Recommend me a good cruise that's young child friendly

[royaljelly]

I'm searching around for a good cruise for my family that includes a 4 yr old son and his young cousins (age 2 and 5). Preferably something that departs within a 2-3 hr flight from Toronto (i.e to Florida, etc).

How are the Disney cruises compared to other cruises, in terms of entertainment and cost?

It'll be our family's very first time on a cruise, so any detailed info would be great, thanks.

[ssainani]

i can't comment on the other lines .... but my coworkers have been on both RCL and Disney with kids your age ...

a new RCL ship (like freedom or oasis) is going to have amazing child programs .... and tons of stuff for you and them to do

the disney ship adds only one good thing ..... items they know and understand (like seeing Mickey mouse) -- however the ships are old and small and offer nothing for adults (no casino)

i'd personally do an RCL cruise (on a newer ship)

Freedom of the Sea's departs from Port Everglades (same port as Disney)

as well consider going to cruisecritic.com forums ... much more info than here

[izzybear]

We took the kids on a Disney cruise out of Orlando. I highly recommend it. The ship is small enough so as not to be overwhelming but large enough not to feel "trapped". The kids loved it. The staterooms are larger than other lines for the same category. The kids club is great and safe with an unbelievable level of sanitation/hygeine. The food and service are the best I've ever had on a cruise. Cheapest times to go are Sept-Nov ($2500 for a Category 11 for 4 people). Disney has their own island "Castaway Cay", which was a highlight of our trip. We used Allseastravel.com to book the cruise and flew out of Buffalo ($525 return for 4 on Airtran with coupons found on Redflag).

[harlab]

Because of your cousin's son age (2 years old), you can go only on Carnival or Norwegian Cruise lines - if you wish to use the ship kids camps. Kids don't need to be toilet trained to attend.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) would accept kids from only 3 years to their Adventure kids program. Same with Disney - up to age of 3 you can use a daycare, but it requires a separate payment: US $6.00 per hour.

Carnival and Norwegian are great cruise lines and very friendly for kids. Carnival's staterooms are a little bigger. Norwegian operates free style cruising - you can dine whenever you want on any of the resaturants oboard.

You can sail from many cities, even from New York - it all would depend you on your dates.

As for the ships, the latest Carnival is Dream. She just started to sail this September. Norwegian has a new great ship - Epic, but it is coming only in Summer 2010.

[reena0378]

We are taking a Carnival cruise this December with our baby, who will be 10 months at the time. She will be too young for Club Carnival, but I'd be happy to report back and let you know how it is once we return!

In the mean time, you may also want to check out the forums on www.cruisecritic.com Lots of helpful info and there is a section for family cruising.

[looniepincher]

My daughter was on Royal Caribbean and Norweigan cruise lines right after she turned 6 months (6 months is the minimum). We enjoyed both cruises and I'd highly recommend either one--they're definitely kid-friendly and the staff in particular really enjoy seeing little kids. The cruises left from Florida to the Caribbean for about 4-5 days and we found that to be a perfect time frame for a little one.

Keep in mind that Norweigan was free for our little one whereas we had to pay full fare for Royal. Not sure about your 4 yo though.

[usedtobebarbie]

There is great info about this on cruisecritic.com under in the family cruising forums section.

[Yours]

I heard that kids would have to pay for crusing too.
Anyone konw if it's 100% like adult?

[ssainani]

I heard that kids would have to pay for crusing too.
Anyone konw if it's 100% like adult?

Royal Caribbean is 100% like adult

HOWEVER ... kids normally are the 3rd or 4th passenger in the room ....

and the 3rd and 4th passenger are already greatly reduced in price

[Yours]

Royal Caribbean is 100% like adult

HOWEVER ... kids normally are the 3rd or 4th passenger in the room ....

and the 3rd and 4th passenger are already greatly reduced in price

Thanks!

Anyone know about Oasis of the Sea? It looks fun.
Where can I book it for with deal?

[harlab]

I heard that kids would have to pay for crusing too.
Anyone konw if it's 100% like adult?

For cruise lines the age of a passenger is not important. What important is whether a child will be placed as a 3rd or 4th passenger. All cruise lines will reduce the price for 3rd or 4th passenger in the stateroom, but amount of a discount will vary on ech sailing. Don't expect big price reductions on any Christmas, New Years or March Break sailings.

And remember that each passenger on a ship has to pay full taxes and fees, and it does not depend whether he is a child and sails with parents as a 3rd passenger in the same stateroom.

[ssainani]

Thanks!

Anyone know about Oasis of the Sea? It looks fun.
Where can I book it for with deal?

RC does not discount prices at all .... but certain dates are a LOT cheaper than others .... a LOT cheaper (like $1500 per person)

if you want a referal in the toronto area for the travel agent i use feel free to pm me when you're ready to buy

TA's can sorta discount ... but's a VERY small amount

Oasis looks amazing ... but will be expensive because it's new

for your first cruise i'd personally consider 'Freedom'
it was my first cruise 2 years ago and we loved it .... and it'll be a lot cheaper than oasis .... it's also currently the biggest and newest ship (until oasis is out)

[harlab]

It is true that in most cases the discounts provided by Travel Agents are not large, but sometimes the deals can be great.

Her is a real example of Oasis of the Seas March Break 2010 booking (balcony double occupancy with all taxes and fees included):

Royal caribbean Web site price at a time of booking in July 2009: $3836;

Actual price paid for a booking with an agent: $3332.

With that being said, not every TA can get that deal, so shop around!