What is a good cruise ship to go on with kids (ages 12,10,9) and parents still have fun?

Show all answers

RockStar

Royal Carribbean, there is plenty to keep the kids entertained. I just got back from traveling on the Liberty of the Seas. There is so much to do that even I felt as if I didnt do it all. For kids they have Surfing, Ice Skating, rock Climbing, Mini Golf, Arcarde, Water Park. For Adults they have Bars, Adults only solarium, gym, spas, pool areas, nightlife. There service and food is excellent. I will never travel on another cruiseline that isnt Royal.

FLmom3

We went on a Disney Cruise with our 3 children last year and it was the BEST vacation we've ever had! There are a TON of activities for little kids and big kids. They will never want to leave the kids club! There are pools for every age, including an adults-only pool and lots of other things on board just for grownups. But the best thing about Disney is knowing your children are safe and happy! Disney is about family vacations and fun, not all the drinking and wild partying you hear will see on those other cruise lines. How interesting that you never hear about anyone falling overboard or being murdered on Disney Cruises, but it seems as though the same other cruiselines keep coming up in the news??? Something to think about! Anyways, go on their website Disneycruise.com and they will send you a free DVD. What you see on the DVD is really how it is- it is that good!Have fun!

kjh

Disney is the best! but let me tell you there is a loony toons cruise that is half the price and it is All the BUGS bunny characters
i liked it a lot because of the price! and honestly my kids loved them both!

Jennifer24

I would say that carnival is because when I go on a cruise and I am with my mom or grandmother I (14 1/2) can have fun and they are enjoying the cruise as well. I hope that this helps you.

Rachel M

Does Disney still have that Big Red Boat? Otherwise, Carnival is VERY fun for everyone! They have family activities, then you can leave your kids in a supervised environment while you go do adult activities! Lots of drinking! (personally, I never saw my parents when I went with them, but then again, it's a vacation for everyone! lol)

david

Disney would be the very best for you. Carnival would also be good for you. You will find that Carnival is the cheaper of the two.

mjr86_2000

Disney

wanderlust

I really enjoy the Carnival Cruise ships when I am with all adults or when I am traveling with my kids (ages 10,7,5..nephew 15). There is so much for them to do. The cruise line has a special area just for kids and a seperate one for teens. The have so many activities planned and group them according to age. So, you won't have to worry about your tweens being forced to watch 5 year olds play with building blocks.

I hope this helps. While they are enjoying people their age you can enjoy some grown up time:-)

Zef H

The best family friendly cruise lines are Carnival, Disney, Norwegian (NCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCI).

Disney does have adult only areas (except there is no casino - if that is important to you). Of course the kids will have a great time on Disney (unless the 12 year is too "cool" for Disney). However, Disney is expensive.

Carnival is great for families also. All the Carnival ships have a water slide and a very good children's program. Carnival also has plenty for of activities for the adults too.

Norwegian is about the same as Carnival. However, I must admit that my experience with Norwegian is limited. I have only been on one cruise with NCL (so far - I have another NCL cruise booked in February). So I don't know as much about NCL as I do about Carnival or Royal Caribbean. NCL also has Freestyle dining. That means that there is no set dinner time. You can eat when you want where you want. There are several restaurants on each ship. Some are free and don't require reservations (the main restaurant and buffet). Some are free but do require a reservation (the specialty restaurants) and some cost extra and require a reservation (and thus offer a higher level of food and service).

Disney, and Royal Caribbean both have cabins that will sleep five (which might be of interest to you). Otherwise you will have to get two cabins (they can be next to each other, across the hall from each other or connecting).

Royal Caribbean is very similar to Carnival, except none of the Royal Caribbean ships have a water slide that your kids would be willing to use. Instead Royal Caribbean has rock climbing walls.

However, Royal Caribbean also has five Voyager class ships (Voyager, Explorer, Adventurer, Navigator & Mariner of the Seas) and three Freedom class ships (Freedom, Liberty and due out in 2008, Independence of the Seas). These ships offer a lot more. On the Voyager class there is ice and inline skating. On the Freedom class there is ice skating and the Flowrider (a surfing simulator) and a miniature water park called the H2O Zone, which is a big hit with the kids.

You cannot go wrong with any of the above choices. However, if I had to pick one (and I did for our June 2007 cruise - several families with kids aged 4 to 12, 18 & 19 year old, several adults and two grand parents) I would go with one of the Freedom class ships (we were on the Freedom of the Seas). We stayed in a Royal Family Suite (that sleeps up to eight - we had six). Everyone (there were 20 of us) had a great time.

Some pictures:

Main pool - NCL Star ...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Star/Starpool.jpg

Water slide - Carnival Glory ...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Carnival%20Glory/Sundeckstretch.jpg

H2O Zone - Freedom of the Seas ...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Freedom%20OTS/MWP-1.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Freedom%20OTS/MWP-2.jpg

travelnut5366

I'll keep my answer simple,

Royal Caribbean or Disney Cruise Line would be my first two choices with Carnival being my third choice.

Trave Nut @ BC Travel Company

Lizzy P

If your children are still into the Disney aspect, then I would suggest Disney. Their only real downfall is the PRICE. It's very expensive compared to other lines.

Between Carnival and Royal Caribbean, I think it's a toss up and pretty even among them. There are a lot more things to do on Royal Caribbean in terms of activities (including that new flow-rider but I'm not sure about what the age limit is on it) and I know that the child-specific program on Royal Caribbean only has workers with a minimum bachelor degree in a child-related field with previous work experience with children. That, for me, would be the added bonus.

Plus if you're thinking off ship, the cruiselines have so many excursions you can do together as a family and still offer you time as a couple while the kids can go hang out with other people their age and make new friends.

If you'd like ship specific or cruiseline specific information, I suggest this site to everyone.....

http://www.cruisecritic.com
http://boards.cruisecritic.com

It's really helpful and you can find out every detail imaginable about cruising.

Clueless

Carnival

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: