Itchy&Scratchy

I got MTD on Allure in July for March 2019 sailing and have already booked MDR.

We LOVED Aruba, like Curacao (I picked an average beach, don't do it). Curacao was too hot and humid that day and we only made it to the bridge and had to turn back because all three of us were dying in that heat. And we are from GA! Even my 5 year old was miserable.

Aruba was gorgeous, the beach was free - we went to the butterfly farm and then just crossed the road and stayed on the beach for free (chaises in the palm shade).

I am not sure what HMC is.

When is a sale not a sale?

 

 

When it is advertised by RCL....

unless it's Kids Sail Free combined with BOGO, which in our case just saved us $1,400.

I booked a cruise back in July (during KSF promotion) for $1,600 total (2 adults, 1 kid). Right now the same cruise, same type of cabin, it's actually right next to the one I booked - just over $3,000.

If the child is under 5, there is no charge. They can even order from the MDR children’s menu. No need to make them starve - lol.

oh, it's not about starving - this kid does not starve, but my child has rather peculiar tastes when it comes to MDR dinners.

On his first cruise at 3 years he ate nothing but Cesar salad and ice cream. On his subsequent 2 cruises he ate only bread with butter and ice cream.

On his last cruise I made him eat a fruit salad for dinner. And ice cream was mandatory, of course. Once he requested a bowl of steamed green beans and ate all of them with gusto.

He doesn't like the children's menu anyway. Nor would he touch any of the adult menu choices at a specialty restaurant.

But at home he is quite an omnivorous and prolific eater.

I was just curious what happens if the child doesn't eat (but is over 5), since we wouldn't spend money at a specialty restaurant anyway with all the free food so abundant.

we've never had specialty dining, but I am wondering - if the adults eat, and the child does not, would the child be charged at all?

Urbini Reversi - still about $55 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Urbini-Reversi-Stroller-Fog/44656185

RCI's Allure of the Seas and sister ships have cabins for 5 people, but you just missed their July-long Kids Sail Free campaign....

You could also book 2 adjoining cabins: parent with 2 kids, parent with 1 kid. Then keep the door between cabins open and have the 2 older kiddos sleep in the other cabin.

Our kids will be 5, 3, and 1 at the time of sailing. I've looked at booking two rooms (interior and balcony) and only using the balcony room,\

that would be extremely tight, unless you get some kind of a huge balcony room. We were in a deluxe balcony room on Regal Princess last year with our then 6 yo kid, and I can't imagine having 2 more kids sleep in it. 2 kids in bunks - yes, ok, if they don't fall off (the 3 yo), but where are you going to put the 1 yo?

our very first cruise was on Independence. We had a blast (no kid then)! Our forth cruise was on Independence as well - with our 3 yo (first one for him)! We had a blast!

Don't forget flip flops for both of you. I don't know what happened, but I forgot them and had to wear dress shoes to the pool. :( They got wet and disintegrated...

Relax. No need to be stressed out about anything on the cruise. It's a great vacation. Watch the shows, eat the yummy food, watch people fall down on the Flowrider, climb the rock climbing wall, walk the promenade - we loved going to all the stores window shopping, watch a movie, have tea and cookies at the Promenade cafe (that was my favorite thing about RCI), read a book and watch the ocean, have the drink of the day, walk around the ship! It's all about relaxing and having fun.

P.S. Airplane mode for the phone!

My friend has been raving about the beef wellington on Princess for years now, but I tried it once and didn't care for it.

Regal princess had it in MDR in November 2017.

I booked us a 3rd and 4th passenger for $1 last March for a November Caribbean cruise.

 

The pricing came up on the Princess website but there was nothing specific identifying the promotion. I only found it because I got an email from Princess announcing the promotion and listing the sailings it applied to.

 

I will say that it was an incredible deal since we got the 3rd and 4th for $1 AND we all got pre-paid gratuities AND a small ship board credit.

dang it, I get bombarded by Princess emails every day, but NOT by this particular email, huh?

strange, I must have missed the current one. Thank you for taking the time to reply =)

I am waiting for the $99 deal myself. Last year Princess had this deal in mid-July, so I snatched up a Thanksgiving cruise last year. I am still hoping for this deal for this year.

P.S. I didn't see this deal in early March.

We left DS with his grandparents to go on a cruise when he was 9 months and 2 yo. My parents were already his day care providers, so it didn't change much for the kiddo. He stayed in his house, in his bed, so, at least the surroundings and the timing of the routine didn't change for him.

We didn't purchase either the data plan or called home with intl roaming... They were fine. If something happened, they would have called my cell and left a message.

We missed him terribly, though (he is not super active, like OP's kid), so when he was 3, he started cruising with us. :) It's been great, and he doesn't even go to kid's club. He is 7 now and has already been on 4 cruises.

P.S. A tablet with games and cartoons is a must in MDR if you want to enjoy your dinner and adult conversation. :)

We have too many different meds for the 3 of us, including liquid meds, to actually make "a multi brand medicine case from a typical pill case", but what a great idea!

I take 3 gallon sized ziplock bags - one for each family member. The kid gets everything from a thermometer and cold meds to various size of bandaids. Hubs gets a ton of meds for his stomach and allergies. I usually get the cold meds and ibuprophen galore + echinacea.

-Perhaps simply another feature of the inside cabin, but we couldn't get the bathroom light to turn on without flicking the master cabin lights switch. Fairly annoying during sleeping hours. Hoping someone can offer a suggestion for you on that.

Thanks for great info. What are your thoughts on Labadee - I have seen a couple of video clips and read several reviews about rocky beach under zip line, very crowded at Columbus cove and lots of comments about the market !! There are lots who say it is brilliant and others who would rather stay on the ship. I know everyone is different but just curious as to your view and what you did.

 

Thanks Gill

we've been to Labadee twice and loved it. DH did the zipline the first time and then we went to the opposite side to the beach.

The second time we already had a kid so we did the beach time at the same place, which is the side opposite of the zipline, and loved it. So beautiful and the water was actually warn the second time.

Three of us use 2 large suitcases, which we usually store in the closet, side by side, opened. I usually hang some clothes in the closet, but the rest of it doesn't wrinkle, and we find it more convenient to just fish out what we need out of the suitcases.

I’ve never seen a cruise bunk say not recommended for children. Who else sleeps on them but children??

My kid started sleeping on a bunk bed at 5 on cruises and never fell down, but he sleeps like a log and the side rail is enough to hold him in.

But yes - the bunk beds say Not Recommended for Children exactly because young children tend to fall off these bunk beds and break their bones.

The shower must’ve been the smallest I’ve ever seen on a ship. I didn’t like that the shower head wasn’t detachable. Never been on a cruise where that wasn’t a thing.

my friends with two kids were in R715 on our last cruise on Regal. The ship is so huge, and this being the cabin in the back - you won't feel a thing. The front of the ship moves a little more.

They didn't complain about any noise or soot on the balcony, but my friend said she rarely used the balcony anyway.

hippo:

we've been on Regal and Caribbean Princesses (see signature for details).

Regal has a much bigger and better buffet (by far), but we found MDR food to be the same quality. Adult menu, that is.

Caribbean Princess had a regular buffet. If we went on a Caribbean Princess first, we would have thought it was great, but since we went on Regal first, we were disappointed because we didn't expect Caribbean Princess's buffet to be much smaller and to have fewer choices.

The food on the children's MDR menu on Caribbean was simply inedible in 2016. Our kid is not picky, but even he couldn't eat it. I didn't believe him when he said it was bad and tried it for him, and truly - it was awful.

We never ordered from a kid's menu on Regal, so I can't compare.

In 2016 Caribbean Princess was a bit more worn and tired than Regal, but it went to ABC islands which 150% made up for any age related difference.

yes, at 36" no booster will ever fit her. If she is equally lightweight, Evenflo Chase will do the trick instead of Maestro. They are identical, but Chase harnesses to 40# and maestro harnesses to 50#.

It’s your vacation. Do as you please!

 

because the laws of physics are also on vacation!!! yay!

To OP: are the parents of the children NOT coming on the cruise?

I'd bring Cosco Scenera NEXT for the 14 mo and depending on the 3 yo's height and weight, I'd bring an Evenflo Maestro (harnessed) or at least a no back booster, like Harmony Youth booster. Now, if the 3 yo is shorter than 45-46" (most of them are), he/she won't have a good seat belt fit in the Youth booster. My DS didn't have a good seat belt fit at 43"/43# even though he has a long torso, but it's better than nothing at all, especially if you use the seat belt guide on the booster.

IN case the vehicles don't have latch or locking seatbelts, I'd bring a locking clip for each of the harnessed seats.

Also check out Travel with Children board on www.babycenter.com and many threads in this subforum, which discuss using car seats during cruise travel.

Probably not.

you were right. I priced the same cruise today, and it's $2,330 as opposed to $1,654 I paid for it 2 weeks ago.

we usually arrive on a ship around 1-1:30 pm, and by that time the room is usually ready for us. We traveled with a car seat (not a stroller) on a Magna type cart and took it directly to the cabin.

1) go for a week

2) go to the Caribbean - it will be nice and toasty. Skip Cozumel, if you can.

3) Go at the end of Jan or beginning of Feb. Prices will be lower, and there won't be thousands of school aged children all over the place.

4) since you are 60 or so, I'd take a good look at Princess (Regal and Royal Princess to be exact). Both have a very relaxing atmosphere and the food is great. Beautiful ships too!

P.S. We always sail out of Miami or FLL, so I am good with these ports. Fly in a day early, since you are in PA.

I'd skip Cozumel and stay onboard that day.