Best 7 night cruises for children....

blue_monkey_2

OK, checked P&O and for an inside stateroom they want an extra £2.5-3.5k for the 4 of us. For a Balcony they want around 4k more.

On the NCL Epic, out of Venice for 7 nights in July/August around the greek islands (will be very hot??) and we can have a family balcony stateroom or suite for no extra charges and £140 port/government taxes pp.

Just seen we can have 14 day cruise down the Panama Canal in an ocean view room on the Norwegian Pearl *sigh* too much choice.

*sigh* too much to choose from.

vivatifosi

Hi BM, have stuck a message for you on the other thread, but knowing you and your family, the one thing I'd be worried about is R's ability to get on and off tenders if you go to ports where the ship doesn't dock directly. If the sea is choppy it can be a bit scary. For that reason, I'd check the Greek islands one to see whether there is a lot of tendering. If he doesn't like it for one port in many, its no big deal, but if he doesn't like it for lots of ports, or the one you are all really looking forward to that could be more difficult.

One other thing worth mentioning, is on different lines the prices of extras stack up quickly. For example, for the kids to drink sodas, that's free on Disney Cruise Line but on other lines you can get cruise cards, but its worth working out the price of stuff like that.

I've been with Disney Cruise Lines, NCL, Royal Caribbean and P&O. I've tried to put what I think the pros and cons are of each, they are my opinion and we are all different though.

Disney (2 x cruises on Disney Magic): pros - great with kids: shows, childrens clubs, the way the dining staff interact, etc; more included in the price; fits the type of holidays you like. Cons - not as big a choice of itinerary; base price tends to be more expensive; if you want to eat at a buffet in the evening because the kids are cranky it isn't that easy on Wonder/Magic as they are turned into full service restaurants.

NCL (cruised on Jewel and Gem, sister ships to the Pearl): pros - good choice of (expensive) excursions that can be booked late, good shows (though more adult focused) especially on bigger ships; lots of restaurants though they mostly paid option so the prices can mount up; Freestyle dining - eat where you want when you want. Cons: Freestyle dining, because you go where you want when you want means you don't know your servers as well (the flipside of the freedom); they will try and get every last penny out of you; drinks are expensive; ships can be a little gaudy in places (but quite good fun); haven't tried suites but balconies smallest of the ships I've been on.

Royal Caribbean (sailed on Liberty of the Seas): PROS: really good shows; fair kids programme; big modern ships with loads of features (so do NCL but mostly Epic whereas RCCL has loads); nice roomy staterooms (have only stayed balcony); the best embarkation/disembarkation procedures of every ship I've been on in terms of efficiency. CONS: food I found a bit bland; the ship on which I found the staff least friendly (could be unlucky though); I didn't find the activities flowed as well on RCCL as they did on other ships, though again that could be down to poor planning and a one-off.

P&O: PROS: more likely to be with other Brits; dining therefore set to British tastes; more itineraries out of the UK; nice roomy stateroom (on the one I went on anyway); drink prices tend to be a bit more reasonable than the American lines. CONS: formal dining (if that's an issue with kids); can be a bit stuffy; more likely to be with other Brits (again depends on whether that's a plus or minus for you). NB: this is the one I went on longest ago.

ETA: its also worth mentioning how amazing those big ships are. If you get a chance, the spas on the NCL jewel class ships are wonderful. On RCL, you get to see an ice show at sea, how mad is that? And you can play crazy golf, wonderful. On Disney, everything is wonderful. P&O ship I went on was an older one (the old Arcadia) and so going into that sort of detail re them isn't a fair comparison.

ETA again... should mention that on some lines you get suite privileges, so if you can afford the balcony on one and the suite on another, don't just look at the relative size when weighing up one vs the other, look at the perks too.

ETA again, again.. sorry, this must be really boring, but found this thread about taking autistic kids on Disney and thought you might like to follow:
http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1577456
There are similar threads on the search functions for other lines but I liked this one because it is current.

blue_monkey_2

Wow, thank you Viv, that is so much to look at. I woke up this morning and was not going to look at anything else til we got back from Orlando, LOL.

I did not realise there were perks so this is something else I need to look at too, but I did know about the soda card on some of the boats. I briefly saw your thread last night on the other thread about the tender. Can I ask what that is please. I am also going to read your link now. R has actually asked to go on the Disney cruise but I wanted to check out other options too. We had pretty much decided it was going to be on the Fantasy or on the Jewel out of NY and we might as well go at Xmas - it is as good a time as any and if they are a few days late back, they are a few days late back after NY, they are a few days late back.

Froggitt

NCL - you can totally ignore their "dress up or not" nights when you are packing.....wear the same as every other night and noone will bat an eyelid. Celebrity......we ate in the buffet so as not to upset Major Ponsonby-Smythe in his bowtie and cummerbund.

Also, a mini-suite is actually a slightly larger balcony room, not a suite and no suite benefits. Most ships it also has a curtain between the bed and the couch (which your kids may be on).

If we want a bigger suite then we pay extra for that too - we can have one with a butler for an extra £600 for a week for the 4 of us

That sounds like a bargain for a proper suite....does it have access to the Haven? You also get breakfast away from the madhouse that is the NCL Breakfast Buffet, priority debarkation, nibbles etc.

getmore4less

Tenders :

Some ships can't get into some ports so they anchor t sea nd use the lifeboats(tenders) to ferry the passenfersto the shore.

They lower the boats and tie them up against the side of the ship so if it is a bit choppy the transfer level can move about a bit

if you look at itineraries it should say tender ot have a marker for the port that indicates tendering.


Some good notes from Viv,

We found NCL had backed off on the money grabbing when we were on in Dec. no worse than RCI and others now.

Panama is a great cruise the locks are facinating, check the other ports, central america needs some thought.

KarenG

Hi Blue :T

As far as benchmarks go, mine is worse than useless, as I've only cruised once. But, for what it's worth:

We did a week on NCL's Pearl and my DDs absolutely loved it. They were 9 and 12 at that point.

We didn't buy soda cards but found we could get by with juice at mealtimes and we bought the odd Diet Coke with a meal, but hardly any.

DDs loved all the communal areas eg Spinnakers Lounge to look out at sea, the ability to eat what they wanted when they wanted, kids clubs, freedom.... The private island was a real joy, probably our favourite day. Tendering was a bit of a pain but not enough to spoil anything. We found that on port days we'd get off and wander round for a bit (usually because I wanted to hunt down a Starbucks ) then get back on and have the pool area practically to ourselves.

The drinks were expensive but you can buy according to your means as far as I'm concerned, we budgeted enough to have a couple every day :A

After a week, we hadn't scratched the surface of what there was to do.

Staff were a delight.

So, nothing to compare it with, but we loved it. We did NCL because we simply couldn't afford the (almost double) price DCL was at the time. We cruised over Easter.

carefulshopper_2

Not sure whether this will help as children on the spectrum are all different and as such have different difficulties from one another. My son is 10 with aspergers and has difficulty with sound, touch, routine and social situations. I took the plunge last year and booked a cruise, Royal caribbean Independence of the Seas- we're leaving in 4 weeks.

I spent 2 months going through brochures with my son and since booking the cruise over a year ago have gone through as many aspects of the cruise as I could think of with him. He is much better if he knows what to expect, of course this is slightly difficult as we haven't been on a cruise before either!

On review sites I was able to find photos people had uploaded that were different from those in the brochures. I have gone through the itinery and, based on reviews, have been able to judge how we will be disembarking, whether we can walk to places of interest and what trips etc would be of interest.

I have ensured Royal Carribean are aware of sons aspergers and asked they not put us on a table with other diners as this would not only upset son but would be unfair on the others at our table if he decided to have a tantrum.

I am lucky that although his wardrobe is limited to what he likes to wear, he wants to look like everyone else and will wear a suit if his dad is wearing one.

going during the Easter Holidays means there will be a large number of children on board. The ship seems to have fantastic facilities and although he wouldn't go to a children's club, he is very much looking forward to the flowrider surf, ice skating and visiting the library on board lol! We have booked a soda package for him. We are staying in one room with son in bunk bed as there was no way he would or could have stayed in an adjoining room.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck in finding and planning your cruise.

Froggitt

Have you thought about a day trip to Calais on the ferry as a bit of final preparation? Theres also loads of youtoob videos of Indy and other RCL ships.

Ive never taken a suit on a cruise in my life and wouldnt!!!

Does RCL have open or fixed seating in their restaurant? Youll need to speak to the Maitre D - ideally when you board - about your eating requirements....theyll be fine, but I wouldnt assume they will know.

Ive zero experience with Aspergers, but maybe once your son sees how much fun is going on in the kids clubs, he may change his mind. Im sure they would let you pop in with him for 10 minutes or so with his, here and there, just so he can get a feel for it, and get comfortable with it. The "come on lets go now" may tip it.

Good luck anyway.

travellerboy

Best advise I have is - Don't Trust PRINCESS cruises with your dreams, see CruiseCritics reports.