Bigfootz Posted June 27, 2007 #1 Share Posted June 27, 2007 We leave this weekend on RC's Liberty of the Seas with our sons age 3 and 16-months. Have a few random questions and would appreciate your help - 1. Swimming - I understand that our 16-month will not be allowed in any of the pools even with swim diapers. Someone mentioned that Liberty of the Seas may be adding a spray area for the diapered folks. Anyone know if it exists? Otherwise, based on recommendations, we might bring a little blow-up tub. 2. Juice/Milk - Both kids drink milk and juice but not enough to warrant paying $4 per kid per day. I thought of buying little juice boxes and putting them in the room fridge. Any thoughts? 3. Babysitting - How far in advance should you book a babysitter? Any RC babysitting feedback good or bad? 4. Excursions - We are on the 7-night Western Caribbean cruise, any good excursions for a family with two little ones? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larronry Posted June 27, 2007 #2 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I haven't been on that ship so I can't be ship specific, but I can tell you that they say reserve a babysitter 24 hours in advance, but they also say run don't walk to reserve a babysitter as soon as you board. What are your stops and I'll see if I can help with suggestions for excursions. I know I'm bringing my own juice for my son and you might also consider milk boxes as well. My son tends to be impatient for his breakfast and so I might want to have it on hand to buy me some time to get up and dressed. He usually can have breakfast put off an hour or even two (when we go out on Sunday mornings) as long as he has his cup of milk. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted June 27, 2007 #3 Share Posted June 27, 2007 We leave this weekend on RC's Liberty of the Seas with our sons age 3 and 16-months. Have a few random questions and would appreciate your help - 1. Swimming - I understand that our 16-month will not be allowed in any of the pools even with swim diapers. Someone mentioned that Liberty of the Seas may be adding a spray area for the diapered folks. Anyone know if it exists? Otherwise, based on recommendations, we might bring a little blow-up tub. 2. Juice/Milk - Both kids drink milk and juice but not enough to warrant paying $4 per kid per day. I thought of buying little juice boxes and putting them in the room fridge. Any thoughts? 3. Babysitting - How far in advance should you book a babysitter? Any RC babysitting feedback good or bad? 4. Excursions - We are on the 7-night Western Caribbean cruise, any good excursions for a family with two little ones? Thanks! We were just on Freedom in May...same ship different name ;) 1. Swimming - There was a rumor that they were suppose to put a separate area for the babies BUT they ended up putting a walled in area with 8 inch deep water for POTTY TRAINED toddlers. And there is a giant sign next to this area explaining that non-potty trained children are not allowed. I know...makes no sense to me either. I can tell you there WERE babies in there wearing diapers...but ya know. 2. You do NOT need to pay for milk and juice. The Windjammer (and dining rooms) will have all you need. In the morning, we would take a few extra cartons with us, then store them in our fridge. I don't know if every cabin has a fridge though, we were in GS 1298. Neither me nor my kids got the "soda card"...THAT was for soda. ;) We drank ice tea, juice and milk. 3. Babysitting, they ask for asap or at LEAST 24 hours in advance. So if you want to try to book all of your days as soon as you board, that would be the best way to do it. But at the bare minimum they want 24 hours. And they told me it was a "request" and I would know if my request was granted when I got a phone call from the babysitter. We ended up not needing it though. 4. The Western Itinerary is TOUGH to find excursions with little ones. Most adventure tours, you wouldn't (or couldn't) take the kids. We had a hard time finding excursions that were suitable for the kids...didn't have that problem in the Eastern Carib. So in Grand Caymen we did the butterfly farm (don't recomend it, it was boring). In Cozumel, we did Playa Mia...it was ok. They have a pool too so the kids can swim at the beach or the pool. I guess if I had to do it all over again I would do a beach in Grand Caymen. And probably a dolphin encounter at Chaknaab Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larronry Posted June 27, 2007 #4 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Are the children old enough to participate in the dolphin encounter at Chaknaab Park? Although just watching is enjoyable enough and there is a beach area there as well. Also, what about the Turtle Farm in the Grand Cayman or is that part of the Butterfly Farm? The only cruise that I had scheduled to stop in Grand Cayman was in Oct 2004 and Grand Cayman was closed due to hurricane damage. :( My husband loves turtles and I wanted to mail a postcard from Hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotul Posted June 28, 2007 #5 Share Posted June 28, 2007 1) Just off the LOS - there was an area that looked like it would be for diapered kiddies, but there was no sign to that effect. The H2O Zone was patrolled for diapers, and I saw one RCCL employee send the diapered child to this area, but another one just told the parents that diapered children weren't allowed at all. Sorry that's not more definitive, but just wanted to relay what I saw. 2) There was plenty of milk and juice available - we took a few extra cartons of milk every day and put them in our fridge (we were in D2 7650/7652). So no worries about that. 3) Babysitting - I booked a babysitter on Saturday night (during the first show) for the rest of the week from 8:00 - 10:30. Had no problems getting one and the experience was awesome. Ask for Ana from Romania - she was fabulous. She works in facilities on the Promenade, so we saw her every day when we walked through. She always ran up to my DS and played with him for a bit. It was nice to have a friendly face to see throughout the cruise. However, she does work from 6:00 am - 6:00 pm, so I'm not sure how much past 10:30 she'd want to work. 4) Excursions - We ended up doing our own thing with the kids. Played on Barefoot Beach in Labadee, stayed on the ship in Jamaica (though Sunset Beach does sound nice), went to the Grand Hyatt in Grand Cayman (highly recommended - their pool is blocked off and one big section is only 2 - 3.5 feet, with a 5" shelf. Swim diapers were allowed there), and to Paradise Beach in Cozumel (while I loved that for our family, not sure how much there would be for your 16 month old. Just beach time, really). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted June 28, 2007 #6 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Are the children old enough to participate in the dolphin encounter at Chaknaab Park? Although just watching is enjoyable enough and there is a beach area there as well. Also, what about the Turtle Farm in the Grand Cayman or is that part of the Butterfly Farm? The only cruise that I had scheduled to stop in Grand Cayman was in Oct 2004 and Grand Cayman was closed due to hurricane damage. :( My husband loves turtles and I wanted to mail a postcard from Hell. Yes, Channkanaab National Park allows "kids of ALL ages" in the close dolphin encounter program.... http://www.*****cozumel/ The butterfly farm is not part of the turtle farm. There were excursions that went to both, but there were also excursions that just went to one or the other. So go with the turtles. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfootz Posted July 7, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted July 7, 2007 We are just back from our Western Caribbean cruise on the LOS. We had a great time. When time allows I am going to write a longer review. Ana from Romania was also our babysitter and our two kids really took two her. The staff from Adventure Ocean were great and we loved going to the Fisher Price morning outings for the diaper set. And, Chankanaab Park in Cozumel was by far our favorite excursion. The dolphin encounter was amazing and we stayed and swam in the park. Thanks for all your help and suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larronry Posted July 8, 2007 #8 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I am so glad you enjoyed it. That is the only thing I enjoy doing in Cozumel. Then again my DH and I won't do a bus again there. Our bus broke down and well communication was a little difficult. But that was the trip before we went to Chankanaab Park and the experience that made me look for something to do on our own and not part of the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted July 9, 2007 #9 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Great! I'm glad you had a wonderful time! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickey-mouse Posted July 12, 2007 #10 Share Posted July 12, 2007 We were just on Freedom in May...same ship different name ;) The Western Itinerary is TOUGH to find excursions with little ones. Most adventure tours, you wouldn't (or couldn't) take the kids. We had a hard time finding excursions that were suitable for the kids...didn't have that problem in the Eastern Carib. So in Grand Caymen we did the butterfly farm (don't recomend it, it was boring). In Cozumel, we did Playa Mia...it was ok. They have a pool too so the kids can swim at the beach or the pool. I guess if I had to do it all over again I would do a beach in Grand Caymen. And probably a dolphin encounter at Chaknaab Park. I was wondering about the Playa Mia Beach Break. We were thinking of doing this in Nov. and I had heard mixed reviews on it, and I was wondering what you thought about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted July 18, 2007 #11 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I was wondering about the Playa Mia Beach Break. We were thinking of doing this in Nov. and I had heard mixed reviews on it, and I was wondering what you thought about it. Sorry somehow I missed this. Truth be told I was not thrilled with the Deluxe Playa Mia Beach Break. We get off the ship and there are LOADS of people holding signs to take you to Playa Mia for a cheaper price. AND when you get to PLaya Mia, you can buy the tickets for any level you want. So if you want the deluxe you can get the deluxe. We paid $69 EACH for this excursion times 4. So this is what we got from the cruise excursion (RCCL), transport to PLaya Mia. They dropped us off and said "use the bars on either sides of the dining area and it is free, buffet will be set up soon." Buffet NOT GOOD. I am not a picky eater AT ALL. I can find food anywhere I go. But for some reason, this food just was not good. The beach area was ok. The sand was ROUGH and almost rocky. My husband cut his foot on the sand. :rolleyes: They did have a pool so the kids could use that or swim in the ocean, so that was nice. The changing rooms were ok...good enough. The bathroom facilities are right next to the dining area...they were good enough and had an attendant in them to clean them. Would I do THIS one again...nope probably not. The SIX HOURS on the beach was too much for almost everyone on the shuttle. We all looked like we had been in a war...lol. So exhausted. If I had to go there again, I would take a taxi and pay for the ticket once I got there. But basically if I went back to Cozumel I would find a BETTER BEACH. :) And right now there is a "Best Cozumel Beach" discussion going on at the Carnival Board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=592897 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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