carinainacar

I've done zip lining in all 3 ports with various vendors. My favorite still has to be Los Veranos in PV! The other ones that I've tried are not as thrilling or adventurous as Los Veranos.

I actually think that I've stayed in D706 before, either on the Star of the Sapphire... I can't remember.

However, I am positive that the room will have a balcony. :D

I found a picture of a mini-suite onboard the Star Princess. The green sofa towards the back opens up to become a full sized sofa bed. (Please ignore my sister in the picture lol)

Alaskan weather is so unpredictable.

I ended up wearing shorts and a tank top in Juneau the summer of 2013, but wore multiple layers the same week of 2014.

Bring thin layers, that's the key. THIN layers.

Waterproof shoes may be essential too, depending on what excursions you're planning on doing :)

Definitely recommend trying out a cruise. It's a great way to travel, and from your wife's preferences, I think she'll love it.

It may be a nicer first cruise if it's just a couples cruise. I know having children on board makes it a lot more difficult to do the activities the adults want to do. You can do the itinerary and excursions that you'd want to try that may have age restrictions. There are so many adventurous things to do on shore without children (but there are a lot with children too).

Also, I know a lot of people take shorter cruises for their first time. It's a little warm up vacation before you can decide if you want to take the full dive or not. A 5 day cruise would be a perfect fit, especially if you end up leaving the kids at home.

I also agree with everything cruiserking said. :)

Also some excursions may have lockers that you can rent or use to store your backpack/items in.

As for things to take off board, a license should be enough. When my family goes off board, only one person takes their passport (and it's only cause we are required to have it to exchange currency). A drivers license should be sufficient. As for your son, I don't believe he'll have a need for his ID. :)

I don't think there is an official program by Carnival but I know that they still host meet and greets for 18-20 year olds on every cruise! :)

If you cross the first street in front of that hotel there are small convenience stores around, as well as many restaurants. If you walk behind the hotel there is also a little store/bakery right next to it. They sell snacks/bread/sandwiches/drinks.

There are no large grocery stores within walking distance though, but if you're looking for a quick snack or something those convenience stores will do just fine. :)

Your kids will be completely fine. :)

I was 17 years old when I went for the first time, then went again the year after at 18 (doing the same itinerary are you are doing). Now I'm going again this summer when I'm 19. I've found things to do every time when I go and I'm never bored, in fact, Alaska is my FAVORITE port of call.

Alaska is one of those cruise itineraries where children and adults can all enjoy. The natural beauty that you're constantly surrounded by is breathtaking and you won't get sick of the view. There are informative lectures, led by park rangers, in the Princess Theater for people that want to learn more about Alaska and Glacier Bay.

Your younger kid still qualifies to join the clubs that they have on board, but my guess is that they probably won't want to. I travel with my parents and my little sister. My parents go and do what they want on board, while my sister and I do what we want on board.

In port, there are endless things to do too. I found kayaking excursions to be extremely fun and active. Ziplining was also a blast. City tours are incredibly boring, because most of the ports of calls are small cities that are all within walking distance. Walking around the city is a great family activity and very entertaining, it's so different from big cities.

Overall, I definitely recommend the 10 day itinerary. As a 19 year old myself, I don't think you will have to worry about your 16 & 19 year old kids not being able to find enjoyable things onboard to do. :)

I would definitely recommend an overnight in PV over a day spent in Mazatlan.

I've always wanted to do the over night in PV so that I can go on the excursion for the night time party, believe it's called Rhythm of the Night. It is only available to cruises that stay overnight in Puerto.

Mazatlan is also an extremely small city and there aren't many things to do there for excursions, it's more of an industrial port.

Most likely won't have much rain but it will definitely be extremely hot and humid, as many others have said. :(

I've gone on many cruises over the summer to the Mexican Riviera and it very rarely rains, even when it does, it's the hot rain that comes down.

Just saw you are going on the Crown Princess. I was just on the ship in December.

I believe there is one nightclub that is reserved for 18-21 year olds :)

The international cafe is also a must! It's free (with the exception of gelato, but even the gelato is very cheap. Three scoops for $1.50 I believe) and the food options change everyday!

Also I would recommend going to all the nighttime production shows/comedies. :)

Aside from the normal activities that Princess offers, there are a lot of sight seeing opportunities in Alaska (I recommend bringing binoculars), including a lot of informative lectures that are given by really knowledgeable park rangers. (I'm not that into nature but these lectures were very interesting to go to)

Sometimes it's also nice to just sit outside (lido or on a balcony) with a book or something and enjoy how serene and beautiful your surroundings are, can't get peace and quiet like that in the city!

Also, there will usually be calm music in the atrium or at the International Cafe. Or louder music in the clubs. (At night there is usually one club designated for passengers 18-21, no alcohol and also a great place to meet new people)

If your son is into art there are a lot of art shows and a gallery for him to explore.

There are trivia games like 5 times a day and karaoke almost every night. (fun to go and see drunk passengers attempt to sing)

And now with the Princess sea app it's so much easier to stay in touch with people on board and to know when and where activities are happening.

And of course, many opportunities to eat! Lol

On my previous sailings there has always been a meet up for people 18-21.

I'm 19 years old and I always find things to do onboard, whether it's with others that I meet or with my family/sibling. I don't think you need to worry about finding things for your son to do. There's plenty to explore and do on the ships. :)

Using a coffee card punch has only been valid on the Royal & Regal at Gelato's which costs $3.50 without a card punch. I'll soon be on the Crown & can verify that nothing has changed since I sailed the Crown in January. At that time it was $1.50 for 3 scoops at the IC & we could not use a coffee card punch.

Thank you for the reply. My dad was really excited when he heard that we could use our coffee punch cards for gelato, guess I'll just have to wait for the Royal or Regal! :p

I am going on the Crown Princess in December and was wondering if I could use the coffee punch cards to get gelato at their International Cafe? If anyone knows, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks :)

You can also post this on the roll call for your cruise to see if any other families will be onboard!

My family will be aboarding the breeze on november 1st 2015. Will there be any other teenagers? I have a 16yr old daughter.

Since that is considered "off-season", there may not be as many teenagers as there usually are on Carnival cruises, however; I'm sure she'll be able to meet other teenagers if she joins the programs and events that they provide. :)

I was just on the Miracle two weeks ago. The Miracle is in great condition for an older ship! :)

In Mazatlan, I did speed boating and it was so awesome. Definitely something new and adventurous! I strongly recommend doing the excursion, although it's a long excursion so you won't have much time to do anything else while in port.

Such a well thought out review and I loved reading all about your activities. Those photographs are absolutely stunning! :)

These pictures are beautiful!

The orca whale photograph is gorgeous, wish I was there to see it! :)

I'm guessing more than one place in Cabo does dolphin excursions. Ours allowed the observers to take photos, no charge, but had no concessions. That was April of this year.

I'm hoping they will let my parents take pictures since that would likely save us from having to buy their $100 disc. :D

This was at the dolphin encounter place right next to the Marina right?

Wow....really, that is a tough question. You indicate that you have been to Cabo before. I can state that my daughter and grand daughter enjoyed the swim, but as for the cost....it is not cheap. Not knowing what you have experienced before in Cabo, I can only guess as to what you might like. My Bride and I enjoy just walking the town and Marina, stopping as we find something interesting. After 12 visits in Cabo, we have wandered all over, and have never felt threatened or at risk (keeping in mind that we do not wander dark alleys at 2:00am(!) By all means, wander down Marina Blvd taking in the flea markets, the great Cantinas, and any food vendor that looks good and smells good! We've never had any problems with anywhere that we have stopped to eat or "beverage". Cabo Cantina, Rip's, and Taco Loco being amongst our favorites.

We often gravitate to the Marina, find a nice Cantina, have a cold beverage(s) and watch the people. Captain Tony's (great pizza), Soloman's Landing, and Tiki Bar are our favorites on the Marina (all easily within walking distance from the cruise pier.) We really do love Cabo.

My family and I love walking around Cabo and trying local restaurants (love street food!) We were planning on doing that after the dolphin excursion since the excursion is not long and we would still have 5+ hours on shore. :)

My family and I like doing adventurous excursions and we don't mind repeating some that we have done before but I wanted to try something new and I've never swam with dolphins so I thought that this could be a fun experience! I'm glad your family liked it! I'm thinking of doing the excursion since it's not something we'll likely do again so we might as well enjoy it this time. :D Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!

How strenuous is this tour? We are in our mid 50's, not overly active and fiancé has had heart issues in the past but currently doing well. Any insight would be appreciated.

If you're interested in zip lining tours, I'm sure there are others that you guys can look into (that aren't as active or strenuous). I've been on a zip lining tour where there was a group of women (all in there mid 60's) who zip lined with everyone else and had a great time! The only concern is your fiance's heart condition, but I would seek a professional opinion. :)

Typically, you will be issued wrist bands that will allow you access to the viewing deck if some in your party are swimming. The viewing deck is a covered area with decent seating, a nice view of not only the dolphin pool, but the Marina as well. They also do sell beverages there. They also have a nice Cantina located on the ground level. You will not, however, be allowed to take pictures of your family with the dolphins. You will be "allowed" to buy a disk with pictures on it, but be prepared to pay about $100US for the disk.

Wow $100 for pictures? :eek: That seems a little steep.

Do you think it's worth it to do this excursion? My sister and I were planning on doing this excursion because there is nothing else we'd like to do or haven't done in Cabo. We also live very close to SeaWorld so if we'd like to take pics with dolphins, there are other places we could go to back home...:confused:

Just wondering, we will be on the Vista for Halloween next year but I noticed that someone said in an earlier post on this thread that they don't do Halloween stuff on cruises sailing before October 26th. Our cruise sails on October 21st from Barcelona and we debark on November 3rd (I think, might be the 4th) in New York. I was looking forward to Halloween onboard as I've heard that it's a lot of fun but is my cruise too early? I would be disappointed if so but it wouldn't ruin my cruise of course. I can't wait for this cruise, gonna be a blast (especially since Carnival turned our cabin into a Havana cabin after we booked, WOO HOO)!! :D

I believe that they mean on longer cruises such as yours, that start a while before Halloween, the ship will be decorated no earlier than the 26th. It should still be decorated for Halloween, but the decorations probably won't go up until a few days before Halloween on the ship. :)