jujubird

Thank you! This is wonderful

Perfect!  Thanks for that!   She will definitely enjoy.  And my husband will be grateful for the umbrella.

April 13th Sailing is still looking like we have a day of cruising. I'm actually kind of bummed. I think my 4 year old would have loved an extra day at the beach!  

My daughter is going to be almost 5 when we travel to CocoCay on our ship next April (2020). I haven't been there since it was little more than a beach with a snorkel activity. I'm trying to find out if there are any splash pad areas/kid type areas on CocoCay with the remodel.  Also, can umbrellas be rented on the islands?

Thanks in advance for any kid based tips or other things you've noticed in your recent trips to CocoCay.

If you can, I would at least get a balcony.  We've cruised twice now with our daughter (4 at the end of June).  Having the extra outdoor space is extremely helpful when nap time is being considered.  It's also helpful for us, as our daughter doesn't do great in the kid's camp and can find crowds a bit intimidating.  Being able to sit outside on the balcony while she takes some breaks in the room is super helpful to my well being on a cruise. 

Despite her distaste for crowds, she has talked non-stop about this last cruise we went on and is counting down until we go on our next.  (PS- her first cruise was around the age of your child's.  It was so much fun)

Thanks for the review.  We sail in January with our 3 year old (and a bunch of college friends and their young kiddos). Any additional pieces of good information for those of us with small kiddos? 

(We are also looking at booking with Island Breeze).

Anyone from the Empress moving to Majesty, get their updated info yet?

We loved this! My mom is on a scooter and we didn't have her play along with us. To be perfectly honest, I think you could do 1 of two things with someone in a wheel chair. Definitely talk to the operators, they were super nice, and they may allow your wheelchair bound family member and you to maybe shadow the task masters at the different locations. Or in all honesty, as someone mentioned above, the biggest issue would be those few areas where you would have difficulty with any wheelchair (ie- beach and tight quarters). I think it could still be worth doing, but I would see if maybe they would allow you to shadow your team, and maybe not pay full price for it.... Overall, I'm so happy we did it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I'm wondering if they did this so they could have more amenities aboard for people who couldn't get off in Cuba (because of the rollback on the lighter Cuban regulations). So bummed, we had an Aft cabin- something we've never done before and were looking forward to for our special anniversary cruise :(. It'll be interesting to see where they move us.

My kids loved Oasis. At the time they were 2, 3, and 8.

Popped on this post, because we're heading out on our first cruise with my daughter in tow and saw one of the names in your signature as Lorelei. Just saying Hi- that's my daughter's name :)

Good choice and awesome quote in your sig.

Okay- this is probably a bit of a weird one, but we'll be on Adventure on 2/25 and are bringing our 20 month old. We'll be bringing along her beloved hippo that helps her fall asleep (it lights up/plays white noise).

I'm packing a ton of spare batteries, but remembered that I need a screwdriver to change the batteries out. Will packing one cause any problems- like a trip to the naughty room? Will try calling Royal later today (after I think of any other last minute questions I might have re: traveling with our kiddo- since this is our first cruise with her), but in case anyone knows before hand, I thought I'd ask.

We'll be cruising on Feb. 26, when the Oscars will be airing.

Anyone cruised before during the Oscars, do they do any type of Oscar Party (or is it even aired anywhere?).

Just curious...

I can't speak for the OP, but DW and I often do some minor rearranging of our contents at the hotel. When we fly in the day before, we are faced with checked baggage weight limits and CATSA/TSA carry-on luggage content restrictions. So, for example, I move my sunblock from my checked bag to my carry-on for ease of access on embarkation day. At the same time, some small but heavy items get moved from the carry-on to the checked bag. If we are purchasing wine to carry on board, we may also need to make room in the carry-ons.

Thank you. This is exactly the type of rearranging I'll be doing, plus the random assortment of kids things that we'll need.

We always travel with a luggage scale which can be purchased at office supply stores, Walmart etc. as well as mail order.

 

This way you can be certain that you are not overweight for your trip home. I find that my scale is accurate compared to many airline scales around the world, but I always leave a 5 lbs. margin.

We always take ours too :). My biggest concern is if they had a rule under the airlines or if like the airlines, an ounce would set you up for hefty fees. Thanks for the tip though :)

If you bags packed, why do you need to rearrange anything? Also, wouldn't you be making sure you have a few pounds to spare to bring "extra" stuff back? You don't have a weight limit, but it's good practice to help everyone that has to lift you bags to try to keep them balanced. I travel internationally a lot, and I often times, have extra trips (planes/trains) mid vacation before getting on a ship. Not to mention taxi's etc also. Just keep everything balanced

I travel a lot too, so I appreciate your tip, but it's been years since my last cruise and I also wasn't traveling with a 19 month old either. This time we are. We'll have plenty of room on the way home because (if you didn't realize) diapers get used and thrown away. LOL. Just as I'm sure you know that, I know to be cognizant of the weight and keep others in mind. My biggest concern is that they would have some rule where if it's an ounce over you'd be charged overage fees. Not that I was trying to go over by pounds and pounds and pounds, just- do I need to drag out the scale the way I do immediately before a plane.

As someone mentioned on my behalf, we'll be rearranging based on what is allowed in certain places for flight versus cruise carry-on. Not to mention we'll have unpacked a decent amount of items in our hotel before, so re packing will be a necessity. Nobody's trying to hurt porters or be inconsiderate. But if you'd like a play by play I'm happy to report back after our vacation. :)

What I posted was our last experience for our March/April 2015 Adventure B2B Cruise. I guess I'll find out before we board April 2017 B2B Cruise on the Jewel. If we decide to purchase the BP then we won't even bother with the terminal shop. We have our diamond drinks every evening but still like wine in our cabin before heading out for the evening.

Okay-tell me more. Is that something that you can easily see (the Duty Free Store), or is it easy to walk past? I've never been to the terminal but we are leaving from San Juan on Adventure in Feb.

I remember there was once a rule (don't know if it still exists) of 200 lbs. per person. Can't imagine that ever happening.

Hahahha yeah that won't happen. I'm thinking it would over 5 pounds or so (if even). Our bags are being packed strategically for the airplanes but not the best for boarding and waiting for the bags to arrive in the room.

Sorry- I searched the forum, but apparently couldn't figure out the right query to find my answer. Read about apple cider vinegar and wine (two unrelated posts- but still there, you have it).

We fly into SJ 2.5 days before our cruise. Obviously our bags will be weighted for the airlines (50lbs or less), but as we think about boarding for the cruise, I may decide to rearrange some things. In doing so, do I need to be concerned for any reason about baggage weight restrictions at the pier?

Thanks!

We are on the Feb 25-Mar 4 sailing. I was able to book Chops a few weeks ago. I have pre booked Giovanni's for the 1st sea day and Chops the last night. So I'm assuming Chops will be done soon.

Just a quick Hi!!! We're on that sailing too

Thanks- I remember reading your review. What are the chances it's changed since Aug? Just out of curiosity.

Does anyone have the compass for ABC islands with Adventure?

Same here!!!

To boot, I hate when people take the elevator for just one floor. Especially when going down! Come on...going down one flight? Gravity is in your favor! LOL

Ugh- I have really really bad ankles. Some days, trying to go down a set of stairs ends (especially if I have to carry my daughter) is a very scary scenario. I've fallen quite a number of times in my own home. I'll raise my hand to being one of the people who does use the elevator to go down, depending on what I'm wearing shoe wise, if I have my daughter in my arms, and if my ankles are acting up.

Not everyone's trying to be a jerk ;)

There is. Splash away bay is split into two little areas. One with a slide for bigger kids and then a small kiddie pool with a small slide for kids in diapers.

 

 

 

I'll try to take a better picture of the area tomorrow.

Yay!!!! Thank you thank you! We were hoping it'd be added before our cruise in Feb. we're going for my parents anniversary, so they picked the ship and this one wasn't the most child friendly when we first booked! Have a great cruise and thanks for posting!!!

Thanks for taking the time to post. If you have a moment (or anyone else onboard) can you tell me if they added a diaper friendly kid pool to the splashaway area?

Thanks in advance!

We love the ABC islands and have gone to them quite a few times.

Check out some of HAL's itineraries.

Sorry- relative NEWB on the boards but what is HAL?

Thanks :)