Advice on the Right Age to Take Children on a Cruise

I have taken my children on cruises at different ages. My daughters first cruise was at 10 months. At that age they are not old enough to go into the activities or alteast back then they werent (8 years ago). I also use to be a travel agent. Almost all cruise lines have childrens programs. It just depends on the ages and if they need to be potty trained prior. You can look up the the cruise lines on the websites and they will give you information about the different programs. Disney is excellent for kids and adults - however tends to be a bit higher in prices and does not have a casino (if that even matters to anyone in the group). Carnival and Royal Caribbean seem to cater to the families and Princess is good as well. Holland America and Celebrity seem to appease more to the older crowd (or that is how it use to be)...

Dont hesitate to take your kids on a cruise - cruising is a great family vacation and a great way to see many different places and never have to unpack your suitcase more than once.

Good luck
K.

We went on the Disney cruise with my girls, ages 4 and 7 at the time. I think that was a good age--they were willing and confident enought to partipate in seom ofthe kids activities to give the adults some grown-up time. If your children would be willing to go to a fun "kids club" without you for a few hours, I would say give it a go!
Whether the others in your group have kids or not, I still highly recommend the Disney cruise line. The service is impeccable (as youwould imagine), and from what I have heard their cabins are larger too than most cruise lines. There are plenty of non-character related grown up activites and great excursions, too. We went with another family, and also a couple without kids, and everyone had a great time.

Also, as a FL resident, they do offer Fl resident discounts--something to ask about which would offset the higher costs. And, with kids, its a lot easier to get them to want to spend time without you if they know they will get to see characters and have fun with some great counselors!

Good luck,

wait till they are school age. The rooms are small and you will regret spending that much money on a cruise because it's very limited activities at that age. If you want a relaxing vacation try renting a beach house with some family members somewhere. Atleast then you can sit on the deck or whatever after the kids go to sleep.

one thing to know is children who are not potty trained can NOT swim; not in a swimmer diaper or any other device

We just took our two kids on a Disney Cruise this past May. They are 2 yrs and 4 yrs old. It worked out great for the 4 yr old, he was able to go in the kids' club whenever he wanted for free. The 2yr old was too young to go in unless he was accompanied by a parent so the only other option was to use the nursery, which was $6 an hour and limited to a total of 10 hours for the length of the cruise. It would have been alot better for us if they both could have been in the kids' club together, not only for the extra cost of the nursery, but also just so that they could be together. Like other posters have stated, my 2 yr old was not allowed in the pool since he was not potty trained. He was left with the too-small fountain area, which meant my husband and I had to seperate and while one took a kid in the pool, one was stuck sitting at the fountains. I was a bit disappointed in the size of the fountain area, I would have assumed since Disney is more of a family cruise line, they would cater a little more to small children. That fountain area got crowded real quick. My brother went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and they had a HUGE fountain area. You also have to check the ages for excursions, we went on a dolphin excursion in Nassau and the 2 yr old was not old enough to come, he had to stay on the ship in the nursery. I was sorta disappointed in the food, not in the the food quality, but what they offered. There were no buffets offered for lunch or dinner. The only options for dinner were to do your sitdown restaurant, which was pre-picked for you, or get a burger beside the pool. With 2 small kids, I would have loved the choice of a casual buffet for dinner. They did have some fun parties on deck, which the kids really enjoyed and we got to see a stage production of Toy Story. And Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, is gorgeous. The cruise had it's good and bad points, most of the bad points relating to having 2 small children! I would add that I would NEVER take a Disney cruise if I did not have children, my husband and I both agreed on that while we were on the cruise. I'm not sure if I would ever go on another cruise (we had rough seas but that's another story!) but if we did, it would probably be on Royal Caribbean.

Ages 3 and 2 might be too young to take them and actually enjoy yourself. We went on a cruise with extended family when my step daughter was 5 and it was even very hard to amuse her at that age. Plus there is always the safety concerns for young children. I have never been on a disney cruise but researched them and they do look very accommodating for the children, but they are much more expensive then the typical cruise line.

Try Carnival. Their Kids Program rocks. Get in-room sitter one night and make dinner reservations at the fancy adult restaurant. Avoid dinner in main dining room if kids act up. Plenty of other options. They love the experience of the whole thing though. We love cruising.

Hi J.,
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I have 5 children and we go on a cruise about once a year...without the kids. Last year we finally decided to take our oldest with us and decided we would not take any of them until they were old enough to be in the youth room. My daughter was 10. She was the oldest one in the childrens area and she was bored silly but too young to go into the teens area. The kids club also ended at 10 so unless you are willing to pay the extra for the "childcare" that stops you from seeing the shows or enjoying the casinos. Many of the shows on the cruises we went on were just not appropriate for kids. My daughter also had a weird reaction to the cruise...she was very tired the whole time and wanted to be in bed at 9. This is a child that would stay up all night at home if we let her. I think the gentle movement of the ship relaxed her so much she was tired. Now the teen areas were really cool. They had an arcade, their own dance club, etc. We will definately take them then. I did have a friend that took her kids on a Disney cruise and that is probably the best option for taking kids. They were able to leave the kids in there as much as they want till the late hours(I know it was at least midnight and probably later) and the kids had a great time. On our cruises there were hours during the day that you had to get them (which can mess up plans) and then by 10 at night. Every family is different but for us....we will leave the kids at home unless there is someone that would be willing to take the kids to the room and miss out on the nightlife of the cruise.

Took Royal Caribbean Cruise on Mariner. Cheaper than Disney. 5 seniors,3 adults,5 children ages 13,12,10,5,6.
Wonderful program for children. Call them or travel agent

It depends on what you want out of the cruise. We took my son on a Carnival cruise when he was 9 months old and we had a blast! We had my sister with us so that after he went to bed at night we could go to the casino, etc while she stayed in the room with him. If you want to be able to put your kids in the camp and have adult time, I think they usually start at age 3. Also keep in mind that they have age restrictions on the pool as well.

Carnival is great for all ages. However they cannot participate in Camp carnival until they are two and they can't swim in the pools using swim diapers so I did not take my 1.5 yr old on a cruise. They will be with you the whole time. I would only take a child over 2, since I want to relax too. Hubby and I went without the kids and all the parents I saw (with little kids) looked stressed.

I have never been on a cruise but my cousin just came back from one in December. Her little sisters are 4 and 5 and their Mom said if she had known everything she would have left them with a relative and just taken the older children. I have another cousin that takes cruises all the time. He said that a small child has no business on a cruise. It disrupts their lifestyle. He said that you shouldn't take a child on a cruise until they are at least nine or ten unless you have no choice. He is a father of five so I guess he would know. Anyway good luck. Also it's great that you are going back to school. You should be proud of yourself.

It really depends on your comfort level. They have a lot of activitys on most of the cruise ships for children. We took our girls when they were 7 & 10. They had a blast. We felt very comfortable leaving them in childcare, even until late. We want to spend a few evenings with extended family that went and did not have kids. They offered childcare activitys even during dinner. We tried to balance time with the kids and time with the extended family. Some nights we brought the kids to dinner, and some nights we did not. Some nights we let them stay in the kids activitys till midnight, and some nights we picked them up and took them to a show. We went for a whole week and had the time of our lives. They have very educated entertainment for children on Royasl Carribean. I am not sure how young it starts, you might want to look into it.

Hi J.,
I just got back from a family cruise this past weekend. My kids are 14 and 4. We sailed with Carnival Cruise Line and we all had a blast. My 4 yr old actually had his birthday on the cruise. My advice is don't do Disney now because your kids won't remember it. I pretty sure all the cruise lines have great programs for all kids of all ages.
As tempting as it may be don't bring your children on the excursions at the ports of call. We did the Western Carribean and it was "Hot". My youngest was miserable...and you know how that goes. If they're miserable everyone is miserable. Also, be aware that sometimes there is a fee for the Children's Camp. In my case after 10:00pm it is $6.00 per hour (second child was discounted). You can leave them until 3:00am which can be nice if you want to have fun in the Disco or Casino. The Camp Staff set up nice pallets and put on a movie on a big screen....all the kids fall asleep.
Also, if you have any concerns you can call and check up on the children and you are issued a beeper if you need to be contacted.

I recommend that you wait until the kids meet the cruise line's requirements to go to their camp. I think it's age 3 plus potty trained for most companies. We went on a cruise last Thanksgiving when my kids were 3 & 4 and they had a blast at the camp. it was nice for my husband and I to have some time on our own and then be able to have the kids with us when we wanted. My nephew was only 2 and I think my sister-in-law was a bit stressed at the end of the week since any activities that were offered for him required her or another adult to come with him.

Even if you are used to having your kids around all the time, on a cruise, you don't have access to all the same things you normally do at home. But if you are willing to have the kids with you I'm sure you'd still have a blast.

The camp thing was a great experience for me and a wonderful way to travel as a family while still being able to take a break from the kids when wanted.

Have fun whatever you end up doing!!

We took a RC cruise with out 3yr old. It was trying in the beginning just cause of things are different from what they are used to. It eased up and got better. He is now 5 and since he was 4 he has told us he wants to go back on the big ship.

They have stuff for them to do, we just don't leave our kids, so we took turns, thankfully cause I was sea sick a couple of days.

Going with lots of family will be great, someone you trust will never be far. Enjoy!

J.,

We love crusing and take our kids every time. We prefer Royal Caribbean. The kids club is awesome for the little ones. The security will keep you at ease. We've been taking the kids since they were 2. A 2 year old is a little tricky with the swim diaper issue but the beaches and excursions are a blast with little ones. We kept ours with us most of the time (only put them in the club when older). We always get a balcony room so that when the kids are napping or when going to bed, I'm not stuck in a little box - I can at least go out on the balcony and enjoy the wide open ocean! Hope you enjoy it! Don't miss the opportunity. You won't regret it!