Our Epic review - a family with small children

[lifeisjust2good]

Thanks for such a thorough review. We will be on the 10/9/10 cruise and, since it's our first, your review really helps! We will be traveling a 9, 7 and 4 yr ....13068/13064!!! Keep the info coming!

[Flying Solo]

"Rambling" is what goes on most of the time on these boards. That review was one of the most interesting I've seen. Thanks!

[calidoc2006]

great review

 

By any means do you have some pics of the cabin???

 

I am curious about the beds night layout

 

I am not sure that I have any pictures that get it with the Pullman bed down - if I do I will try to post (if I can figure out how to download pictures to CC :o).

[calidoc2006]

thanks for such a detailed review! One question and sorry if I missed the discussion in your review. Did the kid's crew attendants take the children to eat lunch and dinner during sea days?

 

Not that I know of - at least for the younger kids. They had one night that they had a "Kids Krew" dinner - they had a buffet in the club itself that evening. Other than that, I did not see them take the kids to eat (though it may have happened for other kids and I was not aware of it; we always fed our kids at the buffet prior to taking them to "camp." My son did tell me that a counselor took them for ice cream but I never did actually confirm that (he has some speech delays and can't always give me the most accurate information). Sorry I am not more help on this.

[calidoc2006]

Hi! Thanks for that great review. It helps a lot and gives a good overview for families.

 

How many kids where on that cruise? I've heard that they are expecting up to 900 kids for some Miami-Cruises this season? :eek::eek::eek: Do you think the Kids Club will be able to handle such an amount???

 

Did your kids the waterslides as well?

 

Cheers

DJ

 

There were a LOT of kids on the cruise. I just read a post that said there may have been 1019 kids on the cruise I was on. The kids club was always hopping, but never looked overly crowded. It is quite loud as you get near to it and in the check-in area (though you could not hear the noise from any other parts of the ship and we were on the floor under it and there was no noise at all in our stateroom). I think that since kids came and went at different times and also because some kids probably didn't go at all, they don't have as many kids as one would expect at any given time. It is a huge space which is nice and there were a lot of counsellors there. They had specific counsellors dedicated to the 2-5 year old group and we met at least 6 for this group alone.

[Keeper420]

hen a couple of splash pad areas with cool statues of Nemo characters (nemo, squirt,) and sebastien.

 

These are registered trademarks of the Disney Corporation. I'm sure you are mistaken they were probably just a clownfish, a turtle and a hermit crab. :) ;)

[youngestof9]

thank you so much for such a detailed review - especially the info about the kids club! My daughter will be turning 5 on board so I'm sure she will have a lot to do - your info really helps!!

 

Oh how far away January seems.....

[MattnDJsMom]

Calidoc,

 

Thanks so much for your great review. We will be sailing NCL for the first time as well next April with our boys ages 9 and 5. This will be their first time on a cruise ship and I was wondering if your children experienced any kind of seasick or motion sickness? My children aren't generally prone to this but it is something I am slightly concerned about. Did you bring anything with you "just in case".

 

Thanks again!

[nccruiser4]

We are packing some chewable dramamine that is easy for kids to take if needed. It is orange flavored, which also helps. I hope we don't need it!! :eek: But better safe than sorry!

[calidoc2006]

Calidoc,

 

Thanks so much for your great review. We will be sailing NCL for the first time as well next April with our boys ages 9 and 5. This will be their first time on a cruise ship and I was wondering if your children experienced any kind of seasick or motion sickness? My children aren't generally prone to this but it is something I am slightly concerned about. Did you bring anything with you "just in case".

 

Thanks again!

 

This was my kids' second cruise and they didn't have difficulties either time. However, I was also stocked with chewable dramamine and liquid benadryl just in case. I am usually the one who gets dizzy on cruises, but I was completely fine (despite 1-2 days of very rocky seas!) - didn't need my bonine this time. I think the younger kids tend to do better than the adults!

[blogo]

Thanks for the great review. We are really looking forward to our Nov cruise with our 3 yr old daughter.

One small question, we are from switzerland and our daughter does not speak any english yet. In the Kid's club do they have counsellors who speak german or any other language?

[sjbdtz]

Also if you're at all averse to medicating the kids, try these tricks:

 

- Ginger (remember drinking ginger ale for upset tummies....that's why...ginger is an anti-nauseal)

 

- Green Apples (learned this one from a crew member)

 

- accupressure bands (about $8 in the gift shop). They are basically elastic bands with a small plastic ball attached, which presses on an accupuncture meridien in the wrists. When you press both together, (two bands), it almost instantly eliminates nausea.

 

When the rocking (if there is any) stops, you remove the bands. Use only when actually needed.

[aicruiser]

A further question about Nickelodeon onboard........for older children (5 and up) my grandkids are wondering about the "slime" activity they do on Nick TV. Do you know if they had that or just the "meet and greet" type encounters?

[cmdchiefthom]

Great review, and I especially enjoyed your insight on the Kid's Club.:)

[MattnDJsMom]

Thanks everyone for the motion sickness tips for the kids.... I take ginger root when I cruise because I do get motion sickness so I knew about that one - was planning on bringing ginger cookies for them but wanted to have something else just in case.

 

Thanks again.

[deb603]

[quote name='aicruiser']A further question about Nickelodeon onboard........for older children (5 and up) my grandkids are wondering about the "slime" activity they do on Nick TV. Do you know if they had that or just the "meet and greet" type encounters?[/QUOTE]
I remember 2 slime times up on deck by the pool area. Lots of singing and silliness. The kids really liked it. I think there is also a slime time at the special character sign up times.

[dreadlockjack]

[quote name='blogo']Thanks for the great review. We are really looking forward to our Nov cruise with our 3 yr old daughter.
One small question, we are from switzerland and our daughter does not speak any english yet. In the Kid's club do they have counsellors who speak german or any other language?[/quote]

Hello Blogo!

Wie geits? Mir si ou us dr Schwiz (Region Bern)... :D

Well, if she speaks french it shouldn't be a problem (our son is bilingue), since there is usually staff from canada on board. Sometimes there are counsellors on board that speak a few words german, but this is hit or miss... Nevertheless it isn't a problem, children talk to each other without using languages :)... And basic communication (hungry, toilet, etc.) should be possible anyway. It worked for us well.

Great choice btw. Your first NCL cruise? You will love it with a little kid! Especially the Epic mustz be great! We are going next spring!

DJ

[travelzworld]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this balanced and informative review.

[mjs430]

calidoc2006:

Thanks so much for your great and informative review! We are traveling on the Epic in early September with our just-turned-3-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son. I especially appreciated your thoughts about the family balcony room. I was wondering if you could make a guess on how much floor space there was between the couch and cabinets? NCL will provide a crib for our son but I'm nervous that our daughter might fall out of the couch bed or the upper bed. I'm trying to determine if we would have room to set up her Peapod travel bed which is 30" wide and 4 ft. long. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!

[fkwok]

thanks!

[calidoc2006]

[quote name='mjs430']calidoc2006:

Thanks so much for your great and informative review! We are traveling on the Epic in early September with our just-turned-3-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son. I especially appreciated your thoughts about the family balcony room. I was wondering if you could make a guess on how much floor space there was between the couch and cabinets? NCL will provide a crib for our son but I'm nervous that our daughter might fall out of the couch bed or the upper bed. I'm trying to determine if we would have room to set up her Peapod travel bed which is 30" wide and 4 ft. long. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much![/QUOTE]

I don't know the exact amount of floor space but it is quite small. We had the set up with the couch nearest to the balcony which was fine for us but it is tight between the couch and the cabinets (you had to kind of scoot around each other if you wanted to pass). I don't really know where they are going to put a crib for your son truthfully - I am not really sure how that would fit (though maybe it would if it is the opposite set up with the bed closest to the balcony). There just is not that much room to spare. So in my opinion I don't think the travel bed will fit either, but maybe others have a differing opinion on how this would work for you. I also did not want to put my kids in the upper bunk for fear of falling out - so hubby was stuck in the Pullman and I slept with the 2 kids in the queen bed which worked very well for us. Sorry I can't be more help.

[mjs430]

[quote name='calidoc2006']I don't know the exact amount of floor space but it is quite small. We had the set up with the couch nearest to the balcony which was fine for us but it is tight between the couch and the cabinets (you had to kind of scoot around each other if you wanted to pass). I don't really know where they are going to put a crib for your son truthfully - I am not really sure how that would fit (though maybe it would if it is the opposite set up with the bed closest to the balcony). There just is not that much room to spare. So in my opinion I don't think the travel bed will fit either, but maybe others have a differing opinion on how this would work for you. I also did not want to put my kids in the upper bunk for fear of falling out - so hubby was stuck in the Pullman and I slept with the 2 kids in the queen bed which worked very well for us. Sorry I can't be more help.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. I need to think through what will work best but I really appreciate your thoughts. :-)

[Stanofamily]

Does anyone know how strict they are with ages for the kids club? Our son turns 6 3 days before we leave and his sister is 3. We really want them together. Is there anything we can do to ensure this. Your help is appreciated!

[IamOnVacation]

Stanofamily,
Check out this thread
[url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1264482[/url]

[Stanofamily]

We leave this Saturday on Epic with two kids your kids age. They still take naps too and we plan to have them nap on board for sure so they can stay up later. How did you like the babysitting at the kids club? I am assuming you used it because it sounds like you and your hubby did alot of the same things we plan to do. Thank you for your help!