CT Mommy Blog

I’m back to share more about my recent vacation aboard the Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda from New York City. In my first post I gave a brief overview of the trip, and in this post I’ll share my experience on the ship with small children.

We were a bit hesitant about cruising on Norwegian with our three small children. We realized that unlike the Disney cruise we had taken three years ago, this cruise would be more centered around adults. I wanted to make sure that there were enough kid-friendly activities to keep my little ones busy. There was also a part of me that didn’t want to go on a cruise where I would feel judged for bringing such small children.

When I was doing my research about family-friendly cruises I learned about Norwegian’s partnership with Nickelodeon. This felt like the next best thing to Disney for families with small children. It was the deciding factor in choosing to cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway. The cruise ended up being a perfect choice for families.

Splash Academy

Splash Academy is the complimentary kid’s club for children ages 3 – 12. There are activities throughout the day for children to participate in. Kids are grouped according to age. Parents can drop their children off and enjoy everything that the ship has to offer to the adult crowd. We never took advantage of the Splash Academy so I can’t personally speak to the experience. However, we did chat with some parents on the ship who had their kids enrolled and said they were having a blast.

Unlike Disney, there is no babysitting for babies younger than 36 months. Children under three can attend activities but parent supervision is required. This didn’t work for our family with twin 3-year-olds and a 14-month-old. If we sent the twins to Splash Academy we would still have to watch the baby. Plus, my shy 3-year-olds would never go alone to the activities. If we plan a return trip on the Breakaway in a few years, I’d love to take advantage of Splash Academy.

On deck 16 Forward you’ll find Splash Academy Guppies room. This room is designed for children 6-months-old to 3-years-old. It’s a small playroom filled with mats and small toys. We brought our little ones into the room a few times just for a change of scenery. I loved that it provided a safe place for babies to play that wasn’t the stateroom. Parents must remain with their children. There is no ship supervision in this room.

Kid’s Pool & Splash Pad

We spent plenty of time in the ship’s kid’s pool and splash pad. The splash pad area is decorated with oversize Sponge Bob characters, bright colors, and fake palm trees. It’s located on deck 15 next to the buffet – which makes it easy to go before or after meals. The pool is 8 inches deep with 3 mini slides. It’s meant for potty trained children only, but we were guilty of having our baby walk around in the water. Also in the area is a splash pad with sprinklers set on timers. My kids loved splashing around in the pool and going down the slides. Potty trained children can also go into the main pool located next to the kid’s pool.

TIP: Don’t forget your swim floats for non-swimmers.

This is a popular area of the ship so it is often crowded. On our first morning we were there by 8:30 am and there were already a handful of people. It continued to fill up as the morning continued. Throughout the week we found different times of day when the splash pad was empty and we took advantage of some splashing fun all to ourselves.

TIP: To avoid crowds go at odd times: before breakfast, during dinner, or when the ship is in port.

There are also five waterslides on the Breakaway. While these weren’t meant for small children, Chris and I took turns watching the kids so that the other person could go down the slides. I’ve never been on a ship with water slides so I was impressed.

Family-Friendly Activities & Entertainment

Even though the Breakaway is a geared toward adults there are still plenty activities for the whole family. Every day there is a family-friendly activity presented by the Splash Academy. We went to a make-your-own pizza party, family night deck party, and story time with Dora the Explorer.

There is also a special Nickelodeon Pajama Jam that we didn’t get to attend. Families enjoy a breakfast buffet with special appearances from their favorite Nickelodeon characters – all while wearing their PJs! There’s even an opportunity to get pictures taken with the characters. It’s $20 per person to attend.

There were fireworks on the second-to-last night of cruising. The fireworks didn’t start until 10:45 pm. They were very late for kids but we let our little ones stay up late to watch them. Afterall, it was vacation! We just dressed in our pajamas and headed to the top Haven deck to watch the fireworks.

Deck 17 is the sports deck. There is a basketball court, mini golf course, and an at-sea ropes course. The only activity that we were able to do as a family was the mini golf. At times it looked more like baseball than golf with clubs in the air, but the girls had a great time.

There is also a rock wall (open at select times) that’s located on deck 16.

TIP: There is no elevator to deck 17. You have to ask a crew member to load you onto a lift that will take you up the stairs. I found this inconvenient, especially when you just want to go for a quick peek. We carried the stroller up the stairs before we knew about the lift.

Dining

There are 7 complimentary places to eat aboard the Breakaway, as well as a number of specialty restaurants and dinner shows. To be very honest, I found the food to be the biggest disappointment of the trip. While I didn’t have anything that was “bad,” I did think the food was just so-so. I have found food on other cruise lines to be much better, especially at the specialty restaurants. With that being said, I did find all of the restaurant staff to be friendly and accommodating to my family.

We ate at 6 of the 7 complimentary restaurants, 1 specialty restaurant, and the Haven restaurant several times. Kids are welcome in every restaurant. They give each child a coloring page and crayons. I also brought along some Grab & Go Activity Kits to help them stay busy while waiting for food. The restaurants have high chairs but no booster seats which made things a little tricky for my petite toddlers. The kid’s menu in each restaurant was the same (no kid’s menu at O’Sheehan’s): hamburger/cheeseburger, chicken noodle soup, PB & J, cheese/pepperoni pizza, chicken fingers, macaroni & cheese, and hot dogs.

TIP: I brought along my own sippy cups from home since the restaurants don’t have children’s cups. I like the Take & Toss cups since there is a good chance you might forget a cup or two. They also stack nicely in your suitcase. I also took with us disposable placemats and used them on many of the casual dinner tables.

The Norwegian Breakaway ended up being the perfect choice for our family cruise. I’m so happy that I didn’t let the fear of traveling with small children stand in the way of making wonderful family memories. We proved that you can still have a fabulous vacation with small children.