We Took Our Kids on the Cheapest Cruise

[@AikenAdventures]

So what do you think? Would you try this cruise with your children? Why or why not?

[@motoshep]

I have thought about going on that cruise I've never been to the Bahamas. Your kids are so cute and adorable God is definitely blessed your family ❤️❤️❤️❤️😊

[@AikenAdventures]

Thank you for the kind words. Have you cruise before?

[@seemoreseascruises3791]

Wonderful first cruise for the family! The toddlers are so adorable and the little guy seemed to love the experience and the ice cream! There is much more in their future on cruises as they grow. This inexpensive experience is a great way to find out if they will like longer cruises. I would recommend Royal Caribbean or Norwegian older ships for budget concerns then more of the mega ships as they grow older. Wonderful family and as you explore what is available it might be a bit overwhelming. Engage an experienced travel advisor to guide you. It will NEVER cost you more but can save you from making booking mistakes.

[@AikenAdventures]

We thought the same thing. Having never been to sea with our children before, we thought that a shorter trip combined with another experience would be the perfect way to gauge their response and determine if a longer sailing would work in the future. We had a great time and so did the children, but if we booked a longer sailing, there are a few things we would research a little more for our ship of choice-children’s play areas & pool depth being at the top of the list. Don’t know if you saw our video about how we ended up taking this particular trip to begin with, but it was sort of an unusual set of circumstances where we “won” a vacation.

[@Floridaboymama]

Love watching you all glad it all worked out! Pierce and Vivian are adorable!

[@AikenAdventures]

Pierce’s personality is developing so clearly. He has such a great sense of humor even as a little guy. Vivian is such a leader. We had a great time because we were together! Do you think you would cruise on the Margaritaville at Sea?

[@alyssalloyd1125]

Aww looks like y'all had so much fun! Came across this vid looking up different cruise lines and now I'm just dreaming about taking my future kids on a cruise hahaha

[@AikenAdventures]

We really did have a good time! What matters most is being together and then you can make wonderful memories wherever you are! Hope you have a great time on your cruise!

[@ItsLatishaLove]

Thank you for sharing! We’ll be sailing on Disney for the first time next year & it’ll be my toddler’s first cruise so I’m looking for all the help possible for cruising with kids. I’m only use to cruising with hubby.

[@AikenAdventures]

Awesome! Hope you have a wonderful time! What cruise line are you planning to sail?

[@ItsLatishaLove]

@@AikenAdventures We are sailing with Disney. It’ll be our toddler’s first cruise. First time for Disney for my husband & I. We typically do Royal Caribbean or Carnival. But I have been on Margaritaville twice as a teenager when it was previously known as Bahamas Celebration.

[@AikenAdventures]

@@ItsLatishaLove Oh, I’m sorry that I overlooked that in your previous comment. 🤦🏻‍♂️ You definitely already said you were sailing Disney. 🤪 What was the ship like as Bahama Celebration? Have things changed considerably?

[@grateful7785]

@ItsLatishaLove...Margaritaville and Disney Cruise Line do not compare! The only similarity is they are both ships 😄 you're in good hands with DCL. Your family will thank you. Enjoy!

[@ItsLatishaLove]

@@grateful7785 oh I know I’m a cruiser. Lol Wasn’t comparing them. Just was commenting it’s good to see people cruising with kids so I have an idea of cruising with a toddler instead of just my husband & I.

[@michellejones8464]

Great video

[@AikenAdventures]

Thank you so much for watching and commenting!

[@raymondcote2913]

Nice family. Thanks.

[@AikenAdventures]

Thank you. You’re so kind!

[@gary30427]

Your kids are so adorable ❤

[@AikenAdventures]

We’re so blessed! ❤️🙏🏽

[@JulioCholo]

it's funny that your cruise videos started coming out right after I booked my margaritaville cruise with my wife and kid. same port. we'll be at bahama island for just a day. what do you recommend we should check out?

[@AikenAdventures]

Good question. We’ll be releasing a video soon, but we really enjoyed Paradise Cove and Pirates Cove. Paradise Cove has some fish, sea turtles, and sting rays you can swim with (make sure to watch your step). Pirates cove has a slide, some playground equipment, big floating water bicycle things, a nice beach, zip lines, shops, and more.

[@xpallodoc1147]

Looks like you all had a great. Ditch that stroller

[@AikenAdventures]

🤣 I was just thinking about your stroller advice earlier today for some random reason! Maybe it was when I was editing this video.

[@imabegroovintilltheworldst5752]

Disney cruises are the way to go for family with kids i have been on 3 of them and we are going on a 4th disney cruise this christmas.... if yall do a disney cruise you would love it... so much for kids to do

[@AikenAdventures]

That’s probably true. We haven’t taken one yet, but maybe one day!

[@alainaaiken3770]

Woo hoo!! 🎉

[@AikenAdventures]

🎊🎉👍🏽

[@nathaliahelfreich4657]

Do they have a kids menu with healthy foods like eggs, veggies and fruits in the main dine room?

[@AikenAdventures]

The kids menu in the MDR is mostly chicken nuggets, Mac-n-cheese, hotdogs, and French fries kind of stuff, but when we went the second time, our kids shared things off the adult menu. Our daughter LOVES salad, and our little boy has started to as well. He really didn’t eat his hotdog. He mostly ate my food instead. You may be more likely to get healthier items on the buffet as fruits and vegetable options were typically available.

[@theblessedtraveler7477]

I am going to try the 6 night on their new ship. Looks like your family enjoy the cruise.

[@AikenAdventures]

The Islander looks exciting on the company Instagram, so we’re very interested in seeing what kinds of reviews come out surrounding the new ship.

[@theblessedtraveler7477]

@@AikenAdventures same here!

[@keithmclaren1766]

kids are adorable,hope you get some time to yourselves

[@AikenAdventures]

Thanks so much! Our last cruise, we went on our own and we usually try to get in some date days about once a month, too. Gotta keep dating after the wedding, too!

[@Cbonniesmom]

Just did this cruise. So much fun! We had a girls weekend, no kids. This is not for kids , at all!!!

[@AikenAdventures]

Yeah, there are definitely better ships to take kids on, and we probably wouldn’t have picked it if it weren’t for the vacation arrangements that we “won,” but it was nice to take them on a short cruise as their first cruise experience. It gave us confidence about taking them on a more kid-oriented ship soon. Overall, we weren’t really exposed to anything crazy, but we tend to go to bed early in our family.

[@Rudydarknlovely]

Good day how much did wvwrything cost including all fees i am just skeptical about hidden fees

[@AikenAdventures]

So we actually “won” the cruise along with a whole vacation package, so our pricing was a little different than what we would have paid otherwise. Here’s a video explaining how we ended up on the cruise to begin with: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpC2ZKpsbLhji7ssi=6wRajzU5emyambG8

[@johndefalque5061]

The kids probaly prefer the food and fast food decor over a more formal posh cruise ship.

[@AikenAdventures]

Thats what we think, and there are some larger shops at sea that do have more amenities for children including play areas, children’s pools, etc, BUT there are definitely some ships that cater to a more mature audience and quieter atmosphere so this smaller ship was definitely more accessible for them.

[@LC-r2b]

Children under the age of 10 should not go into a hot tub Jacuzzi or otherwise

[@AikenAdventures]

Good advice

[@AlfonsoPerezBorroto]

does this ship has a kids camp??

[@AikenAdventures]

There is a children’s club.

[@LiveCheapTravelOften]

​@@AikenAdventuresbut...how was it😅

[@AikenAdventures]

We didn’t use it. We’re not fond of dropping our children off with strangers. 😬

[@kirbyketrow6846]

Just one question…WHY? This isn’t a kids ship

[@AikenAdventures]

Here’s how we ended up on this cruise: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpC2ZKpsbLhji7ssi=y5WQp5eiRDzwn9pt

[@Jan.99]

nice

[@AikenAdventures]

👍🏽

[@Shameka614]

If you're not comfortable with leaving your kids and the kids club that means you like your kids😅

[@AikenAdventures]

❤️🙏🏽 They have a lot of energy, but it’s hard for us to imagine leaving them with strangers at sea.

[@LC-r2b]

Curious why you entitled your video nightmare considering it seem like you had a good time

[@AikenAdventures]

There’s a question mark at the end of “Nightmare?”

[@LC-r2b]

@@AikenAdventures clickbait

[@mattdewberry5728]

Does anybody else get the vibe of living with the land

[@AikenAdventures]

🤔 interesting. In what way?

[@rmirandagrajales]

You took your kids to a booze cruise 🤦‍♂️

[@AikenAdventures]

While a couple of videos have referred to it that way, we didn’t actually experience any inappropriate behavior. We sailed on a Sunday night and a Friday night, but our kids go to bed at 7:30/8:00 each night, so by then, we were in the cabin. Although, one night someone was screaming in the hallway, so that was weird, but it didn’t even wake either of the kids. Be sure to check out our video about how we even ended up on the cruise to begin with: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpC2ZKpsbLhji7ssi=PiaStL3hLdZPI6Wc

[@greenlion6544]

Margaritaville are just really old decommissioned ships they buy cheap from Royal Caribbean and repaint it. I’d never go on one of these ships. Also, these are a drunken mess, probably not the best to take kids on.

[@andersonsm02]

Actually both ships are from the Italian cruise line, Costa. Costa is part of the larger Carnival Corporation. The Paradise is the former Costa NeoClassica, and the new Islander was the Costa Atlantica in its’ previous life.

[@AikenAdventures]

It wasn’t really all that bad. We navigated it pretty decently. The benefit (as far as taking kids was concerned) was that it wasn’t a short cruise. Honestly, since we go to bed pretty early, we weren’t exposed to poor behavior, and there were some other families with children for our kids to play with in the big open green space.