Albinroo

Oh I absolutely think it is legitimate, and that once the OP realized it's not possible to leave them in club when in Port they chose another cruise. Perhaps I have less faith in some parents than you do...

Could you add some dailies, would be much appreciated. Have a great trip!

We're Swedish too! And this fall break I'm taking my oldest son (10 years) on a cruise where he'll get to decide a lot - but one day we'll be going to Pompeii since that's on my bucket list so I hope the English speaking guide and tour will be interesting for him as well. Perhaps even the best part 🙂 Veru useful to have multilingual kids, I can only hope one of them learns Spanish one day!

Yes, that is why I suggested doing things WITH their kids on or off the ship instead. As a parent of four, crusing for us is more about getting to spend quality time together when we don't have to cook or clean. Mostly we are happy when the kids are happy, and the kids being kids are usually happy with very little since the ship/port is an adventure in itself.

Yes, these days the kids club on NCL are closed during port hours. I can understand why you would have wanted to leave them there for the trip into Paris, young kids are not always entertained by long bus tours and city visits. However we have traveled with NCL with young kids several times and this has never been an issue, we found things to do together, on or off ship. Many European ports are easy to walk off, find a playground, enjoy a coffee somewhere and just walk around. It might be more fun than expected, even if you do travel on a cruise line which is open when in Port there is no guarantee that your kids will enjoy being left there .

Sounds very frustrating, glad you didn't let it ruin your trip!

I'd say NCL Breakaway because of the activities onboard, both the water slides and the high rope course. Harvest Caye is also such a wonderful private island, with lots of fun things to do for all ages.

Yes, having the kids clubs open when in port is a big draw for us to choose Princess indeed. And that sounds great about Grenada!!

Good tip, thank you!!

Thanks for your very imformative reply - both on ports and crew turnover. I am realising more and more that we will probably have a great time (because we usually do) on whatever ship we choose, and that we will probably take a few organized excursions anyway just to avoid the car seat issue. You are completely right that with such a high crew turnover things might change, and as with everything else it's subjective. We are not picky eaters so should be fine. Again, thanks for info on the ports!

Thanks for your reply, glad to hear you enjoyed it. I doubt we'll be able to get bored, the kids keep us busy!

The food issue on Jade does worry me, because you're not the first one who's said something similar! Thanks for your thoughts and assurance about Princess. How obstructed are usually the obstructed views? Has it ever been completely blocked for you?

Thank you so much for this reply, it really helps! I think in the fear of choosing the wrong cruise I forget that both will probably be right! And while we haven't sailed Princess before, we have never had any complaints about the food or service on Norwegian. Less crowded sounds tempting. I've looked around a bit now on things to do during the stops that aren't too complicated or expensive with kids, and it does really seem like NCL might have the better route. Then again, on Princess the kids club is open while in port which can be nice too. Anyway, thank you again for your detailed reply!! I am sure we will have a lovely time whichever one we end up choosing!

I saw these, they look great. We stayed in a family two bedroom on Joy a few years ago, and loved it as it allowed us to have quiet breakfasts in La Cucina. Unfortunately it's not an option for this trip, the family 2 bedrooms were more than twice the cost of getting two ocean views. I try to console myself thinking that we don't spend that much time in the cabin anyway.

Thanks for your comment, I do agree that I will need to look into each port and think on what we want to do. As for your first question, we did consider some other ships with splash parks and water slides etc that would be mroe focused on the kids, but we realized they don't really need it. While we, on the other hand, need some peace and quiet and good food and service. They won't mind if there's not man other children on board as they always have eachother and can be quite shy making new friends. I do agree Great Stirrup Cay is tempting, and thank you for tips on what to do in Curacao and St Thomas! I will look into the other stops and try to make a decision!! Th

Thanks, that's my experience too. Just curious, what did you think of your Jade cruise in general in 2017? I've only been on the breakaway class ships, and while I know the Jade is completely different- how does it compare in your opinion?

Thank you for details, we really dislike when it gets too crowded so that is really useful information. And of course the dining quality matters as well, sounds like Princess is better by all accounts there!

Thank you. Yes, I think I will need to do some research on the ports, and what is easy to do with kids there.

That's what I'm afraid of, but thought it might be better on a longer cruise? What in particular did you not enjoy on NCL Jade?

Yeah they do seem quite similar although Emerald is bigger and holds more passengers. Thanks for the advice, any specific reason why the Princess itinerary looks better?

Thanks! Why is the Princess itinerary better in your opinion?

Note: I posted this in the Princess forum also. I am stuck making the choice between these two and as my husband has given up trying to help me decide I now ask you, members of Princess and NCL forums here on cruise critic to help me out. We haven't been on either ship before, but have travelled with NCL previously and had a booked Princess cruise that was cancelled during the pandemic. Both cruises are in December, 14 days caribbean and we have not visited any of the ports before. NCL Jade stops in Key West, Great Stirrup Cay, Barbados, Aruba, St Thomas, St John, Grenada, Curacao and Puerto Plata. Emerald Princess stops in Barbados, Aruba, St Kitts, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, Trinidad and St Lucia. Which of these two itineraries is best if we want to go out and explore on our own by foot, or if necessary a short bus/taxi ride. Since we travel with kids we will mostly try to enjoy beach days and local things around the port. My first thought was to go with Princess since from what I understand they have better service and food. But my worry is that we will feel out of place since we travel with four kids, in the dining room etc. (Our kids are generally well behanved but if the two year old would make a fuss we would remove him from the dining room without hesitation). On the other hand, we don't really drink and I am worried NCL will have a part vibe - plud I've heard not so great things about the MDR in Jade. We don't really do specialty dining because of the kids. In NCL, the 5,7 and 10-year old can stay together in the kids club, but on Princess the oldest would have to be on his own - which can be a problem since our kids don't speak English that well. But their kids club looks really wonderful, and seems we can go there and stay with our 2-year old which we would love. Any advice would be much appreciated, I feel I am spending SO much time choosing between the two (same cost, two oceanview cabins) even though I am prety sure we would have a great time on both. We are pretty easy to please, but they are scheduled for Aruba the same day and I don't want to stand on one ship wishing I was on the other!

I am stuck making the choice between these two and as my husband has given up trying to help me decide I now ask you, members of Princess and NCL forums here on cruise critic to help me out. We haven't been on either ship before, but have travelled with NCL previously and had a booked Princess cruise that was cancelled during the pandemic. Both cruises are in December, 14 days caribbean and we have not visited any of the ports before. NCL Jade stops in Key West, Great Stirrup Cay, Barbados, Aruba, St Thomas, St John, Grenada, Curacao and Puerto Plata. Emerald Princess stops in Barbados, Aruba, St Kitts, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, Trinidad and St Lucia. Which of these two itineraries is best if we want to go out and explore on our own by foot, or if necessary a short bus/taxi ride. Since we travel with kids we will mostly try to enjoy beach days and local things around the port. My first thought was to go with Princess since from what I understand they have better service and food. But my worry is that we will feel out of place since we travel with four kids, in the dining room etc. (Our kids are generally well behanved but if the two year old would make a fuss we would remove him from the dining room without hesitation). On the other hand, we don't really drink and I am worried NCL will have a part vibe - plud I've heard not so great things about the MDR in Jade. We don't really do specialty dining because of the kids. In NCL, the 5,7 and 10-year old can stay together in the kids club, but on Princess the oldest would have to be on his own - which can be a problem since our kids don't speak English that well. But their kids club looks really wonderful, and seems we can go there and stay with our 2-year old which we would love. Any advice would be much appreciated, I feel I am spending SO much time choosing between the two (same cost, two oceanview cabins) even though I am prety sure we would have a great time on both. We are pretty easy to please, but they are scheduled for Aruba the same day and I don't want to stand on one ship wishing I was on the other!

Looking into a cruise on princess with a 2 year old. We've never cruised princess but from what I understand parents used to be able to join their kids in the kids club, so that kids too young for drop off could have somewhere to play. And then during covid it seemed they changed this and I am wondering if anyone has been on recently and seen if this is possible? I know there are very limited options for very young kids on princess, so being able to do some parent-kid play time in the kids club would be crucial. We are choosing between Caribbean Princess and Emerald Princess.

I would say the two things that affect number of kids on a cruise is a)school holidays and b)length of cruise. Even on the more family oriented cruise lines there are much fewer kids on longer sailings that aren't over Christmas, Easter or summer. And I say this as someone who cruises with kids, because mine prefer when there are not too many other kids onboard.