Kids on short cruises

[dpswift]

Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was on the Enchantment of the Sea almost 20 years ago. We had a great time however,I met a teenager who hated it. She was board and didn’t like the kids club. There weren’t many kids on this short cruise.

We picked a longer cruise on the Independence of the seas for our family trip and the kids loved it. Since then we have stayed with larger ships for the most part.

Present time my daughter in law is considering a 3 night cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on the Grandeur of the Seas. They have a 10 year old son. Do the shorter cruises still tend to be party cruises? Has anyone used kids club on smaller ships? I understand that there is a lot of drinking on all cruises, but I am not looking for a party cruise

 

[ucf_knight]

Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was on the Enchantment of the Sea almost 20 years ago. We had a great time however,I met a teenager who hated it. She was board and didn’t like the kids club. There weren’t many kids on this short cruise.

We picked a longer cruise on the Independence of the seas for our family trip and the kids loved it. Since then we have stayed with larger ships for the most part.

Present time my daughter in law is considering a 3 night cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on the Grandeur of the Seas. They have a 10 year old son. Do the shorter cruises still tend to be party cruises? Has anyone used kids club on smaller ships? I understand that there is a lot of drinking on all cruises, but I am not looking for a party cruise

I have never seen RC as a party cruise brand. We've been on all different size ships at many different times of year (NYE, spring break, summer etc.) and it has never felt like a drunken party to me.

We've been on a vision class ship before and there wont be much for the kid to do. This class of boat is more of a throwback to a classic cruise vacation with lots of time for just sitting around and relaxing.

Not sure when she is going but for less money (based on royals website right now for upcoming cruises) you could sail on liberty (3 nights) and that includes a coco cay stop which grandeur's itinerary does not. And for a few bucks more you could do an oasis class ship (3 nights) that includes a coco cay stop.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’ve had 10 year olds on DCL (short) and NCL (week). every single one of them hated the teen club, 9 - 11, 10 - 12, just an awkward age. They loved the younger clubs and teen clubs. Fortunately my kids are close in age so I allowed them to have some independence, go to the buffet, mini golf, arcade, together and check in iften.

 

[DomesticKrys]

Once never been on RC. We’re taking a 3 night on the Magic in September with kids ages 14,13,5&3. I’m considering it practice/refresher for our Alaskan cruise next Summer since only myself and the older 2 have been on a cruise before. We’ve watched videos (old promo DVD’s, current streaming promo videos & YouTube) to help prep them. I think they’ll have a great time-I hope yours do too!

 

[dobball23]

I have never seen RC as a party cruise brand. We've been on all different size ships at many different times of year (NYE, spring break, summer etc.) and it has never felt like a drunken party to me.

We've been on a vision class ship before and there wont be much for the kid to do. This class of boat is more of a throwback to a classic cruise vacation with lots of time for just sitting around and relaxing.

Not sure when she is going but for less money (based on royals website right now for upcoming cruises) you could sail on liberty (3 nights) and that includes a coco cay stop which grandeur's itinerary does not. And for a few bucks more you could do an oasis class ship (3 nights) that includes a coco cay stop.

Interesting. Shows how experiences can differ. I went on one RCL cruise (Independence of the Seas) and it was definitely a party boat. It was a 3-night cruise with stops at Nassau and Coco Cay. There were empty cups left all over the ship in all nooks and crannies. All the event hosts (i.e., trivia, games, origami) -- even during the day -- started all their events by pointing out the bar. Almost everyone constantly had a drink in hand. Drinking was definitely a focus for guests.

I am not a drinker and the atmosphere turned me off to RCL. My wife has since gone on another cruise on RCL and she said it was not the same atmosphere. But it is not how I want to spend my vacation.

 

[dpswift]

Interesting. Shows how experiences can differ. I went on one RCL cruise (Independence of the Seas) and it was definitely a party boat. It was a 3-night cruise with stops at Nassau and Coco Cay. There were empty cups left all over the ship in all nooks and crannies. All the event hosts (i.e., trivia, games, origami) -- even during the day -- started all their events by pointing out the bar. Almost everyone constantly had a drink in hand. Drinking was definitely a focus for guests.

I am not a drinker and the atmosphere turned me off to RCL. My wife has since gone on another cruise on RCL and she said it was not the same atmosphere. But it is not how I want to spend my vacation.

Our Enchantment cruse was definitely a party cruise lots of drinking and a lot of drink waiters. There was a big group on board so that may have had something to do with it. Outside of that we liked RCI so when we got home we booked a 5 night on the Independence over the kids winter break. A totally different experience. They had a record number of kids for the kids club, very few waiters by the pool for drinks. Honestly that cruise goes down as our best family vacation

 

[dpswift]

I have never seen RC as a party cruise brand. We've been on all different size ships at many different times of year (NYE, spring break, summer etc.) and it has never felt like a drunken party to me.

We've been on a vision class ship before and there wont be much for the kid to do. This class of boat is more of a throwback to a classic cruise vacation with lots of time for just sitting around and relaxing.

Not sure when she is going but for less money (based on royals website right now for upcoming cruises) you could sail on liberty (3 nights) and that includes a coco cay stop which grandeur's itinerary does not. And for a few bucks more you could do an oasis class ship (3 nights) that includes a coco cay stop.

She is looking at April. I personally would prefer Freedom or Oasis class. My daughters and I went on Brilliance last year (not sure of the class) it was quiet and relaxing but not a lot to do overall.

 

[MrsPete]

Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was on the Enchantment of the Sea almost 20 years ago. We had a great time however,I met a teenager who hated it. She was board and didn’t like the kids club. There weren’t many kids on this short cruise.

We picked a longer cruise on the Independence of the seas for our family trip and the kids loved it. Since then we have stayed with larger ships for the most part.

Present time my daughter in law is considering a 3 night cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on the Grandeur of the Seas. They have a 10 year old son. Do the shorter cruises still tend to be party cruises? Has anyone used kids club on smaller ships? I understand that there is a lot of drinking on all cruises, but I am not looking for a party cruise

Thoughts about teens and vacations:
- To my great shame, I remember being a giant pain in my parents' butts when they took us on a vacation when I was about 16-17. I was angsty and grumpy for no good reason, and I took it out on my parents. And what was my big fuss? I had to share a bedroom with my sister and some girls from another family I didn't know. And I had to help cook meals. Yeah, I should apologize to my mom.
- So what if a teen you met hated cruising? You know the kid you're taking -- is he likely to enjoy cruise activities? Talk to him about it. See if he's excited. And, at the worst, it's three nights. Nothing that'll ruin his life.
- I do think kid would have a better time on one of the bigger, newer ships with more activities. My husband and I cruised on one of the oldest cruise ships recently, and we had a great time -- but we said to each other, we wouldn't bring the kids on this particular ship.

 

[sam_gordon]

The time of the year (spring break time) plus the length of the cruise (3-4 days) I think has more influence on whether it's a "party/drinking" atmosphere than type of ship. Although smaller ships (without as many activities) may have some influence (as well as being cheaper = more $$ for drinks).

 

[sethschroeder]

I think a 3 night cruise is almost a waste:
Day 1: Fly in / board (essentially are not settled until dinner) - travel day
Day 2: Actual day on the ship
Day 3: Actual day on the ship
Day 4: Disembark after breakfast / fly home
Essentially 2 days traveling with 2 days on the ship.

If the issue is cost then I would have them do the following:

• Go to cruiseplum.com
• Put in the filters they want
• Sort by cost per day

What they may be surprised to know is going for a longer cruise actually gives them a better deal with only a slightly large cost in total.

3 night cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on the Grandeur of the Seas

I can tell exactly the cruise your DIL is looking at. Here is a filtered list for that specific weekend. There is actually a 5 day cruise out of Port Canaveral that same weekend for like $300 more ($150/night for 3 people):
Cruise Plum Filtered Link

I did keep in NCL and RCL simply because I know some people view the same as fairly similar. I keep the 3-7 nights in there and there is a 5 night option on Voyager that personally I would choose if I was trying to save money while still getting a cruise in.

Oh and I did 3 people as a guess but like I said cruiseplum you can edit the searches to your hearts content. Best site for searching cruise options and seeing price history.

 

[MrsPete]

I think a 3 night cruise is almost a waste:
Day 1: Fly in / board (essentially are not settled until dinner) - travel day
Day 2: Actual day on the ship
Day 3: Actual day on the ship
Day 4: Disembark after breakfast / fly home
Essentially 2 days traveling with 2 days on the ship.

We've done a 3-nights, and we'd do another -- assuming the price were low. Note that we're about 8 hours from Florida; arriving "day of" is too risky -- we always arrive a day ahead of time. Anyway, here's how a 3-day shakes down for us:

Pre-day: Drive to Florida -- 8 hours -- and stay in an inexpensive hotel within 30 minutes of the cruise.
Day 1: Board with the first group at 10:30 -- hit the pools, eat lunch, and generally start having a great time. Rooms open about 1:00. We have half the morning, the afternoon and the evening onboard.
Day 2: Full day on the ship (or an island)
Day 3: Full day on the ship (or an island)
Day 4: Disembark after breakfast and drive home