NCL- Nephews ages 4 and 10 1st cruise- what should we know ahead of time

[vanchelle]

Hi there- I've never visited the "family" forum before...didn't even know you were all here:)

We are bringing our nephews along with us for a 7 night Western itinerary on the Getaway this April. (Our 13 year old niece is also along with my sister on their 1st cruise in another cabin.)

 

We've cruised on NCL within the past year and CCL and HAL in years prior. I'm beginning to feel like this will be a whole different experience and I'm wondering:

What should I know ahead of time-lol and have a few questions. Any insight or answers would be greatly appreciated.

 

-I feel pretty good about packing lists-but if anyone has a "must pack" for kids, let me know.

-Cabin cards: do the kids get their own cards? Is it realistic for me to have the 10 yo carry his (Probably by lanyard) What about the 4 yo? Will they have a wristband instead?

-Soda package-so I would NOT have purchased a soda card (my fear is that the 10 yo is going to get jacked up on Mt Dew if I turn my back;) how does it work with the kids- they need their card to get the soda? Does NCL so travel mugs? I'm debating packing travel cups for them.

-kids clubs...I know we need to sign up on day 1 and that the meet and greet 1st evening is best way for them to meet others. How would the staff let me know if something was wrong with 1 of the kids? We do not plan to give the 10 yo sign out privileges as this is his 1st experience on a ship.

-if we allow the 10 yo and his older cousin to "explore" for a little bit with a meet-up time (Still on the fence with this) can we "limit" the spending on his card? Or is it an all-or-nothing set up as far as charging privileges?

-Arcades on the getaway: does anyone know if you can pre-purchase tokens or if it's all card swipes?

-life vests- I'm leaning towards packing the 4 yo's life vest...am I nuts, do they have them available anywhere or at GSC?

-we're in a balcony cabin and I've never seen the pull down in use. Does it stay open all day or get closed up?

-Do the MDR's take a reservation for 9 or would we still walk-up? (We also have a friends and her 2 kids on this cruise as well)

 

what haven't I asked that you wished you'd known before you brought your preschool and tween-aged kids onboard?

Thanks in advance-happy travels.

[Pitzel]

I will see if I can tackle some of these questions for you.

-I feel pretty good about packing lists-but if anyone has a "must pack" for kids, let me know.

 

-Cabin cards: do the kids get their own cards? Is it realistic for me to have the 10 yo carry his (Probably by lanyard) What about the 4 yo? Will they have a wristband instead?

 

-Soda package-so I would NOT have purchased a soda card (my fear is that the 10 yo is going to get jacked up on Mt Dew if I turn my back;) how does it work with the kids- they need their card to get the soda? Does NCL so travel mugs? I'm debating packing travel cups for them.

 

-kids clubs...I know we need to sign up on day 1 and that the meet and greet 1st evening is best way for them to meet others. How would the staff let me know if something was wrong with 1 of the kids? We do not plan to give the 10 yo sign out privileges as this is his 1st experience on a ship.

 

-if we allow the 10 yo and his older cousin to "explore" for a little bit with a meet-up time (Still on the fence with this) can we "limit" the spending on his card? Or is it an all-or-nothing set up as far as charging privileges?

 

-Arcades on the getaway: does anyone know if you can pre-purchase tokens or if it's all card swipes?

 

-life vests- I'm leaning towards packing the 4 yo's life vest...am I nuts, do they have them available anywhere or at GSC?

 

-we're in a balcony cabin and I've never seen the pull down in use. Does it stay open all day or get closed up?

 

-Do the MDR's take a reservation for 9 or would we still walk-up? (We also have a friends and her 2 kids on this cruise as well)

 

 

 

what haven't I asked that you wished you'd known before you brought your preschool and tween-aged kids onboard?

 

Thanks in advance-happy travels.

 

 

Is the 4 year old comfortable with "big" potties? When we sailed when my son was that age, we brought along a small toilet seat that fit on a regular toilet, as he was freaked out about falling into the toilet when he sat down. Fortunately, the kids club has child sized toilets, so the seat was only used in our cabin.

 

We also found that a nightlight and/or an LED candle was good for night times. Bring kids medicines (children's Dramamine, ibuprofen, etc.), as these are often not available on the ship or cost a small fortune. Also, a small stuffed animal or favorite blanket can making sleeping away from home a little easier.

 

Kids do get their own cards, but it is up to you on whether or not you let them carry them on their own. The 10 year old could probably use a lanyard, but it is likely that the 4 year old would never be anywhere that they would need their card without you. For both kids, you can control their charging privileges, perhaps by putting a cash deposit down on each account to use as an allowance or by restricting changing privileges totally. The arcade, like most places onboard, uses the card for purchases.

 

The card is required to purchase anything onboard, including soda. If you think the 10 year old will only get a few a day, you might control consumption through the "allowance" or tell him that he can only get sodas at meal times when you are around. If you get the soda package, it does come with a reusable plastic tumbler, though you do not need it in order to order a drink. The card will have a soda package sticker on it, which is shown to a bartender or waiter when ordering.

 

When you drop the kids off at the club, you notify them where you will be for the foreseeable future. If they need to contact you, they will try to track you down in that location (for example, if you are dining in a specialty restaurant without them, they would contact the maitre d to find you there). If you are staying in a suite, there are suite phones that you can carry with you, which makes tracking you down easier. You can also request a pager from the kids club, though quantities are limited and they may be reserved for kids with special needs.

 

GSC does have life vests to rent, but I think they are more of the "snorkel vest" type. Bring your own so that a) you don't have to pay for the rental and b) you are sure that the size will fit.

 

With the pull down beds, let your cabin steward know if you want them put away or left down during the day. I *believe* that they are out away during the day, but you can always ask for them to be left down if you need a place for napping or hanging out during the day. Conversely, if you find that they are left down and you would prefer them up, just ask!

 

As for the MDRs, you can make reservations. Just talk to the maitre d as early as you know when you want to dine.

[kitkat343]

NCL kids club has beepers, and asks all parents to list where they will be on the ship in case of emergency. You might want to call the kids club 15 minutes after drop off to check on your kid; don't go there, since your kid might want to leave when he or she sees you.

 

There will be children's life vests on the ship in case of an emergency, and you should check your cabin to make sure there are enough there (we've seen only 2 sometimes when we sail with our child, and the steward quickly brings children's life vests when we request them). If you are planning on doing water excursions, it is a good idea to bring a life vest, since our boat ride through the Rio Dulce was nearly ruined because our son didn't fit into the first life jacket they had. Fortunately, the second fit him perfectly and he was happy. A kid in a too small life vest is an unhappy kid, which makes for a tough excursion.

 

I wouldn't give a 4 year old the sail card; he or she needs it to get on and off the ship, and you don't want to find out before you leave for an excursion that it is missing. It's probably a good idea to check with the 10 year old before they go to sleep that the card isn't lost, since you don't want to scramble for it prior to excursions.

 

We've found private tours to be invaluable for our family, and give us the flexibility to stop whenever we needed for a food break and control the itinerary. You can find private tour guides on trip advisor or on the destination forums.

 

Also, please bring the small breakfast cereals or pastries with you (you aren't supposed to take fresh fruit off the ship) - when the kids get whiny on tours, you can let them pick out food and they are happier. You can store breakfast cereal and yoghurt in the cabin so you always have food for your kid.

 

Cruising is a great way to travel with kids - my son did 3 cruises between the ages of 2-3.5 (we are grounded for a little while now with a baby) and he loved all of them.

Edited January 11, 2016 by kitkat343

[vanchelle]

Thanks so much for your replies! These are helpful ideas.

 

 

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[mjkacmom]

You can only bring prepackaged food off of the ship, and you will not be given a beeper for your 10 year old. If they do activities outside of the club, like a scavenger hunt, I don't know if he can participate without sign out privileges.

[vanchelle]

You can only bring prepackaged food off of the ship, and you will not be given a beeper for your 10 year old. If they do activities outside of the club, like a scavenger hunt, I don't know if he can participate without sign out privileges.

 

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

Does anyone else have experience on the sign out privileges and scavengers hints etc?

I thought sign out meant he could leave splash academy programming after the two hour mark-hadn't even considered it would impact the splash academy led activities throughout the ship. Anyone?

 

 

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[travelhound]

Our dd is only four but has been on 5 NCL trips (4 old enough for the kids's club) so I don't know about signing out for sure, but I think you have to be older than 10 - may 12/13. You will also need to bring their cards and yours each time you check them in and out of the club. Frankly I wouldn't give either one of them the card unless it seems like the 10 year old really needs it. You need to know where the cards are for the clubs and to bring them off of the ship.

 

They do, however, have little excursions as a group outside of the club. Whenever pirate night is they usually get face painted and dress up before they march around the ship singing. They have lots of counselors watching them so I never felt as if dd would be lost during these trips. You sign up on the first night and I don't remember if there was something extra you have to sign if you don't want them to do these trips. I think sign out for leaving on your own is different than leaving the club with the group and returning to club as a group.

 

The 10 year old will probably have the opportunity to go to the sport court on certain afternoons with the group but they won't be able to leave the counselors. I don't know if there's another sign off for that. The 4 year old won't be able to do anything like that.

 

There will be a sign up time and tour that first night, usually after sailing around 4-7 or something like that. Look for it in the daily sheet and go the first night. It's the only time you will be able to go in the club. They'll get them all signed in and give them wristbands. They have to wear the wristbands when they are at the club. (You still need to bring their cards to swipe when actually visiting.) They'll tell you all about the programs, rules, hours, etc and give you schedules for each group. If you never come again it doesn't matter, but at least you'll be signed up and have what you need.

 

We've never bought the soda package because you have to drink a lot of soda per day to even break even. Do you want that much soda in a kid? Also, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think if one person in the cabin buys the soda package, everyone has to by it.

[mjkacmom]

The 10 - 12 year olds can definitely be given sign out privileges - mine always had them. For the 13+ teen club, no signing in or out - free to just come and go. If he is going to drink more than 2 sodas a day, the package is worth it (and these are just glasses, not whole cans). If you purchase on the ship, you can just purchase one package. On our last cruise, our youngest were 10, 10, and 12, and we allowed them to go to the ropes course, sports decks, arcade, etc. for a bit, and it was nice for them to have their cards on them - lanyards.

[vanchelle]

Sorry-I realized I never finished my sentence in my op:) I wouldn't normally buy the soda

package for kids (no issues with a few during day just not needing that amount of soda)....but we have UBP for the adults in cabin-hence the soda for the kids. I'm considering keeping the 10yo card just so he's not hitting up he bars for soda all day-lol

This is all helpful info guys-thanks again

 

 

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