Crown to Bermuda with 14 months old

[VPIcruiser]

Are we crazy? We have cruised on RCCL, Celebrity, and Princess. We loved Bermuda two years ago on the Horizon and now we are considering taking our son on his first cruise. NCL is cheaper for a toddler than the other lines and the free-style dining might work better.

 

Thanks for you feedback. I would love to hear what other families thought of their trips to Bermuda with NCL.

[WaldosPepper]

Considering that you are taking your child with you on this cruise, every aspect of the trip will be different than any cruise you've done before. This will be especially true due to the childs age, as you will not be able to take advantage of the Kid's Crew program, and will have your child with you at all times. This alone is going to result in a completely different experience across the board.

 

There are a few major plusses to chosing NCL for this voyage, IMHO. The first is Freestyle! You will not be required to dress for dinner to the same extent as on other lines, and you will not be required to adhere to a rigid dining schedule. This will allow for a much more relaxed experience for all of you. ;)

 

The other major bonus is the port of call - Bermuda. As you will not be rushing to "see as much as possible" each day, you will be afforded a much more leisurely cruising experience. Additionally, there's much less time spent "at sea" allowing much more freedom to see and do what you wish, and provide a much greater opportunity to keep your child entertained.

 

IMHO, it's a wonderful choice, and has the makings of a great "first cruise" for both parents as well as baby! :)

[McCutie]

We loved going to Bermuda with our then 8 month old.....It was on the MAjesty and we had a great time......

We are bringing her on the Dawn in APril and she will be 18 months.....Now that could be a challenge because she runs....not walks :) :)

 

Anyway....I think you will have a great time......Kids under 2 go for close to nothing and Freestlye is great.....I love the relaxed-no-set-time to do anything.....because we all know how much kids/toddlers are unpredictible....

 

Get a light weight umbrella stroller if you don't already have one....

Try to book the largest cabin you can afford...It is worth it to get a suite...The tub is great for a toddler......The concierge was terrific with all our request....

 

 

GO to the "family cruising" section of theses boards..There are tons of helpful hints and suggestions!!

 

Enjoy! :)

[VPIcruiser]

My parents decided to cruise with us to Bermuda. It will be their first cruise. I think they mainly want to go to be with their grandson.

 

Any recent Crown cruisers out there? It seems most of the posts are about the newer NCL ships.

[Jeanne S]

We took a 14 month old on Carnival Triumph to Canada and a 18th month old on the Dawn to Florida/Bahamas. I would highly recommed Bermuda for this age if what you like to do is go to the beach. St George has Tobacco aby which would be perfect. From Hamilton you can go to Horseshoe Bay which has a very nice Kids Cove. Now even KW has a beach that is perfect for toddlers - Snorkel Park.

 

The ship will be parked like a hotel for three nights which you will appreciate.

 

We are sailing on the Crown 7/2 and 8/20.

[redzz7062]

We totally loved the Crown last year. So much that we are going agin this June. We saw a few families with younger children and in my opinion the freestyle cruising was a plus for them. I mean worst case scenario and the child has a meltdown you can food fast and easy in your cabin. I also noticed the staff was very helpful and attentive to the children too.

Enjoy your cruise...

Linda

[VPIcruiser]

Thanks for the feedback. I am glad to hear the positive feedback about the Crown and cruising with toddlers.

 

Renee

[WaldosPepper]

Renee, glad you found such helpful information. ;)

 

Don't forget to come back and report all about your trip when you return! :D Your first hand experiences will help even more cruisers with questions!

[Jeanne S]

Thanks for the feedback. I am glad to hear the positive feedback about the Crown and cruising with toddlers.

 

Renee

when are you sailing?

[VPIcruiser]

We are booked on the 8/26 sailing. Did dinner work out okay with the toddler? I think it might be easier with traditional dining since you have the same wait staff every nigth.

 

Jeanne, btw, do you dress up for dinner?

[cruisingbug]

I responded to your post in the Family section but see you're here too. We're on the Crown with our then-11-month old daughter for October. We've never been on the Crown but we've sailed NCL and loved it, been to Bermuda and loved it, so it seemed a natural fit. Of course the fact that they don't charge for under 2 was nice, even if the port charges for Bermuda are so high.

 

We're taking our first vacation next week with DD so we'll see how a land vacation goes.

 

Just FYI, there's not a lot of Crown buzz around b/c she's doing South America right now, plus she's smaller so not as many people in general on her. But overall I've read positive things, you just have to be prepared that the Crown is older and smaller than the "average" ship nowadays.

[Jeanne S]

We are booked on the 8/26 sailing. Did dinner work out okay with the toddler? I think it might be easier with traditional dining since you have the same wait staff every nigth.

 

Jeanne, btw, do you dress up for dinner?

 

For the Crown? We are booked Aug 20th, so I think you are sailing the 27th? I almost booked that week but had to do the 20th.

 

When we took the 14 month old in 2002 to Canada she was an angel on Carnival and well behaved, happy and smiling in the main dining room. The staff does cater to toddlers on all cruise lines I have found.

 

In 2004 we sailed on the NCL Dawn with the now 4 year old and her almost 2 year old brother. He had difficultly and liked to throw things and the 4 year old saw what he was up to and fed off that and acted up. We were in the Venetian Main formal dining room. The kids were ok in the buffet (most of the time) and they also loved the Hibachi style Teppanyki Room, probably because they put on the show cooking the food and got you in and out fast.

 

I think you will probably do fine with the one toddler provided he is not hyperactive and generally bad in public as my niece's toddler was and is (on Stirrup Cay I was watching him while my sister watched the older sister when my niece and nephew went Parasailing. I let my eyes stray for a second and our of my side vision see him picking up a rock to throw at some one, and smiling....).

 

I dress up on every line but Norweigan after two cruises whereby we did dress up for Optional Formal night in the formal dining room and sat next to people in jeans. If they would designate one dining room as formal and enfornce it would dress up again on NCL.

 

Jeannie