trajan

When we booked April 2015 we had friends & family so 4th.-6th. cost 256 each. That is 3 adults and 1 child. That was a good deal but we did have to pay full for the first 2 in a 2 BR.Still where else can you take a family for under 6K for a week with food & entertainment :).

So it appears to depend on timing. We have also taken our grandson two other trips for just the port fee, tax, & gratuities. Both times booked about a year out and sailed in Oct.

? Not to not pick but lots of places. Our family of 4 has spent a week at DW for a lot less than that and we didn't cut many corners. I have trouble imagining any vacation where we'd need to spend more than $6k in a week.

No, you'll need to take care of your kids and toddlers! You will be able to turn them over to the staff during the day for awhile! Where are the grandparents?

Grandparents just booked! Little update; as I posted previously we went with the 8 day Freedom and yeah, grandparents are coming too. Should be a blast!

CruisinCanadaFamily and jbarn3, good to hear about your experiences. I still very much want to do the 11 day Serenade cruise some time. Spending time with my kids is usually the best part of any vacation so I think I'd be happy with that cruise but yeah, that one's for a few years down the road. Ty again all!

i booked an inside guarantee and the balcony guarantee price dropped. Got an upgrade for free to the balcony cabin. Just called who i booked with and they did all the work. Now i just need to wait 10 days to try my first balcony!!

Grats, that is terrific! That is the kind of mojo I'd be hoping for but traveling with young kids we decided we needed a more definite choice and turns out my wife is addicted to the suite life. A 2 br family suite came available so we grabbed it. We've been in one before and it was awesome. I'll try a guarantee another time.

Thanks everybody! Answered all my q's and then some. We got some figuring to do. :)

Hi,

We are looking at sailing on Jewel Sept 27. If we booked an Inside Guaranteed today when could we expect to be assigned a cabin? And would it be possible to pay for upgrade after cabin is assigned? Ty for any replies!

Happily surprised to hear that about the deck chairs. Ty for sharing!

This thread has been an interesting read.

 

Royal Caribbean have stated that children are allowed at Chef's Table. If you don't like the policy vote with your dollars and don't book it. They will soon change the policy if they can no longer fill the table.

 

I would not take my kids to Chef's Table, not because I think it should be adults only but because I don't think they would enjoy it and that would mean my husband and I would not have an enjoyable evening. My kids would much prefer to be at AO.

 

We are loyal to Royal. We were loyal to Royal before we had kids and continue to be loyal because it is a family oriented Cruise Line. They are very good at providing a great vacation to parents and children.

 

Our children eat with us at the MDR on MyTime dining. The waiters have always been very kind and entertaining and the kids love eating there.

We take our kids to see the shows at the theatre. We sit at the back in case it isn't appropriate and need to leave.

We take our children into the Diamond Lounge sometimes for breakfast and sometimes during happy hour. We love that Royal provides this perk to their loyal customers. The kids have always been welcome by the concierge and the bar staff. The bar staff always bring a glass of water and a lemonade before being asked.

 

I do find it frustrating that some people complain about kids in the lounges, at specialties restaurants, at their table in the MDR.... If children bother you that much then I would think a family cruise line is not for you. Why do you keep coming back to Royal?

SO EXTREMELY not the same topic.

Oops, my snowflake was showing there. Sorry. :D

Reasonable post. Good question but I think in this case it's more about drawing a line and what some people expect. On RC they expect to see kids at the pool, mdr, etc but not at Chef's Table.

SO EXTREMELY not the same topic.

 

Royal Caribbean DESIGNED chef's table for adults.

 

They only admit children BECAUSE THEY WANT YOUR MONEY.

You convinced me because you used caps. If you hadn't used caps I would not have been nearly so impressed so well done. ;)

Having said that, I have seen young people who were more polite, ate with better table manners and knew how to act at a special dinner than many adults.

True. I've done Chefs Table a few times and would gladly swap a kid for a couple of the adult creeps we've been stuck with.

And imho it's funny reading people's rants about special snowflakes when they themselves are proclaiming their entitlement to determine who should or should not be allowed to partake in the experience.

Overall I agree it's not an experience for kids but if one came along I think I could make do.

I don't understand one thing; if you prepay gratuities and the service sucks do you have any option to change what you paid?

Booked the Freedom. Bringing my nephew so we got a Family Promenade for a crazy low price with the kids sail free offer. Glad I asked here!

Thank you all for the feedback! Yes, meant 2017. Re the ship, will check out the 8 day Freedom of the Seas that leaves a few days earlier.

We actually did Disney World last month and as much as I was paranoid about our baby getting too hot and being out all day she handled it better than any of us. So far she just loves getting out and seeing people. And yeah, we have no problem with one of us taking her out of the dining room for a walk if she gets cranky and otherwise adjusting plans as needed. So far so good. *knock on wood* :)

Hi,

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

Tag and ty for sharing!

Thanks much for such a detailed review!

We plan to cruise in March with our then 6 year old and 15 month old. My wife has been leery of trying Carnival but this sold her. Ty again!

So basically, you're a witch? You're saying you've known you were going to give birth for about 7-9 months now?

 

SORCERY!!

lol I paused, I reread, then I laughed. :)

Math is hard

heh I was terrible in Math in school but I think I got this one right. Baby is actually due in 3 days. :)

And booked!

Thank for the info and reassurances! Will definitely bring an inflatable tub.

spazzyjanet, ohh, that ship looks wonderful! Look for us, we'll be the ones waving. :)

Hello,

We are looking at booking the Freedom for the April 1, 2017 cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, 8 days eastern Caribbean. Our group would be two adults, 1 6 year old and 1 1 year old. Booking early as we are keen on getting one of the two family panoramic cabins on deck 12.

My question is what kind of crowd can we expect on this ship? Departure is two weeks before Easter. Good timing for our 6 year olds spring break but would like to avoid a party heavy crowd. Should we reconsider?

Any other tips appreciated. Ty for any replies!

Thanks much all! Will definitely keep an eye out for it.

Looking at cruising on the Magic April 8, 2017. F2F would be really helpful for our family. Any reason to book it now?

It is appropriate to tip.

 

Keith

Couple cruise lines obviously do not agree with you.

All tipping should reflect a degree of satisfaction with the service offered. Tipping by compulsion, tipping regardless of character or quality, does a disservice to everyone. Some cruise lines will automatically add gratuities for an infant, some won't. Some infants will be entirely served by their parents. Some won't. IMHO what is appropriate is to tip for the infant like you would tip for yourself. Ask the same questions (what service did I get? am I happy with the service provided? Did anyone go above and beyond?), answer for the infant and yourselves as parents, then tip appropriately.

Western on the Getaway would be my choice. More days in port the better. Especially if by chance your child does not like the kids club as not all do. Nassau and St Thomas are not my favorites. Western will be more exotic. Harvest Cay is still a bit of a mystery as it doesn't open until next year but sounds like for a family it should be fun and easy. Western looks slightly cheaper too.

I would not give a tip, at least a full one, for an infant. Looking back we fed our infant, we cleaned up after him. No staffer even served him a meal. We took care of his bedding. I don't think staff did anything particularly for our infant. Which was fine. Cruise went well.

And note from Carnival's website:

"Guests less than two years of age are not required to extend gratuities."

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1123/~/service-gratuities-(tips)

For Norwegian it's the same.

"A service charge (currently US $ 12,95 p.p./day in the following categories: Studio, Inside, Oceanview, Balcony & Mini Suite; US $ 14,95 p.p./day in Suites & The Haven Suites) will be payable, at your discretion (for guests 3 years and older)."

http://www.ncl.co.uk/helpful-information/faqs/#service-charge

Ty all who have shared info. Has helped a lot.

After careful consideration I just can't go with one of these. I have this gut feeling that for us Family Harbor would be a disaster. The few times I've cruised and been on a bottom deck I hated it. The Family Harbor Lounge sounds interesting but the details make it sound like the principle attraction for kids will be staring at tv's. I think we'd all much rather have easy access to outside play areas.

Looking forward to hearing what the first reviews are like.