Kids

[Mom_of_Twins]

Can anyone recommend a ship or line where we could take our 1 year old twins. We will probably give the nanny the week off but will need evening babysitters etc. Thoughts>

[kitty9]

The luxury lines are not at all child friendly, so this might not be the best forum to post a question like yours. You will need a cruise line that is child friendly and provides in cabin sitting, and right now that's only RCCI and Celebrity, two mass market lines. Other lines have group sitting after 10pm in their kid's club, but only those two lines provide in cabin sitting. Also, no daytime activities for 1 year olds on any line. Most have age requirement of 2 or 3, and many have a no diaper policy.

[Mom_of_Twins]

Darcie - thanks for the response. My husband and I are Silversea veterans and there were at least 3 kids on one of our recent cruises. I had hoped that there might be amenities that we didn't know about previously not being in the kid business back then.

[fpat]

Queen Mary 2 If you have a baby, this is a great way to get away and be romantic; a baby as young as 12 months can go to the Nursery during the day and will be changed and bottle-fed; just be sure to bring your own diapers, ointments, lotions and wipes.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=389

[martinsfo]

Crystal has excellent, and very reasonably priced, in room baby sitting.

[lexxity]

Second vote here for the QM2. Follow this link to my review when we took our 13month old.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=456437

[Travelcat2]

It will be a good experience to have your twins on a cruise. Hopefully you will find the right cruise and ship so all of you will have a great time. Just a couple of points from a parent who has "been there - done that" in terms of raising children. . . we really enjoy cruising with mostly adults (as do many parents who are fortunate enough to get a few days away on their own kids). Children are expected and welcomed most places during summer breaks school breaks and holidays.

 

Although this leaves relatively little time for the adult travels many of us really try to be respectful of parents time with their children when school is out (even though babies and toddlers, such as your twins, are not school age, this still applies). For those of us hoping for quiet, romantic vacations -- children playing loudly and/or kicking back of airplane seats, etc. is extremely frustrating when it occurs when school is in. Just something to consider.

[Guest maler]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the above poster.

YOU may love to travel with your children, many others will not share your enthusiasm no matter how well behaved you think they are.

 

I prefer to cruise the luxury lines during the school year just simply to avoid as many children as possible. Smaller ships tend to increase the level of intimacy between passengers and any disruptive behavior (including adults) can spoil the ambiance.

 

If you take your kids with you, be mindful of those around you that choose not to travel with their kids or those like me who do not to have kids in the first place.

I have actually had parents try to coax a 'how cute' out of me when their child continually ran around the dinner table.

 

A Disney cruise will be perfect for you and your children. And if you want or prefer top notch service, stay in a top notch suite.

 

I don't mean to be rude but no one loves your kids as much as you do.

[juicyjuju]

Lexxity,

I really enjoyed reading your review. The hubbie and I are veterans of Seabourn, Regent, Crystal and Silversea. Now I'm unexpectedley 8 1/2 months pregnant! I was wondering if cruising was over for the next 18 years but you have convinced me otherwise.

The program for babies sounds good. I assume you can't take a baby onto Cunard until age 1? Also, for the nanny services, is it hourly, or a flat fee for the whole cruise?

[kitty9]

It is age one on Cunard and the nanny services are per hour, per child.

[martodd]

We are regular Celebrity cruisers and our children love sailing on them. But I must say we had a wonderful Panama Canal cruise on Regent(Raddisson at the time) with them, the youngest was 6 months at the time. It was over Christmas so they had impromptu children activities for the older ones. They got a tour of the bridge, and the galley and were even taken into the galley to make gingerbread cookies that were given to all the families. Santa paid a visit to the ship and had a gift for each child by name. They had a talent show and I will forever remember my daughter that was 3 at the time singing God Bless America. And how proud my 7 year old at the time was when she did a karate routine and an older couple we met came to see her perform a karate routine(they ran a karate school). I have to say they are wonderful, respectful travelers and we would never want to take away from anyone's enjoyment of their vacation, we would not bring them if they did. But we were so happy with how they accommodated our children on that holiday sailing.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Kids and luxury cruising can mix just fine but you do need to pick carefully. For instance, for older kids, Regent Seven Seas, which has its Mariner in Alaska and Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia, does "bulk up" during holiday seasons, adding counselors and genuinely interesting activiities (we've commissioned a story on Mariner's Alaska-based eco-oriented kids program and will launch it in August sometime).

 

Crystal is another reliable choice during school holiday seasons; while facilities are smaller than those on mass market ships, they're adequate and the fact that multi-generations choose this line (grandparents, parents, kids) means that you won't be the only family onboard. Again, try to aim for school holiday seasons.

 

I agree with previous posters that you do need to be careful about kid-friendly environments (though you don't necessarily need to be limited to mass market and/or Disney ships). I think Queen Mary 2 is an outstanding choice for really young kids; book a cabin in Queen's Grill (or Princess Grill) and take advantage of the nanny services offered....

 

What I would avoid is mainstream lines like Seabourn, even Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, etc. during times outside of school holidays. Summers are a good time to travel with kids, winter hols also fine. That's my experience, anyway....

 

 

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

 

Lexxity,

I really enjoyed reading your review. The hubbie and I are veterans of Seabourn, Regent, Crystal and Silversea. Now I'm unexpectedley 8 1/2 months pregnant! I was wondering if cruising was over for the next 18 years but you have convinced me otherwise.

The program for babies sounds good. I assume you can't take a baby onto Cunard until age 1? Also, for the nanny services, is it hourly, or a flat fee for the whole cruise?