Pro tip: Noise cancelling cans only cancel the repetitive sounds like the engine hum/drone. You'll still hear crying babies. What you want are noise isolating cans or in-ears.
Much like earplugs, they'll reduce the overall sound. I usually use a pair of Shure in ear monitors as my go to for flying. They're great, isolation is good, and I can plug into the a/v system.
Maybe too good sometimes. I rarely turn the volume up past minimum, but if they make an announcement, I have to unplug quickly because the announcements are at full volume.