Caribbean cruise?

[NORMAN8]

Just came back from 3/31 Oosterdam with wife and 3 & 7 year old daughters. We all had a good time but I notice that compared with my experience with Celebrity and Disney, there were less activities to do. We never got bored with Disney which unfortunately was too crowded with too many kids so my wife wanted a "quieter" ship.

In the Oosterdam near last few days of cruise, I started to notice pack of teenagers up to no good like pressing all the buttons on elevator and in the dining Lido, throwing sugar packets and pouring sugar on the table. I think the teenagers were bored with few activities for them to do. I felt uncomfortable and was glad the cruise was coming to end.

My wife would like to go to Alaska cruise but I don't think the kids will appreciate the scenery. I have never been to Caribbean cruise and I'm considering either Orlando or Tampa departure port (of course, visiting Disney World along the way). Does anyone recommend a ship (besides Disney Cruise) in which you had a memorable time for the entire family.

[loveallcruises]

We went out of Orlando on the Norwegian Dawn. Disney was also a stop for us. We had our nine year old grandson with us. He just loved the kids club. In fact he didn't want to leave at night.

 

They had many activiites. They had a slumber party where they all dressed in their pajamas, they had trick or treat (Halloween cruise). They did some crafts.

 

The counsellors were very attentive to the children and I can say nothing bad about our experience.

 

Eileen

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry to read that you experienced so many rude children on your cruise.

[mamaofami]

Seems the teens are up to no good on more than just the Noordam. having never used club HAL, maybe it's true that the other lines have better activities for the younger kids. However, in MHO, it takes a lot to keep teens amused all day.:confused:

[grannynurse]

Hi Norman8,

I think many people would avoid sailing during spring break season, even on HAL ships. Cruises longer than 7 days usually do not have so many teens except over Christmas break.

I really think time of year makes a difference.

We did have 60 children on board our 35 transatlantic from NY but all were very well behaved and caused no trouble at all.

 

HAL does not have any ships in the Caribbean from May to late September.

All HAL ships are in Alaska, Europe, or doing the New England/ Canada run.

 

I can't think of any line that has as much for children as Disney but you mention the crowds. Most of the bigger ships are quite crowded. HAL has a passenger to space ratio that makes their ships feel very uncrowded.

 

As for Alaska, what about whale watching and other wild life tours? There are so many things to do in Alaska and 7 day trips have very little down time, especially those sailing RT from Vancouver, I think there's more for your kids to do in Alaska than in the Caribbean. I don't even like the Caribbean....

3 and 7 year olds may not appreciate cruising but only you know what yours enjoy.

Good luck with your decision.

GN

[jtl513]

I have never been to Caribbean cruise and I'm considering either Orlando or Tampa departure port (of course, visiting Disney World along the way). Does anyone recommend a ship (besides Disney Cruise) in which you had a memorable time for the entire family.

Orlando isn't a port, of course - I assume you mean Port Canaveral. In FL HAL only sails from Tampa or Fort Lauderdale.

 

For 2007/2008 the Noordam, Westerdam, and Zuiderdam are all doing Caribbean cruises, and are all very similar to the Oosterdam which you have been on. I don't think any one is particularly "better" than the others for families.

[hammybee]

Teens tend to AVOID structured activites on all cruises on all cruise lines and lean towards self entertainment. Some of this entertainment includes being goofs. Pressing buttons in an elevator or spilling sugar on a table are some of the goofy things they do.

 

They also tend to roam and congregate in packs and their physical presence and obliviosness to others can, on occasion, intimidate or offend some pax.

 

I sail most mass marketed cruise lines during the peak Summer holidays and stuff like this does not even register with me. This is normal behavior. Kids did similar things when I was in high school and that was a million years ago.

 

Teens are children. Most operate with a herd mentality. To expect them all to behave like little adults is not realistic.

 

What you saw is not the same thing as some of the issues children created on a few sailings, on all cruise lines, including X. So much depends on the group dynamics of any cruise and the number of sea days and weather.

[hammybee]

Hi Norman8,

 

 

I can't think of any line that has as much for children as Disney but you mention the crowds.

 

As for Alaska, what about whale watching and other wild life tours? There are so many things to do in Alaska and 7 day trips have very little down time, especially those sailing RT from Vancouver, I think there's more for your kids to do in Alaska than in the Caribbean. 3 and 7 year olds may not appreciate cruising but only you know what yours enjoy.

Good luck with your decision.GN

 

Parent of teens are unlikely to book Disney for the obvious reasons.

 

Especially in the Caribbean, I suspect most teens are not even aware of the names of the previous or next port. I mean, what does it have to do with them?

 

They board a ship and for 7 days they get to pretend to be someone else and those so inclined compete for the alpha dog position. That most teens, on most ships, can be teens and not disrupt a cruise demonstrates that there is hope that one day, they will emerge from this period and tsk-tsk the next generation. :)

[mamaofami]

Teens tend to AVOID structured activites on all cruises on all cruise lines and lean towards self entertainment. Some of this entertainment includes being goofs. Pressing buttons in an elevator or spilling sugar on a table are some of the goofy things they do.

 

They also tend to roam and congregate in packs and their physical presence and obliviosness to others can, on occasion, intimidate or offend some pax.

 

I sail most mass marketed cruise lines during the peak Summer holidays and stuff like this does not even register with me. This is normal behavior. Kids did similar things when I was in high school and that was a million years ago.

 

Teens are children. Most operate with a herd mentality. To expect them all to behave like little adults is not realistic.

 

What you saw is not the same thing as some of the issues children created on a few sailings, on all cruise lines, including X. So much depends on the group dynamics of any cruise and the number of sea days and weather.

 

 

When a group of teens gets together, they do operate with herd mentality. That makes them do things they would never consider doing at home if alone, or just with one or two others. In past years, there have been reports of resorts that were trashed by these teens during spring break. They are a froce to be reckoned with!

[madelinerose]

NORMAN, I haven't been on this ship and we do not cruise with children, but my vote would be for Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. Here's a review:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=274

 

Here are some links regarding the Mariner and the Kids' Club:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=531978&highlight=Mariner

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=538506&highlight=Mariner

 

Good luck. ;)

 

 

Does anyone recommend a ship (besides Disney Cruise) for the entire family.

[NORMAN8]

Thank you for your suggestions. I never been to Alaska or Caribbean and I thought Caribbean would be more interesting for the kids (3 & 7 yrs) especially stopping by at Disney World along the way When we were at the Mexican ports and after an hour exploring the town, the kids wanted to go back to the cruise ship. I loved visiting the Mexican towns with its slower paced lifestyle. But my two daughters like the swimming pool, Club HAL, just being taken cared of in the ship. I don't blame them (no laundry, no dishes, live entertainment at night, no driving kids to school,...). And EVERYONE (passengers and crew members) in the 3 cruises we've been on have been wonderful except for those restless teens. I'm looking at the vacation schedules for the kids and they get off June 7 to August 26. This period is peak season with cruise prices higher than normal. Also, I think this is hurricane season so it may not be good time to go to Florida (yeah, they said the ships can circumvent the hurricanes but I don't want stress of worrying about flight cancelation or rough seas). And the weather during that time is humid and hot and raining. I'm from California and I get spoil with the Mediterranean climate. Humm, seems like an Alaskan cruise may be a good idea during that time.