best cruise lines for kids
 

hi all,
my husband and i are taking our children and grandchildren(ages 3,4 and 7) on a cruise and would love to hear your recommendations on which cruise lines would be best for our group. i was going to book disney but thought you all might have other suggestions.
thanks for any ideas.

We have taken our 7 and 4 year olds on cruises on Royal Caribbean (Last August) and Princess and they had a lot of fun. They both have programs, activities, etc. Taking another on on crown princess 03/22. Obviously, during the summer and spring breaks there will be more kids on the ships.

I think Disney is the best for families, but there are a lot of cruise lines that offer very good activities and facilities for children, Royal Caribbean being among the better ones. I'd steer you away from Holland America and the luxury lines, but any of the mainstream lines will do a good job for you on that front. More important is what else you are looking for on this cruise. That might affect your choice a lot.

Disney, for example, only offers shorter cruises and a relatively limited itinerary. That could bea real consideration.

Come on Doug, Disney has 7 night cruises to both the eastern and western Caribbean, visiting many of the same ports the other major lines do. I think Disney is terrific but they can be costly. Carnival offers great kids programs along with excellent food(believe it or not!), wonderful entertainment and great service. Royal Caribbean does an equally great job.

Kids love cruising so as long as you stay away from Holland America or the luxury lines, you cannot miss. As the other respondents indicated, find a cruise that fits you and the kids will have a blast!

Of course, annewest is correct. Disney Magic does offer 7-day cruises. These cruises can be expensive (though not really that much more expensive than any premium cruise line), but you get what you pay for, in my opinion.

Disney is tops for families, but they have been temporarily positioning the 7-night Disney Magic in areas other than Port Canaveral. For instance, the ship will offer cruises to the Mexican Riviera this summer and, depending on when you want to travel, the 3- and 4-night Disney Wonder may be your only option from Florida.

The newest Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships have excellent facilities for children and you can't go wrong with them. Carnival has added amazing water parks for kids (and adults-only Serenity Decks) on Imagination and Inspiration and will be updating the rest of their Fantasy-class ships with them in the future.

Linda

We have done both Disney ships and loved them; with a large family of 13(3-70) everybody loved it; we did the parks for 3 days and the 4 day cruises...I would have rather have done just the cruises...but the best family vacation; although we have taken our son on 4 other cruises since our 5th this summer on Celebrity to the Mediterranean...he loves any cruise

mrcamp- can you please report back about the crown princess after your cruise on the 22nd? I have an 11 year old boy and am thinking of doing alaska with him this summer on that ship ($799 pp, one week).

We did Crown Princess last summer to the Eastern Caribbean; beautiful ship and our then 15 year old had a ball; there were great programs for kids; a teen area; teen discos; dinner parties...and it was the first time we had been on a ship with movies outside(under the stars); we really enjoyed that...and the best part for us was that she sailed from Brooklyn(hour door to door for us)

thanks mom9153! I'll research that Alaska trip some more then.