Best cruise with kids

We want to book a spring break cruise for April of next year. Our kids will be just turning 7, 5, 3 , and 22 months.

ETA- based on where we want to leave from and when we would be able to go, we have 2 options. Both are 7 night cruises that leave from NY and go to Orlando and the Bahamas.

Norwegian Breakaway and RC Anthem of the Seas. Anyone been on either of these ships?

Message edited 5/24/2017 5:16:00 PM.

Re: Best cruise with kids

For spring break, just do a search on itineraries from NY & NJ. Companies are NCL, RC, Carnival (though I don't think they port until later in NY). Disney cruises are starting... but not in Spring (at least I don't think). All are similarly kid friendly. I prefer NCL.

You will of course need 2 rooms... and spring break tends to be more $$$. I found cruising to be a LOT more with 3 kids and so I haven't gone in a while.

Best cruise with kids

I've been on both. They each have pluses and negatives. Royal has an indoor pool which is great for those first few days when it's still
Cold up north. They also have a nursery for kids under 3 for a fee. Norwegian does not.

Re: Best cruise with kids

I would pick the Breakaway because the Anthem (as big and grand as it is), doesn't have anything more than a pool. No waterslides, etc. Now with that said, you won't be able to use that anyway until you get down south, so it might not be important to you.

Re: Best cruise with kids

Been on the Breakaway. While the rooms are smaller than most cruise ships (I'm comparing the balcony suites), the ship is very big and has a lot to offer. The climbing zone is really awesome and I had a great time. My kids (2 & 3-4) at the time both did the kiddie climbing area and loved it. We all did the rock wall, bowling, golf and so on. The dance parties were great. They had a splash area that the kids enjoyed and the pool is standard. We really enjoyed the restaurants during that cruise... we booked every night out and food was great. We didn't put our kids in the kids club... we just don't do that on vacations. I really liked Bermuda as a port.

We haven't been on RC yet.

Best cruise with kids

I have been on both and really like both for different reasons. For your age group it would be the Anthem, hands down. There is roller skating, bumper cars, great arcade, kids clubs and nursery, characters roaming around, i-fly, rock wall, flow rider and they have a small wave pool for the kids along with an indoor pool for bad weather. So much more to do on the Anthem than the Breakaway for the kids.

Best cruise with kids

I went on the Norwegian Breakaway a few years ago with my whole family. None of us had small children at the time, but it definitely had a child geared aspect to it. They had a whole Nickelodeon area near the pool. It was not during any particular school breaks or even during the summer, but they still stopped a lot of the "adult" music and DJing at the pool for children activities.
A poster above mentioned the rock walk, bowling, golf. I think they had a ropes course as well.
I'm not sure if they go anywhere other than Bermuda, but I think it is a perfect destination for a laid back vacation with minimal excursions and tours.