Cruising with Family of 6?

[ChrisParker]

Hello

We are a family of two adults and four children .

Last summer we took the kids to WDW (stayed at AoA family suite - Whoot Whoot!) and they had an amazing time. Amazing enough that this year will not be a vacation year for us financially.

I'm looking at a cruise for next year. I know there's no point going into is the cost worth it, etc, because that's different for everyone and besides that, who really knows how much money they'll have a year from now? Not us.

What I am really thinking about is the fact that our kids will be 12, 12, 11 and 8 next summer, and we are looking at a limited number of years left where they will want to go on vacation with us. Making those memories is super important for me, and since we run a pretty tight ship discipline-wise for most of the time, being a "yes" mom for a week on vacation is nice.

Questions for y'all -

I've looked at the Med. cruise and also the Caribbean. They're about the same price, before airfare which surprised me, but the ships are different. Part of me thinks that the culture of Europe and the fun of the boat might better separated into two trips - maybe too much culture for the kids in that short a time/ not enough time to enjoy the ship? I worry that my expectations of the kids on holiday might be too high if I'm expecting them to get the most out of Rome in a day. Also I wonder if the Fantasy might be a ship that's more fun? We're first time cruisers so I suppose any ship is going to be a blast.

Any thoughts from the experts on what cruise might be better? What ship might be better or good/bad experiences you have had with either itinerary or ship? Thoughts about this age group or things to consider?

Pixiedust to you!

 

[jdb in AZ]

For your first cruise with kids that age I would do the caribbean. They'll enjoy europe more when they're older.

FWIW, you really need to spend more than just one day in Rome.

 

[PWammy]

I think it really depend on the children's interests; I think the 12 year olds would love Europe, even on a land trip, you never feel like you have enough time to do everything, so the goal is to take in what you can while you are there and enjoy the cruise also.

 

[liberty6201]

My then 7yo LOVED Europe, loved seeing different places, different cultures etc. depends on the type of children you have and their interests! We are going back again this year and he is super excited

 

[kiddisney]

it really depends on what you're looking for in a vacation - i've found that the carribean cruises are a little more relaxing - the touring cruises are a little more busy - but we've loved both -

also you may want to check out airfares - we were booked on the baltic a few years back but changed it to a domestic cruise because the airfare was too expensive for a family of 5 -

 

[ChrisParker]

Thanks for the responses! I think we will go with the Caribbean... I lived in Italy for several years and the kids have been before but it just seems like a bit of overkill for a week's vacation. And the airfare is somewhat crippling as well.

The next question... Eastern or Western? #goodproblemtohave