Best cruise for kids that won't break the bank?

[Jenny-momof3]

We would REALLY like to take a family cruise next summer. Just glancing at Disney Cruises I can see that it's going to be way past our budget. Since we're a family of 6 I know it's going to be expensive...but $10k for a week...just not happening!

Is there another cruise line anyone could recommend that would be great for kids. Our girls are 16 and 12. Our boys 6 and 2.

Also will I need to get passports for everyone? TIA!!

 

[smkiya]

Norwegian has the Nickolodean cruises on their ships Jewel and Epic. Thety sometimes have specials. We intend to do one next year as the Jewel leaves out of NYC. Check out their site.

 

[tkitty]

We did Norwegian- no kids though. Their prices were good, and I didn't feel like I was on a "Spring break" party ship. If you could get on one of their kid themed cruises like the Epic, I think you'd like it.
We've also done Disney, and it's AWESOME. I hate that I can't afford to do a Disney cruise sometime soon with the Grandkids.

 

[Chelley00]

We have kids about your kids' ages.

Carnival would probably be your cheapest bet. We chose Royal Caribbean for our family trip. There just seemed to be more things for varied ages. Lots of things for the teens (rock climbing, sports court, teen clubs) and then for our younger kids (ice skating rink, pools, kids clubs etc)

Book through a travel agent. They will usually give you an onboard credit that will help with onboard costs such as tips, drinks, pictures etc.

 

[shortbun]

Call a travel agency that specializes in cruises. Give them the parameters of your dates and budget. Tell them you want some choices. Of course, you should plan on booking through them as long as you think you can have a good relationship with them.

 

[matrix1405]

Carnival....I have been on 4 carnival cruises and have loved everyone and they are cheaper than any of the other cruise lines. I went on one with DCL last year and was sadly disappointed. I LOVE all things disney, but the DCL cruise was not for me. There were hardly any "family" activities; more where the adults go one place and kids go to another. I felt like there were just too many "Adult Only" areas--not to mention the fact there were hardly any activities after 9pm On Carnival it has a great variety of things for all ages that begin first thing in the morning (for the EB) and go on all through the night (for the night owls)

 

[Yoshi]

^ That was my main problem with the Disney Cruise Line as well. Not enough stuff for everyone as a family.

 

[Pine View]

Carnival still gives the biggest bang for the $$$. They also have bigger cabins standard. To get the same size on other cruise lines you have to pay big $$. Cruzing is my thing. My G-kids call my Cruz Grandma. We did a Disney cruise. It was great but, when I can do two/three on another line for the same price, I won't be planning another.

 

[Kristi1357]

We just cruised on the Norwegian Epic last month and LOVED it! As much as we love all things Disney (and even cruised Magic once) - this vacation was by far the best time we've ever had.

We loved freestyle dining - no set dinner time, eat when you want to. They have Blue Man Group & Cirque Du Soleil onboard. We had a private m&g with Spongebob & Patrick. There was rock climbing, rapelling, bowling, playing Wii on a 2-story high video screen and all the usual trivia & bingo type activities. My DS7 never ever wanted to leave the kids club or the pool/waterslides.

I really can't say enough good things about the Epic. If you have any specific questions, please PM me.

 

[Darcy03231]

We're a family of 6 and are frequent cruisers. Most of our cruises have been on either Carnival or Royal Carribean. FWIW, my kids prefer Carnival.

 

[Donnask8pro]

I agree, Carnival. I haven only been one NCL and nine Carnival and like them much better. Disney is way toooo pricey for me.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I have done Royal Caribbean and Disney and honestly- unless I win the lottery I won't go on Disney again. My RCCL cruise was $400 more than Disney- but 4 nights longer for a nearly identical cabin!!! And the food was better on RCCL and their private beach (Labadee) is nearly as good as Castaway Cay.

Just an FYI, some cruise lines the 2 year old won't be allowed to do any activities, some he will. This is where I recommend calling a travel agent that specializes in cruises and going onto the Family Board at CruiseCritic.com. I *think* a 2 year old is allowed to do activities on Carnival (may have to be potty trained.) On RCCL it used to be a strict 3 year cut-off, but I think the newer ships are putting in somthing for the younger ones.

On RCCL I went on the Independence (same as Freedom and Liberty) and they have the H20 zone which is great for your boys. The Liberty tends to gave some really good deals, my parents are doing a 5-night in Dec that is very inexpensive.

A cruise professional can also help determine if you need passports or not. There are some cruises you do not need them, just an FYI if there is an emergency (miss the ship at a port, need to be flown back to US for medical reasons) not having a passport could be a problem. Passports have gotten very expensive and for the kids under 16 it is only good for 5 years, the 16 year old's it is good for 10.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Oh, another thing to ask about is kiddie pools. If your 2 year old is still in swim diapers he won't be allowed in many of the pools. RCCL Independence/Freedom/Liberty have a small kiddie pool just for kids in swim diapers.

 

[Frannie115]

I recommend Norwegian, too, although the food was not that great.

Believe it or not, my kids had a great time on a Princess Cruise. This was a few years ago.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We went on a Carnival our first cruise, jut DH and I but I was trying to pay attention tot he family value because my kids have wanted to go on a cruise. Unlike the other PPs who loved Carnival ours was a complete dud to the point that I do not even know if I can ever convince DH to go on another cruise even on another line. There was smoking in the clubs and casinos which may not bother some but I am sensitive to it so that nixed all the clubs. Activities were pretty lame. The biggest activity was the bars and we are only casual drinkers. We tried to go to one of the game shows and they cancelled it. There were only two performances (singing, dancing) in the evening (ie two nights) and though it was mildly entertaining, I have been more impressed with the talents at the local high school. I've heard that cruises play movies not on this one. You could watch some on the TV in the cabin but they weren't even first rate movies. Nothing that did well at the box office. The kids clubs were only open sporadically. Every time we went by they were closed. I would definitely do another cruise line if I can ever convince DH to go again but never again Carnival

 

[SaraJayne]

I would say Carnival or RCL. DCL prices are ridiculous.

 

[csmommy]

What about food? Whose food is really yummy?

 

[SaraJayne]

What about food? Whose food is really yummy?

We've only been on Carnival, but had absolutely no complaints about the food.

 

[Oldironsides]

I would highly suggest using cruisecritic.com for some research. It's probably the cruise version of disboards. Summer is the most expensive cruise season in general. The prices also vary greatly by embarkation ports. As far as lines go, to each is own. Carnival used to be known as the party line, but they are much more family friendly now.

Again, I cannot stress the importance of research. Even small things make a huge difference. For example; we stopped in Turks and Caicos and it is a small but beautiful stop, but when there is more than one ship at a time it can get crowded. So I made sure that we were the only ship in port that day.

One of the biggest points to research are excursions. Generally they can be done a lot cheaper working directly through the local company. The cruise line makes a lot of money being the middle man for these excursions.

Good Luck!

 

[leight]

We took our girls on our first family cruise 3 yrs ago on RCCL Navigator- we had taken the same boat during its inaugural year and were still more impressed with the activities, style of ship and overall experience vs the Carnival cruise dh & I took the year before. For us, the mega ships are the way to go because we love the organized sports activities; pool volleyball,basketball, ice & inline skating, and the rock walls. For younger kids you may want to look toward the Freedom class as they have the waterpark for the kids- I felt the Voyager class pools were lacking this for younger children.

DH & I also really enjoy the shows and RCCL shows were each unique(the ice show is amazing) and provided more of a broadway feel than the Carnival- which frankly felt like weak High school productions.(We only went on one Carnival cruise and it may have been just that ship). Adult activities were so much more appealing and organized on RCCL vs Carnival- but again that may be the ship's staff itself.

We did take a Disney cruise 2 yrs ago and the kids clubs were the best, but there were a lack of family activities and after 11pm there seemed nothing for adults to do. We got the kids sail free deal so it was worth it for a one try but RCCL suits us more. On RCCL we try to get the Q or P inside deal- which is basically run of the ship for 2 rooms- they really try to make sure the rooms are together if you book them together. So we had two staterooms with 4 of us and it worked beautifully. I missed that on disney. We paid only $1200 for the 4 of us on a 5night cruise with RCCL and it was great.

Definately check on cruisecritic.com- I was able to get great info from them on the ports and activities and you can also learn so much about your specific ship. Enjoy!