Thanks to all, we're taking the plunge

[A2Mich]

Thanks to all of you, we're finally taking the plunge and have booked Freedom OTS for April 19, 2015 Eastern Caribbean.

 

We are a family of five, wife and I are in early 40's, DS will be 10, oldest DD will be 8, and youngest DD will be 21 months old. We don't get to go on cruises very often, but we decided we needed to. Being that we are a family of 5, we could have been squeezed into a quad cabin, but decided to book an FP for all of us. Would have liked an FO, but not for an additional $800 for the view! Maybe the mythical upgrade fairy will upgrade us to an FO, considering that there are only 4 FP cabins on the Freedom class - but definitely won't hold our breath! Have been on a few Carnivore cruises as well as a Princess cruise, so not new to cruising, just to Royal Caribbean.

 

We've been to St Thomas and St Maarten before, but are looking forward to CocoCay, providing it doesn't get skipped for one reason or another. We had considered the Western Caribbean, though we've been to Cozumel. We have not been to Grand Cayman, and have no desire to go to Jamaica whatsoever, but ultimately decided to go on the Eastern for one extra sea day, and the fact that we know we like St Thomas and St Maarten.

 

St Maarten - may go shopping or to Maho Beach. Previously have done the Regatta and parasailed at Orient Beach. Any other suggestions are welcome as well!

 

St Thomas - have no idea what to do this time. Have shopped at Havensight countless times and been to Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay on St John. May be a nice day to just do an island tour of St Thomas/Magens Bay or do a day trip to Cruz Bay. Any other ideas are welcomed as well. Will check out the ports boards as well.

 

We couldn't afford the extra $1500 for Oasis/Allure, and given our situation, Port Canaveral is more convenient and more doable than South Florida ports.

 

We live in Colorado, but my mother lives in Orlando, FL. Obviously, we will have to fly to Florida. We have already checked into the various costs of car parking at or near Denver airport, shuttle services, and have found that we would be better off doing a Park, stay, and fly package at one of the Denver Airport hotels, flying to Orlando a day before the cruise, and either rent a car for one day or take a shuttle to Cocoa Beach/Port Canaveral area and stay in a hotel overnight and use the hotel shuttle to the port. Once we return from the cruise, pick up a rental car at/near Port Canaveral, spend a few days with my mom in Orlando, and then simply return the rental car at MCO when we fly home. It would be nice if we didn't have to rent a car, but she only has one vehicle, so borrowing it is not really an option. I grew up in Orlando, and we have a few friends we would like to see while we're there, along with taking the kids to the Rat House, so we would need to be able to get around.

 

Also, I will do some more research on this, but has anyone rented a car seat from any of the car rental companies that offer this? We're trying to avoid having to check the car seat through the airlines if possible, though we would likely need to get boosters for the two older kids, unless car rental companies have those for rent as well.

 

Sorry to be so long winded, but when you can only vacation every so often, every cruise feels like the first one!

[LetsGetWet!]

Have been on a few Carnivore cruises as well as a Princess cruise, so not new to cruising, just to Royal Caribbean.

 

Where do you book those Carnivore cruises? Sounds good - all meat, all the time! :D

 

Seriously, have a great time! :)

 

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[JRYMCMB]

have a great time !, RCI is an excellent choice for families :)

[Ourusualbeach]

Congrats on booking.

 

Our kids were the same age as your oldest when we took them on their first cruise. They are 2 years older now and we just got back from the Liberty and they absolutely loved it.

 

Just wait. The "how many more days till we leave" will start very soon.:)

 

Enjoy the planning.

[A2Mich]

Where do you book those Carnivore cruises? Sounds good - all meat, all the time! :D

 

Seriously, have a great time! :)

 

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Well, we were Carnivore cruisers for such a ling time, and we were fine with their product, although our travel agent had been wanting us to "broaden our horizons" for quite some time. With reading of all of the cutbacks and stated lower quality of Carnival, we were leaning more towards RCI. Due to it being easier to sail from Port Canaveral, and not being able to afford a suite or the two cabin option, we were pretty much locked into either Carnival Sunshine or RCI FOTS with having 5 in our family. We actually like the 8 day Carnival Sunshine itinerary to Curacao, Aruba, and Grand Turk better and would have been considerably less expensive than the 7 day Freedom which runs the usual beaten path Eastern ports. But, we've heard that, overall, RCI was a bit better product, so we thought we'd give them a try. If it's not a good fit for us, we won't be mad, we just wouldn't be back! We also liked the H2O Zone as well as the larger size of the FOTS. Another factor is that while less expensive, we would be crammed into a standard OV Cat on Carnival, but have the option to book the 300 sq ft Family staterooms on RCI. Though we'll only have one bathroom, we would have a tub, and also the walk in closet, so that may make things a bit easier for all of us.

[A2Mich]

Congrats on booking.

 

Our kids were the same age as your oldest when we took them on their first cruise. They are 2 years older now and we just got back from the Liberty and they absolutely loved it.

 

Just wait. The "how many more days till we leave" will start very soon.:)

 

Enjoy the planning.

 

 

Thank you! My son went on his first cruise at 10 months old on Carnival Legend, but he obviously doesn't remember it. We actually had a practical joke idea, but I don't think we can make it happen. We had thought of taking them on a cruise-to-nowhere as a joke and telling them that was the cruise just to see their reaction. Obviously, the only cheap cruises to nowhere are the few hour casino cruises, but I haven't been able to determine if pax under 18 are allowed onboard. I knew they were on SeaEscape, but not sure about the few that are around these days. The 2 day Bahamas Celebration is too expensive for what we're wanting it for, but a few hours at a very cheap price would work great!

 

We've told them that it's over a year before we go, but at this age, they don't have a good understanding of time! I really enjoy the planning, but it get frustrating because EVERYTHING is left to me to figure out with very little input from anyone else!

[LetsGetWet!]

Pssttt... I was just giving you a hard time for posting Carnivore instead of Carnival... ;)

 

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[A2Mich]

Pssttt... I was just giving you a hard time for posting Carnivore instead of Carnival... ;)

 

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I know. I was posting it as Carnivore as I know it upsets the loyal Carnie cruisers out there! You've been around here long enough to know the various cruise line jokes!

[LetsGetWet!]

I know. I was posting it as Carnivore as I know it upsets the loyal Carnie cruisers out there! You've been around here long enough to know the various cruise line jokes!

 

Haha! Okay! To be honest, no, I've only been here a short time - honestly figured that was another auto-complete mistake. :) Now I know! :thumbup::cool:

 

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[PattyG12]

Have fun ... I'd like to add though that they have booster seats at Wal Mart and it might be cheaper to buy them (15-20) and just keep them at your mom's house for future visits. The car rental places charge crazy prices for add ons

[A2Mich]

Have fun ... I'd like to add though that they have booster seats at Wal Mart and it might be cheaper to buy them (15-20) and just keep them at your mom's house for future visits. The car rental places charge crazy prices for add ons

 

Thanks for the tip! We had thought about that too. Can't do that with a car seat, but we might be able to find one less expensive than a rental too! We could bring the full car seat, but would probably be considered an extra piece of luggage at $50 each way plus the chance of it being lost or damaged. If we could fine a decent car seat for $100 or less, it may be smarter to buy one when we get to FL (or see if any of our friends can loan us one, but then would have the issue of how to return it after we get to airport!

[boulders]

Your older two will not require booster seats in Florida.

 

A car seat does not count as a piece of luggage.

Edited February 17, 2014 by boulders

[A2Mich]

Your older two will not require booster seats in Florida.

 

A car seat does not count as a piece of luggage.

 

Thank you for that! Our older two are not REQUIRED to be in booster seats in Colorado, but we do keep the kids in them. I was under the impression that a full carseat was counted as a piece of luggage. Good to know!