Choosing ship help

[kuku77254]

My son and I were booked on a cruise in '20 and our now stuck with FCC so we have to book something else soon. We have limited options in the schedule so there are three ships we could choose from that work for our dates. He will be 9 years old and will travel in the Haven if they changes anyones recommendations. The easiest travel for us would be on the Breakaway, the best itinerary would probably be the Encore and there is one on the Joy that would work as well. Accommodations are important to me and fun things to do on the ship are important to both of us. I'd appreciate any input on those ships because I want to make the most of what we have to choose from. I wish we could wait until '23 because there's some trips we would much rather take but don't want to lose all the money. TIA

[droundtheworld]

I would choose the Encore 100%

[NW Pacific]

Belter check latest news release from NCL about minors able to board even if vaccinated??  Very confusing, conflicting, good Luck.  Have been in Haven on Breakaway and Joy, Joy has the exceptional observation Lounge , have not had the Encore experience. 

[Sthrngary]

I will read your post as if I was either 9 years old or bringing one of my kids that was 9.  

1. Vaccine Restrictions:  As an earlier poster suggested, please double check the Vaccine Restrictions Update before booking.  
2. Choose of Ship:  All the larger ships are a great choice.  I would stay with the Encore or the Joy.  They both have Go Cart Tracks, Laser Tag, Virtual Reality.  I will be on the Joy in the Haven in 21 days.  I choose this ship for lots of reasons and one was the best use of my FCC.
3. Kids Programs: Really the same. However because of the NCL Vaccine Restrictions on Children, most of those clubs are not open because their are not children onboard.  Check they will be open prior to booking.  

Enjoy your trip and enjoy the Haven.  

 

Cruise well.

[SliderNc]

12 hours ago, kuku77254 said:

My son and I were booked on a cruise in '20 and our now stuck with FCC so we have to book something else soon. We have limited options in the schedule so there are three ships we could choose from that work for our dates. He will be 9 years old and will travel in the Haven if they changes anyones recommendations. The easiest travel for us would be on the Breakaway, the best itinerary would probably be the Encore and there is one on the Joy that would work as well. Accommodations are important to me and fun things to do on the ship are important to both of us. I'd appreciate any input on those ships because I want to make the most of what we have to choose from. I wish we could wait until '23 because there's some trips we would much rather take but don't want to lose all the money. TIA

Breakaway is a nice ship and the oldest of the three you mention.  We sailed with kids ranging in age on it to Bermuda back in 2015 and thought the ship was really nice.  My daughter was really young at the time so she spent most of her time with us vs. the children's club.  I think the Haven experience on all three will be very similar so you're probably pretty safe in that respect.  We sailed Escape in the Haven and loved it.  I think at that age, there are really good options for his age group with the kids stuff and now that the vaccine is available for the 5-12 age range, there might be more kids his age on the cruise.

 

Best of luck in your choice and with the Haven, I don't think you can go wrong.

[kuku77254]

Thanks for the input. So, leaning towards Encore but I wanted to throw one more in there. The Escape basically has the same itinerary that we prefer on Encore but is much less expensive. Is there a huge difference between the ships? I don't want to pay more but if the accommodations and ship are much nicer than I'm willing to. It is such a hard decision, I wish they would extend FCC use until 2023 because I would more inclined to throw in extra money to get what we really want, but I digress.

[The Traveling Man]

The three ships that you mention, as well as the others in the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class, are all very similar.  As noted by others, some have the race track, some have the large forward observation lounge, etc. and some don't.  You'll probably find any of them to your liking, so you may want to make your decision based upon itinerary and travel dates.  One difference with the Joy, however, which may be of importance to you, is that the Joy does not have the Mandara Spa as do the other ships in these classes.  If you enjoy spending time in the spa, sauna, steam room, etc. while on a cruise, you should not select the Joy.