Possibly Taking A Cruise Next Christmas, Which Cruiseline Is Best?

[summerrluvv]

My family has decided we aren't doing a big Christmas gathering next year since it's total chaos. A few of us might go on a cruise and celebrate Christmas on board. My mom has axed the idea of a Disney Cruise (she thinks there will be a million kids running around). What's a good cruise to go on that has activities for children, fun stuff for adults and sails out of FL? TIA!

 

[Talking Hands]

Honestly DCL. And there are adult areas. My husband and I cruised and we were not bothered by a lot of children. Only saw them in the dining room.(early seating) and at the shows and those I did see were well behaved. ADult areas were well policed. Had more problems with cigarette smokers on deck 9 and 10.

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

We've sailed on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess and love all of them. Go to cruisecritic.com for more info and message boards. There is tons of info there and like here, no questions is a dumb question.

 

[petchie]

The week before Christmas is a great time to cruise. Cheap and few kids. We like to do this and return to port on teh 23rd, 24th and then just get a hotel for the night (or 2) and have a nice dinner on Christmas there.

I would say Celebrity,or RoyalCaribbean if you can swing it.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Go with Disney Cruise Lines. We just returned from a Dec 18th-22nd cruise. You can't beat the atmosphere...you're treated like royalty...The ship is beautiful and classy. all parts of the ship look incredible, even the restrooms are incredibly decorated.

The cruise was very family oriented...so you don't see a lot of drunk party animals staggering around the ship.

We stayed in the cheaper staterooms (deck two)...which was as nicely appointed as anywhere on the ship.

Not to mention the world class entertainment which the whole family can enjoy.

I'd go again in a SECOND! anybody want to fund our trip???

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I agree with the other posters - DCL!! You would think that there would be a million kids running around, but it isn't like that at all. They have a half a deck of the ship to themselves, and their own clubs, so you really don't run into them much unless you're at the kids pool area. It's such a classy and beautiful ship, the cabins are bigger than most cruise lines, and there are plenty of adult things to do while aboard. We've talked to other people during our DCL cruises who have sailed with other lines, and they've all pretty much said that Disney's ship and service was the best, hands down. The only thing that I've heard some people complain about is the lack of gambling.

 

[EthansMom]

We've enjoyed Royal Carribean out of Miami. They also have cruises out of Port Canaveral if you are interested in doing a cruise and some time at WDW.

I see that you're in NY. Have you looked into cruising on Norwegian Cruise Lines out of NYC? We're in CT and are taking the kids on a Norwegian Cruise in April -- we don't have to fly (parking is $180 at the port) and we were able to get a deal where the kids were each $100, plus the cruise is 10 nights!

I agree with the other poster -- cruises during Christmas week are VERY expensive. You will definitely get a better price if you are able to go the week before Christmas or just after NYE.

 

[LK03]

Well, DH and I actually honeymooned on DCL and were told there were 1000 kids on board and honestly we never really saw them. They have a whole floor to themselves and when we went to the pool we went to the adult pool, went to the adult area of the beach and ate at the adult restaurant once too. If you liked Disney, and I'm guessing you do since you belong to the DIS (heh) I'd go for DCL. We're dying to go back!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i did royal carribean 2 times and am leaving again in a week...weve sailed out of ft lauderdale and miami ( i think!)
loved those trips!!

 

[DawnCt1]

We have sailed Royal Caribbean several times and Celebrity twice. We love the service and food on celebrity and we love the mega ships of RCCL. It depends what you are looking for. In all of those ships, the kids are so busy, you don't see them running around. I have priced DCL and the other lines, and I think that they price is better on non Disney lines.

 

[summerrluvv]

We've enjoyed Royal Carribean out of Miami. They also have cruises out of Port Canaveral if you are interested in doing a cruise and some time at WDW.

I see that you're in NY. Have you looked into cruising on Norwegian Cruise Lines out of NYC? We're in CT and are taking the kids on a Norwegian Cruise in April -- we don't have to fly (parking is $180 at the port) and we were able to get a deal where the kids were each $100, plus the cruise is 10 nights!

I agree with the other poster -- cruises during Christmas week are VERY expensive. You will definitely get a better price if you are able to go the week before Christmas or just after NYE.

I've looked into Norwegian but since we are looking for Christmas week, that doesn't work out of New York (my family lives in MI so we would be flying to FL).

My mom does not like Disney and anything related to it and compound that with the fact that Disney=all kids in her mind, forget it! I can't even believe she is my mother LOL. I've explained to her about the kids clubs but she doesn't care. She doesn't like Disney and she won't budge

I found a six day cruise and now I can't find it again and of course I didn't write it down. It was $1,200 a person though which seems pricey but I guess because it's Christmas week it's almost double, plus the airfare. Not to mention I would have to pay full price for DS since it would just be him and I in our room. I am really starting to dislike the cruise idea. Maybe we should just pick a resort or something. Hmmmm

 

[mom2grace]

We have done DCL & Celebrity with kids.

Celebrity has great kids clubs and the food is better than DCL, imo. Plus, it's WAY less $$$$.

Could you share a larger cabin with another adult family member and have DS be the 3rd?

 

[noseybuddy]

I did a Christmas cruise on RCCL. I was on Mariner of the Seas. I liked it very much. It was expensive though. There were a lot of kids on this cruise but they mainly hung around the pool, ice skating, and sports court during the day and at night they mainly hung at the arcade. Most of the kids ages on this cruise ranged from pre-teen to teen.

 

[denisem]

I was a cruise fiend for awhile and sailed Carnival, RCI, NCL, Premier (now defunct), Celebrity, Princess and DCL.

For a multi-generational criuse, I'd have to recommend RCI, although each cruise line has its strengths & weaknesses.

 

[simba928]

We have done Carnival and Royal Carribean. We enjoyed them both, but there was so much more to do on Royal Carribean. Of course they were both completely different experiences. Carnival was to the Bahamas with just my family. There were 4 of us. My brother was probably 8 or 9 and I was 13 or 14. We all enjoyed it. Royal Carribean was to Bermuda out of Newark. The only reason we did that was because it was easier with my grandparents to drive to New Jersey rather than fly to Florida. We had 16 people with ages ranging from 2 to 83. There were 8 "kids" ranging in age from 2 to 16 (4 boys aged 2, 9, 10, and 11 and 4 girls aged 5, 14, 15, and 16). Everyone enjoyed it. As I said, there was so much more to do on RCCL. Of course I had my cousin and her cousin with me to keep me entertained and keep me company. Have you have any questions about either RCCL or Carnival just ask and I'll be glad to help.

 

[mtblujeans]

I like this thread....I must be too simple-minded but I find trying to plan a cruise to be very confusing!