First time cruise...4 day Bahama or 7 day EC/WC?

[Steelers0854]

Thanks for the input. I've looked at other cruise lines. Looked at a RCCL cruise out of Galveston. DH will NOT accept the fact that our girls will be separated in the kids club. My girls will be 5,9,10 (or 11) depending on when the cruise is next year. From what I've read, all three girls will be together on DCL, but on RCCL my 5 year old will be by herself. DH does NOT like that idea and he won't even consider another cruise line at this time. Ugh...talk about stubborn. I've told him how much we'd save by doing RCCL, but he refuses based ONLY on the kids club...but when I tell him the cost of a DCL cruise, he's like "OMG, we can't afford that!" Then I propose RCCL without the kids club...you know, just have the girls with us at all times. And he's like "well, we need adult time, too". Ugh....maybe a cruise isn't in our future anytime soon.

I would agree with the recommendation on Alaska especially for a first time cruise. DW and I have done Princess to Alaska and it is the best line to go to Alaska on. Pick a Glacier Bay itinerary that's round trip from Seattle, no airfare and easy access to the port. Princess is one of the few lines that can access Glacier Bay. They bring on US Park Rangers and Naturalists to do a number of presentations. You will have an amazing time.

Edited to add:

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not a parent. But I have seen a lot of posts about parents wanting their kids to be in the same kids club. I'm really not sure why this is brought up so often, in school your kids are not in the same class so why would they need to be in the same kids club on the cruise? I can absolutely understand the concern about having kids of certain ages together such that having a 12 year old with 17 year olds (just an example I'm not sure if any line has these groupings), but beyond that I'm not sure I see the issue with separating siblings? If it's about time for them to be together then they can get that time outside of the club? Just my 2 cents, interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[ffw]

Hubby and I did a 4 night first, then a 7 night-- We loved the 4 night and wished it had lasted longer. It went by SO fast!

Do you know how well you guys do out in open waters? We went on a one day whale watching cruise beforehand in order to test our sea sickness abilities. It also depends on how much you enjoy vacationing. I totally understand the finances bit, too. I think a 4 night cruise is great start for someone who's never been on one of their ships just to test the waters (see what I did there?) If you love it, you can always put a ghost deposit down while onboard to save money on a longer, future cruise with Disney.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We went on a one day whale watching cruise beforehand in order to test our sea sickness abilities.

I'll just point out that small, whale watching boats, and big, cruise line ships are completely different. I know of people who've been sick as a dog on the small, whale watching, or fishing boats, who did just fine on the the larger (generally more stable) big ocean going ships.

While being one of those who are afflicted with motion sickness (cars, buses, trains, small boats) MAY indicate a propensity to being sea sick, it's not a given.

 

[Steelers0854]

I'll just point out that small, whale watching boats, and big, cruise line ships are completely different. I know of people who've been sick as a dog on the small, whale watching, or fishing boats, who did just fine on the the larger (generally more stable) big ocean going ships.

While being one of those who are afflicted with motion sickness (cars, buses, trains, small boats) MAY indicate a propensity to being sea sick, it's not a given.

Totally agree with this. DW had bad motion sickness, she had to sit in the front passenger seat of the car with air blowing on her or she would get sick. But in 9 cruises she has never had an issue on any of the mass market lines we have been on. On a side note she had acupuncture to treat her motion sickness and she has been great ever since, no issues in cars or on planes.

 

[ffw]

I'll just point out that small, whale watching boats, and big, cruise line ships are completely different. I know of people who've been sick as a dog on the small, whale watching, or fishing boats, who did just fine on the the larger (generally more stable) big ocean going ships.

While being one of those who are afflicted with motion sickness (cars, buses, trains, small boats) MAY indicate a propensity to being sea sick, it's not a given.

I know, that's why we did it-- its exposure to an extreme condition to help decipher how we could handle ourselves, should things be rougher than expected. We knew it was different than a cruise ship in terms of motion sickness and stability, but it could really help someone get a feel for what being on the ocean can potentially be like. I just wanted to add it as a suggestion because it reflected well on how we behaved on the ship in rocky seas.

 

[northshoremama]

Edited to add:

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not a parent. But I have seen a lot of posts about parents wanting their kids to be in the same kids club. I'm really not sure why this is brought up so often, in school your kids are not in the same class so why would they need to be in the same kids club on the cruise? I can absolutely understand the concern about having kids of certain ages together such that having a 12 year old with 17 year olds (just an example I'm not sure if any line has these groupings), but beyond that I'm not sure I see the issue with separating siblings? If it's about time for them to be together then they can get that time outside of the club? Just my 2 cents, interested to hear your thoughts.

I'm okay with having them separated. It would only be for a couple hours at a time. DH isn't okay with this scenario. I told him it's like the first day of school. DD4 won't know everyone and she'll make friends. But since it really isn't school and he doesn't know the teachers (or in this case, the counselors on the ship), he won't allow it. I've read him all the feedback I've gotten about this topic, and all he can say is 'that's their opinion, I have mine and DD4 will not be in a kids club without her older sisters'. So frustrating!!!!

 

[Sunshine2U]

The west coast repo cruises sound great for you - I hope they work! I agree that you are barely finding your way for the first couple of days so if you come east I hope you can do a 7-day cruise. If you end up with a 4-day cruise, consider staying on the ship in Nassau. I always consider the ship my "destination". By not focusing on excursions, we all have a more relaxing time. Plus it will save you money.

 

[northshoremama]

The west coast repo cruises sound great for you - I hope they work! I agree that you are barely finding your way for the first couple of days so if you come east I hope you can do a 7-day cruise. If you end up with a 4-day cruise, consider staying on the ship in Nassau. I always consider the ship my "destination". By not focusing on excursions, we all have a more relaxing time. Plus it will save you money.

Thank you! I really hope I can make something work out for next year! Funny you suggest staying in the ship in Nassau, because that was my plan IF we end up doing the 4night Bahama cruise
I do hope to make it to Castaway Cay in the future....

 

[Steelers0854]

I'm okay with having them separated. It would only be for a couple hours at a time. DH isn't okay with this scenario. I told him it's like the first day of school. DD4 won't know everyone and she'll make friends. But since it really isn't school and he doesn't know the teachers (or in this case, the counselors on the ship), he won't allow it. I've read him all the feedback I've gotten about this topic, and all he can say is 'that's their opinion, I have mine and DD4 will not be in a kids club without her older sisters'. So frustrating!!!!

I tried looking for a cruise line where they could all be together, but with such a wide age range it's hard. I really hope you can find a way to make it work. But don't forget about Alaska, it's an amazing time!

 

[Steelers0854]

Ok so Celebriry looks to be your best bet.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/family-fun-cruise#&panel1-1&panel2-1

All your kids would be together. We have never cruised them but have heard great things about them. They have Seattle departures for CA costal cruises and Alaska.


I know it's not Disney. But it would be considerably cheaper, logistically easier and meets your husbands requirement.

 

[Hundredacre]

You should do the longest one you can where you do not have to fly.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

How about the 4 and 3 night b2b on The Dream? Doing the Bahamas. Two Castaway Cays! That way in the event you feel really seasick you could always abort the second leg and get off. Not saying you have money to burn but psychologically for yoir first cruise might be nice to have that option in the back of your mind.

We love the b2b option. For us it worked out cheaper than 7 nights on The Fantasy.

 

[northshoremama]

Ok so Celebriry looks to be your best bet.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/family-fun-cruise#&panel1-1&panel2-1

All your kids would be together. We have never cruised them but have heard great things about them. They have Seattle departures for CA costal cruises and Alaska.


I know it's not Disney. But it would be considerably cheaper, logistically easier and meets your husbands requirement.

thank you for the info. i'll have to look into this one. we may end up doing a west coast repo cruise, just to get a feel for cruising!

 

[Shanti]

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not a parent. But I have seen a lot of posts about parents wanting their kids to be in the same kids club. I'm really not sure why this is brought up so often, in school your kids are not in the same class so why would they need to be in the same kids club on the cruise? I can absolutely understand the concern about having kids of certain ages together such that having a 12 year old with 17 year olds (just an example I'm not sure if any line has these groupings), but beyond that I'm not sure I see the issue with separating siblings? If it's about time for them to be together then they can get that time outside of the club? Just my 2 cents, interested to hear your thoughts.

Let me try to clarify. Here are a few reasons why many parents (& kids) want the siblings to be able to be together at a kids club on a cruise, but are fine with separations at school:

1. School classrooms are run by professional, often very experienced, teachers whose job it is to work with and carefully monitor children and help them stay safe & engaged. Cruise ship kids clubs are run by very young adults who may have no more training or experience with children than the average babysitter.
2. School students spend the first week of every school year participating in getting-to-know-each-other and teambuilding activities, so that they get comfortable with classmates and feel included. The short duration of a cruise doesn't allow these kinds of bonds to be forged in a cruise kids club.
3. School classroms are run according to strict behavioral rules that help keep kids safe. Cruise ship kids clubs are a leisure environment and there are relatively few controls over children's behavior within them.
4. Therefore, if a child is shy, or disabled in any way, or easily intimidated/pushed around, many parents want the child's sibling to be there as a form of protection from both isolation, and from any pushy, bigger kids who might cause the younger child a problem.