NCL Jade or RC Quantum of the Seas with a baby?

[Manicirony]

We hope to go on a 5 nights cruise to Malaysia and Phuket from Singapore in December 2019. However we are in a dilemma as to which cruise to take.

 

My daughter should be about 14 months by then.

 

We are stuck between Norwegian Cruise Liner's Norwegian Jade (NCL NJ) and Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas (RC QotS).

My husband doesn't mind babysitting my girl if he gets WiFi to self-entertain, which attracts us to NCL

BUT I prefer having someone to share the activities, and the convenience of dropping her off, so RC QotS.

 

NCL NJ is about S$250 cheaper at the moment with our choice rooms, gratuities and promotions all in. However the cabin is also 5 sq ft smaller too, than RC QotS, though we'd like to think that's negligible. 

 

I also like that NCL NJ stops at Langkawi instead of Port Klang, though we do realise with the shore excursions, it would certainly rack up quite a bit.

 

She already attends Infant Care every weekday for about 11 hours, as we both work long and hard. 

 

We enjoy thrill activities, but are not that insistent on swimming for her as we do have a pool back home. She handles the cold and heat equally well, though she prefers the former. And she's a non-fussy eater, who absolutely loves adult food (which she is often forbidden from but would stalk our entire meal) and breastmilk. She LOVES interacting with people more than toys.  She LOVES crawling around too, exploring her 'universe'. She likes to babble, but we are able to attend solemn church services with her every Sunday. If she gets the boob, she's quiet as a bat.

 

I would like to know if we'd be allow to attend music, theatre and musical shows with her in a carrier or will be rejected with her tagging along. BTW, are these paid activities or included in the cost?

 

I've been on cruises in Vietnam and New Zealand, to Antarctica, Canada etc. However, this is my first sail from Singapore, on a commercial cruise ship. It'll be our first trip since she was born. In fact, since our honeymoon... We need this break. Husband's not keen on including in-laws.

 

Any other advice or tips would be much appreciated from those who have been either of these ships.

 

Thank you in advance. God bless. 

[intr3pid]

We were in the same predicament a month ago, but chose NCL due to its Langkawi stop and an extra day.  It turned out to be much cheaper too after the recent price drops.  (We don't have a baby with us though.)