4th Aug Oasis of the Seas, 9 night Eastern Caribbean cruise out of New York

[Livia]

Hi, just hoping for some other views on this sailing. Someone told me cruises out of New York attract an older crowd. Is this true? I’m hoping for lots of families/kids. 

[Matt]

6 hours ago, Livia said:

Someone told me cruises out of New York attract an older crowd. Is this true? I’m hoping for lots of families/kids. 

While October isn't a super popular time for families due to school being in session, I think you'll find lots of families onboard.

Royal Caribbean is a family cruise line, so there's usually families.

The fact your cruise is 9 nights may skew slightly older since it's more than a week (Americans typically prefer 7 night cruises so it fits in with PTO time better), but it won't be like a transatlantic crossing which has very few kids.

So I don't think there will be 1,000 kids onboard, but I don't think yours will be the only ones either.

[Livia]

Hi Matt, thank you, that sounds encouraging! Plus the sailing is 4th August and not Oct, so perhaps even better. 

[Qeyton Dude]

In Aug you will have many extended families for sure, as Matt said, when school is in session its a slightly different make up. But I will add, with more and more home schooling taking place across the country, even during the In-school dates, we've been seeing a steady increase in # of kids on board over the past few years.

 

[recogneyes]

We sailed on the 9 night Oasis this past August and it was a great mix of kids/teens/adults/seniors.  Since driving to Bayonne is an option from many parts of Ontario and Quebec, there are lots of Canadians on the ship (not just in the summer but whenever ships are sailing from Bayonne).  In Ontario, schools are out until early September so that certainly increases the amount of kids onboard in July and August.  We had a fantastic time and 9 nights is just perfect.  Oasis has so much to offer with the 4 sea days on this itinerary.  I'm sure your family will have a wonderful holiday!

[wstephensi]

We sail a lot in October due to our anniversary.  I am surprised the number of children on board.  I thought we would be the only bad parents that would take their kids out of school.  

[WAYNO]

We've sailed from New York in the Fall, and even then there were plenty of kids onboard.

[Ampurp85]

Keep in mind the number of children who are homeschooled has steadily increased. Also remember that not every school does the summer, winter and spring break schedule. There are plenty of schools that do the 2 months on and several weeks off route. I was shocked at how many children and teenagers were on my Sept 7-16th cruises on Nav. I don't sail in the summer to avoid the majority of children often aboard those sailings. In all honesty don't expect any sailing on Royal to have no children, just expect less during the months most are in school.

[VeronicaS1970]

We did the 9 night eastern on Adventure this August. TONS of kids and teens ( one of the many reasons why we will not sail in August again). Lots of older folks too. 

[Snowchaser]

I'm sure I'm not alone but we have always taken our kids out of school for family vacations.  We feel that as long as long as they maintain strong grades that family time along with different cultural experience is just as much importance as time in school.  We will actually be on Oasis next August and it will be one of the first cruises we've taken in a long time that school will be out for summer break.

[RockerDom31]

I think a part of it is the itinerary too. The primary itinerary for Oasis from Cape Liberty is generally 7 days Port Canaveral - Nassau, Bahamas - Coco Cay. This itinerary might be more attractive to families with children as opposed to the "one-off" New England/Canadian or Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Cape Liberty on Oasis. I am basing this purely off of observations and conversations.

[Pattycruise]

4 hours ago, RockerDom31 said:

I think a part of it is the itinerary too. The primary itinerary for Oasis from Cape Liberty is generally 7 days Port Canaveral - Nassau, Bahamas - Coco Cay. This itinerary might be more attractive to families with children as opposed to the "one-off" New England/Canadian or Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Cape Liberty on Oasis. I am basing this purely off of observations and conversations.

On Oasis last week of August there were 2k kids out of 6k+ Passengers -NY Schools we’re not in session

on Adventure on Sept 15 and there were 30 kids….I think I saw 4. New England/Canada on an older ship.  Not really a kid itinerary 

[TonyYOW]

We were on that ship, August 4th. 

There was record number of kids in the adventure ocean. Lots and lots of kids and teenagers. 

[XtremeGK]

We're booked on it for next summer. Selling VERY well, especially the cabins that hold 3+. Going based off the FB group and the sales pattern, expecting a lot of kids.

[VeronicaS1970]

9 hours ago, Snowchaser said:

I'm sure I'm not alone but we have always taken our kids out of school for family vacations.  We feel that as long as long as they maintain strong grades that family time along with different cultural experience is just as much importance as time in school.  We will actually be on Oasis next August and it will be one of the first cruises we've taken in a long time that school will be out for summer break.

Up until high school we took our daughter out of school to travel. School should never get in the way of learning! She met people from all over the world, experienced different cultures and foods, learned about sea creatures and Mayan civilization. She (and we) remember all those trips fondly.

PS. She did just fine with missing school, got her undergrad in 3 years and was dean's list every semester in graduate school. 

[Kirsten]

We were on Adventiure in August and it was the only cruise out of four (so far) that we didn't take our kids out of school.  There were a good amount of kids on the cruise, but in my opinion, it didn't seem overrun by kids.  The Adventure Ocean club is great way to occupy them so that their parents can get a bit of alone time- whether it's to see a show, shop, go the the casino, or just hang out in the cabin for a bit.

[Hutcherl]

We did this same cruise this past August.  First time out if Cape Liberty.  Everything about it was great.  From the port to the ship.  Well maybe 6 sea days was tad bit much for us but I would do it again.