travelhound

alj1208,

From now on a bungee cord or two is being packed in all of my luggage. I've been on the next two ships we've booked on and those door open in, but just in case...

Bonvoyagemom,

I thought about one of those and almost bought it. That would just tells us she opened the door, but not stop her. I would be good if we were sleeping though.

I was just so amazed how easy it was for her to open the door on the Breakaway. Balcony door, no - because it had the extra lock that was high up. Although the Breakaway was the easiest balcony door to open once unlocked. Maybe because it's fairly new it still slides smoothly. Still, I wasn't worried about the balcony at all.

This is an old post but I wanted to add an update. We were on NCL's Breakaway last week and before we left I ordered the "addalock" that someone had mentioned in a previous post. I tried to use it in our NY hotel and it didn't fit the triangle shaped lock but there was a bar at the top to secure the door so it wasn't a problem.

Now to the Breakaway. This was our 30th cruise and we've never had a door that opened out into the hallway and not into the room. I did see some doors that opened in, but I think most opened out. There is no way to secure a door like that. Within two hours of being in our cabin, our barely 30 pound three year old bolted out the door after my husband. She went the opposite direction from him, so by the time he turned around and started chasing her (and now it's a game) she had run from aft to mid ship elevators and up one floor to the kids club. Her lack of listening isn't my point (we dealt with that later), but it was really easy for her to open the door and we had no way to secure it. At night we put a suitcase in front of the door, but if she really wanted to get out she could have. She didn't leave the room again on her own for the rest of the week, but I was constantly worried about it, especially at night.

I'm guessing the Getaway is similar since it's a sister ship. If we were on either in the future I would bring a small bungee cord that could attach to the door handle and up to the clothes hook near the door.

Our dd has been on three NCL cruises, two since she turned 3 in March and was eligible for the kids club. Each cruise she went once. She didn't dislike it, but when I asked her if she wanted to go again she said, "I want to stay with you guys." The pp was correct about them closing for lunch and dinner. I think the dinner is 5-7 pm. Go to the club when you first get onboard and sign up. They give you wristbands to wear all week and a schedule of what is going on each day and time. They do have a lot of fun activities. If they attend a lot, they can be in a circus show at the end of the week. Your kids won't be in the same group because the ages are 3-5 and 6-9.

My dd goes to daycare so she kind of knows the "routine" and I think she maybe just wanted a vacation too, just like us. Anyway, give it a try and pick a time that offers an activity that you think they'll like. Maybe they'll like it and maybe they won't but there certainly are enough fun activities for them to try.

FYI: Your three year old has to be potty trained and able to go to the bathroom without help from the staff. If they need help with clothes or wiping, they give you a phone and will call you to come back and help them.

We did a guarantee room once and were assigned a HC room. I thought it was awesome. I see that you're in an aft balcony and we had an inside, but basically the idea is that everything is larger - from the door frame to the room and balcony. In addition to the size, the main difference is there is nothing to step over, so your door frames are flush to the ground and the shower was a roll-in with a curtain and not a door. If your room had a tub, I'm not sure how that would be different, but the bathroom has to be large enough to accommodate a wheel chair.

Happy Anniversary and enjoy your cruise!!!

SMerritt,

How did you use Dial7 when you didn't know exactly what time you were disembarking and where did you find them once outside?

Thanks for the "positives"! I too, tire of all of the complaining. Of course something won't be exactly what you would prefer. Don't we all deal with that every day at home? I love Bermuda and are taking the Breakaway soon too!

Momforlife,

Are you on the June 1st sailing? Since you said 10 days, I figured that it must be. If so, we'll also be on that sailing for our 25th anniversary! We got married on June 3rd.

Genman,

Thanks for sharing!

Irene7,

You must have some pyrotechnically advanced neighbors. :) I'm not sure how your post was helpful.

Great pictures! Do you think you could only see them portside? Our balcony is starboard and with a three year old, I'm not sure we'll make it to 10:45.

I agree with getting a passport over a card for the reasons others stated. It's a little more expensive, but if they're going anywhere in the next five years, it's worth it. The adoption papers are needed to get the passport.

We adopted our dd at birth too and she's been on a couple cruises with just a passport. However, since you are traveling alone, you may need to prove that you have sole custody. They won't know that you are not divorced or share custody with someone else. I don't have personal experience with it, but I've read others' posts that have mentioned getting paperwork for that reason.

Now NCL has changed the beginning age for the kids club to be three. As a pp said, there is a play area/activities for two and under but a parent needs to attend. We were just on the Pearl and our dd recently turned three. She went to the club once during our trip. She liked it, but I'm not sure if she would have done it before then. I'm guessing they may have had a lot of crying two year olds.

We haven't been to Bermuda for a while, but are going soon. When we were there in the past we did a ride in Hamilton. However, I recently saw this on a website, so it looks like they will be near the dockyard too.

" During the summer months (April through October), you will find those beautiful horse carriages on Front Street in Hamilton City, or in the Dockyard Area (near Kings Wharf) at the western end of the island or even on the narrow roads of St George's town at the eastern end."

I don't have a picture of it, but I do remember grilled cheese being on the dining room lunch menu and it wasn't the kids menu. I had a veggie burger that was good. The kids menu is the regular "crap" - chicken tenders, pizza, hot dog, etc. They also have good soups and salads. I'm sure your dad will be able to find something light.

We've been in an inside with a pack n play on NCL Pearl. It's tight, but it works. Push the beds all the way to one side and then the pnp just squeezes next to it. That's really the only option. I guess you could put it between the bed as twins, but the space is the same.

Bring all of the wipes and diapers you think you'll need since you won't find them onboard easily. Since you're driving it will make it easier. Our dd was drinking a lot of milk at the time and always liked it right when she woke up and before bed. Since they only have the cartons on the buffet in the morning we took extra and put it in our fridge. Also grab some extra cereal boxes. If you're going on shore any snacks that are packaged can be brought off the ship.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

I agree with the balcony door. Good locks - really heavy - hard to open. However, on our cruise a few weeks ago, our just 3 year old, 30 pound little girl opened the door from inside our room to the hall. We were all leaving for dinner and she got to the door first. It took some doing, but she was so proud of herself and said, "Look, I'm a big girl." I tried not to squish her accomplishment, but we had a big talk about never opening the door by yourself.

Did you try it on the door to see if it fit? We were just on the NCL Pearl and there was no way our three year old could get the balcony door open (and there's a good lock up high) but she could, with some effort, get the hallway door open. With two more cruise this year, I think I should get some kind of deterrent. I wasn't sure if the Adalock will fit on any door or not.

You still have a few weeks to try this, but at our dd's daycare they learned how to potty train without any kind of seat adapter. She turned turned three on Saturday and has been trained for about 10 month, so she was really small when we started it. Of course she needs help to get up there, but once on the seat, she can hold herself up without any other seat. I bought both the foldable one for going out (and she tried it once and said "ouch") and the cushion one for at home (which she used maybe three times and didn't want it after that). So, if you can get him to do it without any other seat, it frees you up a lot.

I completely agree about the flushing. We haven't been on a cruise since potty training and I know that flush will freak her out. I think I'll let her leave the bathroom and then flush it.

Good luck!

If you've never been on Princess, do that. You won't be disappointed.

Our dd just turned three this week, so she hasn't been in the kids club yet. I don't know if they have pagers. I'm guessing they have port day options. If you post on the Princess board, I'm sure someone will answer.

Have fun!

We have been on both the Jewel and the Emerald Princess but neither with kids. Our dd has only been on one cruise so far (two in a couple weeks) when she was 22 months. That was NCL Pearl, which is a sister ship to the Jewel.

Your kids would have fun on either and I think the kids programs are both good, although our dd has done them yet. NCL has a little show that the kids work on all week and perform in the theater. They also have Nick characters and activities like a Dora Dance Party, character meet and greet, photo ops, etc.

The EP is larger and has two pools, one with the Movies Under the Stars screen. I think that one also has the adults only pool in the aft. The ship is probably a little more classically designed with Tuscan decor, making it feel more upscale, but I think the service and food is comparable.

The biggest difference is the dining. NCL pioneered the freestyle (eat whenever you want) concept with main dining rooms that are free and specialty restaurants for a surcharge. Even though most lines have some sort of anytime dining now, NCL still does it the best with the least wait times. Most other lines still try to do some sort of traditional dining, which I think messes it up a bit. If you really want a set time, Princess is probably better or you can make reservations on NCL. Also, there is no formal night on NCL. They have a "dress up if you like" night but everyone doesn't participate. Princess still has two formal nights on a 7 night cruise. If you don't dress up you can still each in the buffet without formal wear.

Either ships would be great and honestly I would choose by price and ports. Princess is one of my favorite lines and is probably slightly more upscale than NCL, but with kids you're probably looking for fun. That said, we're going on our 10th NCL in a few weeks, so obviously we like them too.

We did Princess in July around the Med and I was surprised how many kids there were. Princess is much more "family friendly" than the other ships mentioned.

I'm not sure how you would know which ships would be more senior. I think it depends on the cruise, the length, the time of year, etc. Oceania is generally less expensive than either Crystal or Silverseas so I think that makes the later two lines probably more senior with less kids, but I may be wrong. We did a two week cruise on Holland America that was the Middle East and there were only a handful of kids on board. So, I think it varies a lot.

Good luck. You'll know the right ship for your family and then just prepare you kids for what is to come. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

We were on Oceania for a two week South America cruise. Our dd was just one at the time and she stayed home. It was so port intensive and at that age would have been completely frustrating for all of us. However, there were a handful of older kids on board and they seemed to be having a great time. I think there were two sisters and a cousin that were in the 5-10 age range and another 15 year old girl with her parents. We talked to all of them at some point and they loved the ship. The parents of the younger ones specifically picked Oceania because it wasn't going to be a loud, waterslide infused, kids parade through the pool kind of experience. They had done that before and the kids said they liked this better. Of course, you have to know your kids and if they will be comfortable with that.

Rebecca is right in saying there are no provisions for children. However, if your kids can fit into a laid back, serene setting they will be fine. I'd say go for it. The kids on our ship were so well behaved that I never saw anyone complain about them. Quite the opposite. People said it was nice to see children that could talk to adults and act appropriately in different situations.

On another note, we loved Oceania. It's a completely different type of cruise from any other mass market ship. It would be a nice retreat after a long day of touring the Med.

We are doing the basically the same ports on the NCL Pearl in March. Our dd will just have turned three. In most ports we are doing some kind of beach break, including Belize. Most of the activities in Belize are not appropriate for a two year old (or three year old) so the beach is really your only option. I'm sure Carnival has an excursion called "beach break".

When our dd was 21 months we were in Cozumel and went to Playa Mia. I would recommend that too, unless you don't like crowds. It will be packed with people, but anything that ship excursion are involved in usually have a lot of people. There's a huge beach with plenty of shade for little kids. They also have a large restaurant and several bars. Usually they offer the trip ala carte and you pay for drinks and the buffet or all inclusive. "Behind" the beach there is a great kids area and pool. We found it a little late so we didn't get as much time there, but they have a regular pool and then a wading pool with lots of fun water toys and little slides. Our dd loved that area. We are going to Playa Mia again on this upcoming trip.

In Roatan we've been to West End and the Tabayana Beach excursion many times in the past, but never with a child. We are bringing our dd to Tabayana this time too. NCL docks at a different pier than Carnival and I think the beach you're talking about that is close is walkable from the Carnival pier. It's not for NCL and West End is so great that we're going there.

We're not going to GC this time but did last time and our dd loved 7 Mile Beach.

I'm sure you'll have a great time regardless of what you do, but you can't go wrong with the beach and little kids.

Go to the family board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

There are a lot of experienced cruisers with kids there. Ask any question and it will be answered. Give us some more details, such as where you're going and how old your child is. We've taken one cruise with a then 22 month old and we have three more booked this year, just after she turns three. Obviously we had a good experience and want to do it again. If you plan to just go with the flow, everything is easier. NCL is great for that because there really isn't a "time" assigned to anything, except going on an excursion and getting back on board at the end of the day.

Hands down I'd pick the Jade because of Venice. If you haven't been to Venice on a large cruise ship, time is running out. They have decided to only let smaller ships enter the harbor and on a limited basis. I don't remember the date that begins, but it's fairly soon. Sailing in and out of Venice is something special, as is the island.

Just my two cents...either would be great and the Med is awesome, but I'd pick the Jade.

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