YOWmom

Has anyone used Santorini Daily Tours? Looking for reviews/feedback.

Looking for recommendations for private tours (for a group of 6). Not finding a lot in Olympia and TaxiKatakolo is not available. Has anyone used olympictours.gr? Similarly for Santorini, any experience with Santorini Daily Tours or other recommendations? Thanks

We're on our way to FLL now! So looking forward to this cruise... [emoji4]

We wrapped an envelope with cruise docs inside a big box. On the front of the envelope it told them to go into the family room and turn on the TV before opening the envelope. We had an iMovie trailer ready that had highlights from previous family trips, building up to the big news that we were sailing on Quantum on Jan. 3. They lost their minds! :-P

We docked in Toulon two weeks ago and rented a car to drive to both Cassis and Le Castellet (a walled medieval village in the hills) on our own. Cassis was very beautiful, but due to pollution the lifeguards were not allowing people to go in the water - not sure if that's a recurring issue or if it was just that particular day. We had planned to do the boat tour to Les Calanaques but since it was a short port day we were worried about time, so we just walked around for an hour, enjoyed some delicious pastries and then headed to Le Castellet which was amazing - incredible views, very few tourists, and quaint shops and restaurants. The drive was very scenic and it gave us a taste of Provence. Our kids (7 and 12) really enjoyed it as well. We had contacted a few local tour companies about doing the same itinerary, and were quoted a cost of 480 Euro - the car rental, plus gas, parking and tolls only cost us about 90 Euro total.

For the family member with baby, you may want to consider a central park balcony cabin (and/or connecting cabins). When we cruised on Oasis and Allure, and our kids were young, we loved those as we could put the little ones to bed, and then sit on our balcony with a glass of wine, listen to the string quartet below, and people watch (Rising Tide bar, etc)... We could still enjoy some of the "action" of the ship but in a fairly quiet spot and didn't feel as confined to the room after bedtime. Now that the kids are a bit older, they get their own connecting cabin and we also open the balcony divider between the rooms. We're travelling on Harmony in March with a large family group (a mix of ages similar to your group) and have booked a string of CP balconies in a row for everyone - connecting rooms for our kids, and connecting all of them together via the balcony dividers.

We were there on a Sunday two weeks ago with our kids (ages 7 & 12). Given the Sunday bus/train schedules, we ended up hiring a taxi directly from the pier to take us to both Pisa and Lucca, for about 5 hours total. It was a last minute decision as were were originally planning to take the train to Florence, but for same reasons as you, and following a busy day in Rome the day before, we decided to take it easy. We had first decided to take a taxi just to Pisa (for 120 Euros) but the taxi dispatcher's "upsell" convinced us to add Lucca as well for a total cost of 240 Euro, and boy, were we happy we did! We spent about an hour in Pisa - which was plenty of time to walk around the tower and "Field of Miracles", and visit a few tacky souvenir stalls. And then we had about 2.5 hours in Lucca - which was absolutely lovely - very few tourists, really interesting scenery and architecture, and a very relaxed vibe. Pisa was very hot and crowded but Lucca wasn't at all so the kids could wander a bit more freely. We walked around, enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the village, and amazing gelato in the Anfiteatro. We also found the local artisans craft market (near the Napoleon square), which is held on the last Sunday of every month. The taxi was clean, comfortable, with AC and free wifi (which the 12 yo loved!). The driver gave us some suggestions and a map of what to see in Lucca, waited for us at set meeting point, and was paid at the end when we returned to the port. It turned out to be a reasonably good value compared to the cost of the ship's excursion x4 people, and actually ended up being one of the most relaxing and enjoyable ports we visited. Also note that unless you hire a taxi at the port (and most will only take you to either Florence or Pisa/Lucca and not the short distance to the train station), the only way to get into town is via the port-operated shuttle that costs 5 Euro per person, and then you still need to take a taxi or walk to the train station.

We were there on a Sunday two weeks ago, and given Sunday bus/train schedules, we ended up hiring a taxi directly from the pier to take us to both Pisa and Lucca, for about 5 hours total. It was a last minute decision as were were originally planning to take the train to Florence, but with two young kids who were started to tire on day 10 of a 12 night cruise we decided to take it easy that day. The cost was 240 Euro, for a new, clean, air-conditioned taxi (with free wifi!). We spent about an hour in Pisa, and about 2.5 hours in Lucca. The driver waited for us at each stop and was paid at the end when we returned to the Port. It turned out to be a reasonably good value compared to the cost of the ship's excursion x4 people, and actually turned out to be one of the most enjoyable port days of our cruise. Lucca was lovely and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the village, amazing gelato in the Anfiteatro and also found the local artisans craft market (near the Napoleon square), which is held on the last Sunday of every month. Also note that unless you hire a taxi at the port, the only way to get into town is via the port-operated shuttle that costs 5 Euro per person, and then you still need to take a taxi to the train station...

We've sampled Carnival, Disney and Celebrity, but hands down, our daughters (now 12 and 7) LOVE Royal Caribbean, especially the Oasis and Quantum class ships. So much for them to do (even outside the kids clubs) and lots of great family entertainment and activities. If you end up travelling solo with your daughter, join the CC Roll Call for your sailing to meet others who will be onboard - it's a great way for you and your daughter to meet people early in the cruise that you can hang out with. One of our best cruises was on Allure of the Seas, in large part due to the many families we connected with online and then spent time with on the ship.

In St. Kitts, we took our kids (then 11 and 7) to the Marriott resort and bought a day pass. Great pool & restaurant and beautiful beach. In Antigua, we went to Valley Church beach - it was ok but not sure I'd recommend it - there was a fairly steep incline down to the water. And agree, in St. Thomas, it's well worth taking an excursion to St. John - Trunk Bay is stunning and not at all crowded anytime we've been.

We cruised out of Bayonne, NJ on Quantum in January and while the first sea day was chilly, by the second day the weather was quite nice (I grew up in Nfld and even the afternoon of first sea day was like your typical St. John's summer day ;)). We've never cruised Norwegian but my girls (ages 12 and 7) absolutely loved Quantum (sister ship to Anthem). It's designed as a "cold weather" ship, so there's plenty to do on those cooler sea days (skydiving, indoor pool, bumper cars, rollerskating, circus school, north star, etc). And the entertainment was fantastic. My oldest has never liked the kids' clubs but we found that there were so many great activities we could do as a family. It was one of the best cruises we've ever taken (14 and counting).

Our favourite rooms for a family of 4 are connecting Central Park View balconies on Oasis class ships. It was lovely to sit out on our balcony after the kids were asleep, sipping a glass of wine, listening to the string quartet below and people watching - so we really didn't feel confined to our room after their bed time. When kids were really little we all shared one room but since our oldest turned 9 (and youngest was 4), we put them in connecting cabins and just left the door in between open at all times, and dead-bolted their cabin door. On Quantum, we sailed in connecting "obstructed view" balconies which were a bit cheaper than regular balconies. We always book early - as soon as schedules are released, so we can nab the connecting rooms - and can always cancel if plans change. With C&A discounts and booking onboard credits, 2 rooms are often only $200-$300 more than having all 4 of us in one room. On Freedom and Voyageur class ships there are also a very small number of balcony rooms that connect to inside rooms at the very aft of the ship on each side - these sell super fast though so you need to book early!

Following... we will be in Toulon this summer as well, with a 7 year old and a 12 year old. Can't find much on the Med boards about cruising with kids and our roll call is super quiet :(

To answer your second question, even if you get there a bit later, you won't have any trouble finding a spot on the beach. Nachi only accepts 100 reservations per day, so it's never crowded and there's plenty of room for everyone.

Maybe see if anyone on your roll call has kids the same age, and perhaps try to meet up for sail-away before the kids club opens so they'll see some familiar faces. My oldest (now 11) has never liked the kids clubs but was always more keen to go if she had a new friend. My 7 year old would spend the whole cruise there if we'd let her - so often just depends on the child... On our most recent cruise we actually connected with another family via the roll call who had two girls the same ages and arranged for the kids to meet via FaceTime a week before the cruise - once on board we all went and registered of the kids club together and they had a great time all week long.

In Canada you can buy Gravol for Kids (which is equivalent to Bonine/dramamine - an OTC motion sickness med) but I don't think it's available in the US. I always bring it but have never needed to use it EXCEPT on our last cruise when we did an excursion to Tortola and my 7 year old (and many others) got very sick on the charter boat. Of course, I had left the Gravol on the ship! Some very kind lady handed us some Bonine for the trip back and I just split each pill in half for the kids and they were fine.

We were just on Serenade (10 nights) and AO was open on the first night, starting at 7 pm I think. As usual, it was only open for a couple of hours in the afternoon for registration/open house.

We would often get warm milk at Cafe Promenade / Lattitudes on RCCL ships. They would just lightly warm it with the milk steamer for no charge. I'd usually send hubby on a mission to get some while I started the bedtime routine. Never had any problems. :-)

Last time we were in Barcelona I borrowed a Pacsafe purse from a friend and didn't have any trouble. We are heading to there again this summer for a Med cruise and yesterday, I found very similar slash-proof, zipper-locking Travelon bag at Marshall's for less than half the price of a Pacsafe! Just wanted to pass along the shopping tip :)

Yes the water taxi will take you to the beach in downtown Phillipsburg where you can rent chairs and play in the sand, though there are many more beautiful beaches in St. Martin. There is also a car rental place right at the port, and we've done that several times when our girls were very young. Le Gallion is a beautiful calm beach on the French side - also known as Baby Beach so great for little ones. Dawn Beach in the Dutch side is lovely as well and an easy drive. We brought our own car seat but you could ask when booking if they would provide one. Most agencies do upon request...

Thanks for the terrific review and photos!! Now I'm even more excited about sailing away this Saturday. My 5 year old was especially excited to see the adventure ocean pics. She's been asking for a week whether they have a play structure like they do on Oasis - couldn't find photos anywhere but now thanks to your review, I have the proof she was looking for! :-)

Of our last 4 cruises, we've done 2 with the kids, and 2 without (when our youngest was 13 months, and again when she was 21 months), so no judgement here - only you know what will work best for your family, and you shouldn't feel guilty about taking some grown-up time :)

On the two cruises without the kids, we opted for 4 nights (mainly due to lack of vacation days, but also because the little one was still very young, but did absolutely fine with her grandma all the same).

Since you're booked on Glory, I will say that when we cruised with our girls on that ship (when the baby was 11 months old and big sister was 5), the staff were absolutely wonderful with both of them. Also at 2, your son will be able to go to Camp Carnival regardless of whether he's potty trained or not. However, if he isn't, he may not be happy about not being able to go in the swimming pool - at 11 months our DD didn't really notice. Anyway, just a few things to keep in mind if you do decide to bring him along.

The one thing that really bothers me (and which I've seen more often than I care to recount) is when people treat the crew members like dirt. On our last cruise, I came out of my stateroom one morning to hear a woman in the hallway complaining about the room steward, particularly that, "that stupid, stupid man can't even speak English!". I desperately wanted to ask her how many languages she could speak, but somehow restrained myself (and btw, his English was just fine...). And in my experience, it seems like the frequent cruisers are the worst offenders.

Thanks for the crib pictures and the October weather info..

I'm sure its expensive but I think Carnival should consider installing the needed filtration system to provide water activities to the little ones. There are only 2 ships in the Royal Carribean line that offer such water activities and then you have Disney. Disney has family cruising (at least with small children) perfected. Carnival should take notice if it wants to compete in the family cruising market

I couldn't agree more - overall I'd rate our "Carnival with kids" experience as good (maybe even very good), but definitely not outstanding. That's why we're in the process of booking Disney for next year :D. At 11 months, our little one didn't really notice or mind not being able to go in the pools, though she really loved the beaches, and I'm sure by the time we cruise next year when she's 2, there'll be no holding her back - she already thinks she can do everything her 5 year old sister can do!!:rolleyes:

We are on the Carnival Elation. Are they the metal cribs or pack and play type?

The cribs are metal - just a bit smaller than what you would have at home and our 11 month old was quite comfortable in it. The mattress is quite a bit thinner so a pack n' play sheet fits perfectly - you'll want to bring your own sheet as they did not provide any special bedding for the cribs. I've tried to attach a photo (as before our cruise I was looking for a pic of the Carnival cribs on CC and couldn't find one :) ). We had an oceanview room for 2 adults and 2 kids, so to give us a bit more space in our cabin, we put it at the foot of our bed - it was a tight squeeze but we managed to fit it in between the bed and the wall/door to the adjoining room (which we didn't need).