Never cruised. Considering Disney. 3 kids 12, 10, 7

mommy681 · #1 (**permalink**) January 11th, 2008, 02:22 PM

My family and I have never cruised before and are considering Disney, Carnival and RC. I have heard good things about all three. Although I'm sure Disney can't be beaten (who knows, maybe they can) when it comes to service, quality and cleanliness, I'm a little concerned about the appeal to my 12 year old daughter and 10 yr. old son. (My 7 year old son will be fine either way.) Both Carnival and RC seem to have so much to offer kids of all ages. Does Disney compare where activities are concerned or is it geared mostly to the younger kids? We're considering either a 7 day Eastern Caribbean or the 3 day land/4 day sea combo. Any comments would be helpful. Thanks!

Kathleen Templeton · #2 (**permalink**) January 12th, 2008, 08:24 AM

we have taken kids 10 and 12 with us on disney and carnival and they both told us disney had much more for them to do and the clubs on disney are apen early and stay open until midnight or 1:00 a.m. sometimes. On Carnival they were not open until late in the day.

all lines have free time and schedueld events for the kids. The kids were very disappointed that on Carnival is 12 kids didnt shpw up for the event they cancelled it.
On Disney if one kids shows up they do it, although they never had that problem on disney , there was always enough kids to particiapte.

Disney has different activities for all ages and they are very aware of the fact that 10 to 1 2year olds dont want abunch of mickey mouse related things to do and most come in the first day wishing they could be in the teen club thinking it would be more gown up. But they soon find out that there are tons of age apropriate activities for them to do.

On the Magic only they have Disneys Ocean Quest that is really geared for that age group and they have certain hours it is reserved for that age group. It is a virtual reality area, you can even feel like you are docking the ship. This is on deck 2 away from the normal clubs.

Plus Carnival didnt have a movie theater and on Disney there were a few movies they got to go watch with their new friends on board. That was a nice change from the clubs too.

It is up to you what you decide, but for our grandkids they vote disney over carnival. we tried them as teens on both lines too, again they prefered Disney which really surprized me.
Never tried RC yet/

Kathleen

fourxbusymom · #3 (**permalink**) January 15th, 2008, 03:55 PM

I agree with Kathleen. We just took our 4 kids on Carnival, and while we had a lot of fun, the kids were not as interested in the clubs as they were on Disney. They had so much fun that we had to force them to come back to the cabin at night so we could get some sleep! DH and I could have spent every day by ourselves, not that we wanted to do that on a family trip, but we did take advantage of some grown-up time. On Carnival, we had at least one of the kids with us at all times it seemed. I love our kids, but sometimes it's nice to get away just for a bit.

Terri

Papix2 · #4 (**permalink**) January 17th, 2008, 09:51 PM

Do the Disney Cruise you can't go wrong. Your kids will love it. And there is more than enough excellent activities for them.

rekfla · #5 (**permalink**) January 18th, 2008, 02:49 PM

With Disney you won't go wrong. Did this cruise several years ago and everyone was happy. Great send off party and we enjoyed the different venues for dining. The private island was excellent. Not sure what the current itinerary is however.

KACORPARENTS · #6 (**permalink**) January 23rd, 2008, 08:06 PM

We did Disney in 05 as our first cruise and it was AWSOME...

We did 4 days at Disney and 3 days on ship...There was always something to do for all of us. (kids 11 & 13) When we got home the kids asked if we could do that again but not go to Disney land, That says alot.

Disney as always, Out did themselves.

We are taking our second cruise in May and trying Carnival. Im sure Disney has spoiled us, so we shall see.

ilovecruises22 · #7 (**permalink**) March 1st, 2008, 02:57 PM

i've never done disney but we're going to soon and i'm very excited for it! i've done carnival before and i love them.. but i'm a little bit older then you're kids and i stay up super late and party hard,, lol so i would do disney. now the land and sea will be good for fist time cruisers that way for you're first cruise you're not on the ship to long and the kids will get to go to disneyworld <3 my favorite pplace in the world.

so have fun on whatever cruise you do!!!

oo p.s. if you do disney land/ sea whtever category room you book on the ship will base you're room at a hotel.. the nicer your room on the ship is the nicer your disney hotel will be.. if im confusing you just check out the disney site

shays · #8 (**permalink**) October 10th, 2008, 04:41 PM

HI! Just wanted to see if you went on a cruise yet. My family and I just got back from our 4th Disney Cruise.

Susanne Hays

shays · #9 (**permalink**) October 11th, 2008, 09:39 AM

I just got back from the Disney Cruise on Thursday. This will be our 4th Cruise with Disney. We have two boys, but we also went with alot of people that had older children. Everyone had a great time and we will do it again next year. I also got a great deal on my cruise which helped. Have you booked yours yet?

oulala · #10 (**permalink**) October 14th, 2008, 03:17 PM

I went on the Disney cruise with my kids - they are 12, 9 and four. We had an amazing time. A group of parents and my family got together and went on this Dune Buggy Tour that was recommended by some friends in Cozumel. The kids loved it and it was a great way to fill the day without dragging our tired kids around from taxi to taxi. The cruise was great and we loved the ambiance on board, but e-mailing dunebuggytours@live.com and reserving ahead of time was the best decision. We got off the boat, knew where we were going, were met by our own personal guide. No hassle. I loved it!

Oreodog · #11 (**permalink**) November 12th, 2008, 08:59 AM

HELLO,
WE ARE SENIORS AND TOOK OUR 2 GRANDAUGHTERS AGES 15&18 ON THE DISNEY WONDER. YOU JUST HAVE TO GO. IT IS AGAIN THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE AND THE KIDS LOVE IT. IT IS THE ONLY SHIP WITH FIREWORKS DISPLAY AND A SHOW THAT IS JUST DISNEY AWESOME
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Jenn7770 · #12 (**permalink**) December 21st, 2008, 08:52 PM

We just returned from the Eastern Caribbean cruise with an 8 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. The program for the 8 year old was amazing. He did not want to do anything else. They have wonderful activities. Our 2 1/2 year old went to the nursery but your kids would qualify for the Oceaneer's Club which is like the program for the 8-10 year olds but is geared for 3-7 year olds. Couldn't have been more pleased with the kid's activities and highly recommend Disney!

Oreodog · #13 (**permalink**) February 18th, 2009, 12:01 PM

Madam,
BOOK DISNEY! It will be a Cruise memory NERVER TO BER FORGOTTON. When the kids are older.......do the regular Cruises BUT while they and you are youbng.........BOOK IT and let your inner child out. You will not regret it!
Carole in Florida[/b]