cruise-addict

On 9/24/2019 at 4:29 PM, Gatorshill said:

Just got back from a cruise on Symphony.  We did the Volcano hike with Royston.  It was a great time and Royston was amazing.  We took our 5 and 7 year olds.  It was a bit of a strenuous hike for them, but Royston did a great job making sure we all made it up and down again.  He provided a great lunch and became my 5yr olds hero with a couple boxes of juice.  We saw some monkeys on the way back down.  He showed us some sights on the drive on the way to the hike, and then gave us options on how to take the ride back to see some sights.  I cant stand the cattle mentality of some of the bigger tours, so this one was awesome.  When we make it back, we'll definitely use Royston again.  I've been on plenty of cruises and tours before, and I cant recommend this one highly enough. 

Did he have a car seat? We'll also have a 5 year old. 

This sounds amazing! You put in so much work and are gracious to share! We'll be in SJ and have 2 full days prior to our cruise,  I would love a copy! Thank you so much!

jescat1198 at gmail.com 

Hello! We will be visiting Tortola via Disney next month with our 5 year old.  Our back on ship time is 1:30pm. Looking at the ferry schedule we'd only have about 3 hours. (Arrive 8:55 and depart at 12:15)

Is that enough time? Would booking through the ship offer better assurance of not being late, or do they just leave you on your own to take a ferry back anyway?

I'm thinking we should do a beach instead maybe? Thanks for your time!!

Some of our party is doing the bobsleds, and I'm looking for a beach right by the port with the younger kids. Which do you recommend and why? Thanks!

Bumping as I would like to know!

Cruizze20- can I please have more information about the beach within walking distance? We are the only ship scheduled to be in Ochos Rios the day we're there, so maybe it won't be overly crowded (?)

We are a group of 16 looking for a walking tour in Nassau. We want to visit the zoo, queens staircase, pirate museum and anything else along the way. Any idea on how to handle transportation? Can we taxi to the zoo then walk back to hit all of the sites? Thanks for any recommendations!

Will they charge extra fees upon arrival?

Are children allowed in the hot tubs? If they are, I'm unsure what that complaint was meaning? If there is a sign saying they are not allowed in the hottubs, that is a different issue.

Thanks! !!

I'm not sure what the papers they give you every day are called (I want to say Navigators? ), but does anyone have links to new ones? I know they change a little from sailing to sailing.

Specifically the kid's club ones. Trying to get an idea what activities are typically offered. Thanks :)

Looks like an amazing day!

Wow! That water looks amazing!

I made a reservation for early December with cave-tubing.com. Is this the same one mentioned on here as simply .com? It is $55 for the tubing and zip line combo.

I will have my 18 month old while my husband goes with the others. Do you know what the area is like where we will wait? Any water to play in? Thank you!

I've been reading that there are some activities to do right by the pier...like a zip line and possibly a beach? Any experience you can give am opinion on, and pricing? Thanks! !

Hi there!

Our family has been blessed to adopt a large sibling group, so we will be traveling with 10 children. The youngest will be 18 months, but all of the others are 8+. We'll also have 6 adults, including a grandma to watch the baby.

What are some of the best priced options available to still have a great time without spending a small fortune? I've read about taking taxis instead of the cruise lines excursions. I'd appreciate any and all insight here!

Cozumel - snorkeling /possibly dolphin swim?

Costa Maya - ?

Belize - unsure, maybe tubing with grandma and baby staying on ship

Roatan - Foster's or Bananarama? Zip line?

I always sail with children, and am appreciative of the fact that you know when is a good time to avoid them. We sailed on HAL (never again) during spring break. Every corner we turned we heard something about all the "damn kids" on the ship. Yes, my kids had to hear that word dozens of times, directed at them. And my kids were extremely well behaved, it was just their mere presence. Excuse me, but it IS Spring Break.

I love it when people do their research and know what to avoid!

The Jewel on November 1 is stopping at the Banana Coast instead.

I hate when I read this. I always see it as a ::shrug of the shoulders:: by the TA and 'giving up' and passing the buck back to the customer. TA's know the rules. They know they're making the commission for the booking and that they are the ones to book, communicate.....do all the work - for NCL as well as for you the customer. They got paid for the booking and all the work involved, not NCL and they should do it themselves instead of ::shrugging their shoulders:: and sending the customer to NCL.

 

Harriet

I used to be a general TA, and I would have probably suggested the client to call when after 2 days of me working with NCL and finally succeeding in getting the $80 (which is above and beyond normal) the client was still screaming "FOUL!" at me. What else can you do at that point but let them hear it straight from the horses mouth.

It does not sound like a "bad TA" after dealing with a somewhat impossible situation considering final payment had passed!

Thanks Rudyard!

I now have deposits on both sailings, lol!

The RCI we are in two OV family rooms, which are all the way forward for a total of $5061.

On NCL we have three mid-ship insides for a total of $3941. Which is over $1100 less!

Still debating though....not sure about those forward cabins. They didn't have any OV cabins on NCL that were side-by-side.

Thanks for your replies! It is such a tough decision. I remember the food on the Norweigan being really good, and with the Nickelodeon, mid-ship rooms and $700 savings I'm leaning that way. The kids won't even know about the Ice skating and rock wall, right?!

That said, RCI is my favorite cruise line! I'm so torn!

no advice, but I'm going to be watching for comments about the two ships. I live near San Antonio and am already dreaming of my 2nd cruise being a solo out of Houston/Galveston - NOT during kid heavy times.

Mytime...I would suggest asking which cruises are NOT included in the kids sail free promotions! We went on Holland America once when they offered kids sail free - BIG mistake. I did not appreciate all the "Why are there so many DAMN kids on my ship?" comments everywhere we went. It was spring break and KSF so not sure what they expected!

FWIW the itinerary is Costa Maya, Roatan, Cozumel on RCI, and Cozumel, Belize and Roatan on NCL. I didn't care for Belize when I was there...so I don't particularly have a preference.

I'll be taking some newly adopted first timers with me (if all goes well) :D

I have been looking at the kids sail free promos from both NCL and RCI...sailing out of Texas. I have been on both cruise lines and loved both cruises, but wasn't sure if any one had been on both of these ships with kids and had insight as to which one would be better? Kids range from 6 mos. to 15 years.

Does the NCL have the Nickelodeon stuff on every sailing? It is pricing out about $700 less for three midship insides. On the RCI I have two family staterooms (8500 and 8200) on hold, they are all the way forward if this makes a difference??

I was looking for more info on the tour of the fort and maybe some comments on the nature trail.

I clicked on the link above, and it says there are tours of the fort daily, at 12 and 2. Our ship is only in until 2, how long does a tour take? In other words, if we did the noon tour, would we have trouble getting back to the ship?