COcruise

Thank you SO much for this review. Do you think it is possible with a kiddo on your back or front/side carrier? We are super active and have an almost 1.5 year old on our upcoming cruise. We really want to do this but I can't find anyone that's done it with a young kiddo.

Thank you so much for this info! Do you have any idea why NCL restricts the age on this (and literally every baths excursion) to 5 years old? The only thing I can think of is the walking, which isn't an issue for us. Thanks!

We did an NCL tour to a beach resort back in 2018 and loved it. I’ll see if I can find the name.

Probably not? I would say if haven is in the budget (no idea what ship you’re on) the upgrade may be worth it with a baby. We did 10 days with our 10 mo and had a great time. The priority embark, disembark and then priority disembark at the ports were great, along with the other amenities.

We had different noise issues, under the haven sun deck and they would drag around furniture all night long. We thought it would be quiet since not under the restaurant but learned our lesson. 15916.

You can only request an FCC once. email the price drop email and they will respond after a few days. We got an FCC for our Oct European cruise and got a little over $5k. I think we got lucky and the reprice was a fluke. Anywho, my letter only had the adjustment amounts and no fine print or restrictions. Beware, tried to book a 4 day cruise and it didn’t work. Come to find out they are only good on cruises over 7 days and it is good one year from the disembarkation. I couldn’t find it on the website but the info is in the other letters so I didn’t argue.

Coming full circle in this for anyone that stumbles upon this post. We’re in London now after 3 weeks in Europe including our 10 day med cruise on NCL. If you want to take your baby on a cruise - do it! The staff on NCL were amazing and there was so much to do even with a baby. They provided a pack and play which was great. Every restaurant had high chairs. They offered to bring whatever our baby needed and even made her baby food from blended veggies at dinner without us asking. We were in the haven and our butler noticed our baby loved bananas and made sure we had fresh fruit every afternoon for her. babies can’t go in the pool since they are not potty trained, bummer but fine. We switched off. We got off at every port except one day; the overnight in Livorno we only got off one day. We had no issues finding baby supplies in every port to replenish. We did all excursions on our own and used a variety of transportation methods (bus, train, Uber, taxi). Very easy to navigate and it was nice not to be stuck on a 12 hour NCL excursion with a baby. We also found we did the same excursions but for a fraction of the price. We had zero issues getting around ant any of the ports or in Lisbon. Walked 15k to 30k steps and beyond a day each day with the Zoe Travel stroller (Lisbon and all the cruise ports) or used a carrier (Sintra). The travel was great for the cruise ship, we took it everywhere. We used a combination of stroller and carrier for places such as the catacombs and underground tour in Naples and also at the Vatican. The only port where the stroller struggled a tad was at the Roman Forum; we wheeled it backwards up and down the hill and it worked fine. It performed great at all other ports and at Palatine Hill and Colosseum. We’re in fairly decent shape and had to carry the stroller up sets of stairs here or there but never found it to be troublesome. Did break a sweat a few times but that’s okay - earned another beer? We actually found thar Europe is far more family friendly than the US. Only caveat is there are not many changing tables in public so make sure you have a travel changing pad and use practice using stroller for a change when in port. Do it!!!

Wow thank you. Great explanation! Sounds like what happened, only a few lights came on for maybe 5 or 10 min and everything else was out (who knows exact timing, very sleepy and so bright it woke up the kiddo) then all lights came on and off several times and couldn’t be shut off for a bit. I asked a few employees but they all just said ship lost power and it hadn’t happened before. I was just curious/nosey (lol)

I agree. I was more curious and NCL didn’t say anything formally. Just a tad scary but I know there are backup generators etc. We actually are enjoying this ship and the itinerary, except for the fact they move patio furniture around on the haven pool deck above us at 4 am and it’s quite loud. Lesson learned. Otherwise, it’s been great and we would cruise Prima again.

Odd I haven’t seen anything about it, Prima lost power last night maybe 3 am? We knew because the emergency lights woke us up and wouldn’t turn off. Then all the lights in our cabin came on multiple times and we couldn’t shut them off. Called the concierge and they said the whole ship lost power. We made it to our next port so more curious than anything if anyone knows more.

😆 good thing you’re not in the 13th sailing with us as we’ll be in the Haven with our baby. Although most of the time she’s so chill you wouldn’t know she’s there. We’ve noticed there tend to be kids in the Haven, probably depends on our sailing and the length.

LOL. This was actually our exact thought. A baby is the best chance to travel Europe and see sights because anything and everything interests her and once we have a toddler things will change.

Lucky baby!!!! A pack and play is a pop up portable crib 😊 you’ve probably seen them if you google it! the ship can provide, just call in advance to confirm. It saves you having to lug a pack and play on the trip. Most hotels (some Airbnb’s) have them too so call before booking.

I agree. Some of the other Haven rooms in the Prima have asterisks for strange modifications to the rooms (like no bath tub) so we are sticking as is. They should throw those non hot tub rooms in a different category!!!!

Not required as far as I’m aware. BUT, I would never ever ever travel without supplementary health insurance coverage outside of the country unless your plan covers it. Just pay for it because you never think it will happen to you. I had a coworker that was in a life changing accident overseas without insurance and ended up hospitalized in a foreign country for months. Family had to take second mortgage and raise tens of thousands to cover the medical bills and medical flight home. They ended up selling their house when they returned. The accident ended up being life altering physically and also financially because they had no insurance coverage.