hi all!!! new and a few??s probably long. =)

[MafiaMom3]

hey everyone!!!

 

ok so dh and i decided to take the plunge and take the kiddos and all go on a cruise. we live in MA so boston to bermuda on the ncl spirit was looking pretty good.

 

we have been told that the kids facilities on the boat are just meh. RCl is the way to go with kids.

 

we dont have any issues driving to NJ since thats not far either.

 

heres the thing, ive been on rcl 1x hubby a few. his first times on rcl were great. the time we went is STUNK!!! WORST CRUISE EVER! we were lucky both of us were still together once the boat docked at home. lol he agreed that the rcl cruise we went on together was horrible. all around. so im hesitant to go back to it.

 

weve been on other cruises, carnival, and had great times!

 

and at the same time i dont want to be stuck on a ship bored out of our minds wiht a 4, 3, and 1 year old. yah. so, do i suck it up and do rcl keeping my fingers xed that its better than the other time we sailed with them? or do i book the spirit?

 

both cruises would be in may to bermuda

 

also another thing... hurricane season. dh is looking at sept/oct to go bermuda...,. would you with 3 kids????? ive never sailed anywhere near hurricane season so i have no idea what it could be like. and at the same time, if were stuck indoors since its so bad out with the boys.... well, that just may be the end of my sanity. lol ;)

 

thoughts advise needed!!!

TIA!

Kim =)

[kitty9]

September and October are the worst times for hurricanes, and they do seem to hit in that area most often, so you might need to consider that.

 

As for the cruise lines, I don't know what RCI ship you went on that was so horrible, but that might be the reason---plus was that cruise one of those really short cruises? If so, that would be another reason.

 

As to the ships, you need to know a few things. If your children aren't out of diapers, some lines won't allow them in the kid's program. Only RCI has in cabin babysitting, NCL and Carnival do not. No program on any ship for a 1 year old, but RCI has their Aqua Babies program where you can take your infant to the kid's room for 45 minutes a day and play with him/her and the toys they provide.

 

I've heard some complaints about NCL's kids program not being as good as RCI or Carnival. RCI and Carnival invented kid's programs, so they would be the best, imho.

[jp2001]

I don't have kids but the Spirit kids pool is very nice for young kids like yours (but they must be potty trained - the law prohibit kids in diapers, even swim diapers, to enter the pool).

 

The kids club is quite big on this ship too and there are designated times where you can go with your under-two kids to play (without supervision from the staff).

 

If you unepectedly hit bad weather (on ANY ship), you probably WILL loose your sanity if the kids (and maybe yourself and DH) are sick everywhere but it's a guess and nothing to do with NCL. It doesn't happen that frequently to get into a storm. The cruiselines check the weather forecast and will redirect a ship if they think it will encounter a storm (you could easily end up in Canada, it does happen... bring a few warmer clothes, just in case).

 

I just LOVE the Spirit and I think your family will like it too.

[MafiaMom3]

thanks darcie!

i think the RC ship was the serenade of the seas?? it was s... of the seas.... i ended up calling it the suck of the seas... =(

 

i dont want to just drop them off. im kinda crazy about the fact i just dont trust people wtih my kids. kwim? =) i know all about the diaper thing thanks though =) hopefully that wont be an issue for #1 and #2 =) and i definitely would not be dropping the baby off with anyone. but thats just me. i was thinking sept oct would be brutal for bermuda since its all alone in the ocean... =) thanks!!!

[martinchem]

What's a little storm.

[MafiaMom3]

What's a little storm.

 

lol im gonna go out on a limb and guess you dont have little kids?? no? ;)

[MafiaMom3]

I don't have kids but the Spirit kids pool is very nice for young kids like yours (but they must be potty trained - the law prohibit kids in diapers, even swim diapers, to enter the pool).

 

The kids club is quite big on this ship too and there are designated times where you can go with your under-two kids to play (without supervision from the staff).

 

If you unepectedly hit bad weather (on ANY ship), you probably WILL loose your sanity if the kids (and maybe yourself and DH) are sick everywhere but it's a guess and nothing to do with NCL. It doesn't happen that frequently to get into a storm. The cruiselines check the weather forecast and will redirect a ship if they think it will encounter a storm (you could easily end up in Canada, it does happen... bring a few warmer clothes, just in case).

 

I just LOVE the Spirit and I think your family will like it too.

 

 

THANK YOU!!!!! didnt know that! =) and its good to hear that you think it will be a good fit for us and great point about the redirecting the ship.... didnt think about that one either. =)

[RoofingPrincess]

thanks darcie!

i think the RC ship was the serenade of the seas?? it was s... of the seas.... i ended up calling it the suck of the seas... =(

I'm guessing it might have been SOVEREIGN, not Serenade...

Sovereign of the Seas was an older, smaller ship (although when she was built in 1988, she was the largest cruise ship in the world), which RCCL transferred to Pullmantur (which does cruises in Europe) in November and is now known as the MS Sovereign.

Serenade is absolutely gorgeous, I just cruised to Alaska on her earlier this year. Lots of glass and an atrium that's about 10 stories tall.

[Donny007]

I'm guessing it might have been SOVEREIGN, not Serenade...

Sovereign of the Seas was an older, smaller ship (although when she was built in 1988, she was the largest cruise ship in the world), which RCCL transferred to Pullmantur (which does cruises in Europe) in November and is now known as the MS Sovereign.

Serenade is absolutely gorgeous, I just cruised to Alaska on her earlier this year. Lots of glass and an atrium that's about 10 stories tall.

 

 

It was the Serenade. It was brand new and it was on its second sailing to Canada from Boston. The whole boat was charted by "Vacation Outlet" I am hoping thats why it was a horrible cruise. Never had any issues with RCCL before.

[MafiaMom3]

I'm guessing it might have been SOVEREIGN, not Serenade...

Sovereign of the Seas was an older, smaller ship (although when she was built in 1988, she was the largest cruise ship in the world), which RCCL transferred to Pullmantur (which does cruises in Europe) in November and is now known as the MS Sovereign.

Serenade is absolutely gorgeous, I just cruised to Alaska on her earlier this year. Lots of glass and an atrium that's about 10 stories tall.

 

no it was the brand new one... back in 2002ish?? 2001 maybe??? but i had high expectations for it since i had been on carnival and everyone said if you liked carnival you will LOVE rc. maybe it was just too new but still when we went on carnival victory to the same place, that one was just testing the waters too and it was a great trip. idk what went wrong with rcl. people look at me like i have 10 heads when i say i had a crappy cruise with them =)

[MafiaMom3]

It was the Serenade. It was brand new and it was on its second sailing to Canada from Boston. The whole boat was charted by "Vacation Outlet" I am hoping thats why it was a horrible cruise. Never had any issues with RCCL before.

 

chartered or not, it should have still been a good trip. :D

[Gonzo70]

What happened that made the cruise so bad? :confused:

[morecruise4me]

We went on NCL Dawn this spring, and although we don't have small children, we went and checked out the kids area for future reference for the grandkids. It looked fabulous! I wanted to go play down there:) I think NCL will be a great cruise for your family. The anytime dining is fantastic, we never had trouble getting a table. The atmosphere is very laid back and easy going. The staff we had on Dawn was very friendly but not as "personal" as our other experiences. It really was like they were there to make sure we had a great vacation but didn't want to get in our way. BTW, we lived in Weymouth for about 9 years. LOVED the Boston area :D