cruising from Baltimore

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are thinking of taking our 2 kids (5 and 3) on a cruise out of Baltimore in January. The Royal Caribbean cruise sails to Port Canaveral and the Bahamas. Has anyone else done this cruise with kids. Any advice?

[Anonymous]

Nothing on the itinerary really sounds good to me... you will have to factor in the cost of excursions on the ship or planning your own activities there....

Easter Caribbean is a nicer cruise..

[Anonymous]

Bermuda might be closer. It is definitely nicer than anything in the Carribean.

[Anonymous]

isn't it going to be cold most of the cruise?

[Anonymous]

the problem is that usually the ships sailing out of Bmore are the older ships with fewer amenities - you still may have a good time, but I tend to prefer a newer ship

also, it will be cold and potentially rough sailing getting down to FL/Bahamas

while it is convenient, given that you can get good deals on flights to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, etc...I would tend to opt for flying and having my pick of cruises

love RC by the way, just prefer a newer ship (not even the newest, just newer - some of their latest huge ships sound a bit overwhelming to me) we loved Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral a few years ago

[Anonymous]

I thought i read something last week they stopped running out of Baltimore

I would rather go out of Florida and spend more days in nicer calmer water

[Anonymous]

My girlfriend took her son when he was about 3 and they loved it. I am not sure what line they took (might have been out of NYC), but they had a kids club, which they took full advantage of.

[Anonymous]

A few years ago, my husband and I took a 5 day cruise on Royal Caribbean from Baltimore to Bermuda (with our 1 1/2 year old son at the time). Unfortunately, our son was too young to take advantage of the Kids Club, which accepts kids 2 and older. The main thing about leaving out of Baltimore is it is very easy - just pack up the car and get on the ship - no changing planes etc. The ship cruised for 2 days then we were at port for 2 days and then the return. Overall it was very nice, and mainly very convenient. We would do it again and possibly take the Eastern Caribbean cruise. I'd like to wait until my younger son turns 2 so we could take advantage of the Kids Club.

[Anonymous]

We were also considering it. It has some pluses (savings on airfare, decreased hassle with no flights) however decided not to do it. The main reason is that the ships that go out of Baltimore have way fewer amenties than the newer, better ships. Our DC is under 2 and there is basically nothing for him. We also wanted to go during the winter and unfortunately, a lot of the cruise is time at sea and too much of it is going to be in really cold weather.

I'm still researching but I'm going to take a look at cruises out of NY. If you're willing to drive up there, there may be more options.

[Anonymous]

We're going on the same type of cruise on Carnival in September. I have to admit that, while I appreciate the comments from people who have cruised generally, the comments from people who have never taken a cruise out of Baltimore aren't really correct. They are right that the ships out of Baltimore are generally smaller and older (this is because they have to go through the bay) but Baltimore does have Carnival Pride, which gets great reviews, and there's a Norwegian ship that isn't particuarly old either. There used to be few cruises from Baltimore because, from what I read, you couldn't gamble for a day or so until you got into international water. However, a law was passed allowing gambling starting around 90 minutes from cruise departure time, once it's out of the bay maybe? Anyway, that allowed a lot more cruise lines to choose Baltmore as a port. It's ridiculously easy to sail out of there and the cost can't be beat. We paid $1600 for 2 adults and a 3-year-old. It will be another $500 we figure for excursions and tips. We are planning to just go to the beach for port days. It's not the greatest itinerary, but we can't beat that price including childcare. You will not find many 7-day cruises for $500 anywhere, much less then having to pay for airfare and hotel once you're in Florida. We actually looked because I have a sister in Tampa and my husband has a sister in Houston (Galveston is a port also). I'm glad now we didn't go with a Gulf cruise, but that's beside the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going on the same type of cruise on Carnival in September. I have to admit that, while I appreciate the comments from people who have cruised generally, the comments from people who have never taken a cruise out of Baltimore aren't really correct. They are right that the ships out of Baltimore are generally smaller and older (this is because they have to go through the bay) but Baltimore does have Carnival Pride, which gets great reviews, and there's a Norwegian ship that isn't particuarly old either. There used to be few cruises from Baltimore because, from what I read, you couldn't gamble for a day or so until you got into international water. However, a law was passed allowing gambling starting around 90 minutes from cruise departure time, once it's out of the bay maybe? Anyway, that allowed a lot more cruise lines to choose Baltmore as a port. It's ridiculously easy to sail out of there and the cost can't be beat. We paid $1600 for 2 adults and a 3-year-old. It will be another $500 we figure for excursions and tips. We are planning to just go to the beach for port days. It's not the greatest itinerary, but we can't beat that price including childcare. You will not find many 7-day cruises for $500 anywhere, much less then having to pay for airfare and hotel once you're in Florida. We actually looked because I have a sister in Tampa and my husband has a sister in Houston (Galveston is a port also). I'm glad now we didn't go with a Gulf cruise, but that's beside the point.

Are the kids club activities included in the price of the cruise or do you have to pay extra? Also, did you have to pay a full price for your child or was it somewhat discounted?

[Anonymous]

"Are the kids club activities included in the price of the cruise or do you have to pay extra? Also, did you have to pay a full price for your child or was it somewhat discounted?"

I haven't cruised out of Baltimore, but I have cruised with my kids (and loved it incidently). My expeience is that the price for my kids has been very much discounted (like 25% of what we adults paid) so long as they stay in the same room with you. And, the cruise ships only allow four people to a room, which is no problem if you only have one or two kids. As for activities, the kids club was free during regular hours, which went quite late into the evening. But, some of the activities had a charge, like build a bear, and there was a charge for after hours childcare or overnight care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Are the kids club activities included in the price of the cruise or do you have to pay extra? Also, did you have to pay a full price for your child or was it somewhat discounted?"

I haven't cruised out of Baltimore, but I have cruised with my kids (and loved it incidently). My expeience is that the price for my kids has been very much discounted (like 25% of what we adults paid) so long as they stay in the same room with you. And, the cruise ships only allow four people to a room, which is no problem if you only have one or two kids. As for activities, the kids club was free during regular hours, which went quite late into the evening. But, some of the activities had a charge, like build a bear, and there was a charge for after hours childcare or overnight care.

I'm the poster that the question was posed to, and I wanted to just say that this above response is correct for our cruise also. There is like a $6/hour charge for night time group babysitting on Carnival. Some lines have in-room babysitting for a similar charge. The day activities are free and the lines either allow children 2 and up or 3 and up, you'll have to check with the line to make sure. Only Carnival and Disney change diapers, and Carnival does not change diapers for children over 3-years-old. Norwegian and Carnival for children over 3 give you a beeper and they beep you when a diaper needs to be changed so you can come and do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Are the kids club activities included in the price of the cruise or do you have to pay extra? Also, did you have to pay a full price for your child or was it somewhat discounted?"

I haven't cruised out of Baltimore, but I have cruised with my kids (and loved it incidently). My expeience is that the price for my kids has been very much discounted (like 25% of what we adults paid) so long as they stay in the same room with you. And, the cruise ships only allow four people to a room, which is no problem if you only have one or two kids. As for activities, the kids club was free during regular hours, which went quite late into the evening. But, some of the activities had a charge, like build a bear, and there was a charge for after hours childcare or overnight care.

I'm the poster that the question was posed to, and I wanted to just say that this above response is correct for our cruise also. There is like a $6/hour charge for night time group babysitting on Carnival. Some lines have in-room babysitting for a similar charge. The day activities are free and the lines either allow children 2 and up or 3 and up, you'll have to check with the line to make sure. Only Carnival and Disney change diapers, and Carnival does not change diapers for children over 3-years-old. Norwegian and Carnival for children over 3 give you a beeper and they beep you when a diaper needs to be changed so you can come and do it.

I should specify that "allow 2 and up" I meant into the kids club. I think kids over 6 months can cruise without the club.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the answers on the kids club. (i'm the one that asked about it). We have two children above 3 and are now finally able to appreciate the kids club at the resorts and I was wondering how it was on the cruises.