Cruise Questions...

[audette]

So one of my siblings is trying to convince the rest of us that a Christmas cruise might be a good idea. I've been on one cruise, but that was a while ago, and someone else decided what ship and port and all that info for me - I went along as part of a group.

No one else in my family has been on a cruise, though, so we're all trying to figure this out blind.

Are there any particular cruise lines we should look at or avoid? Ports? Ships?  Other stuff I don't know about? 

I think the desire is for warm/sunny options, as most of us live somewhere that gets winter. We've got multiple children in the family, including ages 1, 4, 10 and 12. The 4 year old has some dietary issues (currently dairy free, might be gluten free then), so food issues may be a concern, too...

[audette]

Disney cruises is one of the ones DH has been looking at - it seems to do a lot to entertain kids, which is important for us.


We will all also have to fly into whatever port city the cruise travels out of. Is there anything we need to consider with that? (ie: transportation, flight times, insurance, etc...)

[LoveTrains]

Schedule your flight to the cruise port a day ahead of time. That way if there is a travel disaster you don't miss the boat.

[hulley]

I like Norwegian - they have an excellent kids/teen program. We don't see DD at all, except for dinners. Other family members have gone with younger children and raved about the kids program as well. They offer a variety of entertainment - shows, trivia, game shows. We stay in the "Haven" level, which is similar to Disney Concierge. There is a private pool, sun deck, hot tubs, etc as well as a restaurant exclusive to Haven guests. It's expensive, but worth it for us to have a place that isn't so crowded on the ship. Also, priority show seating, boarding, etc.

My favorite cruise destination is Bermuda. We go to the Bahamas a lot, and I'm sort of over Nassau. For a big family trip, I'd do something Caribbean, maybe Eastern Caribbean? Those are good 1 week cruises.

Also, the Christmas cruises are some of the most expensive of the year. Be prepared to pay a premium just because of the dates.

[jillboston]

I love Norwegian also. I don't have kids though - but the kids on board seem to be having fun. Definitely fly into your port city the day before in case of weather delays.
I love cruises but I know there are people in my family/friends who absolutely refuse to try one. Afraid they will be bored etc. Not sure what to say to those folks other than give it a shot (?)

[msmerymac]

Royal Caribbean has good kid programs. The food, frankly, is so-so. Decent, but not fabulous.

[gtkim]

Jul 1, 2015 13:05:44 GMT -5 hulley said:

Also, the Christmas cruises are some of the most expensive of the year. Be prepared to pay a premium just because of the dates.

This is very important to note.  The prices for Christmas week might be double what you would pay the week before.  I've been on several cruise lines, but only one where we were travelling with kids, and that was NCL.  They had a very good kids program.

[crashgizmo]

Another vote for NCL, especially a newer ship. We've been on both NCL and Holland America. Holland America has exceptional service but is definitely not kid friendly.

Get a balcony room. IMO it's worth the money, especially if you have kid who go to sleep early at night.

[dellabear]

Royal Caribbean and Disney are the only lines that will have nursery facilities for a one year old. We took our DD on RC when she was one and it was great. We were loyal Holland America cruisers prekids and they have amazing food and service but not much for kids and nothing for under 3s. Food on RC wasn't quite as good but the better facilities and entertainment made up for it.

Last year we went on NCL with the extended family and I was not a fan. The kids program and entertainment were good but it was too crowded, not enough service staff, and the food ranged from mediocre to bad except in the restaurants you have to pay extra for. I wouldn't go with NCL again.

[vanillacourage]

We just had a great time on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We did the S. Caribbean (port city of San Juan, then Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Maarten). We only had one day at sea and the rest was a different island every day, so we were really only on the ship for breakfast, dinner, evening & sleep. A great toe in the water for 1st time cruisers.

[rubytue]

We've done NCL, Holland, and Carnival. NCL is our favorite, but we are doing Princess this year just bc the dates line up well. We are going the week before Christmas, and it's roughly half the price of Christmas week.

Costco has good prices, and you get bonus stuff. Better than going through the cruise line IMHO.

We generally fly in the day before. We did say of once, and it was brutal. All we wanted to do was nap bc we'd been traveling since 6am. Never again!

All the lines are good with food restrictions. You just call up the special services desk about two weeks early and they can set things up. You will do better with set dining times and set waiters, but it can work with NCL and other non-set dining times. I did it once when I was on a low sodium diet bc of medications. Our nephew can only eat like 3 foods (long story - weird allergy) and that was fine. He got baked chicken with no seasoning and sweet potatoes every night. No issues at all.

[vanillacourage]

Oh also - if you do "My Time Dining" on Royal Caribbean, you get your own table at dinner every night and don't have to sit with randos.

[AAM2012]

I have heard rave results for Disney and agree with the other recs to fly in the day prior.

Have fun!

[rubytue]

Disney doesn't have a casino on board. You can take that as a plus or a minus, but it's worth knowing ahead of time.

[alleinesein]

Christmas week on a Disney cruise will be insanely expensive. We priced it out for this Christmas for 3 people and it was just under $11k for 3 adults in one stateroom.

[ECB]

Jul 2, 2015 2:25:06 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Christmas week on a Disney cruise will be insanely expensive. We priced it out for this Christmas for 3 people and it was just under $11k for 3 adults in one stateroom.

  Wow. 

Disney is AWESOME from a food allergy perspective but at that price.... wow. 

[rubytue]

Jul 2, 2015 7:49:47 GMT -5 ECB said:

Jul 2, 2015 2:25:06 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Christmas week on a Disney cruise will be insanely expensive. We priced it out for this Christmas for 3 people and it was just under $11k for 3 adults in one stateroom.

  Wow. 

Disney is AWESOME from a food allergy perspective but at that price.... wow. 

See also: no casino. Like it or not, the revenue from the casino helps reduce overall fares.

[Deleted]

Ditto to alleinesein. We looked too. If you guys would be willing to do a few weeks before or a few weeks after, the prices will drop dramatically.

[audette]

Jul 2, 2015 12:43:35 GMT -5 @melissainabq said:

Ditto to alleinesein. We looked too. If you guys would be willing to do a few weeks before or a few weeks after, the prices will drop dramatically.

Unfortunately, we can't push the schedule much away from Christmas.  Both because of school vacation time for the older two kids (and preschool for the 4 year old, but that is of less concern), and because part of the drive to go away somewhere warm is to escape the town and area where my SIL's brother passed away last year on Dec. 26...

Talking with family, though, it sounds more and more like the sibling with the 1 and 4 year old kids is not so keen on travelling at all, so we may end up all split up in different places for Christmas.  That makes me sad, but I can't complain too much - I was the one overseas for the last two Christmases, so I don't really have a leg to stand on about trying to get people together...

[tripleshot]

We just got off the Disney Fantasy this morning. It was our 4th Disney cruise. I'm sitting in a room at the airport Hyatt waiting for our 8 PM flight now. I agree with others to fly in the day before. We always request a table alone for the main dining and it's been granted. We don't like sitting with strangers at dinner. The service, activities, and dining are top notch.

The Christmas prices are probably really high, though. I like that it doesn't have a casino because I can't deal with cigarette smoke, even lingering smoke. They do have bingo, though.