Carnival Sunshine or Norwegian Spirit for Infant?

[Rudiger Gussett]

Hi All,

 

I've got a work trip to Europe in June, and am looking to take the wife, mother-in-law and 16 month old child over with me. For the two weeks I will be taking care of work, I was going to put them on a cruise, mainly for the ease of travel without having to worry about moving luggage and checking into and out of hotels without my help.

 

I've found two options which interest, both departing for 12 nights leaving from Vienna and finishing in Barcelona. The itineraries are quite different, but the travel dates and prices are nearly identical, and both tick the box for a smattering of stops along the south of Europe with minimal sea days.

 

We've cruised before, but not with a child, so are aware of some of the limitations re; not being able to use pools and the fact it won't be quite as relaxing as without a baby (nor is the rest of our lives anymore!). My main query is to see whether anyone has an opinion about whether either Carnival or Norwegian are noticeably better or worse at providing suitable facilities/services and accomodating infants?

 

Details of the two cruises can be seen in the links below, but I'm really just interested in feedback re; infants and which would likely be better, or indeed if we should be looking at some other cruise line (don't think the budget will extend to Disney) or option.

 

Carnival http://www.*************.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=13840

Norwegian http://www.*************.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=15103

 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Have you discussed this with your wife and mother-in-law? I'm not so sure that I'd want to fly with a child from Sydney to Europe and then do a cruise. It certainly can be done and has been done but I'm not sure what the purpose of their going is if they aren't going to be with you.

 

As a parent of two children- I would not really want to do what you are proposing.

 

I've done the Norwegian Spirit and there will be nothing of real interest for a toddler onboard. The pools will be off limits because they absolutely have to be potty trained on most ships- with the exception of small baby pools on some Royal Caribbean ships and Disney ships.

 

The standard and balcony cabins on NCL are smaller than those on Carnival.

[Rudiger Gussett]

Hi Rebecca,

 

Good questions! Yes - we are aware of the implications of the long flight and the minimal services and pool restrictions for infants on most cruise lines. We're going to be spending 4 weeks in Europe all up, the 2nd half of which will be together visiting family and doing more baby-friendly activities, so the cruise will just be the gap-filler for them, and a chance for the MIL to do a whistlestop tour of Europe for the first time in her life.

 

Whilst acknowledging the restrictions, the main reason they want to cruise is that it removes the requirement for them to pack and arrange travel between cities and countries, and should leave them free to choose how much time they spend sightseeing, and how much just relaxing onboard. I've shown them all the online threads discussing the perils of cruising with an infant, but it was their preference over either staying at home, or spending a week in both Paris and London until we met up for the real holiday.

 

Thanks for the info re; comparative cabin sizes.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Now that you've explained it- I would suggest doing a different line from either of the ones you've proposed.

 

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both offer babysitting for this age. Royal has a drop off nursery on some of their vessels and Celebrity has evening babysitting upon request. I've sailed both lines in Europe and have had great experiences on both Royal and Celebrity.

 

Royal has a little baby pool on the larger ships like Independence of the Seas. They offer suites for usually a good price.

[Rudiger Gussett]

Had a look a Royal Carribean and Celebrity, as well as other noted child-friendly cruisers MSC, RUI and AIDA - but struggled to find any that matched the itinerary or the service levels (Royal C excluded). Royal Carribean did look good, but 90% of their meditteranean cruises were 7 days only and the couple of longer ones they had didn't fit our timeframe. To maximize their exposure, they really want a cruise which departs and returns at different pots, and again such cruises are scare on RC.

 

To be honest, babysitting wasn't high on their wish lists - at least not half so much as baby friendly pools. Between the two of them, they were content to take turns sitting, and with only two sea days on each itinerary, they were going to take the basic ship->city transfer option at most ports and do half day open bus/walking tours.

 

With that in mind, apart from RC and Disney, have you been on any cruises which permitted swimming for babies?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

There really aren't any pool choices beyond the baby pool on Disney ships and baby pools on some of the larger Royal ships like Independence (but not Radiance Class or Vision Class ships).

 

I like the Norwegian Spirit Itinerary. The two ports that are fantastic sail-ins are Venice and Istanbul. That itinerary has both and the price is good. I would get either two connecting cabins or a suite. The cabins are quite small and with a baby- you need extra stuff- stroller, crib (they supply this). You also have two tv's and two bathrooms.

 

I've sailed that ship and it is very casual and you can eat when you want- so don't have to do the formal dinners. There is a pub on deck 7 that we didn't even find until the end of our cruise and it is a great place for lunch with kids.

[Rudiger Gussett]

Both the itinierarys and prices appeal, but having done an almost identical itinerary to the Norwegian one with Carnival 2 years ago (Italy, Turkey, Greece, Egypt), my wife was slightly keener on the Carnival itinerary so she can visit some new places.

 

Also Carnival gets an extra 1/2 star rating overall, has slightly larger cabins in most classes and seems to rate better for "family friendly". None of those mean much either way if it was noticeably worse at catering for babies, but it's beginning to look like Disney, Royal Carribean, Celebrity, MSC, RUI and AIDA are the top picks for babies - either for availability of pools, babysitting or kids cruise free deals. Unless they decide to do a shorter cruise, the exhaustive list at vacations to go doesn't really reveal any that fit the bill perfectly.

 

Oh well, we knew there would be trade offs cruising with such a young child! Thanks for the feedback - if anyone has any other insight into options, ideas or experiences they've had cruising with infants - I'm all ears. Thanks!

[mjkacmom]

The great thing about NCL with young children is the freestyle dining. As a mom of 5, I love the fact that we can go to dinner when it's convenient for us. I've never cruised with kids younger than 4, but with NCL, if the toddler (that age is not an infant) has a meltdown at dinner, you can leave, and come back at any time. As a seasoned mom, I will say that a 16 month old is at a bad age for cruising. Non mobile babies and preschoolers are much easier. Hopefully he or she will have transitioned to one nap a day, but mine were still taking 2 at that age. Bring plenty of diapers/wipes, and sippy cups.

[Rudiger Gussett]

Yep - already on one nap per day most of the week, so I think we should be slightly better off in that regard. That said, I think you're right re; the toughness of that age bracket where they are very mobile, but just learning to communicate. Should make for an interesting trip!

 

Regrading the anytime dining, we were going to go for the set early dining option at 6pm, mainly to try and preserve some routine. As someone who's evidently done it before, do you think the anytime dining was a better option for you?

[Colorado Kat]

I would choose Carnival, and either early dining, or anytime dining. There will be 2 adults, and one baby, so the odds are good.

 

I have heard of people bringing tiny blow-up pools (maybe 24" diameter). Set up on deck in shade, toss a couple of buckets of water in, and let baby splash around. Very happy.

 

I think the cruise sounds wonderful for them.

[Rudiger Gussett]

Thanks Kat.

 

With all the concerns around travelling and cruising with one so young - I was in need of, and really appreciated your positive words! This will likely be the only opportunity for the three generations of them to go on a trip like this, so I'm hopeful that we'll be able to put together a wonderful experience for them.