Navigator with kids - am I crazy?

[lborne]

My wife and I have been on the PG and also the Navigator for a Med cruise sans children. And we also saw no children on either cruise. Whenever we've cruised with our two boys (5 and 10), it has been on Disney. However, our TA knows how much we love Regent and called with a special Carribean cruise on the Navigator for Dec 18 where kids cruise free and they are offering the club mariner youth program. We are getting a deluxe suite with balcony and a sofa bed - the room will sleep 4, and we are on deck 9.

 

We are not concerned about the itenerary, since my kids love to snorkel and hike mountains, etc. My main question is about the kids club and just anyone's experience on a regent cruise with young children. When we think of cruising with children, we do NOT think of Regent. But obviously, if they are offering the kids club, there may actually be a few of them on board.

 

Also, where can I go to see who else might be cruising with us?

 

Thank you

[Island Cruiser]

The Alaska trips as well as the Caribbean trips tend to draw larger numbers of kids, particularly when Regent does kids travel free promotions. We have noticed that Regent does an effective job providing special activities for the kids. They detail staffers to keep them entertained and, in general, out of sight and out of mind. So the horror stories tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Our worst kids experience happened on our first Regent cruise. We were on Voyager in the Baltics in 2003. On that trip there was an obnoxious little girl on board who seemed to go out of her way to annoy. She would board the elevator on deck 10 and hit all the buttons. When an angry passenger challenged her she replied "I can do anything I want to because my daddy's the captain." Had he known, her dad would have been mortified.

[lborne]

Thanks. I'm not worried my kids won't behave, or about other kids on the ship. I assume anyone wanting a cruise without kids would not book one where kids are free and they are offing the club program. Although, the one place my kids might be a problem for other guests is at dinner, and I am hoping they will have some activity planned at that time so we can dine without them.

 

I don't want mine to be the only ones and want to make sure they won't be bored with the kids club, considering their past cruises were with Disney. Luckily, we live near Disney and they are over the characters. But the Disney ships had almost an entire level for kids, with video games and such. I did not see much for kids to do on the Navigator, and I wonder what they do with them to keep them occupied. I think there are 3 at sea days, which is the only das we would want them to have activities.

[cruiseluv]

Hi Lborne,

 

It was a surprise to read that Navigator had cabins that would accommodate 4 persons. Is this a suite bigger than the standard suites?

 

Since you have been on Navigator , you know yourself the physical limitations of the ship. I have been on Navigator twice, on trips with no or just a couple of children. But these were not during the Holiday season.

 

I have children which were your kids age when I started cruising on Regent , and kid's club or not , I know they would have been bored silly after a couple of days. If your kids are not into video games or computers and are easily entertained and don't mind long dinners, then probably it is a good option.

 

Hopefully people that have brought children on Regent will chime in.

[MeetingMaid]

Was on the Navigator 2 years ago and my group had 160 cabins. A few guests brought their children. I remember one particular evening two couples with 3 little girls arrived at dinner. The parents were seated at one table and the 3 little girls (ages 7,5,4) were seated at the adjoining table.

 

The staff said it was the PRINCESSES TABLE and all the young ladies acted like royalty. I fell in love with RSSC and it's staff that very night. What a great way to give the parents a break and yet keep their precious cargo at arm's length away.

 

All told...we had about 11 children in our group.

 

That said......I am not a fan of tribes of children on a luxury cruise but these little ladies were well behaved.

 

Cabins ending with "7" can accomodate extra guests.

[lborne]

According to the brochure, the cabins ending in 7 can accomodate 3 guests. However, my TA made a special call to Regent and was able to secure a room that can accomodate both our children. Again, we've been on Disney and the room is very comparable.

 

At ports, our boys will be fine. We've run them around all day in places like Williamsburg, forts and rainforest in Puerto Rico, hiking in mountains, or just snorkeling off a beach. On the other hand, they are perfectly capable of watching TV all day in the room (which we would never allow anyway). The only times they will be squirming in their seat is at long dinners. We have no problem leaving them in the room and letting them get room service. The 10 yr old is more than capable of taking care of the 5 yr old. But it would be nice if they could be with other kids during dinner.

 

One bonus is that we are going over Christmas, so would bring some new toys for them. The 10 yr old is finally going to get a DS, which will keep him entertained for ages I suspect, since we currently have no video game systems. And they can spend all day in a pool.

 

How do other guests feel about kids in the pool? There is only 1 afterall, so it has to be shared.

[RachelG]

Currently on our 4th Regent cruise, this time in the Baltics on Voyager. There are LOTS of kids and teens on board (including our own). They are all nice well-behaved kids as far as I have observed. Probably more kids on this cruise than on any other Regent cruise we have done. Our son is 17 and hasn't been going to the Kids Club because he is a little past that, but I have seen the Kids Clubbers out and about, and they seem to be having a good time.

It is definitely not Disney. To enjoy this ship, I think a kid would need to at least have passably good manners and be able to sit still at a nice dinner. If you would take them to a really nice restaurant at home, they should be ok. But if they only tolerate fast food places, probably they should stay home.

My boys first sailed this line when they were 12 and 17, but they had traveled a lot and were used to long and fairly formal dinners. Also, if either had a book or Gameboy, they were fine.

[JaneBP]

>"How do other guests feel about kids in the pool? There is only 1 afterall, so it has to be shared."

 

I don't mind children enjoying the pool, I do mind, however the shouts of 'Marco Polo' all day long when I am reading and trying to nap. I am envious of children's seemingly unboundless energy.

[orchestrapal]

It would seem to me that mass-market lines would be much better equipped to handle children under 14 or 15. When we booked we were told that the age demographics were much like Oceania which is with whom we usually cruise. If you ask about the spce provided for children on Regent ships I think you will find it is an afterthought with them and not a priority as it is with Disney.

Enjoy whatever line you choose.:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I was a bit concerned on our pre-Christmas Voyager Caribbean cruise last summer, since I had experienced kids completely monopolizing a pool (on the PG.) But it wasn't a problem--all the kids were very nice and well-mannered, and there was plenty of room in the hob tubs and pool.

 

If you're confident that they won't bother the adults, ask yourself if the kids themselves will enjoy themselves--most likely the answer is "yes". If so, then I say go for it!

[Travelcat2]

Having had two children-related negative experiences (Navigator and Voyager), I do whatever I can to cruise when children are suppose to be in school (summer and school holidays).

 

As strong as I am on this issue, I feel just as strongly that, during the summer and school holidays, people who do not want to be around kids should stay home.

 

I do enjoy children -- it's simply a matter of "been there -- done that".:o

[lborne]

I'm confident that my kids are not "wild", although the 5 year old can be loud. They are no worse than some adults. We as parents do our best to keep them from disturbing others. However, if someone is disturbed by the simple fact that there are children aboard, then I don't have any sympathy, as we are going when children sail for free.

 

I have no desire to go on mainline ships for all the obvious reasons. I did look at Celebrity, but the only similar cruise has 5 days at sea, which is too much for a short cruise. We've done Disney before, and although it was fun, even the kids have had enough of that.

 

The more I'm reading on these boards, the more I think this will be ideal for our kids.

[yarlenna]

Having had two children-related negative experiences (Navigator and Voyager), I do whatever I can to cruise when children are suppose to be in school (summer and school holidays).

 

As strong as I am on this issue, I feel just as strongly that, during the summer and school holidays, people who do not want to be around kids should stay home.

 

I do enjoy children -- it's simply a matter of "been there -- done that".:o

 

You said " ...people who do not want to be around kids should stay home." So, do you "stay home"? A Regent cruise is an adult cruise - even some people take their children on it. I hope that people who bring their kids are there for a family cruise - and they will take their children with them all the time and teach them what an adult cruise is like. I love to cruise - and when I pay for a Regent cruise I want to be spoiled. I do not want my cruise spoiled.

[Travelcat2]

Yes, we do stay home during the summer and school breaks. I agree that one would expect that parents/grandparents that take children on a family cruise would be interested in taking time to teach them what an adult cruise is about. While this is sometimes the case, we have seen, for instance, parents leaving their children alone in the theater prior to a show (jumping on and over seats). . . . this continued to rolling down the isles during a performance. It was extremely disruptive. We have also seen children at dinner (around 8 and 10) that were amazing. At the end of the cruise we made a point to compliment the parents and the children.

 

The Navigator is so small. During our cruise last year, they had to set the puzzle up in the hallway near the elevators. The library was close to the internet area. Unfortunately, some grandparents (they seemed nice) set up their daily board games in this area. It's rather natural for children to get excited -- even scream with delight at these games. However, this was happening in a place where people were reading or on the computer. Didn't work well.

 

Still, a kids sail free cruise -- there should be plenty of kids -- so go for it!

[xrvlcruiser]

My daughter brought walkie talkies and gave her boys one while she kept the 2nd. I think the boys were 10 and 7 at the time.

 

They had room service in the cabins while she joined us for a more leasurely dinner in the diningroom. Worked well

[orchestrapal]

Travelcat2, you are so right. "been there done that" is how we feel too. We have found Oceania with NO children to be wonderful and a real adult experience. This will be our first Regent cruise and we do travel while schools are open, Spring, Fall and Winter, so we hope it will be as quiet and enjoyable as Oceania.:confused: