CountryGuy13

My son was 11 1/2 when we went on our first cruise. We let him go by himself to places. But he couldn't just "roam". He had to tell us where he was going and we told him where we would be, and he had to check back occasionally. He also had a cell phone to use with the IConcierage app (Norwegian Escape) so he could contact us.

 

My son is the kind of kid who hates getting in trouble and he has had some skills from being a Boy Scout etc. I wasn't too worried about him and it turned out just fine. Just make rules and make sure they are followed.

Yeah, "roam" was probably the wrong terminology, lol. I meant if we're hanging out at the pool my son asking to go with some other kids to the rock climbing wall, etc. He has a cell phone and yep, he'd get a time to meet back up with us.

Hi! My family has our first cruise in August (Oasis of the Seas), and we're beyond excited! I have a question on how much "freedom" to give the kids / tweens coming along with us.

At home, we're not exactly hover-parents - They go outside, around the neighborhood, etc. on their own. However, taking them out of the country for the first time and on a HUGE cruise ship they are not familiar with gives me SOME reservations about just letting them roam about. In particular, my 12 year old. While I think we'll be hanging out as a family most of the time (that's the point, isn't it?) I'd love for him to go hang out with other kids he meets without having Mom and Dad hover over him on occasion, but don't want him getting lost or in trouble either.

At what age did you feel comfortable letting the kids go off on their own on your cruise (if at all)?

It would also help to know the cruise line. For example, I know that on Royal Caribbean, the crewmembers who deliver room service are not part of the tip pool, so we tip them separately.

Makes sense - Its on Royal Caribbean.

There are some older threads out there on this topic, but I wanted to confirm they are still valid (sorry if its a repeat): I'm going on my first cruise in August, and I elected to pre-pay tips. I'm also aware drink service is added to any bar bills (so that's covered while I'm going).

Is there anyone NOT covered by tips that I should be aware of, that should be tipped? I'm thinking along the lines of bus drivers for excursions, etc? I know many people make their living off tips and I don't want to short-change anyone (but don't want to double-tip either!)

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Grr, just saw someone posted a very similar question on just the shore excursions, so keeping the question in place but think I have that one answered, lol

I'm cruising on RCI in August, and I was told by Royal Caribbean that no power strips (surge supressor or otherwise) are permitted on the ship. Searching old threads here, it seems they permitted non surge supressors in the past.

Has there been a change in policy anyone is aware of?

You will still pay the going rate for booze...whether it's in a mixed drink, or you get a "shot" and mix it yourself.

Very true. The difference is shots are $9 and we are not heavy drinkers, so buying a couple shots each night to go along with the virgin pina coladas and mojitos all day is fine by us (and a little less than half the cost of us getting the full alcohol package).

Now twenty years ago? I'd make RCI go bankrupt on that beverage package LOL

So the deluxe booze package talks about unlimited non alcoholic drinks; does the deluxe include a soda package, and if so, do you still get the special soda cups?

 

Thx

 

 

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Yep- There's the soda package ($9 a day) that gives you the cup and free soda, the Refreshment package is in the middle - You get the cup and soda, but also free premium coffee drinks, bottled water, fresh squeezed juice, and non-alcoholic cocktails. Basically its the booze package without the booze, but given we're not big alcohol drinkers $18 vs $55 a day is huge.

Package has been on sale on most ships, I think bottom line is if you want 4 or more drinks per day get package if less than 4 do not, not sure if you drink wine, but if you do one person can get package and get bottles of wine for 40 or 20 percent off and share with other 2

Not really wine drinkers. I actually like the package (besides for the price) for the coffee and water as much as the cocktails. At night I might have 2-3 cocktails, so it puts me on the cusp of it being worthwhile or not (although the convenience and no risk of "overspending" on the ship card put it over the edge IMHO).

Nothing at all wrong with that. In fact my wife will use her free diamond drinks on shots to add to her frozen drinks covered by her Refreshmemt package.

Perfect, thanks!

So, I see the alcohol-based package is $55 a day, and the non-alcohol Refreshment package (i.e. virgin cocktails, soda, water, etc.) is only $18. I'm not the drink-all-day type, but I know I'll go nuts on the water and coffee, and I will want a few drinks at night.

Here's my question: Is there anything preventing me from buying a couple shots to go along with my free virgin mojitos? There's a big difference between $425 and about $150 for the week (times three)!

If you ask at the port there is usually some one who will stamp his passport

That's pretty cool. Thanks!

Hi! My family will be going on a cruise to St. Maarten, Labadee (Haiti), and Puerto Rico. This will be the first time my son has been out of the country, and he's very excited about getting his new passport stamped.

I know PR wont (as its a US territory), and Labadee is a private beach so I don't think that will have one either. Do you have to go through some sort of immigration when landing on St. Maarten that would get his passport stamped?

If not, would we have to do so for re-entry back into the US? I don't think the stamp matters as much as getting one :)

Thanks clarea and mike! I guess they are trying to sell the packages, but still seems odd they wouldn't offer them earlier - Pre-paid is still selling. Still, day 4 is better than nothing.

Age 16 to be by themselves. Age 13-15 if supervised by parent, and with approval of gym staff.

That works for me then, thanks for the quick reply!!

Hi,

My family will be sailing on the Oasis of the Seas in August. I didn't purchase any drink plans as my wife and I aren't big drinkers (a couple margaritas for each of us will probably be it each day). However, I've read a number of threads talking about drink cards that let you pre-purchase x drinks for a set amount. That would be huge for us (and sounds similar to the coffee cards we purchased already).

Are they only available on-board, as I don't see them listed for purchase ahead of time? If so, where and when can you get them?

Hi all,

Does anyone know RCI's policy for gym use on the ships? I have a 13 year old son who would like to run with me in the morning a few days on our cruise, and maybe some light weights.

I use "Would like to run with me" loosely - He likes doing it with me at home, but on the cruise ship? We will see, LOL

Hi there

 

Since this discussion has morphed far from the OP's train of thought, I thought I might add ad few comments.

 

People forget to comment that in any comparison of costs relative to what someone could earn, any amount that is saved, is after tax income and therefore is of greater value than an equal amount of earned income.

 

For myself (and I presume others), I would gladly pay (real money), for the ability to avoid an airport. That would also increase the real value of any saving from driving. For the OP, since he says he likes driving, it would seem to be a no brainer. I would do the same.

 

I agree with those that feel he should try to find a way to give himself just a little more time but if can't he can't and he will more likely than not make it on time and have a great cruise.

Same here - I travel for business only when I have to anymore, as airports are generally a nightmare IMHO. I also happen to love the road trip with the family, but I can definitely see how many would hate it.

But yes, getting there a day early makes sense, I'm taking everyone's advice here on that one.

There is no way I would try it. I've driven/ridden back and forth quite a number of times, New England/Florida, without incident, but there was one break-down that required an overnight stay, and another time that the traffic on 95 in FL was dead stopped for hours because of an accident.

I would definitely allot an additional day, at least!

Yep, my wife managed to get Friday night covered and we're taking a day in St. Augustine beforehand (and an easy 2 hour drive to Cape Canaveral).

OP is cruising in August, 6 weeks not 6 months. You need to include transportation to local airport and transfers in Orlando. You also need to include checked bag fees. $400 might be doable.

Cheapest flights (not including transfers) is about $300 a person, so $1,200 for the family. That also doesn't include intangibles like the stress of airports and loss of family time together (never mind a gorgeous drive if you avoid 95 and go through Shenandoah). Different strokes for different folks though.

We're taking folks' advice and taking the extra day, staying in a hotel by the beach the day before. I freely admit I'm less stressed now about the timing, so definitely appreciate that advice!

I arrive for my cruise at least 24 hours in advance.

 

When cruising and in port, I am always back on the ship at least one hour prior to all aboard.

 

On time is late, early is on time.

That seems to be the consensus, my wife's getting Friday night covered by a co-worker and we're taking an extra day to spend in St. Augustine before the cruise (2 hrs away from Cape Canaveral).

Now having read this thread the entire way through, and us about to make this trip for the 2nd time, am I the only one that thinks the stretch of 95 from Jacksonville to Daytona has some of the most aggressive drivers anywhere?. Now that the OP had had the topic discussed, I'll relate a little of our first trip from just a bit further west than them.

 

This was our route -

 

 

From where we live, we had a choice of I-75 to Florida then East, or the route above. On the sunny trip down we chose this route. We left on Saturday morning and drove as far as Savannah. We easily could have made it to Jacksonville driving till 9pm and doing the speed limit, but we had a visit to make in Savannah. We drove the remaining 300 miles to the port on Sunday for our Monday cruise arriving at the port around 1pm Sunday and enjoyed a great dinner at Grills and watched the ships in port. Our cruise ended in Friday and we spent the entire day driving back The weather from VA north turned cold and wet that day, That road through VA and WV was hell in the night and rain. Knowing that, this year if the weather isn't ideal I'll come back 75. and possibly stop somewhere if needed since we work M-F.

 

But I can't minimize how much we enjoyed the drive. My wife and I have stressful jobs, two grandchildren and didn't have much alone time last spring/summer. She agreed to do it all over again this year with no hesitation.

As I'm on the eastern side of PA, it seems I81 to 77 would work better for me (and it looks like it goes through a few state parks in WV), but might try your route now that we're going down a day early.

A "road trip" generally implies emphasis upon the trip as much as getting to the destination. Driving to get to a cruise embarkation within an absolute time limit is something entirely different.

 

A first time cruiser may not know that he cannot just show up at the pier a minute before sailaway. He also may not consider the negative effect on the first day or so of being totally exhausted - so, while not specifically requested, this sort of input is appropriate response.

Fair enough, and I didn't mean to sound dismissive to anyone if that's how it came across. I did take the advice of several on here and we're going to take off a day early and spend the night two hours out in St. Augustine (nothing wrong with an extra beach day I figure).

While I love the drive (and have no concerns about driving overnight), its one thing if a major accident kills one day of a vacation in Disney vs. the cruise ship leaving without us. :) I figure the extra day lets me have both.

Thank you for the replies everyone!

Okay - just did a random "ita matrix" search for high traffic dates/times more than six months out. Found quite a few RT airfares at well under $400/person. So, we're still only talking in the neighborhood of $500 to $600+\- more to fly than to drive and that's still before adding parking and enroute meals during a drive. BTW, for many folks, that drive time addition of 10+ hours subtracts from a two income family's earning potential not to mention the negative impact on your first (very tired) day aboard.

AFAIAC, driving is still a losing proposition.

 

 

 

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That's fair and you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but some of our best memories as a family have been on our road trip drives; I don't consider this a losing proposition at all.

I was really just trying to get other's opinions on leeway as far as time goes for a cruise (and learning there are specific boarding times was very helpful), I wasn't looking for judgement on method of travel.

"Pennywise and pound foolish"

Your wife can probably trade shifts or call in for a "personal day."

At a conservative per diem government reimbursement rate of .54/mile (which includes the cost of wear and tear as well as fuel/maintenance), that approx 2000 mile round trip drive will cost you more than $1000 in the long run. And unless you are flying out tomorrow morning, you can surely find round trip airfare for two at far less than $1500. Check out "ita matrix" for best tix costs.

Driving AND/OR flying to a port on the same day is never a good plan.

 

 

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This would work great, except I believe my two children would likely riot if we left them behind :) That's where the additional for airline tix comes from.

OP said his wife can't get off work on Friday night, and that he plans to drive through the night, which I assume to be Saturday night, to arrive at 9-10am. So I'm not sure what your point is.

Well, for me to get down there Saturday night would have me leaving as soon as my wife gets home in the AM, and will likely add a few hours drive due to daytime traffic.