children on cruises

marianne

New Member
Planning a long trip to europe & mediterranean cruise and considering bringing the kids (ages 4 & 5). We've always gone on cruises without the kids in the past. Anyone ever bring little kids with them on a cruise? Any advice? I know the ships have lots of kid activities but I've never heard of parents actually using those.
 

harleygirl

Working for the weekend
marianne said:
Planning a long trip to europe & mediterranean cruise and considering bringing the kids (ages 4 & 5). We've always gone on cruises without the kids in the past. Anyone ever bring little kids with them on a cruise? Any advice? I know the ships have lots of kid activities but I've never heard of parents actually using those.
Some cruise lines are more kid-friendly than others........most I have seen though have all day planned activities for the little ones, and they always seem to be utilized. They even offer slumber party all-nighters. :yay:
 

Lilypad

Well-Known Member
marianne said:
Planning a long trip to europe & mediterranean cruise and considering bringing the kids (ages 4 & 5). We've always gone on cruises without the kids in the past. Anyone ever bring little kids with them on a cruise? Any advice? I know the ships have lots of kid activities but I've never heard of parents actually using those.
Some suggestions:
Best for Younger Kids-
*Disney's Disney Magic and Disney Wonder
*Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess

Best Overall
*Royal Caribbean's Voyager-class ships (Voyager, Adventure, Explorer, Navigator and Mariner of the Seas)
*Carnival's Conquest-class ships (Carnival Conquest, Glory, Valor and Liberty)
 

Geek

New Member
Lilypad said:
Some suggestions:
Best for Younger Kids-
*Disney's Disney Magic and Disney Wonder
*Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess

Best Overall
*Royal Caribbean's Voyager-class ships (Voyager, Adventure, Explorer, Navigator and Mariner of the Seas)
*Carnival's Conquest-class ships (Carnival Conquest, Glory, Valor and Liberty)


:yeahthat: Disney Cruise Line goes to the Mediterranean in the summers. I am taking my kids on their first cruise later this year. We are really excited :yay:
 
Last edited:

Nickel

curiouser and curiouser
Geek said:
:yeahthat: Disney Cruise Line goes to the Mediterranean in the summers. I am taking my kids on their first cruise later this year. We are really excited :yay:
This is excellent information to know. :yay: We want our next cruise to be a Med cruise, and I'd love to take the little one.
 

Geek

New Member
Nickel said:
This is excellent information to know. :yay: We want our next cruise to be a Med cruise, and I'd love to take the little one.


Girl, go look at the site :yay: disney.com. My Aunt just got back from a Disney Cruise and she said it was the best one of her life :yay:
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
Geek said:
They have a doctor on board :shrug:
No sh!t Sherlock, who would have thunk it. :whoosh:

But will having the doctor there make the illness go away or just make the illness a little more tolerable for the tots? And if it sets in early on the trip it will be no fun whatsoever for the entire cruise.
 
P

PelyKat

Guest
If the child doesn't get car sick on long rides, or when they fly. then they shouldn't get sea sick in the Med. You don't get the major wave action you do in the Caribbean. And fewer kids get sea sick than adults.

If you have a concern, see your doctor before hand. They have the patch for the little ones now. But you probably won't need it. I was a Travel Agent for years, and it was always the adults that had the problems, unless it was extremely rough.

And the doctor can always give them a shot, if it's extreme. But then that's also why you bring ginger tablets and lots of ginger cookies (also recommended for pregnant women that can't take other mends.) I suffer from Vertigo, at least once a year. But never on a cruise. So just plan ahead and have a great time. And book EARLY for the best Deals!
 

marianne

New Member
Thanks for the tips. My dd and I both get sea sick. But I've handled a few caribbean cruises OK and it's nice to know the med is even milder.

I checked out the disney med cruise but it's nearly three times the cost as the one I had been looking at.
 

Oz

You're all F'in Mad...
My friend took a Disney cruise last year after Thanksgiving, and he said it was the best vacation ever! His son could play at planned activities on board, send the wife to the spa, and he could sit around the pool and read a book half the day. Once everybody is relaxed, they meet up again and go do family stuff.

Disney apparently has the family cruise business down to a science. :yay:
 

LordStanley

I know nothing
marianne said:
Planning a long trip to europe & mediterranean cruise and considering bringing the kids (ages 4 & 5). We've always gone on cruises without the kids in the past. Anyone ever bring little kids with them on a cruise? Any advice? I know the ships have lots of kid activities but I've never heard of parents actually using those.


We just got back from a Disney Cruise a couple weeks ago.... Man we had a freaking great time.... they do so much for the kids....

I highly recomend Disney
 

LordStanley

I know nothing
marianne said:
Thanks for the tips. My dd and I both get sea sick. But I've handled a few caribbean cruises OK and it's nice to know the med is even milder.

I checked out the disney med cruise but it's nearly three times the cost as the one I had been looking at.


it is expensive, but its worth it........ the attention to detail Disney puts in, is outstanding. The food is wonderfull and availible 24/7

Great entertainment for all ages.

They have this thing called the Oceaneres Club. They give you a pager, you drop of your kid, they watch them until either your ready to pick them up, or they want to leave.

We couldnt get our Son to leave. He loves playing with other kids. they had great activities, they feed them, and gave them nap time.
 

MargeInCharge

New Member
marianne said:
My dd and I both get sea sick.

I get really seasick on cruises. I've been on 2, the first time around I took Dramamine, it worked but it made me feel like a zombie. I was zoned out. The second cruise I had heard about Bonine, so I used that instead and it was a lot better. No seasickness and I felt normal. I think Bonine is good for ages 12 and up. Neither of my kids got seasick, so I was lucky there.
 

musiclady

Active Member
kids on cruises

New poster here, I've been reading somd for years, never needed to post before. Took 2 weeks to get activated, sorry.

As to your question: Kids do great on cruises. Most cruises have planned heavily for this. Check websites. We just took ours to Alaska. Let me tell you, I was plenty worried about taking the kids. I have 4: psycho 16 yr old, 12 yr. old, 5 yr old, and 3 yr old. After the first day, everything went great. The only problem we had dealt with the 16 yr old. And that was only cuz she's pycho. The younger 3 each had activity rooms to go to. Gave us parents a break and allowed them to hang with other kids. Boy they had tons of activities for them.

We did a Norwegian Freestyle cruise. If you have the choice, look for a cruise that allows eating anytime. Some cruises have special times for dinner. The freestyle cruise had 5 types of restaurants, at least one was always open til 4 AM! Some were high class, reservation type restaurants, some were buffet and one was a pizza bar. This was perfect, cuz invariably someone was tired or out during dinner so everyone got a chance to eat whenever they were hungry.

They also had drink packages that the kids could redeem at the bar for nonalcoholic drinks - they thought that was cool.

The kids crew area was open til 10 at night. If you wanted later, you could pay for babysitting. But the normal supervised time was included in the trip.

Here I was worried about them - it was so great to hear the 3 yr old shout "Whales". He sighted them faster than even the tour guides. My 5 yr old keeps asking when we're going again.

No one got seasick. Only once was it choppy enough to get slightly queasy and they passed out ginger ale and crackers.

By the way, the rocking helps them sleep, VERY well. I even saw one family with an infant in a carrier.

Prices are cheaper for kids as well. Ours were only $366 each to add to the cruise.

By all means, take them. It's well worth it. My oldest thinks that is the only way to travel, now.
 

STL_RAMS

New Member
marianne said:
Planning a long trip to europe & mediterranean cruise and considering bringing the kids (ages 4 & 5). We've always gone on cruises without the kids in the past. Anyone ever bring little kids with them on a cruise? Any advice? I know the ships have lots of kid activities but I've never heard of parents actually using those.

Look on http://www.cruisecritic.com/ - you will be able to find more information about cruises then you would ever want to know.

I have been on the Disney cruise 6 times (Just the 3 day bahamas one though). I love it. My neice was on it 2 of those 6 times and she liked it (She was 3 or 4 the first time and 8 the second). The Disney boat and cruise is overall nicer then any other boat I have been on but I can't necessarily say its worth 3 times as much.
 
Top