More KIDS SAIL FREE info

[CeleBrat]

There has been a lot of buzz about the current Kids Sail Free deal on the NCL Sky to the Bahamas summer-fall, but I wanted to take the time to share two other cruise lines that also have kids sail free deals:

 

1--MSC cruises--currently running a year-round KIDS SAIL FREE deal. Details here:

 

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/special-offers-and-exclusive-deals

 

MSC is a newcomer to the cruise industry, but they have recently built and are continuing to build very large ships. We are booked on them for next Spring Break, with a great KIDS SAIL FREE deal and paid less than $1600 for the 4 of us!

 

I will, of course, post a kid-review of the MSC Orchestra after our cruise next year.

 

2--Costa Cruise line. If you keep an eye on their specials, you can find KIDS SAIL FREE specials occasionally. Costa primarily sails overseas, but every winter they reposition 1-2 of their large/new ships to Ft Lauderdale for Caribbean cruises. We managed to snag a KIDS SAIL FREE deal for a peak Spring Break week this year and paid only $1500 for all 4 of us!!! Costa's website can be found here:

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/HotDeals/hot/hot_page.htm

 

If you have any questions about Costa, feel free to ask as we've cruised with them twice now, and the kids had a great time!

 

So... for those of you looking for a great deal on a 7-day cruise, you might want to check out these cruise lines.

 

CeleBrat

[lagbunch8]

I have a hold on 2 inside cabins on the NCL Sky 4 night for 9/1/08. I'm paying $1539.20 for 8 people. I have heard mixed things about NCL and have only taken the kids on DCL which we love. Have you sailed NCL before? Can you tell me anything about them? Thanks.

[CeleBrat]

Yep--we've sailed NCL both with and without kids. We took the NCL Starr a few years ago to Alaska. The newer NCL ships are very fun and colorful. Lots of neat thing to look at. We are taking the NCL Gem this summer for a Mediterranean cruise, and that ship is super-new, super-fun, and very eclectic. It has a rock-climbing wall, kids pool, playground, bowling alley, and a giant Wii screen in one of the atriums! If you go to webshots or Flicker, you can search for photos of the NCL ships to see their decor.

 

The best feature of the NCL ships is their Freestyle dining, which means that you can dine at any time in any one of their 10+ restaurants. Everything available from regular dining room, to high-end steak or Asian, to a diner, to Italian, and even French. We love not having to worry about rushing to get ready for dinner. And, every time we cruise NCL we agree to BAN all formal attire from our wardrobe. (NOTE--we always dress up for formal nights on other lines. DH and son do a happy dance for the formal wear reprieve!)

 

The Kids Clubs on NCL aren't as extensive as those on Disney. Rather, they are more on-par with Carnival. Similar activities: scavenger hunts, movies, theme nights, etc. The NCL Star actually also had a ball pit for the under 7 crew. WOW!

 

Here's a pic of the Kids Water Play area

 

 

When we get back this summer, I will be able to share more Kids Club specifics and post their daily activity pages for kids.

 

Hope that helps!

 

CeleBrat

 

PS--Oh, and for adults, there is even a coffee maker in every cabin!

[rabelgirls]

What a great rate you received on that NCL cruise!!

I am taking my three girls on a cruise for Christmas on MSC. I have read mixed reviews, but I really believe that a cruise is what you make of it. My overall cost was way lower than anything else I could find for the same week.

I am also booking MSC for an Easter cruise for next April on the Orchestra.

[LAnn]

We've sailed on NCL's Pride of America and had a great time. The counselors were wonderful. Having said that, I wouldn't sail on the Norwegian Sky because in it's former incarnation as the Pride of Aloha, it failed it's CDC inspection -- got a 78, which if you check the ratings here on Cruise Critic, you'll see is the lowest rating of them all. Perhaps they've cleaned up their act, but I'll wait for the next inspection to verify that. (Before I found out about that, I too was getting all excited -- was all fired up about booking back to back three and four day cruises.)

 

LeeAnn

[loveysbydesign]

We've sailed on NCL's Pride of America and had a great time. The counselors were wonderful. Having said that, I wouldn't sail on the Norwegian Sky because in it's former incarnation as the Pride of Aloha, it failed it's CDC inspection -- got a 78, which if you check the ratings here on Cruise Critic, you'll see is the lowest rating of them all. Perhaps they've cleaned up their act, but I'll wait for the next inspection to verify that. (Before I found out about that, I too was getting all excited -- was all fired up about booking back to back three and four day cruises.)

 

LeeAnn

 

 

EEEKKKKKK....now you've got me rethinking the cruise I booked on the Sky. We'd love to sail with MSC but they don't have any rooms that hold 5 except for suite....and we don't want to leave any of our kiddos behind!

[carribeansol]

We've sailed on NCL's Pride of America and had a great time. The counselors were wonderful. Having said that, I wouldn't sail on the Norwegian Sky because in it's former incarnation as the Pride of Aloha, it failed it's CDC inspection -- got a 78, which if you check the ratings here on Cruise Critic, you'll see is the lowest rating of them all. Perhaps they've cleaned up their act, but I'll wait for the next inspection to verify that. (Before I found out about that, I too was getting all excited -- was all fired up about booking back to back three and four day cruises.)

 

LeeAnn

 

Although this was true I would suspect it had to do with the ships change. That score does not make sense for a ship sailing from one of the major lines. I booked knowing the score because I am sure it will not recieve this score again.