Question for Kerry's girls

[bhcruise]

I saw on another thread that you just finished the Med. cruise on the Jade. We are doing the exact same cruise on 1/2/2011 with a 7 yr. old and a 4 yr. old, I was curious what your experience was with the kids this time of year. How was the Jade for kids? Were there many kids on board? We previously sailed on Celebrity Millenium in the Med. in November with very few children on board, was just curious if this would be the same. Thanks for your help!

[Kerry's Girls]

I have to say, I'm a devoted Princess cruiser, but the Jade was the best ship for kids that we've been on, and the staff in the kids club was wonderful and engaged in all kinds of activities. There were always a bunch of kids in each age group in the kids club, and my twins (who turned 5 the day we embarked) met a ton of new friends from all over the world that they'll continue to keep in touch with (South Africa, Australia, Spain - and even a little girl who lives 5 min away from us!). The only day we went to the kids club when it was empty was during the port day in Malta - but my girls were happy to get to play with the staff on their own. I have no doubt you'll have a group of kids for both your children to play with on the ship - we saw lots of kids of all ages.

 

I spent countless hours doing research before we left, so I didn't expect any surprises, but amazingly the ports were even more wonderful and kid friendly than I expected. Though we had some rain in two of the ports (Rome and Malta), we remarked many times that we couldn't have imagined trying to do everything we did in the heat of the summer. The weather was perfect for all the sightseeing we did.

 

Of course, join the roll call. The roll call added so much to our cruise experience - to the point that we're all trying to figure out our next cruise together.

 

There are very few hotels in Barcelona that allow more than 3 people per room. We stayed at Hispanos Siete Suiza (lots of good reviews here and on Trip Advisor). A full apartment with kitchen, washing machine, etc., around the corner from Sagrada Familia and the metro, in an area of lots of places to eat, take aways, market, etc. (and a park across the street from Sagrada Familia where the girls could blow off steam). The metro was very easy.

 

I'll do a more thorough review of all the ports pretty soon, but we did everything on our own or with a private guide and it worked out wonderfully. I can't say enough about Moustafa Egypt tours for our overnight in Cairo (lots of people on our roll call used him for one-day tours as well). He was wonderful to work with as far as putting together a kid-friendly itinerary and when we met our guide and driver at the port, they had "goodie bags" for my girls with gifts to keep them entertained during the long drive - how thoughtful is that?

 

I would love to do the same cruise again. My favorite was Turkey where we used Ekol tours for a private tour (it's stunningly beautiful and Ephesus was like an open-air museum where the kids could play among the Roman ruins and even sit on ancient potties). One of my twins' favorite was Greece (climbing the Acropolis was the best hike ever) and the other loved Cairo, but all the stops were breathtaking and memorable. The only place we didn't get into was Malta because there was a rain storm and we were exhausted - but it looked like something out of a fairytale, so I hope to go back someday.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions you have - let me know.

 

Best,

Mia

[bhcruise]

Mia-

Thanks so much for your response, I am glad to know the Jade is nice for kids! We had such a great experience on Celebrity so I was hesitant to try NCL but it sounds like things will be great. If you don't mind me asking, what type of cabin were you in? We are booked in an AB penthouse because we are also taking my 17 yr. old brother as his 18th birthday present so I am hoping we will have enough space. Thanks again for you help, I look forward to reading your port reviews.

-Brooke

[Kerry's Girls]

That's exactly what we had - the AB Penthouse. It is the most amazing cabin and should be perfect for your needs. I'm usually a "pay only as much as I need to get on the ship" type, but this cabin was especially great for this itinerary because you could order hot breakfast to the room in the morning, which was really helpful when trying to get everyone dressed and ready for a long port day early in the morning (my twins had dinners in the room a few nights as well when they just wanted to eat and get to the kids club).

 

I'll be honest and say that except for the suite-perk of breakfast and lunch at Cagneys, which was wonderful, the food on NCL is way below Princess (and, I imagine, Celebrity), even in the pay restaurants, but everything else about the ship and the cruise was excellent.

 

Best,

Mia