Taking a cruise with kids can be tons of fun for many reasons (see my Top 10!) and we’ve done many.
Our first family cruise was with Norwegian Cruise Lines in July, 2011. Honeybun has just turned 3 and Sugarplum was just shy of her first birthday. We embarked and disembarked in Copenhagen, Denmark and the itinerary included:
- Warermunde/Rostock, Germany (with available visits to Berlin)
- Helsinki, Finland
- St. Petersburg, Russia
- Tallin, Estonia
- Stockholm, Sweden
We took this cruise with hubby’s parents as a way to see the Baltic and the region where we both have a lot of ancestry. We loved every place we visited and were taken by the friendliness and culture of the region.
Things we loved about Norwegian: So many dining options. You can eat what you want, when you want, where you want. Our ship (the Norwegian Sun) had a great kids pool and the girls loved the glass elevators!
Things we didn’t love about Norwegian: The “Free Style” dining. Even though we ate in the main dining room almost every night and sat at the same table (at the back by the big windows to help entertain the girls) we had different wait staff each night so we had to re-explain everything each night as far as my father-in-laws allergies and Sugarplum’s special needs. The menus also weren’t as extensive/fancy as other cruises we’ve done.
Our second family cruise was on Royal Caribbean in October/November, 2011. Honeybun was 39 months and Sugarplum was 15 months. We embarked and disembarked in Istanbul, Turkey spending the first day in port there. The itinerary included:
- Israel (We did day trips to the Galilee Region, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea)
- Athens, Greece
- Kusadasi, Turkey and Ephesus
We did the Holy Land Cruise with my parents and sister. We loved seeing the history in this part of the world and sharing the stories with Honeybun.
Things we loved about Royal Caribbean: Having the same wait staff each night in the dining room (by the end of the trip they had fruit waiting for the girls when we arrived so they had something to nibble on while we waited for our dinner). A lot of great entertainment, especially during the days at sea there was plenty to do to stay busy. We were also on board for Halloween and the ship went all out with decorations and a costume party!
Things we didn’t love about Royal Caribbean: Less options for breakfast and lunch which made the places busy, especially during times we were at sea. Our ship (The Vision of the Seas) did not have as many places to go and hang out with the kids as other ships we’ve been on.
Our third family cruise was on Holland America in May, 2012. Honeybun was almost 4 and Sugarplum was 21 months. We embarked and disembarked in Rome, Italy and the itinerary included:
This cruise we did by ourselves with the girls as a way to see a few of the last places we hadn’t made it to before moving back to Florida and we did not do as much running around and touring as we did on the previous two cruises.
Things we loved about Holland America: Open dinner seating. We were able to go to dinner any time we wanted and were able to request the same table each night except one when we were later than usual but did get put with the same wait staff (who had become accustomed to having milk ready for the girls along with a little snack). Our ship (MS Eurodam) also had an awesome lounge area on top with board games which kept the girls busy so hubby and I could relax a little. There was also an indoor pool and the outdoor pool had a retracting roof they could close in the case of rain, cold or extreme wind.
This we didn’t love about Holland America: We ended up on a deck lower than we would have preferred because we didn’t want a veranda room (balcony) which most of the rooms on board are (we preferred a picture window instead because of the girls). This ship was not a child friendly, there seemed to be more places the girls couldn’t go and while it was the only ship we used the Kids club on, Honeybun was often the only child in attendance (Sugarplum was too young to go).
