A few months back we took our daughter on her first vacation. Cruising offers a fantastic vacation experience for families, and we were excited to book a ten day Caribbean cruise on Norwegian Breakaway. This magnificent ship provides an array of amenities and activities designed to cater to guests of all ages, ensuring an unforgettable voyage for everyone. For our first trip I’m so glad we choose an option that made traveling with a toddler so easy.
Booking the trip
We booked our trip through the Costco Vacation website, and while the prices booking direct were exactly the same, Costco provided a ton of perks that wouldn’t otherwise be available like a photo package and fun add-on’s like casino cash and bingo cards during the ships pay to play games. We also received both a Costco Shop card to use after the trip and as executive members at Costco the total is included towards our annual spending with them ensuring more cash back at the end of the year.
One of the great things about booking a cruise through Costco is the low price guarantee. A few months before our trip we discovered that rates had decreased a ton, so we reached out and Costco was able to coordinate upgrading us to a much larger suite for the same money as what we originally paid.
Family-Friendly Accommodations
Norwegian Breakaway offers a variety of accommodation options that are ideal for families with toddlers. Spacious and comfortable cabins provide ample room for your little one to move around freely. Some staterooms even feature connecting doors, allowing easy access between cabins for added convenience. Upon checking in the steward brought us a pack and play that fit perfectly in-between the bed and couch inside the room.
We booked Balcony Stateroom with an extra large balcony which was AMAZING for giving us the opportunity to lounge outside while the baby napped. A normal balcony only fits a table and chairs but the extra large balcony (limited number per ship) had enough space for the table and chairs as well as two full size loungers.
Activities for Toddlers
This is the one downside of booking with Norwegian. Unlike more family focused cruise lines Norwegian did not have dedicated activities for children under the age of 3. Splash Academy, the ships complimentary youth program was only for children who had been fully potty trained and babies are not allowed in pools on any cruise lines (coast guard rules). That said we still had tons to do with our active toddler and the staff made the entire trip a true joy. Each meal staff members would ensure to bring food early for the baby and would often play games with her by making puppets at the table out of napkins.
Dining with a toddler can sometimes be challenging, but Norwegian Breakaway was perfect for making sure we were covered. Our baby was welcome in all the dining rooms, including the formal dinners and kids menus and high-chairs were easily available.
There was a dedicated area for toddlers called the guppies room, but after checking it out we never returned to that space. The room was stocked with a handful of community toys, and was very small. It was better to allow our daughter to practice walking on the walking path or play with toys we brought from home in lounges or bars
Overall Experience Cruising Norwegian with a Toddler
While the trip itself was amazing, I personally wouldn’t recommend a Norwegian Cruise for a family with a child under the age of 5. I loved giving her the experience of visiting so many new countries even though she will be too little to remember. There was a significant cost to include our 13 month old on the trip, but there was virtually no reason for the cost as she ate very little and drank only milk. Overall the lack of specific activities for her made it challenging for us to do much outside of eating and drinking (not that eating and drinking isn’t a core part of the cruise experience). Next time we cruise with our daughter we’ll definitely pick a cruise line more known for their kids activities.
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