We’ve sailed 3 cruise ships. Here’s how we rank them.
We’re Micah (14) and Caleb (11). We’ve sailed three cruise ships so far, and we each graded every ship on our own, no peeking at each other’s answers. We agreed on last place. We did not agree on first.
Two brothers, two opinions.
We didn’t always agree, and that’s the point. You get two honest kid opinions from two different ages.
- Norwegian Prima
- Norwegian Joy
- MSC Seascape
“The NCL Prima was the best ship, the cruise destinations were amazing, and overall the amenities and experience were top notch.”
- Norwegian Joy
- Norwegian Prima
- MSC Seascape
“They all have their strong suits, but I liked the NCL Joy Alaska cruise the best.”
MSC Seascape is #3
“But it had the best waterpark and the best service of the three.”
Every grade, from both of us.
These are our own grades. If we skipped something, like the pools on two cold-weather cruises, we left it ungraded instead of guessing. The final grade is each brother’s overall grade for the ship.
Norwegian Prima
(too cold)
(too cold)
“Best thing: the kids’ club, the dual racing slides and the magic show, all tied. Worst thing: the specialty restaurant costs a lot of money when the food is better at the nacho place.”
Caleb
“The Indulge Food Hall, where you order on a tablet, was really good. A+++.”
Micah
“There were nachos I could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner!”
Caleb
$8,105 for our family of four, 10 nights in a balcony cabin. Promotions took $3,444 off the fare, the kids’ fares were $646 each, and the booking came with perks like drinks, specialty dining and internet. We used points to book our flights to and from the cruise to make the trip more affordable overall.
Norwegian Joy
(too cold)
(too cold)
“Met a lot of kids, had fun, played a bunch of games and Mario Kart.”
Micah
“Best kids’ club by far.”
Caleb
“The go-karts were cool. The food was decent, but we were disappointed there wasn’t the Indulge Food Hall.”
Micah
$5,257 for our family of four, 9 nights. We used points to book our flights and our hotels before and after the cruise to make the trip more affordable.
MSC Seascape
“The kids’ club is the main thing for kids, and it looked like they put half the effort into it. But the waterpark kind of cancels that out, because it’s really good.”
Caleb
“Our servers were super fun and attentive. They always made our dinner experience some of the best moments of the cruise days.”
Micah and Caleb
“The worst thing about this cruise and ship was that it was really, really busy.”
Micah
$1,344 for me and the boys, 7 nights in a balcony cabin. The cabin itself was a casino offer: a business credit card gave us hotel status, we matched that to Caesars Diamond status, and that brought the cruise offer. We paid only for upgrades. Offers like this change often, so check the current rules before you count on one.
What three cruises actually cost us.
| Ship | Nights | We paid | Per night | Per person, per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian Prima | 10 | $8,105 (with promotions) | about $810 | about $203 |
| Norwegian Joy | 9 | $5,257 | about $584 | about $146 |
| MSC Seascape | 7 | $1,344 (casino offer) | about $192 | about $64 |
Prima and Joy are for four people. Seascape was three of us. Gratuities were prepaid and are included. Flights, excursions and onboard extras are not.
Our ranking grows with every ship.
This is our before ranking. On all three cruises, we were young enough to share a kids’ club. From now on, Micah heads to the teen club and Caleb to the kids’ club, so every new ship gets graded from both sides and added here.
See the Kids Rate the Ship series