NCL Epic or Dawn with children

[KeepSmiling83]

Hi,

I have never been on a cruise before but am considering going in May half term 2020 with my family. I have 2DC who will be 5 and 8 at the time and we will be travelling with my DH and grandparents.

Both my DC love swimming and a big part of their holiday is splashing/playing in the pool. My parents have been on a cruise before and said the pool can get very overcrowded and they can only basically stand up in the water so I'm worried they won't enjoy this.

My parents are not bothered about getting off at the ports and have said they will happily stay on the ship with the children and play in the pool (as it should be much quieter). There's obviously lots of other entertainment and things to do in the day too.

What are people's thoughts? Are the pools tiny and overcrowded? Have your DC managed to enjoy themselves? I have looked at the Dawn and it has a big splash pool at the back of the ship now which could be good or could be just as overcrowded!

I don't want to waste money if the DC are going to be disappointed about the pool - any advice from anyone? Do DC this age enjoy cruises?

Having been on 14 cruises the kids will like it more than you, get them to try the kids clubs, ask the staff about quietest pool time, Daughter was competition swimmer and I asked about quiet times the staff allowed her to swim in the adult only indoor pool about 6pm ish each day as it was almost deserted and held her keep her practice up.
Plan each port the kids will love some of them check on Cruise Critic forum for tips, ships tours are very poor value and can often be done on your own.

Children of that age do generally love cruising - there’s lots to do,

Pools are small and can get very busy. Both the Epic and Dawn have kids splash areas as well as pools, although these can get quite crowded if you are going in school holidays. But there still enough space to play. The Epic also has water slides (not sure if there’s an age/weight requirement)

Both ships will also have kids clubs if your DC are into those .