Planning a family cruise... Have ?'s

[TXHillbillyGirl]

We are planning on a cruise for our family of 5 on the Carnival Ecstasy sometime in March-May. I have a few questions...

1. What is there to do with the family? I've heard about the activities for kids and the activities for adults, but what is there to do as a family besides swimming and the slides?

2. In Cozumel, what is the best beach for kids to play and have fun? Can we get to it on our own or is it best to book an excursion on the ship?

3. When in the main dinning room, will they seat us with another family with kids or is it random? I know I wouldn't want to eat with kids if I didn't bring any!..lol

4. What things are a must to pack and what can I do without? I know a power strip, blow dryer, and nightlight...and an over the door organizer.

5. How much money do we need to have put on our Sail and Sign? I know we are going to get the kids (2) Fountain Drink Cards, my husband may have a drink in the evenings and I want a couple of the professional pics. Other than that, we probably won't buy anything like gifts on the ship. We will have a different account for the ports. Just don't have a clue. Is it better to use cash or a credit card? I heard that they put a hold on your card, but is it released before the final charge is paid?

 

I think that's all for now. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[cb at sea]

Get a guidebook on your ports, then you can decide which beaches, and points of interest are for you. It can save you a bundle and you'll get more out of your port calls!

They do try to match tablemates....if someone doesn't want to sit with you, they'll move! Don't worry about it!

There will be a blow dryer in your cabin....we have never needed a power strip or the "over the door" thing.....the nightlight is handy in an interior cabin, tho!

Use your credit card to "hold" the account...then, at the end of the cruise, you can go to the desk and pay it off in cash, if you want. Most cruisers will spend about 1/2 of the cost of the cruise in misc. expenses.

[cruisinqt]

We are going on our 7th cruise this summer and our kids go with us every time. In Cozumel my kids love Paradise beach it has a huge floating trampoline in the ocean, a great restaurant you can eat in or they bring it to your lounger on the beach ( my kids like the mac-n-chees). They also have a floating iceberg you can climb and jump off of and the beach (and lounge chairs) are free. There is a small fee to use the beach toys. All of the taxi drivers know where it is and can take you there, they always arrange to pick you up later too.:)

I disagree with cb at sea I love my over the door shoe organizer. The kids put their sandals in it ( no last minute frantic shoe search making you late for dinner), we put lotion, sunscreen, toys, and tons of other stuff in it and couldn't cruise without it or the pop up hamper for dirty clothes. I can't stand all the clutter and constantly looking for stuff in that small cabin with four people stuffed into it.

As for family oriented activities, we always go to dinner and then a show every night as a family and really enjoy it. There are also family activities arranged in the kids center like scavenger hunts and ice cream eating contests.:D Plus during the day you can go to some of the planned events together as a family like the "how to make a towel animal" demo and the ice carving demo.

[goodtobequeen]

Great questions. Would love to see more answers!

[Shelleywood]

We are also a family and I can tell you that the over the door shoe hanger is my life saver. I actually bring two. One over the bathroom door and one over the closet door. With 5 people and all the shoes... dress shoes, flip flops, tennis shoes, the shoe hanger was a must to keeping the room straightened up. We also put all the shampoo, hairdryer, etc. in it too. We try to save money and end up with 5 of us in one cabin so organization is the key to sanity.

 

We loved to cruise because we were able to do things together as a family... kid parties, trivia, build a bear and even just sitting down to eat dinner was great. They usually have always seated us with another family when we take the kids.. not when it's just the two of us.

 

We love Cozumel because it's so family friendly. We always go shopping right at the pier.. the kids love to take pictures of all the stuff they have around the pier. The Three Amigos restaurant and Ron Jon surf shop are all there at the pier and the kids take a million pictures. We get each one their own throw away camera and let them go. We've swam with the dolphins at Chankanaab park and just swam and played there and it was nice but are going to try Paradise beach this year. I think the kids will love the water toys and Cozumel is easy enough to get a taxi to and from while feeling safe. This is a cheap and fun way to spend the day in Cozumel. All the ship excursions tend to be way over priced.

 

Lastly, we learned the hard way... some may disagree but I always bring cash and not a credit or debit card while I'm in port. Practically everyone wants cash and are not thrilled when you pull out a card. The only thing I recommend is bring mostly small bills so you can pay almost exact money. Some will try to give you change in pesos. A few pesos is ok... 19 dollars in pesos for me is not. :D We do use our debit card for our sail and sign account and they've never held more than what we've spent on my account but someone else may differ. Hope you have a great trip!!

[forwardcabin]

Ecstasy does not have inistalled hair dryers in the cabins. Bring your own or ask the cabin steward for one.

[TXHillbillyGirl]

Thanks for all the great info.

Would love to hear more!

[MamaParrotHead]

We are planning on a cruise for our family of 5 on the Carnival Ecstasy sometime in March-May. I have a few questions...

1. What is there to do with the family? I've heard about the activities for kids and the activities for adults, but what is there to do as a family besides swimming and the slides?

2. In Cozumel, what is the best beach for kids to play and have fun? Can we get to it on our own or is it best to book an excursion on the ship?

3. When in the main dinning room, will they seat us with another family with kids or is it random? I know I wouldn't want to eat with kids if I didn't bring any!..lol

4. What things are a must to pack and what can I do without? I know a power strip, blow dryer, and nightlight...and an over the door organizer.

5. How much money do we need to have put on our Sail and Sign? I know we are going to get the kids (2) Fountain Drink Cards, my husband may have a drink in the evenings and I want a couple of the professional pics. Other than that, we probably won't buy anything like gifts on the ship. We will have a different account for the ports. Just don't have a clue. Is it better to use cash or a credit card? I heard that they put a hold on your card, but is it released before the final charge is paid?

 

I think that's all for now. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

1.) We were so darn busy, we honestly didn't have much time to do anything except eat and LET the kids go to Camp for an hour or two (they BEGGED to go, LOL). Our family time was spent doing excursions on port days. Sea days were all about Camp for the kids.

 

2.) Chankanaab gets my vote. I've been to both Paradise Beach and Chankanaab. Although it does depends on the age of your kids. The water toys mentioned above were in deep water (obviously) and are also utilized by adults, so smaller kids that aren't super swimmers would have some difficulty, as well as having to watch out for the adults careening down the iceberg or launching your little ones into the drink, LOL. I'd say any kiddo younger than a teenager, and your better bet would be Chankanaab. They have many activities that are fun for the whole family...wonderful snorkeling (the snorkeling at PB stinks), animals to interact with or watch, the interior of the park has replicas of Mayan ruins, recreations of Mayan homes, they have a playground right on the beach.

 

Definately book it on your own. Carnival charges more for the excursion for one than you'll end up paying for admission for 2 or 3 people, plus your taxi fare. You can print out a coupon off admission prices from their website.

 

3.) We've only sailed once with kids, but I hear Carnival is pretty good at matching up tablemates and takes that into consideration.

 

4.) Be mindful to not overpack. I have not ever needed an over the door organizer...there is more than enough space in the cabins and the THREE closets to store shoes (which I limit everyone to 2-3 pairs for the week to begin with) and such. The vanity has several drawers, and the bathroom has ample space for toiletries. The nightstands also have storage and in all the cabins I've been in, there's a drawer that slides out from under the couch as well.

 

The only things I *do* "cover my bases" on is medications...ginger for seasickness, pepto for adults and kids, ibuprofen, prescriptions (also bring a paper copy of each Rx incase something happens and they're lost or damaged), band aids, solarcaine, antibiotic ointment, things that you'd be hard pressed to find in port or that would cost an arm and a leg on the ship.

 

Extension cord if you're bringing along eletronics that need to be charged to have electricity to use.

 

I also don't bring along the cases of post-it notes and highlighters. a small asterisk made with a pen is enough to mark which activities I'm interested in, no need to color code them for us, LOL.

 

Here's my basic packing list for 4 of us:

Passports

Cruise docs

Airline info/itineraries Excursion confirmations

Credit card/s

Make up

Hair products

Insect repellant

Extension cord

Contacts (+few extra pair)

Razor/shaving cream

Sunscreen

Anti-diuretic pills

Pepto pills

Bonine (less drowsy motion sickness pills)

Ginger pills

Immodium pills

Olympus camera battery charger

Ginger Altoids

Bandaids

Neosporin

Ibuprofen

Snorkel gear

Migraine pills

Camera

Travel alarm clock

Cell phone + charger

Card for room safe

 

NIGHTLIGHT

Brush

Extra batteries (AAA and camera batts)

ipod charger

Lanyards

Extra pairs of glasses

Toothbrushes & pastes

Sunglasses (Rx and not Rx)

 

5.) I'm unsure of the hold put on a card for anything but a 7 day sailing, but I'd go that route if I were you. It's your vacation, you don't want to have to be running back and forth to the purser's desk like you do if you put cash down on your S&S. I'm pretty sure you'd need the same amount in cash to put down as you would on a card anyway.

 

Depending on how many sea days vs. port days that you have, you may want to rethink the soda cards. I think I've read on here you have to have 4-5 a day to make them worth the $$. On our first and second cruises, we had 3 sea days and I MORE than got my money's worth on the soda card (I don't drink a lot of anything other than soda, LOL). This past cruise we only had 2 sea days and it just wasn't worth the $$ for me.

 

Another thing you may want to factor into your budget is after-hours babysitting. I had thought my kids would be BEAT after spending all day in the sun and the ocean and the heat, that they'd crash immediately after dinner (I'm strict on bedtimes at home). But they BEGGED to go to Camp after dinner every night. We ended up spending about $100 on after-hours babysitting for the week. After 10:00 it's $6/hour for the first child, and $4/hour for the second child. They also have a "late night party" that is extra $$ (for my 10 year old I think it was $25). She really enjoyed it, although I "only" let her stay up til 1:00, not the 3:30 a.m. that the party went to, LOL. There is also a "Build A Bear" type family activitiy offered on a few different occasions...those range from $15-$30 a pop.

 

Don't forget that tips for the sailing will also be put on there. $10/person/day.

 

 

 

I hope that helps!

[cruisinqt]

One thing about Chankanaab is that there is only one small beach area where little ones can walk straight into the water like a normal beach and it's very crowded. I panicked a few times because I couldn't see my kids playing in the sand because people were everywhere. :(Chankanaab is more about snorkeling than anything else. Most of the park has steep steps taking you into rather deep water for snorkeling except for that one small beach area. At Paradise beach it's a large normal beach where you walk right into the water. The trampoline and iceberg are a short distance from the beach but my kids had a blast riding on their daddy's shoulders to get there and they loved bouncing on that trampoline. They also have snorkel gear ( good snorkeling is way out but worth it) and floatie mats for those who get the armband for use of the water toys. I guess it's all up to what you're looking for. Chankanaab is better for snorkeling and shows. Paradise has a more kid friendly beach, water toys, and beachside food. :)

[TXHillbillyGirl]

Thanks for the great info.

I have a couple of other questions.

I've heard about "Booking a cruise while on a cruise"? How does this work and is it worth it? (Next year, no kids!)

I heard or read about ice cream parties for families and karaoke. Is the karaoke differnt than regular karaoke? In a different location or something?

If the kids are registered with Camp, will they let us know all of the "family" activities or will they be listed on the everyday capers?

??? ANYONE ???

[MamaParrotHead]

The only thing I know about "booking while on a cruise" is that it varies from ship to ship if they offer it. I think it's just putting down a deposit and getting like $100 OBC for your next sailing. I've also seen some negative posts about it, though I didn't read them, so you may want to do a search on the Carnival board.

 

I didn't see anything about the karaoke, but we were so dang busy it wouldn't surprise me if I just missed it.

 

Yes, all family activities will be listed in the kids' Capers.

[A&Jfamily]

Thanks for the great info.

I have a couple of other questions.

I've heard about "Booking a cruise while on a cruise"? How does this work and is it worth it? (Next year, no kids!)

I heard or read about ice cream parties for families and karaoke. Is the karaoke differnt than regular karaoke? In a different location or something?

If the kids are registered with Camp, will they let us know all of the "family" activities or will they be listed on the everyday capers?

??? ANYONE ???

 

IMHO it is not worth "booking a cruise while one cruise" - it is like $100 coupon.

 

I really wouldn't worry about family activities. As others have said, the kids will have a blast in camp. But in addtion, they have Family Water Wars, giant chess, putt-putt, ping pong, basketball, a game room, an arcade, family build-a-bear etc. Family karioke is earlier in the evening but in the same lounge. You will see these "activites" like water wars, tea, build-a-bear and karioke listed in the capers. But pretty much everything is family friendly except the R rated comedy and some of the bars/casino. You will have plenty of time with meals, shore excursions, etc, to have family time. I would take advantage of letting the kids enjoy camp a few hours each day so you can have some down time.