Silverhues

We booked a guarantee ocean view on the Anthem for Jan. 2023.  It was a great price!  We booked in mid-September, and a couple of weeks later, we were assigned our room.  It is on Deck 3.  We are happy with the location especially for the price.

The Breakaway class and plus ships on Norwegian ((Breakaway, Getaway, Escape) have Family Oceanview rooms that have a curtain to separate parents sleeping space from the kids. It appears to be a nice size room too at a decent price. They also will sleep five people, but you don't need to have five people to book.

We were looking at these rooms for our family of five cruise next year. We ended up booking two rooms instead because my mom and adult daughter are now coming with us.

I am reading lots of positives about their kids programming, and like that they have a kids splash park for our 4 year old.

Our previous sailings have been with RCI and Carnival. RCI does have some great family rooms too, but as stated usually reserved for families of five or more.

I just read this post. Our party of 8 have used Chalies Custom Tours and they are simply the best tour we have ever taken! If he is still available at this late date ( he books up fast!) book it! You will not be disappointed! Carlos and his son run this business. He will customize a tour that works for your needs. The customized van Charlie and Charlie 2 ( they have two) are so comfortable, and he takes photos and send them to you!

We were disappointed that our next cruise does not arrive at San Juan until 3pm and it is too late for a tour. We would book them again in a heartbeat!

We travel as a large family too. We are currently booked for the 14 night Southern Caribbean on the Breakaway for early January 2018. January is really the only time we can get away now. Our children will be 4, 11, 13, and 20 at time of sailing, and we are looking forward to the great itinerary (8 ports)! Plus going out of NY saves us so much money. It is actually cheaper for us to take a 14 night cruise out of NY than a 7 night cruise out of Florida for our large family! We will cope with the couple days down and then back of not great weather. We realize there probably won't be many other kids on the sailing. The lines for the waterslide and rope courses should be shorter! :)

I know you will all have a great time with whatever you decide! Family time is So important to us, and we can't wait to try something new!

Hello!

I am also on the same cruise! This is also my first cruise with NCL. In addition to browsing NCL's excursion in general on their website, I have found the port of call forums on this site extremely helpful as well. It has helped me in choosing what port of calls to book excursions, and which ones that We may want to do on our own, Best stops for beach days and etc. Hopefully the excursions for our particular cruise will be listed soon!

Becky

Be aware that most ships do not allow babies/toddlers who are not potty trained (even with swimmers) in any of the pools ( even children's pool areas). A few ships have specially designed splash zones for babies, but not many. A couple of years ago, we brought a small inflatable baby pool and put it on our balcony for our then 15 month old. We were fortunate to have a large balcony, and the staff were ok with us doing it. The policies will vary from ship to ship I'm sure.

We just booked two M6 cabins on the Breakaway. The price wasn't much difference from a regular balcony room, and the size of the balcony alone on the M6 makes it well worth it. The only hesitation we have booking this category is the cabin(s) are located in the front of the ship. We are sailing out of NY in January, and we are a little worried about feeling the rough seas more being in the front of the ship. Those beautiful balconies won though!

We have been on the Explorer twice with the kids. The pools themselves at the Adventure Beach section are pretty much covered, but there are plenty of loungers surrounding the pools and slide area that are not covered so you can sit in the sun and watch the kids (depending on age). It was actually nice to get some shade when it was extremely hot, and have some covering if it rained. Of course, we were on the Explorer when the itinerarys included leaving from NJ where the weather can fluctuate more frequently. Still a great ship for kids, depending on the ages of the kids.

We were also unsure how the tipping went when we were on our cruise in September. Honestly did not know if the extra gratutity we paid for being in a suite covered the suite services we received for breakfast/lunch. We ended up tipping at the end of the cruise to the waiter who took care of us the majority of the time. We went to Portofino for almost every breakfast, and we also ate in there for several lunches. The staff were really great. We are a large family, and we had a toddler who could make quite a mess. We also tipped the conceirge and the bartender who took care of us in the conceirge "lounge" (actually were in 19th hole). Actually, the services/perks we received for being in a suite really made our vacation.

During our slot pull last month, we didnt even break even, and we decided as a group to donate the remaining amount to " Make a Wish" onboard.

My favorites from last months cruise- chocolate martini, razzle dazzle, and a labadoozie!

Our family visited San Juan via cruise last month, and the best decision we made was to book a tour with Carlos from Charlies Custom tours. The best tour we have taken. If he is available, definitely book him. Research his website and other sites for reviews. His great reputation and positive reviews are well deserved!

My kid did Alaska in August on a ship that had "Royal babies" it had toy lending and programs for 6-36 mths without parent. We have booked for the summer with family and chose a ship with our agents help that had this. Our grandson will be just shy of 3.

Yes, it does depend on the ship. I knew in advance that the Explorer did not (yet) have the Royal Babies and Tots nursury, splash park with a " baby zone" and etc. I was hoping they would still have the toy lending program though. The cruise met all our other needs ( not having to fly, great deal). The newer ships and many of the ships that recently were in dry dock do have many more options for younger children.

I was on the Explorer last month, and they no longer had the toy lending program. I had inquired at Adventure Ocean when dropping off the older children, and one of the staff informed me they no longer lend toys out now that their contract with Fisher Price was over. There were a few toys during the day up in cloud nine/ viking crown lounge infants and toddles were welcome to use, and they had music and story time ( which we never made it because the times didnt work for our schedule). We did take our 14 month old up to play a few times which she seemed to enjoy. Overall, there was lots to do for older children, and my 8and 10 year old loved Adventure Ocean. However, there currently really is not too many resources/things to do for toddlers/ infants (under 3/not potty trained) on this ship.

We had pretty good burgers and fries in the MDR on our EOS cruise last month- much better than the Windjammer burgers.

Enjoyed your review and pics! Our family of 8 stayed in a RFS on Explorer as well (also deck 8) just a couple weeks before your cruise. That balcony is amazing, and the suite perks really enhanced our vacation as well. Denzil was fantastic! I had planned on writing a review as well ( still will write a short one), time has just gone by so fast! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I am glad you were able to enjoy the cruise in spite of all the changes....

I didnt try asking myself, but I had read here on Cruise critic that you can request regular creme brulee ahead of time. I did not try thE BBB version, as I also have heard its not good at all.....

We just returned from our cruise a couple of weeks ago. When we were in San Juan, we booked a private tour with Charlies Custom Tours. It was absolutely the best tour we have ever taken! In four hours we saw so much more of Puerto Rico than I thought possible. The owner and tour guide,Carlos, is absolutely fantastic, and he will create a tour that matches your needs and interests. We traveled with three children including a 14 month old as well as my parents who are in their late seventies. It was fantastic!

This is a duplicate thread. I responded on the first one posted yesterday.

His website is customtourspr.com. Carlos' contact information, including e-mail and phone number are listed on his website. He is very good at responding to e-mails.

Nice Review! We were getting off the Explorer (the 9 night Bermuda/ Eastern Caribbean Itinerary), the day you were boarding her! This was our second time on the Explorer, and thought she was still in great shape!

Our group of 8 ( including two senior and a toddler) took a tour with Carlos of Charlies Custom Tours a couple weeks ago while on our cruise during a short stop in San Juan. Absolutely the best tour ever. You would be able to do all of those things in a day with this tour. In fours hours, we saw so much of Puerto Rico, and had such a great time. If Carlos is available, he will help you customize the type of tour you want, based on everyone's needs. The limo/van "Charlie" is very comfortable and a great way to tour the island!

We recently returned from a cruise that also stopped in San Juan. I traveled with my husband, three children ( ages 1, 8, and 10), my parents, and niece. I booked a tour with Charlie's Custom Tours, and it was the Best decision ever. We only were in port from 7 to 2, so we took a 4 hour tour. We saw so much of Puerto Rico in 4 hours ( drivng tour of San Juan, the Capital Building, a beautiful beach, local art, a small cave, part of the rainforest, and stopped a. Swimming hole with waterfall). However, Carlos, the owner and tour guide, will custom your visit to meet your needs and go exactly where you want to go. He will also suggest places based on your families interests. He is one of the friendliest and most genuine people you will ever meet. The van is super comfortable, and he provides drinks and snacks- and takes pictures with his camera and sends them to you! Best tour we ever had! We have been to San Juan a couple of times before, but it was too hot for us to explore much on our own, and thats why I decided to book a tour this time. It truly was an amazing time!

I was there on October 1, and I did not see this at all. Adrenaline beach is to left ( and I heard this beach is rocky), but there are three separate beaches to the right. The beach for suite guests, Barefoot Beach is the very first beach on the right, so I wonder if the person you talked to stopped there and didnt keep walking. There are two more beaches on that right side ( Nellie's Beach and Columbus Cove) further down that are open to everyone.

Just returned from the 9 night Explorer cruise last week. We had an over the water cabana on Barefoot Beach, and it was amazing! I initially e-mailed the conceirge 7 to 8 weeks out, and I received a reply right away. He (Nizar) informed me what type of cabanas were available, and I responded that I wanted one over the water. He immediately responded that he had reserved me one, but to e-mail to confirm about two weeks out, as Denzil would be back as conceirge during that sailing. I e-mailed as directed, and Denzil immediately replied that he had my reservation for an overthe water cabana. I hope the process is as easy and the conceirges are as helpful as the one on the Explorer. . The cabana ( we had OW 6) was a great decision for us, and none of us left the Barefoot Beach area as we had all we needed.