luvsviola

Carnival has their family cabins which sleep 5 on their Dream class ships, and on the Fantasy class.  We love the Carnival Magic.  We've also done the Grand Suite in Fantasy class that has a king bed, a queen bed, and a twin roll-away.

My daughters wear sun dresses sometimes, or just a pair of black pants and a shirt normal nights.  On formal night they dress up a bit more.  We are not a fancy family.

IMO, it is worth it. I like having our room ready when we get on. On the Dream, the guest services line is always pretty long, but there is a special window for FTTF, so several times I didn't wait at all.

Priority debarkation is awesome too.

Priority tender is a bonus.

I travel with 3 elementary age children, so we always get it.

Cheers--for our last cruise it was $700. We don't drink $700 worth.

Sailing up the Mississippi takes a really long time, so you pay tax on drinks for much longer. Coming home, we were back in US waters by the end of dinner.

I also preferred the mix of people from PC. The NOLA cruise we took definitely had a rougher crowd than I prefer around my elementary school age kids...there was a huge group that was the Coonass cruise who were ridiculously loud and crude, and just a lot more cursing and drunk people than we experienced out of PC.

Sailing up the Mississippi takes a really long time, so you pay tax on drinks for much longer. Coming home, we were back in US waters by the end of dinner.

I also preferred the mix of people from PC. The NOLA cruise we took definitely had a rougher crowd than I prefer around my elementary school age kids...there was a huge group that was the Coonass cruise who were ridiculously loud and crude, and just a lot more cursing and drunk people than we experienced out of PC.

Ship time never changes from departure to arriving back in the US.

Dream for Mr Sanchos!!!

Also, for the older child...

When we traveled with our kids several times, we asked for the kids meals with our appetizers. Then, at 7:00 when the kids club opens back up, one of us would take the kiddos up to the kids club so they could run around. Usually, it ended up being in between appetizers and entrees for us.

On Dream in March, it was just hubby and I, and 2 nights we waited over 30 minutes for a table. With a group that big, I'd do the assigned time.

Plus, lets be honest, trying to get that many people together is going to be rough. If you have an assigned time, it will make coordinating easier.

Yup. Have taken on lots of meds for my special needs kiddo--no one cares.

I had it on the Dream in March and it was painfully slow. Painful!!! But my kids were at home with my mom, and I needed a way for her to get in touch with us that wasn't $9 a minute for the emergency line.

We just pick excursions we can walk or have boat transportation. 3 carseats is a lot but I won't travel without them.

We did Victor Bodden Fun N Sun and enjoyed it.

I honestly don't know why the muster drill is such a big deal? We've been cruising for 6 or 7 years now and they're pretty much uneventful. We go to the assigned muster stations, wait around until they are over, and fight the crowds back to the elevators. No big deal.

That.

One thing I learned taking a kiddo who was still using baby wipes and pull ups----take plastic bags. The trash cans do not have bags in them. So we ended up having to put icky wipes and pullups in the trash with no bag. I felt awful for the room steward and started sitting them on a towel. Having to do it over, I would have brought a bunch of plastic bags with me to put the wipes in.

There was ONE tour listed for my March 2017 trip on Magic, but now its gone. :(

Sadly, it was not FTTF.

We've done Fascination and Dream, and I like them for different things.

Fascination is great because it is small, easy to navigate, and lines aren't as long. But the kids club is small, the water slides are small, and there is only one (super crowded) pool. There are usually 15 or fewer kids in the kids club at any given time. For my special needs spectrum son, it is great. For my older daughter...she gets bored.

Dream has better water slides, bigger kids club, steak house, more deck space in the shade, and more entertainment. But more crowds and longer lines in EVERYTHING you want to do.

I would book either one again (and have already booked Dream). But there were a few areas I think they can improve.

Not sure it is an option, but the Dream/Magic/Breeze cabins on Carnival fit 5 and are very reasonably priced. They have a tub (nice for little kids) in one of the bathrooms in there. It is called a Deluxe Ocean View room. The couch becomes the 5th bed.

http://cruisediva.net/Carnival_dream_deluxe_pullm.jpg

https://mycruisestories.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/rooms-5-person-1393.jpg?w=648

The 2 parent beds can be pushed together to make a king.

For our Oct 15, 2017 sailing on the Carnival Dream, it was 1865 plus taxes total for all 5 of us.

We got off Dream on Easter morning, and they did not acknowledge it at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Cot-Deluxe-Sleeping-Navy/dp/B009FRKXKG/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1459408521&sr=8-2&keywords=cot+toddler

We took this cot with us when my youngest was 2/3 and my middle was 4/5 so he couldn't go on the bunk. It folds up like a bag chair during the day. Worked great!

My kids are currently 9, 7, and 5. They have been on 4 cruises.

Questions:

1. What hours would a 3 year old typically go to the club?

My kids would go for a few hours in the morning, and then we would get them for lunch and the water slides. At dinner, some nights they ate in with the kids club, and some nights we would order their kids meals with our appetizers, then one parent would run them up at 7 when the club opened back up and that way we could finish our a leisurely dinner in peace. We would go pick them up about 9:30

2. If they only go after dinner, are they going to feel like they are missing out on fun earlier in the day with other kids?

We usually look at the schedule and see what things look fun to the kids, and go from there.

3. Do kids keep their bed times on cruises or do they tend to stay up later?

We completely ignore bedtimes on the ship, though we also ignore them during school breaks anyway. A last ice cream has been known to happen at 11 some nights.

4. Would you leave your kids in the club at Grand Cayman just to tender in and snorkel at Eden Rock, which is right at the port?

I do not feel comfortable leaving my kids on the ship. We always take them with us.

5. Do little kids actually like going to the clubs, or are they more desirable (in general) to older children?

My kids loved the kids club once they were there. The youngest had tears at drop off, but usually was fine 10 minutes later (they have a tv outside you can look at to check on your kiddo). Even at 2, my little one liked the toys in there, and they did cute activities.

We were on it last week.

1) The packs of children are super annoying. Mine are 9, 7 and 5, and while I know we are conservative, I was amazed at the number of 9-11 year olds running around the ship (literally RUNNING) with no adult supervision. WTH. I don't even let my daughter wait at the bus stop by herself, let alone run around a ship full of drunk strangers.

2) The food was way better on our March 2016 trip than it was in April of 2014. Steaks were moist and juicy, food was the proper temperature. Obviously in the last 2 years there has been a change in management for the better. The hummus has vastly improved at Tandoor. Yum!!!

3) Entertainment was way way way better than 2014 in terms of talent. Singers were good, dancers were good, and the band was excellent. I'm a music teacher, and in 2014, we walked out of the shows most nights. It is much better now.

4) Steakhouse--I was underwhelmed with the steakhouse this trip. We've eaten there before and had the wow factor. It was OK, but not $70 plus a tip amazing. We won't do it again. There were several families in there with kids being kids, and I can have slow service with loud kids in the dining room for free.

5) Bottomless Bubbles--the bar tenders take FOREVER to get you sodas. I swear they wait on every alcohol customer first. From the time I would get to the bar to the time I would leave having signed my slip (which is stupid since I have the sticker on my card to make me have to sign a ticket) could be 15-20 minutes. My drink was always long gone before I got the ticket to sign it. In the dining room, I was lucky if I got two cups of Coke a night. The waiter came around at the beginning and never checks back unless you flag someone down. Very annoying. I for sure did not get my money's worth out of the Bubbles program.

6) Comedy Club--fantastic. Loved it. Wish it was bigger because some shows we couldn't get a seat when we showed up 10 minutes before showtime. I would love if they would host Punchliners in the main theater instead.

7) Room steward--only saw him 3 times the whole cruise. Never saw the paper picking what I wanted. Finally left him a note to get robes and more than 2 bath towels. They should at least leave 3 in there--a girl needs a hair towel and a body towel! Was not overly impressed--we've had some great ones before and this one didn't even come introduce himself at all on embarkation day. We didn't see him til the evening of the first sea day.

8) Sharks and Rays Snorkel/Caye Caulker excursion through Carnival in Belize--AMAZING. Caye Caulker was so cool! Will definitely do this one again.

They expect kids to tell them. We always sent my daughter in a pull up at that age. She was in underpants the rest of the time.

Lobster was substantially smaller for the surf/turf. I hate lobster. So...

Hubby ordered the lobster. I ordered a big steak. We shared. Worked for us.

Just off the Dream last Sunday- 3 days ago. Steward introduced himself (Jono, Cove balcony 2248) and asked me if I wanted 'morning or evening'. I said I'd like both. He replied "Miss, you may not know, I used to have 26 cabins to take care of and now I have 35. I cannot do everyone." As I commiserated with him about the amount of work, he said this would probably be his last contract with Carnival...

 

Continued to press him a bit for 'both' and he said OK- grudgingly. Did get service 2X a day but didn't get ice a couple of days. Sigh.

 

So you CAN get service but expect to be 'shamed' into it.

 

I don't think John Heald knows about that part...

 

It was obvious which cabins had 'morning only' service at about 6pm- those cabins got the next day's Funtimes put in their mailboxes. Looked like 35-40% had chosen 'morning only'.

Bummer!!! I have 2252 this week. I really want both! I like dry towels in the evening.