CanadianDee

According to Google it's a 1/2 mile walk to the Royal Caribbean terminal. It will be a little closer if your sailing out of the Carnival terminal.

Ooo, thanks. We're cruising Disney so I'm guessing it would be same-ish. First time sailing out of Galveston.

Harbor House seems pretty reasonable with a $119/night rack rate for our travel dates (November).

When you say it's within walking distance, how much of a walking distance? We're travelling with two old people (me and my husband) with no mobility issues (just old) and two small children.

We've sailed Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, Disney, and Celebrity so we're open to trying new lines.

This incident and their subsequent treatment of these rightfully dissatisfied customers is more than enough to turn us completely off to giving them a try.

I just booked this for my August cruise. My presumption was that the height requirement is for the zip lines and slides. If you’re under, you can still go in and use the kids area etc, but no slides for you.

 

(fwiw my younger daughter is 47.5” so I figure she’ll gain that half inch by august)

Yes, that was our experience for this park on the Disney Wonder as well. My 7 year-old granddaughter got to zip line while the 3 year-old was stuck with Grandma. :')

There may not be a way around the height restriction. It's usually the insurance company that imposes the restriction, and if you book the excursion, you may find yourself in a situation where you cannot take the child and cannot cancel for a full refund. You must cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

Thank you.

I probably wasn't clear. The excursion does say children under 5 are free, but when I go to reserve I'm asked if each of us is over 48" and under 260 pounds. When I say no, I get stopped in the process.

Since the average 5 year-old is around 42", these two criteria (under 5 free; must be over 48") seem contradictory. So I'm wondering if someone has had experience with how this works - or if it works - with kids under 5.

New to Royal Caribbean. Cruised with them more than 20 years ago, but I expect things have changed. :)

Specifically have a question about the Lost Mayan Kingdom through RC. We're looking at booking the excursion through RC, but note there is a height restriction (48"), which our three year-old granddaughter doesn't meet. The description states the 5 and under are free, so I'm just wondering how we book that. Do we leave her off the booking and let them know onboard?

We were on the Disney Wonder last month and did take her to the Lost Mayan Kingdom without a problem. Just wondering what the RC process is around this.

Many thanks for any help/advice.

Cheers,

d.

it is incredibly expensive, but i have to admit that had they had it when my kids were little i would have signed us up!!

 

and i'll further admit that when i take the grandkids in 2018, we'll be there!

 

(is there a 12 step program for parents and grandparents like me? :o )

LOL. Count me in on your 12-step program.

We're on the Wonder in February and have - after much to-ing and fro-ing - decided to do the tea this time with our granddaughters (aged 7 and 3).

I have a question, though. I read a review that said the tables were set up 4/table. There will be two kids and three adults in our party ... I'm guessing they'll seat us all at one table?

I have to agree with the "depends on the kid" thing. Our 2 1/2 year-old granddaughter is better at accepting these kinds of new situations than her six year-old sister. Very different personalities.

She's also militant about using the potty. Because she's a BIG GIRL, doncha know. :D

Either/both. Just keep the cards--if for any reason you have to cancel the cruise' date=' the money will be refunded to the card. There is a way to get around it if you no longer have the card, but it is a pain and takes a while.[/quote']

 

Thank you!

We're from Canada; have never used the gift card option. Can the gift cards be applied to your cruise fare, or is it for onboard purchases?

 

Is it wrong that I'm kinda hoping you have another adventure? Maybe you get rescued by a pod of dolphins while out snorkelling ...

I'd echo the comments about the food and friendliness at Maya Chan. They were awesome. The catch-of-the-day ... it's been two years, and I still remember it fondly.

There is a fair amount of seagrass, but they had a fellow removing it all day while we were there. Once you get further out in the ocean, there's much less of it.

Edited to Add: Has the seagrass situation improved in the last two years. If so, this place would be a no-brainer.

 

So unfortunately when I think of the royal court tea, that's what I think of. Not little girls acting like princesses, but little girls not eating their $210 lunches! Ouch.

 

Hehe. Agreed.

We didn't book the tea on our last DCL trip. For our next one, I think we'll do our own version of tea. Maybe in the cabin, on the verandah. Tea and pastries from room service or wherever. Or maybe somewhere else on the ship. We'll dress up, invite some of our new friends from the kids' club, extend our pinkies at right angles from the tea cup. It'll work.

Our granddaughter had the BBB experience at Disneyworld when she was three. She already had a princess costume, so it was just the 'do with the Fairy Godmother.

She has this awesome little "contained" smile when her excitement level is at Defcon 1. She had it - and we've got the picture to prove it! - during this experience.

Totally depends on the kid, I think, but this was far and away the biggest highlight - and there were many highlights - of her first Disney experience.

 

We bring my mom along to watch after DS in the room once he is asleep, so DH and I can spend some quality time :)

 

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Great tips, Alane! I have to admit I smiled a little at the above one because I'm the mom our children bring along to watch the Littles. For me and for my husband, coming along to watch the grandgirls is the very definition of quality time for us!

Wow, thanks for all the great info from seasoned Disney cruisers!

My perspective is as a grandmother who has cruised with her granddaughter (aged 4 and 5) on Carnival and Celebrity. Our next cruise will be this December with Disney.

I expect Disney to be a completely different experience.

I'm inferring from your post that this will be your grandchildren's first cruise? If so, you may find they enjoy some aspects of the cruise not unique to Disney. Our granddaughter's favourite parts of the cruises she's been on include dressing up for dinner, watching the ship dock in the mornings with Papa, late night swims in the pool, and just generally the two-on-one time with us.

I find the last line of that letter interesting:

 

EVENING SHOWS

All teens and children are welcome to attend the evening entertainment features with their parents/guardians. Please note that children are not permitted to sit in the front 3 rows of the Princess Theater.

This was also the case on our Celebrity cruise earlier this year.

This is our first Disney cruise, but when we're cruising with our children or grandchildren we've always asked for a table just for our group. It's our favourite meet-up and share-the-day time.

When we cruise as a couple - never do anymore, since the lovely grandbabies - we enjoy a table shared with fellow travellers and have made some wonderful friends over dinner.

Hey there CCers:

 

My kid is on the typical 4yr old diet of chicken fingers, fries etc etc... ;) is there a kids menu onboard for meals? I saw a sample dinner menu from past cruise but nothing for the kiddos.

 

TIA

LOL. Have you been through the peanut butter and jam sandwich phase yet?

Our granddaughter was four when we took her on her first cruise. Also a picky eater. We prepped her beforehand about the food on the cruise. She gowned up every night for dinner, ate from the adult menu, and tried things she'd probably never have tried at home.

Among her favourites were frog's legs and smoked duck. For a few months, whenever we went out for dinner, she'd ask the waittress if they served frog's legs. :-)

It's like I could have written this exact post myself. As a fellow Cdn. winter cruiser and compulsive planner/worrywart, I agree with everything you said.

LOL. I'm in Calgary too!

Oh geez. This thread throws my internal obsessive planner into panic.

We cruise in the winter and come in from Canada where the weather can be unpredictable. We fly in two, sometimes three, days in advance. So much can go wrong at the last minute, regardless of time of year, that I would never consider NOT flying in a day early.

I know there are some people who do it regularly, but that's waaaaaay outside my comfort zone. I hate starting my vacation against a tight deadline. There are enough of those at work. :(

The real problem with larger pools is not weight. It is a phenomenon known as "free surface effect ...you have an idea why cruise ship pools are kept small, and they have multiple pools.

Thanks so much for the brilliantly simple and relatable explanation. Makes total sense.

Another vote for dropping the luggage and other passengers off before dropping one person drops the rental off. :)

That is a good point!!

I'm sorry, how is this a good point?

I know bad stuff can happen at Disney. I know not to leave a child unattended. I know not to feed my grandkids laundry pods. I even know enough to not allow a child to go into a body of water that says "no swimming".

I didn't know there would be alligators in a man-made Disney resort area that allows water skiing.

Do you know you might run into bears in the Banff National Park? Probably, but to be sure, there are signs posted everywhere. In the case of bear sightings, you'd see the attached sign.

Tourists still sometimes stop and feed the bears, but at the very least, there's been adequate warning of imminent danger to those who might be unaware of bears in the area.

Stop taking for granted that your "common sense" - as it relates to things that are common in your area of the world, an area that is promoted as a tourism destination globally - is universally shared "common sense".

A few observations

 

- surf side, Gulf and Atlantic we need similar signs which warn of sharks, rays, croc's (yep they swim in saltwater) ... and lion fish which can sting ... and and

 

Once more with feeling: This was not a naturally occurring body of water. It was a man-made body of water in a famous, high-profile resort hosting people from all over the world.

A warning of alligators would have just been due diligence.

And yes, no swimming means no swimming, but the death of a child isn't the price the family should have had to pay. I'm quite sure they wouldn't have let him near the water if there had been an alligator warning posted.

The potential saving of someone's life is surely worth a sign warning of alligators.