melski

Wow that would be an unfortunate and stressful way to end your journey. I'm so glad you posted on the excursion board too. I hope you also post your review to the trip advisor website. As someone who usually books private tours, I use this and the other website to verify touring operators and a review like this would be very helpful on who not to use.

I was on Liberty 3/19-3/26. OP was spot on but I still liked the entertainment and guests they had on board.

Our formal night was nights 2 and 5.

The only thing I'd add was the MTD was crazy on the first night...unlike what we've done before on Liberty. I made 6:15 dinner reservations every night but the first night they told me that they wouldn't necessarily hold the reservation and it was first come, first serve. Get there by 6 (everyone who showed up at 6:15 in the reservation line was being turned away) to get in the first group of seating or you'll be given a pager and wait for 30 minutes. It seems that the first mass of seating was between 5:30 and 6:10 and then you had to wait until 6:45 or 7 for the tables to clear and they could do a second seating. By night 3, things calmed down enough and it wasn't a problem to eat at 6:15. It was just frustrating that they'd seat those without reservations first and not save a table for those with reservations even if you showed up on time.

It was still quite a bit of fun!

In addition to regular medicine, I bring kids dramamine, swimmers ear drops and eye drops.

I will bring a kids snorkel mask, snorkel and fins if we are doing a snorkeling excursion. If not, don't worry. Of course bring goggles.

I put an entire day's clothes (day, evening, underwear and socks) in a ziploc bag for my 5 and 9 year olds and label the day they should wear it on. It sounds excessive but our first cruise when they were going through 3-4 outfits a day...breakfast outfit, change into suit, different outfit for lunch, bathing suit, then another outfit for the kids club and finally dinner clothes. Now they know to get the labeled bag, wear the clothes again and don't touch anything else. I will save an relatively clean outfit for any accidents or wash in sink.

Thanks for doing this APDMOM! We are booked for Spring Break 2018 on Freedom (it's a 6 day not an 8 day) and I just wondered how the crowds were in terms of college kids, etc. I am travelling with my DH and DS who is 13 and my brother and his wife, who have never cruised before, and friends of ours, who similarly have never cruised before. I'm nervous that we may have picked the wrong time to introduce them to the wonderous world of cruise ships!

My family has done 3 spring break cruises. Our Spring Break has been the 3rd or 4th week of March, and around my area more college spring breaks, tend to be early March. On all 3 cruises, we saw many multigenerational families or groups of family friends traveling together rather than college kids....not to say that some of those adults can't drink like they were still in college! While I'm sure someone will say they had a bad spring break experience, I think late March/early April has less risk of college spring break. Spring Break is really fun for my teens since they had a chance to meet so many other teens. Next year, we'll be on Harmony over Spring Break!

Like others have said I wouldn't just try to leave the port area without a plan. There are quite a few private guides that you can use for the day on the Jamaica board. We used Tour Jamaica Today with our guide Winston and he took us to Blue Hole, lunch and back. He was a good and cautious driver and he wasn't pushy about where to go...he asked if we wanted to go shopping, when we said no, he let it drop. I am so glad we took the chance to do this tour (originally I thought to stay onboard) as it was one of our family favorites. There were quite a few reviews about drivers/guides and companies on these boards with lots of great ideas on things to do there.

You Can’t Get There From Here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sauntering around the ship we looked into some of theother areas and venues as rooms would not be available until after 200pm.I cannot say if this was routine or not butthere were letters in the rooms mentioning GI illness on the previous cruise.There are some areas where venues, such asStudio B, could only be accessed from the aft elevator bank.A classic case of “you can’t get there fromhere” that is a necessity on some ships.

 

 

 

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Wow! We were on the cruise before you and never heard about the GI illness. They were constantly wiping down the railings but no more or less than other cruises. They did mention that they would sanitize the theater between the 1st and 2nd seatings of Saturday Night Fever on Saturday but they made it sound normal. Good thing my family of 6 didn't get anything...I avoid WJ as much as possible for this reason but we did eat there more than normal for us this cruise.

We are a family of 6 and always book 2 connecting balconies and we normally travel over spring break so that itself has a higher cost.

If you travel when school is out, it will cost more. We have been going on Liberty out of Galveston because that seems to be much less than other ships and we can do a long drive to save on plane tickets. I have Oasis booked for 2018 and it is more than Liberty and it was hard to find 2 connecting rooms even last Nov. Try to book as early as possible for price and especially for connecting rooms.

I feel that with the economy getting better, more people are traveling and all travel is getting more expensive. If you price a Disney cruise, you'll convince yourself you are saving quite a bit of money!:D

Think of it as going to a land restaurant. You can go early or late and get walk right into the restaurant or if you go at prime time and all the tables are taken (with either reservations or walk ins) then you may need to wait and it could be a long wait. If you are ok with that approach, then no need for reservations.

We like to eat around 6:15 so I make a reservation for every night at that time. When we get onboard, I will cancel or adjust as needed based on our activities.

My kids typically go to their respective kids club the first night. The first night is key to meet a group of kids. Mine are introverted and typically this isn't their thing but they manage to meet a few kids to hang out with during the cruise. They rarely do the activities in the teen club but use it as a meeting place.

When my DS was 11 he wasn't too into AO so I allowed him to sign himself in and out. It was better when he was 12 and in the teen club.

You may encourage them to try it and see the first night who they may meet. It is pretty typical to see 11 year olds together in the arcade, etc. If it doesn't work out, then your kids can pal around together.

Sorry to hear about your experience on Liberty. We'll be onboard in a week and we were onboard last year too. Last year the upselling was crazy but usually on the promenade deck and sometimes outside Windjammer. We just walked right past and it worked for us. Of course if someone did it during a meal, I'd be very annoyed too.

As for My Time Dining, we make reservations. They can be booked online in your cruise planner. The traditional early is too early for us but we don't want to be too late either with kids and if we want to see shows. I made a 6:15 reservation every night and can cancel if we choose to do a specialty restaurant. Like a restaurant, if you just show up, you may or may not be seated right away and since these aren't quick dinners, the wait may be quite long. I strongly suggest you guess at a time you want to eat and make a reservation...they usually will still accommodate you if you are a bit early or a bit late.

On Liberty a year ago heights for the slides were for 42" and 45". I'd assume something similar. I had a 4 year old and a 9 year old and it wasn't a big deal as the staircase was the same and they'd meet at the bottom. There the staff was constantly checking height and would give kids a wristband so they knew who could go on which slide. It may have changed and it might change with each ship.

It is very silly as my then 4 year old has done much higher slides and spent an hour going down the slides at when we stopped at Playa Mia in Cozumel to get her slide fix in.

We've been to Playa Mia twice before and I'm looking at booking again for our cruise in a few weeks. Playa Mia works for my entire family (water toys, slides, etc) but I hate the buffet so I was going to book just a day pay and order food ala carte. I just tried booking it directly on Playa Mia's website and it is charging the full amount with no refunds if bad weather or the ship doesn't pull in. Is this a new policy? Last year, I only paid a deposit (something like $10pp) and brought cash there that day for the amount due. Would you book this knowing you won't get a refund if you can't make it? Should I wait for that day and just go there without a reservation? There will be 4 ships in that day and we are a family of 6.

Falmouth was one of my favorite ports. After reading many reviews, we hired a private driver (Winston of Tour Jamaica Today) to Blue Hole. We had 4 kids so safety is a priority and it was something all 4 kids (ages 16 to 4) loved. I was thinking of staying on the ship but a good friend took her family with similar aged kids as mine on a week vacation to a resort in Jamaica and recommended many things to do. I wouldn't wander around but it is safe with some research.

We do like having a ship day in port. The ship is quiet and the kids can ride the flowrider. It's nice to do the activities that typically have a line.

I bring lots of sunscreen as it is expensive on the ship! I'll bring about 8 bottles for the 6 of us.

We cruise on Royal Caribbean. Look at Liberty and Harmony (although Harmony much more expensive than Liberty). Both have splash pools but rather small.

As with any mass market ship, you can feel nickel and dime. However, even buying everything I want I still come out ahead of Disney. My kids are only allowed 1-2 sodas a day, so the free soda isn't a big deal to me on DCL. You don't have do go to a specialty dining (cost extra) unless you want to and we find the free food fine especially when eating with the kids.

I always have some medicine even though I don't actively give it unless necessary, i.e. bad weather. I also have sea bands but they use by pressure points and they are pretty big on my kids so not sure how much help they would be.

They will group the kids together if less than 10 kids total across all ages. You will see the groups together some mornings and afternoons which may work for you if looking for a morning run. They also may allow the older sibling to move down in the morning and afternoon sessions as they are less crowded. Evening sessions may be less likely especially during spring break.

The AO staff in the 3-5 range is used to dealing with non-verbal kids. You can always tell them to get the older siblings to help out if needed (probably only a half wall between them).

If you want less kids, March and April is not the time for a cruise. Spring break (not college but elementary to high school) goes from 3rd week of March to about the 3rd week of April with Easter being so late this year. We go on 7 day cruises and it is prime time for large families to cruise. Its not a wild party atmosphere but there will be A LOT of kids running around. If you want to avoid this, then don't cruise during this time and pick a nice couples only all inclusive resort.

We've done 2 cruises with my kids (4 of them ages 17 to 5). First cruise no problem and no one took any medicine. Second cruise, it was windy the first few days and a bit wavy on our first morning (day 2). My 2 girls (17 and 5) were both nauseous but boys were totally fine. The girls took dramamine only for that day and my 5 year old who was a bit worse off wore the sea bands that day and the next. Not sure if the sea bands actually help or if its a mental thing.

Bottom line is you don't know how you or kids will handle anything or how the seas will be. We only use it if needed. I'd rather pack it and not need it than need it and not have anything.

What age? Yes we typically will visit AO on RC on the first day to register. They will be open that night and if you haven't registered, you can when you drop off. If you need to register for the nursery program, then that is something you should do ASAP.

On Liberty last year, there was a machine to put credits or "tokens" on your sea pass card. It took cash or charged to account. I took cash as I didn't want my boys to realize they could do it themselves and I also told them they couldn't replenish without me. I don't know if you could have played without adding credits but I didn't give them that option. When their credits ran out, they knew it and it wouldn't let them play another game.

I have 4 kids who were 16, 12, 9 and 4 and we went to Blue Hole in Jamaica last year. My kids loved it. The guides were really helpful with the younger 2, picking them up and carrying them over rocks if needed. I did bring my own life vest for the youngest but they did have them available. The younger 2 didn't jump from the tallest falls but it was a great time. I did research drivers as I wanted a private car and I can highly recommend Winston at Tour Jamaica Today. He was a really careful driver and it took us a bit longer to get to Blue Hole because he was safe on wet roads. He is able to take you anywhere if you are up for a tour and he wasn't pushy about what to do (i.e. he offered to take us to a market but we said no and it was dropped immediately).

In Cozumel, we've done Playa Mia twice. It is a great facility, however, the buffet food is terrible. I know food is subjective but I'm not a foodie and find MDR food good. I'm thinking we'll go to Mr. Sanchos for our March trip.

Was your Belize tour booked through the ship or through a private company? Just wondering how the tender process was if booked privately. I'm looking at a private cave tubing company in Belize and wondering how hard it will be to get off the ship.

Looking forward to our 2nd cruise on Liberty!

I know RC has a family oceanview stateroom with 2 bedrooms but only 1 bathroom and will hold 5 or 6. You do need to contact a travel agent for these. Since you are within driving distance of so many great ports, you can have your travel agent compare prices of different ships. CC doesn't allow recommendations for specific travel agents/agencies so I would compare a few local ones to a website based one and also a box store one. While most prices are probably similar, some agencies will add extra OBC.

It's been said that babies don't have the inner ear fully developed yet so tend not to get sea sick. That being said, I'd want to have something just in case. Once again ask your doctor, however I've seen suggestions for benadryl and liquid ginger. You may need to ask your doctor for the proper dose of it based on their weight.

I booked Harmony for March 2018 for an insane amount in March. I book early to get the staterooms that I want and since I booked with Next Cruise my deposit is fairly minimal. I keep checking prices and no luck so far but I hope that this November there will be another cyber Monday sale to bring the price down. If not, I'll change my reservation to another ship.