Christmas cruise with kids?

[janise]

i'd love to hear from those of you who have cruised with kids (mine are 13 years old) over the holidays - i understand there is a youth programme offered at certain times of the year - have you found that it is something the kids enjoy? - do many families travel over the holidays or is it still mainly couples? - we're deciding on whether to take the Christmas cruise on the Navigator but i'd like to hear others' opinions and stories first -

[TRadle]

My TA said that the kids programs on Regent “are not the same” as the programs on the mainstream lines. She was talking about cruising with her four kids. I don’t know if that helps or not.

I do know that Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have great programs for kids. My kids love Royal Caribbean because this line really has lots to offer teenagers. We sail on RCI when we sail with the whole family.

And now we are really looking forward to our sailing on Regent! :D

[cruiseluv]

Hi janise,

 

Obviously, I don't know your 13 yr. old and what he/she enjoys. I also have a 13 yr. old , but we have never brought her on a Regent cruise. She loves cruising but I think she would be bored to tears there. Like Tradle's kids, she loves the kids club in Princess and RCI. Having said that , I don't know what the Regent Youth counselors do to keep the kids busy, but I know they don't have a dedicated kids/ youth area like the big ships do .

 

Hopefully others with first hand experience will chime in.

[NJBelle]

Our daughter is 12 and has been on 10 cruises - all on Crystal or Regent. She started when she was 5 and has loved them all. 3 of our last 4 cruises were on Regent and 2 of those were on Navigator over the New Year's holiday. She had a great time. There were 2 Junior Activities directors and there was stuff to do every day. She did some things with us, and then would choose if she wanted to go with the Kids Program. She is old enough that we were fine with her ordering room service and watching a video alone in the room if that is what she wanted to do. That is one of her favorite things to do. Sometimes she would do that - then put on formal clothes, find us in the piano bar and have a Sprite. Other times, she will do whatever the kids are doing and we would find her in the game area with the Jr Activities directors playing board games as we headed back to our room in the evening.

 

It only takes one other kid for it to be fun. On our Regent cruise this summer, there was one other kid her age (we were on a relatively obscure cruise to the north of Norway) but she, he and the 2 Jr Activities Directors would just make up a foursome of board games or she would play him in paddle tennis during the day, etc. Sometimes they would just hang out but with a ship that small, everyone knew the two of them so there was no bad behavior (it takes a village) or we would have heard about it.

 

13 is a great age and Regent is fine for that age to cruise. Lots of different ways to go - time with the family, time with the other kids or time for them to "do their own thing". Have a great time!

 

NJBelle

[cruizergal]

And it was great! There were 13 of us altogether, 6 kids ranging in age from 9 to 14, all cousins. My kids were 12 and 14 at the time, last Christmas on Navigator. There were about 30 kids on the cruise, and they all seemed to have a terrific time. Santa even visited and had gifts for each and every child, regardless of age, on the ship.

 

If you have any specific questions, I would be more than happy to answer!:)

 

Melinda

[Iamboatman]

My kids are 8 and 11 and have been on I think it is 18 cruises ranging from Royal Caribbean, to Celebrity, HAL, Cunard, etc. (you get the picture). They have been on 5 Regent cruises and have nothing but good to say. (This summer's Ambassadors of the Environment program on the Paul Gauguin is simply the best kids' program - for those up to about 15 - on the seas.)

 

Regent's program is, as other have said, smaller and not as flashy. It is not based upon Playstation or mass group activities, but the staff is so good that they have consistently made it some of the top kids' programs in my children's opinion.

 

You will find quite a number of children on holiday cruises and, as another poster said, it only takes one other child to make the cruise great for your child.

 

Also, room service and videos in the evening (either before or in lieu of the kid's program) is also a favorite of my children.

[janise]

thanks to those of you who replied! - i went on the rssc website and they have a "kids cruise free" sailing in march 2008 - so i booked in right away! - the csr assured me that on these cruises there's usually lots of children and the other passengers are expecting that - so not to worry - we booked a horizon view suite on the Mariner - any experience with these accommodations? - my kids are 12 and 13 and they'll be thrilled when they get home from school today and i tell them the news! - as this will be our first vacation on rssc i'll be checking out these boards regularly! -

 

janise

[TRadle]

Congratulations! I think the cruises with the free kids promo is sure to mean there will be lots of kids on those sailings. Is that their spring break?

[janise]

no - it's not their spring break - but it's good timing for us because hockey should be over by then! (oh, those hockey families!)

[TRadle]

Just hockey? :eek: With our kids it was football (they were marching band), basketball, Tee-ball, soccer, and softball. It never ended!

[ssclbc]

I took my daughter on a 10 day Christmas cruise on RSSC. She was 7 at the time; she loved it more than Disney, HAL etc. They do an excellent job with the kids and don't treat them like idiots. And they do an excellent job of including children when appropriate or offering them an alternative so the other passengers can have some "adult" time.

[Dolebludger]

Well, my "kids" are now approaching middle age, so I have never cruised with a "child" on Regent or any other line. But I can discuss this subject from the standpoint of an adult who has cruised Regent with other children aboard. It has been my observation that children on Regent are just fellow guests. They are a little younger than average, but that's OK. I'm a little older than average! The children on board Regent seem to enjoy the same things the older guests do -- exploring ports, activities on excursions, trying out different foods, entertainment, lectures, and just watching the sea and lands go by. There are childrens programs on Regent, but they are meant to supplement the experience of the children -- not to remove them from the guest mix. One of the things I like about cruising as opposed to other forms of travel is that I get to meet new friends. And it matters not if the friends are 9 or 90 years old. I don't know if I'm alone in this observation, but to me on Regent cruises, everybody seems to lose the factor of their age, and simply assume the role of fellow guest.

 

I do know this. When I was a child, if I had been able to cruise the PG, there would have been no need of a "childrens program" as the whole experience would have been much better than any artificial "childrens program" anybody could have created. But, oh yes, there would have been one problem. It would have taken an army to have dragged me off the ship at disembarkation!

[janise]

Dolebludger - thank you so much for your kind words - you sound like a lovely person and one i would love to meet onboard some day -

 

my kids are very excited about their upcoming holiday - heck, i'm excited too! - march seems a long way off right now! - is anyone else sailing the Mariner on March 24 with their family?

[MamaQuack]

I have posted many times before in praise of the Regent youth programs. Our son made his first Regent cruise on the PG when he was 7 and there were no youth coordinators. The experience alone made him feel like he was in heaven. Since then he has taken many cruises with us. We has also cruised HAL, Celebrity and Disney and he, now at 16, will be the first to say Regent is this best. The youth groups are small, age appropriate, interesting and challenging. The kids are not shuttled off to play video games but instead treated to activities that both challenge and entertain them. We have never travelled at Christmas but totally enjoyed our Thanksgiving cruise as well as the Spring Break and Alaska cruises. We are currently scheduled for 10 days in the Med June 08 and can't wait.