We have been on many cruises before with the majority being on RCL and NCL. We have done the big ships (Explorer of the Seas and the Epic) and have done the mid sized ships (Brilliance of the Seas and The NCL Sky)

This particular cruise was a booked a month before sailing which if you are driving to the port (any port) could feature the best value and price. We inquired with NCL prior to our booking whether our son would be able to participate in the 13 to 17 program. They said that it would be perfectly ok since he is with the "one month window" of being 13. We proceeded by booking two connecting ocean cabins and we sailed on the December 21st cruise out of New Orleans.

We were traveling with our soon to be 13 year old son (two weeks away) and our 14 year old daughter. As soon as we entered the ship, we proceeded to register the kids in the teens program. To our dismay, they informed us that our son would have to be place in the 10 to 12 year old program. We looked at the activities being offered for this age group and right away we knew this was not for him. Coloring Sponge Bob and wearing Paper bags outfits for "Circus nights" are not the kind of activities our son wold enjoy doing. We asked to speak to the head of the program, the cruise director, and the Cruise head. None of them had the flexibility to make an exceptions, especially when you consider the particular situation. There were lots of "we are sorry but we can't" and lot of apologies for having somebody telling us that this would be Ok. Having said that, this set the tone for the rest of the cruise. Our son ended up not going or participating in any of the activities being offered in the 10 to 12 year club. Read more