Tapi

Glad it worked for you! 😀 Always awesome when all stars align. Earliest flight we’ve ever made was at 8:30am (and it was from FLL). We arrived at the port of Miami at 6:30am, in our Uber by 7:00am, through security at FLL a little after 7:30am, and at our gate 45 minute before departure. Self assist debarkation, we had passports, Uber showed up 2 minutes after requesting it, no checked luggage, and zero lines at FLL security. For the record, this wasn’t our original flight. We listed as standbys on the earlier flight as we were driving to the airport.

The weather in Alaska can vary wildly. When we sailed (early June), temperatures were pretty mild. 50’s-60’s. On Glacer Bay day, we had clear skies and we were on deck wearing jeans and a sweater.

The most dramatic day of the day is when you actually make it to the glacier. My recommendation is to get up early and head out to an open deck. Take in the sights. The ship moves very slowly as it works its way into Glacier Bay so that should give you time to plan your moves. Grab breakfast lunch or dinner somewhere where you can still watch beautiful views while you eat (grab something from the buffet and then sit outside). On our particular sailing, the cruise line offered a salmon bake on the pool deck so that people could eat and not miss out on the views. 7-8 hours may seem long, but believe me, it will go by very fast. It will be over before you know it. 😀

With the excitement of going to Glacier Bay, and the long daylight hours, it won’t be an issue being up and about at 6:00am (at least it wasn’t for us). We were ready to go! Even though the most dramatic scenery doesn’t happen until later in the day, there’s still plenty of amazing things to see starting early in the day as the ship weaves its way into Glacier Bay. On our particular sailing, the park ranger that gave commentary over the PA system started talking early in the day. When we were finally at Glacier Bay, she was out and about answering questions in person and posing for photo ops. Even though we had a balcony, we were out on deck as early as possible.in order to catch a 360 degree view of our surroundings. Completely worth it.

My son’s passport had a little less than 6 months to go when we did a cruise that included the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. I didn’t realize it until it was too late to get it renewed in time. I called the cruise line and the agent I spoke to swore that we’d be denied boarding at the port. With not much more to loose at that point in time, we decided to go to the port anyway, mentally prepared to get turned away. Long story short, it wasn’t an issue. Besides the check-in agent gently reminding us that his passport had less than 6 months to go, we didn’t have any problems checking in, getting on the ship, or clearing customs upon our return. What we’ve learned since then after further research is that, unless an itinerary or country you’re visiting has specific passport requirements, your passport only needs to be valid at the time of travel.

Anything that I wouldn’t mind washing in industrial strength detergent in hot water, and drying in high heat. As a side note, my wife sent out a brand new green top, and when we got it back, it was gray and shriveled. It looked like it had been washed 20 times. We asked at guest relations if they could do anything to fix it and, the next day, they returned it looking brand new. I guess they dyed it and pressed it. Long story short, if you send something out and they mess it up, don’t be shy about letting them know. They’ll try to rectify it.

I don’t think that the OP’s post is necessarily indicative that they made the wrong choice, but more of an attempt in their part to set realistic expectations. Their post reminds me of when we I booked a Holland America cruise when the kids were 9 and 11. I “impulse booked” it without thinking twice because I found a killer deal (way cheaper than the family friendly cruise lines). The excitement was followed by the “oh crap” thoughts, thinking that, not only the kids would kill me, but my wife would kill me for booking “an old people” cruise. Like the OP, I posted on the HAL board to know what to expect. Long story short, it all worked out and we had a great cruise. But part of it was because we prepared ourselves for what we could expect. Hopefully it will be the same way for the OP and their upcoming Celebrity cruise. 😀

I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve taken a similar approach with my kids. Their first cruises were easy, Caribbean/Bahamas cruises close to home, but a few years back, we started expanding our horizons to new destinations. It’s been a wonderful and eye opening journey for the whole family. They still take the occasional Caribbean/Bahamas cruise, but they most look forward to the next big vacation where we get to explore something new.

My kids (now 14 and 12) started cruising when they were both infants. For context, they’ve sailed on most major cruise lines including some family favorites like Royal, Disney, Carnival, and MSC in different regions of the World. We’ve also taken our kids on more “adult oriented” cruise lines like Celebrity and Holland America, and on every single cruise, they’ve had an absolute blast. Before each cruise, I tell the kids where we’re going and what the ship is going to be like. That way, they know what to expect and there are no disappointments when “this cruise isn’t like the last one”. We did Celebrity Solstice to the Mexican Riviera when the kids were 10 and 12. Kids still rave about that cruise and say that it was one of their favorite.They were BUSY most of the time, and when they had some down time, it was a welcome change. They loved hanging out at the pool and participated in every scheduled activity or game that they could squeeze in. Loved the silent disco and ABBA parties at night. They’re not that interested in kids clubs anymore so they didn’t attend. For down time, they often enjoyed just laying on the grass at the Lawn Club and watching a movie or game. Ashore, I made sure to book fun activities to get their adrenaline flowing like off-roading in ATV’s. Even though there were no flow riders, zip lines, ice skating rinks or water slides like on other ships they’ve sailed on, they had a great time. My son has repeatedly said that it’s nice to sail on a ship that is “simpler” (although he does miss the flow rider). He’s learned that cruising is about more than all the gimmicky stuff.

Book now at the lowest cabin category you’d be happy with. Watch for price drops until final payment. After that, if prices drop, ask for an upgrade. We’ve done that several times, where we book an ocean view cabin, but upgrade to a balcony if prices drop inside final payment, either for a modest up charge or sometimes at no extra charge. As others have said, it’s a gamble no matter what you decide to do. When we did Celebrity Solstice for Thanksgiving, we booked over a year in advance and locked in an amazing rate. Prices just kept going up and up after that and more than doubled. But then, a few weeks before sailing, there was still a lot of inventory left. We had friends who decided to join us and booked two weeks before sailing. They got a killer, last minute rate that was better than what we had locked in over a year prior. Free upgrade from inside to balcony and onboard credit. Still happy with the rate I got, but it just shows how prices can wildly fluctuate from one moment to the next.

I started cruising in the 80’s, so thanks for the trip down memory lane. Going to the travel agent, looking at a bunch of brochures, then sitting there (sometimes for what felt like hours) while the travel agent made some phone calls to get price quotes and reserve the cruise, selecting our cabin from a deck plan on a glossy brochure, then waiting for paper documents to arrive in the mail, were all super exciting. While I miss the simplicity of cruising 40 years ago, and the nostalgic and “old school” elements of cruise planning, I’ll take all the resources and options that we have today over what we had back then. Yes, the choices and amount of information today can be overwhelming at times (specially when sailing on some of the largest mega ships), but I feel like, at the same time, the whole process is much easier. What took weeks (or months) of researching, and countless hours in person with a travel agent, I can now do in a matter of minutes with a few clicks of a mouse.

If your itinerary is wholly contained in the Schengen Area, there’s no customs when you complete your cruise. You walk right off the ship. We were one of the very few passengers doing self assist so there were zero lines to disembark. Our ship was supposed to arrive at 7:00am but we didn’t dock until 8:00am. I was sweating bullets a bit since we had an 11:25am flight home. But the ship was cleared for debarkation within 5 minutes of docking and we were in our prearranged private transportation within 10 minutes after that. We were at the airport around 9:15am and we used all of those two hours to check in, and go through security and passport control (that’s were the long lines and a bit of chaos are). We got to our gate after boarding had begun but we made it. If you don’t already have it, I’d recommend a private service just for your group that can pick up right at the terminal (some means of transportation don’t do that). That made a world of a difference for us. No waiting, and our car was waiting right across the sidewalk as we exited the terminal.

I think that Holland America's Pinnacle class is the absolute best mix of ship size and age. At 99,000 tons, they're not too small, yet not too big. They're modern, tasteful ships with advanced technology, but with thoughtful, traditional maritime touches.

I have kids who've been sailing since they were infants (they're now teenagers). I have learned to steer clear of ANY cruise line that caters to families (Royal, Disney, Carnival, MSC, etc) during school breaks. What you describe has been our experience when we've taken any of those lines when schools are out. If sailing during school breaks, we've booked cruises on more adult-oriented lines, like Holland America and Celebrity. We had a great time, and the kids also had a great time. Less kids onboard, and the ones that do come onboard tend to be, in the most part, well traveled and aware of fellow cruisers and expected behavior. Granted, the kids clubs aren't as elaborate, or the number of kid-oriented activities and facilities aren't as extensive, but there's still plenty for kids to do both on the ship and ashore. One of the blessings in disguise about sailing on a ship with less kids is that they end up getting more personal attention at the kids club since they're not as packed.

If you can squeeze everything into one bag, I'd say do that. Makes life easier to have less bags to worry about. My philosophy has been that "if it doesn't fit in one carry-on, then I don't need it". That applies whether were doing a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas, or a 2 week land/sea vacation in the Mediterranean.

If you're interested in religious services, may I recommend looking into Holland America. Their ships are staffed with a Catholic priest who offers daily mass services. In addition, they schedule an interdenominational Protestant service on Sundays, as well as a Shabbat service on Fridays.

Even if there are some children onboard, I'm willing to bet money that they will not affect your enjoyment. In my humble experience, adult-oriented / upscale cruise lines tend to attract a significantly smaller amount of children, and those who do travel on these lines, tend to be well traveled and more aware of social etiquette and behavior. Even if you're traveling during spring break (which extends into the first week of April in many jurisdictions), you will not encounter the hordes of unattended children terrorizing other passengers that you can find on family-oriented lines like Royal, Carnival, etc. Our most recent experience sailing on an adult-oriented cruise line during Spring Break was on Holland America to the Caribbean. According to the kids program counselors, there were around 100 kids onboard (out of 2,500) passengers. They were basically invisible. The only times you'd see kids, they'd be with their parents, and always well behaved. It was actually a pleasure to travel with them.

Tough question. Hard to narrow it down but here are some "stand outs" from the ships I've sailed on. Nieuw Statendam was wonderful. It provides the perfect blend of modern and traditional cruising. Many nods to Holland America's long maritime history. The ship is an ideal size. Not too big, not too small. If I could design my own cruise ship, this is what it would look like. Harmony of the Seas / Allure of the Seas. There's no denying that Oasis class ships have a "wow" factor that is hard to beat. In my opinion, this class of ship needs to be experienced at least once. The options for activities, dining, and entertainment are mind boggling. BUT this is not a class of ship for everyone. It can be very overwhelming. Trying to do everything that these ships have to offer will be exhausting. Disney Fantasy. Let me start by saying that I'm not a Disney fan. But, like with Royal's Oasis class ships, I think that Disney should be experienced at least once, even without kids. Beautiful ship, imaginative, great attention to detail, top notch customer service, and great entertainment. Only downside is that they charge luxury cruise line prices for a family-oriented mass market experience.

The kids program on Royal is free beginning at 3 years of age. In my humble opinion, its a fantastic program. We've done most major cruise lines with kids, and I place Royal's program as one of our favorite. Cold milk will be available free of charge. Booster chairs will be available as well. The BEST piece of advice that I can give you is to pack as lightly as possible. First cruise we took with a little one (at 18 months of age), we packed as if we were moving to another country. 😂. By cruise 2-3, we were down to whatever we could fit in one carry on for our kids and an umbrella stroller.

Ocho Rios is a better port of call than Montego Bay. Better infrastructure and accessibility to activities and shore excursions. Of the 3 ships listed, Horizon is the newest, largest, and with the most amenities. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will be the best choice for you. Some people prefer the smaller ships.

I find it to be at par with Royal Caribbean but with a European flair. Big ships with a "wow" factor. Definitely a mass market cruise line with similar activities, cuisine, and upcharge options. If sailing on an itinerary that features their private island in the Bahamas, I prefer Ocean Cay over Coco Cay. (Ocean Cay has more of a laid back, private island feel. Coco Cay feels like an amusement aquatic park). I've sailed on MSC in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and I prefer their product in the Mediterranean. There's always a debate about MSC only being worth it in the Yacht Club. I disagree. While its true that the Yacht Club offers a fantastic product that elevates the entire experience (the same can be said for other cruise lines offering a similar product), I personally feel that it's not a must to enjoy an MSC cruise. We've done Fantastica, Aurea and Yacht Club, and have enjoyed all of them.

We sailed on the Meraviglia, first in the Mediterranean and then in the Caribbean: - I actually preferred smaller groups embarking and disembarking at each port. Short lines and very leisurely process. The chaos at the port when all passengers are embarking/disembarking at once was greatly minimized. Another thing that was really nice when we first boarded the ship was that the ship was pretty much deserted, with most in-transit passengers ashore. That meant no crowds, and no lines to get a bite to eat at the lunch buffet (which is normally packed on U.S. based ships on embarkation day). - You will not be required to get off at each port to clear the ship. In addition to that, if your itinerary is wholly contained in the Schengen Area, you will disembark on the last day and not have to clear customs before exiting the terminal. You walk right out. - I did not find the smoking to be any more aggressive on the Mediterranean sailing compared to the Caribbean sailing (and my wife is like a bloodhound when it comes to cigarette smell) 😂.Yes, you will see a considerable amount of smokers in the designated smoking areas, but they will be contained to those areas only. - Another thing that was a welcome change was on debarkation day. We had an early flight back to the U.S. so we were ready to do self-assist and get off the ship as quickly as possible. Based on our experience in the U.S, we were expecting long lines of people doing self-assist. But those lines never materialized. We were one of 5 or 6 families trying to get off the ship as early as possible. That, combined with no customs, and we were outside the terminal in less than 5 minutes. Loved it. Overall, the MSC experience in the Mediterranean was far superior than in the Caribbean. Would love to do it again.

I prefer the Step One shows over the more typical production shows. So simple, but professional and visually stunning.

We've sailed with our kids twice on HAL, one time in Alaska, and the other time in the Caribbean. On our Alaska cruise aboard Westerdam, there were very few kids onboard, and the kids club was closed several times when it was supposed to be open. In addition, our kids didn't even care about going because sometimes they were the only ones in attendance, so we didn't even bother with it after a few days. On our Caribbean cruise aboard Nieuw Statendam, there were 110 kids onboard (high compared to HAL's average, according to the camp counselors). On that cruise, my kids attended the kids club almost on a daily basis. They absolutely loved it. They made fast friends right away and after that, they all wanted to hang out as much as possible. On that cruise, all activities ran as scheduled. Overall, our experience with Club HAL (more specifically on the second cruise) was very positive. Compared to more family friendly cruise lines that we've sailed on (Royal, Carnival, MSC, Disney, etc, where the number of kids can sometimes be in the thousands), our kids received a much more personal and dedicated experience from the counselors. Having a smaller number of kids onboard meant that it was easier for them to make friends. HAL may not have massive facilities with tons of activities like on other cruise lines, but my kids still say that our cruise on the Nieuw Statendam was one of their favorites.

We've done both. When we stayed in the Orlando area, it was because we were combining our cruise with a visit to the amusement parks 🤮. Otherwise we've stayed in the Cocoa Beach area at one of the oceanfront hotels. To me, that's much more enjoyable, relaxing, and a better way to begin my vacation.