1st RCI cruise, have some ?'s

[Boyz3mon]

I am so excited to report that we will be leaving on our first RCL cruise aboard the Mariner, next Sunday (the 22nd)!! Traveling with me are my DH, and three sons, ages 11, 9, and almost-4. We booked a Family Ocean view cabin (8200), which I think was pretty lucky because we only booked four weeks ago.

Anyway, some questions I have are:

 

-My oldest son will be turning 12 in June (so 2 months shy of 12). Will they let him "bump up" a level in the kids club? I know he will NOT want to be with his younger brother, who just turned 9.

 

-How much does bottled water cost on the ship, and where can you get it?

 

-Does the arcade take coins, or can you just use your Seapass? I am trying to figure out whether to bring lots of quarters along for my two older boys, who LOVE arcades.

 

That's it for now, I am sure I will think of more questions, but this message board is SO helpful!

 

Karen

[cruzobsessed]

hi karen....welcome to cruise critic. is this your 1st cruise or 1st royal caribbean cruise? what is your itinerary? do you need excursion help?

i was just on the mariner this past christmas and she is a beautiful ship. of course i don't remember how much bottled water is but i don't think it was more than $1.50 a bottle. if you can find a store in port and it's cheaper we always bring back some.

my kids love the arcade and i don't know if it takes actual money or the sea pass only. i guess i'm not much help but i did want to welcome you:D

[Kallel00]

2.00$ for a small bottle for water (300ml or something like that)

 

 

3.50$ for a 1 Liter bottle.

 

 

 

Each morning they usually had a stand outside the Windjammer where you can purchase your water. Also the small water bottles are available in your mini-bar.

 

 

Buying your bottles in the port-of-calls usually be cheaper, but not that much (remember, they know tourists are shopping ..).

 

 

 

We didn't need any bottled water aboard the ship their iced water was pretty good. I didn't drink the bathroom water tho, even tho they tell you its drinkable.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[boingy300]

Gotta love a Karen who likes to cruise!

My understanding is that the move up or down to a higher group depends on the staff for each sailing. My boys will be in the 12-14 age bracket and from what I've read the 9-11 age group is the most fun. We were able to put the arcade on our sea pass card. Our guys had to wait until the end of the week , we let them spend $30 in the arcade. The ice show was their favorite show. DON'T miss it!

Have fun!

You may want to check out the website cruiseclues dot com as well!

Karen O

[frudutx]

Karen,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, lots of very useful info here. We did Mariner last December she's a beautiful ship your boys will find lots to do, I'm sorry I can't answer your question about skipping a level in the Adventure Club as our kids are older but since he's so close I'm sure RCCL will work with you.

 

You can take water with you if that helps, or pack a few thermol mugs and fill up at the ice machine. I always take the single packets of Crystal Light too!

 

I'm not sure about the arcades but, I packed a bunch of quarters in a carry-on several years ago to take to the casino and got stopped at security at the airport. Seems they didn't know what that lump of stuff was :eek: ! Needless to say that was the last time I cleaned out my coin jar before a trip.

 

d

[Boyz3mon]

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses!! This board moves FAST!!! I love it!

 

This is our first cruise, and we are really looking forward to it. It's sort of a graduation present for myself, as I am graduating with my Master's degree in Nursing (I'm a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in three more weeks!) in May. By the time we leave, I will have completed all of my coursework and clinical requirements! Yipee!!

 

Thanks for the advice. I have already packed my little Crystal Light packets! I love those!

 

So far, we are only booked for Sting Ray City/7 mile beach through RCI. We are a little leary of booking on our own, as it is our first cruise, and we are traveling with only birth certificates (booked too late to get passports), and my understanding is that if you miss the boat on an RCI excursion, they will get you back to it.

We are considering the Xcaret excursion in Cozumel, and have no clue what to do in Ocho Rios. I really don't think I want to do the falls with the kids, the youngest is only 3, and I am not sure he could do it. Any suggestions would be great!!

 

Thanks again everyone!

Karen

[frudutx]

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses!! This board moves FAST!!! I love it!

 

This is our first cruise, and we are really looking forward to it. It's sort of a graduation present for myself, as I am graduating with my Master's degree in Nursing (I'm a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in three more weeks!) in May. By the time we leave, I will have completed all of my coursework and clinical requirements! Yipee!!

 

Thanks for the advice. I have already packed my little Crystal Light packets! I love those!

 

So far, we are only booked for Sting Ray City/7 mile beach through RCI. We are a little leary of booking on our own, as it is our first cruise, and we are traveling with only birth certificates (booked too late to get passports), and my understanding is that if you miss the boat on an RCI excursion, they will get you back to it.

We are considering the Xcaret excursion in Cozumel, and have no clue what to do in Ocho Rios. I really don't think I want to do the falls with the kids, the youngest is only 3, and I am not sure he could do it. Any suggestions would be great!!

 

Thanks again everyone!

Karen

 

Well, usually if it's a RCCL excursion that is late they'll hold the ship. They did that in Jamaica several years ago. Ocho Rios, if not for the age of your little one I would suggest Dunns Rivers Falls it's a blast. There is a dolphin encounter that we did that was okay, pricey though.

 

Congrats! on your masters!

 

d

[uksimonusa]

My DD, now 11, but 5'7", for the last 2 years has been bumped up to the 12 - 14 age group. This has always been encouraged I think purely due to her size and maturity. The only time it was questioned was last month on the Sovereign, the AO staff would not let her bump up without the permission of the AO Manager. He was very reluctant, but in the end made a "special exception". We had no problem on the Mariner over New Years though.

[kcbookworm]

No need to bring your quarters! My 12 year old son loved the arcade on our recent cruise on the Navigator. There is a machine at the front of the arcade where you insert your Sea Pass card and it will put $10 arcade credit on your card. Then you insert your card into the arcade games. It only allowed $10 to put on the card at a time. Of course, after $10 he could just put another $10 on the card so I don't know why the limit, but that is how it worked.

 

My son did not participate in kids club this time. I think he thought he was "too old" :) But on our last cruise he was 9 and he loved it! As soon as we were done with dinner, he was ready to go to the club!

 

As for Ochos Rios, I definitely would not recommend the falls for your 3 year old. We did the combo falls/dolphin swim excursion and we loved the dolphin swim!

 

The falls are located in a park. We didn't have time to explore the park, but others can probably comment on it. You or your husband could stay with the 3 year old and explore the park while the other parent did the falls with the older children. Just a thought!

 

Have a great time!

[DCPIV]

Whether they let your son move up to the older level in Adventure Ocean depends not only on the staff, but also on the passenger makeup. If they are already full of kids at that level, they won't bump him up. However, if they have room, they usually will let him move up.

 

As for the bottled water, the water on the ship is very good. A bottle is nice for carrying water, but you don't need to worry about the quality of water on the ship. I save my money there.

 

 

D