travelhound

We were on the Pearl a year ago right now (wish we were there today!). We'll also be on in March. Which sailing are you on? We've been on many NCL ships and like their freestyle dining concept, so I've never asked if you can make a reservation in the dining room for a specific table. However, I'm sure they would accommodate that if you asked. There are so many options for dining that you may not want to be in the same place each night. Even for the "free" options there are two main dining rooms in addition to the buffet. They usually serve the same food but have different atmosphere. In the mornings, lunch, and/or sailaways don't miss the back deck, called The Great Outdoors. You can either get food from the buffet or they have a smaller version of the buffet in the back. It's a more quiet area with great views.

We've usually had towel animals, although sometimes not each night. Last time on the Pearl we had our then 22 month old and we had them each night. I think it depends on your cabin steward.

The 19 year old will be able to drink if you sign a waiver. Not sure if it's just beer and wine or full bar. I think dance clubs are usually open to over 18. If there is an age limit after a certain time they will print it in the daily.

As for little kids running around, every sailing is different. Being that it's March and there may be a lot of spring break people around, it could be busy. I don't think NCL is different than any other mass market ship in that respect.

On the day you come back to the ship in Cozumel you'll see a great dock party. There is music and dancing from the crew to welcome you back to the ship, right on the pier. It's really fun and unexpected. I hope they still do it. I heard only the Pearl does it and only in Cozumel.

If you think of any other questions, let me know!

Edited: In the time it took me to finish this post, four other people responded. Sorry for the repeats on many of the questions. :)

We did the naked butt/three day too, beginning just before dd turned two. It didn't work in three days, but it was our "no turning back" point. My suggestion is undies all the way. Don't do diapers (except nap and/or night) and no pull ups (too much like diapers). You'll do a lot of mopping up and laundry, but it's worth it.

That said, you will see diapered kids in the kid pools, even on ships without diaper splash zones. You don't have to be one of those and frankly, you wouldn't want your kid in that toilet water. Yuck! If you can make it to no diapers before the cruise - much better!

We haven't been there yet, but will be next October on a Panama Canal cruise. The ruins of Izapa are accessible from that port and it is believed to be the site of the Mayan Calendar (that ended in 2012). That's what we're going to do when we're in port.

I didn't know about the port entertainment and pool though. That sounds fun too.

We took our then 22 month old on NCL Pearl last year. We had a blast but we weren't expecting anything special for her. They have an "Under 2 Zoo" program that has play room with toys where you can play with them but they don't lend them out and you have to be there. Honestly, even if they would have had daycare for her at that age, I think she would have cried her eyes out if we left her. She goes to daycare everyday at home, but she knows those people. The "zoo" also has activities every day that you can attend. It's stuff like dancing, painting, etc. We only went to one painting time and the ones in the afternoon interfered with her nap time.

I wouldn't say you're not getting anything for your money. There is a lot of entertainment, (which our dd loved), someone else cooks and cleans for you, (which I loved), and they take you to wonderful ports. That's enough for me. No diapers in the pool sucks and if that's really important to you, don't pick NCL. That phase doesn't last long though and we just brought her to the ocean and beach on port days. We had so much fun with her that we have three NCL cruises booked for 2014.

If you're up for a bit of a hike, you can walk to the beach that is in town in St. Maarten. There you can rent chairs and umbrellas and that would be great for little kids. PP is right about the scary open air buses in St. Thomas. We've been on them a lot when it was just the two of us, but I wouldn't feel safe with little kids flying around on them. It would be a shame to miss those beautiful beaches though so maybe you could set up a private tour/car for a few hours and go to Magens or Coki.

I don't think there's a lot of size differences in pack n plays. the only difference would be if it's an actual mini crib and not a pnp. We didn't bring one and the ones in both the hotel and on the ship were fine. I would, however, bring your own sheet(s). The hotel had one but I think the ship was going to use regular sheets wrapped around it.

This was my list for when we brought our dd on a cruise over New Years. At the time she was 21 months. The only thing we didn't really use was the life vest and it took a lot of space. We also stayed in FL for four days before and were able to make a trip to Target.

We’re going again in March, just after she turns three, so that will be a completely different list.

I'll add some notes in ().

Baby powder (Great for getting sand off of hands and feet at the beach. Just left it in the beach bag)

Bibs - disposable/regular

2 sippy cups

Car seat with clip

Books

Medicing Bag: Eye drops, infant Advil, infant Benadryl, Band-Aids, Neosporin, baby nail clippers, cortisone cream, insect repellent, Pedialyte powder, thermometer

Diapers - day (bring 24 and get 120) and night (24) (got to many diapers, but would not wanted to have run out)

Miss Bunny (This is her lovie that she sleeps with)

Food/snacks for the plane

Pacifiers

Portable DVD player and DVDs

Stroller

Sun hats

Swim diapers (We used the reusables that are the bottoms of two piece suits)

Toys (The best were the magnets in a small tin. They ended up sticking to the cabin wall and dd sat on the bed and the wall was like a canvas.)

Pack and play sheet and waterproof liner (Highly recommend bringing your own sheet for pnp)

Wipes (got waaaaay too many)

Diaper baggies

Blow up tub (only used for baths, not for a pool)

Life vest

Shoe organizer and tabs (I got Command strips and stuck this inside the closet door. It was great for her little shoes, hair bows, etc)

Blanket

Night light (We were in an inside cabin. Always brought this, even before dd)

Harness backpack (Invaluable at the airport, didn't need it at the ship)

Silverware and plate/sticky

Bag that can be used at dinner

Laundry soap and stain stick

Backpack for diaper bag

Changing pad

Small changing pack

Buy in Florida:

Diapers: total 120 regular

Wipes - travel size and larger

Beach toys/bubbles

Snacks: yogurt, yogurt bites, cereal bars, applesauce packets, raisins

Making it through a fishing boat excursion is huge. Ships ahoy!

Congratulations!!! Sounds like the sailing interest is there - hope the sea legs are too. Our dd was born two years ago tomorrow and we adopted her from birth. Best thing that ever happened to us. She just went on her first cruise over New Years and loved it. The finalization takes a while and then you need the revised birth certificate to get a passport. It was almost a year until we had her birth certificate. At least you're by the water already and can do a few "practice" sailings. Hope the rest of your adoption process is smooth sailing too!