jmw2323 Posted September 27, 2007 #1 Share Posted September 27, 2007 We are doing a Pres. week caribbean cruise. Looking for great kids activities(facility), good-great food, pretty much everything else is secondary. choices: Carib princess grand pincess carnival victory norwegian pearl norwegian dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted September 27, 2007 #2 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Can I choose "none of the above" ;) My kid's favorite ships are RCCL ships...Freedom Class (Freedom of the Seas/Liberty of the Seas). RCCL Voyager class are also great ships for kids. The Freedom class has the water park, the Voyager Class does not. And your kids are 3 and 5 so they will be old enough for Adventure Ocean. I have all of the cruiseline kid club schedules posted in a link under my signature. You can see the different kid activities for Carnival, RCCL, NCL and Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmw2323 Posted September 27, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted September 27, 2007 forgot one minor detail. I travel with wine and AFAIK, RCCL is the only mass cruise line that does not allow BYOB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted September 27, 2007 #4 Share Posted September 27, 2007 forgot one minor detail. I travel with wine and AFAIK, RCCL is the only mass cruise line that does not allow BYOB. Yep but they are limiting it and charging a corkage fee now. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of the new policy. :) Guests are prohibited from bringing alcohol on Carnival’s vessels for on board consumption. However, at the beginning of the cruise, during embarkation day only, Guests 21 years and older may bring one bottle of wine or champagne per person on board. A $10 corkage fee per bottle will be charged should guests wish to consume this wine/champagne in the dining room, or a $14 corkage fee per bottle if consumed in the Supper Club. All alcohol, additional quantities of wine/champagne and excessive non-alcoholic beverages will be confiscated and discarded without compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmw2323 Posted September 27, 2007 Author #5 Share Posted September 27, 2007 not basing my decision solely on wine policies. At this time, RCCL seems to be 20-40% more expensive than the others. Surely someone has had experience with the above mentioned ships Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunniLicious Posted September 27, 2007 #6 Share Posted September 27, 2007 If it's great kids' facilities you're after, then IMO Norwegian Spirit is missing from your list. The Dawn has a smaller but more than adequate kids' club, and does have a separate kids' cafe with kid-size buffet stations and tables that serves typical kid food. Haven't travelled yet on any of the ships you did list, so I'm afraid I'm not very useful. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1TravelMom Posted September 29, 2007 #7 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Caribbean Princess gets my vote. We were on a sailing a few months ago. My 3 year old LOVED the kids club. She had so much fun, swimming in the kids pool, making crafts, singing, dancing, playing games - the staff was very attentive and kind. They really tried to make sure ALL the children joined the activities and had fun. IMHO the 2 things that we like about Princess - fresh water pools and anytime dining. My 3 year might be tired and grouchy at 7 one evening and perfectly happy at 7 the next evening. Dining flexibility keeps everyone sane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy toes Posted October 1, 2007 #8 Share Posted October 1, 2007 When I am booking for my entire family and looking for cost, Princess drops from my list. CCL and RCCL remain. NCL does not offer enough for the tweens and teens in our group to keep everyone happy. Also, the freestyle dining is not something we seem to enjoy. IF you don't want to dine formal, all the ships offer relaxed venues. And the kids camps usually offer a dining option for the children. Everyone will offer their own opinion and this is just mine. CCL has recently upped their costs and are about the same as RCCl now. Check for the discounts for 3rd/4th in cabin. Sometimes you can find $99 specials (they make it really easy fro me to decide). From all I read, Michele above, has really done a lot of sailings with small children and really seems to know what she is talking about. I trust her advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmw2323 Posted October 1, 2007 Author #9 Share Posted October 1, 2007 thanks everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately I don't think there are any specials during pres. week for 3rd and 4th guests. Right now it is cheaper to book an additional cabin(inside) then it is to add the kids to one room. Will probabl get a mini sute so we all can sleep in the same place. Will just store some things in the inside room. The per day costs for each ship mentioned were all within a couple $100 of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fogfog Posted October 1, 2007 #10 Share Posted October 1, 2007 We are doing a Pres. week caribbean cruise. Looking for great kids activities(facility), good-great food, pretty much everything else is secondary. choices: Carib princess grand pincess carnival victory norwegian pearl norwegian dawn When our boys were these ages--we did a Disney cruise and it was a huge hit...we could be at the adult pool and they were so happy in the club-- and often then we'd get them for pool and slide time etc....And the rotating resturants etc were fun...It was a fabulous first cruise experience. Our next cruise we did Carnival's Miracle--which also has a slide...and the boys were a little older and could sign themselevs in and out of camp... I would look for slides and water park things--as well a great kids camp stuff as priorities...for the ages of your dear children Just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmw2323 Posted October 1, 2007 Author #11 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Definitely will be doing a Disney Cruise in the future. Little out of my price range right now, especially during pres. week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nybumpkin Posted October 2, 2007 #12 Share Posted October 2, 2007 We've sailed Carnival Victory 3 times with a 4th booked for next summer. Our sons were 4, 8 and 13 the first time we sailed, and we were very pleased with the Camp Carnival programs for the 2-5 group (which is the group your kids would be placed in). Victory also has a mini golf course that the kids might enjoy; there is a height requirement for the waterslide, so I'm not sure whether your kids would be able to use it. As for food, I've always enjoyed the dining room food, there's a very good deli on the Lido deck, and the grill (burgers/fries/steak sandwiches) was good. There's a kids' menu in the dining room, but if your kids like "grown-up" food they're welcome to try the regular menu. Our waiter on Victory in August brought our youngest son a lobster tail on formal night when he saw son trying my lobster! If you want a dinner without kids for a night, Camp Carnival offers dinner on the Lido deck most nights. My kids usually go with Camp Carnival once or twice during a cruise, but they like the dining room a lot. BTW, we're sailing President's Week too, on Carnival Valor (we'll be docked next to Victory in Miami). Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmw2323 Posted October 2, 2007 Author #13 Share Posted October 2, 2007 thanks Kathy. where upstate are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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