14 Night Panama Canal Cruise with kids?

[jenhelgren]

I have read previous posts that there is a much smaller bunch of kids sailing on the longer cruises during the school year. Is there less for kids to do onboard because of this? It would be great if the character lines and activities were super short but I was wondering if DCL anticipates the smaller numbers in kids and offers less for character meets/activities? My kids will be 14 and 8 at time of sailing and I am trying to decide if a full 2 week cruise will be too much for them. We have sailed the Wonder for 7 nights in the past. Is there more offered for activities and shows on the longer cruises? The 10/15 cruise has quite a few sea days and the Wonder doesn't have the Aqua Duck. Has anyone sailed with kids that can share their experience with me? Thanks!!!!
Will the Frozen Fun party be on the Panama Canal cruise? The cruise also sails over Halloween so there should be unique activities for that day. Do the classis ships still do character breakfast? Anything else I'm not thinking of??

 

[Disneypeach]

Can't speak to all of your questions but I've been on several DCL cruises including the WBPC in 2013. There were fewer kids (around 200 per CM) on that cruise but I didn't notice fewer activities. Nothing scientific but there seemed to be the same amount of things to do as on our prior DCL cruises. The lines to do the character greets were shorter and there were just as many opportunities as we've experienced on other sailings. There were a couple of late nights when adults were allowed to invade the kids' clubs to have fun (painting animation cels, flubber, etc) but those were after 10 PM on just a couple of selected nights. It was a great cruise and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I have read previous posts that there is a much smaller bunch of kids sailing on the longer cruises during the school year. Is there less for kids to do onboard because of this? It would be great if the character lines and activities were super short but I was wondering if DCL anticipates the smaller numbers in kids and offers less for character meets/activities? My kids will be 14 and 8 at time of sailing and I am trying to decide if a full 2 week cruise will be too much for them. We have sailed the Wonder for 7 nights in the past. Is there more offered for activities and shows on the longer cruises? The 10/15 cruise has quite a few sea days and the Wonder doesn't have the Aqua Duck. Has anyone sailed with kids that can share their experience with me? Thanks!!!!
Will the Frozen Fun party be on the Panama Canal cruise? The cruise also sails over Halloween so there should be unique activities for that day. Do the classis ships still do character breakfast? Anything else I'm not thinking of??

While we didn't travel with young kids on our Panama Canal cruise, I'd say that it didn't seem that there were fewer activities. In fact, because of the lower kid/CM ratio, there was a lot more interaction with the kid's club CMs. And they had an overnight sleepover (not just the Goofy Pajama Party) one night for all kids onboard, giving all parents who participated a chance for some "us" time.

 

[chirurgeon]

And on a couple nights THE ADULTS get to play in the kid's clubs. I don't have kids, but I would agree the higher ratio makes for better attention.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

We did EBPC in 2013 with 2kids (then) aged 6 and 9. PLENTY for them to do. Less kids, but still enough, so easier to make friends. Still a different show every night, and the kids pool is not crowded at all. I'll never forget sitting by the Mickey pool as we went through the canal with my 6 year old son oblivious to it all because all he cared about was swimming and going down the slide. I will also add I've taken my kids on the WBTA twice (14 night cruises also) and they love them.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I have sailed Panama three times two with DCL loads of children, it is educational not just the canal and a great experience.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We did a Transatlantic which was also two weeks long. While there were far fewer kids on board, there were not fewer activites/meet & greets/etc. My kids were 13 and 16 at that time and still rank it as their favorite cruise.

 

[jenhelgren]

Thanks for all the helpful replies! Does anybody know or is there a way to look up if the Frozen deck parties will still be on the 10/23/15 PC cruise? I know last year DCL started added trick or treating and fun events the whole month leading up to Halloween. Have there been any Halloween announcements yet? Any advice/suggestions/information for the ports of call on the PC cruises would also be great! Cozumel is the only port we have been to in the past. I would be the most interested in fishing/beaches. Thanks to all!!

 

[MouseMomx2]

I believe the Frozen deck parties are just for the summer sailings in Alaska and Europe. They will probably run them on the cruise or two before each of those itineraries begins, but it is unlikely that they will continue afterwards. Then again, if they go well DCL could very well extend them. Your best bet is to count on them not happening but keep your eye on these boards for any new information.

As for trick or treating, yes, it will happen aboard the 10/23 PC cruise. That cruise will actually be going through the canal on Halloween.

You can already see the Port Adventures for those ports. I also recommend looking at Tripadvisor for top rated things to do in each port.

 

[MelSpees]

I believe the Disney Blog noted Frozen on the Wonder for Alaska and Hawaii only. I guess they could always change though.

 

[plutos1fan]

I have read previous posts that there is a much smaller bunch of kids sailing on the longer cruises during the school year. Is there less for kids to do onboard because of this? It would be great if the character lines and activities were super short but I was wondering if DCL anticipates the smaller numbers in kids and offers less for character meets/activities? My kids will be 14 and 8 at time of sailing and I am trying to decide if a full 2 week cruise will be too much for them. We have sailed the Wonder for 7 nights in the past. Is there more offered for activities and shows on the longer cruises? The 10/15 cruise has quite a few sea days and the Wonder doesn't have the Aqua Duck. Has anyone sailed with kids that can share their experience with me? Thanks!!!!
Will the Frozen Fun party be on the Panama Canal cruise? The cruise also sails over Halloween so there should be unique activities for that day. Do the classis ships still do character breakfast? Anything else I'm not thinking of??

Hi,

My mom and dad, and I did one of the Panama Canal Cruises last year and there was less 300 kids on board. However, the kids club/ teen activites schedule was still packed full of fun things to do. As for the character lines, they were still long because even though the cruise was mostly adults, adults waited in line to see the characters (my family included!). There are all sorts of special things they do for the Panama Canal Cruises. They still do the character breakfast on the wonder at Parrot Cay. They have countless entertainment options for families on the Panama Canal cruises. The bottom line is your kids will not get bored! You will have a great time you decide to go on this AMAZING cruise!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I believe the Disney Blog noted Frozen on the Wonder for Alaska and Hawaii only. I guess they could always change though.

Also Northern Europe.

 

[thumpie's mom]

We took the Panama Canal cruise last October and are going again this October. There were less than 300 kids aboard, but as others have noted, there was still plenty of activities for kids. The character lines were shorter than on some of our other cruises, but adults love the character's too and the line can get long. When you board now, you can get tickets to see Anna and Elsa as well as the Princess Gathering. This cuts down the wait time to about 5 mins. On our cruise, the tickets were available at Port Adventures after you board. There was a character breakfast on one of the sea days. We even got to see a fashion show featuring Minnie Mouse (not to be missed!) If you go to the disney cruise blog, there are copies of the navigators from one of the Panama Canal cruises. Those might help you decide if there will be enough for your kids to do. Good luck!