Go away from Getaway if you have small kids.

[nnc0]

This was our second cruise with NCL.

 

Family washrooms are great - always clean.

 

Food options in the Garden Cafe at all hrs were always good. Staff were great as well.

 

Room staff were great as well.

 

There is very limited onboard shopping for little kid's necessities so be forewarned.

 

Our daughter is a perfectly healthy 3 yr old - 32" tall and 33 lbs. Hasn't seen a diaper in a yr. She can swim on her own (we always stand watch though) and is fairly accomplished on the trampoline but height, weight and age restrictions prohibited her from using any of the onboard amenities for kids.

No trampoline

No rock climbing

No water slides

No Spider Web

No Ropes course

etc.

 

The pool area onboard is woefully small. (~ 16 x 32 with a big 6 ft wall separating the deeper portion from the shallower section) and there were about 30+ folks (kids and parents) using it at any given moment. It was a common complaint from others as well. Our daughter has just started to swim on her own and go underwater but the pool was essentially useless to us with all the bigger kids and the horseplay going on with limited staff supervision. By the way - for non swimming kids under 3' 6", the shallow end is deep - they won't be able to stand up in it and there are no swimming pool life jackets available so forget about smaller kids using that pool without adults right beside them. There is some shade during the day but the pool closes at 8:00 pm which was annoying - some quieter moments with my daughter would have been nice. It's a saltwater pool way by the way.

 

The toddlers aqua play area has an 8-10 inch deep fresh water pool (not saltwater) and a wet play pad area but the 2 kids slides there are broken and roped off. The surfaces have delaminated and the torn out sections would seriously injure kids. All that's really left is the play pad area with 5 or 6 water jets. It's also a terribly slippery surface that the kids were regularly slipping on and falling down on. Towards the end of the cruise it wasn't particularly busy there for obvious reasons.

 

What really ticked me off about the kids pool area was the adults escaping the noise from the bar area who sat around the surrounding wall bench with their drinks and made it difficult for little kids to climb over to get to the pool.

 

And who thought putting one of the only 2 smoking areas on the ship right beside the kids aqua play area was a good use of space when the aft end of the same deck was dead quiet and devoid of little kids?

 

Onboard events (eg pyjama jam with Dora and friends) were ok for thrilling the little kids but kind of amateurish, poorly organized and really nothing more than photo sales opportunities.

 

We missed a couple of the early Dora events due the time change we were unaware of. It was our own fault I suppose but little kids go to bed early and the staff don't advise you of the time change until late the day before and only if you pick up your mail outside the room.

 

Shore excursion options are pretty limited for 3 yr olds as well, especially if the ship diverts as ours did this past week.

 

You can visit dolphins in Nassau without restrictions. Bring a change of clothes for the return and be extremely careful boarding the tour boat to get you there. They nearly killed a young boy as he fell between the dock and the boat. He wasn't playing around - The boarding bridge just moved and he slipped off. With no bumpers between the boat and the dock it was moving a lot. We all rushed to push the boat away from the dock but I'm not sure it did much and it was just sheer luck he didn't have his neck or head crushed as they lifted him out.

 

For the other ports our cruise was diverted to stop at Jamaica and Cozumel instead of St Thomas and Tortola and our subsequent options for NCL shore excursions shrank from a limited few to near zero at the new destinations. (I think it was zero at Jamaica actually)

 

The fresh water pool and meal area at Playa Mia (Cozumel) is great for little kids. The beach - not so much. The entry slope isn't gradual and the kids can't wade in or stand in the water. Accumulated seaweed and the steep slope even precluded much opportunity for sand castle building. The free boats are well worn and tired as well. I grew up on the water, spent my youth as a lifeguard and can swim for miles in the ocean but I wouldn't touch their boats again with a 3 yr old in tow.

 

There was a club for the toddlers and in retrospect we should have used it more but when we went to register her they just weren't great on details or schedules. The kids that did participate seemed to enjoy it according to their parents.

 

All in all the cruise ship itself is fine for older kids and adults but we will wait until our daughter is significantly older, taller and heavier before we try another cruise on this ship. There are just too many dead times for the little kids. We won't be risking another late August cruise either due to threat of diversions from tropical storms.

Edited August 31, 2015 by nnc0

[mjkacmom]

All cruise ships have pretty deep pools, the more family ones have the splash areas. The kids clubs are a huge bonus - most kids love them! Being diverted due to storms is very rare, even during hurricane season. Heck, you could end up in Canada! The bigger NCL ships still have more for little ones than a lot of ships - was she big enough for the junior ropes course? It's hard to make everyone happy, and I think the newer ships are trying pretty hard (especially finding a balance with older and younger kids - the older ships don't appeal to the teens nearly as much).

[dman72]

The pool areas on the Breakaway and Getaway are similar...on the Breakaway they were very crowded on sea days, not so much evenings at sea, and empty when docked. I found in general the pool areas very slippery...my sons wore water socks luckily...the one time I went up to do the free fall slide in bare feet (can't wear water socks on it) I almost blew out my Achilles slipping down the stairs on the way down, and I saw a woman go down very hard on the stairs. The surface overall is way too slick, needs much more grit.

 

Luckily my 3 year old is tall enough to go on everything, and once he went down the slides, that's all he cared about...but there were 6 year olds on our cruise that were barely over the minimum. The minimum is 40". If your child is under that height, they may be disappointed. The free fall slides on Breakaway have a weight minimum of 100Lbs also.

Edited August 31, 2015 by dman72

[aubreyc1988]

All cruise ships have pretty deep pools, the more family ones have the splash areas. The kids clubs are a huge bonus - most kids love them! Being diverted due to storms is very rare, even during hurricane season. Heck, you could end up in Canada! The bigger NCL ships still have more for little ones than a lot of ships - was she big enough for the junior ropes course? It's hard to make everyone happy, and I think the newer ships are trying pretty hard (especially finding a balance with older and younger kids - the older ships don't appeal to the teens nearly as much).

 

I second this about being diverted - and storms can happen ANY time, and not just in hurricane season.

[abe3]

I would have to agree about the kids pool area or splash area in the breakaway and getaway. My son slipped many times, so it is very slippery but thankfully no injuries. Just have to keep them from running, which I know it is hard to do when kids are having fun in the water. I have noticed one thing is that there seemed to be 10 year old plus kids using the splash area and I am not too fond of that and they can get a little rowdy, but other than that my son had a lot of fun in the splash area.

[aubreyc1988]

 

There is very limited onboard shopping for little kid's necessities so be forewarned.

 

Our daughter is a perfectly healthy 3 yr old - 32" tall and 33 lbs. Hasn't seen a diaper in a yr. She can swim on her own (we always stand watch though) and is fairly accomplished on the trampoline but height, weight and age restrictions prohibited her from using any of the onboard amenities for kids.

No trampoline

No rock climbing

No water slides

No Spider Web

No Ropes course

etc.

 

Ok, I just have to say a few things here - were you really expecting your three year old to use the rockclimbing wall and the ropes course? Or any of these for that matter? What you allow at home is completely different from what a public place will because of liability! And I find it hard to believe that any cruiseline would let a three year old do the ropes course or rock climbing wall, but feel free to correct me if I am wrong - but three years old sounds TOO young to me

 

The pool area onboard is woefully small. (~ 16 x 32 with a big 6 ft wall separating the deeper portion from the shallower section) and there were about 30+ folks (kids and parents) using it at any given moment. It was a common complaint from others as well. Our daughter has just started to swim on her own and go underwater but the pool was essentially useless to us with all the bigger kids and the horseplay going on with limited staff supervision. By the way - for non swimming kids under 3' 6", the shallow end is deep - they won't be able to stand up in it and there are no swimming pool life jackets available so forget about smaller kids using that pool without adults right beside them. There is some shade during the day but the pool closes at 8:00 pm which was annoying - some quieter moments with my daughter would have been nice. It's a saltwater pool way by the way.

 

. While the Getaway is probably the smallest sized cruise ship pool, I think for the most part, all cruiseship pools are small, and I actually thought the kid area was well done on the Getaway. And you should ALWAYS ALWAYS be by your kid while they are wading or swimming. You can drown in the smallest amount of water, cannot remember the exact amount right now, but seriously??? And most cruiseship pools are saltwater, I've only seen maybe 1 or two ships have not salt water pools

 

 

 

Shore excursion options are pretty limited for 3 yr olds as well, especially if the ship diverts as ours did this past week.

 

I don't know exactly what sort of excursion you had in mind for your 3 year old, but I find NCL's range of excursions to be VERY good, and their prices are better than most lines. And as for the diverting of itineraries, that can't really be blamed on the cruiseline, mother nature does as she wishes

 

 

 

 

Sorry had to point out some of my thoughts here. :cool: Don't hate me.

[cb at sea]

Just so you know...ship's pools are NOT for swimming...they are for getting wet...that's about it. They are small...because they have to be...the weight of a big pool could put the ship at risk. Don't cruise to go swimming!

[fshagan]

I think three is a little young to be fully entertained on one of the mass market cruise lines; the one exception might be Disney if your little one is aware of the Disney universe. I think a few years would make a big difference for your daughter to be able to at least enjoy the vacation.

 

I have heard the complaint regarding the pool area being way too small on the -Away ships. I wasn't aware of the smoking area being next to the kid's splash area. That is obviously a huge mistake. I know that the smoking areas "move" on NCL depending on the maintenance being done. I hope the mistake was only for a brief period, but if not, I would definitely raise your concerns about this, and the slippery deck, to NCL in a letter or email.

[rstout]

I have found that the cruise lines are very restrictive when it comes to excursions for kids, so we tend to find private excursions or do something on our own. Maybe you didn't have this option if your itinerary changed, but I would look into that for future cruises. The ports of call board is very helpful.

[nnc0]

Some good comments here. I was a bit naive I suppose in my expectations for a 3 yr old.

[nnc0]

Sorry had to point out some of my thoughts here. :cool: Don't hate me.

 

Not at all. Some of your comments were pretty reasonable.

 

We prepaid for 2 more NCL cruises later on and I expect we'll take different ships and be better prepared.

 

My post was simply to meant to advise parents of toddlers of what they may come up against on the cruise. A lot of parents of 3 yrs old are a bit naive I expect. I tried to be fair to the staff and the cruise line but ultimately wanted to let the other parents like myself understand what is not said and what they may encounter on choosing Getaway so they won't be disappointed.

 

The dock incident was also pretty reckless, frightening and unforgivable. That had to be mentioned and I'll be writing to NCL about it. (My job is airline safety and the incident could have been easily avoided but people do cut corners when rushed).

[triptolemus]

I work in occupational safety. I completely agree with you about the dock incident. Totally preventable and simply should not happen. Imagine if your jetway just slipped away from the aircraft while passengers were boarding. Oopsie? I don't think so.

 

If that was an NCL sponsored deal, they need to know about it straight away. Hopefully it was addressed day-of.

[CruiseMan1970]

My 3 boys have always been bigger (taller) than their age group. Most of the time it's their age that prevents them from doing things. I remember when the middle boy finally was able to go on the rockets by himself at Disneyland. He was always tall enough but you had to be 7 and he just wouldn't lie about his age. I guess that's a good thing though.

 

and I just wanted to ask aubreyc1988.... Do they change the ships name when it goes BB.

 

12-27-2010 CCL Triumph (honeymoon!)

09-01-2012 CCL Ecstasy (B2B)

09-06-2012 CCL Ecstacy (B2B)

02-01-2013 RCI Monarch of the Seas (last minute)

 

I am the reason someone invented spellcheck though.....

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

and I just wanted to ask aubreyc1988.... Do they change the ships name when it goes BB.

 

 

 

12-27-2010 CCL Triumph (honeymoon!)

 

09-01-2012 CCL Ecstasy (B2B)

 

09-06-2012 CCL Ecstacy (B2B)

 

02-01-2013 RCI Monarch of the Seas (last minute)

 

 

 

I am the reason someone invented spellcheck though.....

 

 

Probably also have a photo in the dictionary under "smarta**"

 

:p seriously though, Ecstasy is not exactly an easily spelled word

 

I'll be sure to change it when I'm not mobile

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jenjer]

We started cruising when my kids where 4 and 6 on Disney Magic, talk about small pools, smallest ever. It was great for a few years but by 8 and 6 they and we where ready for the "big boats".

 

Was you DD not able to do the mini ropes course? Its below the big one, set off to the side that people go up.

 

The best pool for little kids I have ever seen is on RCCL Freedom of the seas. They have a HUGE splash, spray area a round pool with a current and a small normal pool. The best part is you can actually watch your kids and not be in the spray.

 

Not every boat is best for every child's age and I can see how disappointing it would be, especially if your 3 yo wanted to do all the stuff she was not allowed.

[HabsFan23]

This was our second cruise with NCL.

 

.

 

The toddlers aqua play area has an 8-10 inch deep fresh water pool (not saltwater) and a wet play pad area but the 2 kids slides there are broken and roped off. The surfaces have delaminated and the torn out sections would seriously injure kids. All that's really left is the play pad area with 5 or 6 water jets. It's also a terribly slippery surface that the kids were regularly slipping on and falling down on. Towards the end of the cruise it wasn't particularly busy there for obvious reasons.

 

 

This has got me concerned. My son is 3 and I know he can only do the little slides but now they're broken?! Were they working on them!?

[FLIP FLOP GAL]

This has got me concerned. My son is 3 and I know he can only do the little slides but now they're broken?! Were they working on them!?

 

I'm with you 100%. I'm fine with all of the other issues the OP had, I don't expect my son to be able to climb the rock wall or go down the big slides. I do, however, care about the two little slides that he can go on. How can we find out if they're going to be fixed?

[FLIP FLOP GAL]

nnc0 - As for the ropes course - was it the children's rope course that your child wasn't allowed to go on...or...the main adult's course?

[floridian1]

I am hoping someone disembarking today will let us know of they were open again. Sailing in 2 weeks.I will be pretty upset if those kiddie slides aren't open.

[floridian1]

I am hoping someone disembarking today will let us know of they were open again. Sailing in 2 weeks.I will be pretty upset if those kiddie slides aren't open.

[Jane Don]

For people with no children, it is easy to say you should or ought or might consider one thing or another. But the fact is that unless you have a monster of your own to look after 24/7, you have no idea what value a family vacation holds.

 

I think about my next vacation at least once per day. It is what gets me through the tedium of our hectic daily schedule and the moments of insanity at work. Certainly, expecting amenities to be in working order and safe is not too much for anyone to ask. I for one appreciate the heads up.

[ictcruiser]

We have two boys 2 & 4 and we love Getaway and we did our research and knew what our kids could and could not do. It's called travel planning. It's what responsible parents do! None of your points are valid had you researched your vacation and pre planned! Ncl is great at accommodating families with small kids!!!

[abe3]

Priceless!!!!!

 

 

Don't you love all the people who have never had kids tell others with kids what to do????

 

 

Don't you love people that have kids tell others that have kids to tell you how to raise them.

Edited September 6, 2015 by abe3

[janpo]

Don't you love people that have kids tell others that have kids to tell you how to raise them.

 

 

Which I did neither. Reading comprehension instead of sarcasm .

[abe3]

Which I did neither. Reading comprehension instead of sarcasm .

 

 

Do you know if motley has kids? Maybe you shouldn't criticize if you don't know.

 

Raise your kids how you want them to be raised and hopefully you raise them to be outstanding kids and then be outstanding adults.

 

Don't worry about other parents kids unless they are in harms way and don't tell someone else how to raise their kids unless they ask for your opinion. People on here and everywhere want to tell you how to raise your kids but actually don't want to handle the responsibility of raising children themselves.