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

[v.t.]

Like everyone else said, cruisecritic.com is a wealth of information. For pricing, I like vacationstogo.com. The site is very easy to use.
Last summer we went on RC and really enjoyed it. The family dining worked great for us. The kids were served quickly and were able to go to the kids club while the adults stayed and finished dinner.

 

[my2minnies]

We did the Norwegian Epic as well this past Feb. vacation. We have 4 kids as well and they had an absolute blast!!! They LOVED the kids club and spent loads of time there. They also loved the water slides and many other activities for kids. It was nice to see Sponge Bob and Patrick and the other Nick characters.

This cruise was pricey as well, but we did go during a peak time. It was still significantly cheaper than DCL. My kids LOVED it and want to know when we are going on another one. Not anytime soon.

 

[caribear]

Cruises can be pricey.....especially when you sail on one of the newer ships. Our cruise on Oasis of the Seas this past November was incredible...our best family vacation yet.....although very costly. The newer ships have a nursery for your 2 year old....but other ships will have no care for a child that age. I waited until my son was 3 before we cruised with him. You might want to wait another year....save up some more money....and go on the ship that you really want to go on. You might also want to consider a 4 night cruise instead of a week to test the waters.....I was on Navigator of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale in February and it was a great cruise.....another larger RCCL ship that I would consider is Freedom of the Seas out of Pt. Canaveral. You can always combine a 4-night cruise with a trip to the beach for a couple of days. I also highly recommend joining the group at cruisecritic.com and researching all of the possibilities.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Thank you all for the information so far! Will definitely be checking out cruisecritic!!

We were really wanting to go next summer as it will be my dd's senior year. But it sounds as if my 2 year old wouldn't be able to participate in much of anything. Sigh...the drawbacks to having kids soo far apart! We definitely would want a cruise where we could do most things together vs. kids here, parents there type of thing. And our family loves shows...so something with great shows is a must!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

We took our kids on a Carnival cruise and they have been begging to go back. They had the best time and still talk about it as much as our Disney trips. Dh and I have cruised on both RC and Carnival and found the food to be quite good on both lines (the kids are now chocolate melting cake addicts!)

I think you do need passports for everyone to cruise now.

 

[juliebean]

We have a good ten year span - not quite what yours is - but I know the challenges! We did a 4 night cruise on Royal Carribbean from Port Canaveral as our trial family cruise. It was extremely reasonable - $1200 for two rooms over President's week. It was another $400 on tips and a glass bottom boat excursion. We had 2 cabins - since we have 3 kids. Although it wasn't one of the newer boats, it had very good kid appropriate shows & kids programs. It also stopped at their island, which was a wonderful day. I'd really try to get on a boat that make a private island stop if at all possible, especially with kids. The teens went kayaking, we played in the sand with the girls and my middle child rode on the car track for about an hour, lol. It's really one of the best days of vacation ever. The food was great and the staff was wonderful - our youngest likes shrimp cocktail and the waiter would have some for her every night when we got there. I won't even go into the crazy big sundaes they made the kids. We are going to try a newer/fancier ship in a couple of years - but this was a good trial.

My suggestion would be get two rooms, and let your oldest bring a friend or two - the cost for the 3rd and 4th in a cabin is usually minor. Put the boys with you (just barely got a pack & play in the room - but it did fit) and make a deal with your oldest to be kind to the younger sister and also allow her and her friend time alone in exchange. Our teenager didn't really enjoy the teen program, because so many had siblings/friends along and he was kind of left out, so I think we'd have him bring a friend next time. Our middle child loved the kids programs and although our 3 year old was old enough, she just wasn't comfortable (hadn't been to preschool yet) - I don't think it was their problem, she was just a bit too young to be out of her normal element and not with us. That may not be an issue for you - we wanted to spend the day with the kids, but we did want to try and get dinner and dancing or a show with no kids, but it didn't really happen. We just ended up taking them with us, and it was fine - just not what we'd been hoping for.

Oh, we went to the Kennedy space center with this too - so it was two days of Kennedy space center, a day on the beach in St. Augustine and 5 days of cruise - really worked well. It ended up being about $2,500 for the week with tickets, hotels, etc etc. I'd try one of the shorter, less expensive cruises and see how it goes...hope it works out for you. We liked it - just learned we needed to wait til the youngest was a little older if we wanted time alone and bring a friend for a lone teen.

 

[WheelCEO]

The only way you are going to find the best deal, is to pick up the phone and start calling around. I can sit here and tell you that I just paid $1000 for a 7 day cruise on carnival for 2 people, but does that help you? There are deals to be had.. carnival usually has the best pricing.

 

[plutolovr]

They have Blue Man Group & Cirque Du Soleil onboard.

Just so you have all the facts, Norwegian Epic does NOT have Cirque du Soleil, they have Cirque Dreams, not the same company.


As far as cruises go we go back and forth between RCCL and Disney. It's just my DH and I. I've done a few Carnival cruises and absolutely hated them. It's the Walmart of the cruise industry, you get what you pay for.

 

[girli565]

I find the DCL cruises very pricey. What they charge for a 4-day cruise is what carnival charges for a 7-day cruise. We've sailed on Carnival several times and keep coming because we love the activities and the ships. The kids always look like they are having a blast when we pass them at the center or when they're walking through the ship.

When we have children I'm sure we'll take a DCL cruise but that's far in the future for us.

 

[girli565]

The only way you are going to find the best deal, is to pick up the phone and start calling around. I can sit here and tell you that I just paid $1000 for a 7 day cruise on carnival for 2 people, but does that help you? There are deals to be had.. carnival usually has the best pricing.

I agree with this too. I only book direct when I deal with carnival. Usually they will either upgrade the deck or give you a better price than what's posted on the website.

We're also past guests so they give us a great deal and on my last 2 cruises they've called a few days prior to departure and asked us about an upgrade to a balcony cabin for ridiculously low prices. We got a balcony cabin on a 5-day cruise for $600/person. It was a great deal because those same cabins were priced at $1000 per person (Spring break cruise so it was a bit pricey to begin with). I'm a teacher so I only get vacation time during winter break, spring break, and summer break. Cruises are expensive during those times.

 

[sorul82?]

We got three port hole cabins on Carnival for $1800 for six people, 5 night cruise.

 

[lucigo]

We are frequent cruisers, have been on RCCI, Carnival and Holland America. We like Carnival the best for the kids, lots of fun stuff to do even on the smaller ships and the price is right.

We currently have a group going out of Mobile in October, 5 nights, price for 4 people in an inside cabin is less than $1000.

 

[PHXscuba]

We cruised last fall with our 4 kids on Royal Caribbean and were very happy. That being said, if you have a 2-year-old, you'll probably want a ship where he can be in a kids' club. I believe Carnival takes them at age 2.

What we did was put all 4 kids (ages 6-14) in an inside room. DH and I had a balcony room directly across the hallway. The inside room was a little tight on storage, but the kids used our room as a "living room" during the day. Doing this was about the same price as two connecting oceanview cabins and we got more space overall. There are only so many connecting cabins, so be sure to look at specific deck plans (usually found on the cruiseline's website) when you are booking. There are also only a few "family" cabins on each ships, and you may only get a curtain between the sections or just 1 bathroom.

Cruise Critic is an awesome resource.

PHXscuba

 

[Kristi1357]

Just so you have all the facts, Norwegian Epic does NOT have Cirque du Soleil, they have Cirque Dreams, not the same company.

Sorry I misspoke. They have a show very similar to Cirque Du Soleil, called Cirque Dreams and Dinner. And we did enjoy the show very much - tons of entertainment on Epic.

And another huge vote for checking out cruisecritic's boards!