Tish in EC Posted July 3, 2007 #1 Share Posted July 3, 2007 My DH, DS 16 yrs old and DD's (twins) 6 yrs old have decided to to the South American Tip in March 2008. Our previous cruise experience (earlier this year) was on Carnival Triump - 7 day Western Carribean. I am looking for opinions and suggestions in the following areas: 1.-kid programs (the girls only liked Camp Carnival when there were planned activities like treasure hunts, face painting; but didn't like it when it was just free play or movies.) 2.-Accomadations: I'm looking at the Owners Suite on NCL or the Royal Family Suite on RCI. I think we would like the little perks of the suites, or is 2 cabins better? (we did 2 cabins on the Triumph, but we traveled with a friend of my sons). 3.-Our experience on the Triumph was fantastic in the dining rooms and didn't have any problems with the kids, even on formal nights. All of us enjoyed eating almost all meals in the dining rooms because we felt the quality of the food and service was much better than the buffet, so I really don't know what to expect with Freestyle dining and paying extra for a better menu. 4.-Any other areas that more experienced cruisers would like to comment on would be appreciated. I just recently found this site and think it's great. During our Triumph cruise me and DH decided it was the best way to travel since we really disconnected from work. Thanks to everyone for your help and wisdom. Tish in EC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Cruise4Ever Posted July 3, 2007 #2 Share Posted July 3, 2007 The Owner's Suite on NCL only sleeps 2. I would suggest booking adjoining cabins for your family. RCCL family suites, I've heard, are a good option, too. We sailed in an AB Penthouse on NCL Dawn twice (going again next June!) with our 2 kids and loved it!!! You can book an AB with an adjoining AF Mini Suite and get a ton of perks. Happy Sailing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswims Posted July 4, 2007 #3 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Actually the NCL Dream AA (Owners Suite) sleeps 5. We were looking at the Dream for Bermuda next year and discovered this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Cruise4Ever Posted July 4, 2007 #4 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Wow! See that? Ya' learn something new every day. I did not know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswims Posted July 4, 2007 #5 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Wow! See that? Ya' learn something new every day. I did not know that. I was surprised at this too. For the past 2 years we have been driving to NYC to hop on NCL ships since we have done the Majesty 2 times with our kids. We have been on the Spirit and will soon be leaving on the Dawn. We booked and AB suite and with having the 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms we did not know what to do. We saw that the Dream will be coming to Boston for the Bermuda run in 2008 and the AA has the balcony and the space for 5. We love NCL for the freestyle dining and family friendly accomodations. Lots of choices for us as a family. We have been on other lines but NCL really has been a stress free vacation for my DW and I and our kids (ages 12 and 9). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Cruise4Ever Posted July 4, 2007 #6 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Jim ~ you and I began conversing about our respective cruises about a year ago. We got back from the Dawn about 10 days ago and we LOVED it!!! We were in an AB as well (second time for us). The second bedroom and bathroom were a blessing. We even booked another AB on the Dawn for next year! I can't wait to read about your experience and what your reaction is. Be prepared to be completely spoiled!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswims Posted July 4, 2007 #7 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Jim ~ you and I began conversing about our respective cruises about a year ago. We got back from the Dawn about 10 days ago and we LOVED it!!! We were in an AB as well (second time for us). The second bedroom and bathroom were a blessing. We even booked another AB on the Dawn for next year! I can't wait to read about your experience and what your reaction is. Be prepared to be completely spoiled!!! Now I remember:) ! I am glad that you had another great cruise on the Dawn. You really helped convince us that the AB was the way to go for our family...so I can blame you if we never want to cruise another way again:D . That is great that you are going again next year. I think that is a great endorsement about the accomodations and NCL. We actually are staying in the same AB twice this year. We are going on the Dawn 2 day with friends in October. I will be sure to report back on the cruise and the AB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswims Posted July 4, 2007 #8 Share Posted July 4, 2007 My DH, DS 16 yrs old and DD's (twins) 6 yrs old have decided to to the South American Tip in March 2008. Our previous cruise experience (earlier this year) was on Carnival Triump - 7 day Western Carribean. I am looking for opinions and suggestions in the following areas: 1.-kid programs (the girls only liked Camp Carnival when there were planned activities like treasure hunts, face painting; but didn't like it when it was just free play or movies.) 2.-Accomadations: I'm looking at the Owners Suite on NCL or the Royal Family Suite on RCI. I think we would like the little perks of the suites, or is 2 cabins better? (we did 2 cabins on the Triumph, but we traveled with a friend of my sons). 3.-Our experience on the Triumph was fantastic in the dining rooms and didn't have any problems with the kids, even on formal nights. All of us enjoyed eating almost all meals in the dining rooms because we felt the quality of the food and service was much better than the buffet, so I really don't know what to expect with Freestyle dining and paying extra for a better menu. 4.-Any other areas that more experienced cruisers would like to comment on would be appreciated. I just recently found this site and think it's great. During our Triumph cruise me and DH decided it was the best way to travel since we really disconnected from work. Thanks to everyone for your help and wisdom. Tish in EC Hi Tish, Welcome to Cruise Critic. I will try to answer what I know. It has been years since I have been on Carnival and also RCCL. My comments will focus more on NCL since that is our recent experiences. Ship: I think that the NCL Dream is the ship that goes to South America in March 2008. I have not done the trip and I have not been on the Dream yet. The Dream is an older ship, 1992, and smaller than the other NCL ships. It also does not have as many restaurants as the newer, larger NCL ships. That said, people seem to like the ship. It is about 50,000 tons. The newer ships, Dawn, Jewel, Pearl, and the Gem are more designed for freestyle and are about 92,000 tons. The Spirit and the Sun are also larger and newer than the Dream. Kids program: We love the Kids Crew for our children. They have attended on the Majesty (smaller ship) and on the Spirit. They are already talking about going when we board the Dawn in August. The Dawn will be the largest ship that the kids ave ever been on. Dining: We like the ability to dine at different times and at different restaurants. The Majesty is like the Dream. It has at least 2 main dining rooms and at least one speciality restaurant. They both also have buffets. The main dining rooms were similar to our experiences on RCCL and Carnival. The food quality was good to great. We were just not assigned to the same table and same waiters every night. We do also go to the Speciality Restaurants. Food is a very subjective topic but we have found all of our meals to be of good to excellent quality and almost always have had excellent service. You do not have to go to the speciality restaurants for the best food. We have had some excellent meals in the main dining rooms. We have never been on a cruise that we have not enjoyed. You have already discovered a really big part of taking a cruise, to get disconnected from work and have a great time with your family:) . Have fun planning your next cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted July 4, 2007 #9 Share Posted July 4, 2007 On RCCL I believe that the RFS is considered a suite that is available for Suite Perks. If so, then go with RCCL. We just got off of Freedom of the Seas and we stayed in a suite. We got a whole list of perks... Day 1 - upon embarkation, this was waiting for us. The letter is from the Hotel Director. The champagne and bottle of Evian was complimentary. Day 2 - Fruit and Nut basket delivered to the room Here is the list the concierge left for us in our grand suite --Personlized stationary --Use of Concierge Lounge --Continental Breakfast servied in the lounge 8am-10am --Canapes, petit fours and complimentary bar set up 5pm-8:30pm --Daily Menu display and pre-ordering of your dinner wine --Reservations for any specialty restaurant --Explorations! Salon and Spa Appointments --Arrangements for private parties --Personalized Discover shopping advice --Business services such as faxes, copies, etc --DVD's for your use onboard --Priority tickets for Ice Show (were in our folder upon Embarkation) --Cash Transactions To add to this--- --Priority EMBARKATION (not debarkation...NO tender tickets...we had to wait like everyone else) --robes, slippers, shampoo/conditioner/cream/bath sponge --fruit basket --Bottle of Champagne upon Embarkation --Fresh flowers all week long --Huge room --special invitations to art auctions --we also received postcards in our room (don't know if regular cabins get these) --stacked fridge with candy, sodas, water (you did have to pay for it though) AND the concierge emailed me the week before the cruise and allowed us to pre-book appts. (Not every concierge does this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.