Just off NCL... And my kids liked their clubs better!!!!!

[deanimal]

My kids (aged 5 and 7) have sailed three times on Disney but for our most recent family trip we were priced out of Disney so we decided to try Norwegian. Overall we had a great time and there were some things we liked better on Norwegian as well as others we missed from Disney. But our biggest surprise? The kids LOVED the kids clubs! When we signed them up we weren't too sure because they were quite bare and plain looking compared to Oceaneers. But the quality of the programming was amazing! The counsellor to kid ratio seemed way better and there were no screens or kids just wandering aimlessly. Every session was themed (cowboys, circus games, jungle, etc) and the area was redecorated each time. The ages were also divided into 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 which worried me initially since my almost six year old was apart from my barely seven year old a lot of the time, but in the end it was a huge plus. My super social daughter found it easy to connect with other girls her age, which never seemed to happen on Disney, and my quiet kindergartener wasn't overwhelmed by much older kids.

There were some other differences some might not like. The clubs were closed from 12-2 and 5-7 on sea days, 12-1 and 5-6 port days and you had to sign up and pay after 1030pm. This didn't affect us much since we eat all our meals together and don't stay out late. There also wasn't a lot of choice, no one activity here and another there with a bunch of kids wandering around or playing on their own. If your kid is a lone wolf type who doesn't like being told what to do it might not work. But, if your kids love group activities, being part of a team and lots of attention, it's even better than Disney. After three Disney cruises, this was the first time my kids begged to go to the clubs or didn't want to leave if I came by before closing.

So if you're considering Norwegian and worry your kids will be disappointed by the clubs, don't! I'm actually worried my kids won't want to go back to Disney!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

My kids (aged 5 and 7) have sailed three times on Disney but for our most recent family trip we were priced out of Disney so we decided to try Norwegian. Overall we had a great time and there were some things we liked better on Norwegian as well as others we missed from Disney. But our biggest surprise? The kids LOVED the kids clubs! When we signed them up we weren't too sure because they were quite bare and plain looking compared to Oceaneers. But the quality of the programming was amazing! The counsellor to kid ratio seemed way better and there were no screens or kids just wandering aimlessly. Every session was themed (cowboys, circus games, jungle, etc) and the area was redecorated each time. The ages were also divided into 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 which worried me initially since my almost six year old was apart from my barely seven year old a lot of the time, but in the end it was a huge plus. My super social daughter found it easy to connect with other girls her age, which never seemed to happen on Disney, and my quiet kindergartener wasn't overwhelmed by much older kids.

There were some other differences some might not like. The clubs were closed from 12-2 and 5-7 on sea days, 12-1 and 5-6 port days and you had to sign up and pay after 1030pm. This didn't affect us much since we eat all our meals together and don't stay out late. There also wasn't a lot of choice, no one activity here and another there with a bunch of kids wandering around or playing on their own. If your kid is a lone wolf type who doesn't like being told what to do it might not work. But, if your kids love group activities, being part of a team and lots of attention, it's even better than Disney. After three Disney cruises, this was the first time my kids begged to go to the clubs or didn't want to leave if I came by before closing.

So if you're considering Norwegian and worry your kids will be disappointed by the clubs, don't! I'm actually worried my kids won't want to go back to Disney!

Norwegian has such great deals with their Free at Sea (or something like that) promos - which ship were you on? What about other differences or things you liked more or less?

 

[tnshsms]

I'm glad to hear this because we might do NCL for Hawaii next year!

 

[minnie56]

But their ships are sooo ugly

 

[deanimal]

We were on the Breakaway out of New York. The ship was brand new and the decor was modern. It had a huge ropes course, mini golf, a rock wall and even a bungy trampoline! The main dining rooms were about on par with Disney and even though the servers always changed we felt service was just as good. We only did a couple of specialty restaurants but there was a tonne of choice. There were also five huge water slides and a kids water play area. Another plus was coffee makers in all the rooms!

There wasn't as much family entertainment. The musical "Rock of Ages" was good but definitely not family friendly and we liked the dance show but the kids were bored. We don't gamble so the noisy, crowded casino was annoying. Their private island was just okay, Castaway Cay is much nicer.

But for us the biggest plus was value. For the price of an inside on the Fantasy that week we got a one bedroom suite in the Haven with concierge service, a private pool and sun deck and loads of other amenities. We could have never afforded such luxury on Disney and it was so much fun! I still missed the Disney magic myself but my husband said "magic schmagic, this suite is magical for me"! I still love Disney, but I'm glad we tried something new.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm madly in love with dining choices and no set times. Such a breath of fresh air!

 

[Kimberly9701]

This was good to read. I looked at Norwegian for myself and 5 year old.. But really was debating between Disney and Royal Caribbean. I went Disney, but depending on the Mediterranean prices for 2017 I may choose another line. We won't utilize the kid's clubs often..my main concern is family entertainment

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I always say if you feel another line is a better fit.....best to sail with them.

AKk

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

But their ships are sooo ugly

Yeah.....I never liked the black humps and scribbling all over the bows. It looks like some kid with spray paint was set loose on the hull.


But to each thier own.

AKK

 

[KayW]

My daughter wasn't as happy with the NCL clubs. She went to have something to do, but likes Disney's better. She was almost 10 when we sailed NCL and they wouldn't let her go up to the older club so I think that was part of it. I didn't like that the clubs were closed during parts of the day. It was hard to find family activities at that time. This was on the Dawn so it didn't have the outdoor activities like the newer ships have. We picked it since we could drive to the port and it was reasonably priced, but we won't do it again.

 

[dclpluto]

That's nice keep telling everyone the more people switch maybe the price will go down a little. Need lots of more people like you.

 

[deanimal]

I always say if you feel another line is a better fit.....best to sail with them.

AKk

If only I could combine the entertainment on Disney, Castaway Cay and the classic ships with freestyle dining, more dining options and the more involved, age specific kids programming from NCL's clubs and we'd have the perfect cruise! But seriously, I'm glad I tried something new, you just never know!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

If only I could combine the entertainment on Disney, Castaway Cay and the classic ships with freestyle dining, more dining options and the more involved, age specific kids programming from NCL's clubs and we'd have the perfect cruise! But seriously, I'm glad I tried something new, you just never know!

Never hurts to try something new! In this case the new NCL clubs seems to fit your family.

We are trying celebrity in Sept 2017 (our 40th anny) to.Hawai and staying a week at Aulani.
DCL only.seems to.do.rou d trip.to.and.from Hawaii and Celebrity does a one way.

AKK

 

[deanimal]

My parents cruise a lot and Celebrity is their favourite. I love the look of the Celebrity ships that dock in Vancouver; beautiful, classic features!

 

[DnA2010]

Thanks for writing this! I don't think we will cruise till maybe next year (may just be 2018) as I'm expecting in Sept, but we are def considering NCL as those offers seem hard to beat- I can't remember if it was our cruise on the Fantasy last year or our cruise on RCL's Freedom, but we were parked next to either Breakaway/Getaway (one of the new ships with waterslides/ropes course etc) and the ship looked very fun and talking to some guests in port (who ironically had been Disney cruisers) they were loving their trip. DD will be 12-14 the next time we cruise, so will be looking more at those age groups, but we will see for sure,

 

[Winston Wolf]

But for us the biggest plus was value. For the price of an inside on the Fantasy that week we got a one bedroom suite in the Haven with concierge service, a private pool and sun deck and loads of other amenities.

We loved Breakaway, but there is no way this is true for comparable itineraries at the same time of year. Maybe an inside during peak time is the same as Haven suite in non-peak, but apples to apples, no way. Those Haven Suites are $8-9k for a family of 4 at this time of year. No way you would have that cost for an inside on DCL right now for a 7 day Bahamas cruise.

 

[Tasmen]

We are sailing on the Escape next year. I'm hoping the kid's club is as fun as the OP said. I just question some of the decisions Norwegian has made while toting the cruiseline as Family Friendly. The family pool is over 5 feet deep with no shallows. There is even a sign by it that warns pregnant women, those with heart conditions and children from swimming. That with the lack of lifeguard...

That said, still hoping to have a good time but I feel like we'll be missing Disney the whole time.

Note: this trip is for a friend's birthday otherwise we'd probably be cruising Disney again

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We are sailing on the Escape next year. I'm hoping the kid's club is as fun as the OP said. I just question some of the decisions Norwegian has made while toting the cruiseline as Family Friendly. The family pool is over 5 feet deep with no shallows. There is even a sign by it that warns pregnant women, those with heart conditions and children from swimming. That with the lack of lifeguard...

That said, still hoping to have a good time but I feel like we'll be missing Disney the whole time.

Note: this trip is for a friend's birthday otherwise we'd probably be cruising Disney again

On my first NCL cruise on the Getaway last September, on the first sea day I found myself in a moment feeling very wistful and wishing I was on a Disney ship. I put a stop to that right away, though. It was the first day of something unfamiliar to me and out of my comfort zone. I was wishing more for what I knew than anything specific to Disney. I made the conscious decision to not go there, to enjoy and make the most of everything that I was going to discover. I thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of new experiences and sought things I could really appreciate for what they were vs. what they were not.

Don't let yourself be drowned in a mindset of everything you'll miss. No other ship but a Disney ship will ever be a Disney ship. I REALLY enjoyed the Getaway. Both cruise lines have strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons. Both have a lot to offer. I would've missed so much if I'd spent that week looking for all the Disney that was never on a NCL ship.

 

[keaster]

My kids (aged 5 and 7) have sailed three times on Disney but for our most recent family trip we were priced out of Disney so we decided to try Norwegian. Overall we had a great time and there were some things we liked better on Norwegian as well as others we missed from Disney. But our biggest surprise? The kids LOVED the kids clubs! When we signed them up we weren't too sure because they were quite bare and plain looking compared to Oceaneers. But the quality of the programming was amazing! The counsellor to kid ratio seemed way better and there were no screens or kids just wandering aimlessly. Every session was themed (cowboys, circus games, jungle, etc) and the area was redecorated each time. The ages were also divided into 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 which worried me initially since my almost six year old was apart from my barely seven year old a lot of the time, but in the end it was a huge plus. My super social daughter found it easy to connect with other girls her age, which never seemed to happen on Disney, and my quiet kindergartener wasn't overwhelmed by much older kids.

There were some other differences some might not like. The clubs were closed from 12-2 and 5-7 on sea days, 12-1 and 5-6 port days and you had to sign up and pay after 1030pm. This didn't affect us much since we eat all our meals together and don't stay out late. There also wasn't a lot of choice, no one activity here and another there with a bunch of kids wandering around or playing on their own. If your kid is a lone wolf type who doesn't like being told what to do it might not work. But, if your kids love group activities, being part of a team and lots of attention, it's even better than Disney. After three Disney cruises, this was the first time my kids begged to go to the clubs or didn't want to leave if I came by before closing.

So if you're considering Norwegian and worry your kids will be disappointed by the clubs, don't! I'm actually worried my kids won't want to go back to Disney!

Bolding is mine! This is the conundrum for Disney. The Oceaner Club/Lab used to be more separated like this for age groups. But many parents complained because siblings were being separated. So DCL made them one big group and people still complain. It's a no win for DCL. But I agree, I like the age breakups like they were before.

 

[bcwife76]

For Alaska in 2018 or 2019 if we are priced out of DCL then we were going to choose NCL as our second choice. Always nice to hear opinions (good and bad) about other lines.