NCL Kids Program for 2-5 yr olds - HELP!

[chaloop]

We were going to book Carnival because they have a kids program where my 2 and 5 year old can be together in Camp. When I called my travel agent she said, " have you checked into other cruise lines?" So I see that NCL offers kids camp and it looks like my 2 & 5 year old can be together, does anybody have experience that they can offer about their experience? Thanks!

[russianmom]

My son was in the 2-5 yo group in March on Jewel and will be in it again in 2 wks on Dawn. He had a great time and loved it. Most evenings he did not want to leave! He is really excited to be going back.:p

They painted their faces(almost daily) ,made pizzas, decorated cupcakes, watched movies, had pajama night, went on a treasure hunt around the ship.

 

There was one counselor who was a little abrupt/rude to me the first day but seemed ok thereafter.

 

My son has a lot of medical issues so they gave me a phone (only works on the ship) and told me they would call if there was a problem. If your child is not toilet trained they will give you one also for diaper changes. They do not serve food or take them to eat so I would pull him out at lunch time for a swim and to eat and at night he would swim, shower and eat before I dropped him off again. They charge $6/hr on port days and I believe after 10pm.

[jam82]

To me the main differences are:

 

1. Carnival changes diapers and NCL does not

2. NCL charges for port day sitting and Carnival does not

3. Carnival is open later in the evening than NCL

 

If those things do not matter to you then you could go with either line. Both are generally good programs.

 

To me the decision would be the itinerary, cabin selection and cost. Your kids will be happy if you are. Also be aware that NCL is Freestyle cruising so most all the speciality restaurants charge extra.

 

Have a great cruise.

[CanadianTwosome]

To me the main differences are:

 

1. Carnival changes diapers and NCL does not

2. NCL charges for port day sitting and Carnival does not

3. Carnival is open later in the evening than NCL

 

If those things do not matter to you then you could go with either line. Both are generally good programs.

 

To me the decision would be the itinerary, cabin selection and cost. Your kids will be happy if you are. Also be aware that NCL is Freestyle cruising so most all the speciality restaurants charge extra.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

I find this statement a bit misleading; though perhaps not intentional, it makes it sound like NCL lacks included dining options, which is false.

 

Yes, the specialty restaurants charge extra, just as they do on other lines. There are just more of them on NCL. There are also two included dining rooms, the indoor buffet, the outdoor buffet, a 24 hour venue, and complimentary room service.

 

Also, with Freestyle, there are no set dining times. For us, this works like a charm. I love being able to return from a fun day in port and not have to rush to get to dinner. Many parents of smaller children will feed them early and drop them off at Kid's Crew and then enjoy dining alone, also.

 

As for the Kid's Crew, my daughter is older, but I've had plenty of opportunities to see all ages on the ships we've been on, and the 2-5 year olds always look like they're having a blast. :)

 

I agree completely with Jam82 about how to make your choice: itinerary, cabin selection and cost. There just aren't any cruise ships these days that don't have great kids' programs, so choose for yourselves and let your kids enjoy whichever program there is. :)

[randyamy]

We were going to book Carnival because they have a kids program where my 2 and 5 year old can be together in Camp. When I called my travel agent she said, " have you checked into other cruise lines?" So I see that NCL offers kids camp and it looks like my 2 & 5 year old can be together, does anybody have experience that they can offer about their experience? Thanks!

 

We found the NCL Kid's Crew staff and program to be less appealing than that of every other cruise line we've sailed (RCCL, Celebrity, Disney, Carnival, NCL). I would stick with Carnival without question. If you can, choose a ship with Waterworks, the kids will love it.

[calidoc2006]

We have done both a Carnival cruise and an NCL cruise (just did the Epic) with our kids in the last year - same age range (3 yo and 5yo). They were together on both cruises. They had a great time on both but I think overall we preferred the NCL cruise. The space there was so much bigger and brighter than the Carnival's camp (but we were on the newest NCL ship so don't know how the others compare). Also, I felt that the hours on NCL were much better - they were open all day from about 8 or 9am until 10:30pm (then group babysitting from 10:30-1:30am). There were no breaks or "closed" times at NCL; on Carnival they would be open for a few hours then would close for 1-2 hours then reopen, then close, etc. This meant we had to ensure that we scheduled stuff around their times rather than ours (ie, if we dropped the kids off at 11am, we had to make sure we picked them up by 11:45am because they were closing for lunch). On the Epic, it was all on our schedule so we could do what we wanted and take the kids to the kids club when they were ready to go.