lcpc22

My parents are taking all of their children and grandchildren on a cruise next August to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They are not in bad shape, but not too active either, in their early 70's and the grandchildren will range in ages 10 months to 9 years old.

They do not want a Disney cruise, but want a cruise that will accomodate children, have kids activities, not go to Europe (too far to travelin airplanes with kids) and no Carribean (hurricane time). Any ideas out there?

chepar

You probably want to focus on a cruise line with a good children's program. We did a multi-generational family trip to Alaska a few years ago on Royal Caribbean, and it was nice.

My daughter loved the kid's program -she didn't want to leave when I would go to pick her up. She went to the program a handful of times for only a few hours each, but the program is open basically all day and I recall seeing the same kids there everytime we went. There was no "set" schedule - you were free to drop in/pick up at any time during their hours of operation, so it wasn't like you had to preplan much or make reservations.

I'm not sure if August is too late to see the salmon run in Alaska, but it is a great cruise. We also combined the cruise with a couple of days in Vancouver prior to the cruise, and flew down to take my daughter to Disneyland for a few days post cruise.

kfusto

Alaska is beautiful but does require mobility and energy if you are to get out and explore. If your parents are content to just sit and enjoy or to participate in excursions that are very easy, that would be a good choice.

You cannot predict weather so if that is a big concern, the Caribeen is not an option. You have eliminated the Med.

That leaves Bermuda if Alaska does not appeal. The waters are generally a bit rough on the trip up and back, if that is a consideration.

For the kids, I would suggest RCI as Adventure Ocean is a very comprehensive program. They have some great ships in Alaska.

lcpc22

Let me throw in another issue...my parents have already taken an Alaskan cruise not long ago (we gave it to them as a b-day gift for my dad).

What about Mexico? Someone suggested Baja but I'm not sure on that one. Any ideas about the Pacific cruises?

eileyann

HAL has great kids programs - really great.

teach1

We took our children on an Alaskan cruise and it was wonderful! We chose Princess because we did not want to be tendered in any of the ports of call- we simply walked on and off the ship, which I feel was an advantage. There may be other cruise lines who have dock access but I know that Celebrity and Carnival used tenders in some of the ports when I was there.
Princess' children's programs were wonderful. My teenager met a lot of people from around the world. There was always plenty of supervision. I visited the center with my younger child and was very pleased with how the employees conversed with the children. Although I have no complaints with any of the cruise lines, Princess seems to have the market on Alaska. If you are interested in the salmon run, you would need to book in the early part of July. That would also be the peak time of the season and the warmest.

chepar

I've done a Baja cruise also, but it was a short 4 night one. The cruise departed out of San Pedro and stopped in San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada. It was a nice cruise, but I like the 7 night ones better. The shorter cruise felt more rushed as each day we stopped in a port.

The passengers on the cruise were generally younger and rowdier than the passengers on other 7 night cruises I have taken.

We did the Baja cruise at the beginning of June, so a lot of the crowd were families w/kids, college aged and high school aged kids out for summer break. The shorter itinerary also attracts the younger crowd because of greater affordability, not to mention that Ensenada has a bit of a reputation as a party port. Lots of tipsy people staggering back to the ship in Ensenada.

What about one of those cruises through the Mexican Riviera? I think I've seen cruises that include stops in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, as well as smaller ports. Obviously Cabo also could have a reputation as a "party port", but with a longer itinerary you might have less of that.

lcpc22

Thanks for all the responses. I am getting the feeling from my mom that they may go back to the Alaskan cruise because of the ship.

I think we will stay away from Baja but the Mexican Riviara is something to think about.

I have only been on one cruise, about 15 years ago, and what I am being told now is not to worry so much about where the ship is going but rather which ship is best (safety, amenities, kids programs...). Any thoughts about that line of thinking?

petlover

It sounds like your options are likely Mexico, Bermuda or Alaska. Do most live on the East Coast or West Coast...this could make a big difference in travel expenses. My first choice of the above would be Alaska.

ajcolorado

We just returned from a cruise on Royal Caribbean's "Explorer of the Seas." I was very impressed with their children's activities. I believe the program begins at age 2 - but the children must be fully potty trained. My daughter is very clingly but loved the program. All the other kids seemed happy too. She opted for the "Adventure Dining at Johnny Rockets" ($3.95 charge) rather than eat with us during the formal night. She begged to be allowed to stay for the late night program. I was impressed with the facilities and staff. I'm a clingy mom so it's not easy to leave my kids with strangers. It was a comfort that there were windows that looked into each of the kids program rooms.

I thought Royal Caribbean's evening shows were reasonably family friendly - the ice show was a nice touch. There were tons of activities for every age group available through out the day and the waiters etc. were excellent.

We were on a Caribbean cruise but the company does other destinations as well. Check out their web site: rccl.com

We chose Royal Caribbean because everyone I asked said that they are the best for appealing to a broad age group at a reasonable cost. Carnival is for the younger party crowd. Some of the other lines are geared towards older travelers etc.