kitkat343

We sailed Cunard to Norway and then to the Caribbean from NYC over the holidays. They absolutely do not alter their dress code in Norway, although thankfully given the fact that I chase after small children they didn't say anything about my ordinary black day dress masquerading as formalwear in Norway. Nearly everyone was in fancy dresses on formal night in Norway (sometimes you'd even spot evening gowns in the buffet). On our Caribbean sailing over Christmas and New Years, there was a much higher percentage of women in evening gowns than in Norway and my 5 year old daughter loved seeing everyone else's sparkling dresses (I bought a sparkle belt to wear with my ordinary day black dress but given the fact that we had to transport Xmas presents on top of everything you normally need to bring to sail with 3 kids a formal gown wasn't happening).

As others have correctly noted, keep trying to book online. If that doesn't work, book as soon as you can access NCL's internet when you board. We were able to make all but one reservation (needed early dining for 5 people on sea days). And we were able to easily make the last reservation we needed on the ship right when we boarded. People who tried to book a few days into the cruise because they didn't understand how specialty dining worked were the only ones who really got stuck.

I would also love to see more interesting itineraries out of my home port of NY, but someone pointed out on a previous discussion of this that most people can't afford to take more than a week of vacation at a time, and that's what limits a huge percentage of cruises to 7 day itineraries from NY to Bermuda or Bahamas/Florida. I'd assume NCL has tested more frequently sailing interesting/longer itineraries and it wasn't profitable enough (they have a few two week cruises but most of all the cruise lines itineraries from NY are the same one week routes you mentioned).

I liked the Manhattan cruise terminal. There's a lot of public transportation options to the Manhattan terminal, and if you park there are walkable options that are cheaper than parking directly in the terminal. The terminal itself seemed totally fine - elevators work, there were adequate numbers of counters available). It's also pretty close to Gothem West Food Hall, the Intrepid and Dim Sum Palace. The Brooklyn terminal was a longer drive from where we live, plus there were no walkable options for parking besides the at the terminal itself. I'd far prefer the Manhattan terminal due to logistics, but as long as the terminal itself is in decent condition I couldn't care less about how old or new it is.

I go to the dollar store and buy lots of puzzles and crafts and whatever else they have on the shelves.

Their itinerary visits Geiranger, which is likely to be affected by these regulations. If at all possible, when sailing to the fjords I'd recommend visiting Olden, Flam and Geiranger (Olden will still be accessible after the 2025 regulations but Flam and Geiranger will be affected). Normally I'd tell people to sail to Norway for itinerary not cruise line, but the OP has a small child who would be eligible for drop off daycare on most RC ships, and most other cruise lines don't have any daycare for small children. We did our Norway cruise on Cunard because they were the only line that would take our 2 year old in drop off care and had both Flam and Geiranger (the Loen skylift opened the year we sailed to Norway and Olden also because a much more desirable port).

I actually forgot to mention something really important, and that is the government of Norway requires all children to be transported in car seats, and taxis on the street are unable to transport families. If you contact a taxi company ahead of time, they are required to provide car seats, but if you find yourself stuck somewhere with tired, cranky kids who don't want to walk anymore in the rain you are really stuck. We sailed from Southampton, and this happened to us in London. My kids hit their limit and were about to melt down. I hailed a cab and asked him to take me to a nearby pizza parlor. The very honest cabbie told me it was only a few blocks away and told me I could walk. I told him I completely understood but the kids were jet lagged and tired and done walking. We took the ridiculously short taxi ride and ate and the kids got a second wind and were able to tour some more. In Bergen, just hailing a cab when your kids don't want to walk anymore isn't an option (in Olden and Geiranger the tour providers who will take you to the sights will meet you near the dock and you won't need to worry about transportation). I'd recommend posting on the Baltic board, and they will hopefully be able to help you with finding places to visit and transportation for Bergen. Everyone I've ever met who's visited Norway loved Bergen, but we were unfortunately there on a day the ship employees said was the "the worst weather they'd ever seen in Bergen." Since what we wanted to see was mostly outdoors, we weren't really able to appreciate Bergen as much as most travelers. You'd need to check where you ship docks, but there is one dock that is a 10 minute walk to the funicular (half beautiful gorgeous walk, half more industrial views). At the top of the funicular was a lovely playground and some restaurants. Nearby was an amazing outdoor fish market. They had excellent heaters, so despite the rain and cold we were quite comfortable eating outdoors. The ViVite Science Center had strong reviews 6 years ago, but you'd need to arrange transportation ahead of time and your child might be too young for that (you'd need to research that since sometimes museums have stuff for smaller siblings). Your child might actually just like the public ferry (my kids loved the HOHO ferry we used in Stockholm). I also forgot to note that although the viewing platforms in Geiranger are amazing (especially on a clear day) but there are hairpin roads to reach them, and it could be a little challenging if you are prone to car sickness We didn't visit Haugesund. Here is the direct link to my review: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=616880

We did the Rodne boat in Stavanger, along with walking through the historic neighborhood. We had a 2 year old so we couldn't hike Pulpit Rock. The Rodne cruise was a very pleasant excursion, but not necessarily a must do given all the fjords you'll see elsewhere, so if your group is capable of hiking Pulpit Rock you should consider that. As noted, the Rodne cruise was very easy to reach independently and a very good choice if you don't have any other options. In Flam, I'd strongly recommend booking tickets independently for the Flam railroad. Please note that they sell out quickly so get them early. We did that in the morning and visited a goat farm in the afternoon for our kids. If you have a full day in this port, you can do the train in the morning and another excursion like the RIB boat in the afternoon.

If I've found the correct sailing in Norway, you have two very strong ports on that itinerary. I travelled to Norway with a 2 year old and a 6 year old and you can read about our private tours in my cruise review in my signature line. Both Olden and Geiranger are wonderful ports for children. Olden has the Loen Skylift, which is a gondola that takes you to the top of fjord. There's an amazing (but unsurprisingly expensive) restaurant at the top, and lovely easy hiking trails around for your to explore. You can contact Olden adventures, which runs shuttle busses to both the Loen Skylift and the Briskdal Glacier to see if you can do both. The Briskdal Glacier is a really scenic 40 minute bus ride (I think but double check the time) from Olden, and you can rent a troll car to take you most of the way to the glacier. There's a very short hike which my 2 year old made independently (I tried pushing a stroller but the ground isn't paved so it was a bit too hard for me but you might be able to push a stroller over that ground or baby wear to get to the glacier.) In Geiranger, you take a bus to various scenic viewpoints. Do be aware of the fact that the bus to the highest viewpoint is only accessible after a big annual avalanche, since it isn't safe to open the road before then (we sailed on May 18th and missed the road opening by two days; it opens between mid May and early June). If you can't get to the highest viewpoint, they usually take you to a. lovely lake where you can skip rocks. I honestly wasn't brave enough to travel with kids before the age of 2. RC has as you probably know nurseries for children under 3 on most ships, but they sometimes fill up. We sailed Cunard to Norway, and there were only about 8 kids on our sailing since it left on May 16th, which was during the British school year. British parents are heavily fined for pulling kids out of school during the school year, so very few families make that choice. Hopefully that will keep the numbers of families down on your sailing, and you will get the hours you'd like in the nursery. For future reference, Cunard and Carnival and P&O let children participate in drop off kids club programs at the age of 2. We took a 2 year old to the Panama Canal and a 3 year old to the Baltics and found those cruises to be manageable thanks to the kids club. We booked private tours in all the ports, and dropped the kids off as soon as we got back on the ship so we could rest. A lot of people told us we were nuts to take a 3 year old on a Baltic cruise, but he had a wonderful time and now we are really grateful we were able to visit St Petersburg back when it was an option. And remember Geiranger is one of the ports that is affected by the new laws requiring zero emission ships in the future, so there might be much fewer cruises there in the future. Traveling with young kids is a trip, not a relaxing vacation. We always chose interesting itineraries so at least we had something to look forward to when wrangling all the needed equipment (including god help us needing stuff to comply with Cunard's dress code). But I am really glad we've traveled with kids (plus there are no grandparents who will watch the kids so it was this or no travel).

At least for me, I find outdoor pools to often be too cold to lie down near on cruises other than Caribbean ones (or to other warm locales). We had many beautiful weather days in Norway when I sailed there in May which were lovely for walking, but not so much for putting on a bathing suit and lying near a pool, especially on a high ship deck that can be quite windy. I think the wind on the decks are why I haven't seen cruise ships repurpose that outdoor space, but if anyone has seen it they can let us know.

I haven’t sailed celebrity but on other lines if there’s an indoor pool or a pool with a retractable roof it will be busy. Otherwise people mostly stay indoors.

When I was on my honeymoon and before I had kids I met a family with three children age 8-13 at Ankgor Watt. They told me they'd been backpacking through Asia for 6 months. At the time, I thought "goodness I don't think I'd ever be able to do that." And now that I have kids I know I can't do that. But they were having a wonderful time, and hopefully so will you. One more possibility to consider - we did Stockholm entirely on our own without a tour since we wanted to see a lot of very specific things that wouldn't be on a group tour (Vasa, the open air lemur exhibit at Skansen, the Royal Armory, the hands on Viking exhibition at the history museum). I don't know anything about ShoreExcursionsGroup but if that's a standard group tour of the normal highlights of Berlin, then maybe If a private tour for just your family isn't an option, I wonder it the public transportation in Berlin is strong enough that you could tour just by yourselves so you could customize the itinerary? I haven't researched this at all, but maybe it's something to consider since your kids might not prefer a standard tour. But you can discuss all of this with them and if they support it, go for whatever you think is best since you know them best.

Smokey bandit is correct - changes are sometimes made, and it is at the discretion of the kids' club staff. If you haven't already, please double check with your 9 year old that they want to go to the younger club, as some children might prefer to be with their age group. If this is where your 9 year old wants to be, the good news is that most kids clubs are usually more flexible about letting kids drop down an age group than move up. Also, for future reference please note that when the kids clubs are emptier this is easier for them to accommodate. On longer sailings/sailings during the school year where the kids club is emptier they tend to combine the age groupings anyway, irregardless of the normal divisions. I sailed on a 10 day Panama Canal roundtrip during the school year, and there were only 9 kids aboard and they just combined all the kids all the time. For parents who want to move their children in the kids club and for parents whose children have special needs they need to discuss with the staff, I'd strongly recommend going to preregister your child. Most kids clubs have open hours before. their first session where you can go and meet the staff and discuss your child's needs. Its pretty chaotic when the kids clubs first open up, and I've seen the drop off line stop with 30 kids trying to be dropped off because one parent wanted to have a conversation with the kids club staff about moving their kid at the opening time of the first day. If you can't make it to the open house, at least wait until the lines for initial drop off period have been resolved and the kids staff aren't overwhelmed to make special requests (unless the kids club is full, in which case your kids might not get a spot if they aren't there at opening).

I took my 3 year old on a Baltic cruise, and we visited all of the major historical sites of Tallinn, Stockholm and St. Petersburg and he loved it. But we absolutely did not attempt to travel to Berlin from Warnemuende. Your children might be exceptional travelers, in which case Berlin with the 5 hour roundtrip transportation might be a good choice for your family. But my child who loved Peterhof and Catherine's palace would be utterly bored at the Berlin Wall. Talk to your kids and make sure there are things in Berlin they are excited enough to see that would justify that travel time. If they're excited to visit Berlin, go. Plenty of people told me I was nuts for taking my kid on a Baltic cruise and he had a wonderful time. But we do try to use private tours to control the itinerary, and that might be something to strongly consider if you can afford it so you can maximize your limited time in Berlin and see what your family is really interested in. Would Schwerin Castle work better for your family? My son was obsessed with trains at 3 so we visited the Mollie steam train, which was enjoyable but not a must do unless someone really loves trains (the Schwerin castle was closed on the day we were in Germany).

Our tags fell off one of our bags on our last cruise. A Cunard employee helpfully showed me the section with the unmarked luggage. It was right there, along with other bags missing ship tags so hopefully everything worked out for the person who forgot their tags on your cruise.

I'm sorry about the stress over the last minute changes since this would have been easy to organize if you'd had some notice. Dominica is really nice. Titou gourge is an amazing waterfall you swim into and a really unique experience (it's a little cold though so parents should note that it might be a bit too cold for kids!). Trafalgar Falls is also quite lovely, as are the hot springs. We actually much preferred this to St. Lucia, as the waterfalls and volcano in St. Lucia are spectacular but are an hour away from the port across very windy, hilly roads. We were there on a day that there were two ships (both NCL) and it was overwhelming for the local tour industry. St Lucia's mud baths were really crowded, so we were able to enjoy the hot springs in Dominica more even though there were multiple ships in port there but their springs were more spread out (at least at the place I went to there was a hot hot spring, a medium heat hot spring and a colder hot spring, which was nice because my kids could go in some of them). I hope you are able to find a nice tour to take you to the highlights of the island because it's really beautiful.

I sailed with 3 small children, so I didn't actually get to read any books but the library itself is a very impressive space. If you were happy on Princess and HAL, I think you'll be very happy on Cunard. I think the food is stronger on Cunard than the other lines.

Warnemund is nearly 3 hours by train to Berlin, so that's a bit more challenging dealing with luggage if you have other options. Personally there was a lot for me to see in Stockholm, so I'd chose that as an embarkation/disembarkation port if I had a lot of choices, but I think you'll find more cruises departing from Copenhagen if you are trying to see Norway. I'd go more for overall itinerary.

This was the more recent thread on this topic for the people who were unhappy a year old thread was revived if they'd rather post there:

At one point the NCL website said the guppies nursery was permanently closed, and now I don't think there is any mention of it on their website. Most newer/refurbished RC ships have fee nurseries, along with all Disney ships. Cunard and Princess let children under 3 attend the kids club with parental supervision, and 2 year olds can attend the kids club on Cunard and Carnival.

Does the infant need child care? If so, newer/refurbished RC ships have drop off nursery care for children aged 6 months- 3 years. You have to pay, and hours might be limited but that's an option. Disney also has a fee- based nursery but that's quite expensive. Cunard and Princess let children under the age of 3 go to the regular day care with parental supervision, and I think babies can go to Cunard at night for free for drop off care. Children can use the kids club at the age of 2 on Cunard and Carnival. Cunard is a very formal line, with the fewest amenities for kids but has some interesting itineraries. As far as the neurodivergent children are concerned, the kids clubs and children's areas will be much less crowded during the school year and on longer itineraries that are less likely to appeal to families. Essies mom made good points about the kids club near the bottom of this thread, and after that I posted our family's favorite itineraries (when we traveled with young kids we tried to at least pick itineraries we would enjoy so we had something to look forward to with the difficulties of traveling with kids, but you might just need to stick to a ship that will make everyone as happy as possible. Good luck!

Good luck! hope everyone is okay and that the rest of your cruise is calmer and you make your ports!

For ships sailing colder weather (Northern Europe, Alaska, leaving NYC in the winter) a retractable roof over the pool or a permanent indoor pool.

In Stavanger, you can walk around the picturesque town by yourself. We also took the Rodne cruise LindaD22 is describing. It was a very nice boat ride, but not an absolute highlight of Norway. You'd want to consider if you have enough time to visit Pulpit Rock if your traveling party is fit enough for this excursion (its not a strenuous hike, but you'd need to research whether it would be a good option for you)

Adventure was a very solid ship. We booked this cruise for the itinerary, and so we were happy with it. We didn't expect a luxury ship (and we didn't get one) but had good food, a quiet room and a good itinerary.