Where to begin... Bit of background on our family as a reference.. We have cruised many times over the years about 12 with many different cruise lines but this was our first on Norwegian. This was our kids second cruise with the first being Disney's Magic ship. Our kids are 7 and 11 now. Our favorite part about being onboard is finding a quiet spot to soak up some rays while reading a good book and listening to our ipods. Of course this is what gets to happen when it is just my hubby and I. I was a bit apprehensive at first with taking the kids and full of lots of questions that nobody could answer: would they like the kids club and want to go, wd there be enough for them and us to do onboard at night early since they still go to bed at 9( So we can try to stick to that schedule), shore excursions for the 4 of us family friendly...

I will attempt to answer these questions and more for those traveling similar to our family!

We went down a night early and stayed at the new Best Western near the airport. They have a airport shuttle that ran 5am to midnight. Since we got in at 10pm and it was close and new we picked it. Had a bit of problem with literally being last people to board the Disney ship years back and didn't want to run the risk this time in almost missing the ship. The hotel had a great free breakfast, and only cost us $24 by taxi to get to the port. Beds comfortable and all smoke free. Read more