rebeccalouiseagain

The 4-night Enchantment of the Seas was just "meh". The food was fine, but these are party cruises. People were really drinking. 4 girls in the adjacent cabin were cranking their music and it annoyed the crap out my thirteen year old son. So I don't recommend these short cruises. The ship was just ok- nothing special. If you like sports and beer and a rowdy bunch it will be fine.

Regal is the nicest ship I've ever been on. I've been on other Princess ships and liked them, but I fell in love with Regal.

The Regal is gorgeous and there are many activities onboard. It's never a dull moment. The food was terrific. Go without hesitation. Everyone- young and old will be "Wow'd" by the ship.

In Europe I got off the ship with my father and stepmother and left my then 6 year old on the ship in the youth program. Use common sense. Obviously I was never too far from the ship- had no issues with getting back there. Would I do a non- ship sponsored tour to some far-flung location? No way. The only way you have any assurance of the ship not leaving without you is to do a ship sponsored tour. As for a child taking ill or something- that staff and medical center are there to handle emergencies.

There is a big difference between 2 and 3. Three is a great age. You'll see. It definitely gets easier.

I think 3 is a good age to travel. I'd take them. It will be a fun family vacation. In fact, I think if you left them at home and saw all the kids having a good time- you'd miss them. There will be kids I can assure you.

Yes- I was stung by a bee on the Zuiderdam in Turkey. We were docked in there and I'm sure it just flew onto the ship.

Holland America ships tend to be smaller (and older). They lack a "wow" factor for me. Not to say I haven't had a good time, but I would say that I've been underwhelmed with the decor on Maasdam, Veendam and Zuiderdam.

I love the Millenium Class ships (90,000 tons) on Celebrity more so than the Solstice class, but you'll hear people rave about Solstice class.

Of the lines I have sailed to Alaska- I'd say Princess does the best job.

I took my family (including a then 14 year old) on the Veendam last August. I would say that he enjoyed it because it was port intensive. There isn't much to do on the ship in terms of amenities. There is a pool and ping pong. There was a basketball court and paddle tennis. My teen didn't use the youth program on Veendam so can't comment. We met every day for trivia. Had nice dinners at the Pinnacle Grill. We went to the shows at night. It was a good cruise because of the itinerary. We came back each day to our homey ship. I'm sure your teens will be fine. Bring Uno cards.

I agree with other posters about utilizing the daycare or incabin sitting. I can't imagine a two year old sleeping through the programs.

There will be a handful of kids onboard on port days. I wouldn't worry about it. They do activities similar to sea days, but it's important that the staff knows you are going on an excursion. They will take the children to lunch and so forth. If your excursion starts before the youth program opens at 9AM- you have to make arrangements with them the beforehand- make sure they know ahead of time. Also- if it's not a ship sponsored excursion- they won't open early.

I'm a princess fan- that would be my choice.

Have fun on your cruise. My uncle and his girlfriend are coming over from England in September and staying with us here in Maryland. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure he realized it was labor Day weekend- and there will be crowds at the local attractions but he had booked it before I could tell him.

While schools discourage you pulling your kids, ultimately it's up to you. My parents are paying for us to join them on our first cruise this Sept. So my daughter will miss 7 days of school. I tried to time flights so she can do a half day before we fly out. My daughter will be a jr this year and is a good student. It also helps that the school does a a day b day schedule. So she only misses 3 or 4 classes in each subject, rather than 7 classes. My son we are homeschooling, so we will take some work with us, and focus on some educational excursions like whale watching.

 

Our last vacation we pulled her out of school for was 3 years ago. We had a week at Disney planned when my mil passed away. She ended up missing 11 classes. It was harder for her to catch up. Her biggest problem was she didn't realize her emails were not going out, so some of her teachers didn't get her work. She had a d in that class for a while, but pulled it back up by the end of the semester.

Junior year of high school is the most important year of high school for your daughter if she intends to go to college. Missing the beginning of school will not be helpful to your daughter IMO in the short run or on her transcripts. As for A and B schedule. Your daughter will miss seven days of school. It doesn't matter if they are A and B days- it's still the same amount of material. My son has A and B days too- so I know this system. Check with your local school board before embarking on a cruise. Grandparents often don't understand that the school system is not supportive of vacations in September when most kids have off from June-August. My parents preferred not to travel during school breaks. They invited me to go and leave the kids at home or take the kids out of school. I didn't go on these trips. It's tempting but school is more important (it's their job). Trips to Europe and Alaska can be done during the summer when they have off school.

Obviously a chair is in use when- there is a cover up on the chair. Flip flops next to the chair and/ or a lanyard, sun block or a book. No one comes to the pool in bare feet and a swimsuit. A "clip" shouldn't be the thing that enables one to figure out when they plunked their stuff. One would see one's stuff and probably one's friend or spouse sitting next to one's stuff.

As for not going on a cruise because of this complaint. I am NOT going on another Caribbean cruise due to this situation. I was embarrassed because I talked friends into doing a cruise and they may rethink it- due to this. I told them that we should do Alaska next.

Movies Under the Stars

Pools

Food

Ambiance

Fun

Itineraries

Definitely buy the Nutella in Europe. It just tastes better there. Maybe better ingredients.

In the US truancy in the public schools is being cracked down on.

Do's and don't at Canada Place.

Don't get there before 11- they won't be boarding yet.

Do- eat a large meal for breakfast- you may not be on the ship until 2 PM.

Don't plan to board in under 2 hours

Do- go to the bathroom before you get in line.

The seven year old probably will like having his own room key. My son loved opening the doors at that age. You can put it on a lanyard. I guess it depends if your child is responsible with his things or is apt to lose it.

I was on Star last year (June 2015) and had a wonderful cruise. I didn't notice anything wrong with the ship. It was beautiful.

I had an unbelievable experience at the adult pool on Regal. I like to take a dip in the pool and just need a place to dry off after- so that I'm not dripping through the ship.

So my two friends and I went to the adult pool and were able to find two loungers. I said- you take the chairs and when I get out of the pool if no one is sitting next to you- I'll dry off there. Well- the chairs were "taken" next to them- but no one had been there on my arrival and no one was there now- 30 minutes later. So I sat on the lounger. No sooner did I sit down when two older ladies came over and stared at me. I said to the more menacing one "Is this your chair" and she said it was- so I scooted over to the end of my friend's lounger. She put another towel down on "her chair" and promptly walked away with her friend. The woman never came back in the next 30 minutes and was not in the pool. So when I got up- I took the two towels she had left on "her chair" and put them in the bin. The nerve of some people- you don't own the chair for the day. Sit your butt in it or get in the pool. Otherwise- it's up for grabs as far as I'm concerned.

I must be in the minority of people who hated Disney cruise line, but my then 4 year old had a blast so it was worth it for his sake. I guess a cruise, IMO, should be about the entire family and I think Royal Caribbean is a great choice for families. It's not a "kiddie" ship, but it there are areas where children can run around, have fun and make noise without it being a problem.

I was on the Disney Wonder. Pros- crew and staff couldn't have been nicer. Our balcony stateroom was large and pretty. The youth program was fun for my son. Cons- cruise was boring for me. The pool area was claustrophobic. Because I limit the amount of soda my son drinks- I didn't like the all you can drink soda machines. Made it hard for him to resist. The food (I didn't try the specialty restaurant) was horrible. The dining rooms were always noisy and chaotic. The buffet area was small and the food was sub-par. I tried this for my son, who as I say had a blast.

I agree with the dress shirt and pants are fine on formal night and polo shirts on casual nights. Long pants are always required in the MDR at dinner time.

I did a cursory search for the duck tours that leaves from the Boston Aquarium and it appears that you can only book it 30 days in advance- so make sure to reserve by September 15th. The best one is the one from the Aquarium, which is a short taxi ride from the ship. You can walk it- but it's a good 1.5 mile walk from Black Falcon terminal. You can easily do the duck tour on your own. I'd book one around 12 noon at the latest.

There is also a hop on trolley I believe that picks up at the port.

http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/trolley-tours-for-cruise-guests.asp