CanadianTwosome Posted January 21, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 21, 2008 My daughter cried the morning we had to leave... that says a lot. They had great counsellors and really fun activities. Feel free to ask any questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKEA_Cruising_Family Posted January 21, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We'll be on the NCL Gem in March. My kids will be in the 2-5 age group but I'll throw these questions out in case you know. 1) What type of family activities were done (I've heard of scavenger hunts, pizza party)? 2) If we stay on the boat while in port, can we take our kids to play on the jungle gym area of the kids club if we stay and supervise? Our 2 year old will not be able to swim since he's not potty trained and hoping there are still some activities he can enjoy. 3) How was the kids menu? 4) What kind of boxed cereals were available at the buffet? I've seen the room service menu and it only mentioned a few. While I wish it weren't the case, corn flakes doesn't go over well with my kiddos. I hope my kids love the kids club as much as your daughter. We're looking forward to a nice balance of family time and some alone time as well! Thanks! Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 21, 2008 #3 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We'll be on the NCL Gem in March. My kids will be in the 2-5 age group but I'll throw these questions out in case you know. 1) What type of family activities were done (I've heard of scavenger hunts, pizza party)? 2) If we stay on the boat while in port, can we take our kids to play on the jungle gym area of the kids club if we stay and supervise? Our 2 year old will not be able to swim since he's not potty trained and hoping there are still some activities he can enjoy. 3) How was the kids menu? 4) What kind of boxed cereals were available at the buffet? I've seen the room service menu and it only mentioned a few. While I wish it weren't the case, corn flakes doesn't go over well with my kiddos. I hope my kids love the kids club as much as your daughter. We're looking forward to a nice balance of family time and some alone time as well! Thanks! Christine Hi Christine, I'm not the OP but hopefully I can answer some of your questions! The kid's crew on the Spirit opened up 1-2 hours per day for babies and their parents (as well as siblings) to enjoy the equiptment. This was a great time for my two little ones to run and around and it gave me an opportunity to meet other parents. This time coincided with breaks in the structured kid's crew activities. During normal kid's crew hours parents are not allowed to enter the facility. The kid's menu was a typical kid's menu that you would find at a restaurant. It has all the basic kid staples, grilled cheese, hamburgers, pizza, etc. The menu stays the same for the entire cruise. My two are real foodies and often ordered items off the regular menu. Since the kid's menu didn't offer too many healthy options, I would usually order a plate of steamed veggies to go with whatever they were eating. The waiters were always more than happy to accomodate. I don't recall specifically what type of cereals there were, but there were definitly more than corn flakes. Mine were 15 mo and 4 yo on our last cruise and even without being able to bring the baby in the pool, we always had something to do!!!! We had such a great time, we're doing the Spirit again this spring!!!! I have heard great things about the Gem and know you'll have a great trip:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianTwosome Posted January 21, 2008 Author #4 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Thanks KerCar! I couldn't have answered some of those! For family activities, there was a family scavenger hunt the first night, although we missed this one. On our last cruise, I thought it was more of an 'information hunt' - we were given a list of questions to find the answers to; we learned about the ship, the crew, and the layout. I thought it was a good introduction and a good orientation for the kids. There was also a family pizza making (and the pizza was good), and a family karaoke. The karaoke wasn't particularly well attended, but we had fun. We also did not use the kid's menu. Our daughter spent the cruise looking for new things to try, knowing that she always had a back up if she found out she'd picked something that didn't 'work' for her. There were only a couple of items she didn't like, and the wait staff bent over backwards to accommodate her and keep her happy. On the formal night, when she found out that beef wellington wasn't really her thing, 'Princess' (as our server called her) was given three desserts, just to make sure she didn't leave unhappy. Of course, this was also the pizza making day, so there were no worries of her going hungry. She certainly didn't argue about getting to taste three desserts, though! We all enjoyed being able to sample at least one that we didn't order ourselves. I really can't answer the other questions since we didn't eat breakfast at the buffet and we didn't have a toddler. I can tell you, though, that when we went to the Kid's Star Seeker show on the last day (kid's talent show), almost all the kids were there, and the 2-5 year olds were clearly having a wonderful time with their counsellors. All the counsellors were fantastic, and they all knew all the kids, even the ones in other age groups. We ran into many of them around the ship and onshore and they knew my daughter by name and recognized my husband and I as parents. I'm sure that yours will have a wonderful time in their Kid's Crew as well. :) We also found that there were always things to do whether our daughter was in the club or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKEA_Cruising_Family Posted January 22, 2008 #5 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks so much! Great information. Thought of one more question. In the dining rooms do they serve drinks for the kids in cups with tops? If not, I'll bring a bunch of disposable sippys for my 2 year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 22, 2008 #6 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks so much! Great information. Thought of one more question. In the dining rooms do they serve drinks for the kids in cups with tops? If not, I'll bring a bunch of disposable sippys for my 2 year old. I'm pretty sure the drinks came in regular cups without lids. We brought a couple of DD's sippys from home. We would order milk from the dining room and transfer it to her sippy. Milk is also available in the buffet area throughout the day. I brought a sponge and small thing of dish soap to keep in the cabin to wash the cups. I also brought some disposable child sized utensils to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKEA_Cruising_Family Posted January 22, 2008 #7 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Hi Christine,Mine were 15 mo and 4 yo on our last cruise and even without being able to bring the baby in the pool, we always had something to do!!!! We had such a great time, we're doing the Spirit again this spring!!!! I have heard great things about the Gem and know you'll have a great trip:) Thanks to both of you!!! KerCar - What type of stateroom did you have? Did your 15m old sleep in a pack n play/portable crib? I asked a question on the NCL board about possible room configurations in a mini-suite to accomodate a pack n play and got a couple of ideas but was wondering if you have advice to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 22, 2008 #8 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks to both of you!!! KerCar - What type of stateroom did you have? Did your 15m old sleep in a pack n play/portable crib? I asked a question on the NCL board about possible room configurations in a mini-suite to accomodate a pack n play and got a couple of ideas but was wondering if you have advice to share. We had an inside cabin and with a little rearranging of the furniture we found the perfect little nook to put the small crib that the ship provided us with. I'm not familiar with the layout of the mini suites on the Gem, but am sure you'll be able to figure out a way to make it work! The great thing is you'll have a balcony to enjoy after the little ones go to bed! Please post here when you return to let us know how it goes. My DD will be 26 months on our next cruise. I put in a crib request, but am not sure if she'll still be in one. I'd love to hear how it goes with your 2 year old:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKEA_Cruising_Family Posted January 24, 2008 #9 Share Posted January 24, 2008 We had an inside cabin and with a little rearranging of the furniture we found the perfect little nook to put the small crib that the ship provided us with. That triggered another question. How are the cribs that the ship provides? Since we're driving to port I had figured we would take just take our own pack n play but maybe it's not worth the hassle if the ship can provide a decent one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 24, 2008 #10 Share Posted January 24, 2008 That triggered another question. How are the cribs that the ship provides? Since we're driving to port I had figured we would take just take our own pack n play but maybe it's not worth the hassle if the ship can provide a decent one. The one they gave us was a portable crib but I did see other people getting pack n plays, so I guess what you get depends on availabilty. My DD did fine in the porta crib all week. The combination of the dark cabin and the rocking of the ship helped both of my children sleep really well. If you do decide to use the ship's crib, be sure to bring your own crib sheet and child sized blanket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKEA_Cruising_Family Posted January 28, 2008 #11 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Another totally random question... Are there kids books in the onboard library? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianTwosome Posted January 28, 2008 Author #12 Share Posted January 28, 2008 There's a library? :p Seriously, we brought our own books, so the only time I was in the library was to sign up for the murder mystery dinner, and I didn't look at the books. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 28, 2008 #13 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Another totally random question... Are there kids books in the onboard library? Hmmm, that's a tough one! I don't remember for sure, but I seem to recall DH and DS coming back from the library with a childrens book at some point. I brought a few books from home. I also surprised the kids with a few new books once onboard. Since they were new and fun, they were perfect for bringing to the dining room to keep the kids engaged while waiting for dinner to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calenita Posted January 29, 2008 #14 Share Posted January 29, 2008 We are on the Jewel - I have three kids, DS7, DS11 and DD13. DS7 is THRILLED about the idea of kids club so I know he will want to go. Did they have Wii? What kind of activities did the 6-9 age group do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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