Celebrity or Norwegian with kids ?

[mnsweeps]

I have a 13 year old girl and we have never been on Celebrity or Norwegian..we are thinking of taking the Alaska cruise (northbound from Vancouver) next year...any comments?

[sanger727]

The dates of the trip and ship will be big factors. During summer break there are usually more kids on board than say may. The smaller Norwegian ships have less 'activities' and would be more in line with a celebrity ship. But she would probably enjoy the shows on Norwegian more. Bliss however would be a totally different scenario.

 

 

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[ghstudio]

I would look at Royal Caribbean which is more kid friendly than Celebrity in that it has slides into the pool, rock climbing walls and similar.

 

I would put NCL at the bottom of my list....just not in the same class as Celebrity or RCL (or Princess).

[cynbar]

Go for the ship with the best itinerary, and probably consider pricing too. During the summer season, there should be enough kids on every ship to make a fun kids' program. In Alaska, it's really all about the itinerary. Unless your girl is really into activities like rock climbing, she should have a good time on whatever you choose. I am not one of those cruisers who say I wold never sail with NCL -- we have our favorite cruise lines, but try to appreciate the strengths of the line we are on.

Edited February 1, 2017 by cynbar

[pmcue]

NCL for sure, IMO.

 

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[Sandtrap328]

Take the kid on NCL, PLEASE.

[Cruise Raider]

I would look at Royal Caribbean which is more kid friendly than Celebrity in that it has slides into the pool, rock climbing walls and similar.

 

 

I was going to suggest the very same thing ... RCCL is a much better choice for kids ... it's just geared more towards families than Celebrity.

 

I've been on a few NCL cruises and have another one booked for 2018. I never saw anything wrong with them but also never saw any kids on them either.

[riclop]

I have a 13 year old girl and we have never been on Celebrity or Norwegian..we are thinking of taking the Alaska cruise (northbound from Vancouver) next year...any comments?

 

With kids NCL.

[El Crucero]

Definitely NCL!

[DrivesLikeMario]

There's much more for the kids to do on NCL and more flexible dining options.

[mnsweeps]

RCL doesn't even have JUNE 2018 Alaska itinerary listed yet. NCL and Celebrity have almost the same pricing but looks like Celebrity is geared more towards adults / seniors than kids.

[Pier290]

I've heard nothing but outstanding reviews about the Celebrity Fun Factory. ....how they cater so much to the kids because there tends to be fewer on board Celebrity. ...so they get lots of attention! I hear they have a big variety of things for them to do daily.....we are bringing our 11 and 7 yr olds for 1st time on Celebrity in April....can't wait !

 

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[dkjretired]

I've heard nothing but outstanding reviews about the Celebrity Fun Factory. ....how they cater so much to the kids because there tends to be fewer on board Celebrity. ...so they get lots of attention! I hear they have a big variety of things for them to do daily.....we are bringing our 11 and 7 yr olds for 1st time on Celebrity in April....can't wait !

 

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Celebrity has excellent children programs, there was a recent thread where many people came on and said their kids liked Celebrity better than Royal, NCL and even several said Disney. Most of the people giving negative comments have never taken their kids on Celebrity, I have. Keep in mind also that if you go to Alaska, the activities will be off the ship. I would definitely do Celebrity over NCL because of the better food and better smoking policy on Celebrity.

 

Here's a link to that thread from last week.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2443654

Edited February 2, 2017 by dkjretired

[parallax]

There is a contingent on this board who do not want any kids on a Celebrity ship and are vocal about it. For the most part, they will recommend any line other than Celebrity. Disregard the noise. Celebrity, although some individuals do not want to admit it, caters to families. We have taken my daughter several times on Celebrity and she has enjoyed it immensely.

 

Itinerary is always a key factor and what you want to do on and off a ship. We have found that Celebrity strikes a nice balance for our family. Our daughter enjoys the activities for the kids and we get to enjoy a nicer ambiance than NCL or RCCL.

[4774Papa]

We normally prefer Celebrity, but still cruise with NCL as well.

 

We did Alaska, Vancouver to Seward last September 5-12 on the NCL Sun.

 

We picked NCL for two main reasons,

1) NCL goes to Glacier Bay, which we heard was awesome, it was and we loved it.

2) NCL's pricing was better and in addition, our Daughter was able to join us in our Aft Balcony free, due to an NCL promo that 3rd and 4th in a cabin were free. With that deal, the price difference for three was better than Celebrity's price for two.

 

Over the past 6 years we have found NCL's MDR food to be not as good as Celebrity's. However, on the Sun, we found that the MDR food had improved and was not far from X's level.

[dkjretired]

Definitely NCL!

 

Not...

[boscobeans]

The differences between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean as far as service, food and almost all other factors other than ship design have slowly and almost totally disappeared. ( IMHO )

 

For kids, of pretty much any age even into adulthood, there are many more things to do on a Royal Caribbean ship. As already stated the slides, the walls, the skating and in general ships with more active things to do.

 

Depending on the child any cruise could be a blast or a disaster and the time of year, the number of others the same age and the number and type of ports are also to be considered.

 

In any case I hope you all have a great cruise and are better able to judge how to improve the experience the next time if any improvement is needed at all.

 

bosco

[mnsweeps]

One of big reasons I am leaning towards NCL is they only need a $50 deposit per guest now. Celebrity is asking $250 per guest...does Celebrity come out with offers for lesser deposit amounts?

[dkjretired]

One of big reasons I am leaning towards NCL is they only need a $50 deposit per guest now. Celebrity is asking $250 per guest...does Celebrity come out with offers for lesser deposit amounts?

 

They just had one a couple weeks ago with $25.00pp, not sure if its still in effect.