Southern Caribbean from NYC in February - with children

[Allboys21]

Thank you for this feedback! I imagine the rough seas are weather dependent but that is definitely one of my hesitations. I’d love to not fly anywhere which is why we’re considering NYC, but want to make sure it’s worth it!

My mother in law did the RCL out of NYC that got stuck in the rough hurricane seas a couple of years ago in January and had to return to port. The storms on the Atlantic during winter time come out of nowhere. There is no planning and my teenagers were holding on to their dinner both from sliding around the table and then from getting sick

[ONHFamily]

My mother in law did the RCL out of NYC that got stuck in the rough hurricane seas a couple of years ago in January and had to return to port. The storms on the Atlantic during winter time come out of nowhere. There is no planning and my teenagers were holding on to their dinner both from sliding around the table and then from getting sick

 

Oh, wow! That is definitely not ideal.

[ONHFamily]

Just wanted to take the time to thank everyone for their responses! We decided on a warm port of based on everyone's input. I greatly appreciate the suggestions and sharing of your experiences.  Our family is excited for our first cruise!

[cdnsteelman]

I know I'm late to the party with this reply but our kids (now 5 and 7) have been causing with us since they were old enough to be allowed on board at 6 months. The 7 year old has 102 days at sea under her belt and her younger brother has 67. As someone mentioned earlier just being on this ship can be fascinating for kids... our two would walk / wobble around the promenade for hours with us stopping to chat with people or to play with the oversized chess set or just stare out while walking to see what they could see... they actually couldn't get enough of it. We like to spend time with our kids on vacation as well but they did like making friends at Splash as well so we'd let them weigh in on how much time they spent there. There's usually some sea day family programming (cupcake decorating, etc) that can be a lot of fun. The other thing our two really enjoy is stopping to listen to the various musical acts and having a little dance and sing along. We have found cruising to be an amazing way to spend family time and have created memories that will last a lifetime. One other tip - do Teppanyaki one night... they are great with kids and our kids LOVE the show and the food.

[ONHFamily]

17 minutes ago, cdnsteelman said:

I know I'm late to the party with this reply but our kids (now 5 and 7) have been causing with us since they were old enough to be allowed on board at 6 months. The 7 year old has 102 days at sea under her belt and her younger brother has 67. As someone mentioned earlier just being on this ship can be fascinating for kids... our two would walk / wobble around the promenade for hours with us stopping to chat with people or to play with the oversized chess set or just stare out while walking to see what they could see... they actually couldn't get enough of it. We like to spend time with our kids on vacation as well but they did like making friends at Splash as well so we'd let them weigh in on how much time they spent there. There's usually some sea day family programming (cupcake decorating, etc) that can be a lot of fun. The other thing our two really enjoy is stopping to listen to the various musical acts and having a little dance and sing along. We have found cruising to be an amazing way to spend family time and have created memories that will last a lifetime. One other tip - do Teppanyaki one night... they are great with kids and our kids LOVE the show and the food.

 

We sound like similar travelers, in terms of what they do with us on vacation! I think the kids will thoroughly enjoy it. As a side note, we did end up with a different cruise line than Norwegian (decided on Carnival) which seems to have more options for the kids, as well. And a completely different itinerary with less at sea days!  So, my original "plan" evolved but we're really excited!

[cathi007]

On 9/9/2018 at 10:07 PM, ONHFamily said:

 

Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful comments and suggestions! Yes, the reason we are considering it is mostly because the idea of NOT flying with the kids is really appealing to me 🙂 the timing (Feb) works out really well with our work and school schedules, and we are interested in trying a cruise. We are a pretty easy going family, so I agree that the kids can/will likely be entertained by being on the ship (and I am actually looking forward to that down time, when I think about it more!). However I do wonder about the potential rough seas! And if perhaps, like you said, it might be better to try a different month or different port of departure.

I have done plenty of cruises out of NY with children and never have we had an issue. We bring family games, puzzles, crayons, and some other family games. We have fun window shopping, playing games on the ship, exploring, eating, and just enjoying family time. There are lots of activities for families. This year we are doing the 14 night Escape out of NY with our grown children and our 14 month old and 3 year old grand children. I'm excited, I know the kids will have a blast. Only one cruise on the way back to NY was rough, but it wasn't that bad. Take them and enjoy, you won't regret it