kctwinmommy

It looks like a great time! We're doing a similar cruise this summer. So I'm wondering, are these the only stops this ship had? Was it a shorter cruise?! I'm just glad to get some ideas on 2 of the stops at least. We already booked a tour to Omaha Beach and other stops through RCI. But in Bruges we're thinking of just going our own. And getting chocolate for sure!!

We have run into the same problem with our teenage girls, and I can tell you that Carnival and Norwegian are VERY strict with this policy. I have begged and pleaded, but they will not allow them to go into each other's club unless they are of the same age. It wasn't much of a problem until our children started high school. Last year, for example, I had one daughter who had just turned 15 and her friend was turning 15 the week after our cruise. They would not allow my daughter to go into the 12-14 club and they would not allow her friend to go into the 15-17 club even though they were in the same grade.

Well, I will disagree with Carnival being VERY strict on this policy. I will say, that in the 3 cruises we've been on in just the past year, every time it was different. It will depend on the camp director, the number of kids in each camp, and the reason. On the summer cruise in Alaska, it was packed with kids. However, there was a kid who was just shy of 15 and had become connected with some of the kids in the O2 club, so after the 2nd or 3rd day, they moved him up. The other 2 cruises were in November, before the Thanksgiving holiday, so it wasn't as busy with kids. The most recent one didn't seem to have any changes, but the one we did in 2015 they allowed an 11 year old sibling to join the Circle C kids.

So don't give up on anything yet. Ask when you get on board and see what the options are. :)

Please someone tell this nice lady that 1 adult is not enough supervision This ship is the size of a city and the most well behaved child can get into trouble. Just remember Natalie Holloway. It does happen. Not often but it could happen. I'd have 1 or 2 aduldts at least

I don't believe she ever said it was just 1 adult and 3 teens. She said a room for 2 and a room for 3 across the hall. And I would say even if it was 1 adult and the 3 teens, she knows them best. There are plenty of teenagers that are responsible and can handle themselves and there are 30 year old people who can't. My child has been on 3 cruises in the past year and never got in trouble. Our friends son has Platinum status and never has been in trouble either. Both of them are good kids, not perfect, but they're good kids.

I was more curious about if they knew how to handle the rare situation of it coming loose or out, or if they would freak out if they saw it while changing him, etc...some people don't even want to hold him due to the tube, so I wouldn't want to leave him with people who weren't comfortable. Hope that makes sense. I also would never leave him for more than a very, very short span if I were to at all...just wondering what all my options are, and god forbid, if something happened, if they would have a clue how to feed him. Thanks again for your replies.

I think it's great that you're asking now and making those informed decisions. We had a daughter (she passed away almost 4 years ago) who had a trach and was on a ventilator. We never took her on a cruise, that would be too much for her. But we did do a lot of local things when she was alive and healthier. We went to museums, the zoo, festivals, etc... And we did do Disney World for her Make-a-Wish trip, which was amazing. I just wanted to say I applaud parents who are willing to do as much as they can with their child(ren) who may have some special needs. At her wake, we had about 8-9 photo boards filled with pictures from all the things we'd done and people were truly shocked at just how much we had fit into her short 9 years. I hope it can work out for you and you get to go and enjoy it! (yn)

The last time we went, on the Magic, it was like $1.80/soda. And we did not have the Bottomless Bubbles package like I did in the past. I brought a 12-pack of Pepsi on board this time. But I have had BB in the past. I figured it out and if I got about 4 sodas/day, it covered the cost of the BB package. And when I do have it, I often get at least 4/day. When I'm sitting out by the pool, if it gets warm, I just go get another one. As far as getting one for dinner, I always stop in the bar on the way to dinner to get a soda since sometimes the drink waitstaff is busy and it can take a little time. That way I have one soda to start with and can order another one later at dinner. I don't drink alcohol at all, so I want to have soda available. I also don't drink iced tea or lemonade.

Thanks-figure if we can tolerate Michigan winters Alaska shouldn't be a problem-was it warm on the ship at night? I am thinking of some dressy sleeveless tops with capris (taking a sweater as well just in case)

I still found it cool overall, even on the ship. I'm sure I never wore a short sleeve top of any kind without a sweater over it. And then I often went back after dinner and put my sweatshirt on.

We are heading to Alaska on the Legend in May-we have an early private excursion in Juneau-does the ship dock there or tender. Just don't want to miss our excursion. Thanks

The ship docked right there.

Cheapest for a couple is by bus at around £23 pp

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

You need to know your Heathrow terminal - the bus starts at Heathrow central bus station in the T1/2/3 complex (no more than a ten minute walk from any of those terminal) and calls at T5 and T4, which are remote from the main complex.

Your destination is Southampton coach station, walkable to City cruise terminal & no more than a £10 taxi fare to any other cruise terminal.

You're strongly recommended to book, the service isn't frequent. Allow about 90 minutes for usual airport formalities from touch-down to arrivals hall.

From airports only, your ticket can be used for a later bus, because its acknowledged that delays aren't in the control of the passenger.

Thanks for this info! I was going to be asking this question in the upcoming months, but it's good to know this now. Do you know how I can find out what terminal we'd be flying into? That's not something I usually pay attention to, since I don't normally need to know what terminal I'm landing at. We're flying United in from the States.

And you said the coach station is near the cruise terminal, which is near our Holiday Inn hotel, so hopefully we can just walk it to there from the bus station.

There should be a Freedom class ship in Europe, they have many of the features of the bigger ships (flow rider, H2O zone, ice rink) If you sail from Southampton from mid July to end August there will be many children as it is UK summer holiday.

Yep! That's what we're doing this summer. We're on the Independence out of Southampton. I believe our 8-night cruise is the only one of that kind though. I assume the ship is doing other cruises before and after that. But the 8-night cruise is only sailing once.

And to the OP I can tell you what it's like after we get back! LOL!

I'm sure you'll see that there's several options. We've done like many others and just set times and locations to meet up at. Our 13 year old was always back at the cabin at a certain time to get ready for dinner. Lunch he could do on his own though. This is only for sea days, obviously on port days we're doing things off the ship. We've only cruised Carnival up until now, so I can't speak to any of the technology available on RCI. We didn't use anything on Carnival though. My teenager doesn't have a phone (I know, the horrors! :eek: LOL!). You just need to set the ground rules before you board and then when you get on the ship make sure your child knows their way around. My son knew pretty much where to find us on the ship if we weren't in the room.

It'll be up to the youth program director. They make exceptions all of the time even though their policy says differently.

I was going to say the same thing. There are often exceptions made! I'm sure they put that on their page to try and discourage it. But every cruise we've been on there has been a kid or two moved in or out of the Circle C club my son has been in. It will all depend on the capacity of the club and how many kids are enrolled.

Did you have a cruise pack list? We live in Michigan so used to layer/cold weather. Just wondered what you did for dinners-can you still wear capris/tops with sandals, etc or do you need warmer clothes. Thanks

We're from Chicago, so we're the same as you. I get cold easily though, whereas my teenage son doesn't. So when I had on 3 layers, he had 2! LOL! Pretty much every excursion I had on 3 layers and hiking boots. I had a long sleeve t-shirt, then a heavy sweatshirt, and then my jacket. I bought one on the ship since I didn't pack a heavy one, just a decent rain jacket. The one I bought has a fleece inside with a waterproof outside. Definitely something I've worn again since being home.

For dinner I often wore long pants, jeans, or a long skirt and then a long sleeve top with a sweater jacket or cardigan. I will say that in general, we feel people are less dressy on the Alaska cruise than a Caribbean one. I think it's because people have so much stuff already packed, that they just don't want to get all dressy. I mean, really, really, NOT dressed up people were there on formal nights. During a Caribbean, we see maybe a handful of people still in tee's. I did bring some sandals and carpis with, but barely wore them.

We did Alaska last summer, although it was on the Legend. I have the cruise trip report in my signature, as well as our 4 day pre-cruise stay in Seattle.

Allowances are only at the discretion of Camp Counselors but I would doubt the 18 yrs old will be permitted since other parents would be concerned.

I was going to say the same thing. I don't believe they allow an 18 year old to join the O2 kids. But they will allow a 14 year old to join the O2 kids. On our last cruise, there was a 14 year old kid in the Circle C group my son was in and he had made some connections with a group of kids in O2, so they let him join them instead. And same thing with the younger kids. They have allowed 11 year old kids to join the Circle C kids on another cruise my son was on.

I would imagine for legal requirements and to protect themselves, they do enforce it. All it takes is for an exception to be made, and an accident to happen, followed by a frivolous lawsuit, to end that real quick.

This will probably get moved to the Florida board, but to answer you're question, we've used Cocoa Beach Shuttle for the past 10 years. You will have to wait for your shuttle, sometimes 5 minutes, the most was about 20 minutes. But we're not in that big of a hurry. We've always had courteous and safe drivers. They will often have 2-3 stops, so you may be first or last, depending on where you're going. We always stay at the Radisson at the Port and usually are first or second.

Thank you Cindy, for your prompt reply. The size is not a problem. I love the spirit class ships. We have been on the other three, Spirit, Pride and Miracle. I just want my brother to be as awed by cruising as we are. Now I will need to take a look at that review and see if it is one of the ones I read. Of all of the things that you did, what one thing would you do again, even if it cost twice as much? Then what one thing did you do that you would definitely not spend your money on again.

Susan

Then yes, you'll be fine with it. It wasn't dirty feeling at all! I still would say it has an older feeling, only because we've been on the bigger ships, which are newer. But it's nothing to worry about.

As far as what we would do again - Skagway & Juneau for sure, but if I had to pick one, then Juneau. We did the helicopter on Mendenhall. I have videos in my review as well. It was beyond incredible!! Although my husband wishes we had done one that included dog sledding. And Skagway was a close second. We just had a really enjoyable day with our tour guides, a fun time. I guess if we went again and didn't want to pay for one, it would be the Endicott Fjord trip. But we still really enjoyed it and would recommend it for first timers. It gets you super close to the glacier. But then the cruise ship follows you down the fjord. The small boat excursion gets you about 1/2 mile away, so when it calves, it creates enough waves to rock the boat. The Legend comes within about 3-4 miles. We planned our trip as a one time deal and did the things we really wanted to do. We didn't do excursions in Ketchikan or Victoria.

I guess it depends on what you're used to. We've done a few Carnival cruises, all on different ships. And yes, the Legend was the smallest, I think, or at least one of the smallest ships we were on. It did NOT feel run down or dirty though. Is it super fancy? Not really. It's pretty much like most of the other ships, IMO.

The biggest thing to remember is that you're not on that cruise for some fancy ship to spend all your days on. You're going there to see the sights and have an adventure. We saw such amazing things, we really loved it. When I'm cruising the Caribbean, and will be spending several days lounging by the pool in the sun, then I expect different things to be there. But this is Alaska, you should be sitting on your balcony, if you have one, or on the upper decks, to watch for wildlife. Or you'll be off on excursions seeing the amazing scenery there.

I'm pretty sure I have some pictures of the ship in my review (it's linked in my signature if you expand it). I'm actually looking over it now. And yes, I did comment that it felt like an older ship. But that doesn't make it a "bad" thing. Some people like the older, smaller ships too. I didn't like the smoking either. Because it was cold, and there's limited smoking areas, it did come into other areas more than I notice on a Caribbean one.

Here's the skinny on Bottomless Bubbles. A 16 oz glass of soda w/ice, which is what you get on BB, is $1.50 each. So as long as an adult on the program is drinking 4 or more sodas a day they have broken even, the children's price is less so 3 sodas a day will do it for them. Off program a 12 oz can of soda or a 8 oz juice is $1.95.

Exactly! I usually drink about 3 sodas a day, but I will drink a bit more when I have the BB card. Plus, if I have a soda and it gets warm or flat, I just get a new one. So I know it just about breaks even for me. And for our son, it definitely does! He doesn't usually drink soda (although I'm sure he gets it a little bit more when he's hanging in the teen club). But he often drinks pineapple juice, and will drink 4-5 in a day!

And honestly, now that we're booked on a RCI cruise for the summer, I miss the Carnival BB program. Just to get a soda package, it's $10/person (kid or adult). And if you want one that includes the juices (and coffees & sodas), it's like $30/day! :eek: We're definitely not doing the bigger package, that's $240 for our cruise! Not only that, we have 4 long port days, so we really won't use it. Even though they do charge like $3+ for a soda. :(

I always add those posts to my subscribed threads list so I can easily find them. Just a thought!

We did this cruise this past November, you can see my trip report in my signature (if you expand it! LOL!) and see what we did in these ports.

And I'm not sure if there are really any hotels in the immediate area. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton on Mercer St. It would have been a pretty easy trip from there to the pier by taxi, I can't remember if they offered a shuttle. But we actually rented a car for our last night in Seattle, and then returned it to the downtown location, where they had a free shuttle to the pier.

We also skip buying a drink package when we are on a port intensive itinerary with long port days. It is more cost effective to just pay as you go in those cases. Plus, with no freestyle machines, we would skip a drink package too.

 

Our upcoming cruise is a 7 night, with 3 ports and one is RCL private island, where we can use our drink package, so it makes sense to buy a drink package in our experience.

Yeah, on our last Carnival cruise, it was 8 nights, but only 3 ports total. Plus each stop was at the most 8 hours. So having 4 full days on the ship, it was definitely worth it. Although, their beverage package is certainly a much better deal. It was $6.50/day for adults and $4.95/day for kids, plus the 15% gratuity. I only had to drink like 3 sodas in a day to break even, my son even less. And he could get any juices they had at the bar. He always got pineapple juice, which cracked up the one bartender. He said most kids order soda, but he prefers juice.

Thanks for the replies... And yes, for our sailing, it's $30.68 for the "Refreshment Package" and $10.03 for the "Soda Package." And I did read the price of a single drink before, I think the same person told me that before. ;) So like I said, for the 8 day cruise, it'd be $80 for the soda package. However, since 4 of our days are port days, where we'll be off the ship for the entire day/evening (all our stops are 12-15 hour stops), we only have 3 days actually on the ship the whole time. So even if I got 2-3 sodas on those days, it'd still be much cheaper. My son is fine with whatever too, he'll deal with it. Heck, he's going to Europe, he can deal with drinking whatever he's got! LOL!

Soda package is $8.50 per day.

But it's like $10.50, or something close to that with taxes and such. So basically about $85 for the cruise. If a soda is like $3 something, then I'd have to be getting at least 3/day to break even. And like I said, our port days are really long, like 10-12 hours in port, so I wouldn't even be using it on those days. Make sense?! LOL!