jacobtsf

I absolutely love Central Park balconies, especially if you are on a lower floor. At night it is lovely out, with calm live music playing in the park until 9:30 or so. Yes, you can hear noise from the pool deck during the day, but it usually isn't bad. Boardwalk balconies can be quite loud pretty late at night if there are events in the aqua theatre.

Do a private or small group tour. It will be about the same amount of money, and you will get a much better experience. You will have a guide for your small group as opposed to 1 guide for a bus full (or more) of people, you will get in and out of places quicker (the vans can get much closer to the sites than the busses), and you will get more time where you want.

Kids Sail Free has been awesome for us, with just one child who started cruising at age 2 and has cruises booked through next year when she will be 5. Because booking 2 rooms isn’t an option in our case Kids Sail Free really does save a good amount of money. The biggest example I can think of, we took a 12 night British Isles cruise out of Amsterdam in 2022. When we first booked it there was no Kids Sail Free promotion, and the total for our room was around $4300. A few months after we booked Kids Sail Free went live and I called. I said “ I know this is supposed to be for new bookings but can you apply it?” And they said sure. The new total was under 3000. When I opened the invoice the itemized totals for my wife and I were exactly the same as they originally were, and the only costs left for my daughter were gratuities and taxes/port fees.

Super excited to be following along. Our family (my wife and I and our (by then) 5 year old daughter) will be going on a cruise on Anthem out of Singapore, visiting Malaysia and Thailand, next February.

Thanks for this! My wife and I will be in Harmony in just a few weeks with our 4 year old (it will be her 5th cruise). we are also going to Paradise beach and we also have a day bed (but ours is closer to the ocean). Did you use Adventure Ocean, and if so how did you (and your kid) like the staff?

Thank you for this report. My wife, 4 year old daughter, and I will be boarding 2/25, first time on Harmony and first time sailing out of Galveston!

Last February/March we did a 7 day Island Hop on Rhapsody. Left out of Barbados, and visited 7 different islands in 7 days. It was exhausting (especially since we had our then 3 year old with us) but so so awesome!

oh my god your post is incredible, thank you so much!!!

Just booked Anthem out of Singapore for February 2025, includes 7 hours in Penang and then 36 hours in Phuket. The only thing we know we definitely want is an elephant experience, but this thread is really helping me start to get some other ideas! We will be taking our daughter (who will be 5 at that point) so any suggestions from anyone on kid friendly things to do would be appreciated!

I think Smokey is talking about the in room babysitting, that has not come back. The late night kids club does still exist, but it has an upcharge (but honestly not that much).

I don't sorry, I feel like the whole experience (welcome, tour and brunch) was maybe a little over 2 hours.

Yes, the room has a little more space than the typical interior, and the bench space by the window is lovely. There usually is not much sound from Central Park, maybe a little bit of the jazz music leaks through at night, but it is a truly nice room.

My wife and I did this on Freedom of the Seas during a Mediterranean cruise before Covid and we had a blast. We started in the upper dining room, greeted with tables full of champagne and mimosas. After a few glasses a few important crew members, including the head chef, were introduced. These crew members gave an overview of just how much the kitchens do, and what to expect during our tour (including all of the rules). After that we broke into 2 or 3 smaller groups, and started the tour. My wife and I are foodies who both worked in the food industry when we were younger, so we loved seeing just how they were able to manage all of the food in such a relatively small space. Yes, it can be cramped, and yes, it can be hard to hear (especially since the kitchens are in full work mode getting ready for both your brunch and lunch for the rest of the ship), but we got a pretty good look at most of the areas in the galley, a chance to talk to various members of the crew, and our guide was able and willing to answer tons of questions, both about the kitchens and life living on a ship in general. After the tour we ended up in the lower dining room and got to have a lovely brunch, with more drinks, and a live musician. It was the typical quality we have come to expect from the main dining room, not super elegant, but not disappointing.

We were on in March (review linked below), and the ship was awesome. Yes, it is older, and it does not have all the bells and whistles, but there are definite bonuses to cruising on the smaller ships. You actually get to meet people cruising with you, and the crew really gets to know you. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Echoing what was said above, do private or small group tours for most of your stops in the Mediterranean! When we went back in 2017 we used ItalyTours.eu for both Rome and Florence/Pisa. There were a total of 6 people on each tour, plus a guide and driver. We were able to get a truly personal tour, see EVERYTHING (including with skip the line passes), and feel confident we would make it back to the ship on time. AND it was only a touch more expensive than the giant group tours Royal offered.

Yes, I’m talking about on the ship.

Seeing conflicting information online. Are laced shoes required for the zip line, or are closed toe sneaker sandals ok (like Merrells)?

The day beds are covered (from sun and rain) and a great option for young kids who might want to nap. But yes, technically the max capacity is 4 people (though I think anyone under 3 doesn’t count). But if it is mostly for storing stuff and having 1 or 2 adults with resting kids it would be fine. Allure DOES have the nursery. On a ship that big you will want to go up there as soon as you board to sign them up and RESERVE some times (including the time you want to have your adult dinner, I recommend 150 Central Park)

Coco Cay has sand strollers, they work great. There is a kids water play area that is totally free. I’ve never heard of a minimum age for the cabanas. If it is really just going to be a home base maybe think about getting a day bed.

What ship are you on? Adventure Ocean starts at 3 (and they are firm about it) and the kid needs to be fully potty trained. If they are under 3 SOME ships have a nursery. It is not private/in your room, and there is an hourly rate, but they were great with my daughter when she was under 3.

Have you thought about any of the amplified ships in Freedom class? I LOVE Freedom class, I find it to be the perfect size, and with amplification it will have a lot of the things you loved on Oasis.

This same thing happened last year on our British Isles cruise, but we were notified a few weeks before. Sorry you weren’t given advance notice. Quite a few people seemed to really enjoy the overnight in Amsterdam (we were traveling with our 3 year old, so we enjoyed a quiet night on the ship)

Came to say the same thing. We definitely prefer Chill Island (have a day bed booked there for our July cruise). It is an out of the way location, great for our toddler, but that sounds like maybe not what you want.

We cruise a lot with our almost 4 year old. If you can do a balcony, do it. We put our child to bed, block the front door, and head out to the balcony to read and drink wine. We bought some usb powered clip lights, and an external usb plug that we charge during the day. if we can not get a balcony we put her to bed, and then one of us hangs out in the hall by the door (usually with a book and a drink) until she falls asleep while the other explores the ship.