clp0930

2 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'll be upfront and say I don't have kids. I have been the admin of a charter school (K-8) so know my way around how kids operate. And, I was a summer camp director for a few years. Anyway, now that my bona fides are out of the way...cuz, ya know, it doesn't actually matter...

 

I'd go with the third option. I've done the first option (minus Costa Maya and it was Joy, not Breakaway). It's fun. I really loved what we did. This is going to sound arrogant, trite, and of privilege, but Roatan is a very dirty island, especially near the port. Unless you take a NCL excursion, you'll have to deal with unpleasantness of hawkers trying to get you to take their excursion, cab, etc. We did this and were fine. And honestly, we'd do it again. We felt comfortable wandering around Coxen Hole (like the whole town), but we didn't travel with a child.

 

I do have to admit I really enjoy Great Stirrup Cay. If you're looking for a beach, that's the place to go! Harvest Caye is great too, especially the pool which Great Stirrup Cay doesn't have. I haven't been to the other places on option 2. 

 

We have been to Bermuda. We stayed over two nights and really enjoyed the flexibility of finding our way around the island, not having to stress about missing the boat (it was also our first cruise). We are a LGBT couple, but didn't have any issues in Bermuda. The people seemed welcoming. It's more the government policies that aren't, though I'm guessing y'all won't have this issue. 

 

Anyway, there is so much to do in Bermuda. And, some of that is close to the port. There's mini golf, shopping, a historical fort right next to where the ship docks. There's a free NCL ferry from Dockyard to St. George's which is a lovely UNESCO world heritage site. There are also ferries (like $5 each way) from Dockyard to Hamilton. You can grab a taxi, bus, excursion and see caves, aquariums, and of course, beaches! There's a relatively cheap shuttle bus (either through NCL or just hop on) from Dockyard to Horseshoe Beach. 

 

Wherever your plans go, have a wonderful time! I know many thousands of families have taken each of the itineraries you are looking at and had a lovely time. 

 

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.

On 6/16/2023 at 5:13 PM, Aquahound said:

I'm leaning the other way.  8 days is better than 6 days and while I might favor the 6-day itinerary, I certainly do not think it's that much better.  I'm not a Nassau/Freeport fan, but Key West is a great little town, and Half Moon Cay has one of the best beaches in The Bahamas.  

 

If I could offer a bit of additional advice, with your son's affliction to loud/rowdy environments, are you sure Carnival is the line you should sail?  In all likelihood, you'll be ok but when it comes to cruise ship rowdy environments, Carnival is the first line that comes to my mind.  

 

Good luck with your choice.  

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)

On 6/14/2023 at 3:00 PM, bkrickles1 said:

Unfortunately, no. 

I've sailed on ncl escape and encore too. Only the Escape had the ropes course and that might have been my favorite of the ncl ships but the Joy is fabulous in it's own way. 

In fact, Joy is definitely better for adult entertainment. 2 big theater shows, 2 comedians and live music at 5 different venues every single night. 

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.