Pre-cruise Ramblings...

[Foxinspace]

I'm a planner too :) I've only cruised three times now, with a fourth booked in January 2017 but it is definitely my very favorite way to vacation so far. 2 of the 3 cruises I have taken were booked about a year out so I spent untold hours planning for them. My most recent cruise, last April, was booked on a whim (my kids are finally grown so I could do that) with my sister and we had only 4 weeks to plan. It was crazy how little time I had to iron everything out, especially considering it was from Galveston. That can be a tricky port if you aren't driving. I generally dislike long roadtrips, especially if I have to be the driver, and we flew.

 

One bit of advice I have for you is to be careful not too put every tip you read to practice, considering the very long time you have to research. I am a researcher. ANY new thing in my life gets a ton of internet searching, reading and general obsessing. With a cruise, you can pick up so many tips, find so many things to worry about, you can drive yourself nuts.

 

On our first cruise, I packed a ton of things that we really didn't actually need. I think I still have the fancy schmancy sail and sign card holders that no one actually used. We went way too far over the top for elegant night, and spent way too much money on it. You will pick up a million little tips that sound like such a good idea, they become necessary in your head. The reality is, remember your sunscreen, swimsuits and passports and you're going to be fine. I have made it through three cruises without an over the door organizer and lived to tell the tale :) That said, this next cruise we are being insane and putting four of us in a balcony room, and I'm actually going to bring one this time. Bottom line though, many of these little cruise necessities add up to quite a bit of money spent. Be careful of that.

 

I'm a rambler, obsesser, and like to type long posts. There are quite a few of us on this site. We'll keep ya company. I'm jealous of your first cruise experience! There's nothing quite like that first time you step into the atrium on your first ship.

 

 

Absolutely agree with this. There are loads of "Must pack" items, so be careful of those. Our 2nd cruise I packed lots of things I never used. (Sure highlighters sound like a great idea to highlight things of interest, I packed 1 colour per person and we never used any of them.) You almost need a cruise to see how you flow, before you can decide on your own "Must haves".

 

Enoy!!

[Foxinspace]

It's a bit long, obviously not everything will apply to your family but take what works and leave the rest. I wrote this a while ago, and I've posted it on other forums. Still if any of it helps here you go:

 

Traveling with a 3yr old.

 

 

 

Toys and Bribes.

• We let her pack her own (small) backpack full of toys. She was only allowed to bring only what could fit in her back pack. A small pile of Duplo, some Fisher Price Little People and a couple stuffies is what she packed. I packed a few extra new Little People to give her during the trip just to keep her toys refreshed. I gave her the new ones (total of 3 new ones) during dinner, and she really got a kick out of adding them to her play. It helped us get through the longer MDR meal.

• For travelling I packed some mini packages of M & M's (think Halloween size) as bribes. Frankly I only used 3. 2 in the airport and 1 on an excursion. Our flight was short (only an hour), so I didn’t pack much to keep her occupied, then we got lucky and she fell asleep both coming and going. Additionally I packed a colouring book and some markers. She promptly lost the book in the MDR inside the bench on the very first night. I don't know how but it slipped down the side between the wall and INTO the bench. Thank goodness it was a dollar store purchase.

• We packed bubbles, which we enjoyed during sail away. We sat on our balcony blowing bubbles as we set sail. Several times throughout the cruise when we needed something fun and easy to do to kill time we would go out on the balcony and blow some bubbles.

 

Packing.

• We brought along the Bed Rail from home to use on the bed. We have one that folds flat so it was very useful. DD is accustomed to co-sleeping so we only needed the 1 for the side she slept on.

• We also brought bed pads to protect the mattress in case her diaper leaked. It never did but since it has on occasion at home I thought it was best to have something just in case. (We got a big bag of them from the pharmacy and now I'll have what's left for every trip for the rest of time!) I figured getting the bedding changed if her diaper happened to leak would be easy. Room Stewards have seen everything so I wasn’t worried about that. However I wasn’t interested in contending with a wet mattress. So for my own peace of mind we got bed pads.

• Lastly we use a white noise machine at home, and we took this also. Depending on where your room is you might hear lots of bumps, other doors shutting or people walking passed. Better to have the white noise to buffer all the strange noises than have your little one waking up all night.

 

Random Bits of Advice

• Formal Pictures: If you are doing family formal pictures try and make sure your little has eaten first. Somehow I didn't and our formal family pictures feature a particularly grumpy 3 year old. (I'll know better next time!)

• Muster Drill: Take a few moments to discuss the muster drill with your little one. We thought our little girl (who is generally very easy going) would just roll with it, but no go. The very loud siren spooked her. She did not like it at all, by the end she was convinced that the people talking on the ship speakers were coming to get her. Next time I think we will warn her that there is going to be a loud siren and that there is nothing wrong. Maybe even take her out to the deck early, so she doesn’t associate the siren with our bedrooms.

• Children’s Menu: On Carnival the MDR has a children’s menu, which is actually a coloring book, so make sure you ask for one as you are seated. The first few nights we didn’t even know it existed so we didn’t get one. In one instance they brought the desert cookies along with the dinner, so it became impossible to get her to eat the actual food before she ate the cookies. So there after we asked the server to not bring those until after the rest of the food!!

• Fun Toddler Activity (Which Way?): After the rough beginning on embarkation day (DD hated the muster drill, than fell asleep during dinner in the MDR) I decided to make sure our 1st morning was very slow paced. I also wanted to give her back a bit of control, to feel more empowered and part of decision making rather than just being dragged along. So after breakfast (on the Lido) we played “Which way?”. Every time we got to a fork in the road, we asked DD “Which way?” and followed along as she led us around. This starts as soon as you open your room door. “Left or Right?” Sometime, it’s “up or down?” It let our DD see the ship and explore at her pace and where she wanted to go. We spent 30 minutes wandering up and down the stairs on the 2nd floor of the theatre (during a shore excursion sales presentation!). We visited the very tip, top deck outside beside the Whales Tail, however it was so windy two of us had to hold our 3 yr old to get her back down the stairs, because she was in danger of blowing away!! Somehow our DD eventually led us to the arcade (seriously on such a big ship, how did that happen?) and that’s where we stayed. We went back again on day two and played some games, which was a great way to burn time (and money!).

 

 

***

 

That's my best advice. Hit the Family Forum and I'm sure you will find lots more.

[canadaman111]

619 days until cruise

 

Does anyone celebrate the until 620 days until your cruise milestone? Anyone? No I didn't think so.....

 

It's been a busy week at home without to much cruise planning. 3 of the 6 of us had birthdays between the 2nd and 12th of June. Can't believe it is the middle of June already. That has kind of got me thinking. the 100 days or so of summer will just fly by putting us at 520 days until our cruise. Then I always find the time from September until new years goes by pretty quickly. After that it won't be long until we are one year out!! 365 days!! Our cruise is just around the corner!! :D

[Moremajor]

Hello fellow Canadian. I too am from Ontario (near Kingston), and I am not ashamed to admit my addictions; cruising, planning a cruise, and Cruise Critic. You will love the Breeze. It is my favourite ship. It is never to early to explore what the ship has to offer and to plan excursions. There are lots of great videos of the ship on YouTube. If you have a smart tv, play the videos there. That will really build excitement.

 

One piece of advice for you, keep checking the prices for your cruise. Maybe check prices for flights as well. The way to Texas will be fun but the way home might be a different story. Just a thought. Sometimes airlines will offer deals on certain flights. Happy planning!

[canadaman111]

Hello fellow Canadian. I too am from Ontario (near Kingston), and I am not ashamed to admit my addictions; cruising, planning a cruise, and Cruise Critic. You will love the Breeze. It is my favourite ship. It is never to early to explore what the ship has to offer and to plan excursions. There are lots of great videos of the ship on YouTube. If you have a smart tv, play the videos there. That will really build excitement.

 

One piece of advice for you, keep checking the prices for your cruise. Maybe check prices for flights as well. The way to Texas will be fun but the way home might be a different story. Just a thought. Sometimes airlines will offer deals on certain flights. Happy planning!

 

I agree. The drive home will not be fun. The deal would have to be really really good to work for the 6 of us. But I will keep looking.

 

I think I have watched every single Breeze video on you tube. I keep looking for new ones.

[canadaman111]

600 days until cruise!!

 

Today we go under the 600 day mark. 725 days to 600 days has went pretty fast I must say.

 

We have been looking at excursions a bit lately. (Yes the wife is actually looking with me) We are going to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. In that order. We aren't planning on doing much for excursions. Maybe just one actually. We really want the kids to get to swim in the ocean. They never have before. So, if you were going to those three islands which one would you book a beach excursion at? We would likely book with the cruise line since it is our first cruise.

 

There are so many excursions to look at it is a good thing I have the next 600 days to figure it out.....

[Cruise Envy]

600 days until cruise!!

 

Today we go under the 600 day mark. 725 days to 600 days has went pretty fast I must say.

 

We have been looking at excursions a bit lately. (Yes the wife is actually looking with me) We are going to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. In that order. We aren't planning on doing much for excursions. Maybe just one actually. We really want the kids to get to swim in the ocean. They never have before. So, if you were going to those three islands which one would you book a beach excursion at? We would likely book with the cruise line since it is our first cruise.

 

There are so many excursions to look at it is a good thing I have the next 600 days to figure it out.....

 

Such a tough choice! I would say if you wanted beach, I would eliminate Montego Bay -- the best "excursion" on Jamaica IMHO is Dunns River Falls. We did a beach day in Cozumel at Nachi Cocum and enjoyed it VERY much, but Grand Cayman is known for the beach. HOWEVER, GC is also missed due to weather (we missed it on our cruise).

 

You might look on the port of call boards. I bet you may be able to walk or take a taxi to the beach in at least one of these so you could do beach in TWO places (or more)!

[winddawn]

The trip is booked and 2/3 paid for. There is no backing out of it now!!

 

The drive will be interesting. We bought a new mini-van since we booked with all the bells and whistles to help make the drive better. The way I look at it we get a 2 week vacation this way. 3 days there, 7 day cruise and 3 days back. We will never get that type of family time again.

Congratulations on booking your first cruise! It sounds like you have a beautiful family and will enjoy this special time together making great cruise memories. I enjoyed reading about your family and your plans.

 

Since you are getting close to having the cruise paid for, and want to budget for it, you might want to buy some Carnival gift cards to apply to your Sail and Sign account once onboard. And especially if you can get them at a discount like from Verizon Wireless Rewards. That's another way to budget for your trip because once you buy the gift cards, the money is obligated for Carnival spending. You and your wife will be hooked once you take that first cruise. You'll be a cruiser for life, dreaming about it whenever you're not on a ship. Once you're hooked, life seems to revolve around the planning of that next cruise.

 

Keep us posted on your cruise and trip planning!

Edited July 5, 2016 by winddawn

[canadaman111]

Congratulations on booking your first cruise! It sounds like you have a beautiful family and will enjoy this special time together making great cruise memories. I enjoyed reading about your family and your plans.

 

Since you are getting close to getting the cruise paid for, and want to budget for it, you might want to buy some Carnival gift cards to apply to your Sail and Sign account once onboard. And especially if you can get them at a discount like from Verizon Wireless Rewards. That's another way to budget for your trip because once you buy the gift cards, the money is obligated for Carnival spending. You and your wife will be hooked once you take that first cruise. You'll be a cruiser for life, dreaming about it whenever you're not on a ship. Once your hooked, life seems to revolve around the planning of that next cruise.

 

Keep us posted on your cruise and trip planning!

 

 

I have thought of Carnival gift cards. But you can not buy them here in Canada. Buying "cruise cash" on carnivals site would work the same way I assume...

[winddawn]

I have thought of Carnival gift cards. But you can not buy them here in Canada. Buying "cruise cash" on carnivals site would work the same way I assume...

This won't work for you?

 

https://www.carnivalgiftcards.com/

[winddawn]

Some suggestions for keeping the kids busy on the drive:

 

Give them some iTunes cash to update ipods

Puzzle books

Crafts (DD would make braided anklets and beaded lanyards)

Car Bingo

License Plate Game (look up other car games on line)

Start an improve story where each person adds one word to a story

A new one for us this last trip was adult coloring books

 

At hotels (especially ones like Embassy Suites with a managers reception and a table in the room) we would bring different card games and play as a family. Examples are Euchre, Uno, Phase 10, Scramble Slam, Monopoly Deal, Mille Bornes, etc.

 

When my kids were younger I would have them make a travel journal with a 3 ring binder with clear slide in cover and slide in page protectors. They would color a picture to slide in for the cover and then make their own pages taping things to a blank piece of paper, (pictures, post cards, shells, S&S card, etc) or sliding papers in (fun times, color pages, kids activities, etc). I would find travel journal pages on-line that we would print ahead of time and they would fill in during the trip. It makes for some nice memory books to sit out at their graduations.

 

We would have each kid have a back pack that they could bring their own stuff in (not clothes). They could only bring what they could carry. My DD's 10 cent garage sale lambie has been on as many cruises as she has with pictures taken with many towel animals...the last when being last month (DD is 19 :D)

 

When you stop at rest areas have them race to the rest rooms, jump, do cartwheels, or dance as my DD would do. Anything to stretch and let off some energy.

I love the travel journal for kids idea! That's a great way to save the details of the trip, and especially coming from the child's perspective.

[canadaman111]

This won't work for you?

 

https://www.carnivalgiftcards.com/

 

NO, that website does not allow you to mail the gift cards to Canada.

[scissorhappygrl]

My hubby, sister and her hubby booked a cruise September 2015 for January 2017 and I have been obsessed! We live in Florida and cruising out of Miami so no need for a hotel, but all the other planning is so much fun!! So happy for you and your family are able to take a vacation like that, what memories you will make! And I agree that the traveling along the way is best part! Enjoy and I will be following your posts along the way!:)

[winddawn]

I agree. The drive home will not be fun. The deal would have to be really really good to work for the 6 of us. But I will keep looking.

 

I think I have watched every single Breeze video on you tube. I keep looking for new ones.

Have you looked at Southwest Airlines and maybe flying out of a U.S. city? You won't find Southwest fares in online booking engines. You have to go to their website or call them. They do some pretty cheap direct flights from Chicago Midway to Houston Hobby, and they do not charge baggage fees. Unlike other airlines, they only publish their fares about 6 or 7 months in advance though. Southwest also flies out of Detroit to Houston Hobby, but you'd have to make one connection. Hobby is the closest airport to Galveston. I think you could easily get roundtrip fares under $250 per person. Right now I see $115 fares each way from Detroit, and $161 fares each way from Chicago (including taxes). And you could watch for a fare sale once the date gets closer.

[Ready2Cruise2016]

600 days until cruise!!

 

Today we go under the 600 day mark. 725 days to 600 days has went pretty fast I must say.

 

We have been looking at excursions a bit lately. (Yes the wife is actually looking with me) We are going to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. In that order. We aren't planning on doing much for excursions. Maybe just one actually. We really want the kids to get to swim in the ocean. They never have before. So, if you were going to those three islands which one would you book a beach excursion at? We would likely book with the cruise line since it is our first cruise.

 

There are so many excursions to look at it is a good thing I have the next 600 days to figure it out.....

 

I've enjoyed reading your thread! We are a family with 4 children also. We have the exact itinerary planned as you - only we are going in Jan 2017. It's my 3rd cruise, my children's 2nd. It will be a Christmas gift for them.

 

Like you, I'm constantly planning, and thinking only of the cruise. Our 201 days seems interminably long. I can't imagine waiting 3x that amount!

 

So far.. our cruise port plans are:

Montego Bay - Dr Cave's Beach, Margaritaville (I'm pretty sure the kids will love the slide there), and possibly a bit to eat at Pork Pit

Grand Cayman - independent tour to swim with the Stingrays. Then, depending on time, we may go to 7mile beach.

Cozumel - we are hiring a driver for the day. We want to see the ruins, maybe do a tequila tasting, and check out lots of things on the east side.

 

I love your excitement!! I completely feel the same way planning our trip. Along with my family of 6, will be my parents, and my 22 year old niece. It's been interesting trying to plan for all of us. No one else seems to want to do so, and have just left it up to me. Luckily, I don't mind doing the research. Plus, reading here on cruise critic and other places keeps me excited also! It makes me feel like the cruise time is real and now, not just some "hard to believe" trip far off in the future.

[canadaman111]

Have you looked at Southwest Airlines and maybe flying out of a U.S. city? You won't find Southwest fares in online booking engines. You have to go to their website or call them. They do some pretty cheap direct flights from Chicago Midway to Houston Hobby, and they do not charge baggage fees. Unlike other airlines, they only publish their fares about 6 or 7 months in advance though. Southwest also flies out of Detroit to Houston Hobby, but you'd have to make one connection. Hobby is the closest airport to Galveston. I think you could easily get roundtrip fares under $250 per person. Right now I see $115 fares each way from Detroit, and $161 fares each way from Chicago (including taxes). And you could watch for a fare sale once the date gets closer.

 

Interesting. Never thought of flying from Chicago. Chicago is about an 8 hour drive for us. That could be possible. I just priced out non-stop flights from southwest for $1187 roundtrip for the 6 of us. I just picked dates in early November. I would need to find transportation to the port then and a airport hotel in Houston. I am going to look further into this.

[winddawn]

Interesting. Never thought of flying from Chicago. Chicago is about an 8 hour drive for us. That could be possible. I just priced out non-stop flights from southwest for $1187 roundtrip for the 6 of us. I just picked dates in early November. I would need to find transportation to the port then and a airport hotel in Houston. I am going to look further into this.

I hope it works out for you and saves you some money, time, and hassle. I love direct flights when I'm cruising. They're so much less of a hassle and they save time. There's also less chance of your luggage getting lost since your bags don't have to be transferred to another plane.

 

One good thing about Southwest is if you book your air and then you see the fare price goes down, you can rebook the flights with no change fees, and the difference in fare is saved on your confirmation number and can be used as payment toward a future flight within one year of when you booked it.

[canadaman111]

I hope it works out for you and saves you some money, time, and hassle. I love direct flights when I'm cruising. They're so much less of a hassle and they save time. There's also less chance of your luggage getting lost since your bags don't have to be transferred to another plane.

 

One good thing about Southwest is if you book your air and then you see the fare price goes down, you can rebook the flights with no change fees, and the difference in fare is saved on your confirmation number and can be used as payment toward a future flight within one year of when you booked it.

 

I am looking forward to getting home from work and doing some research on this option.

[Foxinspace]

My vote for Excursions:

 

Visit the Stingrays in Grand Cayman. It is an incredible experience. We've done it through 2 different independent tour groups and both were excellent. You can do beaches for free in both of your other ports so you won't miss out on those.

[Jilltoons]

I have only been on one cruise and that was 8 years ago! I planned and planned on that one - and when I got to Miami and saw our ship - I cried, I was so excited. Now I am planning our second cruise - July 11, 2017. This time I am bringing my youngest son (13) on an Alaskan cruise while his sister is traveling with her choir in Europe. We have been watching all sorts of cruise videos on YouTube. I bought the FFTF - I am going to slowly buy things for the cruise. Can't wait. I am sure I will cry when I see the ship this time too. I am so excited for you to have your first cruise. Plan plan plan - to me that is a huge part of the excitement.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Jilltoons
Needed to correct

[Warm Breezes]

We take a taxi in Cozumel to Paradise Beach. Love our beach days there. In Grand Cayman there are a lot of inexpensive excursions you can book right at the pier. Jamaica makes me nervous so I stick to ship excursions there. We loved the Jamaican Bobsled on Mystic Mountain.

[oohlalailicious]

The drive will be interesting. We bought a new mini-van since we booked with all the bells and whistles to help make the drive better. The way I look at it we get a 2 week vacation this way. 3 days there, 7 day cruise and 3 days back. We will never get that type of family time again.

 

My oldest younger brother and I are 11 months apart, and our baby brother is 20 years younger than I am. So family trips are difficult but a blast when they do happen. Good luck to you, on that drive with a 4 year old. I did a 15 hour drive with a 6 year old once and was willing to abandoned my car and fly home after that. I'm going on my first cruise too and I am the only one into planning. The other 4 adults are like whatev! :mad: I stalk this group lol My brothers and I went to Disney World (we are Californian's) when my youngest was 9, every day I had him draw pictures of his day, the things he liked best and the things he didn't. He is 14 now and we still look through the book we made. :D

[oceanmom62]

Congratulations on your first cruise!! You will love it. I almost cried at the debarkation talk for our first cruise when it hit me that I had to get off the ship. When my 25 year-old DD was little I would pack her a pretty gift bag full of items from the dollar store for long car trips. Whenever it seemed that she was getting bored or antsy I would let her put her hand in and pull one item out (without peeking). I also bought her a child's travel atlas so that she could follow our progress. There are also puzzles, etc. in there. You may have to help her some with finding where you are but it builds good map skills and is one more thing to keep her occupied. As far as excursions go- in Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City with Captain M****** (they have snorkel sets for 4 year-olds). You can snorkel and play with the stingrays. They also have a shuttle that can drop you at Seven-Mile beach. Look at the port-of-call boards to find their name as it can't be posted here. In Cozumel there is Chanakaab Park. They have beaches, hammocks and Dolphin Encounters. Both excursions may get you what you want plus a little extra. Usually booking excursions with a third-party is a good bit cheaper and both these excursions will get you back in plenty of time. That is one thing my DH worries about and he was OK with both of these. Have a good time!

[winddawn]

I am looking forward to getting home from work and doing some research on this option.

You may find some no-frills carriers that are a little cheaper than Southwest, such as Spirit Airlines, but they charge extra for everything including carry-ons and checked bags. I used Carnival transfers when I cruised from Galveston just because the drive to the port is so far. With 6 people though you may be better off finding a private service that could pick you up in a van. I stayed at the Doubletree at Hobby one night pre-cruise and used their free airport shuttle. I took the shuttle back to the airport on cruise day and then caught the Carnival shuttle in the baggage claim area to the port. Doubletree was moderately priced. If you're looking for a budget hotel, there is also a Super 8 near Hobby. I haven't stayed there so really can't comment on it.

[telebax51]

love this post, I am the vacation planner in the family since our honeymoon 1970 to Niagara Falls, always did road trips but now just DW and I not as much. Have 2 cruises coming up August and November i booked them September 2015 have another booked April 2018 to Aruba always include insurance just in case to cancel. Have not planned a 2017 cruise DW wants to do a Road Trip. After your first cruise you will be addicted so enjoy the planning we all know how you feel.