Brilliance of the Seas Dec. 20-24 Review with an Infant!

[roseshayit]

Just returned from our 4-night Brilliance cruise yesterday morning! I wouldn't normally report here on a shorter cruise like this, but I know some people would like to hear our experience with our 9-month old.

 

So here's my disclaimer: My husband and I are different than many of the cruisers I read on here. We are interior stateroom kind of people (although we might consider a balcony if the price is right and it's for a cruise with breathtaking scenery). We love the main dining room and aren't likely to visit a specialty restaurant in the near future. We would rather maximize our number of cruises than pay for a cruise on a newer, more glamorous ship. We aren't drinkers and our favorite entertainment on a ship is trivia and sitting in the hot tub.

 

With all this said, we love cruising and we fell in love with Royal on our honeymoon cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean in July 2013. We immediately signed up for our next cruise, which was supposed to be an Eastern Caribbean cruise the following December. (Un)fortunately, we were never able to take that cruise. I got pregnant over our honeymoon and would have been too far along by the cruise date. Our next cruise was planned to celebrate my mother's belated 60th birthday in July 2015, but the prospect of not cruising in 2014 was too sad. So looking for a cruise after my son turned 6 months, we decided upon Brilliance.

[roseshayit]

We flew into Tampa a few nights before the cruise. Although this wasn't ideal based on baby's bedtime, my husband needed to work that day.

 

Also, a major reason we booked a cruise out of Tampa was became my father lives in the area, and we were able to combine our vacation with a grandparent visit.

 

Important items we packed/bought in Tampa before cruise:

-Five day supply of formula

-Packaged baby food for two meals a day

-Baby spoons, a few bottles, and bibs

-A bottle brush

-Dish detergent

-Diapers and wipes

-Inflatable duck tub. This was essential for bath time!

-Carseat/stroller

-Favorite toys

-Baby Bjorn

-Nightlight/noise machine. We use this at home, so we wanted to make sure we created a sense of normalcy for bed time as best as we could.

-As many items of clothing that fit in the suitcase. Our son is infamous for destroying several outfits a day, and we didn't want to do laundry on a four night cruise.

 

Embarkation was relatively easy. My father didn't have a working printer, so I had to fill out extra forms without a SetSail pass. We got on the boat within 15 minutes. Told our rooms wouldn't be available until 1:30pm, we rushed to the Windjammer, which was already packed. Park Cafe, sadly, wasn't opening until 1pm, so everyone was eating lunch in the same place. After a few trips around the room, we finally found a table. My husband and I took turns getting food, while our son played and demanded a bottle of his own.

 

After we finished, we were sure to check out the Nursery on Deck 12 since our room wasn't ready yet. It was Open House time, so I expected someone to be there to answer questions from an anxious mother who has never had anyone watch her son besides family. Unfortunately, this time was only to check out the space; we would need to go back for registration at 4pm.

 

We were allowed into our room a little after 1pm, which was perfect for baby's naptime. Unfortunately, his pack 'n' play was nowhere in sight! I made a call to guest services, and without my saying anything, she recognized my son was likely exhausted and would need the pack 'n' play ASAP. 10 minutes later, an attendant brought it to our room, although we didn't get the sheets for it until after 3pm.

 

Naptime was cut short, however, for the muster drill announcement more than a half hour before go time. I put my son in the Baby Bjorn and went to our designated spot. This drill felt very different than our experience on Navigator, which I remember taking a few minutes before we went on our merry way. This time, we had to line up with kids in front. They put a little girl in front of me, which wasn't the smartest move when I have a 9 month old who loves to pull hair. We must have stood there for 15 minutes+ before the muster drill; not so good.

 

With naptime lost, we proceeded to the Nursery. Even if you are on the fence about dropping your little one off there, make sure to visit and ask questions and complete consent forms. We were informed that there were 20 children under 3 that could potentially use the service, so just in case, I signed up for 3 afternoon hours on the second seaday of the cruise. Will talk more about this experience later.

 

We chose My Time Dining, although we were slotted for 5:30pm everyday, which worked well with a 7-7:30pm bedtime. Food was great...in order to limit my dairy consumption (high cholesterol), I requested my tart and salmon be lactose free, and they were both delicious. My choices, however, made my waiter concerned about dessert, so I needed to reassure him that I can indeed eat dairy, was just trying to limit it. This led to delicious coffee ice cream for dessert. :-) My son had his bottle while we ate. The wait staff didn't really pay much attention to him, although one server was sure to visit with him every night. He became cranky toward the end of the meal, which meant bedtime.

 

Although early bedtime would prevent us from any entertainment (which would have been the hot tub in the Solarium-incredible, by the way), my husband stayed in the room and read, while I journeyed to the Solarium with book in hand. I got a soda, picked up a snack at the Park Cafe, and settled into a beach chair. For me, no better way to feel like I'm really on vacation.

[retiredgram]

Good start. Waiting for more.

[Cruizer Bill]

Very useful review for Mothers, very nice, keep going...... And thanks from all of us.

[SLScouple]

Thanks for your review. We'll be on a four day on Brilliance in January.

[roseshayit]

Thank you for the positive feedback so far. Moms have to stick together!

 

One benefit of having a baby is the early wake-up call. Granted, I personally didn't sleep well the night before due to a door slamming around 1am and feeling seasick (which means I needed to hydrate), but my son did just fine and woke up around 7. This meant that we could further explore the ship, including Park Cafe without a crowded line. It was nice seeing the common areas of Brilliance without throngs of people and made for a lovely morning eating at the cafe. I am not a breakfast person, but my husband was so excited for not only the available smoked salmon, but the smoked salmon spread! That was the first of two breakfast visits to Park Cafe during our cruise and definitely worth an earlier morning wake up. By 9 or so, my son needed his first nap, which allowed us to nap as well (again, small parent victories that mean you're on vacation, rather than working or cleaning up around the house)!

 

We didn't emerge again until a little before 11, where we headed down the hall to the Centrum for a Sushi demonstration (I found it amusing that this was when we received the Good Mornings from the staff, as it was our second venture out that day). I really enjoyed being on the same floor as the Centrum and Guest Services. We never heard the music, but it was nice to just wheel my son out to hear some performers. Anyway, we made it for the sushi demo (again, making it to any activity or event with a baby is always a victory). The doctor who specialized in acupuncture gave a shpiel about the connection between his craft and sushi (it was a stretch), but finally the sushi chef made a few of the signature rolls for the audience. Sushi is probably our favorite food, and although Izumi is the the most likely specialty restaurant we would visit, the menu is filled with too many Americanized ingredients (lots of tempura, mayo, etc.) for our taste, as we are people who would eat the salmon off the fish if offered. Still, I was able to grab a couple pieces for my husband to try, and he said they were very good (one was a spicy tuna roll and the other had scallops, I believe), if you prefer sushi that way.

 

After the demo, we went straight to the Windjammer, which was definitely more open. We got a nice seat by the window and again commenced taking turns getting food. I'm not a picky eater per se and my husband will eat almost anything that isn't too fried, but we remember the Navigator Windjammer having more options than Brilliance. I'm not a hamburger and hotdog type of person, and those were always available. We also didn't love the pizza. I enjoyed salads with chickpeas and kidney beans with low-fat Italian dressing and pasta usually. Also loved the mashed potatoes. My husband liked the baked tilapia or catfish when it was offered. We both liked when they had Indian food options (vegetable biryani on day one, paneer tikka masala on day two). I was disappointed that there wasn't really any cheesecake on this cruise, but it was probably for the best. ;-) I enjoyed my soft serve cone, although they ran out of chocolate.

 

Immediately after lunch, we headed to the Nursery for Open Play Time. I was hopeful that there would be other babies, but unfortunately, just us. Still, my son enjoyed trying out new toys, and I was able to see firsthand that he would have a good time in there. His favorite was a plastic car he could sit in and beep the horn, press the buttons, etc. Was also great to take him in here before naptime.

 

Left to discuss how we would like to spend the rest of our afternoon, my husband and I decided that if possible, we would put my son in babysitting for an hour so we could visit the Solarium hot tub. Expecting more babies when we finally went around 2:45, there were only a couple kids in there. We gave instructions and went on our way to our rooms, changed quickly, and headed to the Solarium.

 

Putting my son in babysitting was a huge deal for me, as the only people who watch him on a regular basis are my husband and myself. My son is incredibly active and will get into trouble if left to his own devices, crawling everywhere and trying to pull himself up on unsteady objects, so we were sure to let the nursery staff know. They give you a phone to take with you, and I definitely checked it several times over the hour.

 

But Mommy and Daddy were able to play Husband and Wife for an hour! It was an unreal feeling, but we made sure to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, people were hogging the hot tub, so we took a dip in the Solarium pool. I absolutely loved it in there and preferred the decor to Navigator's.

 

Still, I checked the clock every 5-10 minutes or so, and we were right on time to pick up baby. He was playing in an exersaucer (the one he has at home, actually) and looked ready for his third an final nap for the day, which was perfect for us to make our 5:30 reservation for dinner.

 

This was probably my least favorite night in Minstrel for dinner. I ordered a salmon salad, but they had run out of the dressing for it (even though we had the first dinner service of the evening) and offered me choices that really didn't go with the meal. I was disappointed, and my husband and I paid a visit to Windjammer afterward to compensate.

 

The night ended with putting the baby to sleep and spending time with my husband not doing anything pressing. I also headed to the Solarium again to read and made sure I drank lots of water this time. I finished the night listening to the live music in the Centrum, while sipping a Sprite Zero. :-)

 

Overall, Day Two was a great way to acclimate ourselves to the ship and allow our son (and ourselves) to have some fun without Mommy and Daddy around. I will have more to say about the nursery in my Day Four post, as the experience was not as positive as Day Two's.

 

I will finish up tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening!

[roseshayit]

Cozumel day! To be sure, I had no plans on spending most the day at the port. My son won't sleep in his stroller, so it would have been a hopeless endeavor. Instead, we looked forward to spending time on the ship with less people on board and do a short excursion later in the afternoon.

 

My son had an early wake up and almost immediately required a nap, so we got a relatively late start around 9:45. Luckily, we were able to make trivia at Schooner Bar, which was pretty sparse due to it being a port day. Still, we enjoyed the questions, and we all received highlighters (including my son) as a prize. We then quickly had breakfast at Windjammer before a quick nap followed by a quick lunch in Windjammer to make our 12:30 excursion.

 

I had been to Cozumel a decade before and saw the ruins at Tulum then, so thankfully I had no desire to make the trek and put my son through a very long and likely hot afternoon. Instead, I was sure to choose an excursion that was short and family friendly: the Reef Explorer Semi Sub. Only 1.5 hours max with air conditioning, glass to smack with little hands, and views of fish, I knew we would all get something out of this activity.

 

After a quick walk with the baby in his stroller down the pier, we met our group and left promptly for the dock with our sub. I was expecting a bigger boat perhaps and a more welcoming layout for people who rather stay above the water, but for those who wanted to enjoy the 360 degree view, we were not disappointed. Although the stroller wasn't ideal for the boat, they kept it safe on top, while we went below. I loved seeing all the different fish and looking at the provided card to figure out which fish was which (and my son did his best to steal/eat the card), while our tour guide gave us an explanation and history of the coral reef system. Although my son was antsy at times, we easily held him, gave him a bottle, and entertained him when the view was less than exciting. I would highly recommend this excursion for anyone with little ones!

 

Our excursion ended around 2, which was fine, as it began to rain soon after and baby needed his nap. This worked nicely for dinner time as well.

 

Something that I paid attention to on Day Three was the high chairs for babies. My son had been in his stroller the first two nights, and we inevitably had to take him out and entertain him, while simultaneously trying to eat and move objects out of his grasp. My son isn't a huge fan of high chairs at restaurants, so we figured not even to try. However, Royal's highchairs have trays, which make all the difference. Tonight, my son was able to play with his toys and bang with his spoon, rather than causing a tearful scene around dessert time. We also asked the MDR staff to bring us a bowl to make my son's oatmeal in, and we fed him as well. This was also the night I enjoyed Chocolate Sensation and picked at my husband's Dessert Sampler. I will dream of Chocolate Sensation at the very least until May.

 

The night ended per usual with early bedtime for baby and reading time for Mommy. I was looking forward to our final seaday, especially since my husband and I would be able to send our son to the nursery the following day for our much needed alone time.

Edited December 27, 2014 by roseshayit

[Armywifelife]

Thanks Roseshayit! I had no idea there was no kiddie pool on Brilliance and obviously neither did my agent. We are used to sitting by the pool/beach on a cruise and anticipated some version of a kids pool where we would all hang out. It sounds like that is not an option....oh no! What to do?

[Clarea]

Thanks Roseshayit! I had no idea there was no kiddie pool on Brilliance and obviously neither did my agent. We are used to sitting by the pool/beach on a cruise and anticipated some version of a kids pool where we would all hang out. It sounds like that is not an option....oh no! What to do?

Kiddie water play areas are on Oasis, Allure, Freedom, Liberty, and Independence.

[roseshayit]

The fourth and final day was a seaday. Not to bore with details that are greatly similar to Days 1-3, I will start with our second trip to the nursery. We were very proud of ourselves because our son's nap was perfectly timed, so he would be full of energy for the nursery. We got into our bathing suits and dropped him off with his bag at the nursery. Like before, we received our phone and let them know we would return in 2 hours.

 

Again, we hit the Solarium in hopes of getting into the hot tub. Unfortunately, no one was going to budge, but we were able to find spots in one of the main hot tubs. So relaxing! However, I can only do 15 minutes or so before I get too hot, so we got out of the tub with another 1.5 hours to go...I had no clue what to do with our time without the baby! Well, my husband was curious to check out the waterslide, so we headed up to Deck 12.

 

All of a sudden, I hear a ring, and my husband says, "Hello?" I immediately became anxious and looked to my husband for clues. He gets off the phone and tells me my son bumped his head playing...he's fine, but they said we should come check on him.

 

Luckily, the slide was the same Deck as the nursery, and we booked it there. As I mentioned, my son is very active, and he is prone to bumping his head if we don't watch him as he lunges for everything. I tried to reassure myself that that was all that had happened, and the nursery staff was being extra careful.

 

We get there, and the babysitter is feeding my son a bottle; I could tell he had just been crying. I am relieved until my husband and I see a scratch that is bleeding on my son's eyelid, although at the time I wasn't sure if it extended to his eye; it didn't look horrible, but it was worse than anything that has happened before. She told us how she wasn't sure how he got the scratch, as he was playing and he bumped the other side of his head, insinuating he may have scratched himself with his fingernails. The babysitter mentioned she would call her manager because she thought it would be a good idea to head to the medical facility. At this point, I am fighting back tears. My son seemed fine (besides hungry and a little cranky), but as I have mentioned, I have never sent my son to daycare or had a babysitter besides a parent of a grandparent; this was supposed to be the "test" for leaving my son with other trained professionals...after only 45 minutes, an accident. I felt awful.

[roseshayit]

So the manager of Adventure Ocean came and took us to the Medical Facility. She called the nurse in advance, who I could tell by the phone call didn't want to see my son off hours. The manager repeated that he was a baby, so she would need to see him. The manager then asked me what happened. All I could say was that my son went to the nursery without a scratch, and we went after a phone call and he had one. The manager then called the nursery. Overhearing the call, I learned that the babysitter actually was putting a DVD in and turned her back when my son had the accident. I was furious that I was lied to, but kept it to myself as we went to the medical facility.

 

The nurse came out into the waiting room clearly not too thrilled to be there. She couldn't really muster a smile for my son either. She looked at my son's eye briefly in the waiting area without gloves before saying it was not on the eye itself. At this point, I was simply surprised the nurse wasn't wearing gloves, but saw she didn't touch the scratch or his eye, so I say nothing. She asked us if we would like to fill out an accident report, and I also asked what would that serve? She said nothing, so we didn't.

 

She took us into the facility, and my husband requested something to clean the scratch because it was still bleeding slightly. She came back with a piece of gauze with antiseptic and before I could saw anything, she cleaned the scratch WITHOUT GLOVES. At this point, I am disgusted and completely over the experience, as she asked whether we wanted her to put ointment or Vaseline on his eyelid (I can think of several reasons why that would be a bad idea, minus the fact she didn't even wear gloves).

 

The manager escorted us out and apologized to us. She also said we were welcome to bring our son back to the nursery free of charge at time the rest of the day. At the time, I thought to myself, "FAT CHANCE!" We couldn't get out of there fast enough. My husband said we immediately needed to go to Guest Services to tell them everything that happened. I just want to lay down with my baby at this point, but his logic made sense; this needed to be documented if God forbid, something else were to happen.

 

So after waiting 15 minutes or so at the desk, we spoke to the front desk manager. She was very kind and reassured me the Medical Facility is clean and the nursery did the right thing by calling us immediately. I agreed with this assessment and explained I'm not a mom looking for problems, but I don't appreciate being lied to or having a nurse touch my nine month old's eye without gloves. She promised the Senior Doctor on board would call us later around 4, even though I wasn't sure what purpose that would serve.

 

Still worried about my son, we headed back to our room and put him down for a nap. At this point, I felt like "cruise over" and was ready to get off the boat. As promised, the doctor called around 4 and my husband answered the phone. I heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but after he hung up, my husband relayed both the doctor and nurse's apology. He explained she has several years of experience and had never done anything like that before, as she definitely should have been wearing gloves. The apology was nice, but it didn't really do much to alleviate my anxiety over the situation.

 

Even though we were all exhausted, my husband convinced me to have our last night in the MDR. He was right, because if I didn't, I wouldn't have had the key lime pie (although I wasn't thrilled by my roasted turkey or baked feta salad). We also talked about how we were feeling, and although I was still upset about the nurse, I had calmed down about the nursery. Yes, I was lied to, but my husband explained this could be a liability issue if she had said otherwise. Although I want to protect my little guy always, I know there are undoubtedly going to be bumps and bruises along the way. I couldn't leave this otherwise wonderful cruise without making peace with the situation and feeling like I could leave my son in the care of professionals.

 

So although I was freaking out about this decision, I had my husband take the manager up on her offer and drop our son off at the nursery as I waited outside the door right after dinner. He told them he recognized that accidents happen; we both knew they would fawn over him to prevent a repeat anyway. Some people might think this unwise and not worth the chance, but I needed to end on a good note and knew deep down that my son would be fine.

 

However, my husband and I stayed close by on Deck 12 and lounged on the beach chairs, just enjoying the breeze, each other's company, and memories of the cruise. I'm so happy we did this. We felt refreshed, and when we picked up my son, he was having a great time (although I felt awkward because the babysitter from earlier was still there, even though she wasn't playing with him); he even yelled out to the babysitters when we were leaving, as if he wanted to say, bye!

 

We went to sleep that night feeling good about our overall cruise experience and excited for our next one just 5 months away. The next day, disembarkation went smoothly with no hiccups along the way. We quickly found our bags, went through customs, and got picked up by my father.

 

Was this the greatest cruise? No, and not just because of what happened with the nurse and the nursery. We preferred our honeymoon on the Navigator, although maybe the itinerary itself drove this preference. Still, we liked the food much better on Navigator, and there was more to do. Of course, having a baby prevents you from certain activities, but there was only one or two activities in my Cruise Compass that I regretted missing as opposed to trying to choose between several activities on Navigator.

 

Still, Brilliance was beautiful, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again, especially with a different itinerary that really takes advantage of all that glass (e.g., foliage Canada/NE).

 

Thanks for reading...please let me know if you have any questions!

[asylum575]

We were on that cruise as well.

Overall, we had a nice time.

There is a kiddie pool on deck 12 aft by the basketball court. The kiddie pool had a small slide a bigger tube slide.

4 nights is too short, but this cruise fit our schedule for visiting family for the holiday as well.

We usually tale balcony rooms and depending on season we may take an oceanview. We splurged for a junior suite and loved it. We a family of 4 with young children. The junior suite was the size of a decent hotel room.

It will be hard to go back to a smaller cabin.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[flpenguin]

We will be on the Brilliance and didn't know they have a waterslide. Is it just for kids or can adults do it too?? My kids will be so surprised there is a waterslide. Also does anyone know if there is a weight limit on the waterslide?? Thanks in advance

[roseshayit]

We were on that cruise as well.

Overall, we had a nice time.

There is a kiddie pool on deck 12 aft by the basketball court. The kiddie pool had a small slide a bigger tube slide.

 

Unfortunately, the kid pool isn't available to non-potty trained children; I've been thinking about a Freedom Class cruise trip for access to those. We had the inflatable duck everyone talked about, but didn't use it for the pool area. I don't think anyone would have given us a hard time if we did it, but we just never got around to it.

[roseshayit]

We will be on the Brilliance and didn't know they have a waterslide. Is it just for kids or can adults do it too?? My kids will be so surprised there is a waterslide. Also does anyone know if there is a weight limit on the waterslide?? Thanks in advance

 

I believe the waterslide is meant for kids, but pretty sure I saw an adult or two up there. No clue about weight limit, sorry.

[RCCL Fan]

Thank you so much for your review of the nursery.

 

I will tell you the way you and your husband handled this would have been similar if not exactly the same as we would have.

 

Our kids are our angels and it's so difficult to trust them with someone else. I would have ran back there at getting that call, and yes, I'd have flipped to see my baby bleeding.

 

I wouldn't have wanted to ever give my kid back, but would have not wanted to ruin the last night onboard either.

 

I think you did the right thing, and clearly your little one was happy in the end.

 

As hard as it is, we have to remind ourselves that we took turn our backs for split seconds and cuts happen. Its just hard to think someone else did it and not us.

 

I wouldn't have wanted that babysitter anywhere around my kid anymore, but I know that's silly too.

 

Its nice to hear the story, as we hear so much about other aspects of the ship but rarely to parents review the nursery and adventure ocean staff.

 

We're taking our kids on Serenade in march and are a little nervous but are hopeful the Adventure Ocean staff is a strong one for both our girls

[roseshayit]

Thank you so much for your review of the nursery.

 

I will tell you the way you and your husband handled this would have been similar if not exactly the same as we would have.

 

Our kids are our angels and it's so difficult to trust them with someone else. I would have ran back there at getting that call, and yes, I'd have flipped to see my baby bleeding.

 

I wouldn't have wanted to ever give my kid back, but would have not wanted to ruin the last night onboard either.

 

I think you did the right thing, and clearly your little one was happy in the end.

 

As hard as it is, we have to remind ourselves that we took turn our backs for split seconds and cuts happen. Its just hard to think someone else did it and not us.

 

I wouldn't have wanted that babysitter anywhere around my kid anymore, but I know that's silly too.

 

Its nice to hear the story, as we hear so much about other aspects of the ship but rarely to parents review the nursery and adventure ocean staff.

 

We're taking our kids on Serenade in march and are a little nervous but are hopeful the Adventure Ocean staff is a strong one for both our girls

 

Thank you for your kind words. I'm quickly learning that with your own children, there's a constant battle between logic and emotions. Logically, I know my son is incredibly active and gets himself into all kinds of mischief. My husband pointed out a scratch on his leg tonight; don't ask me where that came from :rolleyes:. But it's hard to be rational in the moment.

 

I will likely put my son in the nursery on a future cruise. Grandma is joining us on Grandeur next summer, but if she needs a break, I won't let what happened stop me from his enjoyment with people outside his family. I look forward to Adventure Ocean someday. I hope you will review your experience for everyone, too!

[theatrebabe]

(sorry, don't know how to delete this post!)

Edited December 29, 2014 by theatrebabe

[theatrebabe]

I will likely put my son in the nursery on a future cruise. Grandma is joining us on Grandeur next summer, but if she needs a break, I won't let what happened stop me from his enjoyment with people outside his family. I look forward to Adventure Ocean someday. I hope you will review your experience for everyone, too!

 

We took our 2 and 4 year olds on Grandeur this past summer, and were very happy with the nursery there! It's on the small side, but very clean, and the staff took good care of our daughter!

 

I agree that you handled the situation very well, and I'm glad you chose to give them another chance and enjoy your last night on the ship! I hope you love the Grandeur next summer :)

[roseshayit]

We took our 2 and 4 year olds on Grandeur this past summer, and were very happy with the nursery there! It's on the small side, but very clean, and the staff took good care of our daughter!

 

I agree that you handled the situation very well, and I'm glad you chose to give them another chance and enjoy your last night on the ship! I hope you love the Grandeur next summer :)

 

That's good to hear! I highly doubt my mother will let my son out of sight anyway, but at least I know the nursery is nice!

[monctonguy]

Wow, that didnt sound like a relaxing or enjoyable cruise at all...sorry to hear that. I would rather stay home then spend money for something like that! Sounds like 4 days of worry, stress and not relaxing. Checking the clock every 5-10 mins.

 

To me that would not be a vacation at all, with all that worry and having to try and "fit" in 15 mins to sit in a hot tub.

[roseshayit]

Wow, that didnt sound like a relaxing or enjoyable cruise at all...sorry to hear that. I would rather stay home then spend money for something like that! Sounds like 4 days of worry, stress and not relaxing. Checking the clock every 5-10 mins.

 

To me that would not be a vacation at all, with all that worry and having to try and "fit" in 15 mins to sit in a hot tub.

 

Besides that hour or so on the last night of the cruise, I didn't do this review justice if I made it sound like it wasn't enjoyable. I completely respect your opinion, but my 9 month old son has taught me that relaxation is relative. Our lives revolve around work and my son. Not having to worry about food, cleaning, and work for 4 nights is what I currently consider relaxation. I relished being able to sit by the Solarium with a Sprite Zero and something tasty from Park Cafe while reading my book and FINISHING it. I also loved sharing my love of travel with my son and watching him experience new things.

 

This cruise allowed for true family time without the distractions from work calls and e-mails and we made wonderful memories together as a family. I would repeat this vacation in a heartbeat.

[RCCL Fan]

 

This cruise allowed for true family time without the distractions from work calls and e-mails and we made wonderful memories together as a family. I would repeat this vacation in a heartbeat.

 

Agree 1000%