Families explain why they explore with the Mouse
DAY FOUR – Little kids are everywhere–splashing in Mickey’s Ears in the Mickey Mouse head-shaped pool, getting chicken fingers and Pizza poolside, lining up to meet princesses.
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Cruising with Disney isn’t just for little kids, teens declare
(DAY TWO) — Teen attack! It is 10:30 p.m. Saturday night and The Stack at the top of the ship is packed with 100 teens and their three energetic counselors the kids are from all over the world though the majority are Americans.
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On a tour of the Med with Adventures by Disney
My mission: To see if the Disney Cruise Line can do as good a job for teens as they do for younger kids. Can they make cities like Florence and Rome interesting to kids who prefer malls to museums?
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Who says Disney cruises are for little kids?
It is 10:30 p.m. on the first night of a Mediterranean cruise and The teen club, appropriately named “The Stack” on deck 10 of the Disney Magic is packed with 100 teens and their three energetic counselors.
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Aboard the Megaship Norwegian Epic
SPLAT! The water balloons pop on cue. The music is loud and energetic, with Nickelodeon dancers dressed in orange and green — down to their plastic orange-and-green Crocs — spurring on the crowd, some of whom came dripping wet from the waterslides, including the Epic Plunge, the biggest waterslide at sea, just for the chance
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On Norwegian’s new megaship Epic
The kids can’t wait. We’re aboard Norwegians new megaship Epic (153,000 tons!) that has forged a partnership with Nickelodeon that means kids—and their parents-have the chance to get slimed, get up close and personal with SpongeBob, Patrick Star, Dora the Explorer, Diego and Jimmy Neutron at breakfast or “meet and greets.”.
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Is bigger better?
The cruiselines certainly think bigger is better. I’m heading out for a quick look-see of Norwegian’s new EPIC (http://epic.ncl.com) — 153,000 tons! — which is being billed as the world’s largest floating entertainment venue.
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To the Caribbean in Summer
Finally, a Caribbean beach that’s everything a Caribbean beach should be – quaint, with hammocks strung from palm trees, crystal-clear water perfect for snorkeling, white sand, a first-rate beach bar and enough water toys to keep the kids happy (banana boat ride anybody?)
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Ready for some sand and surf?
The way it sounds, oil is washing up on shore at every beach along the Gulf Coast. But that’s not the case, folks in the Southeast want us to know
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Aboard the Biggest Cruise Ship Afloat
hink every kind of food the kids and you could want 24-7 (wine-pairing menus to burgers and fries, chicken noodle soup to gazpacho, healthy smoothies to ice cream sundaes), entertainment (“Hairspray” to synchronized divers performing in an outdoor AquaTheater and children’s puppet shows) and activity (mini-golf and water playground, teen disco and giant arcade, carousel and junior spa).
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Jivn’ Jellyfish to learning to be a DJ
Kids rule aboard Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s new megaship. There are designated areas on board for arts (partner with Crayola); science experiments (want to learn about volcanoes, bugs or global warming), and an awesome kids’ theater where Broadway veteran John Tartaglia has developed a puppet show that is performed by the youth staff, who all incidentally have college degrees in education, recreation or related fields AND three to five years working with kids.
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DAY 2 on the Oasis of the Seas– What to do?
Do I want a roast beef sandwich or a slice of fresh made pizza, popcorn shrimp and fries or a salad made to my specifications? This is the largest cruise ship at sea—when full, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas can carry 6,296 guests and a crew of 2,165. So it makes sense there’d be more dining options.
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ABOARD OASIS, THE BIGGEST SHIP AT SEA
Think Vegas on Steroids. Think overstimulation. Think every kind of food, entertainment you—and your kids could want. If you don’t mind vacationing with 6,200 plus guests and 2,165 crew (from over 71 countries—welcome aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas which made its maiden voyage December 5, 2009.
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TURKS AND CAICOS, November 2009 — Day One
The concert goers are swaying to the music, clapping and crowding the stage so they can reach out and touch their favorite stars. Their smiling parents are right behind, video cams and digital cameras in hand. That’s because these concert goers are toddlers and preschoolers, many in diapers. Their stars are Elmo, Burt, Ernie, Cookie Monster and the latest to join the Sesame Street gang Abby Cadabby, a fairy in training. They sing and dance for the kids for an hour
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When Life Interferes With a Planned Celebration
Life has a way of changing planned celebrations. Jean Anne McKiernan and Richard Sandano were planning a big Brooklyn, N.Y., wedding when they discovered—very happily—they were going to have a baby.
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Sailing Home from Bermuda
Life is too short to waste a minute, I think. We say goodbye to Bermuda and Hamilton’s Town Hall (click image to enlarge) DAY 5—I wake up on board Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
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High Tea at the Hamilton Fairmont Hotel
We learn it is the only place—and the place—for a traditional English Tea. In the 1840s, Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, wanted a snack for tea and thinly sliced bread and butter.
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The rain stops in Bermuda
Not sunny, but not raining. Just 66,000 people live on this pristine island—actually a series of about 360 small coral island, which is part of the British Commonwealth. Yes, we see businessmen wearing Bermuda shorts, knee-high socks, and shirts and ties to work. Hedges are manicured and lawns mowed. Houses are painted a rainbow of colors—bright orange, green and blue, pastel pinks and yellows.
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Cruising when the sun doesn’t shine
It’s not the weather we imagined on our trip to Bermuda. The seas are rocking. It’s pouring and the waves are high. We get sprayed standing on our little balcony.
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A cruise to Bermuda with old family friends
The cruise was long planned and then a week before tragedy stuck…
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On an ‘uncruise’ Alaskan sea adventure
Unlike the big cruise ships, we can take our time in Glacier Bay, which offers 3.3 million acres of glaciers that calve right in front of us
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Cheering on the humpback whales
“HONK! HONK!” They are really whales—eight to 10 of them right in front of the boat alternately spewing water high in the air, honking and “fluking”—diving for food and showing us their magnificent tails. We watch them “blow” spewing water high into the air. It’s fun to watch them!
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No better way to get the kids interested in nature
There are seven kids aged 11 to 16-six of them boys — in our group. And in Alaska, of course, we don’t let the rain stop us whether we’re kayaking to a glacier and ice caves, looking for bear on the beach or trying to track them as we bushwhack our way through old forest.
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To Glacier Bay on a converted WWII minesweeper
We’ve joined three other families — together we have seven kids ranging from one 11 year-old girl and six teenage boys — for a week-long cruise through the 300 square acre (the size of Connecticut!) Glacier Bay on the 12-passenger Sea Wolf — built in 1941 as a U.S. Navy Minesweeper
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Our last day on the catamaran with Turo
DAY 8 — Sad! It’s our last day on our Catamaran with our captain Turo Aritu, who for the past week has regaled the girls…
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On a cruise for the first time
More than 1.6 million kids cruised last year and that number continues to increase…
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The real VIPs on the Norwegian Gem
Memo to junior first time cruisers: “Go to the kids club the first day because you’ll meet lots of kids,” said Kathy Novzynski,10 and a cruise veteran with three sailings under her belt “A lot of kids don’t know that the activities are so fun,” adds Melora Cook, 9, who is from New Brunswick, Canada.
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Behind the scenes on the Norwegian Gem
DAY SIX (March 5, 2009) – Two thousand pounds of cereal, 500 gallons of ice cream, 36,000 eggs, 1,600 gallons of milk, 900 pounds of…
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TAKING THE SHARKS!
The sharks are everywhere — swimming in front of me, behind me, so close I can see their teeth and the marks on their skin. Some are nine feet long!
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A STOP AT GREAT STIRRUP BAY, BAHAMAS
Kids are snorkeling in the turquoise clear water while parents catch some rays. There’s a beach volleyball game in full swing and a barbeque going. Bahamian music is playing and the Bahama Mamas are flowing.
