NateUpNorth

Sometimes I complain about the things my kids do..... doesn't mean I want them out of my life or to trade for new ones.......

Cruised in December of 2022. Had one child in the group move down an age category and had one bump up a category to have all 4 kids meet in the same group. I think it really depends on the sailing, how nicely you ask, the kids club crewmember and the way the wind is blowing as to what will be allowed.

Maybe they'll tell the cruise lines they are switching port fees to "dynamic pricing" based on demand, so check back frequently?

Personal experience only....... but we'll pull the kids from school (and have at least 3 times) to Cruise anywhere from Dec 5(ish) on, to book those weeks between the 5th and Xmas. Loads of other people also do this as the school "educational intensity" reduces during those few weeks before Xmas. And we're Canadian sailing from Florida........ so while there is some truth to timing the port and its local school board breaks..... there's also no definitive formula. If you're concerned about kids I'd suggest avoiding anything in December.

Price increases and cutback........ doesn't take long to figure out what they're battling... But at least the ships are full and onboard spend is high.....

A) chair hogs B) crazy drink package pricing C) UDP expensive and value deteriorating D) same headline shows OP seems to be taking quite a lot of pushback on stuff that's widely reported/reviewed by others?

I can confirm as "recently" as December BOTH sides had to call and confirm a link for dinner. (or at least for our sailing we did, RCL call centre moving targets aside)

This has been our experience also and seems to be reported by many others. (i.e. the norm, not the exception)

I could absolutely see RCL changing C&A to an "18 or older" program. Kids share adult status when they "can't sign up" and then at 18 they become eligible to start collecting points. Lots of rewards programs indicate "thou shalt be X age to enter/apply/belong" I can imagine a bean counter somewhere saying "here's how many Diamond drinks (insert other perks here) you give away to passengers that grandfathered in, and here's how many you'd save if they don't start accumulating points until they do it "themselves" when they turn 18" Having said that I also could fully believe the RCL staff member being misinformed or not understanding the program.

The level of direct cost cutting and other expense reducing moves is starting to appear like an "all hands on deck" and "we might be in trouble here" situation. Just IMO. Queue the "sailing full" at "high prices" posts......

Previously we would book a cruise as soon as the itineraries were released, months and months in advance. Based on what I've seen going on......... no way am I taking an 18 month risk on a deposit. So yes, current sailings are full and and at big number sticker prices... but it's the ones just over the horizon that could be at risk. Will they get Icon over the finish line? They have to. Failure to deliver that prize would spark a run on the bank if you know what I mean.

Turtle tour with stop at Flamingo spot.

Used Curacao Dreams in December 2022. Personally would recommend. They also "take you on a tour" of the Island with A LOT of historical and current info. If you have questions feel free to ask.

Not to derail this topic but I will vouch for SAS as well.

Post #8

I can't speak for CoCo Loco....... but Amsterdam Hotel is actually across the street from the beach. Right on the beach they have their "beach bar" to rent chairs and grab food. They have a rustic, basic, seperate bathroom on site, totally for use by those there. The bus stop is also about 50 feet from the beach bar - taxi or bus will take you right back to the port.

Windjammer can be busy for sure... you may have more success going to the MDR for breakfast... we found we had no trouble getting a table with minimum wait and seemed we always were seated at table for just the 4 of us.

1) in our experience..... go to kids club and sign up fairly soon after boarding.... that will get your kids registered in the system as "eligible". I believe.... and could be corrected here.... but they cut off the "registrations" once they deem the kids club "full for the week"... if you're signed up you'll have no problem dropping your kids off at any point 2) there are "theme" nights.... on Harmony in December they were scheduled in advance and the list was available from kids club when signing up.. (I also want to say it was in the printed cruise compass we requested each day from guest services?).... also ask about the extra activities at sign up, they should be able to list them as well 3) Kids club is LOUD..... I mean DEAFENING when activities are going on. Each time we picked our kids up I wondered if the staff would wear ear plugs just to survive...... so sleeping... I'm going with probably not (this was the 9-11 category however)

First ship geared to young families? I'd say a bit late with that....... Slides, FlowRider, Sportscourt, Carousel on a Promenade.... there's a few within the fleet that beat Icon to that demographic already..... But yeah, I suspect it'll be fine. RCL is absolutely targeting the "young families" demographic right now. They're prepared for it, I wouldn't stress about it.

School holiday cruises have lot of kids. The Kids Sail Free "sales" are usually specifically applied to cruises OUTSIDE any traditional school holiday season. It's absolutely intentional planning and a target market for RCL now. I feel like there are many that are unwilling to accept this fact. About the only guaranteed "low kid count" sailings on RCL these days are transatlantic/re-positioning I would think.

I'm going to say it would be quite difficult.... to get on the bus you go up three (?) steps and then there is a turnstile across the aisle before you can be seated. (turnstile unlocks as the card is swiped) That's where I would see the issue being. It's quite narrow and not a lot of space to pass the chair. Now there is a middle door that's used exclusively for exiting you may be able to pass the chair through but I have no idea if they'd allow that. The bus is set up as a one way street if you can imagine that description.

This is the correct answer. To the original poster - take the bottom line number from a mock booking and if you're happy with it..... make that your starting point. Check back every different sale, and even during the same sailing. Likely the price will move in both directions depending on the day/weather/and recently the price of eggs.