jlrn366419

Okay so I had been planning on doing a Disney Cruise with my two boys in May, but after doing a little more research we have decided to open up our options to other cruise lines (mainly because Disney is so expensive for what seems to be a mixed bag of reviews).

 

My two favourite options, aside from Disney Fantasy, are the Carnival Breeze and RCL's Allure or Oasis of the Seas.

 

We could get a MUCH nicer cabin on Carnival - the Grand Suite is actually cheaper than the regular balcony cabin on Disney. And for similar price we could get a Junior Suite on the Allure.

 

I've heard that Carnival is really catering to families these days, but in the past whenever I cruised on them (years ago) it was usually a pretty party-hard crowd of 20 somethings (myself included).

 

Anyone have any preferences between these ships? I have two boys, ages 4 and 7. My 7 year old can get easily overwhelmed and overstimulated, and I've heard that the Disney ships are very crowded, no matter the time of year. Seems the much larger ships seem to be able to spread people out better. Myself, I've always wanted to go on the Oasis/Allure - ever since they were built, but if the kids will have a better time on Carnival, and the cabin will be much nicer, I would go with them.

 

Thanks for your opinions!

I've been on both ships with my husband and son who is now 5. He was 3 or 4 for the Allure cruise and 4 or 5 for the Breeze cruise. Allure feels more upscale but the itineraries aren't great. Breeze offers better itineraries and feels more casual. I think the kids will have a great time on Allure.

We took our 5 year old son last year and he did fine. I wouldn't do the excursion again because the boat ride was long and bumpy and the beach was rocky and full of seaweed. The highlight was stopping to look at the starfish in the 'natural pool' on the return.

No signs on closure? Anyone else around?

There were no signs indicating it was closed. There was another family there while we were there and some people stopped by to walk the beach while we were there. No chair rental, no drinks for sale.

We went to Governors beach in May, no chair rentals, appeared abandoned. Outside showers worked and one at least one restroom worked. Beach was nice, we just put our stuff on a picnic table and enjoyed being there.

I think it was around $80. There are more affordable options like shuttles that we heard others were using for early flights. I don't have the details though.

11:45, we took a taxi to the airport.

Precruise: Stayed at the Hampton Inn Downtown Brickell. It was a nice room and nice hotel. Walking distance to many restaurants and two Publix grocery stores.

Embarking: Arrived at the port around 10:15 and check in was fast. We had to sit in the waiting area until approximately 12:30 before our zone (zone 2) was called to board. If they didn't stop people for photos you could be on board a lot faster. Newbies take note, if you don't want a boarding photo you do not have to stop to allow them to photograph you.

Cabin: 2306 was a cove balcony that could sleep 4. Our 5 year old used the pullman bed which was great because it gave us more living/play space on the floor. Cabin was quiet except for wave noise if the seas were a bit rough. Our sailing had a lot of wind and a lot of movement. I did feel it in the cabin but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been had we been on a higher deck or extreme forward or aft. The air conditioning worked great.

Food: The dining room food was mediocre. None of us liked the American Table menu. The desserts were mostly bland. Thoroughly enjoyed the banana cream pie offered at seaday brunch and I also noticed it at the lido one day. The tacos and burgers were pretty good. The water stations in the Lido are awful. Small cups + slow flowing water from a single dispenser = long lines. Also not sanitary because every day we witnessed many many passengers sticking water bottles that touched their mouths up into the dispenser to refill which means their saliva was now touching the dispenser. People were refilling throwaway screw top water bottles. Not once did I see a crew member stop them. There isn't any signage either. The only sign I noticed was to use a clean cup each time.

Camp Ocean 3-5 year olds: My son had a pretty good experience. He wanted to stay a few times. We used it 2-4 hours each day in 2 hour increments. Kids were made to wash their hands immediately upon entry.

Grand Turk: We took a taxi $4pp each way to the area of Governor's beach where the ship is stuck on the beach. It is a beautiful beach, smooth bottom for the most part and calm water. There is shore snorkeling also. In October 2014 they offered chair rental but this time no one was renting chairs or selling drinks. There were picnic tables where you could put your belongings. We were there with one other family and we saw a few other visitors stop by but they didn't stay. There is a lot of sea glass to be found here if you enjoy collecting.

La Romana: We booked an excursion through Seavis tours to visit Saona Island. We didn't enjoy this excursion very much despite the great reviews. The beach wasn't very nice. It was very rocky and small with a lot of seaweed. The lunch was a typical excursion / beach type lunch. Stopping to see the starfish on the way back was the highlight of the tour.

Curacao: We took a taxi to Cabana beach and enjoyed our time there. The water was perfect for a preschool age child. This is a man made beach with food, drinks, various types of lounger rentals and a few places to shop. If we had better port times, we would have ventured to a better beach.

Aruba: We took a taxi to Palm Beach and rented chairs and an umbrella. Aruba is beautiful and the beaches are fantastic. The day we visited it was a bank holiday so most stores were not open. The shops in the port terminal were open.

Getting off the ship: We did self assist since we had an early flight out of FLL. We were among the first people off and it went pretty quickly.

Puddle Jumper is worth the hassle if your child isn't too big for it. We take inflatable pool noodles which are great for adults and kids as well. Depending on which port you are going to you may be able to find some beaches that are very shallow and calm for hundreds of yards out.

I apologize if this was asked or covered but I didn't have time to go back through review yet. Did you have any noise issues in your cabin?

We were on the Freedom on the 19th and they had the Lido Pool area decorated, there were several games/contests around the pool and also a scavenger hunt. They placed pirate rubber ducks throughout the ship and you could try to find all of them and put your list in a drawing to try to win something. I don't know what the prize was. There were pirate activities for the kids in Camp Ocean too.

Need recommendation for which Holiday Inn to stay at for a one-night pre-cruise stay for a Saturday in September near Port Everglades. I'm not so concerned about the room itself, as it is only one night. Just looking to be close to shopping so I can grab some last minute needs and a nice dinner. I am flying into Miami so I don't want to have to pay a taxi to run to the store. It would be nice to be within close walking distance of some action, and not too far from the port. There are too many Holiday Inn's to pick from, and I am wondering if you can help?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The cruise port one on SE 17th is within easy walking distance of a publix and other stores/dining.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you for all the helpful info.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Were there water slides for the little ones in the water works area?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

If you took a taxi to Bayahibe from the port at La Romana, details please? Cost? How many passengers? Did you pay on the return only as many have posted? If you were in a van, did you have to wait long for it to be full and how did you all agree on a return time?

If you cruised since the 2.0 upgrades and used Camp Ocean for 2-5 year olds on Carnival Freedom, please share your experiences, good or bad.

I'm traveling with my two girls 6 and 3 and we're the only family on the roll call with younger kids. Not feeling too welcome, so I haven't even dared sign up for the Meet and Greet. Not a big deal, just different from my last cruise on RC. First time on NCL.

 

Anyhoo, traveling mid May, what should I expect from splash academy? Still plenty of kids? If not, will they reduce hours like I've heard of on Carnival? If not a lot of young kids guess the bonus is less crowded aqua park? Kids are so excited, as are we! :D

 

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Forums mobile app

I wish there were more families with kids on the roll calls too. It seems like cruise critic is pretty heavily populated by cruisers without kids or with grown kids.

Ok, so we were going to just travel with her birth certificate, but this thread has made me rethink it.

 

 

 

Any tips to get the picture?

 

 

 

She's only 5.5 months now and very squirmy - I think it might be hard to get a picture where she's looking at the camera in the right proportions, etc. (We're cruising when she's 7 months.)

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Melissa

Take her to a place that does passport photos instead of trying it on your own. Usually only costs $6-$10 for the 2 photos.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

If you plan to purchase any photos, it is nice to have something to pack them in so they don't get bent. Two flat pieces of cardboard work or a photo mailer.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We were there in October 2013 and the facility with the water tables/toys/sprinklers were in a state of disrepair. The concrete surface was too hot for bare feet. The fenced in area I saw appeared to be a low wall most kids could climb over and exit the area if no one was paying attention. I would let an older child there if they wanted to stay but not a younger one.

 

I brought a highlighter for the Compass on my first cruise, then realized that it was MUCH easier to just set reminders for the things that I wanted to do in my cell phone. The clock tool/app on most cell phones allows you to set multiple alarms. I set the alarms about 30 minutes prior to the start time for each activity, so I could decide if I still wanted to do that activity or not and if so, I could begin making my way there without rushing! So when it was time to go to the ice show, 30 minutes before show time I got an alarm that said "Ice Show" on my phone. This also kept me from having to carry the Compass around all day. ;)

Love this idea!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Inflatable pool noodles are nice to have if you like to lounge in the water at the beach.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

I sailed the western itinerary. They had one at the aquatheatre and the upper tier event on the helipad as we sailed away from Labadee.

Was the aqua theater for gold and above and helipad for platinum and above?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

If you are platinum and sailed Oasis recently (past few months), where was the returning guest event held? TIA.

Just got off the Allure on Sunday and yes there was a Bingo game to win a loft suite.

Thank you!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

For those who cruised recently, was there a special bingo to win an upgrade to a suite? On previous cruises they sometimes had one to win an upgrade to a crown loft suite.