Which Cruise Line with 2yo?

[OnlyMe]

We sailed NCL in January with our little fella and I have to say that the staff were unreal! The only thing we missed was that he was too young to go to the kids club and there was no babysitting so no down time for us adults (no fun taking a very active 18mo to the dining room!)

 

Anyways, we're looking at going again - this time in the Med in September and our choices are NCL Gem, Celebrity Century or RCL Vision ... I'm edging towards NCL again because DS could use the kids club but I'm worrying that he won't settle for us to leave him there (would only be thinking for dinner time really) - would we be as well of going with one of the other cruise lines and using the babysitting services? ... But then on sea days there is no 'proper' play area for him:confused:

The itinerary on Century is nicer (a longer cruise which we prefer) but I would rather go with what would suit DS and us better rather itinerary if you know what I mean

 

Can anyone advise me please?

 

Oh, and one last question - I read on another post thet babysitters on X now will take kids to the play areas and babysit there because of a new rule of needing 2 babysitters in a cabin .... is this true on both counts? ...ie needing 2 babysitters and them also babysitting in the play area?

 

Thanks for any advice!

[jerin]

I know that on X and RCCL (sister companies), they have gone to two providers for in-cabin sitting and the price has gone up because of this, while the availability has gone down some (though you may have better luck on a longer itinerary because there would likely be fewer young children). I haven't heard about them pooling younger children into the kids' club on Celebrity, I know that they can't do this on RCCL because of insurance issues, but I guess it's possible that carriers/policies are different for different lines under the same umbrella.

If you really want to be guaranteed some down time, I think your best bet would be to stick with NCL for another year, since he'll definitely at least be able to go in the club there, and you won't have to worry about variables lining up on RCCL or X -- I don't think I'd do either with under 3s if I wanted to have time without them, unless I brought family members who were willing to watch them.

[Kerry's Girls]

NCL isn't usually my cup of tea, but for a Med cruise, I think it's a great choice with kids - especially for a 2 year old. It was nice to be able to go to dinner any time we wanted and wear pretty much whatever we wanted after a long day of touring.

 

Also, though in our previous 7 cruises, we had never eaten in the buffet, NCL has a "kids" buffet area that my girls liked and made meals pretty easy when we were exhausted or running from one place to another. Also, the darn preztel roles were pretty much worth the price of the cruise.

 

One of the benefits of being on a cruiseline that was more kid friendly for the Med cruise was we were able to hook up with other families to arrange private tours. It was wonderful because we saved a lot of money off the cost of the ship excursions, we were able to make the tour more "kid-friendly", and we didn't have to worry so much about our children bothering passengers who did not enjoy being in such close proximity to kids.

 

Best,

Mia

[OnlyMe]

Thank you both so much for your replies - you both confirmed what we initially thought - NCL is definately the way to go and that's what we are going to do ... just need to get booked now:D

Thanks for all your help!

[lamolesky]

Definitely NCL with a 2 year old, the kids facilities are great, the kids love them and the other lines don't start until 3 years old.