Zozizar

I spoke to the CD on our first cruise and he suggested July and August for Alaska. Or look into the summer solstice? I was on the Island (Panama canal and 100% sold out) and found it fine but others found it crowded. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) but the Coral is the same size but less berths (so less crowded?).

 

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We did the turtle/dolphin excursion in Grand Cayman last year. When we boarded the bus from our ship there were 14 people and we were excited. Then we stopped and picked up more people from another Princess ship in port (30 total). We went to the dolphin venue (across from turtles) and were joined by 4 more busses. They walked all 120+ of us across the street to turtles and we had a photo op holding turtles (kids under 5 can't touch) then we looked around for 30 min while everyone else got photos done. Then over to dolphins- very organized, we put on life jackets and had 8-10 groups run simultaneously. It was very cool and if all the of my kids had participated, worth the $$. However, my 5 and 3 year old refused to touch or interact with the dolphins. We then declined to spend $100+ on photos (repeatedly). Bribed our van driver to drop us off at the beach on the way back and spent 2.5 hrs on the beach playing in the sand and eating beach vendor BBQ.

I advised the excursion desk to expect complaints because people were choked.

 

If you do it, check how many ships in port that day (5 for us). And maybe do it on your own.

 

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I shop consignment to save $$, but have gone away from gowns simply because I feel I am overdressed in them. Black dress and a great necklace will take you far. As to heels, I love them but they take up too much space in my suitcase.

 

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This honestly had not occurred to me before but I had to test this. The rep did take my booking # and check that I had kids on my booking. On our March cruise out of San Fran there is expected to be 12 3-7 and 9 8-12 yo. More than our last cruise; a 15 night full transit last February had only 8 under 12 yo and 3 teens.

 

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My parents got this type of offer last year. Balcony to window-only minisuite for their first cruise. My mom didn't want to take the offer but my dad jumped all over it. They got a huge room and a BUNCH of onboard credit. They hadn't prepaid anything and still got $$ by cheque after they did gratuities, drinks and excursions. My mom still complains about the lack of balcony. My husband, kids and I were not offered the same deal for our inside (haha).

 

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As to my previous reply, I should have mentioned- we're Canadian and always need passports.

 

Also, my experiences were combined with my baby being the youngest of 3. So we were travelling with a 5yo, 2yo and 6 month old- travelling with one baby may be very different (easier).

 

Happy travels, I've heard Royal is great for the tiny ones.

 

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I cruised with a 6 month old on another line and Ive tried to be as honest as possible.

 

Hello,

My husband and I love to cruise and have been wanting to go on one, but we now have a new baby. She will be about 7 months old when we are thinking of going on a oasis class ship. Questions:

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun?

Sometimes, but not for me

 

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some).

 

Yes very tight in cabin with crib, and mine was crawling on every surface.

 

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ?

Nap in cabin 1-2 hours, in at 8 pm for bedtime. Take her walking in night if she fussed so she didn't wake to other cabins.

 

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ?

We took turns eating while someone walked her as she fussed. Ate with family.

 

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!)

?unsure?

 

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ?

N/A for ship we were on

 

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ?

No.

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ? Being carried and fawned over by strangers.

 

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least .

Your choice

 

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ?

Yes

 

11. Did they need a passport?

Yes

 

12. What types of things to do in ports ?

Beach

 

Any other tips will be appreciated !

 

IMHO I would recommend waiting until your child is a little older. I found that age exhausting but 10-12 months much easier to travel with. To do it again I would wait until my child was walking and sleeping through the night (that being said my 3 year old is working on the sleep thing still). Dining room is probably a stretch, even my older children get fussy waiting through the courses, it may be that a buffet or room service dinner would suit better.

 

 

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We're from Canada so we bring pesos. I also enjoy the art of the deal when buying souvenirs and pesos give more flexibility.

 

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You could take SkyTrain. There is a station (Science World) a block away from the Amtrak station, then ride it west to Harbour (end of the line). Pier is just a couple blocks from harbor station.

 

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I did this tour in February with princess and it was fantastic. Best excursion in 10+ trips. Tour guide did say they can't go up as far in the dry season.

 

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I am so impressed and awed by the parents that cloth diapered on a cruise ship. I was a fanatic CD at home and it didn't cross my mind once to do it on the ship. Could have been that I was cruising with 3 under 4 and one was 6 months old... but so great that you did. My advice is to pick what makes you most comfortable. We cruised Princess and if I had cloth diapered I would have rinsed and washed in the room then dried them in the dryer at the self-serve laundry for expediency and germ killing.

Just as PartyBarbie is, I'm a dress afficionado.

 

For a 15-day cruise, I'll bring two cocktail-length dresses and wear one twice (because I love it and it looks smashing, so it gets more reps than my other cocktail dresses). 15-3=12, which I divide by 2, aiming to wear everything twice, so that's 6 outfits, give or take, that I would need for the non-formal nights. I then go through my closet and see what's on offer (I believe they call that "shopping your closet" . . . ): if I have six dresses appropriate for the type of cruise (what works for a Caribbean cruise might be out-of-place on a northern Atlantic crossing, plus some dresses are too "office" for a cruise vacation), then they all get packed and worn twice. If not, I might throw in a pair of black pants and a couple of tops. On warm-weather cruises, I have taken dressier capri pants (linen, silk) , maybe one pair of white with two different tops.

 

To me, the key for a long cruise is to break it up into 7-day chunks, rotating the outfits for each chunk. That way, I can take the same size suitcase for a 15-day or 21-day or longer, as I do for a week-long cruise.

 

 

We use the same formula and I too love clothes. I have a huge wardrobe at home and have to restrain myself from taking too much.

 

I usually pack a pair of leatherette leggings and a couple tunic tops for first and last night. But pretty much everything else rdsqrl said.

 

For shoes for the above outfits I pack wedge sandals (not particularly dressy) one nude, one black

 

 

 

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Thank you to everyone who replied. When we last cruised together, there was no wait (delayed flight 1:30 pm arrival). Hoping to arrive earlier this time. We will have to see.

 

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I've never cruised to Alaska but I have cruise with Princess with my 3 girls. 1st time aged 4 years ,27 months and 6 months. It was very challenging and I was very conscious of the noise they made and the deep pools and 2 of 3 couldn't go in kids club. Went again this year with Princess again ages 8,5,3 and it was AMAZING! They took my 3 yo on a port day (we did an excursion with the older 2- zipline) and they took her to lunch.

 

Whichever line you choose, I'd wait until the youngest was potty trained and could go to kids club. I know some start younger than others. This is all just my opinion from the yearly land or sea trips we take the kids on and I don't think I could vacation without kids club again.

 

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We are embarking in San Fran for a Mexican Riviera cruise in March. We are traveling with my in-laws who are Elite (but we are not). Our 8yr old is in their room. Is it likely that we will be allowed to board with the elites as one group? Don't want to board without daughter and would like to take 1 photo. Is this question moot as it will be probably 12-12:30 when we are expecting to get to the pier (flying in).

 

Thanks!

Kate

 

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On our Panama canal cruise (full transit) this year on the Island, it was a ghost town on board after 11. Even in the casino. We'd get the grandparents to watch the kids and want to go out, only to find there was no where to go. It was an older demographic on our cruise.

 

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I bought some zip-top reusable shopping bags at the dollar store and put 2 cases diet soda/ water in each and put a baggage tag on them. I then used the bags for dirty clothes or hauling laundry.

 

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It was a long wooden canoe/ fishing boat with an outboard motor. I was a little disappointed until I realized how long the ride upriver would be without it. Even those with bad knees should be okay. My 72 yr old dad, who's waiting for knee surgery was able to get in and out.

 

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Here are some pics of the Embera excursion.

 

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It was a long wooden canoe/ fishing boat with an outboard motor. I was a little disappointed until I realized how long the ride upriver would be without it. Even those with bad knees should be okay. My 72 yr old dad, who's waiting for knee surgery was able to get in and out.

 

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It was a real village. In fact, there was a Canadian staying with them for a week in one of the huts. He'd visited on an excursion years ago and liked it so much that instead of cruising to Panama, he comes and stays at the village every year.

 

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Best port experiences were 8 mile beach on Grand Cayman after our (not great Dolphin excursion).

 

Embera Indian Village was amazing in Panama.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

We're doing the 15 day Panama Canal on the Coral 1/20/18.

 

Is it necessary to take the Princess tour for the Embera Indian Village or was there an option to take a private tour?

 

I realize this is a tender port and was not sure. Doesn't seen like a lot of people have done the private tour.

 

Thanks

Quite honestly, the tour was amazing. I know there were other tours priced higher but the Princess one was excellent and took the full day. I would book it again.

 

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And if anyone ever wondered what it's like to cruise with a six month old. "Just don't, ever" She was amazing during the day but awful at night. My husband walked her so she wouldn't wake the neighborhood, and I was trapped in our room with the other 2.

 

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We were on that same cruise and were blown away by how well-behaved your kids were. We saw you all out and about throughout the fifteen days.

We would walk through the halls and people would smile and say they were lovely. Never knowing the hostage-style negotiations we had for 40 minutes in our stateroom for them to just freaking get dressed so we could go out.

 

I'm glad we fooled people into thinking they were well behaved.

 

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Star 81, we did the 10 day roundtrip Panama Canal cruise with a 2 year old nearly 5 years ago. He absolutely loved it, and there is a detailed review in my signature line if it would be helpful. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

Zozizar, I haven't sailed Princess since they updated the kids clubs. Do you know if they still allow children under 3 to use the kids clubs with parental supervision (I know your youngest was 3, so you might not know but I wanted to check since their website no longer lists this option).

We did our first cruise with a 5 year old, ALMOST 3 and a 6 month old. They did allow us to be in the kid's club with the littles, there is/was an almost reception type space on the Grand we could play in. On the Island, which had been redone, had two large rooms that could be separated or made into one large room depending on need

 

There were only 8 kids on the whole ship so it was just one group.

 

And if anyone ever wondered what it's like to cruise with a six month old. "Just don't, ever" She was amazing during the day but awful at night. My husband walked her so she wouldn't wake the neighborhood, and I was trapped in our room with the other 2.

 

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There was a speaker who specialized in forensics, so those were the topics for his sessions. There was a showing and discussion on the building of the canal with an expert, as well the day of the transit there was live commentary as we went through. Between the excursion we went on in Panama and the transit commentary I felt a fully informed. Actually, I lost interest before we got through Gantun Lake.

 

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I would say something polite, "oh, my parents left me a little" or make up something relatively boring like part-time retail at Fred Meyer or Walmart. The person asking is being polite and wanting to make a connection to talk about. Making up something to specifically to make them uncomfortable would be rude, but if telling the truth makes you feel uncomfortable, maybe a white lie is best.

 

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