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According to reviews, the best NCL cruise ship is Norwegian Jewel, one of the Jewel-class ships in the fleet. She is popular more as a ship for couples than for families, and despite her age she is always well-reviewed. One of the fantastic benefits of cruising with kids are the complimentary youth programs provided on board. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Splash Academy offers supervised activities, such as scavenger hunts or arts and crafts, for kids ages 3 to 12. Entourage is the perfect solution for teens 13 to 17, as they’ll be able to hang out, play video games or have fun at the teen-only nightclub.
Best Norwegian Cruises for Families in 2024 – Complete Guide
You can also visit world-class zoos, national parks, museums, and an array of fantastic beaches ideal for sunning or surfing. There’s also an aqua park just for adults, as well as a variety of entertainment shows ranging from rock’n’roll concerts to stand-up comedy. The ship also boasts about 25 different dining options that include fan favorites from other cruisers like Cagney’s Steakhouse. Accommodation options are diverse ranging from small studio cabins to the luxe The Haven suites that give you access to a private sundeck and a 24-hour butler service.
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They range from 322 to 1,458 square feet in size and offer a separate living area, bedroom, and balcony. One of the standout options is Le Bistro, a French restaurant that offers stunning ocean views and an intimate atmosphere. This specialty restaurant can be found on most ships in the Norwegian fleet and is a great choice for a special occasion. Refurbished in 2022, the ship now features more than 16 extraordinary dining options, ensuring your taste buds are always in for a thrill. Norwegian Gem is a versatile cruise ship that offers year-round voyages to destinations like the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Mediterranean.
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That’s helped by the shorter itineraries – Norwegian Sky specialises in 3-5 day cruising. It’s a ship that is super lively, has great food and overall just feels like a classic short break cruise experience, without a load of fancy bells and whistles. Another of the popular mid-sized Gem Class ships, Norwegian Pearl scores slightly lower than her sister the Norwegian Jewel but she is still very popular among cruise passengers. While she lacks some of the exciting features of the latest ships, she still packs plenty of fun, whether that’s the bowling alley or just the decor. NCL is a cruise line that is very family-friendly, and while Norwegian Escape isn’t different, it does excel from a couples perspective too.
Best for people who love smaller ships: Norwegian Sun
The first Breakaway-class ship, Norwegian Breakaway was actually named by the public, via a contest that NCL hosted in 2011. Built by Meyer Werft in Germany, Norwegian Breakaway shares many amenities with sister ship Norwegian Getaway, such as a Geoffrey Zakarian-designed restaurant. Despite being in the same class, Norwegian Joy does stand apart in a few ways, from sister ship and predecessor Norwegian Escape. Norwegian Joy, for example, has a lower guest capacity, but also more restaurants, a larger casino and more shopping options.
These are some of the special features you'll find aboard some or all of the ships in NCL’s fleet. If you're looking for a romantic vacation, perhaps you'll want a smaller ship or a cabin in The Haven, which is a hotel-within-a-hotel concept with more personalized service. The Haven is only available on select Norwegian ships, including Encore, Viva and Prima. Other amenities of the Norwegian Pearl include a casino, a spa, seven eateries, and seven specialty restaurants, the most popular of which is Cagney’s Steakhouse.
Entertainment Options
Built partially in Mississippi and partially in Germany, Pride of America was part of a NCL effort to build and flag several cruise ships within the United States. The first of the Breakaway Plus-class ships, Norwegian Escape was likewise built by Meyer Werft in Germany. When Norwegian Escape debuted, it featured the largest water park in the entire NCL fleet. Debuting in 2022 and kicking off the Prima class, Norwegian Prima was also built at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri. Also, sailings on sister lines do not qualify for Latitude Rewards cruise points. Norwegian Cruise Line pioneered many features aboard its ships, some of which other cruise lines have imitated.
So, even if you took a cruise on Norwegian Spirit, for example, you’d still be able to take advantage of refurbishments that occurred as recently as 2020. Lastly, the oldest class for NCL is the Sun Class, which debuted in 1999 and includes Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun. For 2024, Norwegian will devote one of its biggest ships, the 3,782-passenger Norwegian Joy, to Bermuda. Norwegian's Hawaii trips take place on Norwegian's 2,150-passenger Pride of America, which has the rare distinction of being both U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed. By law, only such a vessel can cruise full-time in Hawaii without regularly traveling long distances to foreign ports.
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However, Norwegian's 10 older ships are much more modest in size, measuring around 75,000 to 94,000 tons and carrying closer to 2,000 passengers at double occupancy. For older travelers looking for a Norwegian ship that isn't filled to the gills with children, Norwegian Sun is the perfect option. Only solos staying in the solo cabins (via keycards) can access the Studio Lounge, meaning that you and your new solo friends will have the place to yourselves.
Half of those are specialty restaurants and some of the guest favorites include Le Bistro and Bier Garten. The Norwegian Star is a mid-size cruiser capable of carrying 2,348 passengers and 1,031 crew members. Accommodation options onboard include everything from small cabins to spacious suites, but without the most luxurious suites that have their own butlers. The ship’s accommodation options also underwent extensive renovations, and they now include staterooms, cabins, and villa suites. The villas can sleep up to seven passengers each, and they remain a favorite among families. She’s capable of transporting 2,376 passengers and a little over a thousand crew members, so she remains of NCL’s smaller cruisers.
While most of Norwegian's Bermuda sailings are seven nights in length, the line also sometimes offers a few shorter four- and five-night Bermuda sailings and, occasionally, a longer, nine-night Bermuda sailing. In both cases, the sailings offered are mostly seven nights in length and include a two-night stay in Bermuda. When sailing to the Caribbean, Norwegian ships generally sail out of Miami, Port Canaveral and Tampa in Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The line also offers Caribbean sailings out of Baltimore, Galveston, New Orleans, New York City and, occasionally, Panama City, Panama, and La Romana, Dominican Republic. In addition, Norwegian is particularly known for cruises to Bermuda out of Boston and New York City, and it offers Canada and New England cruises regularly.
Pricing changes over time, but the fastest "premium" service on Norwegian vessels recently was priced at $39.99 per person per day, if you bought it in advance. Norwegian also offers a less expensive plan that doesn't allow video streaming for $29.99 per person per day if purchased in advance. On Norwegian's recently built Breakaway Plus-class ships, there are up to 20 places to grab a bite, ranging from high-end French restaurants and steakhouses to casual pubs. One notable outlier among the smaller ships is the 2,186-passenger Pride of America. Sporting a patriotic U.S. theme (you'll find venues named after Thomas Jefferson and John Adams), and a distinct array of lounges and entertainment, it's the only big cruise vessel based year-round in Hawaii.
For those looking for a tropical getaway, the Caribbean is a popular destination. Norwegian Cruise Line offers a variety of itineraries that visit different islands in the region, such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, and St. Maarten. Passengers can enjoy beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and other water activities. Suites are the ultimate luxury option, offering more space and amenities than other accommodation types.
In general, Norwegian's newer ships including Norwegian Viva, Norwegian Prima and the Breakaway-class and Breakaway Plus-class vessels will be more expensive than the line's older, smaller ships. However, there are many factors that go into pricing for any given cruise, including the popularity of the specific itinerary, the time of year when the cruise is taking place and changing demand trends. Norwegian adds an automatic service charge of $20 to $25 per person, per day, to final bills, depending on your cabin category. Depending on the service you receive, you can adjust the amount up or down at the guest services desk before disembarking. In addition, a 20% gratuity is added to the bill at bars, extra-charge specialty restaurants and ship spas. Among added features, it includes a 45-minute escape room experience laced with special effects.
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