NCL and a 23 month old

[traiansito]

I am interested if anyone has traveled on an NCL cruise with a 23 month old. Were you able to use the Kids Club. I understand it is for 2 years and older. Will I have a hard time if I wanted my son to take advantage of the Kids Club for a day or so. I would also like to use the baby sitting services if I can - would they mind taking care of a 23 year old. :confused:

[Kerry's Girls]

After doing some research, I made sure to book my Carnival cruise for the week after my twins turned 2, because it seemed that even if they were just a week away from turning 2, they would not be able to participate in the kids club - so I would not think a 23 month old will be allowed in the over 2 activities. But NCL may be different...

 

And it never hurts to ask once you're on board.

 

Best,

Mia

[beachchick]

Yes, you will have a hard time. They are quite strict with the ages. They have to be or every parent of an "almost" 2-y/o would want an exception made for them. Their liability underwriting is likely based on the age minimum stated, which could be an issue for them if there were any problems.

 

For babysitting, do you mean the group babysitting for port times and at night? If so, yes they would "mind" babysitting a 23-month old for the same reason as above. I'm not aware of any in-cabin babysitting service on NCL.

 

beachchick

[JMB123]

You're definitely stuck with your 23 month old on NCL - no kid's club and no babysitting. They do cater well to babies, though, as there is an "under 2 zoo" where you can bring him/her to play with some toys and maybe meet other toddlers. It's open the same hours as the kid's club. There are also some family events in the kid's club that you can bring him/her to, but you need to attend. We did a pizza making party on the Gem with my 3 year old and 19 month old and the 19 month old loved it. Even if we didn't have the 3 year old, we would have been allowed to bring the baby in. Of course, NCL doesn't charge for kids under 2, so it's great that they cater to them as much as they do.

[beachchick]

You're definitely stuck with your 23 month old on NCL - no kid's club and no babysitting. They do cater well to babies, though, as there is an "under 2 zoo" where you can bring him/her to play with some toys and maybe meet other toddlers. It's open the same hours as the kid's club. There are also some family events in the kid's club that you can bring him/her to, but you need to attend. We did a pizza making party on the Gem with my 3 year old and 19 month old and the 19 month old loved it. Even if we didn't have the 3 year old, we would have been allowed to bring the baby in. Of course, NCL doesn't charge for kids under 2, so it's great that they cater to them as much as they do.

 

Gosh, I hate to think of it that way. Being "stuck" with your own child sounds so, I don't know, negative. I know what you're saying though. Parents want and need and deserve a break to remember that they are also adults. I've heard that the Under 2 Zoo can be a great time for parents and toddlers together--and a way for those toddlers to work off some of the excess energy they always seem to have. I swear, if we could "bottle" that energy, we could create a source of natural, reasonably clean (I mean, we do have to consider diapers in most cases) energy to fuel the world.;)

 

beachchick

[Tmrlovesjr]

I am interested if anyone has traveled on an NCL cruise with a 23 month old. Were you able to use the Kids Club. I understand it is for 2 years and older. Will I have a hard time if I wanted my son to take advantage of the Kids Club for a day or so. I would also like to use the baby sitting services if I can - would they mind taking care of a 23 year old. :confused:

 

 

They will not make any exceptions for the under 2 policy, my son was 22 months old and looks like a 3 year old. They did have a few nasty toys they would throw out on a deck so he could play, but would not even let him play with the other children with our supervision.

[JMB123]

Gosh, I hate to think of it that way. Being "stuck" with your own child sounds so, I don't know, negative. I know what you're saying though. Parents want and need and deserve a break to remember that they are also adults. I've heard that the Under 2 Zoo can be a great time for parents and toddlers together--and a way for those toddlers to work off some of the excess energy they always seem to have. I swear, if we could "bottle" that energy, we could create a source of natural, reasonably clean (I mean, we do have to consider diapers in most cases) energy to fuel the world.;)

 

beachchick

 

Didn't mean anything negative at all - sorry if it came off that way. My kids aren't in daycare and my 3 year old doesn't use the kids club at all, so I obviously take them on vacation to be with them. I was just answering the question, since the OP was asking about babysitting.

 

My favorite part about the under 2 zoo is meeting and interracting with other toddlers. Not being in daycare means my kids don't get a whole lot of that interraction at home.

[beachchick]

Didn't mean anything negative at all - sorry if it came off that way. My kids aren't in daycare and my 3 year old doesn't use the kids club at all, so I obviously take them on vacation to be with them. I was just answering the question, since the OP was asking about babysitting.

 

My favorite part about the under 2 zoo is meeting and interracting with other toddlers. Not being in daycare means my kids don't get a whole lot of that interraction at home.

 

I figured you didn't; it was just my perception of the words when reading them--We've all felt "stuck" with our kids from time to time, and I'm certain that I was guilty of using the word myself in the past.;) It's hard sometimes to "hear" a tone of voice or expression online. Question for you. How often or how much time is allotted to the Under 2 Zoo? I hope that there is ample time for the younger ones to spend time together and with their parents as a "group" activity.:)

 

beachchick

[JMB123]

The Under 2 Zoo is actually open all of the same hours as the kids' club - well, that's what they say, but my experience has been it's open even longer hours (i.e it was always open around 7:30 am, where kids' club opened at 9:00 am. So, really, it's open all day on sea days. We would usually spend about 2 hours per day in there. Always early mornings because there's really nothing to do and then late afternoons and after dinner, before bed. The toys aren't great, but it's a big area for the kids to let off some steam.

[lamolesky]

NCL will not allow a 23 month old, is it possible to wait a month? We did that with my little guy and left for the cruise on his 2nd birthday. While they didn't spend all day there, it was nice to be able to bring them there and go to dinner with my husband for some alone time in a nice specialty restaurant. As for the Under Two Zoo, we only did it on the Gem last year and there were limited times only (I have the schedule posted on my Gem page). While it was nice to meet others with kids, it wasn't our favorite. We had more fun interacting with adults and kids around the ship. My four year old and now two year old really LOVED the kids club. So it was worth it for us to wait for his birthday for that cruise.