Help! first time cruising with kids

[kindacrazytwo]

Hi all. We are cruising to Hawaii on Serenade of the Seas on September 26 with our 2 daughters ages 4 and 7. I was wondering if any of you more experienced cruisers could give us some tips or advice about doing this. We live in the Vancouver area so won't be traveling from out of town to the port. I haven't cruised since '89 so I'm sure things have changed. Any help is much appreciated!

 

Sarah

[D4]

Your post brings back memories. My girls were 3 and 6 when we took our first cruise. This summer we went on our 10th and they're now 16 and 19.

 

My kids always chose to be with us rather than do the kids' activities on the ships. They've always gone on all our excursions - including 8 hour ones when the youngest was 3 and again when she was 4. My motto was travel early and often. They've always been great travelers. They're also used to land vacations such as a couple weeks in Alaska and we've did Spring Break at Disney at least 10 times.

 

What specific kind of advice are you looking for?

[kindacrazytwo]

thanks for replying. I guess I am just looking for some ideas on what to expect for the kids. They have never been away from us, even for 1 night so I am not expecting to spend much time in the kid's programs and that is fine with me but I am hoping for an hour or two with my husband at some point! :) I assume there are children's menus at restarants and there are "kid friendly" areas of the ship. Or at least I hope so! Because we are traveling during school times, will there be many other children on board or will our be the some of the only ones? I am glad to hear that you took your children on shore excursions, we were worried that the little ones wouldn't be welcomed on them. thanks

 

Sarah

[jmurph]

Sarah,

We have been cruising with our kids...now ages 17, 15, 8 and 6 for the past 3 years, at least twice a year.

You will be delighted to know that there is a kids menu...complete with crayons for the kids in the dining room. Unlike the adult menu, it is the same every night, so since my son likes grilled cheese, he got grilled cheese. My 8 year old often gets the soup or one of the appetizers off of the adult menu.

They also like chocolate milk and after the first night, the asst waiter usually has it ready for them. Also nice is to get a small plate of celery and carrots and ranch dip. Other than that it is typical "kid's menu" stuff...fish sticks, hamburgers, hot dogs, spaghetti...etc.

People cruise at all times of the year, so you will have some kids on your cruise. You might be at an advantage, because there won't be too many because of school.

It might be nice if you could introduce them to Adventure Ocean though, you don't have to use it all the time, but sometimes it is nice, just to have a few hours to yourself. When my son was younger, he would give us a hard time about going....this lasted about 10 minutes, then he didn't want to leave.

We have always taken our kids on the excursions with us. The rule is, if we all can't do it, then no one can. Some excursions have age restrictions, and so we pick something else.

 

Jean

[superdave57]

Sarah,

 

I have been cruising with my two kids ( now 11 & 6) for several years. My son was 4 the first time we cruised with them and both loved the adventure ocean club. The truth is my son never wanted to leave the kids club due to the number of activities, shows, costumes, and the games that the well trained cruise members provided. I would suggest letting your kids try it for a day. The hardest part is getting them to go the first time. Once they have done this and you the parent get past first day departure jitters, I am sure that they will love the activities and fun. We found a balance between keeping them with us and letting them stay with the adventure club. Some suggestions, the cruise is suppose to be about relaxation for the whole family. Even if you do not use the adventure ocean program, they have several nights that they offer after hours care. The cost is about $5/hr if I recall, it ended around 11:00pm so take the opportunity for you and your husband to stay out a night. If you are taking excursions that will require long walking or strenuous exercise, I would advise leaving the kids aboard at the club. Fact is, they tire easy and will want to go back to the ship within a couple of hours. With the cost of some of these excursions, this may be something to think about. My kids usually ate dinner with us in the main dining room. They got personal care from the waiters and they loved it. One thing I want you to remember and you need to find out what night it is. One night at dinner, the kids in the adventure club ( kids program) dress up as pirates and visit everyone at main dining. They all have pirate costumes and patches, makeup, etc. If your kid misses this, I promise you they will be upset like you wouldn't believe. Enjoy your cruise to Hawaii. I met my wife on a cruise, married her, and we have two beautiful kids. We had our honeymoon in Hawaii and hope to someday go back. Let me know how it goes...

[fajitapita]

We took DD on her first cruise in January (then 3 1/2). She loved Adventure Ocean and would have spent her entire time there if we had let her! We did the eastern caribbean route, so we did our own excursions- spent most of the time at the beach. As far as the dinner menu goes, my DD actually ate from the adult menu almost every night. She actually tried one of DH's escargot, liked it, so the waitress brought her her own appetizer of escargot! She loves telling everyone she ate snails on the cruise... she also tried lobster, shrimp cocktail, and filet mignon. I think she only ordered off the kids menu one night- mac and cheese. The first night the waitress found out she liked the fruit cocktail appetizer, so she brought one to her every night as soon as we sat down, complete with strawberries cut into crowns.

 

My DH and I were just on the Serenade a couple of weeks ago. Your kids will love the kids' pool and water slide. The covered pool in the solarium will probably be open to families for a couple of hours each day, too. (Usually it's adults only). If your family likes to play games, the Safari Club Lounge has games available, too.

 

The Adventure Ocean program also offers Late Night Party Zone, where for $5 per hour per kid, you can drop the kids off from 10-1. DH and I did this once in January so we could go see the adult comedian.

 

Enjoy your cruise. You will love the ship!!!

[kindacrazytwo]

Thanks all. I feel a bit more prepared about what to expect. You guys are wonderful! :)

 

Sarah

[Jacquelyn11]

We have done 4 cruises with my 2 boys, the first when they were 5 & 7. If your kids tend to be outgoing and feel comfortable doing activities with the group, they will love it. I had to PRY my 7yo out of the kids club on our first DCL cruise. The younger one was not as thrilled with it, but most all ships supply you with a pager of some sort so if your child is not happy they can contact you.

 

The first day you board the kids clubs are usually open for you to visit. Get the "Compasses" for their age group and review them. Also talk to the counsulors assigned to their age group.

 

Agree with the dining room attention. Most little girls LOVE to dress up and be waited on to feel special. BUT the kids club also will take them to dinner for you and allow you and your DH some "quiet time" for your own special dinner. The daytime activities in the kids club will allow you some "quite time" to be together too! ;) ;)

 

Have lots of "fun" on your cruise! :)

 

Jacquelyn :D

[Orion1325]

Our two boys (now 10 and 5) have been on 4 cruises with Royal Caribbean, the first one when they were 8 1/2 and 3 1/2. They've always had a great time in the kids' club. The first couple of cruises, our youngest would say he didn't want to go, but would end up having a great time. (We'd peek in every so often, and he was always smiling and participating in whatever activity was going on.)

 

On our last cruise to Alaska in July, he couldn't wait to get to the kids' club. The first words out of his mouth every morning were, "Is the kids' club open yet?" (Just so you know... most days it's open from 9 to noon, 2 to 5, and 7 to 10. As someone else posted, they also offer the late night "party zone" from 10 to 1am for $5 per hour, per child.) Our older son also had a good time meeting new friends and participating in the activities.

 

On days the ships are in port, the kids' club is usually open all day to accommodate parents who want to go on shore excursions without their kids. We've never done this -- we've always taken ours along and have tried to pick excursions that we would all enjoy.

 

Also as someone else said, make sure they participate in Pirate Night. They'll have a great time "taking over the ship"!

 

And last but not least, 2 or 3 times during the cruise, they have family activities (usually at 5 pm). We participated in the family scavenger hunt, family bingo, and another "game show" type activity. The kids really liked having us come to "their" club and participate!

 

You'll have a great time, and your kids will too! Enjoy!

(My two were jumping up and down last week when I told them I had just booked our next cruise for spring break!)