wampuscat7

I would do some research on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I feel they have the best options for a multigenerational cruise that includes children.  

In the app, menus show up for our cruise on one deck of the MDR but not the other decks. No idea why. There are also PDFs on the web if you google.

On 3/6/2024 at 8:28 AM, alpineapa said:

We had purposely decided to stay on boat and not go out on Cozumel to take advantage of slides with no lineups.

 

we got there and several of the slides were closed to do film crew. I understand there is no good time to do this but maybe instead of 10 am they could have done super early in the day? Just thought I’d mention in case others plan a day like us.

What time were the slides listed as open in the cruise compass/app? Just curious as to whether it was planned prior to the cruise or if that was a schedule change once on board. 

Thank you all for your responses! We’ve looked at the menus with your daughter. If we feel like 150 CP will be too fancy, maybe we’ll make that a parents’ date night instead, but that was definitely the menu we were all the most excited about. I really appreciate all of the input. 

The cheapest I saw for our upcoming Oasis cruise (7 nights over spring break) was $70.99.

I have a couple of questions about our upcoming Oasis cruise related to the specialty restaurants. My daughter is 9, and our cruise is over Spring Break, so I assume we will see kids everywhere. However, are there any venues that are more upscale and kids might feel uncomfortable (150 Central Park perhaps)? Our most recent cruise was in NCL’s Haven and we ate at the Haven restaurant most evenings but no specialty restaurants. 

Also, I know there is a kids menu, but my daughter is an adventurous eater. She loves steak, venison, lamb, seafood, etc. Can we pay the adult price for her and/or could she order the kids food but also share some of my food? Would this also be possible with the dining packages? 

We sailed in Haven two years ago and considered it for our upcoming cruise. Honestly, for two adults and one child, we found options in Haven that were cheaper  less than a Royal balcony room plus alcohol package, depending on the ship and sailing. 
 

On our upcoming sailing, we have reserved the deluxe drinks package for $70.99 per person per day and the 3-meal specialty dining package for $131 per person. We felt there were enough other options that we did not need the ultimate dining package. 

Haven was a wonderful treat, and if it was just DH and I going, we would likely choose Haven. However, for a family vacation, we feel Royal has many more benefits than the NCL ships. 
 

Also if you like things like priority embarkation and wifi, you can get The Key. The cheapest I’ve seen it for our cruise was $35 per person per day. I will miss the designated Haven check-in line.

I’ve been on 4 Carnival sailings, one on Royal and one on NCL. I would say this is a very fair review. Carnival’s casual eateries are way better than Royal’s, especially the pizza and burgers. We had better food and service in Royal’s buffet than Carnival’s but better food and service in Carnival’s MDR. 

Our next cruise is booked on Royal despite the price difference, which is considerable. Why? We only travel via cruise once every two or three years and want the best vacation rather than the best value. The Oasis class ships are amazing. We love the aqua show, the ice skating show, the wide variety of family and kid activities, and the neighborhoods. Central Park is one of my favorite locations on any ship, and we love the different pool areas. We also prefer Royal’s private islands to Carnival’s.

With a 14-year-old, I would get at club balcony suite - one with a large balcony if you can. I wouldn't bother splurging for the spa balcony personally, but that's because we have a younger child and spend most of our vacation as a family. We wouldn't use the spa enough to make it worthwhile. 

I'm not a particularly adventurous traveler, but I've done my own excursions or booked non-ship tours in most of the Caribbean ports. Most places it's easy peasy. 

I would assume that occupancy would keep rising over the next month or so, considering NCL's new rule about kids under 12 not needing to be vaccinated, which coincides with Spring Break. 

11 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Some people have had long wait times for their "proctor" to come on-line with them.  So, I would imagine THAT is one of the the reasons.

Interesting. I've heard from people who have done the NCL-recommended service and BINAX service that it was quick with very little waiting. 

Thanks for the input. 

This is a dumb question, but can I take my covid test the same day I get on the boat? I don't see why not, but the NCL recommended proctored test site won't let me schedule my test for the sail day. 

They have pepsi products on NCL, not coke. Is that right?

When you say you're all part of a family, are all those cruising from the same household? Or are there family members who are adults from different households? Just curious as to how that works and how NCL defines "family members or travelling companions."

I hope it is resolved for you. 

There are several YouTube videos where people explain the process proctored home testing. This is one: 

19 hours ago, doreenrae said:

JUST got this email today from NCL---to me it looks like now the FCC expiration is now EXTENDED  from Jan 31 2022 to Dec 31 2022--meaning that FCC could be used on a cruise that sails in 2023 perhaps? Have not called NCL to confirm yet.

This is for people who already have FCC. My understanding from my PCC and others here is that you still must sail in 2022. 

People who have been issued new FCC recently have a different timeframe. 

16 hours ago, NW Pacific said:

Does anyone know if all this new cancel policy has anything to do with testing positive,  covid,  within 14 days or 48 hours before arriving at the Pier???? Is it still at least an FCC?

Yes, if you test positive.

ETA link to NCL site https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/refund-and-cancellation-policy-covid-19

4 hours ago, ragdoll39 said:

Thanks for your input. I'm certainly talking about chairs that are unoccupied and have been reserved for hours, unoccupied. My experience differs from yours. I have on multiple occasions seen pool attendants remove items from unoccupied chairs. They then take them to the towel hut or wherever for safekeeping. Cruise lines and resorts all have rules against these things as we all know, but it is difficult to enforce. I also believe that it is the pool attendants' responsibility to enforce the rules. Thanks again!

Ahh. I see. I did not realize that you were hoping that the tip would encourage the staff to "free up" some chairs that have been hogged. I haven't heard of that, but there's a first time for everything. And I am certainly no expert.

I agree that I wish they would just enforce their own rules and remove all chair hogs' things regardless of tipping, but having worked in customer service, I can understand why crews would be reluctant to do so. 

16 minutes ago, blueslily said:

Is Peace if Mind still offered? I booked in late January and was told twice this week by customer service, that it expired Jan 31? Is this date not accurate?

Peace of Mind expired Jan 31. 

These are the new cancellation rules. Book with Confidence still applies, but you can only get a credit if you cancel due to government requirements, and it wouldn't apply to OP's sailing in May. 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/refund-and-cancellation-policy-covid-19

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

also notify your card card provider that you will be going out of the country otherwise you might have issues with using the credit card when in port. Most credit card provider say you don't need to contact them however i had issues before where the card was like blocked and i had to find a way to notify them that yes i am out of the country and i am approve the transaction 

Some cards now have a way in their app or online to notify them about upcoming travel. My husband travels for work, and this is much more convenient than having to call. 

If you're asking whether tipping to have someone find you a deck chair is a common practice on cruise ships, the answer is no. I know some resorts function that way, where there are chairs held back but staff will get you one if you tip well, but cruise ships are generally first-come, first-served and there are rules (not usually well enforced) about saving chairs. 

It is refreshing to see a chair hog thread instead of a covid one, though. 

https://weatherspark.com/y/1640/Average-Weather-in-Long-Beach-California-United-States-Year-Round

Have you visited the Ports Of Call board to get ideas? https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

You can find a lot of info about Breakaway, including reviews here: https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=642

I ended up getting the same email last night, even though all of our FCC has been used to pay for a cruise in March.