Childrens program's?

[RJAYL]

Hi I am considering the 14 day European cruises out of Venice for 2011!

 

We are a family of 6, 2 older teenager's & 2 children who will be 7 & 10 at the time!

 

How are the facilities & programs for children on the Gem & Jade?

 

I am not worried about teen's but at times I like to leave the younger ones onboard while we take some shore excursions!

[GORDONCHICK]

I don't think you can leave children on board (on NCL) while you disembark. This was what I observed in January on the Spirit. Now, we were on a Princess cruise when DH was 4, and we were able to leave him in the kids' program while in port, and we did so in Belize. I don't know that I would do that again, because I worried endlessly about missing the ship for any unknown reason. He would have been miserable on the excursion, and we really weren't aware of anything appropriate for his age in Belize at the time. He's now 8 an does all the excursions with us.

 

IMO, even your younger children are at a great age to experience Europe - it may be their only opportunity (we never know what the future holds), and what a great perspective they will have when taking high school and college courses in history and humanities! Our DS was 3.5 when we went through the Panama Canal and when studies in 2nd grade turned to the canal, he lugged the photo album and told about what he remembered (which really is remarkable considering the age he was when we did that).