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Ship Full of Kids!?!? Pros & Cons?


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In the thread about passenger counts @Patchy posted the following:  

“Anthem 4/10/22 has 3,800 passengers.  A whopping 1,800 of them are kids age 17 and under.  “
 

So, we sailing Anthem next week, which turns out to be school vacation week for a lot of us here in the northeast.  We are a family of 4 but both our sons are 21+.  I should have moved it out, but we’d already schedule vacation time when we figured it out and it was going to be tricky to move the cruise.  

My question is, are there any advantages to being an adult group on a ship full of kids?  Or are we going to regret this scheduling mistake forever? 😉

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts you might share!

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  • FoxboroCruiser changed the title to Ship Full of Kids!?!? Pros & Cons?

One advantage is that kids have a curfew and usually go to bed earlier. That might be good to enjoy the shows and amenities late night. The big disadvantage is that the pool deck is not that big and I can’t imagine that many kids at the same time. The lines to do any activities can be really long as well. I think you will have a great time regardless. Just stay at the Solarium if it becomes too crowded.

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15 minutes ago, Lynnea said:

How do you find out how many kids are on board? We’re sailing Mariner on June 5th with our 13yo daughter. I’m hoping for a good number of kids in hopes she finds a friend. 

Guest services will tell you how many kids are onboard, or the Adventure Ocean staff.   

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32 minutes ago, Patchy said:

To clarify, there are 1,200 kids on Anthem not 1,800.   Sorry for the typo!   But it doesn’t change the spirit of the topic.  

Thanks for the clarification! 1,200 is still a lot of kids!  Ours were little once too (seems like yesterday) so it’s not that we don’t love kids, just wondering if the decision not to move it will be a mistake or not.  I assume shows that start later and later dining times could benefit…

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First, I fully understand that Royal Caribbean is a "family friendly" cruise line and I don't have a problem with it.  However, being empty nesters, fully retired, trying to get the best value for our money, and older than dirt, I/we try our best to find cruise times that have the least amount of kids on board.  It's hard to do at times because Royal Caribbean and others are international destinations.  People come from all over the world just to cruise out of places like Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Canaveral, Galveston, et al.  Schools from around the world have different times that they observe holidays and "summer" breaks.  So, large numbers of kids are on cruise ships just about year-around.  So, it's kinda hit and and miss as far as trying to avoid the masses of kids.  

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1 hour ago, FoxboroCruiser said:

My question is, are there any advantages to being an adult group on a ship full of kids?  Or are we going to regret this scheduling mistake forever? 😉

I’m not sure there are any advantages lol. The solarium will be your friend. Also don’t eat during the early seating if you can at all help it (or do specialty dining). My wife and I try to avoid school vacation times when cruising but when you are on a ship with thousands of other people your experience largely fall on you and the attitude you approach it with.

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Kids tend to congregate in specific areas.  Seaplex, Living Room, Fuel, Arcade. adventure ocean etc.  Aside from Seaplex, those areas are adult free anyhow.  Solarium will certainly be a 'safe' kid free space and of course, the casino.  I guess it all depends on if you are prone to noticing other people's children.  I am sure you will have a nice time.  Anthem is an excellent ship. 

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I'm not a kid person. I don't have any, and I don't particularly enjoy being around most kids most of the time.  I don't hate them, I just prefer to point out the cute ones from a distance.  You'd think we'd steer ourselves toward Viking or Holland, etc.

That being said, I can't think of a time where we've ever found any kids on any Royal Caribbean ship to bother us.  Royal Caribbean does such a good job keeping kids entertained and happy.  We tend to eat late or in specialty restaurants, so we rarely encounter them in dining venues (we aren't specifically trying to avoid them, that's just our schedule).  I can't even think of many times that I've seen tantrums or meltdowns (certainly less than I usually see at other public venues). 

Don't let the kids scare you away!

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10 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

That being said, I can't think of a time where we've ever found any kids on any Royal Caribbean ship to bother us. 

I can't even think of many times that I've seen tantrums or meltdowns (certainly less than I usually see at other public venues). 

Don't let the kids scare you away!

 

Man O man, I wish I could say the same.  But, I won't beat that dead horse anymore than I already have.  But, I agree wholeheartedly with the last sentence.  

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You’ll have a great time.  Kids don’t typically go to trivia, game shows, etc.  most kids are so well behaved you don’t know they are there.  I do early seating and if a kid acts up all I think is  “so glad I’m past that stage” and I feel for the parent.  Then I mind my business and enjoy my meal.

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