I think my bf's family is going to join us on our cruise!

[luckyprincess]

Hi all,

 

We were at my bf's parents house for Mother's Day yesterday. We told everyone how we had booked our Freedom cruise for Jan. (we all sail RCCL) and his mom mentioned that she wanted to do a big family cruise for her husband for his 60th birthday. So she asked me about it and I told her what we're going on, where its going, that kind of thing. After one of the brothers said 'are you paying?' she said she was going to offer to pay everyone's airfare (there would be 8 adults and 1 baby!). They have the means to do this and it would help all....

My question is - has anyone done this type of family cruise with the in-laws before? We've been together 6 years and we even lived with them for almost a year, our dog knows them as Grandma and Grandpa and I adore his siblings - we all get along. Buuuut, my bf and I want to do anytime dining and also want them to realize we aren't all going to want to hang out and do the same things the whole time. I'm not sure if she would agree with that...:cool:. We did say last year after our cruise that it would be cool to have other people on board - but we had been thinking of a few of my bf's buddies that we hang out with alot...

What do you think? Should we share our cruise?!?

[Dem920]

Every year we share with family, friends, etc. And by etc. I mean anyone that wants to join us and we have a blast. It is great to have people around the ship to hang out with. We hang with different people for different things. Trivia with our friends, dance class with the parents, casino with the grandparents. The one thing we love though, is getting together for dinner, so we do the traditional dining (late seating). It is nice to all come together at the end of the day to recap. That makes people more flexible with the not doing everything else together. It was our means of compromise and it works well for us. We wneded up with 60 people last Summer and we have 40 going this Summer so far.

 

I would say check in with them and see if they have a problem with you dining by yourselves. They may not care, but if they do, it may be a good compromise. Just my opinion.

 

P.S. Make sure if you get a bunch a cabins going, you get a TA to get you group amenities. We get all kinds of stuff for our group.

[CruisinManiac]

Ditto! I suggest going your own way during the day, and then meeting up for dinner.

 

PS - We did not get staterooms near each other. That way, we felt we had the privacy needed.

[WM219]

Hi luckyprincess,

 

DW and I were in the exact same situation last year. We had sailed on Freedom for our honeymoon in 8/07 and were booking Liberty for 9/08. My parents, who had sailed on Explorer in 06, were ready to sail again so they decided to go with us. The more everyone discussed it, our 2 became 4, and then 10! We ended up with the two of us, my parents, both sets of my grandparents, and a great uncle and aunt. We are an extremely close family so we weren't concerned about it, and it proved to be great fun. We booked 5 balcony staterooms on Deck 9, and had the dividers opened to "combine" our balconies. This was perfect for us, as we were all able to sit around and chat without leaving our cabins. (Always ordered coffee from room service and gathered on the balcony in the mornings while we waited for the rest to get ready for breakfast) It can get sort of frustrating if you're always standing around waiting for the group to move as a whole, so we basically just set times that we were going to do stuff, and went with whoever was there. We were always together for dinner as well. We enjoyed it so much that 12 of us will be on Liberty Deck 9 again this August.

 

Enjoy your sailing,

 

Will

[RetireeWannabee]

Well, Sure, why not? Doesn't mean you have to be joined at the hip. Go on with what you were going to do. MTD would also be my choice, and maybe some of them join you some nights? Maybe you plan for what time to eat on Formal Nights and you can make a ressie for the large group, 2 - 3 tables or whatever??

 

Get the expectations out there NOW so there are not misunderstandings.

[kc320]

I agree...the more you discuss expectations ahead of time, the fewer problems should develope on the cruise..we have 8 of us going together in Oct. and I have been telling everyone not to expect me to take part in everything they want to do... luckily I traveled with everyone before so we all are pretty much on the same page...

[Winegirl58]

We have done small groups before, and in the planning stages we just made it clear that this was a "no stress" cruise. If we wanted to do a certain tour and anyone that wanted to come along could, and those that didn't want to, didn't. We wanted to hang by the pool, those that wanted to did, those that didn't, didn't. Wanted to play Bingo, etc etc, you get the picture. We did, however, have dinner together. BUT, like the rest of the cruise, it wasn't a "You have to all meet for dinner!" We all did what we wanted, and if we all ended up together, great, if not, great! And, it worked out great! It was a great cruise! (okay, enough greats, lol) And we got our cabins on the same deck, but not right next to each other. That way, we still got the privacy we wanted. Just make things clear up front, and I am sure it will work out, well, you know, great!:D

[missbogota]

On the Freedom of the Seas it is really easy to "get lost"!;) Just make sure everyone knows that everyone is "on their own" to enjoy. Maybe you all could agree to meet each day at a particular time to have a drink together.

 

As long as you discuss this before you leave, everything will be fine. If not, there will be hurt feelings because there are always at least one that thinks this is a "group" event. Just tell the "I'll see ya, when I see ya"!!!

 

Have a wonderful trip!!!!!!

[klfhngr]

Ship is large enough for you to ditch them... I wouldn't worry about it.. We cruise with family, most land-based trips are alone. Just don't get a room next to everyone, they'll be knocking all the time wondering what you're doing! ;) You'll have a great time and have many memories to cherish in the future.....

[WM219]

Ship is large enough for you to ditch them... I wouldn't worry about it.. We cruise with family, most land-based trips are alone. Just don't get a room next to everyone, they'll be knocking all the time wondering what you're doing! ;) You'll have a great time and have many memories to cherish in the future.....

 

That's why we do the adjacent balconies. You can walk out on the balcony and see who's curtains are open and who's are not. Just don't wake up the first morning and forget to close the curtains back while you're getting dressed.

[notree]

We have done the family friend cruise. The only thing we do is meet for dinner and even then some go to the alternate dining if they want alone time. Everything else is on your on or with whoever. We do a family cruise picture and other than that no rules other than do your own thing and have fun.

[djhuff]

We cruised with my mother and sister this past January. I would have to say, we were together less than 50% of the time. We would do our own thing, sometimes hang out together on deck, other times not. We usually met up for pre dinner drinks, but never made specific plans to do so.

 

Set the expectations ahead of time if you think it'll be an issue.

[RetireeWannabee]

That's why we do the adjacent balconies. You can walk out on the balcony and see who's curtains are open and who's are not. Just don't wake up the first morning and forget to close the curtains back while you're getting dressed.

 

I would absolutely not like that. nobody's business whether I'm awake, asleep, clothed, naked, etc etc etc. My vote is to get the cabin you want without regard to where everyone else is.

[klfhngr]

I would absolutely not like that. nobody's business whether I'm awake, asleep, clothed, naked, etc etc etc. My vote is to get the cabin you want without regard to where everyone else is.

 

True, especially if you like to get busy on the balcony, the curtain won't help in this case!

[cb at sea]

I wouldn't want to open the balconies (or even be next-door) to the rest of my "group"! Once the balcony divider is open, you really have no balcony privacy...and you'll have to keep your drapes drawn for privacy in the cabin!

I'd rather just say, "We're having dinner at 7--see ya there" and catch up on everyone's adventures then!

[debshomespun]

We've taken several "family" cruises with the BIL & SIL. Did one for MIL 80th birthday. Let everyone know up front that it is a cruise for everyone to enjoy, and there are many DIFFERENT things to do, and not everyone will enjoy the same things. That is what is so great about a cruise.

 

We had done the set dining, as they didn't have MTD back then (2005), so we would meet at dinner and discuss what we all did for the day. Sometimes we would go to the show together, or the casino.

 

Share your cruise, but have your alone time. Everyone will have a great time!

[abhb]

When DH and cruise alone we always think of how much fun it would be to have more than just the two of us. This June we are taking DD and friend (24 years olds) and DS and girlfriend of 6 years (21 year olds). We consider DS's GF family since they are planning to get married. DD friend has been in our lives for 14 years. It really is like traveling with family. We are very excited:D:D:D

[atb]

My SIL paid for her kids, and they paid for their kids - and we tagged along. We paid for ourselves.

This was 2 years ago before anytime dining. We sat together - but some nights the kids were at the Windjammer. Some nights the adults were at the Windjammer. We had a family picture and everyone at dinner on one of the semi-formal nights.

In the evening we knew to look at the Martini Bar or the Schooner Bar, and we would find family.

It was great!!! Plus extra eyes watching out for each other.

[hazeleyez3]

I've done family vacations. The only thing set in stone was dinner. Other than that we did our own thing. The last one was on the Mariner and there was definately something for everyone.

 

We'll be getting on the Freedom right after you with family. We will have dinner together but I am quite sure that we won't always be together.

[funfamilyfun]

I like the dinner idea...but...in my extended family, we would have to be CLEAR that dinner starts at 6...really 6...not 6:30 or 7!:D My family would think it would be no big deal to be late since it was just our family.

[Kailyn]

I would just make sure that you mention something along the lines of, "Oh yeah, one of the best things about a cruise is that you can do things together or apart, and still always be in the same place!" I'm sure that you will do most meals and maybe some shows together, but once they get onboard I doubt everyone will want to do the same things 100% of the time, or expect it.

 

I'm experiencing this problem a bit myself, only it's actually with my boyfriend himself. He wants to be glued to my side the entire time - I also have 3 family members, a friend, and 5 family friends going with us. Need some space to breathe!

[Happy ks]

We've cruised with family several times and had a great time. We do make it clear at the beginning that there are no rules and no expectations.

 

In Alaska we all did our own thing as far as shore excursions and that worked out great. There were 15 total on that cruise.

 

Last year in Italy/Croatia we pretty much stayed together for shore excursions. The benefit was we were able to have private drivers pick us up and do our own tours for far less than the ship sponsored excursions. There were only 7 of us on that cruise.

 

I really think that everyone needs to be clear about the expectations in advance. We "share" our Aunt who is a single traveler. Since she doesn't make plans in advance, we discuss it ahead of time who is to have her on what days, if we are all going our seperate ways.

 

We do all meet for dinner, but if a couple or person doesn't want to go one evening, no questions are asked.

[relaxandenjoy]

We do this every year and always have a blast. The beauty of the cruise is that everyone gets to do what they want. We also look forward to getting together at dinner and discussing everyone's day.

 

We usually get cabins in the same hallway but not right next to each other. We bring magnetic white boards for our cabin doors and leave notes on them if we're going somewhere where we'd like them to join us etc. It works out great!

[luckyprincess]

Great replies, everyone, thank you! I had my heart set on MTD, but maybe we'll get a table with just all of us - I think the problem will be time, though. My bf and I don't like a lot of little ones around when we eat but his sister and her husband have a one year old and I think his parents eat early... oh well, I can compromise I think... Maybe everyone could do mtd and we could meet together if we want at a time in the middle, like 7:00 :)

Relaxandenjoy, that is an awesome idea! Are the doors metal? I'd love to be able to leave notes to each other!

Also, our room is already booked and exactly what we wanted, and I checked today and there isn't any available rooms right near us, thank god!:D

[ehfl]

If they are paying, you better at least have the courtesy to sit down to a meal with them.