Anyone sailed with RCCL ?

[emum]

Got an email about their cruise leaving SYD 5th April. Am seriously considering changing our April itinerary to this cruise, with our week at Aulani following on.

I'm having serious doubts about the NCL cruise we have booked, and the RCCL cruise is only $2000 extra for an extra 11 nights onboard, with the bonus of seeing NZ and Tahiti to boot.

Of course, they're offering two different "experiences", but the main thing I'm wondering is if, with all the sea days on the RCCL cruise, will there be enough for the kids to do (especially DD14). All 4 loved our Disney cruise, but they've had pretty miserable experiences with our two recent P&O cruises, so we're wary of anything other than Disney in terms of entertainment.

Can anyone help us out ?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Sally

 

[australiankaren]

hey
I vote RCCL....fantastic cruises..we like them even more than Disney (please dont boo me )

and they seem to cater alot more to tweens/teens than toddlers

 

[battymum]

We recently sailed Freedom of the Seas with DD16 and twin DS13 (almost 14) - they loved it - I had to force them off the ship on port days - There were not that many teens on board in September - a small group that really hit it off. Cruise lines invest a lot in keeping children and teens entertained - because if they're happy, everyone has a good holiday - and if they are not then noone has a good holiday.

Are you looking at the repositioning from Hawaii - Syd - I have friends that have done that a couple of times with teens and they just love it.

Just make sure they go to the teenagers meet and mingle on the first night - they will grumble, but thank you for it later.

Beware there is a 1:00am curfew for teens - and most are out until this time - make sure you set the ground rules first -

For me, I wouldnt consider any other cruise line - (although, I hear Carnival can be fun)

 

[Travel Mum]

Yes, I've done a 7-night Southern Caribbean and, most recently, the 7 night Western Caribbean with them. That one was on Freedom of the Seas - just a few weeks after Battymum was onboard! Our family loved FOS and our girls were 13, 10 and 6 at the time so they were all in different kids club groups and of course my oldest frequented (a lot!) the Teen Club. Both the Kids Club and the Teen Clubs are fantastic and RCCL is the perfect match for my family. What ship is doing the sailing you are interested in? If Voyager then, yes, totally go for it because she is just one category smaller than Freedom but also has the Royal Promenade and Ice-skating rink. If Radiance then maybe but, if Rhapsody, I'm not so sure. I have done inspections of both these ships and, as they are smaller, they have less for kids to do. I'm sure the Kids clubs are still excellent though.

 

[mickeyd78]

I have done five cruises on RCCL, and I love them. The Voyager and Freedom class ships are my favorite, but I have sailed on Radiance twice and she is a great ship too. I'd go with Royal Caribbean.

 

[emum]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. The cruise is an 18 day SYD to HNL on Radiance. The more research I did, the more I decided to stick with NCL. After the NCL cruise, it will be Disney only. DH and I both feel quite strongly about that for various reasons. P&O really did their dash with this family !!!

Cheers,
Sally

 

[Travel Mum]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. The cruise is an 18 day SYD to HNL on Radiance. The more research I did, the more I decided to stick with NCL. After the NCL cruise, it will be Disney only. DH and I both feel quite strongly about that for various reasons. P&O really did their dash with this family !!!

Cheers,
Sally

Oh I totally agree, I would never cruise on any of the local P&O cruises. They are great for first-time cruisers but, once you have cruised on RCCL, Disney, Princess, Carnival, NCL etc, they would be a major let-down. I hope you do give one of RCCL ships (Voyager class and up) a go one day as they are really fantastic for families.