jubjubjulie

Thanks! i will bring my own..

Hi all,

Just wondering if Seaside has life jackets by the pools for children? Will be bringing my 5 yrs old DS first time on MSC...thanks!

Hi All,

Will be travelling with my son on MSC Seaside for the first time and was wondering if they have packaged snacks available that i can take for my son. We have only cruised with Royal Caribbean and NCL in the past and i know they had boxed cereal and bags of chips that we used to take and he would eat the cereal as "treats" and chips for myself ;p;p;p;p;p. Do you know if MSC has this or should i be packing my own?

Thanks!

Was on Allure of the Seas Aug 20 sailing. My sister booked herself with her daughter and Husband with her son. They were not in connecting rooms but beside each other. Once on board, guest services switched their rooms - Kids in one and parents in other and gave them extra key cards so they can open each others cabin. Shouldn't be a problem

We prepay our gratuities and we also tip extra. On my last cruise on Allure of the Seas, we tipped at the MDR Daily to both the Head and Assistant Waiters as their service was amazing. We did not want to wait til the end of the cruise to tip extra as some days we were unable to make it to the MDR.. we also tipped extra at the end of our cruise to our Cabin Steward. We had a beverage package but still tipped each bar tender additional when we got drinks.

Just off Allure. Lobster was on second formal night which was Day 6

This happened on our Allure sailing on Aug 20th as well. Pics were lost after day 5. They said a server error has deleted all photos and that included the backup. That is what the ppl in the photo shops told everyone. Alot of ppl were upset especially ones that bought the photo packages

It was on Allure i believe on day 4 for 79 bucks

I brought my Diono Radian XT for my two year old. it was a pain in the behind! i strapped it with bungee cords to my umbrella stroller through the airport and some ports. But at some ports, it was absolutely useless. Alot of the taxis were old and didn't have seat belts or we took a open air bus/trolley where you couldn't strap the car seat to anyways.

No pools allow swim diapers, and only a handful of ships have splash areas for diapered children (DCL and some RCL ships).

Actually the NCL Pearl does have a small enclosed pool for babies and toddlers that specifically saythey must wear swim up diapers unless this has changed in the past 2 years as that is where my son played majority of the time with other kids club staff.

I would book a ship that has swim facilities where the toddler can play in swim diapers. RCI (on oasis) had a dedicated swim pool for toddlers in swim diapers.

I took my DS when he was 2 on a 10 day cruise with NCL and he was fine..they had a tiny swim pool that toddlers with swim diapers could play in.. as for meals, i would prepare to be flexible. You can definitely dine at the MDR but I would suggest choose the earliest time and have them bring your food out asap (normally they say to allow 2 hours for dining) otherwise you will be eating at the buffet most nights. My son developed Bronchitis on the boat and we ended up doing alot of room service and eating at the Buffet.

Bring toys to keep them occupied and of course a stroller. You will not be able to do much excursions so plan on doing some port shopping, exploring and beach.

Took my DS last year on Oasis of the seas (he was 3) and he slept on the sofa bed. When he was 2, we went on a 10 day cruise with NCL and he refused to sleep in the pack and play so he slept on a trundle bed that pulled out from under the bed and popped up beside our bed

Thanks everyone for all their great suggestions and well wishes. I have contacted the Special Needs department and they have put on the booking that she is Autistic and advised that she along with her family will get priority boarding. They have also mentioned that they will put her in Adventure Ocean (if that is something she wants to do) in a lower age group.

I will be bringing my umbrella stroller for my 4 yrs old son. We will be leaving on Aug 20th and while he won't be using it on the ship, we'll definitely need it on Port as when he gets tired, he'll want someone to carry him and my old back can't handle it!

Took my DS to Paradise Beach last year (he was 3) loved it.. don't recall if I had to pay an entrance fee for him, but he enjoyed it.. he sat on some of the Flotation Devices they had out in the Ocean and had a blast.

I've used the Maclaren Quest for all my travels. Reclines and can be used for newborns as well. very lightweight also has a small basket underneath

I also think you should be able to do a cruise much less than the 8,000 you are seeing. A few of the cruise lines have a kids sail free promotion off and on. Watch for those. I believe they are 2 of a certain age are free if in the same room with 2 adults. So not knowing the ages of your children, not sure but look for things like that.

 

Royal Caribbean has it going right now on some cruises, you could play around a little and see what it comes to. Also MSC has it most of the time, I believe. Not so sure on other cruise lines.

i agree.. keep your eyes posted for Kids Sail For Free promos, try to sail during low season to save money.

Also, try doing some spring cleaning and posting up things for sale on Facebook Buy/Sell Groups, craigslist, kijiji, ebay, etc. You'd be surprised what ppl actually post up there and other people buy!

Try to coupon and price match for groceries. If you have a budget of ie $150 per week for groceries, try to meal plan and get your grocery bill down and take the savings and set it aside.

if you can afford it, automatically roll in $50 per pay period to a savings account so you won't see it and spend it.

Good Luck!

I took a 10 Day cruise with DS when he was 2 on NCL Pearl. He was not potty trained, refused to go to the kids club and there was only a dinky kids pool that he could use. But the staff was amazing, ports of call, great and food was awesome!

Took him last year on Royal Caribbean this time on Oasis of the Seas.. he was 3, didn't go to Kids Club (Adventure Ocean) but in Adventure Ocean they have tons of toys that your child can play with, with you supervising. He loved the Dream Works Characters and the kids H20 Zone where the kiddies pool and water park was great. He rode the carousel at least 10 times a day. Overall the ship was amazing with tons of things to do for little ones. At most ports of call since our son was too young to do any excursions, we would do a taxi tour around, some port shopping and hit the beach.

We normally go to All Inclusives but since my son was young and eating table food and on milk, we preferred cruising as the water is safe and the milk is not powdered which you normally encounter in the Caribbean. Go, you will have a blast even if your child doesnt attend Kids Club!

They will allow her to age down to the 9-11 age group of adventure ocean, which would also allow you to not allow her to sign herself out. Talk to adventure ocean once on board. I would also ask to see if they will give you a pager, which are usually only available for babies, but also have been given to those with disabilities in the past.

 

Was the call with the Special Needs department or just the regular number? I would call special needs and see what they recommend also.

I called the regular number and they transferred me so i'm not too sure if i was speaking to Special Needs, does anyone have the number?

I don't have any specific advice for you but I want to wish you, your family and your special niece a wonderful vacation together. I've seen some excellent advice offered here for sailing with special needs.

Thank you, that is very sweet! This will be a first cruise for 90% of my family members and hoping everything goes smoothly and they will have a fantastic time. :)

Hi All,

Will be hitting Allure of the Seas in 2 weeks for a family reunion. I currently have a neice that has Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as ADHD. She is 13 but has a lower mental capacity. She seems "normal" but is prone to having some outbreaks of hysteria. I have called Royal regarding their Autism Program however it seems more geared towards younger children. Does anyone know what they offer for teens? I have asked if she can participate in the Kids club for the younger ages (due to her mental capacity) and they said they don't know and will have to ask Adventure Ocean once onboard. But depending on the amount of kids registered for Adventure Ocean, she may not be able to participate.

DS came down with Bronchitis on Oasis of the Seas last year (he just turned 3). The Doctor on board was great, did saline inhaler to get him to loosen up the mucus and provided us antibiotics. Cost was $320 USD but I had Travel Medical Insurance with my Employer so just paid it and they reimbursed me when i submitted the receipts.

I tip the last night in the MDR if I have eaten there a few nights and had the same waitstaff. Usually, though, we eat mostly in the specialty restaurants and in there we tip nightly at the end of the meal.

How much do you tip at the Specialty Restaurants?

Ok thanks!

Hi Folks,

Another tipping/gratuity question here. I know gratuities are either prepaid or added on at the end of your cruise, but I feel strange getting up and leaving after a meal at the MDR/Restaurant. Do you guys leave an additional tip on the table for your waiters? If so, how much would be reasonable? Been on a few cruises in the past but never ate out at the MDR or tried any of the restaurants (had a baby in tow, and couldn't deal with the long wait for food and didn't want to disturb any other patrons with a fussy baby/toddler then) but this time round we have booked many dining options. :)