Thread: Looking for Suggestions and Opinions on Family Cruise

Hi everyone,

I am trying to plan a cruise for my husband and I to take the girls on, They will be 15, 14 and 10. I have (all of us) cruised on Carnival and loved it. BUT i am thinking about doing a different itenerary. We took them on the Ecstasy and hubby and I went on the Conquest. So changing Cruiselines would be an option.

SO I have a 2 part question:

1) Suggestions on iteneraries for the whole Family would be appreciated, if you have taken kids and what you did?

AND

2) Opinions on Childrens and Teen Programs on other cruise lines besides Carnival..

Thanks so much.
Jennifer

Hi Jennifer, I can tell you a little about Princess, They have a wonderful childrens program, and the ships are child friendly!! The waiters are very attentive, I have taken my Grandchildren, from 3-18, and they loved it!! Just a reminder to have them use the buddy system, you have no idea who your other passengers are!!

I have to agree with Sue...and will be trying out Princess's kids room in just a few weeks.

My kids loved Royal Caribbean too...and Carnival.

I think the Western itinerary is good for kids...but almost any Caribbean location has plenty of fun things to do!

I have to agree with Dolores here. Princess has an unbelievable kids program. They really cater to families with all ages of children. If I were taking my kids, they would certainly be a line that I would consider.

My daughter was 5, 7 and 8 on her Princess cruises (she's already has been on 3 Carnival cruises) and she enjoys the kids' program. I would definitely say to schedule your cruise for when most kids are out of school as there will be more kids onboard. Besides the usual arts and crafts and games, Princess has a program run in conjunction with the California Science Center with activities such as dissecting a squid.

As for which routes: any seven-day cruises should fit the bill. One itinerary that has become popular with families in the past few years is the Alaskan one. This one used to be considered as an old fogey type of cruise, probably because of it used to cost much more. Now there are several cruiselines with several ships going there.

Hi,
I would add that Princess' Anytime Dining I think is great for a family, especially with kids.

You can actually make a reservation for the same time each night IF that is what you like. You can all meet at a certain place and time or just have everyone do what they want.

Examples of what was available on the ship I sailed last month, these ranged from 5 to 10, 5-midnight, 24 hours.

The main dining rooms were open. There was an Italian style restaurant open till midnight. The buffet was open 24/7 and there was room service. Also for a fee, the Sterling Steak House.