When we hear the words Spring and Break combined what comes to mind is rowdy college students engaged in behavior their parents wouldn’t approve of. Those of us without children tend to forget that primary and secondary school kids get a spring break too. If you do have kids then you’re unlikely to forget, if for no other reason than your kids have nowhere to be for a full week. Which is a very good reason to consider spring break family cruises for your vacation.
A spring break cruise is perfect for both families and college students. Temperatures are up, and prices and crowds are still well short of their summer peaks. However, it is better if the two groups don’t overlap too much.
No Family Cruise like a Disney Family Cruise
The safest bet for family cruisers not having to deal with party cruisers is when they set sail with the mouse. Disney Cruise Lines has always specialized in family cruising. If they didn’t create the idea, then they are the ones who made it popular. They aren’t about to let their ships get overrun with young libertines. A pool overrun with rambunctious preteens and tweens is likely the rowdiest crowd you’ll run up against on a Disney Ship. Unless you make it a point to seek out one of the onboard nightclubs.
Disney built their ships from the keel up with families in mind, and even the lowest stateroom aboard has separate and defined sleeping and living areas. There is also a heavy room dividing curtain for privacy, split bathrooms with showers and tubs in one section, and toilet and sink in the other. It makes getting your family awake, washed, and on their way easier. A minor inconvenience is that the queen size bed can’t be separated into two twins. It does seem a little odd for Disney to be the line that prevents couples from sleeping like spouses in a 1950’s sitcom. The sofa does fold out into a bed, and even inside rooms have a pull-down berth so everyone in a family of four will have their own bunk, except for the parents.
To book spring break family cruises, see the Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian websites. Once the cruise is booked, let Go Port take care of all of you and your family’s needs while ashore. For those flying in, check out the Fly Snooze Cruise packages. Driving in? View Snooze Park Cruise packages, or call us at 321-735-8833.
Disney ships also have specialized clubs exclusively for teens and near-teens. The Edge is exclusively for kids 11 to 13 and offers an 18-foot video wall, lighted dance floor, and other activities that are sure to please. Forward is Vibe a club for ages 14 to 17 which…well, how pleased are kids at that age really? It does have almost adult fixtures like mocktails, and teenage classics like foosball, arcade games, and ping pong.
Disney has three ships in Port Canaveral. The Dream, the Magic, and the Fantasy. The Dream and the Magic are making short three and four-day cruises to the Bahamas and back all through the month of March. The Fantasy is making four Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages in March. These are all excellent choices for a spring break family cruise.
If there is one drawback to a Disney cruise, it’s the price. These are premium cruises with a premium price tag. The cheapest of the cruises mentioned above starts at over 1,000 for an interior stateroom. That’s a four-day cruise for a price you could get a 14-day cruise on another line. Unfortunately, a Disney cruise isn’t going to be something that everyone can afford. There are other options for a family looking for a spring break cruise.
Spring Break Family Cruises on Other Lines
What you’ll want to avoid when booking a family spring break cruise on another line is the shorter 3 and 4-night cruises. While these are cruises that will appeal to budget-minded parents, they are also the cruises that are going to hold the most appeal for the eats-ramen-three-times-a-day-set. It is worth it to pay for a spring break cruise that lasts for the full week when you’re vacationing with your family.
Of the three remaining lines that sail out of Port Canaveral, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines offers you your best options for a spring break cruise vacation that is geared for family fun rather than tying one off. The remaining line sailing out of Port Canaveral that we haven’t mentioned, Carnival, is the most budget friendly, and we’ll talk about it when we get to Spring Break Cruises for College students. Norwegian is famous in certain circles for hosting rock and dance music showcases, but the Spirit, the ship home ported in Port Canaveral seems to have been largely bypassed by these making it a quieter ship. The Freedom of the Seas is it’s similar counterpart from Royal Caribbean, and the Freedom is the larger of the two.
The Norwegian Spirit is making two 14 day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, but it swings back into Port Canaveral in the middle of those voyages so Port Canaveral cruisers have the option to take book one of the legs as a seven-day cruise. The Spirit departs on its 14 day voyages on the March 5th and 19th and returns to Port Canaveral at the midway point on March 12th and 26th. The Freedom of the Seas is scheduled for two seven-day voyages to the Eastern and Western Caribbean on March 6 and 13th. Cruisers have their choice between the two.
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