boulders

Wow! That's awful! No nothing like that has ever happened to me on any cruise line that we've sailed. We've only gone on the Eurodam once and it was a last minute booking, like about 4-6 weeks out ... got a great deal on a JS and had a wonderful time. Loved the ship, staff and line. Gee I hope all the cruise lines don't do things like this and I'm disappointed HAL did this to you. Please let us know how you make out. Good Luck!

All cruise lines do this unfortunately. Disney is one of the worst offenders.

0P try to see if they will switch you to the Nieuw Amsterdam. It has alternating Eastern and Western itineraries just like the Eurodam. It is essentially the same ship.

Was Estancia Excursions all booked up? They had the second largest group of vehicles after the ships tours. I notice that the email address on the Falklands tourism website is not the same as they were using in their communications with me.

I have a tour booked with them in a couple of weeks. Was it a good tour? Why were you late and did they know you would make the tender?

Thanks,

Wendy

It was an OK tour. Lunch was good. We were on the bus most of the time.

I'm not sure what you meant by this:

Why were you late and did they know you would make the tender?

They knew we were on tenders -there is no dock for anything larger than a tender at the port. We asked to be returned to port by 3:30. The guide did not ask when the last tender was and assumed it was 4:30 - his mistake. He did not manage the time properly to get us back anywhere close to 3:30. We spent a lot of time getting to and walking around in Frutillar and really didn't see anything. We didn't get to Puerto Varas (our second stop) until 11:30 or so. We had 40 minutes there, then back on the bus to lunch and then back on the bus to the National Park where we were given about another 40 minutes then back to port. Traffic was not a factor.

We took a tour with them about 10 days ago. We needed a minimum of 6 people to get a tour.

They got us back late to the port. Last tender time was 4:00. We got back at 4:10. Luckily some of the ship's tours were late.

we did it. NEVER again.. but not because of anything the ship did or didn't do. just way too many large family groups that traveled in packs. and far too many kids that were not contained by the kid's club programming.

 

Decorated very nicely. our cruise had a passenger led Caroling session that was , I am told, very lovely. couple of 'special' menus in the MDR,

 

do NOT take a cruise that ports in Nassau on Xmas day. just.. don't. not unless you want to do a beach day and nothing else

There were only about 35 kids on our cruise this past Christmas. Two of them were mine. Ya just gotta know how to pick cruises. ;)

We were on HAL's Zaandam this past Christmas. The ship had Christmas trees and Christmas decorations throughout. There were large gingerbread houses in the MDR and buffet area. There was carolling in the MDR on Christmas Eve. There was a big presentation on Christmas morning with more carolling and the arrival of Santa. The children received presents from Santa and everyone who wanted could pose for a picture on Santa's lap.

We had sailed on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas 3 years ago for Christmas. On Explorer, I had to wait in line for half an hour for ds5 see Santa at the ice rink. I then had a bad experience with a nasty elf once we go to the front of the line. I preferred the experience on HAL as did ds8, dd15 and dd18.

We just got off a 21 night cruise. The kids club offered me to allow my 8 year old to sign himself out. No way was I allowing that. However - this also prevented my 15 year old from picking her younger brother up OR dropping him off. It had to be someone over 18. So while I would not allow my 8 year old to be his on his own, I would certainly allow him to be with his 15 year old sister.

The child who drowned 3 months ago was with both his mother and father who were just feet away.

But a few years ago, I wanted a bigger one to check, and I got it at Costco. Good, strong zippers, good wheels, etc. Has survived many airlines, trains in Europe, and cruise ships. I swear by Costco products, and this is a good example.

I agree with pv girl. I first started purchasing the rolling duffles at Costco in 2006. I now have 6 for our family of 4. They have held up very well. They're light and easy to pull. DS was pulling them through the airport when he was 3. They fold flat and have multiple compartments. I love them. And they cost around $30 each. They have lasted around 50 flights each.

For a family of 4 (or more), it's probably more cost effective to do a private excursion. I've used Rome in Limo several times. You can find other recommendations on the ports of call boards. You can also check out the family cruising board to see what other parents recommend.

Disney is the only cruise line that does not keep those age groups separated. On all the other cruise lines, the 5 year old would be in a different age group than the older siblings. On RCCL, all 3 would be in different age groups. As has been mentioned, when there are not too many kids, they will combine the age groups at times. I have seen this mainly on HAL and Princess.

Many Canadians have USD credit cards so that they're not hit by fees to do the conversion. Also, they way the Canadian dollar has been going the past couple of weeks, the OP is likely to come out ahead on the currency exchange, even with the fees.

The entertainment on Disney is kid-friendly and there a LOT of kids. Although they are mostly in activities, the pool deck is crowded and noisy. The MDR is also noisy as well. There is adult food, but there is more kid-friendly food than you will see on other cruise lines.

I would choose another cruise line that has a kids club, unless the adults are Disneyphiles. A three year old won't really care if it's Disney or not. Note that only potty-trained youngsters can use a kids club on most cruise lines. I think Carnival is the only exception. Disney and some RCCL ships have a nursery and babysitting which are options for the non-potty-trained.

DS8 has been on all the cruise lines in my signature. He loved them all.

You do not have to be 21 to cruise without your parents. Disney allows 18 year olds to book. Some cruise lines that are not based in the U.S. may also allow 18 year olds to book.

The prices are all over the board. It was $199 for a couple for our 14 day Ryndam cruise last winter. I checked again on our 14 day TA cruise this fall and it was way higher than that.

 

Don't know what the 21 day was...we did 21 both time and I know the 7 days on our Ryndam was same price as the 14 days. On our Med cruise preceding the TA, we were too busy to bother.

It was $499/couple and $299 for a single for our recent 21 day cruise.

Really don't need a passport for an close loop cruise.

U.S. citizens with a state-issued birth certificate don't need a passport for a closed loop cruise that leaves from the U.S. Everyone else does.

Besides, the OP took their cruise a year ago.

We sailed around Cape Horn on January 1. The weather was nice - no rain and pretty mild. The seas were fairly calm. There was a storm brewing in the west, so there were interesting cloud formations.

They sent me an email and asked me to write one too even though they had published my review the day before. :roll eyes: They pulled the names off the roll call.

The cruise lines release their cruises a year at a time, starting in March for the Caribbean cruises and around April/May for the European ones.

Another vote for Ruby Princess. The Carnival ship and Majesty of the Seas are much more likely to attract the partiers.

Ships will have meclizine at guest services if needed. Non-medicinal remedies such as ginger or bread work to some extent too.

We have looked into Galapagos with our children and decided to put it off for a few years until they are a bit older. The most promising itinerary was with Disney' date=' not the cruise line but they have a vacations branch that does a land and sea tour of the area. Very child friendly but very costly compared to other options.

 

[/url']

I agree that Adventures by Disney would be the most child friendly, but the pricing is very high - they do have a trip over the December holidays, but it would be $20K+ (not including airfare) for a party of 3.

We just got off HAL's Zaandam which does a 3 week South America/Antarctic itinerary over the holidays and costs about half that of the Disney itinerary and is three times as long. DS8 had a blast in the kids club.

We got 100 bonus minutes on our 1000 minute package.

Have a look at Holland America's itineraries as well. They have some that leave from Florida and others that leave from San Diego. A one way cruise to or from South America would be right around 14 days. A roundtrip cruise to or from Santiago or Rio would be about 28 days. There is even one that goes all the way around and to Antarctica, leaving from Florida - 68 days.

We just used South Excursions for a transfer from Valparaiso to Santiago a few days ago. The port was a little chaotic as there were two ships disembarking and the two ships used different exits. We were at one and Dixiana was at another, but we found her and the driver quickly. Here's Dixiana's email address: sales2@southexcursions.com

I'm a dual US-Canadian citizen. I just got back from our trip around South America. The Brazil visa and Argentinian reciprocity fees for Canadians are half that for Americans, so I used my Canadian passport for this cruise. I did travel with my U.S. passport as we flew through the U.S. on the way there. It caused a moment of delay at U.S. immigration as I checked at the airport with my Canadian passport, but then showed my U.S. passport to immigration. U.S. immigration was fine with it though.