RCCL Mariner -or- Carnival Glory for 3yr old/twins?

[stardreemer75]

Hi there! Wow the last time we were on these boards we were without kids and sailing! Soooo.......here we are now with 3 yr old b/g twins and are cruising once again. We live in Orlando so we want to sail out of Port Canaveral and are looking at the Mariner or the Glory Western Caribbean itineraries for both. A couple of ?s....(1) do you think it's necessary for connecting rooms? I've got both ships on hold right now booked as connecting rooms but the more I think about it, it's just for sleeping purposes, i.e., napping and then having to go to bed when they do. They are getting a little older now and we can keep them up a little later. I'm just trying to make sure we all have a great time as I'm sure we will no matter what. (2) which kids program do you all recommend? AO or Camp Carnival? I guess that's all I can think of for now......any other suggestions/recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

Duane & Lynn

ds/dd 12/18/02

Disney Wonder 2/00

Disney Wonder 9/00 "Wedding on Castaway Cay"

RCCL Voyager 4/01

RCCL Explorer 5/01

[PelicanBill]

Hello and sorry to see you did not get any answers before this.

 

Not sure about your connecting rooms question, I can't tell how many people you have but if you want to be able to put the kids to bed earlier than you then it's certainly a help. I would never separate kids alone in a room that was not connected.

 

We cruised Glory 2 yrs ago and Voyager of the Seas last year so we have some direct comparisons. Our daughter found both programs to be great fun. AO got the kids out for a few activities but Glory had a huge amount of space for their kids.

 

One difference was the Carnival policing of drop off and pick up is stricter and only the adult who drops off can pick up. Annoying but safer. RCCL allows you to keep a list of who is authorized and they are more lax about it... such as the time we picked up a friend's daughter even though we

were not on the list... but the staff knew we were dinner table mates.

 

If you want to pay for late hours on Carnival you must sign up ahead, but not necessary in RCCL.

 

Hours of operation were better on Carnival. We found we had to pick up by 5 (sometimes 4!) on RCCL and they reopened at 7.

 

We choose a cabin a reasonable distance from the kids club to make drop off and pick up a little easier.

[crusinmama06]

I wouldn't book separate rooms for the twins. I've seen stories here from parents that talk about getting on board and the "connecting" rooms are down the hall from one another. :eek: That might be ok for teen kids...not for toddler twins.

 

We always book balcony rooms or balcony suites. With RCCL you could book a JS (Junior Suite) or higher and have more than enough room. Then you could put the kids down for a nap and head outside for some nice quiet time on the balcony.