NCL for kids?

[hansolosmom]

Hi - just wondering how NCL is for kids. Search is down, so I can't check & see if this has been discussed before.

 

We've done DCL & RCCL but I was wondering how other lines are for kids. Or if there are specific ships that would work better for kids. I was looking at the Jewel on NCL

 

tia

[mommyof2]

We were on the Star in June. We had 6 kids in our group. I think all of the kids had a good time! My 8 yo son didn't want to do the kids club much, but he likes to do things with his Daddy :-) My 6 yo daughter loved the kids club! I had 3 nephews, 4, 4, and 2.5 that all had a great time in the kids club too. Another nephew, 2.5 never went (choice of his parents).

 

I loved the freestyle for eating with kids. We would feed them earlier and then bring them back to one of our rooms where our babysitter (we brought along a high school cousin) would watch them while the adults had a nice quiet dinner everynight :-)

 

Everyone was friendly to the kids and there were plenty of activities for them to do!

[CabinForFour]

My kids were 4 and 6 when we sailed the N Star to Alaska and 5 and 8 when we sailed the Pride of America in Hawaii this year. For both kids, the Kids Crew program was a definite favorite. In fact, the Hawaii itinerary is so port intensive that we had to make a special effort to make sure that they had adequate Kids Crew time or risk a mutiny. :)

[CeleBrat]

We've done 2 NCL cruises with the kids: the Star to Alaska, and the GEM to the Western MEd (just got back last week!)

 

Both were lots of fun. The kids enjoyed the Kids Club on the NCL ships especially because they had a jungle gym/net/ball pit area in the Club.

 

The activities seemed to be very similar as many other cruise lines: theme parties, face painting, etc. One highlight of our cruise last week was when DS did and "Egg Drop" activity in the Club. Each child had a raw egg that they had to package in various soft thing (towels, tissue, foam, etc) then they got to drop then off the upper pool deck onto the lower pool deck. The winner was the child whose egg did not break. Which, according to DS, was no one.

But--I thought it was a really neat DIFFERENT activity, that involved some great math/science learning.

 

We alos enjoyed the Freestyle Dining, which meant we never had to RUSH to get back to the ship to eat dinner. Nor did we have to dress up. A bonus for the guys in our family.

 

I'm in the midst of writing a review--it's a few threads down on this same board. Check it out for more info.

 

CeleBrat

[CanadianTwosome]

Our daughter LOVES NCL. Our last two cruises she's been 8 and 9 and had a wonderful time. After the Star in January, she was crying on the last day and I said, 'Honey, I know you feel bad, but we knew it was going to have to end...' and she replied (in that cute semi-sobbing type voice that they get), 'No Mommy, it's not that... it's that I'll neeeever geeet to seeeee m-m-my K-kid's Creeeew friends agaaaaaaaiiiin...' (sniff sniff) 'Just like (insert name of friend from first cruise here)!!' It was quite a production, but she was really upset. When I told her that one of the couples coming with us on our next cruise would be bringing their ten year old son, she was ecstatic!!

 

I will say that our first cruise on the Dream, an older ship, didn't have as extensive a kid's program as the Star, which was constructed with a KidZone (I think that's what they call it), and has a waterslide and a kid's section in the buffet and a game room, etc.. The Jewel will certainly have a fabulous kid's area, as well as lots of amenities geared towards kids or families all over the ship.

 

My only real advice is pretty much the same for all kids on all ships - have them attend the first evening. No matter how great the program or the supervisors, the kids' programs on ships are not for all children, but if they go the first night, they're more likely to meet 'most' of the kids on the ship with them. They may or may not go back to the organized activities, but if they're going to make a friend, that's the best time to do it. :)

 

I also agree with those that have mentioned the freestyle dining. It really works for us. We're generally early eaters anyway, so we've never had more than a five minute wait, and that was just because with unassigned seating you have to wait for the hosts/hostesses to seat people before they can seat you. The variety of restaurants is great, too, depending on your child's food habits, of course. Ours seems to make it her mission to try anything and everything she can on cruises, so having numerous venues and menus to choose from really works for us as well. On the Star we chose to try three of the surcharge restaurants and felt they were worth the extra charge - we did the steakhouse, the teppan grill restaurant, and the asian fusion restaurant (twice for lunch!). Some of the new foods she tried on the Star were calamari, beef wellington, souffle (and a variety of other desserts of course), and caviar - this one I caught with my camera and was glad I did! You don't have to eat at the surcharge restaurants, of course, and there are traditional items that can be ordered any day such as chicken breast or steak, but it's nice to have so many options. Oh... and of course there's a children's menu available everywhere on the ship with such fare as chicken fingers and mac and cheese... but I've never actually seen one thanks to my daughter's adventurous attitude... too bad she's not as good at trying new things at home!! I'll say, 'But you tried caviar on the cruise...' and she just says, 'Yes, but that was on the cruise. Now we're home.' :p

[14ersco]

Have been on only one NCL cruise, Pride of Aloha (now Sky), but did research the other NCL boats before choosing our next cruise. DS loved the kids club and would not leave until the end of free hours, even if we had another Hawaiian port that would start at dawn the next day.

 

Oldest NCL Ships - Majesty, Sky, Sun - very limited kids space and activities for any ages. Small kids splash pool

 

Middle NCL Ships - Spirit, Star, Dawn - there is a kids (12 & under) exclusive pool, water slides, and hot tubs on the aft. Kids dining area in buffet.

 

Newest NCL Ships - Pride of America, Jade, Jewel, Pearl, Gem - kids pool area eliminated by outdoor buffet. All ships except PoAm have a small kids splash pool near main pool and a kids dining area in buffet. Gem and Pearl have bowling alleys.

 

From what I have read on CC the indoor kids facilities for 12 & under are all very good on the middle aged and newest ships. Not sure about teenager facilities. So with a younger DS we are going to be using the middle aged NCL ships for the next few years. Will not have to worry about a teenager or adult running him over on a water slide.

[2ndguesser]

We are going in a couple weeks with 6 kids ranging from 1 yo to 8 yo. We will be on NCL Pearl. They do have a waterslide as well as a kids only pool in the kids club. There is giant screen Wii, Bowling, rock climbing, game room, video arcade, kids buffet with kids size table and chairs.

 

I'll have a review when I get back but I'm feeling good that there will be a great number of activities for them (except for maybe the 1 yo).

 

Eileen

[jkrislc]

This will be our first time cruising with our child, but we opted for NCL mainly for the convenience of the freestyle concept and not wanting to hassle with formal attire.

[hansolosmom]

thanks for all the comments! I'm glad to know its another line we can definitely look into

[Mammaof2girls]

We are going on our first cruise in 17 days! I wanted the NCL because of the freestyle dining. We are cruising on the Dawn, and have heard nothing but great things with the kids crew, etc. We have 2 girls....ages 3 and 6 and I know they will enjoy it. I plan on writing a review when we come back. :)

[CanadianTwosome]

Just a heads up for those of you trying NCL for the first time and looking forward to freestyle dining - this time of year the ships are going to be quite full, so if you choose to eat at peak hours, you WILL encounter waits, just like on land. As I was saying above, I think we're early eaters compared to most; we tend to go to all our meals between 5:30 and 6pm in the evenings and have never encountered a noticable wait. We also tend to travel during off-peak times, so that has surely affected our experience as well, but my advice is definitely to avoid trying to eat between about 6:30 and 8pm in the main dining rooms. :)

[Animal 57]

We've done 2 NCL cruises with the kids: the Star to Alaska, and the GEM to the Western MEd (just got back last week!)

 

CeleBrat

 

Where there many kids on the Med cruise?

[katyjeka]

We've cruised on the Dawn and Spirit w/our 3 dd's. Had a great time on both. The Dawn is probably my favorite ship, as well as our girls. Great kids crew, we had dinner every evening around 5:30, never waited in a line, and the kids pool is the best. Our kids only complaint, terrible pizza, but it was nice to see our kids eat something other than pizza for 10 days. Janice

[CeleBrat]

Where there many kids on the Med cruise?

 

Yes--there were quite a few kids on-board--more than we expected. Most of them were European, which made for an interesting dynamic in the Kids Club. Despite the language barrier, they all got along and managed to communicate somehow.

 

CeleBrat

[Mammaof2girls]

We've cruised on the Dawn and Spirit w/our 3 dd's. Had a great time on both. The Dawn is probably my favorite ship, as well as our girls. Great kids crew, we had dinner every evening around 5:30, never waited in a line, and the kids pool is the best. Our kids only complaint, terrible pizza, but it was nice to see our kids eat something other than pizza for 10 days. Janice

What were the ages of your dd's??

[katyjeka]

They were 3,4 and 10. Have a great time, whatever you choose. Janice

[Mammaof2girls]

They were 3,4 and 10. Have a great time, whatever you choose. Janice

Cool! Our 2 girls are 3 and 6. We leave on our first cruise in 14 days! Woo Hoo! :)

[katyjeka]

The Dawn was our dd's first cruise, and they still talk about it. I envy you! We don't cruise until Dec. on the Jewel, it seems soooo far away. Have a great time. Janice

[CanadianTwosome]

The Dawn was our dd's first cruise, and they still talk about it. I envy you! We don't cruise until Dec. on the Jewel, it seems soooo far away. Have a great time. Janice

 

Don't feel bad... we don't leave again until January!!

 

I was talking about it on the phone last night to a friend and my daughter groaned and said, 'Mommy, would you PLEASE stop talking about it?' I laughed and asked why (since I think it's a good thing to invite more friends along) and she said, 'It's too far away! I want to go NOW!!' :p

[GoofingOff]

The Kids Club crew on NCL Pearl for the 2 to 5 age group was way better than the crew on the RC Mariner and RC Serenade. We like RC but if we we're talking only about the Kids Club, our NCL experience was way better. They did so much with our kids (walked around the ship many times, took then out on deck on glacier day, taught them many songs, face painting all the time, etc.) while RC approached it as mere babysitting.

[GoofingOff]

To be fair to the crew on Serenade, they were at least noticeably better than the crew on Mariner. I was surprised how lame the Mariner's crew was considering it was such a family-oriented cruise.

[arpie05]

My 12 year old son and I just did the Star to Alaska in May and he loved NCL. He loved the kids club. I will say that I wish their program was age broken out like CCL. He thinks he likes the freestyle dining better but my issue is he wants to eat (he still talks about it) at all the speciality places that charge. That was what I didn't like about NCL. It was great for kids - that was why I choose NCL over Princess because Princess doesn't seem like they'd be as kid friendly. My friend went on Holland the same week and said her 9 and 12 old had a great time (b2b Alaska). We probably won't cruise NCL again because their kids program stops at 12 and he'll be 13 next year and he loves organized activities. Be aware that almost all places to eat except the main dining room cost extra.

[lastingtouch]

We will be taking our granddaughter on the Gem in Dec. She will be 3 weeks shy of 2years old. Does anyone know if we will be able to use the kids room while the Kids Club is not using it?

[CanadianTwosome]

I believe they have something called 'Tots Time' when parents can go and play. I can't give you a guarantee, but I'm certain I've seen people talking about it on the NCL board. :)

[fivefirsts]

We cruised NCL Spirit last year and during the lunch and dinner break there was a time when we could take our under 2 yr old into the Kid's crew area to play. There were two or three other families there. We also took our other older children (as did the other families) and they were able to play just about anywhere in the Kid's Crew. Or coarse, they only wanted to play in the maze, nets and ball pit. There was also food there. Cookies at lunch time and chicken fingers, milk and cookies in the eve. My older dds (8 and just shy of 6) loved the water park on Spirit. My younger DD turned 6 the week after the cruise, and she had to stay in the 2-5 age group. At the first night she was a little bored. When I went to drop off the 8 yr old the next day, the staff asked if she was staying too. She said no and they asked why. She told them the activities were too babyish and Kid's Crew was "not her thing." The staff asked what she likes to do, and then incorporated that into the program. I was very impressed. She ended up having a blast. This was their first cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it too. We loved the freestyle dinning with the kids. No rushing back from ports, could all take a nap before dinner and go late if we wanted etc. The crew was great with our 1 yr old. He still laughs a year later when we say his name with a Phillipino accent like our room steward.