skittl1321

Can you clarify this? Once they are age 3 and up, the kids can leave the club without an adult checking them out? Or only if the parent approves it? I do not want my 4 and 6 year old to be able to wander the ship freely. (We have done a number of kids clubs on European vacations, at hotels or resorts, and never seen kids be allowed to check themselves out.)

I had a Carnival cruise years and years ago, where every time I called room service, it would either ring for 5+ minutes, or they would answer the line, then hang up before speaking. When we hung the breakfast card out, they took it at night, but never delivered it in the morning. (My other carnival cruises did not have this experience.) The entire cruise we never managed to get room service. That was WELL before shortages of cruise ship staff became an issue. I've never ordered a beverage anywhere but from a bar, I don't really expect servers walking around anyway, so I can't speak to that.

Thank you both! I guess I won't know if my kids like it until I get there, but this has at least alleviated my fears that the kids club isn't well run.

When I booked (Seascape out of Miami, this summer)- I selected late dining, as that is usually our preference, but then realized with children we would likely want early dining. I called and they told me that they had changed my preference, and it was now marked as early. Online it is showing "preference not set". Do I need to call again? Or is this normal for a telephone change? If I do need to request a change on board, is it likely to be difficult to get into an early seating? (I kind of assume European cruisers would want to eat later.)

My booking confirmation, for 4 on seascape, shows an easy plus package for each adult, a minor package for each child, and a 2-device browse package under my name, and nothing on the other people booked in the room.

I have lost weight on every cruise I have been on. I don't snack all day like I often do at work, and I walk SO much more, because we use stairs constantly. Sadly, it has never been a permanent solution and I gain it quickly back at home.

Anthem of the Seas and MSC Seascape. Both are during summer holidays, as the kids have to be out of school. Maybe it is just because I booked Anthem so early. They also had kids sail free, and MSC did not. (I have rechecked MSC's current kids sail free offer, and it actually makes the cruise I have booked more expensive.) The Anthem cruise, junior suite, is about $500 less for our family. It doesn't have any drinks or wifi included, but I need neither of those things. I will probably have some sodas on MSC since they are included, but if they were not, I am typically a $0 onboard bill kind of person. The ports are different though, so I am not comparing apples to oranges, but Carribean to Europe. (Interestingly, I am taking the European line out of Miami, and the American line out of Southhampton.)

Good. Then MSC should meet my expectation. I'm worried though because I have heard so much negative since booking. When we first sailed Carnival it was a much nicer experience than when we last sailed with them. MSC is also a step up in price from Carnival.

I haven't sailed either, but I am really interested to see how they compare. People talk about MSC deep discounting- but I have a junior suite for 4 on Royal, with a kids sail free promo, for the same price as a balcony on MSC, with drinks and wifi included (which is moot, I don't drink and I have never used cruise internet, so I could live without it). Cruise length the same. MSC is not a "cheap" product. I am hoping MSC will be a bit of a step up from Carnival, but if it isn't, well, hopefully it isn't too much of a step down.

You can go back to the ship to eat, right? You don't have to go to the island buffet do you?

I have never purchased a drinks package on the cruise. I get by with water, and juice with breakfast that is typically included. A few cruises I have purchased 1-2 drinks over the course of the week, making my total bill under $20, my husband typically purchases a drink with dinner. Some cruises we have purchased $0 of drinks (especially when they let you carry on a 12-pack of soda which is enough for the week for me; unfortunately MSC doesn't allow this). It just isn't necessary. Except my all inclusive cruise, I have never been on a cruise with soda included. You don't need the drink package. But there are plenty of people for who $40 a day is a savings compared to paying for their drinks individually. I know people who can easily drink 5+ sodas, 4-5 alcoholic drinks per day without "trying". And then there are the people who "Try" to get their money's worth. If you are partying until 2 am or later each day, and then getting up at 8 am to start again, it isn't hard to stack it up.

What are the typical schedules for kids club like? Is it free for all? Are there planned games or crafts? Is it mostly screen time? Is there a paper schedule given out? Do you need to sign up for sessions ahead of time? Are they very strict about which age group kids go into, or can siblings stay together? My kids will be 4 and 6.

This doesn't really help the person who now has to pay double though. Travel insurance isn't going to cover that.

Probably because the moderators have seen those questions the most often.

Does anyone have suggestions for the best things to do with a 4-year old? Is there a tour provider that would accept him for tubing on the white river? (The cruise excursions he is too young.)

Oh, my husband will not want a non-alcoholic package, even for ice cream. We will probably buy gelato once, but have typically spent nothing extra on cruises, so I wasn't interested in for fee options. The kids have the minors packages, so at least they will have some soft serve 🙂

This was an interesting read. We gave up on Carnival after our last cruise where we just felt like it was not for us- the food was horrible (I literally walked the entire buffet and didn't pick up a single thing to eat; and the main dining room was uninteresting with horrible service compared to previous sailings). We were tired of the same activities. So we are giving MSC a try. Now I'm wondering if we made a mistake, but alas, I guess I will find out in the summer. If MSC is not for us, next year we have Royal. Carnival's prices were always excellent, but the experience just went downhill every cruise we did with them. I will say, I am hoping MSC's food is as good as it sounds. Looking at Royal's new menus, I can barely find anything I want to eat, and MSC's every single day there is at least something I am excited about. But I'm a pasta person...

Many? I am constantly moving things to laundry, santizing/disinfecting counters in kitchens and bathrooms, sweeping or vacuuming, taking out trash, putting dishes away. I cannot vacuum my own on a cruise, and especially in sandy locations, feel it should be done daily. In my house, towels have room to hang to dry, so I do not need to change them daily, but there is not room for bath towels for 4 people to be spread to dry in a humid cabin, so they need to be changed. I don't make beds at home, but my couch also does not turn into a bed each night at home, so if I want a couch during the day on the cruise, the cabin needs to be made up. I empty my own trash at home, but on a cruise, there is not a bin I can empty the small cans into, so a steward needs to do that as well. I think once daily service to vacuum, change towels, and empty bins is enough; but twice is needed to change the bed to a couch and back again. They aren't really that easy for a passenger to do themselves, since the entire bed has to be made, and honestly, I'm not great on hospital corners since they don't have fitted sheets!

Is this a good excursion for a 4-year old who enjoys snorkeling? So many of the tours have age limits, so I wanted to see if anyone has experience with it. Are cabs/buses reliable in Georgetown where we won't need to use a ship excursion? Does the turtle center sell out often, or is it an easy, open admission? (I see I can purchase tickets online, with a very flexible cancellation. Just want to make sure there is no good reason to go with the ship. (We always get back early.)

If her husband is injured, having gone on a cruise might make it very difficult to claim damages from the insurance company, since there will be no immediate documentation from a doctor, and in a trial, the insurance company can point to the vacation they took and not being stuck injured. (Having been injured in a car accident, they try to go after everything to "prove" you weren't really injured, and it's BS)

My booking came with the Easy Plus drinks package. I don't drink alcohol. Would they change it to the non-alcoholic package? I'd think it was a non-issue (since soft drinks are on both), but the non-alcoholic says it comes with soft serve ice cream, and the easy plus does not...

Status matching was SO easy. I took a screenshot of my carnival VIFP account and had an email saying I had matched status within 20 minutes. (I'm VIFP Gold, which got me Silver; so I don't think it gives me much, but hey- nice of MSC to offer it. An amazing first impression.)

How do you know ahead of time what theme nights to pack for? I know MSC always has a white night, but are others standard?

Just booked my first MSC Cruise. I'm super excited, but a bit nervous as reviews seem mixed. Our kids will be 4 and 6- can you give me a preview of how things will go? Do I need to bring things to keep them busy on sea days, or do you think the pools and kids club will keep kids this age engaged? Is the only children's menu the one that is for "babies older than 12 months"? How does the crew do with children? Our booking came with the drinks package, and it says it has soft serve ice cream; is this like on carnival where it is just out on the deck? How much does gelato cost, as I know the kids will want that! Any other tips for making the best of an MSC cruise?

I have nothing like this on a cruise. The vast majority of what I wear on a cruise (sundresses) doesn't have pockets, hence the issue with keeping my card...