Disney or Nick Cruise for kids?

[Apple Of Sodom]

We've been on a cruise before (Southern Caribbean). The kids enjoyed it but it was Norwegian so was geared toward adults. We are thinking about taking them on a family oriented cruise, either Disney or Nickelodeon. Ages are 6 and 9. Who here has been on one? Recommendations?

My other thought is to take them to Atlantis in the Bahamas. I don't necessarily care too much about adult enjoyment...we've taken them plenty of places that we loved and they were meh about so I figure it is their turn to absolutely love the vacation. Thoughts?

 

[bigrash]

I'd go with Disney (I have no experience with their cruises though)

 

[manimal]

Tough age. If its two girls go disney. If its two boys they will enjoy nick more prolly.

 

[bignateyk]

Oh god. I can't imagine being stuck on a ship with thousands of screaming obnoxious children. I'd probably jump overboard before it even left port.

 

[Glitchny]

Oh god. I can't imagine being stuck on a ship with thousands of screaming obnoxious children. I'd probably jump overboard before it even left port.

Came here to post this, sounds like an exquisitely evil level of hell.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Oh god. I can't imagine being stuck on a ship with thousands of screaming obnoxious children. I'd probably jump overboard before it even left port.

Fortunately the cruises are pretty expensive so there will probably be a different class of people on-board, not just an assortment of bratty kids from school.

Also, it is about doing something for my kids that they will remember. Not my ideal vacation, but it isn't about me.

Lastly, it is unfortunate that you wouldn't do something like this for your kids. Please, do not have children. If you have then maybe try to be a little less selfish.

 

[Corif]

I haven't been on the Nick Cruise but i have been on Disney. I will tell you that this cruise is amazing for any age. There is something for every age to do. I was a teen when I went and it was still fun. They have tons of stuff for you to do with your kids and activity for you to drop your kids off to and go spend sometime by yourself. The shows there are amazing and food is awesome. Disney is a great cruise for the family. I would recommend this cruise.

Edit : Please, drop your kids off at the Oceaneer Club once and awhile. Its great for you to spend time with the adults and the kids to have tons of fun. They give you pagers so whenever your kids need to be picked up they page you. The Oceaneer Club has TONS of stuff to do like sleep overs. My little cousin loved being there and woke me up every morning to drop him off.

 

[SearchMaster]

I haven't done either of those but we've taken many cruises on Royal Caribbean. Our kids love their kids' programs and usually have wanted to spend every waking minute there. They have Xbox/Wii/Playstation, other kids the same age, tons of games and activities, etc.

With Disney being 2-3x the cost, it's been money well spent.

 

[Wreckem]

Oh god. I can't imagine being stuck on a ship with thousands of screaming obnoxious children. I'd probably jump overboard before it even left port.

Disney does a really good job of keeping kids entertained during the day and most nights. So do the other cruise lines.

Disney also, like other cruise lines also has a wide arrange of entertainment options for adults, but sadly no casino.

Disney costs substantially more than most major cruise lines, because they can, they are Disney and parents will pay. That said usually their staterooms are larger than other lines and they do have higher quality food and service. Disney although aimed for kids/families is higher end than the mass market cruise lines. Disney also has the finest dining at sea (for a price, but no kids allowed) with Remy. But again they are Disney and can charge what they want because people will pay it.

 

[lozina]

Do they have a Jersey Shore themed cruise? I am sure that would be ideal environment for fostering children

 

[bignateyk]

Do they have a Jersey Shore themed cruise? I am sure that would be ideal environment for fostering children

I'd go for the Honey Boo Boo themed cruise.

 

[makaze]

Disney. We went on one and don't even have kids.

 

[Dedpuhl]

My boss has done the Disney cruise three times with his family. He always talks about how great it was for all of them.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Very cool, they are going to start Disney cruises from Galveston soon, may have to take my girls on a one then. Sounds like a lot of fun for all.

 

[JTsyo]

Disney does a really good job of keeping kids entertained during the day and most nights. So do the other cruise lines.

Disney also, like other cruise lines also has a wide arrange of entertainment options for adults, but sadly no casino.

Disney costs substantially more than most major cruise lines, because they can, they are Disney and parents will pay. That said usually their staterooms are larger than other lines and they do have higher quality food and service. Disney although aimed for kids/families is higher end than the mass market cruise lines. Disney also has the finest dining at sea (for a price, but no kids allowed) with Remy. But again they are Disney and can charge what they want because people will pay it.

Guy from work went on the Nick one and they had a casino. From what he said, it sounded like there was plenty for adults to do too. Don'[t think you can go wrong with either one.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I'd go Royal Caribbean with kids.

Went with a bunch of family members (Grandma, 1 of my aunts and my 2 kid cousines, 1 of my uncles and 3 more of my kid cousins, and my brother.) The kids ranged from about 5 to 15. All of them had a wonderful time.

Back when I was around 10 or so, We (my mom, dad, brother, sister, grandma, and uncle) went on a Disney "Big Red Boat" cruise, and It was really really cool), but, I don't think Disney does it any better than Royal Caribbean. If cost was equal, I'd still probably vote Royal Caribbean.

In any case, go on the biggest ship you can get on if you want lots of stuff to keep kids entertained. More passengers and decks = more "stuff".

That said, I tend to favor carnival, but, I'll cruise any line, I simply like being on a boat

 

[Wreckem]

Very cool, they are going to start Disney cruises from Galveston soon, may have to take my girls on a one then. Sounds like a lot of fun for all.

Disney signed a two year deal with the port of Galveston covering the Winter 2012/2013 and Fll/Winter 2013/2014 seasons. Unfortunately they backed out all 2014 sailings. So you've got from now till May, and Oct through Dec.

 

[slightlyhuman]

I went on the Disney line in 9th grade. I was the age that it really wasn't much fun for. It's like Disney World on water for younger kids and of course they had bars/casinos/etc for adults. I could have had a better time probably due to being shy. Great food. Very fun boat.

Disney's private island was hella fun. Snorkeling, etc. Was very neat.

 

[Wreckem]

Guy from work went on the Nick one and they had a casino. From what he said, it sounded like there was plenty for adults to do too. Don'[t think you can go wrong with either one.

Nick is on certain NCL ships(Gem, Jewel, Epic and soon to be launched Breakaway). All NCL ships except for Pride of America have casinos(Pride doesn't have it because it is the only US flagged cruise ship and never leaves US waters as it only sails around the Hawaiian islands).

Dreamworks(Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda) is on certain RCI ships. All RCI ships have casinos.

Disney however owns its own fleet of 4 ships(2 old 2 new). They don't have casinos and never will. The experiance on Disney is a whole different level than the Nick or Dreamworks experiances on NCL or RCI. Disney ships are all about the entire Disney experiance. The Nick and Dreamworks experiances aren't nearly as wide of scope and are just tacked on to various ships.

Personally I'd rather do RCI, specificially Oasis or Allure than a Disney ship for every day cruising, even every day cruising with kids. However, I will probably take my kids on a Disney cruise once or twice while they are still young. Its quite a bit different experiance.

If the OP does Disney I'd recommend the two newest ships.

If he does NCL, probably Breakaway.

if he does RCI, Oasis or Allure for sure.

 

[Phynaz]

Disney all the way.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Disney signed a two year deal with the port of Galveston covering the Winter 2012/2013 and Fll/Winter 2013/2014 seasons. Unfortunately they backed out all 2014 sailings. So you've got from now till May, and Oct through Dec.

Bummer.......thanks for the info. :\

 

[slugg]

We've been on a cruise before (Southern Caribbean). The kids enjoyed it but it was Norwegian so was geared toward adults. We are thinking about taking them on a family oriented cruise, either Disney or Nickelodeon. Ages are 6 and 9. Who here has been on one? Recommendations?

My other thought is to take them to Atlantis in the Bahamas. I don't necessarily care too much about adult enjoyment...we've taken them plenty of places that we loved and they were meh about so I figure it is their turn to absolutely love the vacation. Thoughts?

My girlfriend works for Disney, specifically itinerary planning for VIP kind of stuff. Often, there's an overlap with the cruise, since a ton of people typically do a cruise and a trip to Disney World/Land.

From what I've seen, if you're after an experience for the kids, it's impossible to beat Disney. They pay excruciating attention to detail in order to completely immerse you while you're on the ship. Their staff is trained to keep your kids involved in fun stuff, all while being safe; you can let your kids explore the ship completely worry free. The sheer quality of theming is second to none. If it's a cohesive experience that you're after, this is it.

 

[nanette1985]

My kids went on a disney cruise with their grandparents several years ago and they came home horribly ill. They actually enjoyed the hospitalization in florida more than the cruise.