3 days at sea--what do 11 year olds boys do?

[onceuponadream]

Hi

We are going to cruise over Spring Break 2003 and are trying to decide between Magic and Navigator or Voyager (RCI). We went to WDW this March and had a blast. My only concern is that our Spring Break week is the Eastern Car route and thus only has 3 ports of call. What do the kids do on days at sea? I have read about character breakfasts and tea parties but what about the older kids (11) and boys in general? My kids will be 3,6,8 and 11. 3 boys and a girl. They are really interested in the ice skating rink, mimi golf and inline skating on the Voyager Class ships. Anyone have older kids that can tell me how to convince the kids that Disney will be the best?

PS are the pools as crowded as I am imagining on days at sea?

[dbond]

Ice skating & mini golf is tough to beat, but be sure and tell them about the video arcade, the basketball court, the ESPN club, the movie theater, the Mickey slide (if they aren't too big), the slime they can make in the lab, the computer games in the lab, the internet connection, the scavenger hunts organized by the lab, etc. My kids never run out of things to do!

[onceuponadream]

Thaks for your reply! Are there plenty of computers to go around? I was wondering if there are so many kids on a Disney Cruise that there may not be enough "stuff" to go around.

[imgoingtodisney]

There will be times ds10 will be in the room alone. Im sure he wont want to do all things DH and I are doing or be invited to (Palos, surial bath). I dont think he will want to be in the lab (except when they make slime) so we will let him watch movies and have room service. He is already saving disney dollars so he can spend time in the arcade. He doesnt play basketball but he does enjoy the pools, especially at night.

[dbond]

They do other sports on the basketball courts as well. Sometimes it's set up for volleyball and sometimes they have tennis rackets out hitting tennis balls. There are lots of computers in the lab, so he shouldn't have a problem finding one available and if he likes the internet, there is a separate internet lounge. You do have to purchase an internet usage account, I'm not sure what the going rate is these days. There are movies on constantly in the rooms on the in house tv and then movies in the theater. My kids had a ball, however, they are both begging me to take them on the Voyageur for the ice skating and rock climbing. I would pick DCL again for Castaway Cay alone. There's no place better!

[BlazerGB]

I have to preface my comments with - "I am a huge disney fan" - just got off of our second disney cruise - and if you scroll back to my first post on "just got back from magic 3/30 cruise" you will see that one of my few comments is exactly about boys this age. I love the disney cruise and felt really safe both letting my son (almost 12) stay in room and order room service as well as letting him wander boat. Boat is beautifu, clean and you feel very safe with the other guests.

With that in mind, I have to say, if your son is alone - no siblings - or other family or friends kids - they find the oceaneers club a bit too organized (ok maybe because my kids was a day care kid) and a bit too juvenile. He was not real interested in the computer games, I limited the arcade as it can really rack up ( and he said the games were just ok) and the internet is about $2 a minute.

All in all he had a fantastic time - he really enjoyed the comedy shows in Rockin Bar and the movies and the shore excursions - just got to find the right things

[Firefighter Mickey]

You can purchase the unlimited internet package for the 7-day cruise for $89.99, or pay the $1.75/minute charge (which can add up pretty quick).

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Firefighter Mickey

You can purchase the unlimited internet package.

The prices for the 3-day cruise are $0.75/minute or $39.99 for unlimited use. But if he's an Internet-a-holic (likes to IM his friends, etc.), go with the unlimited package.

[TeamMMouse]

We have a 11 year old son. We went last year and are going again this summer. He had a great time & can't wait to go again. He had fun swimming, enjoyed the shows, etc. His all-time favorite was Bingo tho. He wanted to go every day. The mini-golf is not much....small golf rug/w a couple of holes, so might not want to play that up. The great thing about this age on the ship is that they have some independence as you are in contained space. He also did shuffleboard and met some other boys about his age. All in all, I think he will have a great time.....not to worry.

[TeamMMouse]

We have a 11 year old son. We went last year and are going again this summer. He had a great time & can't wait to go again. He had fun swimming, enjoyed the shows, etc. His all-time favorite was Bingo tho. He wanted to go every day. The mini-golf is not much....small golf rug/w a couple of holes, so might not want to play that up. The great thing about this age on the ship is that they have some independence as you are in contained space. He also did shuffleboard and met some other boys about his age. All in all, I think he will have a great time.....not to worry.