cadien

Your kids are "family people" now....they will have family fun on a cruise. Traveling as a family isn't the same as traveling as a couple, but zillions do it every year!

 

When you have kids, you tend to them...that's the way it is! You don't stay home just because of the kids...you go and do the "mom and dad" thing wherever you are.

Or you leave them with the other set of grandparents. That's what DH and I sometimes do.

That wouldn't really work for a Christmas cruise, however.

I truly hope you do not think this is true and that you were just being facetious. You know that the woman who was assaulted didn't actually "belittle" the crew member, right? He HEARD her utter the words, "son of a b*tch" while she was getting to the door and assumed she was insulting him, according to the information released. His perception that she had insulted him incited his rage. Because he was unstable to begin with, obviously.

 

Victim blaming makes little sense in most cases and absolutely none in this case.

Thank you. The fact more than one poster assumed she must have provoked the attack is disturbing, if sadly common.

I'm leaning towards bringing ours because traveling west means our (pre-reading) child will be up around 4am.

There's the Anne of Green Gables angle for older ones.

No, Stephen, I have a kid and I had similar questions.

The kids would probably be happier eating breakfast and lunch in the non-suite restaurants anyway, especially if the Gem has that special kids' buffet like the Star and others do.

And how does it require three adults to board with a 7-year old and a 2-year old? There were a couple references to that being one of the times the nanny would be most needed but the reason isn't self-evident.

If the money is there to spend, fine. But there are certainly alternatives.

We'll be there for the first time in April with an almost 4-year old and the consistent recommendation is Stone Island.

As far as I know they are not booked in advance all the time, but.... Semana Santa will be from March 28 till about April 12 which brings lots of mexican tourists to the area too. So if you arrive around that time better book in advance.

We will be there the week of April 5 so that's very helpful information. Thanks!

Great thread. I was once asked (I'm Canadian) if we lived in an igloo. Dead serious.

Don't feel too bad about the geography thing; those of us who live in the state of New Mexico are routinely complimented on how well we speak English, told we need passports to travel to Atlanta and occasionally receive packages from the US Postal Service with customs declaration stickers sent from New York. We would like to think they just didn't hear the 'New' when we tell them where we're from.....but even National Geographic has misplaced us on a few maps.

I grew up in Alaska. In a cruise ship port town. So we constantly got all of those.

From what I read about chair hogs, I'd think a lot of passengers would love the option to pay to reserve a deck chair anywhere on the ship, vs upgrading to a suite or competing for a pass to the limited area.

They probably had assigned seats but not together. I select my plane seats and would not give them up for anyone. I have been asked but I never give them up.

 

DON

Or their actual flight was canceled, the connecting flight was too late, etc.

His presentation needed work, however.

This one seems perfect for the thread.:rolleyes:

 

Cruise of the Undead by Laura Hansen.

 

Fifteen-year-old Charlie is P.O.'ed that his parents have wasted a perfectly good Christmas break by forcing him on a cruise with a bunch of oldies. But the old people are a piece of cake compared to the dead people. Some late night sneaking around by Charlie and his brother Jack convince them that the unimaginable is really happening: the recently dead are walking the ship. After a gruesome attack at the Death by Chocolate Buffet, a seriously scary comedy of clashing personalities occurs when intense Charlie and his hip hop, extroverted younger brother Jack forge an alliance to defeat the zombie menace. The boys and their friends take on the zombie crew in a gripping struggle to save themselves, their families and the other passengers from an ugly undeath.

With horror, humor, and a dash of romance, this fast-paced adventure races through the zombie-infested South Pacific.

There's also Deck Z, which imagines that it was actually a zombie outbreak that sank the Titanic.

The New Yorker does a food issue every November and this year they include a piece on the state of cruise ship cuisine : http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/floating-feasts

It's set on the Oasis but of course covers more general topics as well. He does start out snarky but the behind the scenes detail is interesting.

(Apologies if my search missed an active thread.)

I've been thinking the park will be best for us in April because we'll have an almost 4-year-old and I have no idea whether he'll actually be willing to swim with the dolphins. So hopefully this will allow us to play it by ear without financially committing to anything. And if nothing else, he enjoys water parks.

Does anyone who has already been there know how often they're totally booked in advance versus being able to just walk in and sign up?

I'm happy to hear about healthier snacks being brought. So many reviewers mention endless cookies and bowls of gummy bears and M&Ms.

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Why is it that people who do not like traditional assigned dining generally seem to assume that those who do are trying to make friends, or like to be regimented?

 

So many MTD fans refer to those suppositions: focussing on the negative aspect of the others' --- seemingly unable to understand that many of us simply like interacting with other people with no friend-seking involved. I would not suggest that people who do not like sharing tables are either anti-social or afraid of meeting new people.

 

I would like to propose that (if this discussion continues) advocates of either dining format stick to what they like about their preference and avoid derogatory references to the personal attitudes of those with a different preference.

I don't have a preference. But the problems is that the nature of messageboards does make it sound like many of the traditional dining fans ARE accusing the open seating fans of being anti-social etc. They think they're being neutral and the other side is being derogatory but the reverse is also true. Saying you like traditional because you are open to new experiences, for example. That's easily seen as a dig.

So what?

 

Why do you care what other people do with their money? Are you suggesting that people who read about your so-called excessive amounts are naive or incapable of deciding for themselves?

Most people start these threads because they want to be fair and tip the same general amount that everyone else does. Which means their numbers can end up based on the larger amounts if that's what dominates the particular thread. That's not naive and incapable. That's gathering information.

If you should think seriously about Europe, get copies of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports, and Rick Steves' Northern Europe Cruise Ports. Have the kids read about the ports available, and maybe choose the itinerary based on what they like. For some ports, he has free audio tours that you can download to ipop/mp3, and maps to print out to go with them. EM

He also has DVD versions, which we find very helpful to watch together for trip planning. Both public libraries and Netflix usually have them, since it's not really something you need to own long term.

Our upcoming cruise is going to be in an NCL suite (a very generous gift) and we had the choice between one with a balcony and one without. We have a toddler so ended up choosing the suite without the balcony for general peace of mind. It's our first ever cruise, so we won't know what we're missing without the balcony.

I mailed in my renewal on Sept 19 and received my passport today.

They charge $6 per meal on port days if you don't take them to eat yourself. There's also a babysitting charge any day after 10:30pm.

How is what I said a personal attack. I'm sorry you feel that way. It was my opinion

Your opinion that the poster looks down on most passengers as lower-class and to be avoided qualifies as personal, yes.

People have scanned and posted the daily activitity schedules. Your best bet is to do forum searches on Seals and on Dolphins. Those are the age groups. The family board may have some too.

Going to be celebrating our anniversary on our December cruise and was thinking this would be great. Are kids allowed to join in at the chef's table or is it only for adults? If kids are allowed is it still $99 or is there a discount like other venues? Thanks for the help.

One tricky thing to note with young children, since we're still trying to work this out for our own upcoming cruise, is that the time of the meal overlaps with the 5:00-7:00 that the kids club is closed.

Sparkling Wine is not offered on Pride of America; instead guests will receive chocolate covered pineapple wedges.

Probably the most minor detail of the whole program but I'm curious. That's such an odd substitution. Anyone know why?

NO!!!! Half the fun of cruising is the research and anticipation. Take that away and I'm not going to be a happy camper.

As long as they have port of call guidebooks in the ship library, I'd make do.