We came home earlier today. Disembarking was a bit tedious due to the long lines, but we are just happy for a safe return. One thing that was a little “trippy” was that they didn’t screen our bags when we came home off the ship. We didn’t have anything illegal, but who would have known if we did? Reggie wondered aloud how well this “honor system” works. (I, on the other hand, was just glad to be back in dear NYC!)
As a family, we talked about our thoughts regarding the cruise. The kids were not very objective. When asked to share their favorite part of the trip, they still respond, “Everything!” Michael now says, “Everything, plus Daddy winning the dance competition.” (He was so proud of Reggie…especially when people came up to congratulate him at random times after his win. Sweet.) Sean is also super excited that he has a video of SpongeBob and Patrick Star playing with his binoculars and saying “Happy Birthday” to him.
Reggie was easy too. If you read this blog often, you know that he is (primarily) all about the food. The food was great and plentiful, so he was happy with the cruise. We both agree that 7 days was a bit too much for us as a family though – we could have ended it at Day 5. He also thought that the shows on “At Sea” days were too crowded. He suggested that in the future, they might want to do “tracks” for the shows, instead of a “first come, first seated” basis. (By “tracks”, he is referrng to the character cards that designated what time different cabins were scheduled for certain special events. For example, we were on the “Dora” track.)
As for me, I think that it all boils down to your personal expectations regarding how much/how little you would enjoy a cruise like this one. Personally, I really enjoyed it overall. My two major travel “things” are cleanliness and courtesy. It’s more of a feeling than anything else. Do I feel comfortable sleeping in the bed? Do I feel like the bathroom area is clean and sanitary? Do I feel like the staff is courteous and accomodating? Are my expressed needs/wants met? For all of the things that were important to me, I give this cruise two thumbs up. I want the cabin stewards to come to my house on a daily basis, because they kept our cabin up so well. Also, every single staff member that I interacted with was warm, friendly and helpful. That is very rare! Not only were they wonderful to the adults, but also to the kids. As a mom, I’m pretty certain that you have been to “kid-focused” places where the staff seemed like they could barely tolerate kids. (I have!) That was not the case here…they catered to the kids. My kids keep talking about the “washy washy, happy happy” ladies. (They sprayed sanitizer on our hands before we went into the main Garden Cafe dining area.) Also, a new little treat was left on the kids’ bed each night – sunglasses, sunscreen, a tote, binoculars, etc. – to the point that the kids were excited to come back to the room each night to see what was waiting for them. Most importantly (from a “break” view) my kids had fun each time that they went to “Kids Crew”…to the point that they were asking to go. That is amazing in and of itself…
The only thing that Norwegian could have done to make my experience better boils down to two words…advance disclosure. (Yes, the place was crowded, which lends itself to problems with wait times and such, but I expected that. It is a huge ship that holds over 2,000 people…and we went on a kids cruise during the week of school break.) What I’m referring to is disclosing hidden costs upfront. I’m “Miss Excel Sheet Budget Lady”, so I like to have a good estimate of what I’m spending on a trip before I go, so…
-Instead of “for an additional cover charge”, I would have liked to know what the additional cover charges were for the specialty restaurants. (I understand not posting that information on their main site, but it could have been supplied to cruisers once they had already booked their packages.)
-On the subject of food and drink, it would also have been good to know that soda was an additional cost. (As it was, you had to ask the bar staff on the ship for the details regarding the per person cost for unlimited soda refills.) Personally, I’m not a big soda drinker and my kids don’t need soda at all. It just would have been good to know that.
-The same principle applies to other onboard services. For example, I wanted to get a massage. I called beforehand to see how much that would be, but I was simply told that I needed to check the price onboard, since the prices were different for each ship.
Overall, I think that it would have been helpful to have access to a “for additional charges” sheet listing the various services with their specific prices before I went onboard. I wrote down everything additional that we spent and I wasn’t surprised by our final bill. I would just rather think about that type of thing beforehand. I really like to think as little as possible while vacationing…
So, would I recommend this cruise to a family? If your family is easygoing in regards to travel (for the most part) like mine…definitely. If your family leans more towards being higher maintenance / prefers luxury travel…probably not. Everything is not for everybody…and that’s totally cool/what makes the world go around.
One last thing that I wanted to write: For me, family trips are about making memories. This week was amazing in that regard. I enjoyed being disconnected for the most part (I only had 500 Internet minutes for the 7 days). We had so much fun during the “down times” – watching movies, playing games and sports and such…and I was able to see a few things that get lost in the busy nature of our life. It struck me how quickly Michael is growing up. He now prefers spending time with Reggie going to the courts and hanging out rather than staying with me. Sniff (in a good way). I already knew that Sean loved to dance, but I realized how much during this trip. We literally had to drag him off the dance floor practically every night. I will definitely be adding more dance time into his schedule!
Equally important, I was able to spend some precious “alone time” with my husband almost every day. We had a chance to catch up and dream about/plan for the future together. (On a “girly” note, it was flattering to hear my husband whistle when he saw me in a turquoise two-piece swimsuit…after two kids and almost a decade of marriage!) What the cruise gave us – chunks of uninterrupted family time – was priceless.
Admittedly, I became a bit sappy after overhearing two adults on the cruise…one was a widow and one was a widower. They were both financing their cruise with their kids with insurance money from their deceased spouses. How sad! It made me extra grateful to be spending this special time with my three guys. It also helped that the sky and the water looked different each day and each sunset was breathtakingly beautiful… even the one on a cloudy day. Yes, there were people complaining (many with legitimate concerns) but there were also many happy folks on board. You can place me squarely with the happy crowd.
(Having said that, I would not have wanted to go on this cruise with the boys without Reggie. I took both boys to breakfast one day by myself and I was done. I’m not ashamed to admit that I need my husband along for extended family outings. I’m happy to have him!)
If you have any specific questions about family cruising, feel free to ask. I’ll share my opinion based on this particular cruise…
This was a “press trip + 1″, so I only paid the normal cruise price for 2 family members (since everyone insisted on coming along).
For other takes on this cruise, please read NYCity Mama’s Experiencing the Nickelodeon All Access Cruise on Norwegian Jewel and CanCan/Mom Most Traveled’s series of posts and Momma’s Gone City’s Nickelodeon All Access posts. Of course, if you missed any of my daily recaps, you can find Days 1 -7 here.
