The Best-Kept Secret: Off-Season Cruising

Aug 03, 2009

With summer over, the regular routine quickly becomes a daily grind: Children are headed for school and parents back to work as the days get progressively shorter and darker. At some point between Labor Day and Memorial Day, a real break — with carefree, sunny days and few responsibilities — becomes a wonderful investment in renewal.

What better way to enjoy it than on a family cruise where the family unpacks once and there is a huge choice of activities to please everyone — as a group or separately? The value offered this year is so great that any family wavering on the brink of their first cruise would be well-advised to dive in.

Cruise lines make it easy to organize a family trip, whether passengers are parents and children, multigenerational or a group of friends whose families enjoy being together. Programs serving young cruisers, from babies to teens, are so well arranged that it is sometimes hard to pry the kids away from activities that involve all age groups, from ice skating and bowling to cooking classes and shows, as well as Nintendo Wii tournaments on giant screens and water polo in the pool.

Caribbean
In November, Royal Caribbean International (RCI) will launch the largest cruise ship in the world: the 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, which will sail year-round in the Caribbean. Oasis has an almost inconceivable amount of family-friendly features, including a dedicated theater for kids’ performances and an aqua theater for diving shows, not to mention a carousel, zipline and an entire “neighborhood” dedicated as a Kids’ Zone. A seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in February is priced from $1,249.

Ken Muskat, RCI vice president of sales said the line’s children’s facilities and programs are constant on all ships, all the time. Only the pricing changes from season to season.

“We have a lot of family pricing specials,” he added. “Agents should always check.”

And there are staterooms that can hold up to four people, suites for five and six people and adjoining rooms.

“We have a teen advisory board,” Muskat pointed out, “and our Adventure Ocean program is very popular with families. On Oasis of the Seas, it will go to a whole other level with a nursery for infants and toddlers as young as six months old.”

Sister line Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice, which was launched last year to glowing reviews, will sail in the Caribbean in 2009-2010. A seven-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary is offered from December through March out of Fort Lauderdale from $699.

Carnival’s Caribbean cruises sail from a variety of ports, including Mobile, Ala.; Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and Tampa, Fla.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Galveston, Texas. October minimum prices range from $189 for a four-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Holiday out of Miami to $449 on the Glory out of Orlando for a seven-day Western Caribbean sailing.

In October, families can enjoy a fantasy vacation on Disney Cruise Line as its Magic and Wonder ships transform into ghoulish wonderlands with special decorations, menu items and themed dance parties on deck. Young guests can participate in a trick-or-treat hunt, collecting candy from various stations and see special showings of Walt Disney Pictures’ beloved spookies such as “The Haunted Mansion” and “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Disney offers three-, four- and seven-night itineraries from Port Canaveral in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. A three-day Disney Wonder cruise departing Oct. 29 is priced from $2,017 for a family of two adults and two children. Land/sea vacation packages that include a stay at the Walt Disney World Resort are also available.

For a change of pace, families can combine time in New York City with Norwegian Cruise Line’s seven-day Bahamas and Florida cruises aboard the Gem, sailing roundtrip out of New York City from $649.

Most luxury lines encourage multigenerational cruising during the holidays only, but Crystal Cruises has gone even further with its family reunion program. Although the junior activities program is dependent on the number of young cruisers onboard and tends to be best during the winter holidays, the line has purposely built children’s playrooms and a game room. So, even if there isn’t an official program, parents or grandparents can bring the kids there themselves, use a nanny or hire a babysitter onboard. Children’s DVDs, books, games and a kid’s menu are always available, and all shore excursions indicate the age appropriateness of each tour. A seven-day Caribbean cruise out of Miami on Serenity is priced from $2,595.

East Coast
Most families think of Mexico and the Caribbean when planning a cruise, but Holland America Line’s (HAL) seven- and 10-day Canada/New England itineraries also have great appeal, offering ease in language, rich history and wildlife and active shore excursions. Land experiences, such as the Medallion Soldier for a Day at the Halifax Citadel, are dreams come true for teenagers. During this event, passengers wear the kilt and red coat of a 1870’s Highland regiment and do drills, eat traditional meals, occasionally assist in firing the cannon and get photographed by visitors.

Europe
European lines such as Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises have ships in Europe year-round. The advantages of visiting the Mediterranean in the off-season are tremendous. The lower cost of airfare and cruises could finance a pre- or post-cruise stay, or quite a bit of shopping. Costa, for instance, has a November seven-night Greece and Croatia cruise aboard the Fortuna offered from $449 as of press time, and MSC has a Balcony Blowout with a seven-day itinerary combining Turkey and Croatia from $999 for balcony staterooms on the Poesia, roundtrip from Venice, Italy.

In the off season, the weather is cooler and more comfortable for touring on shore, and the real culture of each country is in evidence, since few tourists are there and the normal programs for arts and sports are in full swing. The international quality of Costa’s children’s program produces kids who can speak languages that even their parents haven’t learned by the end of the trip, and MSC has an ongoing policy of allowing kids up to age 17 to sail free.

Mexico
An easy sail to Mexico from California is a great option for families. With a minimum of air travel and cruises that are as short as three days, families don’t have to break the bank to hit the beach. Carnival Cruise Lines, which carries the highest number of children in the industry, is offering unprecedented value pricing, from $43 a day, on three- and four-day getaways from San Diego on the Carnival Elation and from Los Angeles on the Carnival Paradise. In addition to its age-specific programs and features, such as the arcade and waterslide, Carnival’s Mexican cruises feature the Edu-Cruise program, offering activities that cover the history of each of the places visited.

Like those of Carnival, HAL’s kids’ programs stay the same regardless of when and where the ships are sailing; there are simply more counselors onboard when there are more kids. There are many activities that the whole family can share, from building a boat that can stand the test of water to participating in active shore excursions. Offerings include the Veendam’s eight-day Sea of Cortez cruise on Oct. 2 from San Diego, priced from $599, and the Oosterdam’s seven-day Mexican Riviera cruises in November and December, starting at $499.

Princess Cruises provides a layered program to different age groups on West Coast itineraries; for example, Sapphire Princess offers a seven-night Mexican Riviera itinerary out of Los Angeles from $399.

So, whether it’s a long weekend or a two-week getaway, there is a cruise and an embarkation point to suit almost every family.

“With all the possibilities out there and the pricing today, there has never been a better time for families to cruise,” said Muskat. “This is the perfect time for first-timers to book.”