Help for a Family Celebration of our 50th Anniversary!

In the summer of 2018, we (presuming all is still well :)) want to take our whole family on our 50th wedding anniversary cruise. It will include both our sons, both our daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren, a boy and a girl, who will then each be 23, and a girl, age 10 and the little guy, who will be 6. All have cruised before.

We would like advice on cabins, suggestions for itineraries (thinking probably Caribbean, and probably 10 days - although any other suggestions are welcome) The younger two grandchildren will be out of school by May 25, so otherwise, everyone will be taking vacations.

We would perhaps like to book a Pinnacle Suite, two Neptunes and maybe two inside cabins across from them for the kids, but that's what we need a lot of advice on.

We are (and hopefully still will be!) healthy, and everyone gets along great. We will be paying for the whole thing as our biggest gift to them (EVER)

Any thoughts and particularly suggestions from people who have done such a thing would be great, and very much appreciated.

Unless something changes, you won't be sailing Holland America in the Caribbean in the summer. Their ships don't do the Caribbean year round. :(

How about Alaska? Or for lower air fare, Canada/New England? What size ship are you interested in?

I would error on the side of caution on the end of school year date. I was bitten by the final exams being scheduled a week later than the previous school years. After some humble groveling on my part my DD was allowed to change two exams to an earlier date so we can take our cruise in June. Takes one good snow storm or hurricane and the school year is pushed out.

HAL starts to move their ships out of the Caribbean by the end of March and through April.

Check out Alaskan cruises.

I would go with a ship like the Nieuw Amsterdam which has a larger Pinnacle Suite. They go fast. But more of the family can visit in that cabin without being crowded.

One thing -- even though there are Neptune Suites right next to the Pinnacle Suite -- there is not a little door that can open up the balcony next to it.

We treated our family of 16 - 7 cabins for our three and their spouses and children, but unlike your plans, all inside steerage to two cruises. One was for our 45th anniversary and the second for our 50th.

We booked Pinnacle dinners on each.

We arranged all the tours -- the Alaska ones independently and the Panama ones thru' HAL.

Our first was to Alaska in late May as this date worked for each of the four families and the second the Partial Panama and the Panama over March break. Both were on HAL.

Both proved to be very educational for the 8 grandchildren, especially for the Panama when the oldest ones did serious research on the history of the building of the canal and wrote great essays. In fact the canal expert had little to add to their fund of knowledge. Even the 5 year old had many 'picture' books read to her. All the kids are in French Immersion or Francophone schools so they appreciated both the French and American history. (Do I not sound like a retired teacher?)

They were all novice cruises. Turns out Alaska was the adult favourite and Panama the grands favourite, probably because of the adventure excursions: zip line, snorkelling and excursion to Embera Village. After all the build up for the canal, one lock was sufficient, even for our son-in-law, an engineer. Now the Panama buns were a hit.

Good luck planning,

Ruth

PS, we explained this was their eventual inheritance, just a bit early. And we had the joy of watching their enjoyment and building of family connections. And thank you notes from each which one cannot receive from the grave!!

As mentioned, your choice for the May/June time frame on HAL is Alaska or East Coast to Canada (both are great trips, which we have taken). Depends upon what the youngest kids like to do, but Alaska offers a variety of family-friendly type adventures including gold panning, dog sledding, bear and whale watching, etc. On the other hand, for instance, Montreal is a very kid-friendly city. I think you should see what each port has to offer and see what would best suit your family.

Our family (about the same size as yours) traveled as a large group to Alaska and had a terrific time; something we still talk about.

I think your cabin selection is good.

The one thing we have done is purchased connecting cabins and had the cabin steward unlock the door and balcony, so that we had two cabins for 1 family. However, know that there has to be an adult in each cabin.

The "adult" in each cabin thing is ONLY for booking purposes....once onboard, anyone can sleep anywhere....just tell them the arrangement once you've boarded, and you can get the correct cabin keys!

The "adult" in each cabin thing is ONLY for booking purposes....once onboard, anyone can sleep anywhere....just tell them the arrangement once you've boarded, and you can get the correct cabin keys!

Good point.

HAL starts to move their ships out of the Caribbean by the end of March and through April.

Check out Alaskan cruises.

I would go with a ship like the Nieuw Amsterdam which has a larger Pinnacle Suite. They go fast. But more of the family can visit in that cabin without being crowded.

 

One thing -- even though there are Neptune Suites right next to the Pinnacle Suite -- there is not a little door that can open up the balcony next to it.

Yes, you will definitely enjoy the conjoined balconies if you get them.

As mentioned, your choice for the May/June time frame on HAL is Alaska or East Coast to Canada (both are great trips, which we have taken). Depends upon what the youngest kids like to do, but Alaska offers a variety of family-friendly type adventures including gold panning, dog sledding, bear and whale watching, etc. On the other hand, for instance, Montreal is a very kid-friendly city. I think you should see what each port has to offer and see what would best suit your family.

 

Our family (about the same size as yours) traveled as a large group to Alaska and had a terrific time; something we still talk about.

 

I think your cabin selection is good.

 

The one thing we have done is purchased connecting cabins and had the cabin steward unlock the door and balcony, so that we had two cabins for 1 family. However, know that there has to be an adult in each cabin.

Agree with the others about either Alaska or Canada.. However, it is my understanding that the adult must be at least 25 years of age.. Therefore, I don't believe that the two 23 year olds will qualify as the adult in the booking.. Suggest you check this out with HAL..

I may be wrong about this age requirement.. Just read another thread which only says if there are 5 children under 21 then then the chaperone must be at least 25..

PS, we explained this was their eventual inheritance, just a bit early. And we had the joy of watching their enjoyment and building of family connections. And thank you notes from each which one cannot receive from the grave!!

We joke about this being their inheritance as well -- you made me smile! Thanks.

Really appreciate the advice!

Regarding age requirements, HAL's "Know Before You Go" brochure on page 4 provides in relevant part as follows:

GUESTS UNDER 21^

Guests under 21 years of age must be accompanied by a

parent, guardian or chaperone that is at least 21 years old;

one adult chaperone is required for every five people under

the age of 21.

Additionally, when you book your cruise your TA or PCC (or FCC if you book while on a cruise) should explain HAL's age requirements - this has been our experience every time we have booked multiple cabins for our family cruises.

Kenphy, You might also consider having a "Renewal of Vows" Ceremony on board..

We had a ROV ceremony on the Noordam in Dec. of 2010 & had four of our best friends, who were cruising with us, as guests.. The cost for the ceremony was $114.00 USD & included:

Flowers in the stateroom, Invitation to the Ceremony, Hors d'ouvres & beverages, certificate at the ceremony, Dinner for 2 in the Pinnacle Grill, 10 X 7 photo & the album.. This is done on board by the Captain who decides on the date, which is usually done on "At Sea" night..

We paid $12.50 for each guest & it was done on a formal night.. The charges may have changed by now..

There were three couples doing a renewal, each one individually... One couple, who were celebrating their 50th was from Manila & had their entire family, (approx. 26 guests).. Every single one of them was beautifully dressed in white, including the little ones.. It was very lovely..

The Capt. spent some time with each couple & did our renewals individually.. It included flowers for me & a lapel rose for DH, plus cake & champagne for all.. Later on they delivered a nice album with a copy of the vows, a certificate & picture.. We used the ships vows as I'm not very good at writing something like that.. If you want you can write your own vows.. We also requested that our ROV ceremony be done on the second half of our B2B cruise when the second couple, who was at our wedding, were on board...

The biggest mistake we made was when the Photographers asked us to make an appointment for our pictures to be taken a few days ahead of time, we failed to do that, so the only pic we have is with me crying! So be sure to make an appointment so a nice picture of you both will be included in the album.. DH wore his TUX & I wore a dress which I had worn for our Son's wedding..

It was lovely & very special to us as well, since our four closest friends were with us..

kenphy ... as all have to take vacations anyway, you might look at Caribbean cruises during the spring break for the kids.

I also can highly recommend the Vow Renewal. It would be awesome to have the whole family there!:D

Cheers!

Kenphy, You might also consider having a "Renewal of Vows" Ceremony on board..

 

We had a ROV ceremony on the Noordam in Dec. of 2010 & had four of our best friends, who were cruising with us, as guests.. The cost for the ceremony was $114.00 USD & included:

Flowers in the stateroom, Invitation to the Ceremony, Hors d'ouvres & beverages, certificate at the ceremony, Dinner for 2 in the Pinnacle Grill, 10 X 7 photo & the album.. This is done on board by the Captain who decides on the date, which is usually done on "At Sea" night..

 

We paid $12.50 for each guest & it was done on a formal night.. The charges may have changed by now..

 

There were three couples doing a renewal, each one individually... One couple, who were celebrating their 50th was from Manila & had their entire family, (approx. 26 guests).. Every single one of them was beautifully dressed in white, including the little ones.. It was very lovely..

 

The Capt. spent some time with each couple & did our renewals individually.. It included flowers for me & a lapel rose for DH, plus cake & champagne for all.. Later on they delivered a nice album with a copy of the vows, a certificate & picture.. We used the ships vows as I'm not very good at writing something like that.. If you want you can write your own vows.. We also requested that our ROV ceremony be done on the second half of our B2B cruise when the second couple, who was at our wedding, were on board...

 

The biggest mistake we made was when the Photographers asked us to make an appointment for our pictures to be taken a few days ahead of time, we failed to do that, so the only pic we have is with me crying! So be sure to make an appointment so a nice picture of you both will be included in the album.. DH wore his TUX & I wore a dress which I had worn for our Son's wedding..

 

It was lovely & very special to us as well, since our four closest friends were with us..

How lovely -- you must have been thrilled! We are currently thinking that we will probably change our timing and go during the spring break for the little ones to the Caribbean (our anniversary is June 1, 1968 -- we were on our honeymoon when RFK was shot and killed -- how long ago that was!)

Both of us have just talked about something we thought was really special (but never mentioned to each other until yesterday -- see, there are still some secrets after all these years) and that is to do a ROV in the Chapel at Half Moon Cay, with all the family present. Has anyone else ever done that? However, then more questions: could the Captain come ashore, or is there someone in on Half Moon who could do the ceremony? Could we rent one of the family cabanas and have special food?

But now, I am going to have to find out the dates of spring break at their school in 2018. We both went to college in Boston, and we vacationed in both New Hampshire and Maine, so we probably would rule that out because of the familiarity. We are going to Alaska this summer for the first time, and we will see if that is also a potential.

Thanks to all of you for your advice -- please keep it coming!

Kenphy...Take a look at this thread..It talks about having a ROV on Half Moon Cay..See Post No. 15..Beautiful idea!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1767183&highlight=half+moon+cay+chapel

Have no idea if Capt. will perform there or if you need another official, but you have time to plan..

Having your kids there will make it extra special! Please let us know how you make out..:)