HeyNowMama1315

Thank you so much for this well-thought-out post. We are taking out first Disney cruise in December. We just booked it last minute as well, and are coming from the other coast of Florida. 

Could you tell me if they do any theme nights so we can pack/dress accordingly? Is there a fancy night/pirate night/ etc? If there is, where can we find the information? Is it on the app? I'd also love to hear what you all enjoyed on the Castaway Cay port. Since we are going mid-december, I'm not sure we will be swimming much (Florida natives here). Any ideas of things to do that day would be great as well.

Our children are 8 and 6. They've been on 2 Carnival cruises with us. This Disney is a first for all of us. If there is anything you can think of that we shouldn't miss, or that a newbie may not know, we would love to hear some recommendations. 

Thanks!

We are all about the water slides, pools, and refreshing drinks! If the DJ has some music pumping too, even better... then of course there has to be a nap before dinner and evening activities. 

Hi Babynan! She may bring her hair devices 🙂 Some people say they may not always have luck with their dryer working that they brought on board, so she may have to use the room one if that is the case. However, curling iron/straightener is absolutely fine. (And FYI: "flat iron" is another name for straightener... not the thing you iron clothes with... that's just an iron and those are forbidden. 😉 )

18 hours ago, naxer said:

I don't have a need to know where there are rules and regulations about such things.  I was always taught that when it comes to visiting places of natural beauty, it's best to try to leave things as I found them, and take away memories and pictures.  

“Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.”

When we went onParadise last year. They played movies in the aft lounge but we never managed to make them. Always something more fun for us going on.  But they were playing some. 

I can’t speak to the other allergies, but we are a gluten free (celiac) family and I’ll tell you Carnival has gone way above and beyond to accommodate us. At dinner each night they will show you the following night’s menu so you can make safe choices and they can prepare safe food without having to wait very long each night. 

Did they stay between the hours of 10pm and 1am at any time?

Thank you for posting this. My husband and I just agreed not to get it for our upcoming 8 day sailing. With 4 ports and at around $1000 for the two of us we just don't believe we can make it worth it. We are going to put a few gift cards on our account, order drinks as we want and at the end, see how much we spend and confirm if we made the right choice. 

I'm not going to lie, yall have me looking up cruises on the Magic right now. Everyone seems to love her! I have a feeling Horizon will be my favorite ship (so far) of the very few I've been on. I'll report back in a month 😉

We get on the ship the day you get off! Enjoy your time! It's around the corner now. We are counting down eagerly 🙂

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

Sometimes the security lines at Customs aren't so short.  They have a limited area, and often departees are held on the upper levels until space below frees up.

If USCBP has a staff shortage, it could take an hour or so to leave the ship.  No Global Entry dedicated line, at least not by last fall.  Not my fav port, although I did like the valet parking.

 

If the OP has an early flight, walkoff luggage and valet park is the best way to speed them thru Customs, then the taxi/Uber ride to the airport is 30 minutes tops.

THIS exactly! We are Tampa area natives and can drive to the port. But it took us FOR.FRICKEN.EVER. to get through customs. We stood in a zig zag slooooooow moving line for well over an hour with all our bags and two young kids. 

20 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

don't know what to tell you besides - make the 6 yo walk. DS stopped using a stroller at 14 months when he discovered walking and running.

He started cruising at 3, still taking naps, but never needed to use a stroller or for us to carry him back to the ship after a long, exhausting day of fun at the beach. No, he is not hyper, just the opposite, a very laid back kid.

He too was 49/55# at 6. Using a stroller with a regular (not a low-tone special needs) kid seems a bit extra to me personally. Trust me, a typical 6 yo child has a lot more energy than his parent in 30-50s. No stroller - no problem. Sorry, kiddo, if my 70 yo mom with disabilities can swim all day with flippers and then walk back to the ship without using a wheelchair, so can you.

There’s so much I want to say in response to this. But instead I’ll just say... if you start with “I don’t know what to tell you...” perhaps just not responding at all would do. 

10 hours ago, Baletrina said:

A little harsh... A lot of unsolicited advice on here moms! 🙄

 

We have a 3 and 5 year old. The girls are almost done with strollers but on long travel days they are a must. We have used 2 options. First is a Joovy umbrella stroller with an universal boogie board attached to it. Depending on who is more tired they are happy to trade riding standing or sitting. The second option we use is a Joovy Caboose(essentially a Sit N’ Stand) that I bought used for $40 on Craigslist when the boogie board got broken on an airplane. I didn’t want to fork over a few hundred for a new stroller but knew I needed one for the trip. Secondhand is a great option in that case. I hope that helps! 

 

 

Thank you for your response! I will certainly be looking in second hand places!

7 hours ago, Albinroo said:

 We also have a 6 year old, who magically loses his energy whenever there's a boring walk ahead of him but if we motivate him by offering a treat or making it a competition he usually starts walking or even running! There is a LOT of energy in that little body, but you know your own child so if that would not work for you, have you considered a buggy board or similar for your umbrella stroller? Then he can stand on that and rest? Of course, the are not ideal for umbrella strollers but should at least be simpler than having two strollers.

Thanks. I’d rather pack an extra stroller and push our bags in it, than not have it and have to carry a nearly 50lb kid around hahaha 

6 hours ago, horsegal said:

We have a delta ultimate convince stroller (got it specifically for a cruise), its an umbrella stroller but much taller, the seat also reclines. My oldest is only 3.5 but he is tall and still has room, he gets jealous sometimes of little brother using it. 

I just looked it up. It looks like it holds up to 45lbs! This is a great option. Thank you! 

Hi cruising families!

We will be sailing in September. We have a "big kid" 6 year old boy who would never typically agree to sitting in a stroller, but I know for a fact days in the sun and swimming will exhaust him. He will be too tired at the end of a day on shore to walk back to the ship, down the pier etc. We also have a new 4 year old who regularly still takes naps, and does use a stroller. Last year when we cruised we took 2 cheap little umbrella strollers, but my son has seriously outgrown his now. I'd love some advice. Should I look for a double umbrella stroller? Or just a new stroller for my son that he could still fit in? 

For the record we have a double stroller that we can use but its a big full size stroller and will take up way too much space (even folded) in our cabin on the ship.

I'm at a loss here. I don't want to invest in an expensive stroller that we will seldom (if ever besides the cruise) use.

Thanks in advance

PS- my son is 49" tall and around 46lbs  (and if it matters, my daughter is 38" tall and 30lb)

We were in Cozumel in early September last year. We had a quick and refreshing afternoon rain sprinkling. We were already swimming, so it didn't bother us one bit. It quickly cleared up and was a perfectly hot and sunny beach day.

We sailed our Honeymoon cruise out of San Juan. We had no choice but to fly in the morning of embarkation, because well, we were getting married the day before. It was a very early morning, very early flight, hectic and chaotic. But we made the ship in plenty of time. I wouldn't repeat that in the future though, if I had a choice. It didn't feel like a nice relaxing start to our honeymoon and married life. It felt rushed and stressed and tiring. 

2 minutes ago, desiree741 said:

How do you earn points?

You just click through some quizzes and articles. You can get 0/10 correct and they still give you the points. 5000 points buys you the $500 gc for $450 (plus a bit of change for tax)

We have the same itinerary in September! I'm also curious what you did in the ports, specifically Curacao. 

16 minutes ago, Erik101 said:

Here’s what I want to know: what are the advantages of purchasing Carnival gift cards through AARP as opposed to going to a Target, Walmart or Bed Bath & Beyond brick and mortar store and buying the cards from their gift card rack? 

 

Someone school me in as I’d like to know if AARP is an advantageous option for my parents. 

We saved about $300 by getting them from AARP- you don't have to be an AARP member either. Anyone can go online and earn points toward the discount. 

Also, if you have a target red card, you can use that to buy the card from target at a 5% discount if you want one from a brick and mortar.

We just got a whole bunch of cards and they were physically mailed to our home. Just FYI, the package had to be signed for due to the value of the cards we ordered.

9 minutes ago, sjnc said:

 

Thank you so much, I can hardly wait. This makes it much easier to plan

My pleasure! I know its intimidating to have to worry about having safe foods to eat. We work with a TA and she told us that in her experience Carnival is at the top when it comes to dietary needs. We never had an issue at all. (and for the record: the chocolate melting cake is gf! indulge daily 😉

Hi! My two children and I are gluten free. We cruised in September last year and will cruise again this year in September. Carnival is AWESOME when it comes to food sensitivities/allergies. At GUys Burgers you can ask for a gluten free hamburger bun. They will even fry your fries in a special fryer without cross contamination. There is a GF pizza crust option. There is gluten free bread at the deli, and they will give you the gf bread with butter at the MDR if you tell them about your need. There is also a GF pasta option in the MDR. Ask your server to see the menu for the next day, and you can place your order a day in advance, so you don't need to wait too long each evening.