orleans two years ago. We had an ocean view room and there was five of us (Three adults and two children). I am told that Carnival is the only cruise line that will allow five in a room. They will place you in a quad cabin and roll in a cot. Because my youngest was only two at the time, we opted to not have the cot brought into our room and he just shared a bed with me. We had no problems whatsoever. I enjoyed cruising with my children. My son enjoyed playing in camp carnival. My daughter, 8 at the time, did not enjoy camp carnival so much. (I think it was because of a little boy that kept teasing her, though). She spent spent most of her time with us. She enjoyed the cruise very much and is looking forward to our next cruise on the Elation in August.

[Cotton]

Hmmm. I don't know where the idea came from that Carnival doesn't allow five to a cabin - because they DO.

My XDIL recently went on a cruise on the Holiday with her four sisters - all in one cabin. Five adults in one cabin would throw me into the looney bin, but.....!:eek:

She said it was VERY crowded, especially when the rollaway bed was in there, but they managed.

[vesw01]

I read this on several different posts - that the kids could have a soda at no cost. I called my TA about it and she said that they WOULD be charged - any suggestions on how to clear this up. I read on one post where the person was charged and mentioned that she shouldn't have been and they fixed the issue. I don't want to ask for something not included.

 

We will be on the Victory

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

vesw01-From what I understand carbonated beverages are free for children ONLY in the dining room, during meals. Everywhere else they have to pay for them. You can always purchase the soda card and they get unlimited soda. I would call carnival directly, and ask their policy. This may just be 1 policy your TA is unaware of. :)

[imlulu]

My kids first cruise was on the Sensation in Feb 2003. They absolutely loved it and have chosen it over a Disney/Universal vacation. They were 4 and 10 at the time.

Fantasy class ships do accomodate 5 in a room.We had an oceanview gty.However we prefer to book a specific cabin midship.

Sodas were free for kids in dining room. The crew was excellent to the kids. They absolutely loved Camp Carnival. My oldest loved the water slide and the freedom of eating whatever he wanted when he wanted. My youngest loved room service..milk and cookies before bed.It was a great ship for a family cruise.

 

We are doing a 7 day on the Miracle in Feb. It is a surprise for the kids.

Go enjoy!

[Littlegoo75]

I am glad that you are bringing Grandpa along to help with the kids. 2 Adults with 3 kids will be easier to handle all 3 by yourself.

I am the type of person that cruises off season to avoid the hoards of kids, but if you are going to do it, Summer is the time to go because there will be a lot of other kids on board for your kids to hang out with.

As long as you have an understanding with your kids that there are rules, and they need to abide by those, and that there are many other people on the ship who are trying to relax and enjoy their vacation, you should be fine and enjoy your cruise.