Royal Carribean with kids?

[disneydawn]

I talked to a travel agent yesterday and she recommended looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise if you have kids. She mentioned the really large ship like the Voyager of the Seas becausse they have great childrens programming. Has anyone ever been on any of these? Thanks as usual for the input!

 

[mac_tlc]

disneydawn,

We have a DD (15) and a DS (8). We have been on the Explorer of the Seas and are booked on the Navigator of the Seas in Feb. Absolutely fantastic!!! Plenty for the kids and adults. Even though they are huge, they do not feel it. The Royal Promenade is suberb.

We recommend them to many of our clients as well.. Send a PM if you would like more info...

mac_tlc

 

[Sunseeker]

We have done both the Disney cruise and Explorer of Sea. We did not participate in the organized kids program so I can not tell you about them. But my whole family preferred Explorer of the Sea. Lots more activities for both adults and kids. The pools were also better.

 

[wovenwonder]

We have the Navigator booked for April 2004. But I'm so afraid that we will mis the 'Magic' of a Disney Cruise. We are doing the Eastern on the Navigator and I just found out that currently the Navigator was docking behind the Magic in St.Thomas! I may break in to tears when I see her.

Cruise Critic has a decent Message Board for Royal Caribbean if you care to check it out!

 

[justcruisin]

Been on a Wonder and an Explorer cruise. Enjoyed both, (who wouldn't?) ... DS was 2 on Wonder only used Flounders. He was 3 on Explorer and did use the Adventure Ocean, I found the staff to be wonderful and he enjoyed it.

FWIW ... we're doing Disney in '04 ... missed the "magic" ... can't explain it but everyone on these boards knows what I mean. EVERYONE is nicer on Disney, rooms are bigger, split bathroom is wonderful. More smoke and drunk people on RCL ... Enjoyed the dining rotation on Disney ... Felt more like a commodity on RCL, everything for the masses of guests ...

Having the hugh ship was nice, but how many bars to you need? Promenade was great, but one night we realized is like going to the mall on a Friday night!

 

[alexandrew]

we really want to go on the Navigator this fall - looks like we will have to pass, since they don't have group organized babysitting like Flounders for my 20 month old....I will not leave my DS with a complete stranger all alone in the stateroom...

 

[tstobb]

RCCL runs their smaller, older ships on the 3 & 4 day routes.

 

[SuperDisneyDad]

We found the children's programming on RCCL to be excellent for kids 3+ years old. They only have in-room babysitting for kids under 3 on RCCL and we don't like that as much as Flounders Reef. As was mentioned above, although the children's programming is very good on RCCL, the cruise is definitely geared more towards adults and mass crowds. You get more smiles and feel more "at home" on DCL. Al that being said, RCCL gets our vote as a VERY close 2nd to DCL.

 

[Gillian]

RCI doesn't have any kind of babysitting for kids under 1 year, so if that's consideration, wait until they are a little older, or choose DCL. In stateroom babysitting for ages 1-3 doesn't bother me, but I know some people are concerned about that.

 

[disneydawn]

My kids will be 10,7, and 5 so I am mainly concerned with the programs. Do you get a beeper for all the age groups? Anyone been on the Voyager?

 

[lsmac]

We have been on Voyager, and ds was 10 at the time. No, we did not get a beeper, we used two way radios. I am not sure if the younger groups use beepers or not. We loved the Voyager and did not feel it's "bigness" too much. I do appreciate the more adult oriented activities on the Voyager and ds felt there was more to do for kids, BUT...while everyone was friendly on RCCL, you can't beat the service and friendliness of the folks on Disney. I was actually surprised that ds spent soooo much time in the Lab this last trip on the Magic in December. He spent more time there than in the Oceaneers club (or whatever they were called) on the Voyager. the plus here for me was that I got to spend more time with my son and be a family on the Voyager!

Lisa

 

[4crusinransiers]

Although we enjoyed our Magic Cruise, the next cruise we take will probably be on a RCCL ship in the near future, with our 10 and 12 year old. Price is a BIG factor and we found the thigs to do for adults and children and the food alot better on RCCL.

 

[westjones]

Is there a site that you can check prices for RCCL like you can with DCL? We saw where they have an ice skating rink and it did look like it could be fun to try sometime.
DJ

 

[tstobb]

Try Expedia or Travelocity

 

[disneydawn]

You can get pricing on www.rccl.com.

 

[Bev J]

We have sailed on royal caribbean 5 times and had a great cruise every time. We sailed on DCL with our kids and while we had a great time also we will return to RCL for more activities, better food and with the new mega ships there is just so much to offer and much better prices than DCL.
We are a disney nut family but prefer our magic in the parks instead of at sea.

 

[disneydawn]

Bev...how old were your kids when you were on RCL? I am mainly concerned about the kids programming compared to DCL since my kids are 10,7,and 5.