LeoEdre

13 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Just a note about sleeping in - we like to have our cabin serviced as early as possible.

 

Having some one sleep in means the cabin may not be cleaned until much later in the day.

Good point, however I never stay in the room when I'm not sleeping, so I don't really care if it is serviced later. But I understand that it may be a valid reason to wake the kids up for other parents. 

1 hour ago, wcook said:

Just our family (lots of nieces, nephews, cousins, etc.) but the requirement for teens is they present themselves for dinner. On time. No whining. If they’ve booked a shoe excursion, they have to take it. Other than that, they are responsible for themselves. If they want to skip sleep, or sleep the trip away that’s on them. 
 

Obviously not all teens are the same. “Teen” doesn’t necessary mean the day they turn 13. Some will need more supervision. But - again this is just our family - cruises are a great opportunity to give kids more freedom and let them grow. Soon they will be off at college and have to fully manage their time. It’s interesting watching the choices they make. Some stick with the family and follow the adult schedules. Some get involved in the ship activities. And some just disappear, magically appearing at dinner and then disappearing again. 

Totally agree with you. Dinner and excursions are mandatory, and my daughter never complained. "Naps" of course are not mandatory, but when we come back from an excursion and she looks too tired we "strongly suggest" her to get some rest in room.  Otherwise, she is free to do what ever she wants as long as it is allowed by the rules of the ship. 

On MSC ships there is no curfew and teenager are allowed in the disco all night, this means a lot of fun for them, but also little sleep, expecially on port intensive cruises.

On our last cruise, we let our 14yo stay up really late every night, even when she had to get up early for excursions on the next day, so she actually slept 6 hours or less every night, except for sea days,  when she could sleep in. 

She was really tired of course, so we convinced her to take naps in the afternoon on most port days. Actually, she always had better plans for the afternoon, but we insisted a bit and she surrendered because she knew she was exhausted. 

Do your teens sleep enough on cruise? Do you enforce early bed times when they have to get up early? Do they ever take naps in the afternoon or before dinner? Do you let them sleep in? 

So if no sparkling water is included, and in any case the waiters pour it for you, the question is closed.

I am a bit confused about bottled water included in classic drink package. They say that "non premium" bottled water is included, but what does it exactly means? As long as it is possible to order sparkling water, it is fine for me. I don't care about specific water brands.

And what if the person who ordered a bottle of water in the dining room with the package pours a glass to another person at the same table? I understand that drink packages cannot be shared, but water is just water, so I don't think it should be a problem, is it?

This summer I will be on Reflection for my first cruise with Celebrity (British Isles).

I want to try dfferent speciality restaurant, so I was considering the dining packages, but I've read on this board that it is easy to obtain discounts on board that may be as good or even better than the package price (31€ / dinner for 4 dinners), whitout having to plan in advance how many speciality dinners I am going to have.

What do you suggest? Du you think that the dining package is worth the price or not?

Well of course you cannot visit Rome of Florence in a day... But it's something every cruiser knows I guess.

Well, that was rude. Please show me where you asked YOUR kids. I’ll make it easy for you. It DOESN’T.

I apologize, my mistake.

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I don’t know your children so impossible for me to help. The vanity is outside the bathroom though. Girls do make up and hair there, while someone else is in the shower

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Of course the question regards those kids who are old enough have their own routine (teens and pre teens).

How much time do they need in the room to get ready for dinner / theater? Is it just a quick shower and change of clothes, or do they take even longer than the parents to be "perfect"? Do they also have some rest or relax in the room before dinner like many adults do?

(I am just curious, not looking for advice)

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I'm no parent' date=' so see 10 Tips for Cruising With Teens.

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Everybody knows that teenagers love to stay up late, but on a cruise they may also have to get up early for shore excursions.

Do your teens always stay up as late as they can or they go to bed when a long excursion is planned for the next day? Do they take naps sometime to recharge between a long day and a long night? Do they ever get clearly overtired?

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Not all of any group is any one thing. But there are constant threads about people wanting children to be kept out of adult areas and cruise lines not doing anything to prevent them from being there and parents defending this behavior. Cruise lines have slowly removed anything that is adult only to placate parents traveling with children to the point that people without children are now fed up with children being everyplace. If you think your child is mature enough to be in the adult only hot tub, hand them a beer. If you think your child is adult enough to be in the adult only pool, go slam some shots with them. If you think your child is old enough to hang out in the casino and gamble, let them have their own credit card to gamble with. If you think your child is adult enough to be hanging out in the adult only nightclub at 2am, don't be surprised when they end up drunk and having sex with some stranger.

 

I don't have a problem with kids being kids, I expect them to be kids, I encourage them to be kids. I have a problem with children in adult spaces, and I have a problem with parents defending it because their child deserves to be treated like an adult. You want them treated like an adult, then let it go all the way. Or admit that they are still children and don't belong in adult places.

I don't understand why Americans are so obsessed with kids "getting drunk and having sex" :D.

More seriously, in Italy, the only "adult only" places we have are sex shops and casinos, nobody expects kids to be banned from any other place, including night clubs unless they feature sexy shows.

That being said, the "kids running around" of the title are probabily small children, not the teens that some parents may want to allow in "adult only" spaces.

I don't understand why you should prefer the Studio vs. a larger cabin for the same price. Studios are just smaller interior statorooms, or am I missing something?

20 min ferry ride to main dock at S end Placencia. Google Maps, go to S Placencia and zoom in. You dock at the Munincipal Pier. I saw no cabs. This is not a "developed tourist port". Itz very rustic and shacks in the sand. There will be about 60 Norwegian cruisers coming over every 30 min on the ferry. You walk to any local bar up the East sidewalk (to your right). Few places rent golf carts. It's a 5-10 min walk up to Cozy Corner, Tipsy Tuna, or Batefoot Beach places.

 

Very undeveloped and rustic. We took the 1st ferry over, and came back at 2pm, spent another hour on Harvest before getting on boat.

 

 

If your looking for a developed place with tourist service--Placencia is not it.

 

YouTube Tipsy tuna and Cozy corner for a taste

So is it possible to take the ferry at any time? There were rumors that you had a fixed return time three hours after the departure, but if it is true, it would not be possible to book independent shore excursions that start from Placencia.

If you want them to nap so that you can get some peace and quiet, try putting some chemicals in their food.

 

DON

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Leo, were you never a child? ;);) My brothers and I would run ragged from dawn to dusk riding our bikes, climbing trees, playing in the fields around our house.We always slept well at night but we never took naps! LOL.

I did the things you mentioned when I was a small child and didn't really stay up late at night, but at 12 or 14 I definitely took naps on holyday. Of course sleeping in was the preferred option (and still is!), but when it was not possible I definitely napped to be fresh at night.

Maybe the fact that I am Italian matters, as we may have a different culture about naps, more similar to Spanish "siesta"

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Well I didn't expect that kids were so unlikely to nap, but I have to trust you parents if you tell me that they just never need rest during the day.

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I'm sure you can try to go and have quiet time in the room and that might work for the kids. This will be facilitated the best by an interior room because they are dark.

 

Also at least right now, my kids don't stay out too late. After dinner we go back to the cabin, they get their PJs on, watch TV or read and are out cold. I'd say by 10 or 11 they are asleep and we are all up around 7.

I'm not a parent, so I don't need advice for myself, but I always see "tweens" and young teens up until very late at night even if they looked exhausted in the afternoon when they came back from shore excursions with the family, so I wondered if they take naps to recharge as many adults do. If your kids go to bed early, of course they don't need to rest during the day.

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Is telling a 14 year old to take a nap a real thing parents do?

Also consider that telling doesn't mean imposing, but also suggesting. If you see that your kids are tired, you may suggest them to rest at any age.

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I know that many adult cruisers like to take a nap before dinner and night activities, expecially after a busy day on shore, but what about older kids (about the range 9 - 14 years old)? They usually enjoy late nights, but are less likely to sleep during the day than older teens and shore excursions may be exhusting also for them.

If you have kids that age, do they ever take

naps on cruise, either spontaneously or when you tell them to? Do you include some rest time in their routine to get ready for dinner, or they just seem to never get tired?

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Just finished a 7 night Greek Isles cruise on Jewel 8/14/16. After months of planning and anticipation, was an amazing vacation.

I'm happy to read that you had a wonderful vacation. On an Italian forum, many people are complaining about this cruise: poor service, dirty staterooms, low quality food and the inappropriate behaviour of many (Italian) cruisers.

We've done this on all our cruises since our DD was little, calling it family siesta time, and she's now 12. Helps all of us enjoy the later evening activities if we bunk down for an hour or so before dinner, and then we're recharged for the night....

Does she like the "siesta "? 12 should be the age when they stop protesting and start to enjoy the naps (teens nap a lot).

I completely agree with this. On vacation after a busy day if we want to enjoy the evening' date=' my kids lay down for a "rest" which, in a dark room after a day of running around, turns into sleep. If we're just going to have dinner and go to bed, we don't do this, but rest/sleep are mandatory for a fun evening. I also require an early bedtime if we're getting up early and have a busy day the next day. For my girls, not enough sleep = crabbiness. In fact, for me too![/quote']

I agree that the nap should only happen if a late night of fun is planned, and if "nap time" is right before dinner it doesn't even need to be long (probably half an hour of actual sleep is enough).

How hold are your kids? Do they ever protest the mandatory rest?

My kids are 8 and 10 - no longer at nap at home EVER.

 

There are times on a cruise where they will nap. Usually, its more lounging on a chair on deck and they happen to fall asleep. It's not a planned nap per se. If there is nothing interesting going on at the kid's club, then they will lounge on deck with us.

 

But at 8 and 10, they can certainly get through a fun filled day without a nap. There have been times to where my son has been the first to shower before dinner, and then lies on the bed with the TV on and dozes off for a few.

 

Vacation life is tough ... it can tire out the best of us :D

Of course at 10 a kid does not NEED to nap, but he may still feel better if he takes one. Also, at that age they are unlikely to nap on will, so the best thing is to create the conditions for them to relax and fall asleep if they're tired. Letting the kid wait in the room while getting ready for dinner is probably the best way to make a power nap happen.