clp0930

I actually wound up picking Bermuda, we sail June 2nd.

I'm looking at 3 different Norwegian cruises for our first cruise as a family (went for Norwegian for the less structured environment). We'll be traveling with two kids, both generally travel well having been on trips to Turkey, India, and Canada internationally as well as a lot of places in the US. The first option is the Norwegian Breakaway and it goes to Harvest Caye, Roatan, Cozumel, and Costa Maya (apologies if it's not the correct order). This appeals to me because I think the ports all sound very interesting. The second option Norwegian Breakaway and it goes to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Great Stirrup Cay. This sounds like it could be really fun and beachy, still lots to do and explore but not as intense as option 1. The third Option is the Norwegian Joy, it leaves from New York and spends 3 days in Bermuda. We could do 1 or 2 excursions and then spend our time exploring the island as a family. I've heard Bermuda is safe and fairly easy to navigate. I'm struggling to make a decision guys, I started out looking at Carnival and then realized that wasn't a great fit and Royal Caribbean sounded nice but the kids club might be too structured for my 7yo who has high-functioning autism and a speech disorder (he won't need much assistance but also probably isn't going to have an in-depth conversation with strangers, may or may not want to participate in crafts). Hence we chose Norwegian.

I wound up booking Harmony of the Seas (Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Roatan) I''l tweak the excursions for the kids. I had to go with that ship due to a family function that came up in July so those dates worked best for us. (Note to self: Never try to surprise husband--the universe will intervene)

My daughter hates heights so she'll be fine sans ropes and climbing wall lol

I currently have my eye on 2 cruises. One is the Liberty of the Seas 5-night Bermuda, with 2 full sea days and 2 days in Bermuda. I like this option because we would get back on a Thursday and could spend a couple of days in NYC before flying home. The other option is a 7-night cruise on the Norwegian Joy. We could fly in on Saturday, and see a couple of things in NYC before boarding our ship. That would give us 3 days in Bermuda. I have a 7-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Initially, I was going to book a Carnival cruise but I've always really wanted to go to Bermuda, and I feel like Carnival has a more hyped-up vibe whereas we're more quiet and chill ( the ships look cool, it just didn't seem like a fit for our travel style).

I'm looking at two different itineraries for Carnival Dream. We're a family of four, my daughter will be 11 when we travel and my son will be 7. My son has mild autism, so while he doesn't have meltdowns or issues with food/change, he dislikes really loud/rowdy environments. The first itinerary is 6 Nights visiting Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. Planned excursions would be the animal sanctuary with sloths in Roatan, San Gervaiso ruins in Cozumel, and an airboat ride in Belize. The second itinerary is 8 nights and visits Key West, Nassau, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay. Planned excursions would be the butterfly conservatory in Key West, Pearl Island beach day or Queen's Staircase in Nassau, kayaking in Lucayan National Park for Freeport, and the stingray adventure in Half Moon Cay. I'm open to any other advice as well.