giselleacttwo

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Sad to hear sapphire won't be visiting us in Santa Barbara tomorrow :-(

Looks like the storm impacted the harbor and tendering is unsafe.

 

 

Carnival Miracle video tour:

I can't read the teeny tiny type in the photo. Would that be the day after tomorrow, March 12? That is when the Sapphire is supposed to be in SB.

We've done this with pull down from wall bunks on a 14 day cruise on the Golden and it was just fine. It's really personal preference whether you have the lower berths made up as twins or a queen. We personally didn't mind "scooting" out of bed in the morning (we scooted out the bottom rather than bend over to walk underneath the upper bunks) but those with mobility issues or those easily annoyed by having to do such a thing would probably prefer two twins.

So my 3 yr old son will be right in the middle of potty training when we take our cruise on RC Explorer at the end of the month. I am looking for any advice and tips that will help this experience go as smoothly as possible. Has anyone ever brought one of those foldable potty seats that go on the toilet. Do they fit on the toilets on the ship?

There are a few kinds you can buy. The all plastic ones are hard and I think can pinch. I got the padded kind, they don't pinch. Was under $10 on Amazon. They work just fine on the toilets on the ship.

The last cruise we took, our son was 2. He went on 2 cruises without any motion sickness. Now he is 8 and my daughter is 5. Do you think I need to prepare for that possibility? If so, what is out there that they can use?

I've taken my kids on three cruises and they've never been seasick. While I doubt they will suddenly develop motion sickness now when they've been fine before, I do take some kind of children's motion sickness medication just in case they do.

We are taking our 2 grand kids and their parents on a 4 day Coastal CA cruise and want to register them for their appropriate age group. I can't find where on the Princess site to do so. Any hints for locating this on their site?

 

Thanks.

You can print and fill out in advance the information linked by rburtz (it's on the last page of their youth program information PDF), but it doesn't take long to do in person. It needs to be turned in to the Youth Center staff on the ship, so no advance registration is possible or necessary.

Does Sapphire have one?

Yes

The only reason I know about it is that my grandson (who is a computer wizard compared to me) found it on the Princess web site. There is also a video of kids' activities where it is mentioned. He is now eager to do it. He had always helped out in the kitchen since he was a little thing. His brother, not so much, but I think I'll sign him up, too.

 

Thanks everyone!

That's how my kids are. My youngest loves to help in the kitchen. My oldest doesn't really care to. But they both had fun.

- Which ship's children's program works better for a high-functioning (Aspergers) boy? My son loves video games, art, building and science.

 

We've never cruised Celebrity, and we don't have any food allergies, so I can't help you much there. But I will say for a 10 year old that is really into video games, art, building, and science, they Princess kids program will be right up his alley. Princess is heavy on the video games and arts and crafts for that age group. They also did Lego competitions and science related activities.

I have heard that Princess is really great to work with for allergies and dietary restrictions, but you must make sure to speak with the Head Waiter in your dining room and not your server. As mentioned, they will go over the next day's menus for you at dinner the night before.

Would we talk to the folks up at the kids/teen center to find out about this? I don't recall ever seeing this advertised in the Patters.

Yes. The kids center counselors will know if/when it is going to happen on your voyage, and on our cruise they accompanied the group to the galley. I've never seen it advertised in Patters, either.

Giselleacttwo - do you remember the age range of the program? My daughter will be two months shy of 8 when we sail, and would love this. She has a lot of experience in the kitchen, so this would be a great experience for her. How fun that they deliver the creations via room service!!

I'm sorry, I don't know. :( We didn't have any Pelicans on our cruise (ages 3-7) so I don't know if they would have been allowed in or not.

My kids did on the Sapphire in October. It was on Halloween, so ours was Halloween themed. They were 8 and 10 at the time. From what I understand, it can be very popular so I would inquire the first day you are on board at the kids' center. There weren't a lot of kids on our voyage so competition wasn't fierce.

Cost was $25 and included the activity, a professional photo of the child and the Exec. Chef along with the creations they made, and a good quality child sized embroidered chef's hat and apron. You sign for a time you would like their creations delivered to your room via room service. At ours we decorated cupcakes. I've heard sometimes they do cakes. Each child was allowed one adult chaperone, so my boys took mom and grandma. Adults and kids alike must be in closed toed shoes and no shorts, since they take you into the galley.

We were taken back into the galley where we met the Executive Chef and a Pastry Chef. Adults were allowed to take pictures. Since ours was Halloween themed they made fondant spiders, icing spider webs, etc. All told we spent about an hour back there. It was fun seeing some of the pastry crew at work around us creating food Halloween decorations for the ship. I thought it was worth every penny, and if your grandson enjoys helping in the kitchen I'm sure he would love it too.

We were on a 28 day cruise on the Sapphire and they also offered 2 week passes for the thermal suite. You had the option of booking the first two, the last two, or all four weeks of the cruise. Passes were $199/$299 for 2/4 weeks.

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Is the Kids center located at the Kids club? Would there be dropped off kids playing in the same area? Are there chairs etc. for parents in the center?

They are one and the same, the terms are often used interchangeably. My only experience with parent supervised play is on the Sapphire, but it is likely to be similar on other ships. We were sent to the Pelicans room (ages 3-7) to play in. There were kid sized chairs and padded bench seating. On our cruise there were no children ages 3-7 so there were no drop-off kids playing when we were. But I suspect that is not typical. Most itineraries will have some Pelicans. If you are in the same room as drop-off kids then there will be counselors there to attend to them.

Thanks for the update, OP, glad to hear your kids had a good time! My boys really liked the staff of the Sapphire and they had a great time.

Another poster asked about 2 year olds- 2 year olds are allowed to play in the kids center of any Princess ship provided a parent is supervising them at all times. (This goes for any child under 3) Drop off begins at age 3.

Our interests are pretty similar and the places I enjoyed most on our Med/Greek Isles cruise were Dubrovnik (must see- absolutely stunning), Kusadasi (with a visit to Ephesus and the Terrace Houses), Santorini (do take a bus or a tour over to Oia- classic Greece with the white washed houses and blue roofs) Rhodes, (loved Old Town and the Palace of the Grand Masters), and Corfu, which is beautiful. Beaches weren't a big priority for us as we weren't really there in beach weather. I would of course include Athens on the list as well. If you haven't been there yet it would be a shame to miss it on a Greek Isles cruise.

I might be in the minority but I thought Mykonos was pretty boring. If I were to go back I might make it a ship day.

That depends on what your interests are. History? Art/Architecture? Shopping? Beaches? Natural beauty? My top 5 would probably be very different from my mothers and we went on the same trip. :)

This is Princess specific, but for those sailing with infants and toddlers small enough for a PNP I recommend bringing magnetic hooks and a dark shower curtain. Princess has a closet area large enough to hold the PNP and you can put the magnetic hooks on the ceiling, hang the shower curtain on it, and they have their own little bedroom space while napping/sleeping so you can use the rest of the cabin to read a book or whatever.

I haven't taken kids that age to Europe, but I did backpack Europe for a month (in the middle of winter) with a toddler when I was 5 months pregnant. Looking back, that was probably crazy, but we had a fabulous time. My now-older kids have done several cruises just not to Europe.

That said, I have done an adults only Med. Cruise and while it was fabulous, the schedule of ports nearly every day was exhausting. My recommendations would be private tours and pick a port day or two to just stay on the ship and relax. My 12 day Med. cruise had ports every day except for the first day was a sea day. Looking back, I probably would have stayed on the ship in Mykonos or Katakolon.

Just looked at the NCL site- are you on a 7 day? If I were on a 7 day with one sea day the "day on ship" might not apply. One day at sea out of 7 is less exhausting than one out of 12. In that case I might suck it up then plan on a few relaxing days at our embarkation or disembarkation port.

 

Seriously, I hope they avoid young 'stars' who may fade.

Yes! Trista and Ryan for Ruby Princess? Gag. :eek:

I vote for Benedict Cumberbatch as the first Godfather to a Princess ship. :p

But seriously, though, I could really get behind either of the Dames Maggie Smith or Judi Dench. :D

I agree on making Mykonos a ship day. We thought it was pretty boring compared to the other islands we visited in Greece. Med. cruises are exhausting (and I didn't take my kids!) so I think it helps if you break it up a little and take a day or two on ship to recover from the madness of port after port. I much preferred Rhodes and Santorini to Mykonos. Since I didn't take my kids I don't have a lot of family friendly recommendations, but I will say that I wish I had done more shopping in Rhodes. It has a very interesting old town (within walking distance of the ship) with lots of shops and the prices were cheaper than I saw in other places like Santorini.

Be aware you might have to make a couple of trips to the PSD to make it happen. We visited on embarkation day and they made a hand written note in a book on the room change, gave us "temporary" new room keys and then asked us to come back the next day to make it permanent. (I think they specified after 11 AM). We got new keys the next day when we came back. Not sure the reasoning for why they did it like that, but I suspect it has something to do with their software functioning somewhat like a hotel's and something needed to be done during the night audit or similar to make the change final. Also for the first day I was still listed in my old cabin but the next day I was not. So that made a difference for spa reservations, etc.

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Has anyone sailed the Panama Canal Partial transit cruise-Fort Lauderdale,Aruba,Cartegena, Panama canal, limon(costa rica), Jamaica,Fort Lauderdale?

 

Did you need to have a yellow fever vaccination or the associated certificate for the cruise, or any of the Excursions?

 

I have done the cruise in question, and though vaccines weren't required at the time I was barred from giving blood for five years after the trip, although I believe that was actually from the malaria risk and not the yellow fever.

Aren't your room card and cruise card are the same thing? ;)

In the situation I am referring to, no, they are not. They do not program access to another person's room on your own cruise card. They give you an entirely separate card that allows access to the other room. So the "room" card and your cruise card are separate.

Also, OP, if I'm not mistaken the room cards are programmed just to open the other person's cabin. I would be surprised if they had charging privileges assigned to them.

Visit the pursers desk with one of your parents who I assume are occupying the other cabin. Your parents can ask them to give you a key card. Just keep it separate from yours because if you use it in error to buy something onboard the charge will go to their account.

We've done this when traveling with our kids, no problem. Don't imagine they would have a problem doing it for your parents. IME, the room cards don't look like your cruise card (they are just a generic blue, no name information, etc.) so it shouldn't be a problem mixing them up.