Other cruiseline recommendations?

[challada]

We just got back from our Mexican cruise on DCL which was our first cruise ever...really liked DCL from the servers to the shows was fantastic all around!

However, we live more than a days worth of flights away from the Port Canaveral so would like to look at cruising on a different line next year (probably to Alaska from Seattle which is only a few hours drive away). We have kids who are 5 and 10 and go to the park in CA regularly so we avoided the characters on the boat...my kids spent very little time in the clubs as we tended to do family things like the family crafts/games/dances or exploring ports. We don't drink, smoke or gamble so not looking for a "party" boat.

Any recommendations of other cruise lines (our TA at AAA said "oh, they're all good w/kids" which I don't believe)?

 

[christineann]

I have only been on one cruise, and that was on Royal Caribbean (Voyager to the western Caribbean), so I have nothing to compare it to, but we were very comfortable with it. I went with my 18 year old son and 15 year old daughter, and we were looking for a family cruise. Even though the alcohol is readily available, just like on other cruiselines, I never saw anyone drunk or obnoxious. The bartenders did check ID's. We went in June 2003, and it was a very nice crowd - at least all the people we came in contact with. There was a variety of age groups - families, honeymoon couples, etc. We went to the shows, the Promenade parades and spent a lot of time at the pools. All of our shore excursions involved snorkeling, though we did go to Carlos & Charlie's in Cozumel because friends here said we just had to see it. (Bad advice) We have made reservations on the Navigator (eastern itinerary) next summer to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation.
My kids would rather do this than go on "senior trips", which I would not allow anyway.

 

[HeatherH]

There are TONS of options to Alaska.

If you want a Seattle embarkation you're limiting yourself just a bit as to how far north you can go, but that's not a huge trade-off.

Your TA wasn't really wrong, actually, every major cruise line DOES have decent kid's programming. The difference is that with DCL the programming is CONTINUOUS from morning till late night, with the option of eating lunch and/or dinner with the programming on most days. That is not true on other lines; they do have some days where kids can eat with the programming but mostly there are breaks during the day (meal times) where the clubs aren't open. Plus most lines charge for group babysitting (the kids' clubs, basically) after 10:00 pm. That's the main difference.

I think you need to look at ship size and what you plan to do onboard. For Alaska, I'd go with Princess, RCCL, Celebrity or Carnival. For your particular needs, I'd probably avoid Holland America on this itinerary (not others) because the ships are smaller and the clientele is older...not as conducive to families traveling with kids.

Good luck deciding.

 

[challada]

THANKS! That's what I need to know! The drive to the Seattle port is relatively simple for us as we are about 4 hours drive from there. Holland has a beautiful brochure, but I saw no mention of kids anything in it so figured they don't do families.

My kids NEVER were in the kids clubs on DCL for any meals so not a worry for me....they also did not go to the clubs after about 4 pm since we had early dinner seating, then the show, then bed for my bunch! So our needs for the kids would probably coincide w/the availability on these other lines.

THANKS
Chris

 

[minniemoms]

Challada,
I want those same answers. We were on the 1st West Coast cruise, and my kids loved it. My parents loved it, we don't smoke, drink or gamble either, so that is just what I am looking for too. As a west Coaster, I would much rather fly from CA- to Seattle, or I guess they leave out of San Francsico too, than to fly to the East coast. If you find out anything else let me know by PMing me... Judyu

 

[figment795]

Hi neighbor DH and I live in Oregon. We understand the full day of flying to arrive in Orlando. I would love to have DCL in California with a cruise to Alaska. It woud be soooo nice to only have a 8 hr drive or a 2 hr flight.

 

[ciska]

Hi,

I have been on several cruises with the Holland America Line and this October it will be my first cruise with Disney. We have choosen Disney because we love the mouse and we have a 10 year old daughter.

The HAL is a great cruise company and the ships are not smaller than Disney. The new ships are even larger then Disney. The people on board are some very old but there are plenty of people who are younger. Now that the HAL are having their own kidsclub more people with children are getting on. But it isn't Disney thats for sure.

Hope I have answered some questions for you.

Love Ciska

 

[bicker]

We enjoyed our Royal Caribbean cruises. We didn't have little ones with us, but there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of facilities and activities for them. While we're not big cruising people, we enjoyed the trips, and noted the great service we got.

 

[challada]

I was looking at the NCL boats yesterday and it seems they have a large amount of area for kids. They also do small sails (repositionings) b/w CA and Vancouver which look nice (and VERY cheap...saw 3-4 day sailings that would cost my family of 4 only $500 total for the cruise but the time of year doesn't work well for us).

I'll keep searching and let you know. I have a friend who just did NCL to Alaska in the spring w/her kids age 6, 11 and 16 and raved about them.

I've heard that RCCL can get pretty racy.

Judy...are you thinking next summer? Maybe we could have a DISer reunion onboard...LOL!

 

[bicker]

I've heard that RCCL can get pretty racy.

Hehe... I must have missed that!

Seriously, Royal Caribbean is anything but racy. Very family-oriented, as far as I could tell.