First time cruise...not sure which to choose

[ohboy2011]

Hi there :)

 

I am trying to decide between 2 cruises for our first cruise next Christmas. We're in our early 40's & will be taking our youngest who will have just turned 3.

 

The two I'm deciding between are a 7 day Caribbean on the NCL Jewel in a haven 2 br family villa, & a 15 day Hawaiian on the Caribbean Princess in a mini suite. The prices are close, about $1000 more for the Hawaiian one.

 

My questions/concerns are....is it silly to think we should try 15 days for our first time cruising, & with a very busy 3 yr old boy?? We've always wanted to go to Hawaii though, so that would be amazing. I don't know much about that ship though, as far as activities and such for a toddler. The Jewel would be shorter, and we'd have more cabin space, & I'm guessing more for the little guy to do?

 

But then I think that for the same price basically we could go for twice as long to somewhere we've always wanted to.....decisions decisions!

 

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions to share with a rookie to this?

 

Thanks so much :)

Andrea

[flhokie]

If your son will definitely be potty trained I'd say go for Hawaii. The reason I said that is he must be potty trained to use the pools & participate in the kids club. There will be quite a a few sea days in a row so both those things would be very helpful options for a busy 3 year old.

[katyjeka]

Our first cruise was a 12 night on NCL Dawn. We had 3 kids with us, one was 2. We fell in love with cruising, as did our 4 dd's. We will only do cruises 10 days or longer as we enjoy the sea days. So no, I don't think a long cruise is crazy for your first cruise. Have fun choosing.

[Lerin]

As long as your son is 3 and able to participate in kid club, I'd do Hawai'i.

 

When he's older and in school, a 15 day cruise will be much more difficult for all of you. ;) You can do the 7 day then.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hi there :)

 

I am trying to decide between 2 cruises for our first cruise next Christmas. We're in our early 40's & will be taking our youngest who will have just turned 3.

 

The two I'm deciding between are a 7 day Caribbean on the NCL Jewel in a haven 2 br family villa, & a 15 day Hawaiian on the Caribbean Princess in a mini suite. The prices are close, about $1000 more for the Hawaiian one.

 

My questions/concerns are....is it silly to think we should try 15 days for our first time cruising, & with a very busy 3 yr old boy?? We've always wanted to go to Hawaii though, so that would be amazing. I don't know much about that ship though, as far as activities and such for a toddler. The Jewel would be shorter, and we'd have more cabin space, & I'm guessing more for the little guy to do?

 

But then I think that for the same price basically we could go for twice as long to somewhere we've always wanted to.....decisions decisions!

 

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions to share with a rookie to this?

 

Thanks so much :)

Andrea

 

The Caribbean Princess does not do the Hawaiian cruises. It's over on the Atlantic side. Next holiday season, the Star Princess will be going SF-Hawaii and the Grand Princess LA-Hawaii.

 

Our last three cruises have been the RTs out of LA to Hawaii on Princess (Island, Golden, Golden) so you can probably guess we love this itinerary.:)

 

I wouldn't recommend this cruise for first timers as it tends to involve a lot of sea motion as well if you're not sure about cruises, it's better to do a shorter one. But once you've become addicted to cruises (like many of us have), this is a great cruise to book. There's a duo who perform just about every day the most wonderful Hawaiian songs, as well as teach uke and hula classes (right now they're on the Star, the current LA ship, but they won't know for a few months which ship they'll be on for the next season). They also give talks about Hawaii too. The SF ship recently hired a similar couple to start up a similar cultural program on board.

 

Have you considered another Princess ship? Your little one will enjoy the kids' program (Pelicans for that age group). There will be all sorts of holiday-oriented activities. You won't have to pay another extra to get a great meal (which is not what I've heard about NCL -- many of the dining venues have an extra charge). There are specialty restaurants on Princess ships, but so many non-charge options including the International Cafe (which isn't an enclosed eatery, but display cases of yummies if you just want a light meal or snack, or a delicious dessert).

 

There will be at least one kids' dinner (you drop your child off at the Horizon Court, the buffet, for a "private party" and the two of you can enjoy a dinner on your own). There's kidsitting for a small fee post 10-pm, but other than that, I don't recall any special costs for the kids' program (I recently looked at the NCL website to answer a question someone had about the kids' program on that line, and saw all sorts of fees imposed on parents).

 

And for the holidays, all of the Princess ships are decorated to the hilt. The officers will have a caroling session on the 24th or 25th with "snow" falling down on them. There's Santa giving out gifts to the kids. There will be all sorts of holiday movies playing on the Movies Under the Stars screen and on the in-room TV (last December, I was watching Elf during the day on the MUTS screen). And one day, after taking Leialoha's Hula class, I went up to grab lunch by the pool, including some of the tropical fruit from that day's special dessert buffet, and then head to the Princess Theater to catch the second half of "The Hunger Games" in an ironic sense.

 

I think many of the lines do have Caribbean cruises at that time of year, so not sure why you picked just one ship.

[mjkacmom]

Have you considered another Princess ship? Your little one will enjoy the kids' program (Pelicans for that age group). There will be all sorts of holiday-oriented activities. You won't have to pay another extra to get a great meal (which is not what I've heard about NCL -- many of the dining venues have an extra charge). There are specialty restaurants on Princess ships' date=' but so many non-charge options including the International Cafe (which isn't an enclosed eatery, but display cases of yummies if you just want a light meal or snack, or a delicious dessert).

.[/quote']

 

NCL has many free venues - from two MDR's, the buffet, Blue Lagoon (comfort food 24 hours), pool deck bbq's every day, room service... And the food is fine! They also have relatively inexpensive fee based dining rooms ($15 - $30 pp) that are very good to excellent. And the best part, especially with children, is that you don't have a dining time. Kids are hungry - go eat. Kids fussy - wait. Actually, NCL does suites better than any comparable line. Not only are they huge (expecially that 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom), but you can have any menu item on the ship delivered to your stateroom, and served to you by your butler, any time you would like (one of the many perks, along with priority boarding and disembarkment, reserved seating at shows, private restaurant just for suites, concierge service...).

 

The kids clubs are great, plus you have the Nick characters - slime time live shows and parties by the pool, character breakfasts, character meets... We loved the Jewel (recently got off of the Breakaway). The buffet has an area for the toddler/preschool crowd with lower tables, and a low buffet serving area.

[ohboy2011]

Thank you all for your thoughts! I picked the Jewel because of the 2 br suite being the most reasonably priced :)

I am second guessing 15 days for our first time, even though I know it would probably be amazing. I don't want to over do it & spoil the experience & not want to go again, so am leaning to doing a 7 day for our first one....plus, I really like the idea of the space of a suite so our little guy can have his own room to sleep & we can have our "space" :)

Thanks everyone! :)

Andrea

[katyjeka]

You will love NCL and the suite. It's fantastic, as are all the perks that go with it. The master bathroom is AMAZING. By far the nicest we've ever seen on our travels. Have fun.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Do Hawaii. Once your child starts school, it will be more difficult to travel during the school year. These Hawaii cruise are mostly in the winter months when school is in session.

 

There will be very few children on a 15 day cruise and few young couples because of the length of the cruise. I imagine there will be very few children in the youth program. There will be counselors though and they take great care of the kids and will make it fun- even if he is the only child.

 

I love the Princess ships and have booked a 25 day with my son, who is home schooled. I doubt there will be any children on that one! We will make our own fun.

 

The pools are excellent on Princess and I love the outdoor movie theater.

 

In the end follow your heart. Princess is a bit more upscale than NCL.

Edited January 1, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[katyjeka]

I would say Celebrity is more upscale than NCL, but not Princess. I understand its a matter of opinion, but based on our experiences I'd say they offer basically the same product. Years ago, yes, but NCL has come along way. I don't believe ncl suite perks can beat, and we just love the overall feel with them. I do respect your opinion and agree that Princess is a nice line, one we'd be happy to take again.