mobu2015

Every port I've sailed out of in the US and Europe it has been waiting after customs and there are porters there to help. So hopefully thats the case for you guys as well and hopefully it puts your mind at ease!

For embarkation and disembarkation won't there be porters there when you arrive? You give them your luggage and tip them and they take it where it needs to go. On disembarkation, you put your luggage outside the door of your cabin the night before and it will be waiting for you (amongst thousands of other pieces of luggage) after you clear customs. Again, porters should be available to help take your luggage to your vehicle or other mode of transport.

I was speaking with a friend who sailed Carnival 3 years ago with her then 2 year old and she mentioned that she was able to rent a stroller on board the ship for the week at a reasonable cost. I don't know if they still do this, but it might be worth checking into with Carnival if you don't want to lug a stroller while travelling.

Yes the toddler and children will need to tip as well. Im not sure about Carnival specifically but most other cruise lines allow toddlers under 2 to participate in parent escorted activities in the kids clubs at designated times at no extra charge. To me, that alone makes the tip worth it not to mention what Essie's mom said about staff needing to clean up after the toddlers.

the only ships where non potty trained babies/toddlers are currently allowed to use splash pads are disney ships and Royal Caribbean Allure, Oasis, Freedom, Liberty and independence ships.

I agree about considering an umbrella stroller when you're on shore. You most likely won't use it on the ship itself but you will definitely use it on shore unless you babywear. If you babywear please consider a carrier or wrap made of breathable fabric as it will be quite humid and hot.

If you want a pack n play for your toddler you need to reserve it in advance of the cruise. They will use a starched bedsheet in there so if you want to I'd suggest bringing your own pnp sheet.

huh?

I am not asking about now but for 7/19?

No one can predict the future but what Linwood is trying to help you with is a visual of what Breakaway docked at Bermuda looks like 99% of the time. The answer you received from NCL stating that it will be docked unless there is an issue then it will be anchores is the correct answer. This week there was an issue with the Dawn and Breakaway could not dock because Dawn was delayed leaving Bermuda for reasons I will leave you to research on your own. This is an anomaly and passengers who chose to tender to port were able to walk back on in the afternoon once the issue with Dawn was rectified and Breakaway was able to dock.

I'm pregnant and will be in my 20th week when we cruise in June too :)

We will be on the Breakaway though. I decided to pass on the UBP. When pregnant I am extra careful about sodium and calories so I tend to mostly drink water. I don't avoid caffiene completely but the UBP just wasn't going to be worth it for me. Is your wife mostly drinking water now or is she liking other types of drinks? Since she'll be farther along then and it will be hotter out, she might be only into water and limited other drinks by the time you cruise to avoid swollen feet. Everyone is different but I just thought I'd give you the pregnant chick's take on things at 5 months pregnant, instead of the best deal viewpoint others are giving you (which is all good advice too, just thought I'd give my 2 cents) :)

ETA: I'm sure you already know this but make sure you email the "fit to travel" letter from her OB to the ncl access desk email address PRIOR TO your date of departure. That was the advice given by my TA, as told to her my NCL directly. Then you can print out or show the check in person the confirmation email from NCL access desk in case there is any question or issue when you're checking in on the date of embarkation.

It's really up to you. Which do you think you'll wear more after the cruise is over? Which will make you feel the best wearing it? You'll find people dressed in all types of clothing on formal night as the definition of "formal" has become very inclusive on cruise ships in the last couple of decades. You wouldn't be out of place in either but keep in mind that shorter cruises are generally less formal anyways. So if you'd rather go with the more versatile piece and dress it up with jewelry thag might be the best option. I know that's what I'd do.

I don't really know much about this brand but seeing you haven't received any replies yet I did a quick Google search and it doesn't look like they have any collaborations with any cruise line except disney cruise line, which makes sense since you mentioned they make exclusive things for Disney vacation club members.

http://m.disneystore.com/jewelry-accessories-disney-cruise-line-bangle-by-alex-and-ani/mp/1368345/1000295/

They also appear to have a cruise ship charm or bracelet but it's not specific to any cruise line:

http://www.alexandani.com/cruise-ship-charm-bangle.html

And a "places we love" collection with a lot of different charms for cities or countries:

http://www.alexandani.com/collections/places-we-love.html

You could try calling their customer service to see if they would know, or if they could find out the vendor on the cruise line so you could contact them directly to find out what selection they have on the specific ship you're sailing. Or try the cruise line as well.

How does it work through travel agents? Do they do the calling for you especially if we already got a deal through our TA? Thanks

Yes, that's how it worked for me. I checked the prices and called them and told them the price went down and even though it was after final payment was there anything they could do. They put me on hold and called NCL and then came back to me to let me know what was being offered and whether I wanted to go with it. In my case I went from a balcony to a mini suite and although I don't gain too much extra space at least it was something (even though OBC for the price difference would've been more interesting to me, I still took what was being offered).

The biggest difference is that depending on where the ship goes, a few med ports require transport to the cities/sites that many tourists would consider "worth" seeing. I say "worth" only because the majority of cruise passengers would want to make the trip to the popular sites as opposed to staying in the less touristy port areas but this all depends on where you're going.

Also, being that its more than double the length of your previous cruises, this will be a big change and depending on how you travel/pack it might take an extra bit of planning.

Oops didn't realize this was a zombie thread. Please delete this.

Those are very different itineraries. The Southern Carib. Cruise sounds quite port intensive. If your family is into lots of exploring and being in new places every day this is your pick.

If you do a resort in Puerto Rico will you stay put or venture out? If you're staying put this is like on the opposite end of the spectrum from the S Carib cruise.

I assume if you do the NJ cruise you will be driving to port. This is so different from flying to Puerto Rico for many reasons and involves less hassle and possibly less cost, although maybe not, I haven't looked at airfare lately.

I disagree that there isn't anything to do in Bermuda, it really depends on your family's interests. If you're all into golfing or beaches or snorkeling or higher end shopping or any other things Bermuda offers this may be a good bet for you.

What type of vacation is your family looking for?

I second this. I was able to do this through my TA for my upcoming Breakaway cruise in June.

But we are on Celebrity so no self laundry. Anyhow, thanks for all the suggestions. I guess I will pack as if for two weeks and send stuff out to be washed. Problem is the second part (TA) will be much warmer than the first, so I need different clothes.

Can you bring layering pieces? For example, ankle pants, shell/sleeveless top and cardigan. Then on the warmer part of your travels you can skip the cardigan. Or dress with blazer or cardigan then only wear the dress for when it's warm.

Unfortunately, with your luggage and laundry restrictions you will need to be imaginative unless you don't mind overpacking. If you're on pinterest I'd look up layering options or check out those awesome sites suggested by a PP above for travelling light.

I don't know your age or clothing restrictions, but you can layer practically anything so long as you choose lightweight fabrics. So if you're not comfortable wearing shorts or dresses, choose long skirts or crop pants. If you don't like sleeveless go with lightweight tshirts etc.

Thanks for the info but thats only really an option for people coming in from NJ.

Anyone have alternatives for folks coming in from north of Manhattan?

Does the ship have self laundry? If so, you could pack for half the time and do laundry midway through. Will the 3 yr old still be in diapers? You can order those through the ship and they'll be waiting for you when you get there. It's a bit more expensive but if you're flying in, it will save you space. Have the kids take their own little backpacks for carry-ons with snacks or little things to do. At that age it shouldn't be full of everything just a couple of items. Take laundry detergent and wash a few items in the sink in the cabin.

I agree with PP abt not taking too many outfits for dinner or formal nights. It's just a waste of space and they're only in them for a couple of hours. If they spill something just wash it out in the sink. Oh and leave room in the suitcase for any souvenirs or tshirts they may want from Port.

Hmmm this is tough. When Ive gone away for more than a week I usually just take a week's worth of clothing and do laundry but since you won't have access to laundry except having them do it, I understand how this might be more challenging. Can you take 10-14 days worth of clothing (enough tops, bottoms and undergarments for 10 days to 2 weeks) and self launder in your sink so you can wear each outfit twice?

I'd only take one all weather type jacket, one blazer, one sweater for outerwear. I'd limit to 3 pairs of shoes: 2 comfortable walking shoes and one pair of dressy evening shoes. I'd limit formalwear to one black dress OR top/pants and bring a couple of shawls and costume statement necklaces to change the look. Even the blazer or sweater can be doubled up here depending on style. bring only 2 bathing suits (one to wear and one to launder) unless you don't think you'll swim then just take one.

Wear your heaviest pants (ex. Jeans) with your clunkiest shoes and the blazer on the flight, that way you won't need to find room to pack those things.

I'm a big fan of limiting color palette and of capsule wardrobes so limit your colors to neutrals and bring costume jewelry or lightweight scarves as accessories. I think you could get away with a week's worth of clothing but if you have the room 10-14 days worth would be easy to pull off with minimal accessories.

Thanks for posting this. We've never sailed NCL but have sailed several other lines and have been a bit perplexed with all of the posts regarding nickle and diming. This is very helpful in comparing our previous experiences with other cruiselines and tempering our expectations with our upcoming first cruise on NCL. I'm a bit disappointed to hear you found the good quality has decreased but since this will be our first NCL experience I guess we won't know what we will be missing! :)

With the ship in motion (ie wind noise), my experience is that you won't be able to hear a child from the balcony. You won't be able to hear a monitor either, but most have vibration and visual indicators. With the door open you might hear the child, but that allows lots of noise into the cabin (including the parents voices.) We just checked on them every few minutes at that age.

 

I agree on the point of trying to find a cheap voice-only monitor, unless the video monitor has a mode where video can be shut off (or if losing video doesn't impact the sound.) A regular monitor should work one cabin over, but the video must require a much better signal. OTOH, it's possible that part of the extra price is invested in much better transmission capabilities.

Good to know! We'll be parked at Bermuda for 3 days so shouldn't have an issue with wind/noise those days at least. I'm still not planning to bring a monitor I think we will be fine with visual checks on the days/nights the ship is at sea but every kid is different and OP has twins so I imagine needing to keep track of both is a much more challenging task than having just the one toddler :)

I agree the steel might interfere. Also I would make sure the monitor isn't wifi based.

We are going on a cruise with our 18 month old next month. It's just the 3 of us so our only "escape" during naptime is the balcony. We figure if he's in the pack n play he won't be able to get out but if he cries he's pretty vocal and we will be able to hear that and also do visual checks.

Do sound only monitors work in the same way with interference? Maybe you can pick up a cheap sound monitor and give that a try.

Thank you all for your replies and fabulous auggestions! You've given us a lot of great info and we look forward to trying to see all of it or at least have some great fallback options if parts of our plan don't work out!

Recently at our local baby store, I lined up the City Mini and the City Select with a single seat attached. They are about the same length (the handle on the mini stuck out at the hip and added to the overall length. I love my City Select with the rugged feel an maneuverability! I can deal with storing it in the room! We were planning on using duffle bags instead of rigid suitcases. The duffels could collapse allowing room to store the bulky stroller. I can deal with weight of getting it on and off tenders or tour vans. I AM WORRIED about maneuvering the BJCS on the ship! Anyone actually taken theirs? IF NOT, what did you use and how did it work?

Leaving in 5 weeks so can order whatever! HELP!!

I'm not sure why my prevuous reply was deleted, I was only trying to be helpful. Older threads can be confusing because people will respond to the original post as opposed to a question posed within the thread. Especially a thread as old as this one. That said, I have a baby jogger city mini and have read many posts and reviews regarding the ease of maneuverability on ships for that stroller. I've also had the opportunity to use the city select and as you said the wheels are bigger and it's more rugged. Perhaps you can take the width measurement of the select and compare that to the width measurement of the city mini? Also you mention you're not worried about tenders or tour vans and I know it does fold pretty compactly for its size but I worry you may find it too awkward and bulky in those situations. Advice that was given to me recently on these boards is to see if you can borrow an umbrella stroller from someone you know. And as mentioned in my deleted previous reply, if you find you don't get any other replies it would be beneficial to start a new thread. That is meant as friendly advice sorry if someone took that as rude. Hope this helps. I've been struggling with stroller decisions too for our upcoming cruise.

I'm not sure if my post title makes sense but we will be sailing on the Breakaway in June. It is my understanding that CT and NJ schools will be out by the time we sail but NY schools will still be in session. We expect it to be crowded but since we will be making the short drive to the port we are wondering based on past experience, whether it is better to try to embark earlier or later to avoid the crowds? We will have our toddler with us and wish to avoid a lengthy wait if possible. We've previously sailed out of Brooklyn and arrived early and were some of the first people on the ahip. Is this the best strategy here as well?

I agree with PP. Make sure you don't introduce any new foods on the cruise. Get the ok from your Pediatrician for certain things like peanut butter or shellfish and have your baby try those before you go. I have an 18 month old and his Pediatrician said the only thing to avoid in the first year is honey, so if you get the go ahead from the dr start introducing foods like nuts, citrus and shellfish now so you avoid potential allergic or stomach reactions on the ship.

This is a bit concerning for me. This is my first cruise on NCL and my with my 18 month old in tow. We had read a few reviews suggesting that milk could be brought back to the cabin and put in the fridge for the little ones. Another review gave me the idea to take dessert back to the cabin where my husband and I could have dessert and read or whatever or our balcony while our son is sleeping. In this case, room service makes no sense unless one of us waited outside our door for it to be delivered. So unless we sneak the milk or even a snack for us or our son we are out of luck. Assuming other lines don't follow with this policy this will be our first and last on NCL. I am normally extremely laid back and don't expect much from cruise lines in terms of freebies but I feel like if you want to encourage families to cruise on your line you should be a little flexible. We are still looking forward to our cruise of course but these changes in policy are a bit of a bummer.