lucyddr

We have gone to Mr. Sanchos for several years now and love it.  That said, the last time we were there in 2017, the beach had eroded significantly and getting in and out of the water was extremely difficult for my parents who are in their late-60's.  I realize it's a natural event due to hurricanes, but wondered if the beach had been revitalized/dredged or if it remains rather steep?  And if so, are Nachi or some of the others less steep???

We are travelling with parents in their late 60's, husband and I are in 40's, and twins are 7.  Just wondering if we would be better off somewhere more comfortable for my parents.....

I'd put the 11yo in the top bunk and the baby on the bottom sofa bed. You can buy inflatable pool noodles from amazon and tuck them under the sheets to create a bed rail or if you want to go fancy...Shrunks makes a travel inflatable bedrail! Works great and saves a ton of space!

My twins are 5 and about to be going on their 3rd Carnival cruise, so we have plenty of experience!

Embarkation: Have some simple bags of snacks (goldfish crackers, etc) and juice boxes handy as lines can be long and boring. We've found simple snacks really make it better! This is one time we break out tablets too.

Once on the ship, have lunch. They can register the kids for Camp Carnival and tour the area, so they kind of know what it looks like and meet the ladies who will be in there for the cruise. The camp is not usually open until 10pm on the first night, so don't plan on using it. I'd have the kids in swimwear under their clothes and head to the pools after checking into the camp. Swim, dance to the Lido music, and enjoy seeing the Seuss characters. My kids stay entertained easily until the safety drill is called.

All children are different. My twins are very social and LOVE Camp Carnival. They beg to go anytime the doors are open. Our sea day schedule is usually sleeping in, brunch, swimming, water works, and lunch. They usually then want to head to the camp for an hour or two before dinner, which gives husband and I time to relax/nap!

Port days are spent on the island as a family. We never leave our two behind as we cruise for the ports and experiences. Usually, we come in from our excursions, shower, nap a little, and head to dinner at 6. Our waiters keep the kids a course ahead of the adults (appetizer fruit on table at arrival, entre while adults have apps, etc). At 7, my kids are begging to head to Camp. They stay until 10pm every night and we usually allow them to stay until 1am a couple of nights for the Night Owl party because they beg! We are always amazed at their stamina!

I'd definitely try to use the clubs if the kids will go, as they really make the vacation both for our children and us...it's nice to have some adult time! Have fun!

Thank you for sharing! These are so cute! Seeing the pictures posted in this thread are making me more & more excited to dress the kids up!

 

 

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I enjoy coordinating my boy girl twins. As they get older, they still let me for trips and special days...but not so much for day to day school. I'll do it as long as I can!

That is the costs you would expect in September - when the poster is traveling. That is one of the cheaper times to travel. April spring breaks, summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas/NYE weeks pay as much as 2x premium.

We LOVE it for the weather and less kid-crowding too!!! We did a spring break 5 day this year., as it's all my work schedule would allow. It was truly the only cruise we've ever done that we disliked. Rowdy kids everywhere, pools way too cold to swim in so kids took over hot tubs, ocean choppy and not nearly as beautiful as "normal," lots of drunk college kids, etc. Outside of maybe flying to San Juan and leaving from there (which we've done twice and loved), there's no way we will ever cruise in March/April again!

Summer time is fine for weather. As our kids age, that will be our only available opportunities...but we will just budget accordingly. Our average excursion is $100/pp and for now, my kids are half price on 2 of them. In the future, we will need around $2500 for a week's worth of excursions (we do all private).

Wow you guys are getting great deals! I’m a teacher so taking a week off is not an option and just a personal preference but neither is an ocean view or inside

 

 

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In that case, you are looking at around $8000 for your desires/needs...just the reality.

These are typical cruise outfits for our twins. They coordinate and are nicer than typical school clothes, but comfortable enough to wear to Camp Carnival! Ours never want to take the time to change! We don't do ultra-formal anymore...it just isn't our style.

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One thing to do is VERY closely follow Southwest Airlines about 8 months before you want to travel. On the morning they release rates, you can get amazing deals! We are flying from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale round trip for $150pp! I snagged them within 2 hours of the rate release (happens in morning). That alone saved our family of 4 almost $1000.

Secondly, if you can take kids out of school, book in May or September on Carnival. The rates are much cheaper and both are great times to cruise if you can be a little flexible (hurricaine season).

Our cruise (in 3 weeks, family of 4) budget is the following. Please know we cruise for the ports and excursions, so that part of our budget is higher than many.

1. Cruise with tips $2700

2. Flights $600

3. Airport parking $100

4. Shore Excursions with tips $1800

5. Airport Shuttles $150

6. Specialty Dining $220

$5570 total...so maybe $6000 after a few drinks and all.

Our girl twin is very sensitive to loud noises, textures, and can be quite moody at times. While we didn't begin cruising with our children until they were 3 due to issues related to their being preemies with lung disease, our daughter did amazingly well at Camp Carnival! Both of my children love the structured activities on Carnival and my children, now 5, beg to go t the camp 24/7.

My recommendation is to try it and see how things go. Worst case, you can always entertain in other ways (Seuss story time, toys, glass elevators, etc). Best case, you have a great vacation!

Our experience with children in Cozumel on two different trips including 4 taxis has been that 1 had shoulder belts and the other 3 only had lap belts. We put our twins in the back seat of the minivan between us on the first trip as we got off the ship without our Safe Rider Travel Vests (just totally forgot). The second time, we had the kids in their vests and were ready, but there were no shoulder restraints on the trip heading to Mr. Sanchos. Coming back, the van had them.

So...it's really hit or miss. Thankfully our twins are now 5.5. We will be taking Graco TurboBooster Takealongs on our next cruise and will pray that our taxis/vehicles all have shoulder straps.

The themed nights have more structure than the non-themed ones. My kids were always found either playing group games or watching a movie (offered later when little ones are a bit tired). It is WELL worth the $15 per child! They get a little Owl pillow, special candy treats, etc. and my kids beg to go!

We allow ours to wear theirs on lanyards at 5, but when we are getting on and off the ship...we just attach them to our lanyards behind our cards. I don't trust them off the boat!

It seems as though my experiences clearly differ from yours.

 

I’ve had the Fountain Fun Card and Bottomless Bubbles on every cruise I’ve sailed on Carnival just as I’ve had the Ultimate Soda and More package on every single one of my Princess Cruises. I don’t seem to have any difficulty being served in a timely manner on Princess but on Carnival, it’s like fighting tooth and nail. It shouldn’t be easier for me to leave the dining room to get my own refill than to ask a bar waiter in the dining room for one.

My husband and I have had a mixed bag, but on the whole...our experience was like yours since 2016! On previous cruises before Cheers existed, we always had our sodas on the dining room table the moment we walked in and got at least one refill. Roving waiters would gladly bring us each one as long as I ordered a mixed drink here and there with an extra $1-2 tip. Waiting was never more than a minute or two at the bar and it was well worth the costs!

Unfortunately, when we cruised the Dream, our experience was terrible. Despite asking, we only got our sodas at dinner 2 or 7 nights...and they were delivered during dessert. We waited in line at bars for several minutes at a time for warm, flat sodas...often they didn't even have Coke Zero available. I tried tipping more and everything, but it didn't change much. I probably drank 8 glasses in 7 days...it was seriously that bad.

I didn't opt for BB on our Triumph cruise, but husband did. He got great service all 5 days!

Mileage varies. Despite both experiences, I still cannot decide what to do on our September cruise! I love the convenience of BB, but am a bit scared about having the same experience we did on the Dream! I also don't wish to try to fly with sodas and may not have time before getting on the ship.

Decisions...decisions.

And fwiw: I had an even worse experience on Royal Caribbean! Their bar waiters would actually make us wait 10+ minutes while they served everyone consuming alcohol to quit ordering before they would fill our cups. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I'll get you some soda once I have time." That's a huge NO in the future for me!

We had a similarly long drill on the Carnival Triumph in March. My children were smothering with all the adults close around them, yet we couldn't hold them for the 40+ minutes it took. I hope Carnival will do something about this in the future...as I dread doing this in September when we cruise the Glory.

I have twins who have travelled extensively, thus we have tried several options.

First...NEVER rent a car seat through a limo or car rental company. I made this mistake early on. I spoke to the company, made sure they had the kids' stats, and told them the type of seats needed. When we got into the limo, one seat didn't rear face at all (kids were under 2) and the other had a strap issue that wouldn't tighten. The driver had no clue as to the fine points of seat installation. Needless to say...we were totally stressed out on our 45 minute drive from MCO to Disney. We were so stressed that the next year, we drove so we would have our quality seats!

Second...don't assume that you can make a Caribbean/Mexican taxi seat work. On a more recent trip with 5 year olds, I bought 2 Ride Safer Travel Vests. I seriously thought I was making a good purchase and safety decision, at almost $400 for 2. Turns out, all 4 of our vans/taxis only had lap belts...no shoulders! One didn't even have a lap belt! We held our kids between us tightly and prayed for a safe trip (short distance).

My recommendation is to try to book bus tours, as busses don't require seatbelts to be safe because of their compartmentalized designs. Otherwise either stay close to the port of take a calculated risk. For domestic trips, Costco Scenara Next is a great cheap seat.

At 5, my plan in September is to take Graco Takealongs. They are folding boosters. While we wouldn't choose a booster at this age and size for day to day use, I feel they are far safer than nothing and easily transported.

We just leave it out. It’s huge and low! My twins have slept on the sofa bed and upper bunk on two cruises now at 3 and 5yo...no issues!

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Some corrections for first timers,,,Deli open til 11pm, Buffet open til 9:30pm, late night snacks in the deli open 11pm-1am. Pizza 24 hours. We spent 3 weeks on the Glory in April., and can confirm these times! My wife enjoys a late snack!-)

Haha...thanks for the info! My 5yo twins always demand a late night snack when they are picked up at Camp Carnival! They didn't love the deli options on the Triumph, but the sure did love room service!

That IS interesting! Ha. I am always tempted to try Carnival again...I did it once as a girls trip in grad school and we felt a little out of place on the Party Boat. But I have heard so many families rave about their trips. Do you have favorite ships for me to look into? The one that sails most frequently closest to us is the Carnival Pride, and CC describes it as a "louder" ship. Hmm...

 

Also, you guys sound exactly like us!

I'm a surgeon, husband is an IT security guy for Bank of America. We have 5yo twins. We take one cruise a year and one land vacation, along with several long weekend trips. Cruising is a great vacation for all of us. Since we live outside of Nashville, we are forced to travel regardless of port selection. Unfortunately, I have no experience with the Carnival Pride.

Yes, there are some party people on Carnival...but it isn't everyone. We enjoyed the Carnival Dream out of New Orleans. It has a great waterpark, ship isn't too huge, etc. We are going on the Carnival Glory in September. It's moderate sized, moderate aged, has not-too-crazy décor, and 2 waterslides that my 43" twins can use (along with the little twin baby slides). We cruised Sunshine when she was the Destiny and got horrible reviews, yet we loved it! We looked at Horizon, but the waterslides require 48" heights and our kiddos aren't there yet.

I'm convinced that a lot of cruising is attitude. Also...private excursions are a must for us. We can't handle the ship ones...too crazy and too many people in a group.

Your assessment was very fair. We were on the Triumph in March for a 5 day cruise...along with the entire state of Arkansas, who happened to be on their spring break. Pools were too cold to swim in, hot tubs packed with kids, long lines to Guys/Pizza Pirate, lots of signs of aging (ie rust stains on weird pool steps), congestion, etc.

Our dining room service and food were great, but took forever. While we had a good cruise, it was probably our least favorite vacation ever because of the weather, ship crowd, and lack of activities available during times of bad weather. I wouldn't cruise her again until she's dry-docked and refurbished and NEVER again during spring break!

We have similar tastes and have found that RC is not our style. Having to reserve meals, reserve show tickets, etc. on a huge ship is just way too much for us. Disney is amazing, but we prefer to travel more often and that cannot happen with Disney prices.

Interestingly enough, we love Carnival. I'd look at an itinerary that goes to Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Lucia, St.Thomas, Mahogany Bay, etc. as all have nice beaches. The Carnival kids clubs are AMAZING! My kids beg to go 24/7. We are not party people, hate mega ships, have no interest in scheduling anything besides dinner, love wine too, and enjoy our time either on a balcony or in the adult serenity area when we aren't with our children. We also love that we can do a 7 day cruise, private shore excursions at 4 ports that fit our family, and have amazing childcare for under $5000k/week.

We sailed the Triumph in March. While it was my least favorite cruise, the ship was totally fine. Our issues were more related to the fact that the cruise was 80% from Arkansas spring-breakers, pools were too cold to actually use, and hot tubs were full of small children. The ship shows wear, but the service was great and the food was on par with other ships. Go and have fun!

Thanks for the quick review! I just booked QLS tonight for our Glory cruise, so I'm happy to hear you had a great experience!

We asked on the Carnival Dream and were told that they could not change, even when less than 4 months of a difference. I will say that the kids all had a ball, even when separated though! Good luck!

We've found that 5-8 nights are kind of a sweet spot for our twins, who will be going on their third cruise in September at 5 years old. Any trip, land or cruise, over 8 nights begins to stress us out as a family.

Have fun!

I've read several threads and just want to confirm that a taxi for 4 between the cruise terminal and Red Hook will be $40 each way? We have a sailing charter planned and I suppose I need to add $100 for transportation.

Is this correct?