fmigali

Unfortunately, NCL does not ever make allowances in terms of "bending" the age rules - even if someone turned 18 the day before the cruise, they will not be allowed in Entourage, for example, and someone who turns 3 on the day after the cruise will not be allowed to join SA at all.

 

We were on the Jewel last year, it's a great ship. There *is* a small kids pool and a deep kids pool on the pool deck, and 1 spiral water slide (open). The buffet has a nice kids area, and there is a lot to do. The Guppies room is right by splash academy, there is an arcade, a gaming/card room, a library, a bridge observation area on deck 11, and lots of non-SA kid activities available (cupcake making, etc) plus, staff organize some Guppies activities, but parents have to participate with their kids.

 

Even my (then 3.5) youngest enjoyed the shows like Le Cirque Bijou and the acrobats.

 

What kind of cabin will you be in? We were in a minisuite last year (not so fun with kids deep in the throes of sibling rivalry), and this year, on Jewel's sister ship, Jade, we were in a family 2 bedroom suite, which was a less stressful experience, at least for me.

Thank you very much for the added information. It really is helping us manage our expectations up front. :-)

We are looking at a Balcony room. I was looking at the mini-suite as an option but the way the price is today, it would be another $600 which we just don't want to do this go around. We really like the 2 bedroom family suites but those were VERY pricey.

My kids have always had a good time.

 

Now, I've never taken a kid too young for splash academy, which your 2 yo is (unless s/he turns 3 before your cruise). If you are on Escape, they have a pay nursery, but all the others just have a small room with some toys for the 0-2 set. Plus, no pool unless your kiddo is fully potty trained.

 

Do you know if NCL makes any exceptions to the 3 year old rule for Splash Academy? I only ask because he will 6 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday and will already be potty trained (he's about 75% potty trained now :-)). Before someone blasts me about asking about exceptions, I certainly don't expect NCL to make exceptions to their rules, I just know other cruise lines make exceptions if the kiddo is potty trained.

My kids were 3 and 4 when my wife started taking them on NCL. They have each been on almost 10 cruises.

 

They love NCL and Splash Academy. They ask to go as soon as they wake up and like to go back after dinner in the evening.

 

They also play on the sports court, go to the towel folding, fruit and veg decorating, balloon making classes, do the family activities like cupcake decorating and pizza making.

 

Staff has always been very friendly and accommodating to them.

I see from your signature you have cruised on the Jewel twice. Were either of those cruises when your little ones were 3 and 4? If so, do you have any specific advice on how to organize the cabin (assuming you were all in the same cabin)?

Also, were there enough activities for this kiddos on the Jewel?

Will they be 2 and 5 at time of sailing?

 

My 5 year old loved Splash Academy on the Getaway last year. They have loads of activities and he always wanted to go back -- unlike on RCL Oasis of the Seas the year before that -- he never wanted to go.

 

Having said that, as others have said, on the bigger ships like the Getaway, Breakaway and Escape there are definitely loads of family friendly activities all day long that you can do with them. And if nothing else, the splash pool area is so much fun for both ages. You can go on slides with the older one and the little one would be very happy in the splash pool all day long if necessary.

 

HTH.

Thank you very much for this info! We will be on the Jewel because it will be in Los Angeles which is only a 5 hour drive from our house in Phoenix and we can avoid airfare for 4 people. Eeek!

I think this is going to boil down to mom and dad managing our expectations of cruising with an almost 3 year old and 5 year old.

Check out my picture review of the Escape from November... sailed with my 2.5 and 6 year old girls. :) Link in my signature... any questions just ask.

First, let me say THANK YOU for the link to the review. I have been on Cruise Critic for a number of years and this is by far the best picture review I have read. You were very thorough and it was great seeing how you traveled with your girls. Second, your girls are adorable and I can tell by the many pictures they are full of spunk and are great kiddos!

As I mentioned, we are looking at cruising in November (my wife's birthday). My daughter will just have turned 5 and my son will be about two months shy of his 3rd birthday. We are going to be cruising out of Los Angeles, as it is only a 5 hour drive from our house in Phoenix. So we will be on a bit of an older ship (2005) that is smaller than the escape. I don't think that will prevent us from going but does give us some things to think about.

Ultimately, your review gave us a better idea of what our expectations should be going into the cruise. Do we expect that we will have some along adult time during the cruise? Probably not! However, if we manage to get some GREAT! Do we expect to stay up until 1am in the casino and/or dancing? Probably not! Do we expect to get to sleep in until 10am? Probably not!

All-in-all, we truly appreciate your review and it has really helped us better understand our expectations and even a few tricks to cruising with our little ones!

P.S. We are trying to talk some other friends and family to join us on the cruise. This may help us get our adult time a night or two on the cruise. ;-)

Anyone have good/bad experience sailing on NCL with young kiddos. My wife and I have done 9 cruises and we really enjoy them. We are planning to take the 2 and 5 year old in November and just curious of other cruisers experiences.

Thank you for the responses. I may have to find a way to pony up the couple hundred bucks for the balcony so we have the couch and the ceiling fold down for the kids. It's hard to believe 40 square feet on a cruise ship cabin could make such a difference. :-)

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Good Evening,

We are considering a 7-night Mexican Riviera on the Jewel in November. We want to take our two kids with us (5 year old & 2 year old). We are on a bit of a budget so will likely only be able to get an Oceanview. I noticed on the floor plans there is no couch and it states something like "added bedding for additional guests." Does anyone know what this means? Where do the additional guests sleep?

Thanks!

 

Regarding the gym, I do exercise on cruises. I've found that the gym is very quiet later in the day. Before I switched to working out at 5:00'ish, I used to go early, around 7:00 am. I always had to wait for a machine. (Elliptical, treadmill, etc.) No wait at all later in the afternoon. Hope you don't mind this unsolicited advice.

 

AWESOME advice thank you. I was planning to go earlier but maybe will do it in the afternoon after excursions. :-)

I have recently began a healthy eating and exercise regime because it was simply time to lose some weight and be healthier. I have been eating very clean and exercising every day for the last six weeks and I have proudly lost 22 pounds. Well my lovely wife and I are cruising next week for our 10th Wedding Anniversary and I do intent to have a good time, eat great food and enjoy a few cocktails. BUT I plan to workout each morning in the gym.

Here is a question I don't think I have ever seen on CC...does the gym have a scale to weigh myself? I fully expect to gain some weight on the cruise but would like to keep myself motivated by weighing myself each morning on the ship.

I am wondering the same thing. It's not like you get a discount at Lowes.

I am not sure there is a benefit for those who have the Carnival Mastercard. I choose to use an airline credit card because I fly more than I cruise.

You are correct there is no discount for purchasing at Lowes but for those who have Kroger Branded grocery stores you get fuel points for discounted fuel when purchasing gift cards (often times 2 and 4 times points). An earlier post indicated they bought $250 and had 4 times the points so they received 1000 fuel points which gave them $1 off per gallon of fuel (up to 35 gallons).

So all-in-all, I guess it is how you choose benefit when using your credit card, fuel points, etc.

Kroger is running 4X the fuel points on gift cards right now for Father's Day. Just bought $250 gift card and got 1000 fuel points which saves $1 per gallon up to 35 gallons. Also paid for it with the Capital One Venture card and received double miles too. Love those points.:)

It's by far the best deal in my opinion as well. We are going to do the same for our family Disneyland Trip in September. We booked a deal through Costco Travel but you can pay with Disney Gift Cards which they also sell at Kroger. So we are going to get a bunch of fuel points for that one!

You are basically just giving them your credit card information in advance so you don't have to do it at the port (though they may just double check the card). Or you can setup a cash account, should you choose.

Obviously I am not sure what part of the country you live in but if you live in a location with a Kroger Branded Grocery store (and fuel) you can purchase the gift cards at the store and get double fuel points.

Last week I purchased a gift card large enough to pay for our excursions, our gratuities and a small amount for on board spending. The gift card gave me over 900 fuel points which gives me $0.90 off a gallon of gas. :-) I also used my airline credit card to purchase the gift card so I will get my airline miles as well. Double Bonus! :-)

I wonder if the Facebook "in app" internet browser will work?

I can say from experience that the social does NOT include browsing and email. I upgraded from that to the mid package on the Breeze so I could do those two things.

Thank you very much!

Heald posted a message on Facebook this morning about the Social Internet Package that indicated, "along with your e mail and browsing we have Facebook / Facebook Messenger / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest / Linked In /What’s App / Snapchat"

I was under the understanding that the social internet package did not include your email/browsing.

Can someone clarify, from experience, if you do get your email as part of the social internet package.

I know some people are going to lash me seven times for "needing" to check my email on vacation but recent "political" changes in my agency/office will require that I check my email at least daily while I am gone. I normally do disconnect while gone but this time that is not going to happen.

Thanks in Advance!

Yes, Yes, Yes. Would love to see fun times and dinner menus for the 5 day eastern Caribbean. We leave on this cruise in 19 days!!!!

SOOO awesome! Now if they could cut the price of a bottle of Crown Royal! :p;)

Hi All!

My wife and I are going on the June 27th sailing on the Carnival Victory for our 10th anniversary. When we initially booked there was only one aft balcony on deck 6. I read lots of reviews about the deck 6 balconies being loud due to the lounge below them so we chose not to book that cabin.

I was looking today and several aft-extended balconies are now available on deck 7. Any pros and cons to the aft extended balconies specific to Carnival Victory? Should I change to one of these cabins? The cost is currently no more than the price we booked at.

Thanks in advance!

We are preparing to go on the Victory in June. I was reviewing the deck plans and I notice on Deck 10 Panorama there is an upstairs "lido" restaurant area. Does anyone know what is served up there? I remember a number of years ago being on a ship that had this area and Fish and Chips were served.

Does anyone know specifically what is served on the second level of the lido restaurant on the Victory?

I stand corrected and apologize. I must have missed this because I follow John very closely on Facebook and apparently missed this one. As long as the turn down service remains in tact, I am good. However, his comment about using the money for other amenities, seems strange to me. How much can a piece of chocolate actually cost, particularly at the quantities they use them? :-p

You are incorrect. They did away with the chocolates. I didn't have them on my last cruise (2 weeks ago) and John Heald confirmed it.

 

John Heald

 

We have stopped the chocolates fleet wide. We conducted several trials to determine if the chocolates left by the stateroom stewards was a treat our guests appreciated. The results indicated they have been rarely missed by our customers. Therefore, we will no longer distribute them allowing us to invest our money in amenities, products, or services that matter most to our guests. Thanks and I am here if you have any other questions.

Again, this is not accurate. John Heald posts on his Facebook page regularly(almost once a week) that this is not true. This rumor has been spread on Cruise Critic for years! And as the other people have stated above, they have had the chocolates on their pillows recently.

From what I have heard the aft extended balconies on deck 6 & 8 are fairly loud because they have common areas under/above them. I would suggest holding onto deck 7 or pack a set of ear plugs if you move. :-)

 

Nothing very official has been put out so maybe there is some uncertainty over what they can do this time. I secretly hope that she will be given some 'surprise' upgrades on top of what has been published.

This is exactly what I am hoping too! Shall we keep our fingers crossed? ;-)