Itchy&Scratchy

Having two rooms will mean that the adult on duty (we plan on taking turns staying in the room when the kids are in bed) can still read, watch tv, etc and not bother the kiddos.

The cruises I want for Thanksgiving don't have any inside rooms for 3-4 people available. Only balconies. I've started looking/pricing daily and they haven't become available at all. I hope it changes after the final payment day.

the buffet is great. More information here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

Princess cruises to the Caribbean have plenty of people in their 30-40s with young kids. Especially during school breaks.

Having sailed on both Princess and RCI, I must say that the food on Princess wins hands down. Food was the reason we switched from RCI to Princess and didn't regret our decision.

That said, next year we are coming back to RCI, because Princess has NOTHING to do onboard for families with kids. Nada. If your kid doesn't go to kid's club, you are forced to drag him with you all over the ship and only participate in activities that also allow children to be around. Our kid went to everything from bingo to happy hour to culinary demonstrations. He was very bored (thank goodness for his tablet with games and cartoons). The evening shows were also very late and very loud and very boring for him.

Next year I am looking forward to having lots of family fun on the Allure: carousel, rock climbing, ice skating, the shows which are a lot more young kid friendly and more entertaining, gawking at the Flowrider people, etc. I am sure none of us will go hungry on RCI, even if the food is a bit more boring than Princess'.

So, if you want a more active vacation on board, go with RCI. If you are into a relaxing, laid back atmosphere with good food - Princess.

Temperatures on an Alaska cruise will probably be a lot colder, so pool and sunbathing are probably out anyway.

my friends do a regular balcony room with 2 kids (11 and 9). The oldest started cruising when he was 3.

I personally would get a deluxe balcony (obstructed or not) with 2 kids, because you get a sleeper sofa. Regular balcony cabins don't have a sleeper sofa.

We travel with 1 kid (DS is 7), and I can't imagine putting him into a separate room. First, I couldn't justify paying for a separate cabin for a couple of kids. Second, Princess often runs $99 per 3/4 person in the same deals, which saves a lot of money.

To add to my post above: we didn't actually experience any problems on Caribbean Princess. None at all. It was a little more tired and worn compared to Regal Princess, and the buffet's size was a huge disappointment (I am a glutton). However, personnel was exceptional and the itinerary stellar.

I wish Regal/Royal went to ABC islands during school breaks.

Our fear is that we will miss many of the new features on the Regal, Alfredos, the expanded buffet, brewed coffee etc.

Did you check out obstructed deluxe balcony cabins on Emerald deck and decks 15-16? They are usually cheaper than deluxe balconies or regular balconies, but they are still large and deluxe. :) I'd go with that.

Granted, we were on Caribbean Princess before its dry dock, but I didn't read up on anything in advance, so it was a rather unpleasant surprise that it wasn't as big, grand, or shiny, and was missing the grand buffet compared to Regal.

Thankfully, the ABC island itinerary made up for that 100%. Regal's itineraries during the weeks we can actually travel leave much to be desired.

we had a two-port charger plugged into a 2-head splitter and that was enough for all three of our phones/tablets, plus a toothbrush charger, plus a camera charger.

NCL does exactly the same. My relatives thought final payment date was one day later than it actually was. Poof went their deposit and their reservation. They called and pleaded the next day but they would not relent.

So does Princess. I don't get it when people mess up but are super angry with the cruise line for doing what a cruise line does in this kind of cases.

P.S. Our friends found out the same hard way. The wife made reservations for the immediate family and her parents and paid it on time. Husband made reservations for his parents but never checked the email. Ever. The wife found out when she was trying to do the check-in for the in-laws.... She had to make a new reservation at an exorbitant price for a balcony (since interior rooms were sold out by then). :(

if you scroll just a little bit, you will find at least 2-3 recent threads about car seats at destination ports. You can also do a subforum search. :)

In short - no, car seats will not be available in ports. You will be lucky (in a lot of places) if you get a taxi with functioning seat belts. So, whether you want to risk your child's life or not by not using your own car seat is up to you.

For a 1 yo I'd look into a Cosco Scenera NEXT $40, rear facing, of course.

Some people drive a Hyundai some a Lexus that's why, quality.

no, it's because some people can afford a Hyundai, and some can afford a Lexus.

I can afford a Kia, so that's what I drive. I can afford RCI and Princess, so that's what I sail. Instead of foregoing cruising for 2-4 years to save up for one Viking cruise, we'll cruise every year (once or twice depending on what's offered) and thoroughly enjoy it. We are very happy with what we get on RCI/Princess, so why would I dump then in favor of a much more expensive and way less affordable cruise line? Just to get some more perceived luxury, but a lot less often?

Not a fair comparison because you forgot to add that Viking INCLUDES a shore excursion in EVERY port ($125.00 ish) and Gratuity and soda and alcohol and fewer passengers with higher ratios of crew to passenger. When I used Viking air they picked us at the airport and returned us to the airport no charge. If Value is added into the mix the disparity in price shrinks quite a bit.

I didn't FORGET it. I simply know nothing about Viking, because I could never afford cruising with them, judging by their prices. Our entire family can go on 3-4 cruises with Princess or RCI instead of one cruise with Viking.

We do beach excursions by taking a taxi and it doesn't cost us $125. Taxi from FLL to the port is about $20, so it doesn't break a bank either.

I can't drink, and DH enjoys a couple of beers or mixed drinks during the cruise - so, we don't need or pay for an all inclusive alcohol package.

We've always been happy with the speed and quality of the service provided - no complaints whatsoever. Food on Princess has been great. RCI's food was good several years ago - we'll try it out next year again.

So, why would I pay 3-4x the Princess/RCI cruise just to have something I am already happy about or have enough of or won't use at all?

You will find that even in the Lido buffet, the closer it gets to 8 AM, they stop replacing the items.

we didn't find that to be true.

We usually show up at the buffet at 8 am (our flight home is at 5 pm, so we are not in a hurry). We eat (no hurry) and then wait until it's our time to disembark.

on our last cruise, Princess upgraded us to a balcony for free. It was our very first balcony cabin ever. I won't lie - I loved it. Princess ships are very boring to us because they don't offer many family activities for families with kids, so it was terrific to have a balcony to read a book on for hours. We also saw dolphins! And the sunsets were magical.

Now, we can't always afford a balcony, so our next cruise is in the inside room. But if a balcony is sold at an agreeable price - I'd most certainly get a balcony.

P.S. Drying swimsuits on the balcony is also a plus.

hmmm, I got it yesterday (we are also Ruby level) and it wend directly into the recycling bin. I am not sure what's so awesome about it.

Originally posted by Brad1185 Years ago I rated the food and service on Princess, RCI, Celebrity, Holland even Carnival a 10 out of 10. Years ago I rated NCL a 3 - 4 out of 10

 

Now I rate the above lines a 0 to 1 out of 10.

you must have impossibly high standards.

We've always had impeccable service on Princess. The food is great as well - trust me, I am a glutton and I personally go on cruises to EAT FANTASTIC FOOD.

And wow, your Viking's FREE internet isn't all that free. A 7 days cruise on Regal Princess for Thanksgiving is going to cost us $1,600 (inside) -$2,400 (balcony) total for the 3 of us. Viking cruise STARTS at $2,799 per person for the same month. Internet is simply included in the exorbitant price.

It is been discussed many times before. May want to do a search...

DS has been cruising since he was 3. We don't dress him up. The most he's been "dressed up" in in MDR is a polo shirt from Target/Kohl's and khaki pants that he wears to school.

Some cruise lines offer a service where the kids club staff will pick your kids up from the MDR and then take them to the kid's club. Other than that - it takes a whole 10 minutes to walk back to your cabin after dinner, change your kids and take them to the kid's club.

P.S. DS doesn't do kid's club, so he spends all dinners with us in MDR. He is 7.5 yo now.

“...actually bored to death...”

 

Certainly no need, nor even possibility, of ANY further cruising.

he is right, you know. We love Regal and Royal Princesses because the food is fantastic and we are major gluttons. However, unless your kid is in kid's club, there is nothing for a FAMILY with an elementary school aged kid to do. NADA.

That's why our next cruise is on the Allure. Yes, I know, we'll take a major hit in the food department, but we will have fun as a family - ice skating, carousel, zipline, kid aqua park, shows, etc.

You just missed it in July, and I'd assume it's rather random.

we definitely took turns: when DS was napping during the day, I'd stay with him and read a book or listen to an audio book, and DH would explore the ship on his own. At night my DH would stay with DS because he knows I am into shows and he is not.

it would be great if you visited the subforums dedicated solely to your destinations. Within them you will find a ton of stories and reviews.

The crack IT team at royal hasn't figured out how to let you book all the nights at the same time so until then it's one at a night time. Check out then back in for next night

2 weeks ago I was able to book all 7 nights for MTD on the Allure without a hitch.

my parents and my friends parents don't speak English, yet, they enjoyed cruising and don't miss a thing.

Now, my parents only went on one cruise last year, and loved every minute of it.

My friends' parents go on cruises 2-3 times a year (my friend pays for them) and don't speak a word of English. Neither do they speak Spanish.

they usually come in twice a day - in the morning to take out the trash, clean and make the beds. In the evening for a turn down service. We don't need turn down service, so we tell the steward that and put the do not disturb card in in the evening.

We don't need cleaning services every day, so we used to put the do not disturb card in and just leave it there. You usually get a call after 2 days from the housekeeping manager, because the room must be cleaned. It was explained to me (on this board) that it's easier to clean the room in small increments every day than to leave the big clean up for the last day of the cruise.