moqui_girl

I understand your dilemma. We've just booked on Ventura for a cruise in October. Our first choice would've been to sail with RCI but we couldn't justify the extra cost at the moment (and the dates of cruises didn't work out so well for us). The one good thing about P&O is the free night nursery for babies and younger children. I'm hoping that once our daughter is asleep she'll be fine to stay there for a few hours. I'm desperate to go on Anthem but we've decided to wait a year or two until she's a bit older to go to the kids club and we can enjoy more aspects of the ship. However if money was no object I'd definitely go on Anthem! Good luck with your decision.

Nope - we still used the hanging rail above where the cot was positioned for shirts, tops etc, and the cot left a small space either side in the wardrobe (if that makes sense!) for my dresses. There were also the shelves in the wardrobe bit which weren't affected by the cot being positioned there. We put our shoes under the travel cot too (poor kid, she probably didn't appreciate the smell :D)!

 

From what I remember they also put a thick travel cot mattress inside the cot - like a proper mattress, but travel cot size (IYKWIM). I had reservations about the cot being too hard, so I packed some extra blankets to 'pad out' the cot, but I needn't have worried.

 

We're going back on board in a couple of weeks (so excited!!), but this time we'll have a 4 year old and a 21month old. We've opted for a sup. deluxe balcony this time - hopefully the wardrobe arrangements will be the same as last time :)

 

Have a lovely cruise people :)

Thanks. Good to know!

We cruising on Ventura with a toddler in October so this is an interesting thread. Did putting the cot in the wardrobe area significantly reduce your storage? We are going for 12 nights so will have lots of stuff....[emoji4]

With the feminist movement insisting that mothers can get their boobs out to breast feed in public places, I cannot see that this is any worse than that. - sorry.

Wow! I don't think a mother feeding her child can be compared to someone sunbathing topless. One is essential for the baby to live the other is a choice to get a better tan. Either way, it wouldn't bother me.

It's interesting that some people have said it's more shocking to older people. I'm 37 and seem to remember topless sunbathing being much more common when I was a child than it is now. I personally would never do it but each to their own.

I don't know. But ship tours of the upper rock use the same vans as local drivers, so the signs aren't good.

 

Can I suggest you e-mail the taxi drivers association at gibtaxiass@Gibtelecom.net

 

 

 

JB :)

Ok. Thanks!

We are also looking for similar advice so this is all really helpful. One additional question. Does anyone know if the shuttles will accommodate a folded buggy for our daughter? The cruise ship tours specifically say they won't.

As with most cities, most attractions cater for adults rather than children although there is a beach only 5 minutes walk from the port entrance. You may be better taking a bus from the port entrance to Benalmadena where there is a Butterfly Park, Aquarium, Selwo Dolphin park and Paloma Park that has a delightful childrens small animal zone or to neighbouring Fuengirola where there is a very eco-friendly famous zoo.

Thanks for your reply. I had noticed that the cruise ship runs an excursion to the zoo. I'm always nervous about zoos so good to know it's well run. I'll take a look at your other suggestions too.

Hi campolady. We will be in Malaga in October with our nearly 2 year old. Can you suggest any child friendly activities within a short walk of the cruise shuttle drop off point. We will have a buggy with us too so may restrict us. Thanks.

We've just booked a cruise on the Ventura for 12 nights to Spain and Portugal. The ports are Lisbon, Cadiz, Alicante, Malaga, Valencia and Gibraltar.

We are taking our daughter who will be nearly 2 when we travel. She's a busy little thing and won't tolerate too much sightseeing at churches etc but if she can wander about (without getting in people's way) she'd be ok for a short time. She also has a complex heart problem so we need to take the buggy where ever we go as she tires easily and will need to rest periodically.

Does anyone have any suggestions for places to visit or comments about how accessible the ports are with a buggy?

We will probably go to the beach once or twice but it's not our favourite thing to do.

We are taking this trip to have a relaxing time away so we aren't too worried about seeing all the important sites but we would like to get off the ship at each port for a little while.

Thanks!

I will 100% be taking my daughter out of school (if needed) for us to be able to enjoy family vacations and for her to see the world. I used to teach and I firmly believe that a visit to another country and having new experiences is far more educational and relevant than most of the things they learn in school (outside of basic skills). Due to illness I missed two full years of school (one at age 8 and one at age 13) and half a year at age 15. I did some catch up work at home but not that much considering what I had missed. I still managed to very well in my exams and went to university etc etc. Missing a week at any age isn't going to make that much difference. Even less so when they are that young. I've never heard anyone say they regret going on vacation in favour of a week in school! In the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal. Go enjoy!

We did a similar itinerary so also came into Juneau in the afternoon. We didn't book a trip but there were loads of private companies on the dock offering tours. They were literally fighting over us. We managed to get a tour which took us on a bus to the glacier for about 90 mins and then onto a whale watching boat trip for a couple of hours. We got back to the boat about 8. It was a great trip and there was only 8 of us on the whale watching trip although the boat could have held about 30. If you do this just make sure you go with one of the smaller boats not the ones that holds hundreds. You get a much better view of the whales. We saw quite a few plus seals and other wildlife. I could not recommend highly enough and it was around half the price of the cruise line trip. I don't think you'll have time to take trip that will take you on boat trip and then to be glacier.

http://www.tomsportguides.com/Rome_Civitavecchia_08-07-2012.pdf

This is very comprehensive info that I found helpful. It is a couple of years old but I doubt much as changed.

We also took the train independently. It was pretty easy but recommend going as early as possible. One thing I will say is the that platform at the station in Rome is a very long walk from the entrance or to the underground. The place is huge! Just take account of this in your plans. Allow at least 15 mins to walk there (once you've found where you need to go) on the way back. We wanted to be certain to get back early so we caught a train back around 3.30pm.

I also thought it was now mandatory to attend the muster drill. People have been removed from ships for not attending (although I haven't heard that specifically about p&o). Certainly on some cruise lines they check your cabin card and tick you off a list.

I imagine the reason they did the muster drill at 5.30pm on a 10.30pm is sailing is because after this point people will be at dinner or in shows so would be a big interruption to the evening. Also children will start to be put to be bed by 6.30/7 so it means parents would be forced to keep them awake or not attend. Grumpy kids at the muster drill would be a bad idea [emoji6]

We did river tubing in Falmouth a few years ago. It was a half day excursion through RCCL. It was very good. Quite sedate but you could get off half way and go on a rope swing i think. It was a nice relaxing morning.

If bad weather is a concern i would avoid an Alaskan cruise! Seriously Alaska is amazing but, as others have said, good weather is never guaranteed. We went at the beginning of June and it was grey and drizzly for most of the time. It didn't spoil our enjoyment. It was amazing! The cruising area of Alaska isn't really that far north and the northern lights are more prevalent in winter so I wouldn't factor than in your plans either.

I agree that Alaska should be your main focus not the ship. I think they'll really enjoy RCCL. Personally I'd save the extra money and splash out on a once-in-a-lifetime excursion like helicopter landing on a glacier. If you aren't looking at a balcony cabin you must! If there is one cruise to get a balcony, it is this! Watching whales breech or getting up close to a glacier from your own balcony is amazing. We would have missed so much without it.