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| You are here: Home Articles Norwegian Dawn 2004 | ||
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 Cruising with Kids
By Katrina Hayday Wester As many of you know we recently completed a fabulous cruise aboard the Norwegian Dawn. You can read all about our adventures!
The ships itinerary was fairly simple, a day at sea, Port Canaveral, Miami, Great Stirrup Cay, Nassau, and a day and a half at sea back to New York. You can click on each one to read about those particular days and see pictures. We are big fans of the Caribbean so this itinerary wasn't really about the beach. This trip was a vacation and for the kids to see Disney World.
The Kids Crew area was great and our kids couldn't wait to get in there. Although the ship was teeming with children, over 300 during our cruise, we were informed that it wasn't that many - a typical cruise when school is out can see over 1,000 kids. It's a good thing they like them and are prepared to take care of them!
There's so much to do on a cruise ship that it's really difficult to summarize in one article, but here are some of the things I did do. I visited the Spa where I enjoyed my Mother's Day present - a facial and it was worth every penny. I almost kept my promise to myself and worked out five out of the seven days in the gym. And yes, we played in the casino. I'll admit it I love to gamble. My husband and I played in the blackjack tournament, I was eliminated in the first round, but my husband made it to the finals, but then they had a technicality and had to run a play off where he was eliminated, but it was fun. Also, we left a tiny bit ahead of the casino, which is always a treat! If I could cruise every year I would. This was our second cruise on Norwegian cruise lines and it didn't disappoint. If you are thinking about a cruise and have questions feel free to email me. Do you have a cruise story you'd like to share? Send it in!
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This cruise was a little unique for us since it departed out of New York. Our last cruise, about two years ago, we left out of Puerto Rico and we cruised with my parents, sister and her daughter. This year, my son was already complaining that the "cruise wouldn't be any fun without Granddad!" The nice thing we were able to remind him was that since we were going to Miami on this cruise he would have a day with Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue -
two of his other grandparents. (Our kids our lucky enough to have 6 grandparents.) 
Cruising to the uninitiated can be a little daunting at first. Some people are concerned about seasickness, claustrophobia, others the Titanic. But let me tell you this, the Norwegian Dawn which carries over 2,200 passengers and over 1,100 crew is like a moving city. It barely rocks. It's so solid in fact that on occasion we'd forget we were on a ship. It has a grand atrium in the center of the ship which holds it's reception
area and is pictured on the left. The ship also boasts 10 restaurants, a spa, fitness center, several pools and hot tubs, basketball court, theater and more! Needless to say we were always trying to find things and half the time we couldn't figure out which was forward and which was aft. We were constantly looking at the ocean to see which direction we were traveling in to figure out which way to head next!)
)
People associate cruising with eating and there is never a shortage of food on this ship. Freestyle cruising is perfect for people traveling with children it gives you the opportunity to eat when you like. Most evenings we fed our kids first at a restaurant of their choice - usually the Kids Cafe within the Garden Cafe, which had Chicken Nuggets, Pasta or Hot Dogs - every kids staple. Then our kids would head off to Kids Crew to play with their
friends. Once they were safely logged in at Kids Crew my husband and I would enjoy a quiet dinner in one of the specialty restaurants. We ate in all of the specialty restaurants that include Cagney's (a steakhouse), Bamboo (Asian), and Le Bistro (French). Although you have to pay a surcharge, for us it was well worth it. My favorite was Bamboo, but I think my husband enjoyed Le
Bistro best. We took our kids to Bamboo twice because they loved the Teppanyaki. The chefs there seemed to really love the kids and they put on such a show our kids begged to go back again and again. 
As an aside, when I was on the cruise, I decided to wear a necklace I've told you all about - the FUZE necklace. It's a quartz necklace that has been infused with light
and while you wear in in the "on" position the stone changes colors. The color shift is very subtle and very beautiful. If you want a conversation piece
- this is it. I had everyone from waitresses, hostesses, guests etc. asking me about the necklace. Where to buy it, what it was, etc. I couldn't walk on the
ship without having someone ask me a question. My kids also wore it on the ship and had a blast having people ask them about it. If you'd like to buy one, visit 
Without a doubt ship is geared towards families, intergenerational travel and kids. The staff is genuinely crazy about kids. Everyone seemed to smile and say hello to the children at all times. Our cabin stewards prepared towel animal surprises for the kids each night on the bed and even did them during the day once they realized how much the kids loved them.
The Kids Crew area provided hours of entertainment for kids of all ages from 2 - up. My kids, ages 3 and 5 were together all the time and had fun making crowns for the Prince & Princess Parade, dressing up like Pirates for their Pirate Parade, making sundaes and playing in the ball pit. The parades were great because during dinner we would hear the kids coming and would rush to watch them marching. They would chant, "We are the Kids Crew. Mighty Mighty Kids Crew. If you can't hear us. We'll shout a little louder” as they marched down the 7th deck of the ship, returning on the 9th in their costumes! The last night of the cruise was their pajama party and they paraded in their
PJ's.