giselleacttwo

The men in my life love chicken wings, so they'd be pretty excited about that. :) Brisket, not so much. But still it's nice to hear they are trying new things.

My kids and husband ordered the UKP (I stick with water) on our last cruise and never had a problem getting mocktails in the MDR. Did we just get lucky?

Our older kids prefer not to eat in the dining room with us every night so we tend to stick with AT. We will usually feed them before they go to the kids center in the evening (buffet, grill, or pizza by the pool) and then parents can have a nice dinner alone (or with toddler, as case may be). We like to do family dinners on formal nights so we take them to the MDR with us. We like the flexibility of anytime. YMMV.

During an Alaskan cruise, would this area be open to children since it will be too cold to swim?

Do you mean for glacier viewing, since you mention not swimming? I would never dream of taking my kids to the adults only pool to swim since there are usually two other "all ages" pools on most ships, but I'm not aware of any restrictions to kids being on deck in the aft pool area. The Sanctuary is a different matter entirely, of course. I believe the aft pool is only located in the Sanctuary on Coral and Island Princess and those areas as well as pools are strictly paid access and adults only.

Minis are a great way to travel with families, it's lovely to have that extra sitting area and for kids to have their own sleeping area not on top of the adult beds. We had a mini about as far forward as you can go on a 28 day and didn't experience any motion sickness, kids included. (Full disclosure: we never really have on a cruise). We bring seasick meds just in case but haven't had to use them yet.

 

Yes I know, I have done this itinerary a zillion times but when you can visit San Francisco and wander Victoria with a few sea days in between for $80 a day? I can't buy groceries for that!

 

That is a great deal! Also, your groceries sound really expensive. :eek:

I'd be broke if I spent more than $80 a day, and I'm feeding a husband and three kids.

My FIL came down with an infection on a recent cruise and needed to be treated. He was impressed with the facilities and the service he received in the medical center. We were impressed when the bill came in. We'd assumed it would be astronomical, but it was actually pretty reasonable. While I wouldn't recommend getting sick or injured on a ship if you can help it, it did put my mind at ease to hear he had such a good experience.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1675632

It's a two year old thread, but I don't imagine prices have gone up by too much if they have.

Typically, when a vendor sets a weight limit for an excursion it is for the safety or comfort of their passengers. I wouldn't want to bypass that safety even if I *could*.

October 2000, Osaka to Beijing on the original Regal Princess (sister to the then-Crown). Loved that ship, and was a great intro to cruising in general. We had never been before.

Princess used to tell me. My DSis 20 now so it is some years since I called but there was no problem asking for that info.

 

Schools do start letting out in May so I would not worry too much about having other kids.

Princess will still tell you. We cruised in October and I called to ask about numbers of kids then. They just require your booking number first. Once I got someone who told me they couldn't give out that information, but I told him sweetly, "I promise, you can" then he placed me on hold to confirm and came back with a number. :cool:

OP, we homeschool too and we went on a cruise that was unlikely to have ANY kids on board (28 days in October) and even on that cruise there were like 11 kids, including a couple of teens.

Hey All,

First let me state that I am almost completely ignorant about princess cruises and my impression of them is that they are mostly meant for people 50+. I am 34 and wife is 27 and we have a two year old, I have been on a two Carnival cruises, one NCL, and booked one Royal that will sail this year. My question is what is the average age of a princess cruiser? Will we feel out of place if I book a princess cruise? We would want to sail out of FL and hit the Caribbean. We don't have to have Mickey, Shrek, and rock wall climbing and flowriders but enjoy shows and other on board entertainment.

I guess my question is do you think princess would be a good fit for my family or should we wait a few more years?

Also what is the dress code like? Do they require tuxes and suites at dinner?

My husband and I have been sailing Princess (often on "older demographic" itineraries- far flung destinations on longer cruises) since our early 20's and have never felt out of place. We have never been the type to seek out a party crowd though. We like the relaxing atmosphere of a Princess cruise. We didn't have kids then and we do now and we still love cruising on Princess. That said, the youth center won't be an option for drop off play for your two year old. If that is important to you, you may need to find another line until they turn three. My kids have loved the youth centers on Princess. They don't need flowriders and Mickey to have fun, either.

We've had them on our last two cruises (traveling with kids both times). We always tip extra for them. The kids love them, and I agree, Stewart is busy enough without having to take the extra time to delight my kids.

No you don't need the cup with you. It's a souvenir. You just need to show your cruise card with the sticker to get a drink.

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Another thing about cruising with kids I hadn't thought about. We are taking our grandsons (both 8) with us for the first time this summer. Just what sort of things to they bring back from kids' club? I may need to rethink the shoe organizer.

Crafts, necklaces, lanyards, small plush toys, books they make, paintings, that sort of thing. Not everything will fit in the shoe organizer but it did help us contain most of the clutter. We were on a 28 day cruise and my kids were in the youth center for a lot of it, but they still get a lot on shorter cruises. It also helps with little people socks, sunscreen, and other odds and ends. I don't think they are necessary for a couple but I wouldn't take a cruise with kids without one.

ETA: My sons were 8 and 10 on our last cruise. They made things like shark tooth necklaces, gecko keychains, caterpillars out of buttons and pipe cleaners, etc. Princess kids club is pretty heavy on the crafting, but my boys love it because they also have a lot of video games. :)

We always take one because the kids are constantly coming home with new "treasures" from the kids center. If it were just my husband and I traveling, I'd probably do without.

I would just like to point out that this is neither Central America (cheaper than Europe) nor Rome (easy, relatively cheap, mass transit). This is Bordeaux. It's an apples to grapes comparison. But if you feel Royal offers better prices on ship transit to far flung destinations from ports, sounds like you found your line already.

When used in a restaurant, authorization also includes a possible tip of 20% or more. Did your card have enough value left to cover such a tip?

Yes, it was at a quick serve casual place and the purchase was like $10. Gift card had never been used and value was $25. :mad: Was able to use it at grocery store same day.

I received one of those as a gift and had problems using it at a restaurant (swipe transaction). No reason given. It worked fine elsewhere. From what I've heard, they're notoriously picky about where they are accepted. Certainly not the "Wherever Visa/MC is accepted" like you're led to believe.

I have booked a Med cruise for next year and will be taking a 7 year old who will not cope wit the long excursion days but I don't want to do the Princess excursions because I like more private ones where I can tweak the itinerary to my liking. So question is if my child can not stay in the kids club longer do they have any paid babysitting service that can be used instead?

The only paid babysitting on Princess is in the youth centers from 10 PM-1 AM for kids ages 3-12 (teen programs are free). They do not offer any in cabin or private babysitting.

That said, I'm not certain port programming is always subject to "Princess Tours only". My MIL dropped our sons off in one port to go out exploring on her own. However, it was not an extended port day so I'm not certain they would offer extended hours beyond 8-5 for non-Princess tours.

I know they will give them lunch on port days, but do they provide them with any food or drink any other time? I have very thirsty grandsons.

On the Sapphire I recall them having water and disposable cups available in the youth centers at all times.

Other than water, and the supervised meals on the schedule (few and far between, usually a formal night "Kids Dinner" and the supervised port day lunch) there is no food or drink given or allowed in the youth center due to allergy concerns. The supervised meals are all off-site (the buffet, typically). If kiddies arrive holding any kind of food or drink they will be asked to finish it before being allowed to sign in.

I feel goofy wearing a lanyard around my neck, so I don't. But I do keep a lanyard on my cruise card and then stow it in my tote or pocket. Makes it easy to find it in my "cavernous" (as my husband would call them) purses.

My kids have no such objections and do wear their lanyards.

While it is a lot of money, it is not out of line with the costs you might see with a premium land based photographer. On land you can easily see digital files going for thousands. If you're used to shopping mall type photography prices, you will be in for one heck of a sticker shock.

On Princess the younger two would be in one group (Pelicans, 3-7) and the older two would be in another (Shockwaves, 8-12).

Princess is a great line with kids. The only downside with Princess is I'm not aware that they have a lot of connecting rooms. Sometimes the balconies connect, but not a lot of insides or outsides with connecting doors inside. We have cruised with our three kids on Princess and the way we did it was we took Grandma and Grandpa along to share a cabin with our older two and we kept the baby.

This says her calls on 3/12 and 3/18 are both cancelled. Anyone knows if they will be diverted elsewhere or are doing a sea day?

http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/waterfront/events/cruiseship.asp