Help w/cruise selection, please ...
in [Cruise Ship]
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From: Rosalie B. on 2 Nov 2009 10:22 Bo1953 <bo1953(a)gmail.com> wrote: >On Nov 1, 1:20 pm, Bo1953 <bo1...(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> I and a few friends are wanting to go on a cruise next year.. the >> first week in November and need some suggestions... >> >> We want something small, under 1,000 passengers and is child friendly >> (9 & 10). Any all-inclusives possible? If not, that is fine too... >> How are you getting the kids out of school the first week in November? There will be VERY few children on the ships at that time of year no matter what ship you are on. We were on a cruise through the Panama Canal in November (26 days), and the first part of the cruise there was one family with a baby and a toddler, and the second part of the cruise there was just one boy who looked to be about 10. That was all. Of course it was a longer cruise and a shorter one might have had more kids. >> There will be between 10 -14 of us traveling. >Thanks all for your input. We have given thought to the larger ships >and we think it will be a bit more in terms of people and crowds than >we wish to have. Yet if these are our only options for something kid >friendly, then I might have to suck it up ... > >I was thinking Sea Dream for one... we will not be afraid of the extra >costs. > I went on my first cruise at age 12 - it was a transatlantic. In those days children did what the adults did. There was no such thing as a children's program. Recently I've been taking my grandchildren on trips at about the age of 12 or 13. The first trip I took a bus tour and there was no one on the trip anywhere near my grandson's age. He got along pretty well with the adults, but I think he missed interactions with kids his own age. And this is a bit older than your children are and probably more self sufficient (which is why I take them at that age). The next two trips I took with a grandchild, I took cruises. One on Norwegian Jade and one on Holland American Rotterdam. Both of those ships have kids clubs. The Jade is a larger ship (2500 pax - passengers), and my grandson was old enough that he could go up and shoot hoops or play video games on his own - i.e. I didn't have to take him up there. On the medium sized Rotterdam (about 1300 pax), my granddaughter had to be in with the 9-12 year olds. She turned 13 right after the cruise and she was not interested in the 9-10 year old boys who were registered for the program so she never went to it. Having said that, Holland American might be a good choice for you. Some of the ships are just a little larger than 1000 pax (1200-1300) and they do have kids clubs. Not as extensive or as many 'toys' as the bigger ships, but they do have some things and your children might be fine with it.. (Although probably not the first week in November unless you are bringing enough children of your own that they could play with each other) >We most likely will be flying as we are in NJ.. I was thinking >something out of PR or VI... will have to do more research, thought to >start here first to find out who else might have similar requirements >and be in the know. > >I will take you up on advice of getting a TA, that is a great ideas >for this type of vacation. > I try to avoid flying if I can, although the weather is unlikely to be so bad that time of year that you couldn't travel. However November is still the hurricane season in the Atlantic and even that late in the season you might run into a storm. The seven day cruises I see the first week in November that you might like are Silversea's Silver Spirit from Barbados (Caribbean)- a small ship which does say it has a kids program. Carnival Pride from Baltimore and Norwegian Jewel from NYC - both cruises to the Bahamas which may not be as warm as the actual Caribbean. Both of these are medium to larger ships Queen Mary2 transatlantic out of Manhattan Pride of America in Hawaii Carnival Conquest out of Galveston Sea Dream out of St. Thomas (but this is a REALLY small ship with NO children's program) A bunch of cruises out of Florida or Puerto Rico for the Caribbean, several cruises in the Med, some river cruises in Europe (definitely not kid friendly), and some cruises from California to Mexico.
From: John Sisker on 2 Nov 2009 12:07 "Sue Mullen" <kjmullen(a)comcast.net> wrote in message news:7l86asF3c8976U1(a)mid.individual.net... > Disney is very good for kids, not bad for adults, but it is expensive and > there are no casinos on Disney ships. They do have "adult only" areas on > the ship and on their private island. > > sue Excellent suggestion Sue, I was thinking the same thing. As you may recall, Deborah and I have been on the Disney Magic before for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, and we don't even have kids. And yes, it is a bit more expensive than some of the other cruise lines, but at least to us, was well worth it considering it's Disney and what you get. In addition, there is plenty for the adults to do as well, for as you said, there are adult only areas on both the ship and their private island of Castaway Cay. In this particular situation, I don't think price would be the major objection, but the fact that it is Disney, and obviously one would think it would be overrun by kids. Actually, far from it. We have seen far more kids on other ships and cruise lines than we did with Disney Cruise Line. This is not to imply that the kids are not there, far from it, it is just that with Disney they are so well organized, and into age appropriate groups, that they are not board and running all around as they are on the other ships/lines. In fact, I have put a detailed online photo album together of this ship, cruise, ports and private island, that if anyone is interested, they can simply e-mail me at jsisker(a)shiptoshorecruise.com, and I'll be glad to forward them the appropriate link. In addition, for those on this newsgroup, selectively telling others what to do in the way of information and/or travel agents, here's a suggestions. Don't use any of us, but go to Disney Cruise Line directly for the inside scoop, and without any so-called excess baggage. This way, the original poster will know exactly what they will get, and without any commission involved. As a general background, Disney ships sail from Port Canaveral, Florida. They sail either to the Eastern or Western Caribbean for 7-days, but also have 3- and/or 4- day cruises to the Bahamas, which includes a 4- and/or 3-day Walt Disney World package as well. Just check out Disney's own website for more information. Disney Cruise Line: 888-325-2500 or www.disneycruise.com. Smooth sailing... John Sisker
From: Carol Eskra on 2 Nov 2009 12:19 I took my family on the Disney Wonder and was not impressed at all. Only thing I did like was the extra half bath. No lobster or caesar salad was served and the ship could not compare to the Grand Princess or Explorer. Thought the food overall was lacking!
From: Carol Eskra on 2 Nov 2009 12:22 Forgot to mention the nursery caregivers do Not Change diapers, and if your child or baby starts to cry you will be summoned back to the ship.
From: Sue Mullen on 2 Nov 2009 13:38
Carol Eskra wrote: > I took my family on the Disney Wonder and was not impressed at all. Only > thing I did like was the extra half bath. No lobster or caesar salad was > served and the ship could not compare to the Grand Princess or > Explorer. Thought the food overall was lacking! When you were on the Wonder was it a 7 day or shorter cruise? We have been on both the Grand Princess and the Disney Magic and enjoyed both ships. I don't remember if we had lobster or ceasar salad on the Magic, but we did have an excellent seafood buffet in Parrot Cay one afternoon. The decor on the Magic is Art Deco, very interesting and very different then other cruise lines. If anyone is interested we wrote a review of our Disney Magic sailing, just two adults alone celebrating our 60th birthdays. If you would like to see a copy email me and I will gladly post it or email it to you. sue |