Which RCL ship with kids?

[godde8ss]

I have a 3 and 7 year old, priced out of DCL for spring beak/summer (but we will be sailing the fantasy early December, our 3rd DCL cruise). Which is the best RCL ship for kids sailing from Tampa or PC. Any experiences with the kids club?

 

[msjprincess]

Since you're limited to Tampa or PC I would have to go with Oasis.

 

[godde8ss]

Since you're limited to Tampa or PC I would have to go with Oasis.

My in-laws just got off Oasis, and I don't know if it was just their experience, but they found the ship too crowded. (Eastern Carribbean in JAN). They had trouble getting seats for shows, etc. I have been worried about that sailing this class of ship. I haven't sailed RCL since early 2000s when I was still kid free, and we are now spoiled by Disney's kid's club.

 

[ldo]

voyager or freedom class is a good choice with ice skating rink, flow rider (7 might be too young). it's a much smaller scale than oasis, but still a large ship. my kids ages 4-12 loved rccl kids clubs as much (or more) than dcl. we think oasis looks too big, thus stick with above recommendations.

 

[msjprincess]

voyager or freedom class is a good choice with ice skating rink, flow rider (7 might be too young). it's a much smaller scale than oasis, but still a large ship. my kids ages 4-12 loved rccl kids clubs as much (or more) than dcl. we think oasis looks too big, thus stick with above recommendations.

That would also be my choice.

OP are you able to sail out of Port Everglades or Miami instead of PC or Tampa?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I have not cruised with RCI yet but really want to... I would go with an Oasis class ship. We will either book Oasis, Allure, Harmony or Anthem (but that's out of NYC).

 

[Mrsjvb]

the ship out of Tampa Currently( Rhapsody) is probably not the best choice. other than the rock climbing wall, and kids club programming, nothing much else for that age range to do on board. we happen to like this class of ship, precisely because it does not attract families with young kids as much as the Oasis Class and Freedom Class ships do

 

[bumbershoot]

I haven't sailed RCL since early 2000s when I was still kid free, and we are now spoiled by Disney's kid's club.

I don't know about the 3 year old's expeirence on Royal, but DS *loved* the experience on Royal. He has been in the 9-11 group 3 times but on those sailings there were few enough kids that they were put with the 6-8 year olds. He had a blast. He likes adults and likes it when there's leadership. On Royal they lead the games. On Disney they just let you wander at will unless there's an activity time. He likes the more personal interaction on Royal. (Sadly he's now in the teen club on Royal and he didn't actually like it!)


as for what ship, what do they like to do? What do YOU like to do. We've now been with DS on Vision, Freedom, and Adventure (Explorer class), and they've all been fun.

 

[godde8ss]

I don't know about the 3 year old's expeirence on Royal, but DS *loved* the experience on Royal. He has been in the 9-11 group 3 times but on those sailings there were few enough kids that they were put with the 6-8 year olds. He had a blast. He likes adults and likes it when there's leadership. On Royal they lead the games. On Disney they just let you wander at will unless there's an activity time. He likes the more personal interaction on Royal. (Sadly he's now in the teen club on Royal and he didn't actually like it!)


as for what ship, what do they like to do? What do YOU like to do. We've now been with DS on Vision, Freedom, and Adventure (Explorer class), and they've all been fun.

My 7 year old loves the kids club on Disney so much he has cried when we picked him up. He likes all the activities in the clubs, especially the computer games. Both kids love to swim and do crafts, little one loves singing and being crazy basically. I like to stay active, always looking for a drink tasting, trivia, walk around the ship...not too much relaxing for me because i feel like I could be missing stuff. My husband is more of just a sit and smoke a cigar person.

 

[KashasMom]

I'd go with an Oasis class ship. My daughter was just over 6 when we went on the Oasis and now at 7 1/2 we just sailed on the Allure. She absolutely loved both cruises. She's been in kid's clubs on other lines (she hates Disney's kid's clubs - too crowded - and I don't like that 3-12 are together). In any case she just doesn't spend much time in any of the clubs because we like to be together. It was just her and I for our Allure cruise. We like the RCI shows a lot - the aqua show (there were 2 different ones) and the ice skating shows (also 2 different ones). She loved CATS on the Oasis and would have loved Mamma Mia on the Allure but...we got incorrect information about it not being appropriate for her. We both LOVED the pools! There are FOUR of them - 3 that are for her age & older. The splash area is really fun (and big) and there's a kid's pool there. There is also a round pool - not deep - with a current to push you around. Disney pools can't even compare. Our last trip on the Magic in November the pool was so small and so crowded that we literally just stood there.

There are lots of options for eating - and something we love - a nice dinner buffet with all kinds of food. We don't need to eat in the dining room every night. There are daily movies for kids and family events such as scavenger hunts and karaoke. There are two flow riders and your older child will likely be tall enough for one of them. My daughter loved the rock climbing walls and the carousel. There are some photo opps with the Madegascar characters and also a Madegascar breakfast, which was very good (extra charge $10pp).

There is only one time that the ship(s) get crowded and that is at the buffet for breakfast at about 8:45. We always went about 8:15 and had no problems getting a seat. I often wondered where all the people were and it was a full ship. We actually felt much more crowded on the Disney Magic! As far as shows - you should pre-book your shows and your dining (if you don't go with traditional) as soon as they bookings open. It takes a little juggling to coordinate times but it's not really bad. If you plan to go to specialty restaurants with your kids - book them on board. They don't offer the kids discount online. Also if you choose RCI excursions, keep checking the website because they discount them.

All in all, we love this class so much so that we booked the Harmony for President's Day weekend next year! Can't wait!

 

[ljcrochet]

I would do which ever itinerary looks better to you. We did grandeur last year. My girls hated the kids club. It was very small, ages 6-11 together. They went once and never went back.
This year we did anthem. Girls didn't even try out the kids club. One day they were going to go but it is closed between 12-2 sea days. Not sure about port days.

Both of my girls who are going to be 12 in May said Grandeur was better overall than anthem.

 

[leahlefler]

We just sailed one of the smaller RCI ships (Jewel of the Seas) with a 9 and 11 year old and they absolutely loved it. One of the benefits of a smaller ship with this age category is having fewer children aboard - so there was never a wait for the rock climbing wall, the water slide (small and geared for younger kids, but still fun), the mini-golf course, etc. The kid's club was combined with ages 6-11 together. We couldn't keep our boys out of the kid's club! They wanted to go as often as possible (we had a port-intensive cruise out of San Juan so that was limited primarily to the evening session). It might not be as wonderful as with really young kids, but we actually liked the port-intensive itinerary with a smaller ship, and the kids made a ton of friends in the kid's club/had a lot of individual attention since there weren't as many kids on the ship.

 

[drb116]

We have done Oasis, Quantum, and Freedom class boats with kids that age and I would say Oasis is by far the best option. The others were good, but the Oasis was much better. In my opinion, the Oasis boats had more family activities as well as activities. I know the Oasis has an afternoon Carnival on the Boardwalk on Sea days, and the little kids will love the carousel. None of the ships offer a great theater show, but the Freedom and Oasis class has ice shows that the kids may like and the Oasis has a dive show (the main dive show is a little boring for kids, but they also do a family dive show towards the end of the week).

 

[Maineiak]

I'd go with an Oasis class ship. My daughter was just over 6 when we went on the Oasis and now at 7 1/2 we just sailed on the Allure. She absolutely loved both cruises. She's been in kid's clubs on other lines (she hates Disney's kid's clubs - too crowded - and I don't like that 3-12 are together). In any case she just doesn't spend much time in any of the clubs because we like to be together. It was just her and I for our Allure cruise. We like the RCI shows a lot - the aqua show (there were 2 different ones) and the ice skating shows (also 2 different ones). She loved CATS on the Oasis and would have loved Mamma Mia on the Allure but...we got incorrect information about it not being appropriate for her. We both LOVED the pools! There are FOUR of them - 3 that are for her age & older. The splash area is really fun (and big) and there's a kid's pool there. There is also a round pool - not deep - with a current to push you around. Disney pools can't even compare. Our last trip on the Magic in November the pool was so small and so crowded that we literally just stood there.

There are lots of options for eating - and something we love - a nice dinner buffet with all kinds of food. We don't need to eat in the dining room every night. There are daily movies for kids and family events such as scavenger hunts and karaoke. There are two flow riders and your older child will likely be tall enough for one of them. My daughter loved the rock climbing walls and the carousel. There are some photo opps with the Madegascar characters and also a Madegascar breakfast, which was very good (extra charge $10pp).

There is only one time that the ship(s) get crowded and that is at the buffet for breakfast at about 8:45. We always went about 8:15 and had no problems getting a seat. I often wondered where all the people were and it was a full ship. We actually felt much more crowded on the Disney Magic! As far as shows - you should pre-book your shows and your dining (if you don't go with traditional) as soon as they bookings open. It takes a little juggling to coordinate times but it's not really bad. If you plan to go to specialty restaurants with your kids - book them on board. They don't offer the kids discount online. Also if you choose RCI excursions, keep checking the website because they discount them.

All in all, we love this class so much so that we booked the Harmony for President's Day weekend next year! Can't wait!

Sailing on the Allure in April 2018. Never been on RCCL before. How far in advance can we start booking dining, shows, etc?

 

[KashasMom]

Sailing on the Allure in April 2018. Never been on RCCL before. How far in advance can we start booking dining, shows, etc?

Looks like you can start booking 6 months prior to your cruise...http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/cruiseEnhancements.do

 

[msjprincess]

Sailing on the Allure in April 2018. Never been on RCCL before. How far in advance can we start booking dining, shows, etc?

There's no rhyme or reason as to when they will open up dates. I would just keep checking periodically. For my cruise last month dining, beverage packages and excursion were available when I booked the cruise more than a year in advance. For other cruises it's been 6 months or so in advance.

 

[bigtony777]

I agree with Freedom or Voyager class ships. They are big enough to have plenty to do, but not too big to have to worry about lines for meals or shows. The pool area on the Freedom class ships will be better for younger children than the Voyager class ships due to the H2O zone.

 

[TEM1234]

Oasis Class all the way!

 

[moericus]

I agree with Freedom or Voyager class ships. They are big enough to have plenty to do, but not too big to have to worry about lines for meals or shows. The pool area on the Freedom class ships will be better for younger children than the Voyager class ships due to the H2O zone.

I lean towards this. The H2O zone (outdoor waterpark) and Adventure Ocean will be the highlights for them. The kids always love skipping the main dining room for Johnny Rocket's one night too.

I know there's a lot of Oasis fans posting, but that's a big ship with a lot nooks and crannies for a 3 year old to get lost. I prefer the simpler straight layout of Voyager/Freedom. I know if we got separated for any reason, I could probably find them in 10-15 minutes tops. Just my preference for the little people. Tweens and teens would be different.