Just off NCL Jewel with a 1 year old.

[mymollysue]

Just Some Tips and Things I Noticed:

 

1. Bring a small stroller....the hallways are very narrow and the elevators are very crowded. The rooms are also small so an umbrella stroller makes things a bit easier.

2. High Chairs were available at all restaurants. I brought disposable table mats if there were no table cloths on the tables. They had a decent kids menu and at the buffet, they had a kids section. I always found something for my DD. She even had some of the chilled soups.

3. I brought my own sippy cups and had milk delivered to the room every morning. I had that arranged as soon as I got on the ship. They often brought me more than one milk so I stored them in the fridge. I brought my own detergent and washed the sippy cups out in the sink. At the restaurants, they filled the sippy cups with whatever I wanted.

4. There was only 1 CHANGING TABLE on the whole ship and it was located in the kids club. It took me asking 5 different people to find this out. Considering the number of infants on board, I found this to be very surprising and a bit disappointing.

5. NCL provided me with a pack'n play and put a sheet on the mattress so there is no need to bring any bedding.

6. There were kids in swim diapers in the pool. This rule was not enforced at all. We brought our own inflatable pool for the deck. Our room did not have a bathtub so we also brought a small inflatable bathtub duck for the shower.

7. Nick at Sea was adorable. I took my DD to storytime with Dora and she LOVED it! I didn't get to the other activities because they were during my DD's nap time.

8. Under 2 Zoo was pathetic. The batteries were dead in all of the toys and they had things scattered all over the floor. But my DD had a great time crawling around the room and playing. She didn't know any better but I was a bit disappointed.

9. The staff treated my DD very well. I would definitely cruise with NCL again!

[Prinycesa07]

Thank you! Going on the Jewel in October, my daughter will be 11 months then. I was going to buy a sheet for the pack n play, glad to hear i dont need to.

[DMJZA]

Thanks for the tips! I'm going on the jewel with our 21 month old twins on Sept 4 (you posted on my thread before your trip). I have a couple of questions -

 

- What did you do in port? Did you make an attempt to go to the theme parks in Orlando? Did you try a day pass at a hotel in Nassau?

- Did you attempt to take your DD to any of the shows at night, in the hopes she would fall asleep?

- How did she sleep in the room compared to at home?

- Here 's a big one - Is there any way you would be willing to post the daily activity sheets so we can do some advanced planning?

 

Thank you!

MJ

[mymollysue]

Thanks for the tips! I'm going on the jewel with our 21 month old twins on Sept 4 (you posted on my thread before your trip). I have a couple of questions -

 

- What did you do in port? Did you make an attempt to go to the theme parks in Orlando? Did you try a day pass at a hotel in Nassau?

 

Our ship docked in Orlando late due to technical issues so we ended up staying on the ship. They were offering 20% off for those going to the parks. Those that went only had 4 hours though so even then, I don't know if it was worth it.

 

In GSC, we got a clamshell and took the first tender out. The clamshell allowed us to have a place to store our things and was a little more private. My daughter loved the beach. We had lunch there that day and went back to the ship for her naptime. FYI--the clamshells are far away from the buffet. So DH and I went and brought food back to the clamshell. That was the only time we fed her with no high chair.

 

In Nassau, we walked 15 minutes to the British Colonial Hilton. We purchased day passes for $55 (and were given $30 in food/drink credit). The passes gave us food, alcohol, regular drinks, access to their beach, pool, towels, huts and non motorized water sports. The beach was quiet and we LOVED it. The grounds were beautiful. There were some kids but mostly adults. We did get our daughter to sleep in her stroller that day but it wasn't easy. We walked around the shops in the afternoon and got back on the ship by 3pm.

 

- Did you attempt to take your DD to any of the shows at night, in the hopes she would fall asleep?

 

Yes.....we tried with the 7:30 shows. She did not sleep. We passed her around from family member to family member to try and keep her entertained. The shows held her interest only for a little bit. When she started to whine, I took her out. For some nights my parents went to the early show while we put Mia to bed and then my DH and I went to the late show. I did miss a few of the shows though.

 

- How did she sleep in the room compared to at home?

 

She slept very well. She took her naps and she had no problems falling asleep at night. We were very lucky!

 

- Here 's a big one - Is there any way you would be willing to post the daily activity sheets so we can do some advanced planning?

 

I did not save my dailies but someone did email me them and I have those saved. If you send me your email, I can forward them to you. On the first day of the cruise, I did get an Under 2 Zoo schedule. I believe it is open 9am-6pm every day!

[DMJZA]

Awesome - thank you!! my email is mjviscomi at comcast dot net.

 

We were thinking of doing the British Hilton so we wouldn't have to worry about transportation - you just confirmed it's the right choice! We're still up in the air about what to do in Orlando, but I don't think I want to invest the time and money for such a short stint at the parks. We might try NASA. And we were planning on getting a clamshell, too.

 

I heard the Under 2 Zoo was pathetic - no batteries, no organization... what did you think?

 

Thanks again - look forward to receiving the dailies!! And please let me know if you think of anything else worth mentioning!

MJ

[niki1785]

Thank you for posting these tips! My DH and I are planning on taking our DS on this ship in January. I haven't been on cruise critics in a while and I forgot how helpful it is! I know you said you walked to the hotel to use their beach, if we are at a port that for some reason doesn't have a nearby hotel, how would we travel with our 10 month old? I'm not comfortable putting him in a taxi w/out a car seat, do you have any idea how this would be done? Would we just forget it and stay on the ship or walk in town?

 

Thanks!

[mymollysue]

MJ-- I emailed you the dailies...let me know you received them. They were pretty on par to what I had.

 

The Under 2 Zoo was pathetic. They had a bunch of toys scattered around and a lot of their stuff didn't have working batteries. But it was a big room and it allowed my daughter to crawl around and not get into too much trouble. As a mom, I was disappointed, but my daughter had a blast.

 

If you arrive on time in Port Canaveral, you will get a few more hours in the park. Just expect a LONG day if that is what you decide to do. The NASA excursion is long, too long to do with a toddler. If you decide to do NASA, I would try to do it on your own if possible. They have a shuttle to Cocoa Beach for $10 right outside the port and it also stops at Walmart and the mall. We were going to do that if we had arrived on time. I did hear mixed things about the beach though.

 

We LOVED the Hilton. In fact, we are going back to Nassau on a Disney Cruise and are going back there. DH and I were at Atlantis once before so there is no need to pay all that money to go again! The Hilton was awesome and so accomodating.

 

Niki--Unless you go places within walking distance, I think you are going to have a hard time. The shuttles and taxis don't have car seats. You can bring a car seat with you but that is a huge thing to have to carry around. I think your best bet is to find things close to the port. Some places have water taxis. I don't know how you feel about those. Good luck!

[mymollysue]

FYI--One more thing I forgot....the sheet on the Pack'n Play was a regular sheet and didn't stay on that well. My DD moves around a lot! It was fine for us but if you are more comfortable bringing a fitted pack'n play sheet, feel free to do so.

[niki1785]

Thanks for the info.!

 

Oh and great tip about the Pack 'n Play sheet being a regular sheet.

[dstewart1075]

Hi all! I'll be on the NCL Jewel on June 4th with my 3 year old. I've read on the Bahamas board that the Hilton isn't really for kids. Most people there are adults and they just want to relax and be free of children. Have any of you found this to be true? At this point we're considering the Sheraton.

 

Any thoughts on the Hilton and kids are greatly appreciated!:)

[imsulin]

Hi all! I'll be on the NCL Jewel on June 4th with my 3 year old. I've read on the Bahamas board that the Hilton isn't really for kids. Most people there are adults and they just want to relax and be free of children. Have any of you found this to be true? At this point we're considering the Sheraton.

 

Any thoughts on the Hilton and kids are greatly appreciated!:)

 

I've done the BCH twice....once by myself, and once with DD and SIL, and DS....who were all well into adulthood. This was in late April, 2006, on the JOS. I loved it both times! I'll be honest, though...the beach area is narrow and long going back to the hotel. It's about a 15-minute walk from the secured area off the ship. So, maybe a 30-minute walk from the ship. In 2006, we didn't see any kids at all....just adults. It might have been because Spring Break and Easter were long over. There's a small pool which we didn't use, and the snack bar food was pretty expensive, but good. So were drinks and Cokes. The sand along the beach area wasn't too pretty, but no waves and we went in anyway. It's very shallow, and you can see all the cruise ships from the beach. We did get towels and beach chairs. The restroom was a short walk through sand, up near the hotel. Old, but fairly clean. I never saw any "beach toys", but you could probably ask for some. Both times I was there were during "non-family" cruising times. (early Dec. and late April). Great weather! It's a place I personally like. I think there are excursions to prettier beaches you might like, that offer more activities for young kids. Just my thoughts!`

[june18susy]

Just Some Tips and Things I Noticed:

 

1. Bring a small stroller....the hallways are very narrow and the elevators are very crowded. The rooms are also small so an umbrella stroller makes things a bit easier.

2. High Chairs were available at all restaurants. I brought disposable table mats if there were no table cloths on the tables. They had a decent kids menu and at the buffet, they had a kids section. I always found something for my DD. She even had some of the chilled soups.

3. I brought my own sippy cups and had milk delivered to the room every morning. I had that arranged as soon as I got on the ship. They often brought me more than one milk so I stored them in the fridge. I brought my own detergent and washed the sippy cups out in the sink. At the restaurants, they filled the sippy cups with whatever I wanted.

4. There was only 1 CHANGING TABLE on the whole ship and it was located in the kids club. It took me asking 5 different people to find this out. Considering the number of infants on board, I found this to be very surprising and a bit disappointing.

5. NCL provided me with a pack'n play and put a sheet on the mattress so there is no need to bring any bedding.

6. There were kids in swim diapers in the pool. This rule was not enforced at all. We brought our own inflatable pool for the deck. Our room did not have a bathtub so we also brought a small inflatable bathtub duck for the shower.

7. Nick at Sea was adorable. I took my DD to storytime with Dora and she LOVED it! I didn't get to the other activities because they were during my DD's nap time.

8. Under 2 Zoo was pathetic. The batteries were dead in all of the toys and they had things scattered all over the floor. But my DD had a great time crawling around the room and playing. She didn't know any better but I was a bit disappointed.

9. The staff treated my DD very well. I would definitely cruise with NCL again!

 

where is the usa or canada does one find a "small inflatable duck" bathtub for the shower?

[Julienatul]

Glad you had a great time. We are sailing EPIC next year and cant wait.

[kenteecruisin]

Thank you for all the great information.

 

I have a few questions:

 

1. How did you arrange for the milk to be delivered every day to your cabin.

 

2. Re the Sheraton - How did you book the day passes & did they charge for your daughter? We are traveling with three little ones - ages 3 1/2 and 2 year old twins.

 

3. How did the blow up tub fit in the shower? We have a blow up rubber ducky that we purchased from Target & used pool side the last time we cruised with our daughter?

 

Thank you!