Please help with itinerary and NCL vs Princess for 5 year old

[sbhdmh]

I posted this in a thread about Princess but think I may have better luck if I ask as a separate thread. We're considering doing a last minute cruise in early January and see NCL and Princess have good prices. We sailed NCL pre-parenthood but have never been on Princess. Any comparison feedback? We are thinking Western Caribbean might be interesting with visits to Mayan ruins but are open. Has anyone done this with a young child? DD will turn 5 just before the cruise and has a very adventurous nature. She's also a good swimmer so we are thinking of introducing her to snorkeling. We're not the types to just play at the beach. Any input concerning the kids clubs, excursion choices, etc would be appreciated. My mother will also be with us. She is not terribly active but is well travelled and would also rather "see something interesting" than shop or sit on the beach.

 

The itineraries we are considering are:

 

Crown Princess to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel and Princess Cays out of Ft Lauderdale

 

NCL Pearl to Samana, St Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay out of Miami

 

NCL Jewel to Roatan, Belize City, Costa Maya and Great Stirrup Cay out of Miami

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[cruisinsb]

I have a 10 month old, so I am sure it is very different with a 5 year old, but my husband and I have always loved princess cruises. We are taking our son on the crown princess- same itinerary as the one you are thinking about next week. So far princess has been very unaccomodating as far as questions/concerns we have had about them meeting the needs of our son. As of right now, I will never take a princess cruise again, I plan on sticking with carnival, NCL or ROyal Caribbean, or I may even try Holland America. I am hoping this will change once we are on board. I will keep an eye out for kids to see how it is for families with older children. One thing I know they do not have is in cabin babysitting at night.

[sbhdmh]

As we discussed our options others acted. We lost all deals we came across other than the 7 night Norwegian Pearl to Samana, Tortola, St Thomas and Great Stirrup Cay. Figured we better book before it was too late for this one too. ($499 pp Ocean View plus tax. Too good a deal to let slip through our fingers...)

 

Any input on the NCL kids club or these ports with an adventurous 5 year old? My mother is a fan of traditional dining - anything I need to do to prepare her for Freestyle? Thanks in advance for any sugestions or ideas.

[#1TravelMom]

I would definately say Crown - no doubt. We have been on many cruises with our children. We just returned from NCL Jewel. Kids club is very important to me. I just don't like the American and Canadian staff that NCL uses. I hate to say it, but they are just plain brats. They are mostly 20ish year olds who will not hesitate to tell you they are underpaid, don't really like kids, and have only signed up for 2 months for something to do.

 

On our trip a few weeks ago, I was very disappointed. Even after complaining to the supervisor, nothing changed. They give you a schedule, but only do the activities if they feel like it. I choose not to have my child sit for an hour watching Sponge Bob when she is supposed to be doing a craft and game.

 

We definately prefew Princess - no doubt. JMHO

[sbhdmh]

I would definately say Crown - no doubt. We have been on many cruises with our children. We just returned from NCL Jewel. Kids club is very important to me. I just don't like the American and Canadian staff that NCL uses. I hate to say it, but they are just plain brats. They are mostly 20ish year olds who will not hesitate to tell you they are underpaid, don't really like kids, and have only signed up for 2 months for something to do.

 

On our trip a few weeks ago, I was very disappointed. Even after complaining to the supervisor, nothing changed. They give you a schedule, but only do the activities if they feel like it. I choose not to have my child sit for an hour watching Sponge Bob when she is supposed to be doing a craft and game.

 

We definately prefew Princess - no doubt. JMHO

 

:eek: Uh-Oh! We have to pay by tomorrow. Any other opinions. This concerns me...

[asylum575]

Wow, Travelmom#1

 

We were on the Jewel in April and DS really enjoyed it. I only saw them watching movies as listed on their schedule. He really had a blast on the Sky in August and if memory serves correctly, Spirit was good, too.

 

We just booked RCCL Grandeur for Feb and he's looking forward to it. We're going to try RCCL and returning to formal night. Glad my tux still fits.

 

We like NCL whatever policy, it really makes it feel like a vacation. We really like NCL with kid's schedules, or lack there of.

 

Sorry the staff acted like that.

[sbhdmh]

OK, I got nervous with the report from #1TravelMom and looked again. I now have a hold on RCCL Independence of the Seas for a 6 night Western Caribbean. Better choice than Norwegian Pearl for 7 nights?????

 

Please let me know your thoughts - we have to pay for one or the other today. Thanks.

[boulders]

Independence will have tons of things for the whole family to do. I'd definitely go with it. Disclaimer - I haven't been on Norwegian or Independence, but I have been on several RCCL cruises. They do a great job with kids activities.

[tmitchell82]

I can not say anything about NCL since I have never been on them. However, we took out DD on the Crown Princess last month on the same itinerary that you are looking at. This was DD first cruise and she had a blast. When we asked her what her favorite things were on the cruise was the kids club. She was in the Princess Pelican's room which serves children 3-7. There were not a huge number of kids on this cruise, only 27. I would suspect similar numbers of kids, unless you are going over a school break or holiday. We were very impressed with the kids club. Hours worked pretty good for us and we even used the late night babysitting one night. Staff was very good at working with the kids and the activities were fun. DD painted a shirt, did a variety of crafts, had a kids dinner one night (mom and dad went to the Crown Grill) DW is a director of a daycare so she knows a lot about child care and she was very impressed with everything about the kids club. We would not hesitate going on Princess again with our DD.

 

Tim

[sbhdmh]

FYI: Decided to go with Royal Caribbean. The ship looks fabulous, the reports are great and the itinerary is more interesting for us. It is the same price as the Pearl but we will have one less day. I think it is a good trade off, though. Thanks so much for all the feedback!