Advice about Going on a Cruise

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• Cruise line and destination for family, 7 to 77 years
• Disney Cruise Travel Specialist
• Cruise with an infant
• Cruise with an 11-month-old?
• Which cruise lines are good for kids?
• Cruise ship with toddler
• Taking 14-month-old on a cruise

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Cruise line and destination for family 7 to 77 years

Dec 2011

My in-laws would like to take their extended family on a cruise together this summer, and are asking for suggestions. Age range is 7 to 77. Carribean, Central America, maybe even Galapagos...looking for advice on this. Do not want to end up on a party boat, but don't need Disney characters either. Educational, beautiful, fun, but also good food and no overcrowded 'cattle call' feeling on the ship. Even recommending a good cruise line would help. - Never been cruisin'

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My family and I go on a cruise every January. There are lots of options, and most cruises have programs for kids. The one we are going on in January next year is the Folk n' Irish cruise. This one is organized by Cherish The Ladies maven Joanie Madden, the larger than life, great- humored leader of this all-women band. Joanie is the Grammy Award winning whistle and flute player who has been the leader of Cherish the Ladies since its inception.

We leave from Miami on January 29th, 2012 and the cruise goes to Great Stirrup Cay, Cozumel, Mexico, Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island. While floating around to these wonderful places aboard the Norwegian Pearl, there will be concerts, set dancing, waltzing and jiving, workshops of all kinds, lectures, singing and traditional music jam sessions. It is very family oriented. Bring your dance shoes, your voice and your instrument.

The Folk cruise is part of the larger cruise ship contingent, so if you are getting too much folk music, you can still attend all the rest of the entertainment that the cruise ship provides, including all the other Disneyfied or Vega-esque shows. There is SO MUCH to do, like waterslides, rock climbing wall, bars and lounges of all kinds, pools, casino, hot tubs, kid's centers, teen discos, spa and fitness centers. If you really can't get away from it all, they have wi-fi in all the rooms.

You can't book the music cruise directly with Norwegian Cruise lines. You need to go to the Cherish The Ladies website and click on the link there. Shay

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Disney Cruise Travel Specialist

Jan 2010

Can anyone recommend a wonderful travel specialist who is skillful at booking Disney cruises? My huge family would like to plan a family reunion on a Disney cruise with an extended stay before or after the cruise at Disneyworld in the summer of 2011. There would be 50-60 of us coming in from all over the US and overseas and we'd range in age from 2-70. I'd love any recommendations and advice from those who've had pleasant Disney cruise experiences. Thank you! Herding Cats Onboard

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YES! I can absolutely point you towards a WONDERFUL Disney-savvy travel assistant!!! Please contact Mary Kraemer at MaryK [at] CruisingCo.com Mary planned our Nov08 Disney Cruise for us (we had never done anything like this), and it was *fabulous*! She is very well-versed in All Things Disney, plus, as the mom of 4, she knows how to plan for *families*. You can also reach her by phone at (650)520-7688 or (800) 614-1363.
Have a GREAT vacation!!!!! Leslie

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Cruise with an infant

May 2006

We'll be taking our five month old on a Regent/Radisson Seven Seas Cruise to Alaska in July to celebrate my mother-in-law's sixtieth. Does anyone have any advice for what to bring and how to manage it so that everyone stays happy & sane? Previous posts dealt with much older kids & I'm curious to see if anyone has experience doing this with an infant. It sounds like a particularly formal cruise line and I'm worried that it will be like eight days of flying business class & dealing with the other passengers' angry looks...Do we need to bring everything baby or will some items be sold on board (like diapers?) Thanks in advance for your advice! Laura

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My advice is never take a baby on a cruise. I would recommend getting a family member to watch the child. I was on a Mexico cruise on Carnival which is great for kids however, babies are your responsibility. The Cruise line you are on is extremely formal and it would not be fun for you or the baby. I would bring everything baby including diapers and also find out if that cruise line has a baby sitting service or a place for kids and at what age do they start. Alaska is beautiful at this time of year. if you have questions just e-mail me. Nicole 

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Cruise with an 11-month-old?

August 2005

My husband and I have our first vacation coming up since our daughter was born, and were thinking about going on a cruise. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, and were wondering if anyone has been with a baby. Our daughter will be 11 months at the time. I've heard Carnival caters to families the most- has anyone gone on one of their cruises? Also, we were wondering what the babysitting is like. The Carnival website mentions ''slumber-party'' style group babysitting in the evenings, and although they will take babies as young as 6 months, I'm not sure this would be great for younger children. Any advice would be most welcome- Thanks! Laura

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Hi, we just got back from an Alaska cruise with our 14 month old. This was our first real vacation since having our baby, we choose Alaska because we were going to be in Seattle for a wedding. This was my fifth cruise and my husbands second. We went on the NCL line, the Norwegian Star. We used Kristin at cruises for families (www.cruisesforfamilies.com) She was VERY helpful in deciding what line we would use. They don't have any baby sitting for children under two. So we had our guy with us the entire time. We didn't mind, we enjoyed the week! The entire cruise for us was a lot different then when we cruised before(we got engaged on the last one :) My husband made the comment that there didn't seem to be as much going on, on this boat. I alerted him that it was us who weren't going on. Between naps and early bedtime, you don't do nearly as much on the boat if you didn't have a little one. We didn't see any shows or anything like that. I was surprised at the number of families on the boat, I expected us to be the miniority. That wasn't the case. The only bad thing was the crib they provided, it reminded me of a cage. The pad was only one inch thick. The little guy wasn't very comfortable and ended up in bed with us every night. But overall I would do it again. We really enjoyed what they call ''freestyle dining'' Back in the old days, dinner was served at two different times, like 6 and 8. Now, you have a lot more options. You can go between 5-9:30 and there are a lot more restaurants to choose from! Good luck and have fun! debbie

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I can't comment on Carnival specifically, but re: taking a baby on a cruise... we went on a cruise with our son when he was about 16 months old. We didn't take advantage of childcare since we had family with us that were happy to give us a break sometimes, but we did look in on it, and it seemed fairly basic, not too exciting. The cruise itself wasn't geared at all to toddlers - there were no activities planned for them - so we made our own fun with him... mostly wandering the boat. He actually spent much of the time feeling seasick, as did I, so we didn't have too much fun. Aside from that, the complete display of wanton privilege and ignorance of the poverty of the places we docked was pretty sickening... I mean, the whole thing was about eating eating eating 5 courses per meal with half of that food getting thrown out, and if we didn't want dessert or something the staff looked at us like we were nuts -- and in the same day, going out into Nassau and seeing sick, malnourished people... Okay, I'm ranting now, sorry. not going on another cruise

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Which cruise lines are good for kids?

February 2002

My in-laws want us (2 families with kids 4-8) to take a cruise with them. Has anyone had experience with the various cruise lines to advise which ones have good kids' programs, nicer rooms, tips about choosing a cruise, getting good discounts, and whether one can feel the ocean movement? Do you get claustrophobic or is there lots to do? How to avoid old lady cruises? We are clue-less!

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We recently went on a Royal Carribean cruise to Mexico with our then 18 m.o. daughter. It was a great way to travel with a toddler: a lot of structure (you eat dinner with the same group every night and have the same servers), only unpack once, don't have to ever worry about meals, etc. It will be even better for you, as your children are over three and can join in with some of the structured activities on the ship. (We, on the other hand, were not even allowed to supervise our daughter in the children's room. Something farfetched about her diaper potentially leaking and posing a health hazard.) It's not a great way to see a place you've never been, however, as you typically only dock from 8 to 5, give or take a little bit of time. Plus, the entire town knew we came from el barco and we were told by some locals that the flea markets automatically double their prices when the ships are in.

While we were on the cruise (our first, incidentally), we had a chance to talk to the serious cruisers on board. We found Royal Carribean to be family friendly, and this observation was confirmed by others who had tried numerous cruise lines. There seemed to be some partying going on, no doubt, but we were on a separate schedule from that crowd. We were told by numerous people that Carnival is over the top with the partying scene and that the food isn't as good. (You didn't ask, but I thought the food was consistently okay, but I'm spoiled by living in the Bay Area. The aesthetic seemed to be mass quantities: 24 hour room service, ostentatious midnight buffets. There are also plenty of kid-friendly options)

You do feel the rocking of the ship. I have strong sea legs, so it never bothered me, but it took my husband a day to adjust. The water only got rough at the end of our trip, which apparently bothered some folks. The rocking ultimately worked to our advantage. Our normally wakeful daughter would be lulled back to sleep quickly when she stirred. We were on an upper deck, so we didn't hear too much engine noise, but apparently that's an issue lower down. Because we had to hang out during naps, etc, we reserved a stateroom with a balcony. Actually, the fresh air was really nice too. If you can afford it, I would definitely say it's worthwhile, especially if you are worried about clausterphobia.

We thought we were clever by bringing high powered walkie-talkies on the ship. As it turned out, others had the same clever idea. Even though we had to switch channels occasionally, it was nice to have a way to communicate if one of us wanted to go off and do something.

As for deals, I would talk to a travel agent who has experience in booking cruises. Ours was able to upgrade our stateroom for a teensy more than we would have paid for the non-balcony one because she received a fax about a cancellation at the last minute and notified us that the room had become available. We went to Dorothy Purdie at Travel Service Montclair. She has a little bit of a bossy edge to her, but she knows her stuff and was good at following through with things. Her number is 339-7000

Hope this helps! -- Ilana

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Sorry, I don't have any advise on which cruises cater to families with kids, however I can tell you which ones to avoid. We took a cruise in January a few years ago on the NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) to the Carribean and it was packed full of retired folks. I think NCL might cater to the older crowd, plus it was after the holidays so the younger people already had their holiday in December. Also, we took a Princess Cruise to Alaska in June 2001. There weren't many families with kids on the ship. As for feeling the ocean movement, the lower the cabin is, the less movement there is. Also, if you are in an inside cabin, there is less movement too. -Anonymous

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Cruise ship with toddler

Nov. 2001

Has anyone ever taken a cruise with their toddler? We've heard from some colleagues with families that it's a nice easy way to travel together. We were wondering, in particular, what people have done after the little one's bedtime. Have you had a sitter so that mom & dad can go out? Have you rigged some kind of long-range baby monitor so you can hear if your little one wakens without you (or is that a horrible idea)? Thanks in advance.

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I loved our cruise with our toddler! I would do it again in a New York minute. We took our son, 13 months at the time, on a seven day cruise to Alaska a few years ago. It was wonderful. There were lots of things for all of us to do, particularly during the shore time, which was daily. We hiked, ran around local parks and so on. On the ship we explored all the different decks and observation areas. And our son loved running up and down the narrow halls.

The ship was a huge floating hotel. It had a special area for children, and although it was for older kids, there was a huge ballpit and other things for our son to do, which he loved. The staff was fantastic. Many of the people who work on cruise ships are foreigners who have left their family behind to spend months out of the year on these ships. They LOVE children. Our son was treated like a prince. They had a special place set for him during our dinner seating, complete with his own yogurt and everything they learned that he loved. He felt very special, as he was constantly attended to by everyone on the ship.

My husband and I tag-teamed for things like working out and stuff like that. We did go out at night a few times. The concierge helped us find a sitter -- one of the crew members who was off duty. Again, she had children of her own at home so she had a terrific time hanging out with our son. We felt very comfortable with her.

If you can swing it, I would try for a room with a balcony. They are solid plexiglass and completely safe. These rooms are a bit bigger, too. Of course they provide a portacrib if you need one.

Enjoy your trip! CWilson

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We did the Disney cruise when our kid was 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 and it was great--a younger toddler might be a bit young. Cruises are a good way to be together with family and friends but also independent. The Disney cruises are expensive but totally geared to parent confidence and kid fun. They give you a beeper when your kid is in the kid club--she didn't want to leave when we went back an hour later to get her--disney everything from costumes to stories to crewmembers dressed up like the characters giving out autographs and hugs. They have a computer lab and lots of crafts. We didn't really think of ourselves as members of the cult of Disney, but we're still very favorably impressed. If your're going alone and not with other folks, I'd wait a year or two. If there are grandparents or aunts or someone else to help check in on your little darling to make sure she's happy in the kid club (or if you want an in room babysitter which is available) then you'd probably enjoy it but not get full benefit out of the disney specialty which is entertaining kids and letting the grownups have a break and vacation too. There are adult only areas as well, such as a remarkably sophisticated Italian restaurant, pool, deluxe spa, and nightclubby areas. It's an elegant deco looking ship that really keeps all ages happy. One weird thing is the lack of a casino--usually a feature of cruises. Lots of liquor, though. We'd go again. Chris (We took our daughter to Disneyland when she was 3 and her idea of a great time was playing with a wood box on Tom Sawyer's island. ) D L

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We have taken our son on two cruise ships. The first time he was 1 1/2 and the second time he was 2 1/2. Depending upon the age of your child, you should find out at what age they allow the child to participate in the play room activities. When our son was under 2 years, he was not allowed in the child play area and we had him the entire time, without any time for ourselves. The second time, he would not stay in the play area and wanted to be with us. Luckily, we were with friends and took turns watching the children. Also, with a child, most cruise ships will not give a balcony cabin and will restrict you to an indoor cabin. I found both cruises to be very confining. Finally, both cruise lines that we were on did not provide individual baby-sitting. They only had group baby-sitting in the play area. Personally, our trips involving planes and hotels have been much more enjoyable. TABN

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Taking 14-month-old on a cruise

May 2002

we are thinking of taking our 14 month old baby with us to a 4-day cruise to Mexico. We usually prepare fresh food for her, which is almost not possible to do during crusing. Any suggestion? Also, any precaution we need to take? Thanks. bobee

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We took our 2 year old twins on an Alaskan Cruise on one of the Princess cruise ships. It was the best vacation since having the kids who are now 4. They have a great child care facility with lots of activities for little ones. Food was not really a problem. There is always fresh fruit, breads, yogurt, eggs, pancakes, hotdogs, spaghetti on so on. At the sit down dinners our waiters had apple juice waiting for our twins when we sat down. They were very attentative to our needs. We will definitely do a Princess cruise again in the future. You will have a great time! Karen