Holiday Cruise on the Jewel. DH suddenly doesn't want to go!! Advice please.

[Misskitty72]

Hi there.

 

This is my first post and this will be my first cruise.

 

I just put a deposit down on the Dec. 20th sailing on the Jewel (Penthouse Aft cabin) but now my husband is having second thoughts because he just realized there will be tons of kids on board because of the holidays. We've been talking about this for months, I have no idea why this just occurred to him. :confused:

 

So my questions are:

 

The cruise is Dec. 20 - 27... so goes over Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Will there really be that many families on board? Wouldn't New Year's be more popular with families because of all the family stuff you do on Christmas?

 

NCL has special programs for kids and teens. How long does this usually keep kids occupied? Are there any adult-only areas on the ship? Are kids allowed in the cocktail lounges and bars?

 

I really hope I don't offend anyone with this post. We don't hate kids. We're actually a little intimidated by them because we don't have any of our own!!

 

Any info you can give me would be great!

Thanks!!!

[NLH Arizona]

Can't answer your questions about the children, but I do think there will be a ton, but tell your husband that the aft penthouses on the Jewell are fantastic and if he wants to get away from the kiddies, just go sit out on your wonderful balcony.

 

BTW, I was on the Pearl last year, in an aft penthouse, during thanksgiving (granted it was a 10 day cruise) and even though there were a lot of children, it didn't bother me a bit.

[SuiteTraveler]

There will be some kids onboard, but you will be able to eat breakfast and lunch in Cagneys which is usually very quiet and you are in a suite, so you have a large space and large balcony to yourselves. The ship will be decorated for Christmas and the crew is usually in good spirits this time of year. The Jewel is a smaller ship and it doesn't have a ton of things for kids to do unlike NCL's newer ships. My expectation is that there would be more kids on the newer ships than the Jewel class ships. The kids tend to hang out with the other kids in the kids clubs or in venues the kids clubs are using that day. I really don't think it will be a problem. On our last cruise on the Getaway, there were hundreds of kids onboard, but I rarely saw them. They were present in the buffet - where we never eat and on the water slides, climbing wall and mini-golf and kids club. They were almost never in the specialty restaurants (except Teppanyaki.) Sometimes I would see them getting off or on the ship. It just wasn't a problem at all and I don't think it will be a problem on your cruise.

[ColinIllinois]

Hi there.

 

Holiday Cruise on the Jewel. DH suddenly doesn't want to go!! Advice Please.

 

 

 

 

 

Get a new husband. :D

[Husky1987]

Get a new husband. :D

 

I lol'ed. Post of the day. ;)

[mobu2015]

I've been on a couple of Christmas week cruises but never on NCL. Once was as a kid and once as an adult. There are a lot of families but no more then when I've cruised in June/July. The difference, in my limited opinion is that kids seemed more well behaved on the christmas cruises then in summer.

 

For example, took a Christmas cruise on Carnival 3 years ago. Didn't see one misbehaving kid, no running or pushing. Just got off the NCL Breakaway a few weeks ago and that's all I saw - running constantly down the hallways, pushing or nudging in the buffet and in general more teens wandering on their own than during the last Christmas cruise I took.

 

That said, like I mentioned this is just my very limited experience. If you are worried or talking about it now it will only be amplified once you're on the cruise. We took it in stride and it barely affected us. We really didn't mind. Especially on the christmas cruise. It is a lovely experience to be on a cruise during a fun and festive time of year. It's a very personal decision. Perhaps if you're that worried about kids you could look into a cruise 2 weeks after Christmas or 2 weeks before. You will probably pay less and there may be very few kids on board.

[Luke Saint Joe]

I cruised another line last Christmas, my first ever holiday cruise, on a "fun ship" and expected there to be kids running amok everywhere. Yes, there were many children, but it was nothing to be concerned about. There were organized holiday events (kids put on a cute holiday show from their said camps, snow fell in the atrium and many kids gathered - as did MANY adults). I sailed with just my husband in our immediate party & absolutely LOVED our cruise. For me, however, I prefer to NOT be away again for Christmas and am therefore, trying out a Thanksgiving cruise this year.

 

Go for it and you won't be sorry. Being on a ship for Christmas is an absolutely beautiful experience. The ship is not decorated in a gaudy fashion, but is very, very pretty. The line I sailed did not have a Christmas mass, which I missed so very much, but they did a wonderful job providing a non-denominational service for those who wished to gather.

 

Go & have fun!!!

[OPERLAD10]

Get a new husband. :D

 

If he doesn't want to..........I'll go!

[HeyPorter]

So, we haven't sailed NCL, yet. BUT we are avid Disney Cruise Line cruisers. As you can imagine, DCL attracts mostly families with kids, but also some adult singles and couples without. Last year we did a western Caribbean cruise over Christmas. Yes there were a huge number of kids. Everywhere. It was still totally lovely.

 

In fact, we invited My brother and his new wife (just married over a month) along with us and they have no kids and are actually pretty anti kid. They had a blast. So much so that they've begged us to include them in the next cruise we do!

 

So, grown ups on a cruise with lots of kids is still super fun, promise. There are lots of adult only areas. The only thing I would say is that you shouldn't plan on getting near the pool, it was like kid-soup on our cruise last Christmas.

[Ilovesailing]

Hi there.

 

This is my first post and this will be my first cruise.

 

I just put a deposit down on the Dec. 20th sailing on the Jewel (Penthouse Aft cabin) but now my husband is having second thoughts because he just realized there will be tons of kids on board because of the holidays. We've been talking about this for months, I have no idea why this just occurred to him. :confused:

 

So my questions are:

 

The cruise is Dec. 20 - 27... so goes over Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Will there really be that many families on board? Wouldn't New Year's be more popular with families because of all the family stuff you do on Christmas?

 

NCL has special programs for kids and teens. How long does this usually keep kids occupied? Are there any adult-only areas on the ship? Are kids allowed in the cocktail lounges and bars?

 

I really hope I don't offend anyone with this post. We don't hate kids. We're actually a little intimidated by them because we don't have any of our own!!

 

Any info you can give me would be great!

Thanks!!!

 

Like what r u doing wrong. Does he not know "happy wife happy life":D.

[crayola1932]

We don't have kids either and aren't used to them. We made the mistake one year of cruising out of Canaveral during spring break. The only time all the kids bothered us was on the plane going across country (to and from Orlando). There was a lot of noise and kicking of seats. But on the ship they were kind of fun: adorable little ones to watch bouncing up and down, shy teenagers approaching us during scavenger hunts; an adult counselor like the pied piper leading a parade of 10 year olds down the hall. We didn't notice extra noise.

[Sauer-kraut]

OMG!! You have an AFT PENTHOUSE!!! There is no reason you ever need to leave your suite and encounter another holiday maker on board. :D Just tell your DH that its too late to change his mind, the AFT PENTHOUSE will be incredible! ....and if that's not enough get him a Spa Pass for the week and there will be absolutely NO KIDS in there. :p

[MBMGWM]

My DH and I also don't have children. We went on a Christmas/New Years cruise on another line a couple of years ago. It was really nice. As many have mentioned, there are more families, but we were surprised that we didn't see more children more often. The main times we saw them were at the special holiday events. We sat through the entire presentation of Santa giving gifts to the children - it was adorable watching them. There were also children at the tree lighting ceremony, but overall they were very well behaved.

 

The ship was decorated beautifully and I would go on a Christmas cruise again. I hope you have a wonderful cruise. Having that beautiful aft balcony won't hurt one bit!

[cb at sea]

As long as they're not YOUR kids...ignore them! They aren't your problem, and will give you no problems! Most of the time, they're busy...on sea days, they will be at the pools, but that's about the only time they're really noticeable.

[Bluemlynn]

We were on the jewel last Christmas. Yes there were kids but they really didn't bother us that much. I felt there were more kids on a Thanksgiving cruise we went on than the Christmas cruise. Should be fine!!

[riddle]

Unless you are a college kid avoid college spring breaks holidays. Otherwise I don't think kids are a big problem on holiday cruises.

[Lineaway]

You have an amazing cabin. You need not go anywhere else. I have kids (now just Kid as the other two have grown up) and we go during spring break. Really never had an issue with the kids on any ship. We have been on 7 different lines and the kids are not a big issue. You may have an occasional group in a hot tub or jumping into the main pool but you have alot of other areas to go. I did notice one night on RCL at around 1 or 2 AM ( I couldn't sleep so went walking) groups of teens wandering around and chatting but they weren't being a problem.

Really, I think what happened is he changed his mind on a cruise. Too bad. Its a great vacation for a guy. The wife is occupied and in my case I always have a balcony I live on. Quiet, all the food I want and the UBP. What more could I want??????

 

My only issue on when you chose to travel is getting a decent flight out of SeaTac around Christmas. Had issues with getting my son home during the holidays one year (Military). Wouldn't want to do that again. SeaTac is not a good airport to deal with High volumn like a Vegas is. Go Hawks.................

[elruth]

Aft penthouse on the Jewel is very nice! Seriously, even if there are a lot of kids on the ship, you won't even notice them! Believe me, we have been on several NCL cruises and never were bothered by kids. As other posters have said, with a suite you will be able to eat in Cagneys for breakfast and lunch and I know when we had penthouse suites, we saw maybe 2 kids in there when we ate! Tell your husband not to worry and don't be a wet blanket as he is spoiling your excitement for the cruise! You have a nice balcony and if the kids in the pools bother you, then go to the spa.

[MisterFidgetpants]

Leave him home.

[cynbar]

Yes, there will be a lot of kids, as well as multi generational families. Only you know if this will be a deal breaker for your husband. But I think the advice given above is sound --- a little planning will help you avoid them most of the time. Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's will be elegant and relaxed, not chaotic at all. Plan to eat later, or better yet, in the specialty restaurants. Consider a spa pass. Enjoy your beautiful aft penthouse (we sailed on one of these on the Gem and it was fantastic.) All of this will limit your exposure to kids. Or, change your cruise to January when there will be almost no kids, but you probably have some reason for wanting to go over Christmas so that may not be an option for you. However, after all of this, if you still think your husband will be miserable, maybe an adults-only all inclusive for that week would be a better choice.

 

PS -- I'm not trying to be snarky with that last comment. We once tried taking some relatives on a cruise they didn't want to go on, said to ourselves "They'll love it when they get there." Big mistake --- they didn't like it, and we said later we should have paid more attention to their reservations before the trip. If you have already bought your airfare, I'm sure you can find a nice resort if you don't think a holiday cruise will work for your husband.

Edited July 17, 2015 by cynbar

[GORDONCHICK]

We cruise at peak times because we have an 8th grader in ap classes, and he can't afford to be gone during the school year except a day here or there. So, we cruise or have cruised Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and spring break. All of the lines do a pretty good job of keeping them entertained, interacting and busy. The exceptions can be kids who don't want to go to the kids' club or the teens. The teens don't really have organized activities during the day so they kind of run in packs. But for the most part, we've seen well-behaved teens.

 

But as others have said, with an aft penthouse, you have little need to leave the cabin unless you want. Cagney's at breakfast and lunch, and probably a specialty restaurant for dinner. I wouldn't recommend hitting the buffet, especially at peak times. And hopefully, you and DH don't plan on hitting the pool! Other than that, you should be good to go and not overrun with kids.

[cliffd64]

There is an easy solution to make your husband happier...

 

Since you are WAY before final payment date, if you were to reschedule the cruise for a couple of weeks earlier you would have minimal children... I realize it requires you to have flexibilty in your vacation time, but it definitely would eliminate the holiday family crowds.

[Cruising Golfer]

I haven't read the other posts. My first thought was go without him!!!! :cool:

[cruzsnooze]

There are too many kids on this cruise. I have read where kids run wild up and down the corridors and make tons of noise. I have read kids go up and down the corridors and pull the breakfast orders off cabin doors. I have read about crying babies keeping you up all hours of the night. I have also read about well behaved children whose parents actually supervise them. It's hit or miss and if you have a choice pick a better date for a relaxing cruise.

[DMH15]

Ok. I was in an aft PH on the Jewel in April (9170). I have never had a more quiet and secluded cabin and balcony. It had a table and chairs so we had a dinner served ensuite once.

 

Actually, the suite venue on the Jewel is Moderno, not Cagney's. It usef to be the Star Bar and it is large and comfortable.

 

We cruised over Spring Break with over 750 kids on board. Never a problem. Even in Modero's at b & l they were quiet and well behaved.

 

We did not really do the pool deck thing so cannot comment there.

Edited July 17, 2015 by DMH15