Tween age kids on Spirit

[JSTWW]

I am booked on the Spirit this summer for a trip to Alaska. My 11 year old and 13 year old will be traveling with me. I know the youth programs were removed but I can't find information on what kids can and can't do. Has anyone actually taken kids around this age on the Spirit lately? I can only find one review and it was terrible (https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=691145   I'm curious to know the other side of this story because it seems extreme).

 

Our family has been on several cruises. I never look at the ship before I book (always choose based on dates, itinerary, price, etc.). We've mostly sailed on smaller ships (largest was the Breakaway). We booked this in late Spring 22. I don't think the Spirit had even started sailing again when we booked and there was almost no information available since the 2020 dry dock. We chose this cruise because we will be with a larger family group (but only kids). It was the best option for the group as a whole (dates and itinerary) and there really wasn't another option that would work for everyone.

 

When I called to book (after others in the group had already booked) I was told by my PCC about the situation with the youth programs. Since we had recently been on a cruise (when all youth programs were still shut down) it didn't really seem like a big deal. The kids didn't seem to miss going and they made friends with other kids their age. Now that the Spirit has been back to sailing for several months it seems everything I read is that it is extremely unfriendly for kids to the point that many say kids aren't allowed at all (not true). We can't change our cruise but I want to be prepared so we can make the best of it. I'm hoping since it's a summer cruise we won't be the only family on board. 

 

The kids are generally well behaved (I promise). None of us are night owls and late night clubs/ bars aren't our scene. We have excursions planned for most ports to fill time during the days we aren't at sea. It's Alaska and I've talked to them about how this one might feel different compared to the other cruises we have done. 

 

The information on the NCL site doesn't go into much detail about the situation (other than saying that youth programs aren't offered). What areas other than Spice H20 are off limits to under 18? Will they be allowed in all the restaurants (they are foodies and enjoy the dining options on cruises)? What about shows? I know comedy shows can be a little rough so we'll skip those.

 

We are a golf family. Can they use the driving range? Are movies shown in the Atrium or anywhere on board? Trivia? I know there isn't a library but what about crossword puzzles and/ or sudoku? These are all things they enjoyed last year when the youth programs were closed on all the ships. Will it really be all that different this time?  

 

 

[Shel71]

I traveled on the Spirit last July with my 17-year-old son and my parents. Originally we were booked on the Sun but it hit an iceberg and canceled our cruise so we moved our dates to the Spirit instead, kind of quickly. I missed that there was nothing for under 18 there until it was too late. 

 

There weren't very many kids on the boat that I noticed. My son wasn't all that upset that there was no teen club as he's kind of shy anyway. He had no issue in restaurants, Bingo, etc. (you have to buy the cards for under 18 and play with them). Can't go into the Casino and I remember seeing on the Daily thing that some comedy shows I think they were for 18+ only. We didn't do any of the main shows so no clue there. No movies. We'd go for some drinks in the Spinnaker after dinner. He never really wanted to join us there so I don't know if they would've kicked him out or not. I do remember seeing some kids on the dance floor there a few times.

 

I will admit my son got pretty bored and I felt bad for him as there wasn't much for him to do. He did sit in the hot tub some on the main deck, not the adult area and nobody bothered him about that. Too cold to swim for his taste. The biggest thing that upset him was the sports deck was open for very limited hours and was always closed by 5. He wanted to play BB and stuff as that was about all there was to do but it was often closed. He loved Alaska though, so I don't think he'd tell you he had a bad time, but I know he did feel like there was just nothing for him to do at all. I am glad I got the unlimited wifi for him so he could watch Netflix movies or whatever in the evenings. If I were to book it for Alaska I would choose a different ship. The good thing for you is your kids have each other and that might help them entertain each other where my son only had me and his 70-aged grandparents.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Shel71

[www3traveler]

If you go to the NCL webpage under Explore: Ships-Spirit:Deck Plans, on Deck 13 at the back of the ship, you will find a Sports Deck with a basketball court and a netted area to hit golf balls.

 

What they will have for kids available for an Alaskan cruise may vary from to week to week.

 

They should be able to go anywhere on the ship minus the casino and H2O.

 

Enjoy your cruise and The Spirit.  

[kitkat343]

I have a 12 year old and we are currently sailing on the Getaway.  The current kids club situation is that each ship is setting its own kids club hours.  On the getaway the kids club has more restrictive hours on port days.  It is no longer possible to leave your child behind while you go on tour (which I'm sure you didn't want to do in Alaska because its wonderful for kids).  Hopefully you can get a sense of what the situation is on the Spirit closer to the summer - there was someone on the previous Getaway sailing who helpfully posted the dailies and from that I knew it was likely the kids club would run.  It might be closed on the spirit now, but who  knows what NCL will be doing this summer. 

 

The  restaurants are very welcoming to children, especially kids who appreciate fine dining.  Your kids are older and foodies, so this might not be a concern for you, but service is extremely slow (this is probably related to the cutbacks in the number of crew).  We had dinner last night in La Cucina and asked for the food to be brought out as quickly as possible, whenever it was ready and the courses didn't need to be timed.  It still took nearly two hours, and ran into the time the kids club opened.  My youngest is 4 so that's not an ideal experience.  The restaurant was half empty (they told me their first night is always empty) and the next night they would have 300 people, so that's not going to go very well unless they speed up.   

 

I sailed on HAL to Guatemala and Cunard to Norway (oddly they were the only line to Norway that let two year olds into the kids club even though this really isn't a kid friendly line) and my kids had a really good time.  On Cunard, most of the people were very patient with the kids, and the staff was patient with me since the whole ship has a dress code on formal nights.  You could even see women in evening gowns and men in tuxes in the buffet, and they let me get away with wearing a plain black dress that really could not qualify as an evening gown, but was much better suited to chasing a 2 year old.  On HAL, they were a little less patient, but we all had  a really good time.  Alaska is a great destination for children, and there should be a ton of kids on your cruise over the summer.  Princess does a really good job in Alaska, and is very child friendly line.  I know it won't work out for your family this summer, but that line would be my recommendation to other families.   But I honestly don't think you will feel unwelcome on a NCL ship in Alaska over the summer.  

[vidsmart]

I booked 16-day Spirit after interviewing blogger and Alaska expert, Prof. Cruise (for a writing project). She had taken the same cruise, and brought her 13 y.o. son. He was content because he loves basketball and there is a court. I am sure she will interact with you directly re your questions. If you can’t reach her through the blog, I can put you together with her.

[bluesea777]

@JSTWW I don't know if you realize that there are TWO NCL ships that will do one way between Vancouver and Seward this summer: the Spirit and the Jewel. 

 

Since the Spirit was dry-docked 3 years ago to become an almost adult-only ship (the link to my review with pictures is in my signature), perhaps you would consider switching to Jewel which is slightly bigger ship but with kids clubs.

 

 

[JSTWW]

4 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

@JSTWW I don't know if you realize that there are TWO NCL ships that will do one way between Vancouver and Seward this summer: the Spirit and the Jewel. 

 

Since the Spirit was dry-docked 3 years ago to become an almost adult-only ship (the link to my review with pictures is in my signature), perhaps you would consider switching to Jewel which is slightly bigger ship but with kids clubs.

 

 

Yes. Because we picked this cruise based on the itinerary I do know that the Jewel was an option. The Spirit was the trip our group preferred because it has one more port day compared to the Jewel. Go back and read my second paragraph which explains why we picked this cruise. The youth programs didn’t seem to be a big deal at the time because we had cruised while they were shut down on all ships and didn’t miss them. The Spirit started sailing again in May 22 and we booked this cruise just before that occurred so there were no recent reviews or anything to go off of. A lot of the information at that time was pre 2020 dry dock and it hadn’t sailed for 2 years!. There is a lot more info now compared to the spring when we booked. 

 

But no… switching isn’t an option. There are 6 cabins in our group and others were booked before us. Everyone has airfare booked (not through NCL), hotels, etc. 

[JSTWW]

5 hours ago, vidsmart said:

I booked 16-day Spirit after interviewing blogger and Alaska expert, Prof. Cruise (for a writing project). She had taken the same cruise, and brought her 13 y.o. son. He was content because he loves basketball and there is a court. I am sure she will interact with you directly re your questions. If you can’t reach her through the blog, I can put you together with her.

Thank you! I will check out her blog. 

[dexddd]

While Spirit is one of our favorite ships, there is little to do for teens. Maybe let them plan port options.