Itchy&Scratchy

We were on in November and didn't know about that free access.

I know!!!! We didn't find out until Thursday of the Sun-Sun sailing. :( Hubby noticed that he kept getting FB notifications even in airplane mode - we asked CS and voila, it's free!

We were in E332. It's a Deluxe balcony room, which means it had a single sofa bed. To me it was more comfortable than a regular bed.

Non-deluxe balcony rooms will have beds coming out of the ceiling.

E302 appears to be BW category which is not deluxe.

I have to admit that the inside cabins on the RCCL ships were a lot darker than Regal Princess' inside cabin.

A disclaimer: I am night blind.

DS (6 at the time) slept till 11 in the inside cabin.

When we got a balcony for the first time ever last year, he still slept forever and didn't want to get up even at past 10 am. At home he is up at 8 am on weekends.

we were on Regal in November 2017, and both FB Messenger and FB were free. We didn't download any additional apps.

my friends' kids (8 and 10) love the kid's club. They've enjoyed it for years now. We didn't even see them on our last cruise together, because the moment they woke up they begged to go and stayed till 10 pm.

we bring a cute lantern-style nightlight (battery operated) with three settings and use it on the lowest setting. I also bring a battery operated "closet" light that you press on, and use it in the bathroom at night so that the bathroom light doesn't blind/wake everyone else up.

we've done 7 night cruises ever since we started cruising with our then 3 yo child. He did great, although he doesn't do kid's club and wanted to go home a lot. Now he is 7, a seasoned cruiser (lol, 4), and wants to stay on the cruise.

also check out Travel with Children board on www.babycenter.com for more pointers.

Will you bring your car seat with you on the plane? Most kids find sleeping in a car seat more comfy than just on the plane seat.

Bring a tablet and charger, small toys, wipes, meds.

The water package is a 12 pack that can be purchased for $6.90.

I believe the price recently went up to $12-18?

We were recently on the Grand, unintentionally in a 4 person cabin. The two extra beds were attached to the wall and made it rather difficult to get in and out of bed if the beds were in Queen position. This was in an inside cabin. Not fun!

it's quite different for a balcony cabin.

on Regal and Royal the Deluxe Balcony cabins have a sofa bed which actually was more comfortable for me than their regular bed. In non-deluxe balcony cabins the bed comes out of the ceiling and blocks the balcony when it's down.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=640407

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

also check out Disabled Cruising for more pointers

1) food. Unlimited food. Food so good, I could literally lick my fingers (but my mom raised me better than that). Great food cooked by somebody else. Cleanup done by somebody else. Yes, I am a glutton.

2) sunny, warm weather, beautiful beaches, swimming in the ocean in cold, yucky November (we only go to the Caribbean).

happy to chime in post-cruise that I found arm floats (inflatable rings that go around kid's arms) that rate to 100#! At Walmart.

So, we brought both a vest and floaties, and, of course, the floaties were a lot more convenient and less bulky. Since the kiddo is 60# now, a regular puddlejumper was a no-go, since they are rated to 50#. They worked great!

we got disposable coffee cups with lids with a hole in them at the café on RCCL and Princess.

Didn't have to bring anything from home, and they are more or less spill proof, sort of.

Breast milk is fine in the fridge for up to 8 days before it needs frozen. Just have her pump and store in 3 oz bags and when she gets home she can freeze it. Easy enough.

the original post is from 2010... :)

When my kid was 9 months old, we went on a cruise without him. We left kiddo at home with grandparents and plenty of frozen milk. I pumped and dumped during my 7 day cruise.

It was still extremely painful to pump at 7 am, go on an excursion and come back at past 2 pm with breasts bursting with milk.

But at least I didn't have to worry about washing all the accessories in hot soapy water every day. I just quickly rinsed them with a bit of soap because I wasn't saving the milk for 7 days and then carrying it back on the plane sans the fridge.

To each his own. I didn't need to save the milk. It wasn't essential to my kid's survival. If it were so essential, I'd rethink going on a cruise at such a crucial time to begin with.

I'm fighting tooth and nail for my right to have my milk frozen.

For me, it is no different than needing to store insulin or have a special needs diet that must be accommodated

 

So here's why I need help - my DIL, who is a wonderful mom, worries about everything. (Her first question about this cruise was whether it would be during hurricane season.)

I'm pretty sure DIL's first reaction will be that the three year old - who IS quite the climber - will fall over the balcony rail. I know how high the balcony rails are, and that no child has EVER fallen over, but can y'all help me prepare for her objections? Honestly, this is a woman that is worried sick that the baby will be grabbed by a stranger at the professional baseball game we're going to for our family vacation this summer.

sounds like you roll your eyes at your DIL a LOT and don't like her too much either. She is just being a mom with a 3 yo kid.

We don't cruise in the summer because it's a hurricane season, so she is correct there.

We didn't get a balcony until the kid was 6. And he is still not allowed on the balcony if there is no adult present. He can open balcony doors very easily.

And yes, some kid fell to her death on a Carnival cruise over the foyer railing.

I too worry about somebody kidnapping my kid. When he was 2-3 yo, his favorite game was "run away from mommy" and he'd be gone in a blink of an eye. And if you think there are no predators on a cruise or at a baseball game - think again.

Bring a baby monitor and the parents can enjoy socializing in someone else's cabin as their daughter naps or sleeps at night in the Interior cabin.

it's different for everyone.

We started cruising with our kid when he was almost 4. He did great, loved it, etc. He was still napping at that time, so I read a book while he napped and DH got to have some fun outside the cabin.

We couldn't pawn our son off onto the kid's program even if we wanted to. We want to sometimes, but he has stranger and separation anxiety, despite being in preschool since he was 2, so leaving him with total strangers was a no-go.

So, he goes with us everywhere. Even the happy hour. Thankfully, kiddo loves his tablet, and can spend hours on it quietly. He is also very well behaved during dinner - while he is watching a cartoon or playing a game with the headphones on. We've see other kids getting bored with the adult conversation and become wild after 30-40 minutes, but ours is occupied and good to go.

We don't mind him tagging along to everything. Our excursions are always beach related, so no running through Catherine's Palace or Hermitage museum until he is way older (he is 7 now).

Our friends' kids are totally opposite. They LOVE the kid's program and ask about going first thing in the morning. They stay there till closing time, with breaks for family time and meals. They've been cruising since they were 3.

On our last cruise together we didn't even see our friends' kids on the ship.

There are much bigger limitations in terms of cruising with a 2 yo in regards to pool use, kid's programs, babysitting, kid's potty training status... So, we left our kiddo home with the grandparents until he was potty trained while we cruised. But we missed him terribly, so he started cruising at 3.

We were in Cozumel in November 2017.

Taxis both ways were pretty modern and had seat belts, however, they were not US models of cars and I cannot tell you whether their seat belts lock the same way the US models do or whether they had latch.

If I were you, I'd bring a locking clip with you just in case.

P.S. That said, if we are ever in Cozumel again, we won't even disembark. It wasn't worth it. We went to Ocean Beach Club not too far away. The beach was overcrowded and it was almost impossible to find a spot for all 5 of us. The water was cold and very choppy and my 6 yo couldn't even swim. Heck, I couldn't swim and I am a good swimmer. They had a pool which was a plus. All in all, $17 pp (no food or alcohol included) was an overkill. Supposedly, it included wifi, but only my DH's phone ever got the connection. I would honestly call it a disappointment. The taxi was about $25 each way for all 5 of us - it was the only thing I wasn't disappointed about, really.

at least 1.5-2 hours. We have a 6 year old, who's been cruising since he was 3. A tablet with downloaded cartoons/games and headphones solves any problems. Nobody has ever heard a single peep out of him during the dinner time, and we've always been complimented on his great behavior. Our kid cannot go to the kid's club due to his separation anxiety, but our friends' kids are always at the club during dinner.

No, the staff can bring out the kids' meals faster, but not everyone's meals.

Other solutions:

Do any time dining and get a table for 4. This way you won't bother anyone, have to wait for anyone which can speed up the dinner.

Or ship the kids off to the kid's club and enjoy a dinner at MDR.

Or eat at the buffet as a family.

Regarding being isolated for diarrhea. You will be asked if this is normal for you. If it is a normal reaction to certain food allergies, or you have other bowel conditions you will likely not be isolated.

exactly.

My medication's side effects are very much spot on norovirus symptoms.

Not once did I have a problem with anyone noticing them or questioning me.

I had to visit the medical center on Princess about 4 years ago .... so take this for what it is worth. My bill came to $131 total. This covered an exam for a torn ACL, a knee brace, anti-inflammatory meds and pain meds. I was waiting in the reception area for quite a long time ... seems like $131 was pretty much their standard charge for a visit with meds, as I talked to 3 other patients that said the same ... again, about 4 years ago. I thought the charge was pretty reasonable and it even covered a follow up visit a few days later.

Now, IV hydration ... I am absolutely sure this wouldn't be covered under that standard charge, although the shot might be. I've heard some real horror stories about high charges on cruise ships for medical care when there are more complex illness in play.

last year on Princess our friend went to the doctor for severe cold symptoms. $400.

This same friend was patient zero on the Royal Caribbean cruise with noro symptoms. He was confined to his quarters for 5 days out of 10, but was told it was voluntary confinement. His wife and kids didn't get sick.

I didn't like how the closet is split in two in a sideways cabin. We usually put two suitcases lying down open for easy access on the floor in the closet, but in a sideways room it would be impossible.

We don't eat any different onboard than we do at home, rarely gain weight, etc..

we go all out on the cruise, eat till we burst, go back for food multiple times, and my husband eats so many desserts..... We don't gain weight on the cruise, and we don't exercise on the cruise either. To each his own. For me cruises are the times of pure, unadulterated gluttony galore. All the fantastic food that nobody ever cooks at home - yum.

Of course, we only cruise 1-2 times a year....

we were in E502 and E332 and the view from both was this: