dbuckho

Looking at a family group vacation next June and our date happens to line up with an Icon sailing.  Thinking it might be amazing with all the newness, or maybe a disaster with too many people.   But for now want to explore options.

For those who have been studying Icon, wondering if you have recommendations on the best setup for a multigenerational group.  Have been looking at all the cabin options available on Icon and there are so many - not sure where to start.

If I were booking a traditional ship it would look something like this…

1 Balcony -- 2 seniors
1 Balcony -- 2 adults 2 kids 8 and 6
1 Balcony -- 2 adults
1 Interior -- 2 adults
1 Interior -- 4 kids 17, 16, 14, 13 
1 interior -- 2 kids 11 and 9

1 suite or 2 connecting balcony cabins - 2 adults and 2 kids 14 and 8

With this setup would ideally have the balconies next to each other and the interiors across the hall.  The suite could be elsewhere.

That said, there seem to be all these cool family cabin types.  Any other configurations I should be considering to take advantage of Icon?   Or specific parts of the ship?

Is there any difference between Grand and Sapphire if traveling with kids? 

Similarly looking at Alaska in 2024 and will have boys 13, 8, and 7 with us across two families.  We are probably booking a family suite and the other family an oceanview or balcony.

Unless I am missing something I think Royal does not have a family suite.

Any recent data points on what a good pre-cruise discount is for the unlimited digital package?

In early December 2019 pre-purchased an unlimited digital photo package for 50% off for our 2020 Alaska cruise.  That is now a 2022 Alaska cruise and starting to plan for it.  Current pre-cruise discount is 35%.

25 minutes ago, GeorgesGal said:

$413 pp is almost twice the cost for someone to date in Luminae if you paid on a day by day basis.  $30  x  7 days = $210!  What is ~X~ thinking??  Oh, never mind, it is Celebrity math!!!

I believe $30 is just for dinner.  I read somewhere on here is is $10/$20/$30 for breakfast/lunch/dinner.  So about $60 per day if you took all the meals there.

I rebooked a cabin today for an August Alaska cruise.  Savings of $320 on the cabin and new rate also included all 4 perks vs. 1 in original booking -- worth an additional $300 or more of stuff we were going to pay for.  But in rebooking the TA OBC was reduced $50 (and they clearly state later changes may affect OBC or other TA perks at the time you reserve with them).  So perhaps the cost to change can take different forms at different times.  Even factoring the slightly reduced OBC the rebook was a 16% reduction from original booking which was made when the cruise first came out - so I am happy.

That said I have changed before with this TA and not had any OBC changes or fees -- so a flat $33 every time vs. it being dependent on the situation would have me looking for someone else unless you are absolutely getting the best price or service.

1 hour ago, Water babies said:

I would be sorely disappointed if he could not join us in Luminae for SOME dinners, even if at extra cost. If that option was taken away, I would immediately cancel our Sky Suite and go for a non-suite booking—it just would not be worth the extra cost of a suite. 

Would be in a similar position for our upcoming Alaska cruise.  My family is in a Celebrity Suite and my parents are in a Sky Suite.  But my brother can only afford an Oceanview Stateroom (and we are putting my older son in there because of double occupancy).  My mother really wanted to go on Celebrity in at least a suite, but initially I had concerns about the cost and being able to dine together - but once I researched that you can invite a paid guest to dinner we booked.

I mapped out our meals and the two of them will join us as paid Luminae guests for dinner one night -- maybe twice tops over the seven nights.  Granted we have a late first night departure and two more late port departures, so if we had earlier departures it might be another night or two.  But we will try the MDR at least once and probably just do the buffet when we are getting back to the ship at 7:30.  And most nights my son assigned to our suite will have already eaten elsewhere and be in the kids club by the time the adults eat, making my brother net neutral even if we are paying for him.

And if the full offer somehow makes its way down to us we will probably pass.  I agree it is a good deal but I think a lot of the linked reservations involve kids/families and will not view full access as needed (otherwise they would have booked another suite or higher in the first place).

We just came across this today in our PBSKids app.  My 9 and 3 year old watched a couple episodes and seemed to enjoy it.  Hope it will get them excited about their upcoming visit to Denali and Alaska this summer.

On Luminosa the gelato shop had two sides -- the actual gelato shop and then the "chocolate" shop.  Per the menu and as others have described -- they have some drinks you can order like hot chocolate or milkshake-like creations --  but I think the name is primarily because they sell chocolates (i.e. like a little Godiva shop).  It was where I went most mornings for my coffee as they have the Illy Espesso machine (I had the same beverage package).

We (2 adults, 2 boys 8 and 2) were on Luminosa this past January out of Venice (off season Adriatic Sea cruise).  Will comment on a few specifics below but bottom line we did not like it as much as our only other cruising experience -- RCI Jewel of the Seas on a Caribbean cruise out of San Juan -- but we loved the itinerary and the ship experience and service was enjoyable enough that we are going with Costa again next month on a Norway cruise from Copenhagen.

Paying for pizza and gelato is a little annoying, but was not that big a deal - and at least what you pay for is of quality and perhaps limited access to ice cream is a good thing!  Dinner for us was in the Luminosa Club restaurant on deck 10.  There was pizza on the dining room kids menu and we ordered one almost every night for our kids to split with whatever else they ordered.  It was not as good as the pizza you pay for -- at night they setup the pizza and burgers at the end of where the buffet is and have real pizza ovens vs. whatever they used in the kitchen to make the dinner ones -- but it did the job.  Assume the main dining room also has that kids menu.  I think we had a set time (early seating) but in practice could go to either seating for dinner.

On RCI we ended up going to the buffet more often than sit down dining -- the buffet on our RCI cruise was great -- but Costa's had more limited options and less for our kids.  That plus being able to order the pizza in the dining room had us sitting down for dinner every night except one.  Lunch was much easier as they have burgers/chicken/fries near the pool and other options on the buffet (and sometimes this was still open when we got back on the ship after an excursion).

My 8 year old did not enjoy the kids club activities as much as his RCI experience -- but you have to take that on a curve as we had to forcibly remove him from the Jewel kids club every night at 12 or 1 AM.  That said, he had a great time on this cruise and as mentioned the clientele (especially on our European cruise) was more international and he made a couple friends from Slovenia and Italy -- they ended up hanging out all over the ship most of the time and have become email pen pals.  The Peppa Pig playroom was great for our younger son and even the older boys set themselves up in there.

I actually liked the Luminosa ship layout slightly better than Jewel of the Seas.  And I found the ship very clean and the staff helpful (one thing I was worried about before).  

Costa is not quite as digital as RCI -- and then add in the international clientele who may like to book things like excursions more in person -- and the front desk can get a little overwhelmed if there are irregular operations.  For example our first stop in Bari was shortened drastically due to leaving Venice late, and another day was switched from Kotor to Corfu.  If you needed assistance at the reception or excursion desks during the first 2-3 hours after they announced those changes forget about it.  One thing that was very helpful is my son and I booked the behind the scenes ship tour and one of the senior customer service folks our tour guide -- she was from the UK and the one who did the English announcements, so for the rest of the cruise if we needed anything she was usually around the front desk area and we could get her assistance if needed.

Not sure how the Caribbean prices stack up, but our two Costa cruises come out to about 70% total price of the RCI cruise and the Celebrity one we have booked next summer (all 4 are 7 days, Grand Suite, 2 adults and 2 kids -- so comparing the base price for room/food, included drink package vs. buying soda/coffee package on RCI, considering what we spent on pizza/gelato, taxes, gratuities).  In the future if we find Costa head to head on an itinerary with RCI/Princess we might pay a little more and go with them -- but at this price difference they are fine, especially for the cost to value ratio.

Thanks - was concerned seeing what must be older pictures before the balcony was restored.

I think I answered my own question about renderings - https://www.celebritycruises.com/revolution/accommodations/

We are 2 kids 2 adults so definitely can use the extra space, but my wife was not sure about the interior cabin-like bed part of the current CS.  Looks like they are really opening up the rooms.  The Sky Suite and Oceanview others in our family will be in look nice too.

Has anyone seen any renderings of what the Celebrity and Sky Suites will look like after refurbishment.  Found some to-be pictures from other ships but the configurations - especially the CS on Millennium - are a bit different.

Also, do the CS suites have balconies?  The website said "Veranda with lounge seating" for the 2020 Alaska cruise we are reserving, but then my actual reservation on celebrity.com (currently room 6106) says "Stateroom: 467 sq. ft., Veranda N/A., Total 467"

My wife, 2 boys ages 8 and 2, and I are traveling on the Luminosa leaving Venice on December 29th.  

Last winter we took our first cruise on Royal Caribbean and I feel like there where a dozen+ things to do ahead of time - i.e. looking for the right pre-sale on the drink packages and internet, planning out cruise excursions, and getting familiar with RCC's operations and policies in general.  For this cruise we are in a Grand Suite which includes the drink package (Intenditore) and most of the ports we just plan to walk out and explore (tours booked for two of the stops).  And it doesn't seem like they offer any advance discounts on the extras anyways - so even if I knew what internet plan I need to purchase (no idea of our potential data usage), not sure if that really needs to be booked in advance.

It may just be that there are so many more posts over on the RCC forum vs. here, causing the feeling/pressure of needing to be prepared.  But wanted to ask if there are any other advance things I should be taking care of or on-ship information to research 48 days out?  Thanks for any guidance.

Spring or Autumn would be my choice of time to visit.

Agreed. But we are going to be in Venice for Christmas anyways, so looking for an add-on. Been through most of the rest of Italy. Head north and it gets even colder. So the idea was to head east and south. Ideally we would drive as I prefer being one place for a few days vs. just a brief day off a cruise stop. But then dealing with a rental car gets tricky unless you backtrack the drive and return in Venice -- and we have 2 younger kids -- hence looking at the cruise as a way to see a few things and only pack/unpack one more time even if not the optimal time.

We have actually had two really great trips through the south of Italy and Sicily over the New Year's break. Yes, it rains some (many) days. And it is chilly. But still enjoyable and get to see things one would normally not. The only part I did not enjoy was the longer drives in the rain -- being on a ship would solve that.

I think we are leaning towards doing it - being able to see the Acropolis even at a distance plus the ship visiting Olympia the next day will give us a slice of ruins. And excited about the other stops. So will change my question to asking for suggestions on what to do New Year's Day with the major sites closed. Assuming we can find a guide/driver working that day, will most likely hire a private tour to make the most of our time and take a break when the kids need to.

I am considering a Costa cruise that stops in Athens on January 1st -- New Year's Day. Looking at the Acropolis opening hours it looks like it will be closed for the holiday.

Interested in all the ports of call on the itinerary, but seems a shame to stop in Athens for just one day and not be able to visit its most famous site! We also have the option to skip the cruise and just visit Athens for a few days as part of a land itinerary.

Thoughts? Does being able to see the Acropolis at a distance + all the other things that can be visited in Athens still make it an interesting day (and the cruise still worth doing)?

Hi CherylFP,

 

We hope you decide to sail with us! Through our partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society, we offer the Stewards of Nature program that invites guests to discover and value nature through hands-on, interactive learning for children and teens ages 7-17, as well as family members. This program is offered on the July 7, 2018, Cook & Society Islands voyage. For more information, visit: http://www.pgcruises.com/WCS-Family. There is also a daily schedule you can view to see the activities for each day of the sailing. The ship also has a watersports marina for kayaking, windsurfing, and paddleboarding at select times during the cruise. Complimentary snorkeling equipment is also available for check out. At our private island, Motu Mahana, there is volleyball and kayaking and our private beach in Bora Bora guests can paddleboard and kayak. There are also Polynesian activities led by Les Gauguines and Les Gauguin and shuffleboard.

 

Kind Regards,

Paul Gauguin Cruises

I have been looking at this specific cruise and have a question about Stewards of Nature. It would be our 8 year old in the program.

Seems to be an amazing offering but also a very full schedule. Does the child have to do the program every day? Or if there was a day or two we wanted to take a different excursion as a family, but have him do the Stewards of Nature all the other days, is that ok?

Also, it looks like you can do an add-on for a family member. Question here is can you rotate the adult family member one day to another? We also have a 1 year old so it would be one parent joining the Stewards of Nature on a given day. May also have a set of grandparents with us so there is a thought that one of them might want to rotate in if that was allowed.

Thanks for all the replies and the discussion really is interesting. Maybe a crowd-funded cruise critic business idea in here somewhere? I would use a hop on hop off boat circling part of the Caribbean almost every year! And apologies for mixing up the PVSA and the Jones Act.

To those who asked about flying - of course there are flights. What prompted me to ask my question was that only JetBlue flies SJU - STT with a jet (I hate turbo props), and we can only make the 4:00 PM JetBlue flight on the 31st based on the ship's arrival time (their 8:55 AM flight would be too risky). For some reason the price of the late JetBlue flight on the 31st spiked last week (i.e. $63 one-way almost every other day in December and January, and it had been $63 for that flight too, but all of sudden it was $250 one-way for that one flight on the 31st). I need 4 tickets, so $1000 is quite a lot for a 35 minute flight! It has since gone back down somewhat to $150, and the Seaborne turboprop is still at $63 one-way. So we will fly. But that price spike is why I started looking at the sailings -- i.e. if I was going to spend $750-$1000, why not sail on New Year's Eve if possible?

In my original post I was guessing it would only be a last minute thing - agree they would/should only do it if they had an otherwise empty room, so I would need to have a refundable airfare purchased and try this last minute if they would sell the unused cabin. But as others replied when RCCL got back to me they said allowable from SJU to STT, but you have to purchase the entire cruise.

This is a very theoretical question given the uncertain recovery timeline in the Caribbean, but was wondering if cruise lines - Carnival and Royal Caribbean in particular - allow you to book 1 night of a longer cruise if space is available (and it is legal to board/disembark in those ports)?

We are scheduled to sail Dec 24 - 31 with RCCL out of San Juan (Jewel of the Seas). After the cruise, we need to travel to St. Thomas to meet up with family. As of now, both the Jewel of the Seas and Carnival Fascination have 7 night itineraries leaving San Juan on Dec 31 and stopping in Charlotte Amalie on Jan 1.

Sailing from San Juan to St. Thomas should be legal as the Jones Act does not apply in Puerto Rick and the USVI. And I found some info form the RCCL site about partial cruises - i.e. getting on late/getting off early with approval from Guest Flight Operations - but that seemed to require booking the entire cruise first and probably just skipping a day on either end. But I have not been able to find anything about booking a single night by itself (most searches return posts about being single on a cruise!).

I assume a cruise line would only do this last minute if space is available, so if a single night sailing might be possible, my thought is booking refundable airfare for the 31st and if the cruises keep their current itineraries (a big if) and had space, we would switch to sailing vs. flying.

Any info on whether this is even done/allowed is appreciated.