amanda123 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Hey all, I am going to take my kids for cruise finally. They are 10 and 8 years old and it is their first cruise. It is a nine-day cruise in a small ship though Lake Michigan []. I am worried whether they will enjoy the cruise or not Even though they promised there will be some activities for kids . please share your experience. Thank you. Edited March 31, 2016 by a LoveShack.org Moderator Redacted name of cruise company ~6 Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Does the cruise cater for children and families? Link to post Share on other sites
GunslingerRoland Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I've been on a couple of cruises with my kids and they absolutely loved them, and considered them some of their funnest vacations. However those were Caribbean cruises, on pretty big cruise ships. There were tons of activities, warm weather to enjoy the pool, and stops at tropical destinations. I have never been on any kind of cruise resembling what you are describing, being on a lake, smaller ship. Especially for a fairly long cruise, it sounds like it could get boring... but again I have no expectation for what types of activities you would do, and if it docks anywhere. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) Check out a website called [cruisecritic] Edited April 6, 2016 by a LoveShack.org Moderator Redact link Link to post Share on other sites
Wookin Pa Nub Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 yes go to cruise critic.com. I love cruising and kids have been on 3. All have been Caribbean on medium to big ships (Carnival and Royal Caribbean). IMO you need to do a lot of research up front to find the right cruise for you and it takes time to learn the cruising lifestyle. Cruiscritic is a good site and I think there's a section on lake cruises. IMO 9 day would be tough for younger kids even on a kid friendly ship. Link to post Share on other sites
Miss Peach Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) The smaller ships, more upscale ones, colder/unusual location, and during school times usually means there won't be many kids and there will be a lot of senior citizens typically. I've been on many cruises but I would be concerned about taking a kid on a small ship on Lake Michigan for more than a day or two. It will probably be mostly older adults. If it were a bigger ship with more kid-friendly things I think a 4-7 day cruise would be fine for that age. If you go with one of the major cruise lines aimed at American there is usually a kids program at least but if you go when school is in session there won't be many kids, if any. I remember one time on a family cruise I was literally the only teen on board which made it more boring for me. I remember even my parents told me they thought everyone was too old as that cruise attracted 60+. 10 might be a little bit of a difficult age. They are old enough they won't want to hang around the young kids and will feel bored doing those activities. But they will be too young for the cooler teen programs. The small ships usually don't have the staff to have a good age division so it's usually kids versus teens. If the ship has mostly younger kids an/or activities planned it won't be fun for the older kids. The larger ships usually break apart the age groups to younger versus older kids and have the staff to cover this. I second that the cruise critic website is good to research specific companies and ships IMO. Edited April 6, 2016 by Miss Peach Link to post Share on other sites
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