kyboymom

Sometimes they get back with you the same day if not within 48 hours I have always heard something.  I just submitted as well since our's had dropped $90.

We will be on this Cruise in August and are very excited about it.  I really enjoyed your review and pics.  I had been looking at the beach at Mahogany Bay.  I had read where you could take the chair lift to it or just do an easy walk, which is what we would do.  Is there a cost for beach access?  I thought I had read there was a cost for the cabanna's (covered chairs) but couldn't find if there was a cost for just using the beach and the uncanopied chairs. 

Thanks

We did this last year as well.  I had a notarized letter from the parents stating that my husband and I were allowed to take them out of the Country and even listed the different Ports of Call we were visiting.  It also stated that we had permission to seek Medical attention if necessary.  I was never asked for this but I always kept it with me when we were boarding the ship on the first day and throughout the cruise when we were getting off and on at the different ports.  I think it's best to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  

When we cruised with our toddler I brought sand buckets and dipped water out of the pool and sat in front of him on the pool deck so he could at least splash his toys around in it (since kiddie pools are restricted).  

I would suggest over packing the toddler clothes, I felt like I did over pack for him but by the end of the cruise I was running low on clothes.  

Definitely take your stroller if you are taking an umbrella one I would make sure that it does have a cover over the top.  Otherwise when you are out on port days or on the Lido deck the little one can get burnt and it's hard for them to rest of course with the sun beaming down on them.  

I agree that Carnival doesn't do a good job with having really anything for the kids under 2.  My little one did enjoy the play time that's available to the kids under 2 in the kids camp before it opens for the bigger kids.  

There's plenty of food options and you can always grab extra bananas at breakfast for snack later that day or small boxes of cereal that are always handy throughout the day for them to snack on.  

To be honest it was a little rough cruising with the toddler but I'm glad we did b/c now he's 5 and we have his 4th cruise booked and he is just as excited as the rest of the family.  

Enjoy!

Just booked us on the Carnival Glory!  I'm trying to figure out if there is a Mongolian Wok on it?  I didn't see it listed as one of the dinning options on Carnival's website for this ship.  However, I was watching a tour from 2018 and they were talking about the Mongolian Wok on the Glory.  So just wanted confirmation from someone as to which is correct?

Progresso...It's the only Port that' I've visited so far that I felt like a black van could roll up and throw me and my family in the back of and we would never been seen or heard from again.  To sketchy...

We have had 4 carnival cruises and I wad thinking about considering RC for our next cruise... Do you feel like RC has as many inclusive amenities/food as Carnival..we don't drink or do dining thats not inclusive..so those not included upgrades dont really appeal to us.

We don't drink so the Bar's aren't important to us.  We have a 4yo and 13yo so we enjoy the family activites as well.  I don't spend much time in the Serenity area either since I need to be accessible to my kiddo's, unless they are in kids camp.  We do enjoy Guy's Burgers it's one of the family faves. So thanks I can mark the Miracle off of the list.

Thanks for all of the feedback lots of good information.  

We have done 4 cruises on 4 different Fantasy class ships.  There are several things that I enjoy about the Fantasy class.  One being the price!  I also like that there are no lines for food or activities and the boat doesn't seem crowded.  We just got back from our 4th trip and the husband and I were both in agreement we think we are ready to upgrade to a different class on the next trip.  I know there's a lot of cruisers that look down their nose at the Fantasy class so I'm not looking for feedback from those negative Nancy's.  I know that a bigger ship is bigger prices but also bigger lines.  Can you share your experiences with the different class ships and what you enjoy about them.  Also how are the lines on those ships for food/activities?  When we were recently in Grand Turk the Horizon was in port the same day.  When we were getting back on the ship we were stunned at the line there was to get back on the Horizon.  There was a line from the boat all the way to the Duty Free store entrance (hundreds of people in line).  I have never seen such a line to get back on the ship.  Is this common for the bigger ships?  What are your recommendations for another affordable class but bigger than the Fantasy? We are on the conservative side when it comes to spending $ so I don't care about the things that cost extra on the ships we only do what's included so those attractions aren't a draw for us. What are your experiences with the lines on different ships?

We just got back from the Elation 2 weeks ago.  Yes there is a club for you to shake your groove thang 🙂  They also have deck parties with a DJ that are fun as well at night.  The Cruise Director is really fun and full of energy and his 80's parties are super fun as well!

We took a family friends child with us on our last cruise.  We had the parents write a letter giving us consent to take him out of Country and to give Medical Care if needed.  We were never asked for these letters but it made me feel more comfortable having them in case we were asked for further documentation.

We will be at Amber Cove in about a month as well.  From my understanding the pools, lazy river is all included.  It's the zip lining that's extra is that correct? Were there places to eat around the pool area as well?  We aren't planning an excursion either we are just planning on enjoying what's there with the pool and lazy river.

Our youngest went on his first cruise with us when he was 2.  I didn't realize at the time how little he had been exposed to so there were lots of obstacles for us.  We live in a very small town so there is really only an elevator at the Hospital...which he had never been on.  So he completely freaked out when we took him on the elevator for the first time.  When we did an excursion in Mexico there was of course no car seat for him so he freaked out about that.  He had never just ridden buckled in a seat so he felt very uneasy of course.  I almost didn't pack enough outfits.  I thought I had plenty but as you know with toddlers everything they eat get's on them so he needed up to 3 changes of clothes per day.  I would recommend taking your umbrella stroller for the 2yo b/c they tire out pretty easily.  I did take a tablet with us which had movies downloaded on it so they was a saving grace when we were in the room trying to get dressed and having down time.  He wouldn't have any part of the Kids Camp at 2. I think that was also due to lack of exposure..lol..He had only stayed with Grandparents before and never in a day care setting so that was new for him as well.  Now fast forward to last year and he went on his second cruise when he was 3 almost 4 and he absolutely loved it.  He loved the kids camps, remembered the elevators and all that stuff was fun to him now.  We are heading out on another in a month so he is so excited.  He wakes up saying "Mom let's talk about vacation"...lol...So the first one was rough but they just keep getting easier the older they get.  Your 4yo should love it..your 2yo might stay at the kids camp since the sibling will be there. I forgot his toy bag in the car on our last cruise but we did manage fine without it since he loved spending most of his time at kids camp!  

We are just back from the Fantasy.  I don't have the menu's but I can try and answer specific questions if you have them.  I can tell you each night Salmon filet, Chicken, Pork Chop and Flat Iron steak was available.  Then the appetizers/main entrees changed throughout the week as well. 

1 day left

13 days

Pay in advance to avoid lines. You pull in, porters help you unload. Then you drive up the ramp and find a parking spot.

 

Once you find a spot, get rest of your stuff and go get in line to go through check-in.

 

If you don't prepay, you have to get in this LONG line and pay a machine. When you prepay online have the tag of the car you are going in. They check the tags against a spreadsheet of people who paid, if you don't pay. Your car gets fined or towed.

Thanks so much for this helpful info! I see you have been on the Fantasy before. This is our first time out of Mobile and on the Fantasy. Any tips you may have for the Fantasy that I should know?

I've sailed on the Fantasy twice in the last two years, and even though it is the oldest in the fleet, it is still one of my favorites, and here is why:

 

1. Uncrowded - No, the Fantasy class ships don't have as many fancy features, lounges, water parks, specialty dining restaurants, etc. as the newer ships, but they also don't have nearly as many guests on board and the space ratio per guest is higher on the Fantasy ships than on any of the newer classes. This means minimal waits at the Lido restaurant and easy-to-find seats for shows or even on deck during the day.

 

2. Mobile - The Port of Mobile may be the easiest port I've ever been to in terms of parking, embarkation, and debarkation, and that says a lot. I've sailed out of Baltimore, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston on three different cruise lines, and Mobile would be my first choice if I'm driving rather than flying to the port.

 

3. The People - The Mobile-based cruises tend to draw heavily from the local area, being Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, and North Florida, and while I'm not personally from that area, I find the other guests onboard to be much friendlier and more laid back than on some of the other cruises.

We are leaving out of Mobile on Oct 20, this will be our first time out of this Port. Do you have any recommendations on the parking. We are going to Park at the Port parking structure. From what I have read it looks like when we get there they will take our luggage from our vehicles then we will park in the structure, is this correct? We have an 11:30 check in time so I was trying to decide how early we need to get to the Port to park, unload, etc.

Thanks for the input. In our school district he will be excused regardless of whether the Educational Enhancement form is approved. If the form is approved than the days we are gone he will not be counted absent from school so that's the purpose of us completing the form and getting it approved. Since I wrote the original post I spoke with some Principals in the school district and they said to not list that we are cruising to just list the locations that we are going and the activities that would relate to History, the Arts, etc. So that's what I'm going to do talk about the Cuisine and the Mayan ruins. Our district also doesn't require any reports to be written so the kids don't have to worry about that either.

We have an upcoming family Cruise in October. This will be the first time we are taking the kids out of school for a cruise. Our School System has an Education Enhancement Opportunity Form that can be submitted. Wanting to see if anyone has any prior experience with these forms. The form states that "the proposed activity must be directly related to one of the core curriculum subjects of English, Science, Math, Social Studies, Foreign Language and/or the Arts. Just curious if anyone has submitted these kind of forms before and what specifics you used about the Cruise to relate it to the core curriculum.

We cruised with our 2.5yo last year and I wasn't prepared for how exhausting that vacay would be.. Wished we would have waited another year..There's just no that much activity for that age group..yes the have the camps but mine wouldn't stay at them..the pool was too overcrowded for him to enjoy and they are too small for water slides..theres a Dr Deus breakfast and parade but that's about it..we are cruising again next month and he will be turning 4 on the cruise so it will be a much better experience for us all this time.

Take a carriage ride

I have sailed her before and will be on her again next week. Love sailing out of Mobile. Will give you current updates when I get back. What part of Bama are you from?

Just curious if you park at the Mobile Port or if you park off site? We are sailing out of Mobile and that will be our first cruise from that Port. I have not had any luck finding any off site parking.

Thanks for the info I will check into that.