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nancyg
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/10 729 total posts
Name:
Nancy
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Best cruise line / destination for family
I'm considering taking my family (myself, DH and 2 boys ages 2 and 5) on a cruise but I don't know where to start.
I've only been on one cruise for my honeymoon 12 years ago. It was a Mediterranean cruise on Princess. It was magnificent and very luxurious.
I would love to do a Disney Cruise but the prices are a little steep, unless someone knows some discounted time of year or other secret.
Looking for suggestions on cruise lines and destinations. We don't need top of the line but don't want bottom of the barrel either. TIA!!!
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Posted 10/24/16 3:00 PM  |
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nycgirl
Angels!
Member since 3/09 7721 total posts
Name:
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
I think Disney is very overrated (Having done it... I prefer to go to Disney).
I hate great times on Norwegian and Carnival with the kids! We did Bermuda & Bahamas/Florida and both were great.
Great to sail out of NYC, very relaxing not to fly!
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| Posted 10/24/16 9:33 PM |
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nancyg
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/10 729 total posts
Name:
Nancy
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by nycgirl
I think Disney is very overrated (Having done it... I prefer to go to Disney).
I hate great times on Norwegian and Carnival with the kids! We did Bermuda & Bahamas/Florida and both were great.
Great to sail out of NYC, very relaxing not to fly!
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking I'd rather be at Disney too so nice to hear you agree. I'll definitely check out Norwegian and Carnival.
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| Posted 10/25/16 9:38 AM |
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LI2VA
Love my life!!
Member since 11/05 3125 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Best cruise line / destination for family
Royal Caribbean all the way!!!!!
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| Posted 10/25/16 1:16 PM |
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ml110
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 5435 total posts
Name:
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Best cruise line / destination for family
we've been on 2 disney cruises (another one booked next november), one NCL cruise, and one royal caribbean. DS is 5 now.
we did LOVE the disney cruises! DS loved the kid's clubs- they did "super hero training" one night and he came out wearing a little paper cape he decorated. and another night they did Mouseketeer training, and mickey stopped by. DH and i took advantage and did dinner at the adults only restaurant. we booked the first Disney cruise about 10 days before we wanted to leave LOL we got a good deal!! we booked "guaranteed balcony" which basically means we were guaranteed a balcony room- just couldn't pick exactly which room... if you're not picky about where the room is, Its cheaper if you can book it like that. we ended up with a room that had an oversized balcony off right off the back of the ship  so you can get lucky. We did the same thing on our NCL cruise that we took-- we booked "guaranteed", and ended up with a nice room.
like i said, we LOVED our disney cruises- not just for the kid's clubs, but i also liked that the shows at night were ones we could take DS to and that he really liked. The shows on NCL weren't really kid-friendly.. that made a difference for us. we also love the movie theater on the Disney ships, too... we got to see the new star wars movie on our last cruise.
That said, we really liked the NCL Breakaway, too when DS was 3 years old. nice, newer ship- had a ropes course for the kids, neat kid's water play area, different restaurants. He was young and didn't do the kid's club there- but it seemed like the kids were having fun. So i would say NCL would be really good, too... and if you do the Breakaway, theres no flight cost either
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| Posted 10/25/16 2:11 PM |
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nancyg
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/10 729 total posts
Name:
Nancy
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Thanks for all the feedback. I have a question I'm having a hard time finding the answer to.
I was looking into the Royal Caribbean line leaving out of NJ. Are the kids clubs included in price or are they an extra cost and if so, how much?
Also, I see they had like 3, 3-hour sessions throughout the day. Does that mean kids can go to only one, or can they re-enter?
Thanks again for all the response!!!
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| Posted 10/26/16 1:06 PM |
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pjt212301
LIF Adult
Member since 7/12 1213 total posts
Name:
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Best cruise line / destination for family
If you are referring to the Anthem of the Seas, the only charges for the kids club were late night or specialty nights - things that were above and beyond the 3 three hour sessions. Once you sign them up, they could go anytime during the sessions.
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| Posted 10/26/16 1:19 PM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
We have done several cruise lines with kid's including Disney Royal Norwegian Carnival and Holland America .
Our favorite is probably Royal for entertainment options offered. While Disney cruise was a fun trip and everything was well run my kids found the kids clubs too big they like a more intimate environment where counselors know their names etc. When I left the Disney ship I didn't feel the experience was worth the price tag.
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| Posted 10/27/16 9:59 AM |
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by JandJ1224
We have done several cruise lines with kid's including Disney Royal Norwegian Carnival and Holland America .
Our favorite is probably Royal for entertainment options offered. While Disney cruise was a fun trip and everything was well run my kids found the kids clubs too big they like a more intimate environment where counselors know their names etc. When I left the Disney ship I didn't feel the experience was worth the price tag.
I agree I was disappointed in how much we paid for Disney Cruise vs our experience. Some parts were nice but not worth the XX,000.
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| Posted 10/28/16 4:57 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Best cruise line / destination for family
We have been on Carnival, Disney, NCL and Royal. We have cruised since DD has been 4 and she is now 10. While Disney was awesome, unless you are REALLY into Disney and want to spend the extra money, I wouldn't recommend it. We went twice and DD was bored the second time. Royal is great with it's ton of activities. We love the Anthem (the one sailing out of NY) but the Oasis/Allure is fantastic for kids. The parades, activities, ice shows couldn't be beat.
My advice though is that to wait until your youngest is 3. They can not go into the kids club until 3 and are not allowed to be in the pools if they are not fully potty trained.
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| Posted 10/28/16 6:05 PM |
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TyReseGreen
Lil Prince is here
Member since 8/11 6338 total posts
Name:
Theresa
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
I've been on RC, Carnival, and Holland America but never with the kids. We decided to take a Carnival cruise with the kids(their first) Spring of 2017. My children range in age 1-19. My husband and I took this exact cruise earlier this year so we know what to expect.
I personally think Disney Cruises are way overpriced and like another poster stated when my sister took my niece twice she was bored the second time and the second time she was 6.
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| Posted 10/29/16 7:48 AM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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Best cruise line / destination for family
I'm shocked to hear that any child was bored on a Disney cruise. There are SO many activities. SOO many in the kids clubs. My daughter is 9 and hasn't been bored ever, we've been 3 times. The level of service you receive is outstanding on a Disney cruise. I'm not sure of other lines though because we have only cruised Disney.
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| Posted 10/29/16 8:09 AM |
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nancyg
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/10 729 total posts
Name:
Nancy
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Best cruise line / destination for family
I surprised to hear people didn't think Disney cruises were worth the money. Now I don't feel so bad that we can't afford it. Also I was pleasantly surprised to see how affordable Royal was. I haven't done lots of research but I plugged in a few dates just to see. I've always wanted to leave out of NYC too!
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| Posted 10/29/16 11:19 AM |
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LI2VA
Love my life!!
Member since 11/05 3125 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by nancyg
Thanks for all the feedback. I have a question I'm having a hard time finding the answer to.
I was looking into the Royal Caribbean line leaving out of NJ. Are the kids clubs included in price or are they an extra cost and if so, how much?
Also, I see they had like 3, 3-hour sessions throughout the day. Does that mean kids can go to only one, or can they re-enter?
Thanks again for all the response!!!
Your kids can go anytime and its complimentary up until 10pm... then its $7 per hour per child.
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| Posted 10/29/16 5:53 PM |
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LI2VA
Love my life!!
Member since 11/05 3125 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by nancyg
I surprised to hear people didn't think Disney cruises were worth the money. Now I don't feel so bad that we can't afford it. Also I was pleasantly surprised to see how affordable Royal was. I haven't done lots of research but I plugged in a few dates just to see. I've always wanted to leave out of NYC too!
Try www.crucon.com , they have great deals happening right now
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| Posted 10/29/16 5:54 PM |
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PennyCat
Just call me mommy :)
Member since 7/08 19084 total posts
Name:
Jib
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by BargainMama
I'm shocked to hear that any child was bored on a Disney cruise. There are SO many activities. SOO many in the kids clubs. My daughter is 9 and hasn't been bored ever, we've been 3 times. The level of service you receive is outstanding on a Disney cruise. I'm not sure of other lines though because we have only cruised Disney.
Agreed. We've actually taken 3 other cruise lines and I find Disney by far the best. The level of service, attention to detail, the entertainment... it was by far our favorite cruise.
If I had to choose a next in line, hmm... I wanna say probably Royal Caribbean. We had a fantastic time on our Norwegian Cruise, but I've been hearing not so geeat reviews of specific ships. We sailed on the Gem and were very happy but I was told to steer clear of the Breakaway.
Message edited 10/30/2016 7:03:21 AM.
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| Posted 10/30/16 7:02 AM |
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ml110
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 5435 total posts
Name:
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by nancyg
I surprised to hear people didn't think Disney cruises were worth the money. Now I don't feel so bad that we can't afford it. Also I was pleasantly surprised to see how affordable Royal was. I haven't done lots of research but I plugged in a few dates just to see. I've always wanted to leave out of NYC too!
I posted earlier- we loved our 2 Disney cruises, and have a third one booked for next year. But,yeah, a lot of the other lines- like RCL or NCL are starting to step it up and you get pretty much the same as Disney for way less $$$.
I listen to a Disney podcast from a Travel agency that specializes in Disney... And even they talk up how nice RCL is you'll have a blast!!
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| Posted 10/30/16 8:14 AM |
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nycgirl
Angels!
Member since 3/09 7721 total posts
Name:
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by PennyCat
Posted by BargainMama
I'm shocked to hear that any child was bored on a Disney cruise. There are SO many activities. SOO many in the kids clubs. My daughter is 9 and hasn't been bored ever, we've been 3 times. The level of service you receive is outstanding on a Disney cruise. I'm not sure of other lines though because we have only cruised Disney.
Agreed. We've actually taken 3 other cruise lines and I find Disney by far the best. The level of service, attention to detail, the entertainment... it was by far our favorite cruise.
If I had to choose a next in line, hmm... I wanna say probably Royal Caribbean. We had a fantastic time on our Norwegian Cruise, but I've been hearing not so geeat reviews of specific ships. We sailed on the Gem and were very happy but I was told to steer clear of the Breakaway.
I think it really depends on age of kids & what you want out of a cruise.
We had a much better time on Nowegian (gem & breakaway) vs Disney, esp if you factor in price.
Don't get me wrong... Disney has great entertainment... but for the $ tag, I'd do a regular cruise plus a Disney vacation. I found the service and food to be the worst on Disney as compared to Carnival & NCL (I've never done RC)... actually, it's not even a close comparison.
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| Posted 10/30/16 9:29 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
Posted by BargainMama
I'm shocked to hear that any child was bored on a Disney cruise. There are SO many activities. SOO many in the kids clubs. My daughter is 9 and hasn't been bored ever, we've been 3 times. The level of service you receive is outstanding on a Disney cruise. I'm not sure of other lines though because we have only cruised Disney.
We loved the Disney Cruise when we went and your right the service was great. There was nothing "wrong" with it at all but yes my DD was bored. She does not go to the kids club because they can not handle any sort of special need. I did not find them as accommodating with things we needed for DD when other lines didn't even question us. She is not into princesses anymore and doesn't stay up late for the deck parties.
On Royal, she loved the ice shows, the parades the dance parties during the day. Cupcake decorating and and various activities that did not include the kids club. She also did not like the pools on Disney because it was SO loud. So many kids jammed in and on Royal and NCL it just was never that way.
It all really depends on your kids and what you like to do as a family. And on a selfish note - no casino on Disney lol : ).
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| Posted 11/1/16 12:17 AM |
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JWG421
Our miracle is here
Member since 12/12 2507 total posts
Name:
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Re: Best cruise line / destination for family
I literally just got off the RC anthem of the seas this past saturday
I traveled w my 2.5 old son, my parents
and my sisters family w a 2 year old and 5 year old
any questions PM me
daycare for the kids was GREAT
daytime was $6 an hour and evening was $8 for the 2 year olds and the 5 year old was free until 10PM
Message edited 11/1/2016 3:48:39 PM.
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| Posted 11/1/16 3:48 PM |
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