Q – I think it is fair to say that you have no bigger fans of this site but, sadly, we find little help from you in planning our upcoming cruise with our 8 and 11 year-old boys. I know, for example, that Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean are supposed to have the best kids programs at sea but couldn’t find any information about them on your site. Why is this? Just curious and is there anything you can offer that would be helpful about the new Norwegian Getaway? Understand that you write for the upscale traveler but when this family cruise is all over, I think we will have spent close to $10,000 on a one week vacation. This is not a typical blog attack, just an honest question as to why these lines are not covered?
A – And we take it as such. No harm – no foul. We neither sell or recommend ships that carry more than 1,000 passengers. We believe that megaships, with their institutional food, long lines, and constant haranguing of guests to spend more money, are not consistent with a sophisticated, carefully crafted vacation experience. Almost any travel agent is familiar with and can sell the megaships. You are correct, our niche is the upscale traveler. One reason for that is that there are numerous cruise blogs and so-called information sites that plug special deals and discounts on the megaships (almost all of those offers are phony since agents must adhere to price guidelines set by the cruise line) We felt that no one was really providing truthful travel information to more upscale travelers in an online setting coupled with one-on-one professional counseling by award-winning luxury consultants. Hope this makes sense. We don’t include the megaships in our Top Ten Ratings because they are nowhere near the Top Ten when it comes to overall quality and delivery of services.
We like the Getaway for you. Younger kids particularly are drawn to Norwegians partnership with Nickelodeon, the ship has a terrific Aqua Park, kids can learn circus skills from Cirque du Jour and then perform in a show of their own design. They will love it. The same can be true of Royal Caribbean and its incredible menu of kids activities. But the bottom line on kids programs at sea is that no one does it quite as well as Disney. They are totally dedicated to families, where the other mega-ship lines have family components to their programs. When it comes to traveling with kids under the age of sixteen, we recommend you look at Disney first. Really hope this is helpful and thanks so much for your comments.
