Just back from NCL Star, traveled w/ 3 yr old and 7 month old.

[NJfoodie]

Our group was two couples, each with a young child. My ds is 3 yrs old, and our friends' son is 7 months old. We shared a 2 bdrm family suite on the NCL Star and just got home this morning. It was a 7 day out of NYC to Bermuda with 3 days on the island. Overall we had a wonderful time. Our friends are new to cruising and it looks like they're happy converts to this way of traveling. This is my review of our experiences with the ship and the island w/ the kids. My overall review of the trip will be on the NCL board.

 

The staff onboard the Star were truly fantastic, going out of their way to say hi and coo at the little ones to keep them smiling through meals and all around the ship. It seemed like everyone knew our kids by name. Having the perks that come with a suite really made traveling w/ little ones effortless and was well worth the splurge. Realistically though, the total cost of the cabin was not much more than if the 6 of us had booked 2 balcony rooms. Having a VIP check-in line and waiting area when we boarded, as well as priority debarkation meant not standing in line at the terminal with a fidgety baby/toddler strapped into the stroller. NYC is our home port, less than an hour away, so no hassles of flying. We had family drop us off and pick us up, porters take your bags curbside, and you're good to go.

 

The room itself was not incredibly roomy but was enough space for the 4 adults. It would probably have been tight had our kids been older but it worked out fine for us. The master bedroom is actually kinda tight w/ the bed and 2 end tables, closed off by a curtain, but there's an open area between the bedroom and master bath, with doors to the livingroom that can be closed off, which ended up being where DS slept. We brought his toddler-sized sleeping bag and he was fine with it. It allowed us to still use the livingroom area after he went to bed. The other couple used the second bedroom, which again was definitely snug - room for the bed and a nightstand. We got a PnP for their baby and kept it in the living room area. It worked out well to have other areas of the suite to hang out in when the little ones were asleep.

 

The surprise highlight of the trip for DS was the kids club. We took him on Carnival the year before and he acclimated just fine to being in the kids program occasionally but we didn't use it a lot since he was still more clingy then. This year, we brought him there on the first sea day and from there on he was hooked. He kept asking to go back. He ended up not spending a whole lot of time with us during sea days because he wanted to go play in the kids club. The staff were wonderful with him. When we'd take him up to the club, he'd ask them to put his ID bracelet on him, and he'd run off to go play, without so much as a good bye to mommy or daddy! :eek: When we came to pick him up, he'd stall to try to play longer. On the last sea day, the kids put on a "circus" show for the parents which was adorable. They've started also offering face painting so DS came back from kids club a few times rather colorful. It wipes off w/ baby wipes, but the only time when we felt they could have used better judgement was when we picked him at the end of the afternoon on formal night, expecting to just get him dressed for dinner, and found his entire face was smurf blue... As he's mostly potty trained but still needs help and easily loses track when he's busy playing, we kept him in pull ups at kids club and they'd page us if he needed to be changed, though it was rare that it was needed.

 

The other area that I was impressed with was the children's pool area. They had several wading pools, a hot tub, a tiny slide into one of the smaller pools, and 2 water slides that were tamer versions of the slides by the main pools. The deepest pool was about chest deep on DS (~2 ft deep) and he loved the slide. As usual, there were the parents who would still put their diapered kids in the pools despite signs saying not to. Thankfully, since they tended to use one of the smaller pools in the set, I was fine with letting DS play in the bigger pool and use the slides.

 

For our friends w/ the 7 month old, we traded nights on "baby duty" so each couple could get some time to themselves. NCL has recently rolled out organized activities for the under 2 crowd and their parents. Typically there's a mid morning activity, and a late afternoon activity - usually things like mommy and me exercising, coloring, games or story time, etc. The Under 2 zoo was set up in a conference room and was actually pretty nice compared to the last NCL ship I was on w/ this type of room. They had mats on the floors and a variety of toys and padded blocks for the little ones to play with and climb on. It looked fairly clean and well maintained. There are no drop-off care or in-room babysitting options for kids under 2 w/ NCL. Still, he loved seeing all the new sights around him.

 

Freestyle dining still worked out well for us as there was food available any time of the day somewhere on the ship. We tended to eat dinner pretty early so we never had to wait for a table. How long dinner would last was entirely up to us. They offered to puree veggies/fruits for the baby. Highchairs are readily available, boosters were harder to find. They'd get one for us but it would take a while. We ended up taking one of the ones we used and bringing it with us to meals. Room service is a wonderful thing when you find yourself on baby duty in your room w/ two sleeping kids.

 

 

In Bermuda itself, the dockyard area where the Star was docked, has been built up since we were there last in 2008. We walked around the maritime museum and did some shopping in the dockyard area. We took the kids to the aquarium and zoo in Flatt's village. It's small but the exhibits are interesting. We especially loved the ones where you would walk into a sheltered area where you would walk through the habitats of the animals, mostly colorful birds, and could see them up close. Shelly Bay beach was near the zoo but we didn't get out there as we were headed to the Swizzle inn for lunch that day. We saw it from the bus and it definitely looks family-friendly, w/ a park and playground nearby. The Swizzle inn is actually fairly family-friendly, kids are welcome, they have high chairs and kids' menus, and our server happily interacted with both kids through out lunch. Horseshoe bay is a beautiful beach, and has changing rooms, bathrooms, a snack bar, and rentals for chairs, umbrellas, rafts, etc. There's a cove off to the right of the beach that has calm, shallow water that was perfect for DS to wade in and look for fish. It's a short downhill walk from the bus stop but paying $2/adult to take the shuttle back up the hill is probably money well spent! Taking a stroller onto the ferry is quite easy; on the bus, not so much. An umbrella stroller that folds compactly is much easier than a full-size stroller will be for the bus but if it's crowded, that stroller may still end up on your lap/between your knees in the seat.

 

The main things we learned from our experience this past week traveling with a much younger and less mobile baby than ours was on his first trip, is that you'll spend even more time back in the room, whether its for naps or feeding time, so having as much space as your budget allows will make for a much more enjoyable trip. Don't over plan your day and be flexible with the things you want to do - they realized that they could usually get out to do stuff for the entire morning, or the entire afternoon, but usually not both before the baby would get fussy. This worked out well having an itinerary that has flexibility since you're in port 3 days, and can explore w/o booking ship excursions. It would likely be challenging for a more port intensive trip. Don't be afraid to ask for just about anything in the diningroom for the baby - they offered to puree veggies/fruits for him. He also tended to enjoy gumming chunks of melon or cucumbers. The little guy also was teething which made for a couple rough nights. They did the best they could to soothe him wherever they were on the ship to be considerate. For the most part, my friend was able to nurse him discreetly just about anywhere, whether it was in our room, in a quiet unoccupied corner in a restaurant, or sitting by the pool. Using a carrier or a sling w/ the baby when walking around the ship is much easier than wheeling around the stroller through narrow halls and through crowded areas like the buffet. Sure, you still don't get to sleep in, or through the night, and you're still tending to the baby's constant needs, but at least when it's the only thing you have to do, no cooking, minimal cleaning (baby bottles), and definitely not being at the office, it's still an enjoyable vacation.

[Stratus22]

Thanks for the Review. We are considering NCL as well in the future. Was Nickelodeon on that cruise?? If so, how was it?

[NJfoodie]

This ship unfortunately was not one that has Nickelodeon on it - I believe the Jewel, Gem and Epic are the ones that do. It was too bad since DS loves Dora the explorer, and would have enjoyed it.

[marisa0324]

Great info! We are traveling on the Dawn this November with a 10.5 month old and a 4 yr old. We booked one of the family suites with a balcony so we are really looking forward to all of the perks that you mentioned. Was the 7 month old you traveled with able to use the pool in a swim diaper? I have read that swim diapers aren't allowed so I am trying to figure out how to make this trip fun for everyone. I have also heard that inflatable pools are brought onboard so that the baby has a place to get wet. What was your experience? Thanks!

[chrisc71]

Thanks for the review. Going on the Star in a couple of weeks.

[dseeman]

Great info! We are traveling on the Dawn this November with a 10.5 month old and a 4 yr old. We booked one of the family suites with a balcony so we are really looking forward to all of the perks that you mentioned. Was the 7 month old you traveled with able to use the pool in a swim diaper? I have read that swim diapers aren't allowed so I am trying to figure out how to make this trip fun for everyone. I have also heard that inflatable pools are brought onboard so that the baby has a place to get wet. What was your experience? Thanks!

 

Swim diapers not allowed. Find a small blow up pool to put on your balcony or bring along to the sundeck. Fill it up with an ice bucket from a shower by the pool, then dump out water by a floor drain. Kid will love having own space and they won't cook in the hot weather.

[crusinmama06]

Great info! We are traveling on the Dawn this November with a 10.5 month old and a 4 yr old. We booked one of the family suites with a balcony so we are really looking forward to all of the perks that you mentioned. Was the 7 month old you traveled with able to use the pool in a swim diaper? I have read that swim diapers aren't allowed so I am trying to figure out how to make this trip fun for everyone. I have also heard that inflatable pools are brought onboard so that the baby has a place to get wet. What was your experience? Thanks!

 

I am going to tell you that "officially" it is not allowed. There are signs at the children's pool that says "No children in diapers"

 

Now, I am going to tell you that on Gem - the deck crew were telling the parents to take the babies IN diapers to the children's pool.

 

So you *may* observe the same thing. I am going to tell you that the baby pool is NOT safe if that is happening. All of those babies with diapers in a pool that does not use the proper chemicals and filtration system to kill the bacteria - I would avoid that area like the plague.

 

One little boy did end up getting sick on our Gem cruise - we saw his parents at the pharmacy getting an antibiotic.

 

Take an inflatable ;)

[aamiee]

Thanks for the review we will be on Star soon:)