Some guidance on choosing a cruise line with 4&7 year olds

[dwink]

Hello everyone!

 

I have really appreciated all of the great reviews and information available @ cruise critic and am hoping for some help again. We have decided to take the family on a cruise in January 09. I have looked around at a few lines and have been comparing the following; (All with balconies)

 

Celebrity Solstice ($3600)

RCI Fredom/Liberty ($3800)

Carnival Splendor ($2900)

 

I have also looked at Disney but ruled them out due to (what I felt was) excessive pricing. More than $1000 more than Celebrity!!

 

We have cruised before, most recently on the Carnival Legend (2005). We had the kids and were very suprised with the quality of the trip and the quality of the service after listening to the Carnival stigma from friends/posters.

 

We cruised on RCCL Navigator w/ no kids in 2001, had a good time but really did not enjoy the ship. I found the layout confusing and the service less than overwhelming.

 

 

The girls are really easygoing and will enjoy any trip, I like the idea of elevated service with Celebrity, but don't want the kids to suffer. Also, the pricing of the Carnival is hard to ignore (it is not all about price, but that is a lot less)

 

I am afraid that an even larger RCCL ship may be overwhelming, however the activities and kid zone are fantastic.

 

I would also consider other ships/lines if anyone has any wisdom to share.

 

We tend to prefer the western caribbean, however the stops are not critical, we don't participate in many excursions, normally hang at the beach or do a tour.

 

Any advice is welcome!:D

[FunCruiser56]

We sailed on the Liberty in October and had a wonderful cruise. RCI has a very good kids programs and all the other activities on this ship kept our family very happy. The ages of your kids they would just love the H20 zone, the mini golf, the ice skating.

We found service to be very good and the crew went out of their way to make everything very special for our son, especially in the dining room.

 

Yes the ship is BIG but we found it easy to get around, found the ease of getting a snack anytime we wanted to be a plus.

 

We like to cruise when school is in session, usually October and there were not 100's of kids on the ship so the ones that were had a grand time, as did their parents.

 

Bev

[cb at sea]

The Voyager and Freedom class ships are large, but not THAT large! You will not feel overwhelmed! The kids will love it, and so will you! (once you get out in the ocean, you'll realize just how small a big ship can be!!!)

[marcopaulo]

We've travelled on Celebrity, Carnival and NCL with our children. I think it really depends on what the boat has to offer and what your children enjoy doing. I have 2 boys age 10 and 7, but have been cruising with them yearly since the oldest was 2.

 

My children love the water and water slides. We went on a boat with no slide before (NCL Sun) and they were upset by that. They loved NCL Pearl, it had a slide plus fresh water in the pools.

 

Since kids love ice cream, my kids loved the self-serve ice cream on Carnival. They didn't like waiting in a long line for a scoop on NCL.

 

What they didn't like about Carnival is having to sign out ping pong paddles and a ball to play. People sign them out and don't return them when they are done playing.

 

We have never used a kids program so I can't comment on that.

 

We travelled on Celebrity Zenith 2 times with them and the service was exceptional when it came to the kids.

 

Good luck in making your decision, as you said the kids will love it no matter what.

[GORDONCHICK]

Freedom & Liberty are the largest, and have all the bells and whistles for kids and active adults. Carnival has great water slides and soft serve ice cream or yogurt almost 24hrs a day. Solstice will be the largest of the Celebrity fleet. Celebrity is known for better food and service usually. All have great kids' programs. Have you compared itineraries? Pick the itinerary that interests the adults the most, because all of those ships are great for children!

[Lsimon]

I think everyone will have a great time on any of the ships. We sail mostly Celebrity as we really like the service, food and surroundings. While the kids will have a great time on Celebrity I think they would find a larger variety of family/kid facilities on the other ships. Things like miniature golf, water slides, and other kid water play facilities - all things that are not on Celebrity's current ships (don't know if anything like that is planned for Solstice but I doubt it). They'll also find more kids at the kids club on the RCL and Carnival ships.

 

Our own choices: We now travel without our kids. If we ever cruise again with kids (maybe our grandson or future grand kids to come?) we'd lean towards RCL, or even Carnival - especially if we were more interested in the kids having a good time.

[earlyam]

Hi I know that you have not considered Disney because of the price, but I would reconsider. We went on the Disney Wonder and it was fantastic. So many activities for the kids and a separate pool area. The areas for them are open non stop, they will even take them to dinner if you wish. My daughter insisted on staying there with her new friends. My husband and I had lots of adult time. There were over 600 kids on our cruise and we had no idea until the last night when the did a "show" for us in the theater. Additionally, we found the ship exceptionally well laid out and the staff just great. The added incentive was having so many Disney characters on board, you get one on one time that you rarely get at the parks. They have three separate dining restaurants that you change through, offering totally different themes and your wait staff moves with you. The shows on the ship are truly Broadway type productions, which cost usually $100 per ticket. I could go on and on. I thought twice about it because of the price too. We were so happy that we did it, was the best time ever. ps my 14 and 17 year olds loved it too, had a separate area for teens too! No parents allowed after first night. ps - the rooms are slightly larger than on most cruises also AND TWO bathrooms in a regular room!