Has anybody cruised before? If so, please share.

[riu girl]

DH and I are considering the idea of a taking a 7 night cruise with the kids (not Disney cruise line) and was just wondering if anyone has taken a cruise, what did you like/not like about it and which cruise line did you use?

Also, does anyone know of a board similar to DIS for cruising info.?

Thank you

 

[LoriLea]

Hi Riu Girl,
We've cruised several times. 5 times with Carnival and once with Celebrity. We enjoyed both cruise lines. If we were to take our kids (8 & 11), I would lean towards Royal Caribbean.
Celebrity was great but you could count the kids on our trip on one hand. Carnival was also great, a young crowd, and more children. Food was great on both lines and surprisingly we preferred the food on Carnival over Celebrity.

We enjoy cruising - great food, entertainment etc. You get to see different ports that you may not visit otherwise.
Lori

 

[Northstar]

Hey, our lives really are in parallel! (I last saw you planning your Seaworld trip when we were, too). We're going on our first cruise in August.

Info and boards for the cruise-obsessed at www.cruisecritic.com. The folks over there don't seem quite as full of the love of life and their fellow man as people here at the Disboards, but the boards are mostly informative and friendly.

 

[East Coaster]

We cruised Disney last year (4 days on the Wonder) and it was everything I expected and a lot more!! We had so much fun and there is so much to do that we decided to back this year and do everything we missed.

At the time my daughter was 12 and too young for the teen club, she found the 8-12 year old group a little boring for her. However, our lives are such that we meet each other coming and going at the door for most of the year so it was great to have her spend some time with us. My son is 16 and enjoyed the teen club so much that we only met him for dinner and he usually stayed out later than us!! My daughter can't wait to go back this year and try out the teen club.

All in all I would say cruising with any line can be relaxing or as busy as you want to make it. One day we were rushing around trying to fit everything in and the next we decided to stake out a lounge chair around the pool and relax.

Good Luck with your decision!!

Bette

 

[hawt1]

One Royal Caribbean cruise under our belts and one more booked while on board we loved it so much. Explorer of the Seas Western Caribbean on January 14 from Miami.

We usually do 5* all-inclusives once a year and decided to try a cruise instead.

Where did the cruise win out?

Kid's club was clearly superior with accredited staff running it and far better programming.

Food was definitely better on the cruise line, especially in the dining room.

Entertainment was far better. They were real acts doing entertainment rather than the busboy at the buffet doing a Michael Jackson impersonation!

Price can end up about the same to a little more expensive on a cruise but was worht it an more. And there are ways to keep your costs down.

Our kids are 4 and 8 if that helps. our next cruise is a gourp one with better pricing than most.

Let me know if I can help more. www.cruisecritic.com as mentioned earlier is the best place.

 

[Tinkertoo]

I've sailed on Disney Cruiseline twice (3 day & 7 day Western), and will be adding a 3rd next year when we do the Eastern .


I personally love cruising and could not imagine cruising with any other cruiseline, disney has spoiled me ha!ha!

I love the fact that you can be as busy as you want or as relaxed as you want, it's totally up to you. As well, nothing can beat being on deck at night looking out at the ocean lit up by the moon.....so beautiful .

If you have any questions, let me know!

 

[riu girl]

O my gosh, thanks so much for all the info. This is great. I will definately check out the cruisecritic web site when the kids are in bed tonight.


One more question:

Can someone tell me their opinion on safety issues for children on a cruise ship? This may sound completely crazy but I have a DD who has ADHD (she is very clumsy, attention issues etc). Is there any way that she could ever fall overboard?

Thanks again for all the info. This is going to be a very interesting research project for sure, since I know NOTHING about cruising. It just sounds so interesting (great food, great entertainment, plus the ability to see so many places in a week).

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi riu girl!
My kids and I were on the Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) for a 5 night cruise during March Break and we had a wonderful time! Everything was wonderful: the food, entertainment, cabin (we had a balcony), service and the ship was beautiful and so clean! My kids (DS13 and DD11) didn't go to the kids' clubs (they're just not into that) but they had a great time in the pools, rock climbing, in the arcade and even reading on the decks and in the ship's library. The Enchantment is not one of the larger ships in RCI's fleet (mid-size) but this didn't seem to be a disadvantage. In fact, there were still tons of activities that I haven't been able to participate in yet even though this was my second cruise on this ship!

We love cruising; in addition to the 2 cruises on the Enchantment of the Seas, we've been on 3 Disney cruises too. Disney is still my favourite but I just love the Enchantment too. With cruising, you just can't have a bad time!

I've used www.cruisecritic.com a lot too. I especially like their Ports of Call section; you can get a lot of valuable info on any port the ship is travelling to.

 

[connorsmom911]

Hey there,

Well, I can add my limited experience to this thread...I've been on Carnival twice, once when I was still single and once with dh. Loved it both times!!! Food is incredible (take the stairs whenever you can in order to balance out the weight you will inevitably gain! oh, and do room service and make sure you order choc chip cookies and pbj sandwiches...it's all included in your price!) and the activities are fun. Don't book your tours through the ship unless you are desperate, as you can most times do your own research and get much better prices, usually through the same companies that the cruise line contracts through.

I agree that cruisecritic boards are the place to roam and research. We haven't gone yet with ds (3), but we may have to soon cause grandma (who's deathly afraid of water and can't swim) says she's ready to try, maybe if it was Disney. I have heard from others that Disney is great and it will spoil you, but I have found the prices better on the other cruise lines. Probably the same comparison to staying off-site vs. on-property at WDW, but then again I'm an on-property girl all the way!! I'm almost afraid to try DCL as I fear I may never cruise another line again!!

Happy planning!!

 

[hawt1]

I will take a try at your question about child safety.

If they are in kid's club, you will need to sing them in and out unless you give them authority to sign themselves in and out - there is a minimum age for this.

As for the rails, they generally slope inwards towards you and are about 4 feet high. We set the groundrules with oru kids on day one to not go near the rails or stand on them, etc and they never did.

I never felt uneasy except for one day when I was on deck and caryingmy three year old and realized that she was above railing height. I quickly put her down/moved further from the rail.

I do not want to tell you not to worry but we do not worry about this - cruises have thousands of kids on them every week and I have yet to hear a story about one going overboard. most who go overboard on a cruise have met with foul play or were just plain drunk and apparently not as invincible as they thought they were in this state!

Common sense and keeping as close an eye on them on the ship as you would at home should keep everyone safe and happy.

My two cents on Disney versus other. Disney will cost you much more and you will get all the Disney you want (and maybe more)...there is no way to get away from Disney on the cruise. We really enjoyed RCCL and save our Disney time for the parks and can pay for a Disney park stay (with free dining) with what we saved by going with RCCL on our cruise.

maybe I will see you over at cruisecritic.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks everyone for all the info. I didn't know that the rails leaned inwards. That makes sense.

I spent about 2 hours on cruisecritic and the info. there is great.

Has anyone travelled on the MSC Italian cruise line and if so, what did you think? Since we have never cruised our expectations are low. It sounds like they don't offer much in the way of childrens programming but as DD says anytime we try and put her into a kids program while on vacation "This is a family holiday, I want to be with you and Daddy".

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on 2 adults and 2 kids in a 140 sq. ft inside cabin??? I guess we could pretend we are camping in a tent!!

Regarding quad occupancy, this is what I was told:
It will be two beds, and two pullman beds
Can someone please tell me what a pullman bed is?

Thanks

 

[Northstar]

The Pullman bed pulls down from the wall and is kind of like a bunk bed. I asked about it on cruisecritic RCCL board and some helpful people posted photos for me. I'm a little nervous about it for our soon-to-be-8 year-old, but there's a little railing and you know, she's never once fallen out of bed at home. I guess with the smaller cabins, you really need to use that vertical space.

DH and I would rather go on a smaller ship like the line you're considering, but DD is the opposite of yours. She would be bored without a kids' program.

 

[tmli]

I would recommend Carnival over the cruise you are looking at...they are a very basic line and have a lot of complaints. You will find deals with Carnival that are usually very good.

I have cruised several times when I was younger and last year for the first time with ds. I responded to your thread on the disabilities board...as you know I know a thing or two about what you are going thru!!

BTW...ds has asked if we were doing our annual cruise again this year...we did it once, and to him it is now a tradition!! Of course the answer is yes...we are doing it in Sept.

 

[riu girl]

I am going to start watching deals for Carnival. On what web site do you usually find good prices for cruises? I have no idea where to look.

It looks like carnival would offer so much more for children, although we would only be on ship when at sea, when in port we will be out exploring. Every spring/early summer we go to www.sherkston.com and this resort offers a TON of kids programming. But DD and DS never want to be left at their kids club. All we hear is " we thought this was a family holiday, I want to be with the family" so thats why I'm not too concerned about kids programming but overall I bet Carnival would tolerate children better then a cruise ship that may only have a handful of kids.

We are trying to keep the cruise cost to a minimum since we want to pair this holiday with a couple of weeks in Florida so overall this holiday will cost quite a bit.

 

[mbb]

For a quick rate scan, I ike http://www.vacationstogo.com/

Agents will generally find comparable rates - so if you know which line you want, and can be fexible about when you go, you'll probably get a great rate. (Which can be said for just about any vacation, I think )

Another for Cruise Critic. That's a great board

 

[Numbersca]

My experience includes 5 past cruises. 3 Princess with DW, then Disney Magic, and Navigator of the Sea with DW and 2 DD’s. First off, safety, we went on the Magic because we felt it was safer than WDW. The kids programs and interaction with the characters could not be matched. We were in an inside cabin on the NOS (girls were 10 & 12) and it was tight, but I feel that you don’t spend much time in the cabin anyways. We have avoided Carnival because it has a “party” reputation. For kids, my first choice would be RCI, as it has a great program and activities for them. Also, when planning the trip, as far ahead as possible, first choose the Cruise Line and then carefully choose the ship as the different ships within the Line can offer different things. Now that our girls are a little older, we are looking at WDW in May 2007.

Northstar, as for the beds that pull down, if they are located like the ones in our inside cabin on the NOS, the only thing you have to worry about their fall is them landing on you.

 

[Northstar]

Northstar, as for the beds that pull down, if they are located like the ones in our inside cabin on the NOS, the only thing you have to worry about their fall is them landing on you.

Maybe Mommy will sleep in the Pullman....

 

[riu girl]

Thanks so much for the info. I have spent some time on cruisecritic and vacationstogo.com.

1. How far ahead do people usually book cruises?
2. And what method of booking do you use?

We are trying to combine a cruise with one or two weeks in Florida, therefore, trying to do the cruise portion as cheap as possible.

3. Does anyone know where we can get a rock bottom cruise price? From the limited stuff I have looked at, it looks like vacationstogo.com are deeply discounted.

We would like to book it about 12 months in advance.
4. Are prices usually reasonable then?

 

[Numbersca]

We have always booked with a TA between 12 and 16 months in advance. You really can’t go wrong by booking early. There’s a slim chance that you will get upgraded, there is better cabin choices, and if the price does go down, you should be able to get the better price as well. We find the biggest challenge is getting a good price on the air. On our next trip south, we will be considering driving to Buffalo to catch a flight. A lot of people find flying out of Toronto very expensive.

 

[minnie56]

The farther in advance you book a cruise...generally...the price is the cheapest. It is very much supply and demand. As inventory diminishes, the prices climb.

The best Cruise line for families of course would be Disney but they are also fairly pricey. Next would be Royal Caribbean and Princess...RCI, even more so...as they have good kids/teen programs. Holland-America are geared more to an older group though they are trying hard to change that image and Norwegian Cruise Lines have nice ships but lack in other areas.

Carnival is pretty much for those on more of a budget. Food is good, some ships are nice...but after you have been on better, not too many return.

As for where to find good pricing...pretty much all sources will be fairly similar. There are some great promotions right now wit RCI. I just booked 3 people on RCI-Mariner of the Seas, in a balcony stateroom for under $2,300! Darn good if you ask me!

Good Luck! Cruising is wonderful!