Children question on Regent?

[lakecomolover]

My first post. :)

 

I'm planning a cruise to the Meditteranean in 2 years and have been narrowing down choices to which line we're going on. I've been researching the Regent line and it appears to be what we're looking for in terms of size of ship, amenities, and cruise itinerary.

 

Now the question. The website shows beautiful staterooms, wonderful entertainment and fabulous food, but no where are children to be seen in any of the photos. Is this not a child friendly line?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jim B]

Regent really is not prepared for children on MOST cruises.

They do have special "kid friendly" cruises where they bring on board people who will have activities for them.

Other than the pool there probably is not much for kids to do.

[Iamboatman]

During specific periods (holidays and summers) Regent has an excellent children's program in the Med and you will find quite a few children aboard. You need to look for a Club Mariner program logo. During these cruises Regent does an excellent job with children and children enjoy the experience.

 

However, where there is no Club Mariner program in the Med, there will likely be very few children (if any) and no program for their entertainment. (These will probably be non-summer cruises).

 

How old are your children and when where you thinking of going?

[lakecomolover]

Thanks for the response. My children will be 9 when we travel and it will be a July/August trip.

 

I'm open to other cruise lines, but Regent is in line with the amenities we are looking for (ie. a smaller ship with more luxurious cabins). I really prefer not to travel on a ship with more than 2000 passengers. We've been on Princess, RCCL, and Celebrity and while they are all nice in their own way, we wanted to try something different.

 

I also like the itinerary where there isn't long periods at sea. Every day has a stop. I suppose I should look around and compare other lines, I just love the feel of the Regent. From all the reviews here it appears you definately get what you pay for.

[JoAnne B]

I've done the med in August with children onboard when the kids program is in place and they really do a great job. One night they closed Portofino's and let the kids have private dining. Another night they had a pizza party. It allowed the parents to have some adult dinners.

 

I've been on megaships where the children were very disruptive, but that has never been my experience on Regent. Actually, you're hardly aware they are on board. And in general, they are very well behaved.

 

One thing to consider, in August most of Europe is in the med for summer vacation. It will be very crowded everywhere you go. It can be a real disappointment to go on tour and deal with massive crowds. If there is any way to avoid August, I'd recommend booking in another month.

 

JoAnne B

Houston

[lakecomolover]

I've done the med in August with children onboard when the kids program is in place and they really do a great job. One night they closed Portofino's and let the kids have private dining. Another night they had a pizza party. It allowed the parents to have some adult dinners.

 

I've been on megaships where the children were very disruptive, but that has never been my experience on Regent. Actually, you're hardly aware they are on board. And in general, they are very well behaved.

 

One thing to consider, in August most of Europe is in the med for summer vacation. It will be very crowded everywhere you go. It can be a real disappointment to go on tour and deal with massive crowds. If there is any way to avoid August, I'd recommend booking in another month.

 

JoAnne B

Houston

 

Thank you,

 

I was just on the phone with a friend who said the same thing. She suggested April, but I would have to pull my children out of school for at least a week. We're still debating it at this point. I hope to include a trip on the front end of the cruise to Positano and Lake Como at the end. It's easily a 2 week vacation with travel time. My husband thought I was a little nuts planning something 2.5 years from now but it definately is necessary, since we've never done anything like this. It's really exciting though.

[goldenrod]

There is another thing to consider, I believe you would have to have two staterooms, I do not think Regent allows 4 people in one room.

[Iamboatman]

I have traveled with my children throughout Europe in August in various years. They best thing to do is to hire good knowledgeable guides for the big ports (like Rome) and to go off on your own in the smaller ones...if you are OK with traveling independently. Ship's tours in most instances are not the way to go with 9-10 year olds (though in certain ports, like Romania, Ukraine, etc. it is the only way to go).

 

Remember if you take the kids out of school in April, there will be no children's program and, I believe, your cruise will overall be less satisfactory than if they have their space and times (ergo, you will also have yours!). The more crowded towns may not be a bad compromise!

 

Also, the amount of school your kids will miss will be significant and that will also put a damper on your pre- and post- cruise focus. Just something to think about...noting the crowds are not horrid, just not a perfect scenario.

[RachelG]

My sons were 16 and 12 on our first Regent (then Radisson) cruise. They had a great time. We got 2 rooms next to each other. They had one and we had the other (you have to book it as 1 adult and 1 child to each room, but Regent doesn't care where you sleep). This was during the summer, so the kids program was going on, and they really liked the activities. We did not do any of the excursions offered by the ship. Did our own thing in most ports and hired a private guide in one.

Last year, the younger son (16 at the time) did 2 Regent cruises with us. We did do some of the ship's offered excursions this time which were fine, and he still had a good time at the kid's program teen offerings.

There were several kids who I think were in the 9-10 yr old age group. All were well-behaved and appeared to be having a good time.

[Leejnd4]

Lakecomolover: I would agree with Boatman not to let the crowds completely dissuade you from the August cruise. Yes it can make it less than optimal, but there are pros and cons to everything.

 

I'd be curious to see your itinerary. Regent ships often stop in some less-overrun ports than the mega-ships, where crowds won't be as much of an issue. Also, you mentioned your cruise was July/August - how much of it is in August? If a lot of it is in July, then you should be fine.

 

I've been in the Med at all different times of the year, including a 3-week trip with my children, who were 11 & 12 at the time, that spanned July/August. We might be able to give you some suggestions to get away from the crowds at certain port stops.

 

Post your itinerary and see what the very knowledgeable people in here can help you with.

 

This, however, is predicated on you cruise being one that offers the Club Mariner program. I agree with other posters that Regent is not generally known for being a child-friendly cruise line - unless it offers that. If it doesn't, then you may want to reconsider. It's possible you'd find other children on the ship, but there would not be many, and unless your kids are very self-sufficient I fear they'd be bored (and you'd get no respite for some adult time).

[lakecomolover]

There is another thing to consider, I believe you would have to have two staterooms, I do not think Regent allows 4 people in one room.

 

I did not realize that. I just spoke to my mom and she said she would recommend a different line for us with young children. I'm going to take a look at alternates, as we really want to be in the same cabin. I just can't visualize us separating on vacation during the evening.