How Full are ships with kids sail free promotion?

[pannm]

I am totally new to cruising, so I've got many questions...I'm happy for disboads, as I've learned SO MUCH here!

We booked our FIRST EVER cruise and we are so excited. We booked using the kids sail free promotion and sailing in FEB. from Galveston.

How FULL are these kids sail free promotional times? Does it really depend on dates, because there's really not a lot of kids out of school when we go- end of Feb.- for holidays and such.

I know that they do the promo during non-busy months, that would have low numbers if they didn't run a deal. But do these deals really pack the ships full?

We're sailing on the Magic, so I've heard that it doesn't ever really feel 'super packed' because there are less people on this ship...

 

[lanejudy]

DCL offers Kids Sail Free promotions to try and fill ships that aren't getting a lot of bookings. So that said, it hasn't sold well initially. However, the KSF will attract families. Keep in mind that while schools in your area may not be on vacation at that time, much of New England has a week off in late February; I can't speak of other areas of the country. I do recall that someone a few weeks ago was trying to book a KSF out of Galveston and there wasn't availability for the cruise(s) in which she was interested.

DCL ships will not "overbook" beyond capacity. I'm sure you'll enjoy your cruise no matter how many other passengers are aboard with you.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am totally new to cruising, so I've got many questions...I'm happy for disboads, as I've learned SO MUCH here!

We booked our FIRST EVER cruise and we are so excited. We booked using the kids sail free promotion and sailing in FEB. from Galveston.

How FULL are these kids sail free promotional times? Does it really depend on dates, because there's really not a lot of kids out of school when we go- end of Feb.- for holidays and such.

I know that they do the promo during non-busy months, that would have low numbers if they didn't run a deal. But do these deals really pack the ships full?

We're sailing on the Magic, so I've heard that it doesn't ever really feel 'super packed' because there are less people on this ship...

We've only had one experience sailing on a KSF cruise. It was totally swamped with kids. This was in October, so I'd say most kids are in school at that time.

The biggest issue we had was at the shows. Place totally full of kids bouncing from seat to seat, running up and down aisles, and (as far as we could tell) not a parent in the room. Occasionally, the CMs at Quiet Cove had to tell kids to leave the area. And twice that I personally saw, under 18s were asked to leave the lounges after the adult only hours had started (in fact, 3 of them left and then sneaked back in, attempting to hide under one of the back corner tables! This was reported to the CM at the bar, and they were asked to leave again.)

 

[moomy-san]

We've been on one KSF to Mexico, and compared to our cruise previous to that one we didn't notice any difference! There are so many activities in board- the only thing that filled to capacity was the Mickey 200 veggie car race.

 

[su_A_ve]

It depends - we took advantage of KSF on the 5night out of Miami and did it last Saturday right before the $25 online booking expired. Today, there is still plenty of availability and they put out some VGT rates as well.

Typically during Feb, there will be lots of younger kids. But this one in particular does not stop at castaway cay, therefore is less appealing.

Also, many families have been more attracted to the newer ships which are selling pretty well. They'll go 7 days on the Fantasy, or 3/4 on the Dream and tack on some days at WDW. Miami or Galveston are not that popular.

 

[lbgraves]

We did a KSF on the Magic in mid-January 2011. We kept the kids out of school a few days. We noticed many more younger kids on that cruise, and like others have said, it was packed with kids. It was louder than normal in the MDRs. One kid near us about 2-3 liked to squeal/scream and her parents did absolutely nothing to stop her. The fact that school is in session somewhere doesn't mean much. Year round schools have different breaks and many parents don't have a problem pulling their kids out of school for a week in elementary school -- especially for the price break. We did until this year with DS in 8th grade. He spent a lot of time catching up after last year's cruise in 7th.

 

[kcashner]

We had a cruise booked that later became a KSF cruise. It was totally fully and completely mobbed with kids. Our thinking (as 2 adults) is that we would not choose to cruise on a KSF date if we had the choice.

 

[gunka]

We were on a KSF cruise, although it was pulled by the time we booked, and the shipped appeared full. I would not say it was swamped with kids or that there were kids running around out of control. It appeared to me very normal, but I expected a lot of kids as it was a Disney Cruise. We had a great time

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We had a cruise booked that later became a KSF cruise. It was totally fully and completely mobbed with kids. Our thinking (as 2 adults) is that we would not choose to cruise on a KSF date if we had the choice.

I agree

 

[kcashner]

Thanks, Schmoo. I was afraid that people would take that as being "anti-kid." I would just choose a cruise where the special was not offered as we get no benefit from the special pricing and do get the increased crowds and numbers. The ships do tend to be more full because there are more 4 person cabins filled by 4 people (on a cruise without special pricing, many cabins that hold 4 sail with 2 or 3 guests in them....on KSF, they tend to have more fully occupied cabins.)

 

[violetmonarch]

For me, I had already booked the cruise date and many months after was told by TA that it was now a KSF...I would have preferred it not be but the date for us cannot be changes since the timing with school has already been arranged and approved. Sigh, I feared that there would be too many kids.....oh well.

 

[gunka]

For me, I had already booked the cruise date and many months after was told by TA that it was now a KSF...I would have preferred it not be but the date for us cannot be changes since the timing with school has already been arranged and approved. Sigh, I feared that there would be too many kids.....oh well.

You never know, just because they offered KSF does not mean the ship will be full. They are still offering the promotion which indicates they still have a lot of rooms to fill. In my case the KSF was pulled and the ship ended up being full, but we still had a great time. I think in your case the ship will not be at capacity. Either way - It's a Disney Cruise - so have a great time.

 

[pannm]

just because they offered KSF does not mean the ship will be full. They are still offering the promotion which indicates they still have a lot of rooms to fill.

That's what I was thinking. There were a lot of other cruises available with the KSF offer, but I've noticed that most of them have been sold out or no longer offered for several weeks now. This one still has availability with the KSF rate in most of the stateroom categories- so I was really thinking it won't be booked solid.

I was also thinking that since Miami was offering the same KSF rates at the same exact time, that just maybe our ship won't be very full.

I, honestly, don't care either way- simply because we are expecting to be around a lot of kids. And I don't want a ghost town either, because I'd love to have my girls get to hang out with other girls their age...

I was just wondering for the sake of wondering I guess. I've heard that even if Magic is full, it still doesn't feel overly crowded.

Last year, when they did this KSF rate- a friend of mine went on the mid-Feb. cruise with her two kids. The ship was only about 1/2 full and they were even upgraded in their room category, for free! I don't expect that to happen, but just hearing that it occasionally does is kind of fun. Nothing like a little pixie dust!

 

[Homefixitguru]

We went on a KSF out of LA last Jan and it did have more kids but since ours are a little older we choose second seating so there are less kids at the MDR's since most of the families with younger kids want first seating so kids can go to bed if they need to.
The deal is so good for us we won't pass it up our kids are home schooled so they just work ahead so that week they don't have school. We have 3 kids so the savings in a Cat 4 are huge. Well worth a few extra kids on board the ship.