Tips to make the most of peak season cruises?

The search function wasn't playing nice when I tried to look so I apologize if this question has been discussed at length previously.

Due to the nature of my job (I work in education), I am only able to cruise during the already popular school break times. I already expect to pay a premium price, have large crowds, and (much though I wish to escape them while on vacation) lots of children.

So my question is this: knowing that it's going to be pricey and packed, how do we make the most out of our cruise during peak times?

While I am thinking primarily in generic suggestions, our currently scheduled cruise is August 5th, 2018 on the Norwegian Getaway so if anyone has any specific suggestions on that ship, I'd love to hear them.

Book a The Haven Spa Suite on Getaway - it is awesome and those suites are only for 2 people and get you entrance to The Haven with the suite guest pool, sundeck and restaurant and bar plus you get entrance to the Spa Thermal suite - this is the area where we spend the vast amount of our time onboard the ship. No one under 16 is allowed in there and it is usually a quiet and beautiful sanctuary aware from the hustle and bustle onboard the ship. The Haven restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and this is where we mostly eat and then we will do Le Bistro and Ocean Blue and Cagney's, maybe the sushi restaurant. The Haven sundeck is more quiet as is the upper level of The Haven pool - even if there are kids in the pool, it is more quiet up there. Then, of course, you would have your suite with a spa tub for 2 in the room and a larger bathroom with a big walk-in shower and double trough sink.

If you can't afford The Haven, at least get a spa cabin and if you can't get a spa cabin, at least buy spa passes on the NCL website prior to your cruise.

Make all specialty dining reservations and show reservations online in advance because by the end of the first day on the ship all the specialty restaurants will be sold out.

If your ship stops at NCL's private Island, make a reservation for a private Cabana - it's expensive but well worth the money and very private and relaxing.

You can also try to get a Vibe pass, be one of the first onboard to buy them.

We are a family with educators and students so we've always had to cruise during "peak season" with the exception of a Hawaii cruise (during Spring Break), one Christmas cruise, and a Caribbean Spring break. We've actually found that we like the peak season better. There seems to be a more enthusiastic crowd during the summer months, which we like. We've also found it is a quieter, more laid back cruise when it's a longer cruise. If we've been to a port multiple times, sometimes we will stay on the ship and it's practically deserted. We almost have the ship to ourselves if it's a popular port. We've also found that there are excursions that will get you away from the crowd if you book the excursion on your own. We like to go on excursions that limit the maximum number of people. We book a balcony cabin so we have a space where we can have a private quiet spot if we don't want to be with the crowd.

The search function wasn't playing nice when I tried to look so I apologize if this question has been discussed at length previously.

 

Due to the nature of my job (I work in education), I am only able to cruise during the already popular school break times. I already expect to pay a premium price, have large crowds, and (much though I wish to escape them while on vacation) lots of children.

 

So my question is this: knowing that it's going to be pricey and packed, how do we make the most out of our cruise during peak times?

 

While I am thinking primarily in generic suggestions, our currently scheduled cruise is August 5th, 2018 on the Norwegian Getaway so if anyone has any specific suggestions on that ship, I'd love to hear them.

Yacht charter instead of cruise.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We cruised last summer and it really wasn't bad at all. We did get lucky that we were the only ship in all 4 of the ports so that helped with the ports not being crazy crowded.

The ship sails full EVERY cruise, so it will be no more "packed" than any other time! Might be more families...but still, the same number of people!

We are in the same situation (as you can see below in my signature line, our cruises during are spring break). My tips are from advice I've received and our own trial and error.

Choose cabins/suites that aren't next to adjoining cabins, are on "prime" decks or spa cabins, and where you'll get the least amount of traffic. Make sure that your balcony isn't the end of the row or has a metal wall on one end of it (the sound echos terribly). Also, check to see what is above and below the cabin. Lastly, if there is a noise issue, let someone know ASAP. On Celebrity, we were next to an adjoining cabin where they had kids in one cabin and the parents in the other. We should have addressed it right away instead of thinking it would get better. They could have switched cabins.

Call out and go on a quiet week, plus you would be giving a poor sub a chance to make a little rent money. You might be missed by the class but kids get over things quick..happy cruising