AandBmom

Here's the FAQ:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/whatToKnow/topTenFAQs/detail.do?pagename=top_10_faqs&pnav=4&snav=2&faqId=260&faqSubjectName=Top+FAQ&

 

The FAQ does not specifically address bringing bottles of wine for staterooms that don't have any guests of drinking age. Silly me, I thought that was common sense. However, the second paragraph is pretty clear about providing alcohol to guests under 21.

If you read this rule and take it for exactly what it says, it's 2 per cabin no matter what. It doesn't say anything about who can bring it, just who can consume it. On Carnival they specifically say 1 bottle per adult. I'm interpreting this to say that I can bring 4 for our family, 2 per cabin.

We have 2 cabins that connect for our family on the FOS. Cabin 1 has 3 children listed in it. Cabin 2 has DH, myself and one child. All the children are under age 10. Can we bring 2 bottles of wine per cabin regardless of who is registered in that cabin? So, b/w our cabins we could have 4? Or is it 1 per adult?

Also, does RC require you to show it with your carry on or can it be in your checked luggage? Carnival says it has to be with your carry on, although bottles randomly get through in luggage. What is RC like?

Thanks

I dont know how all of you find these cheap rates. Granted I am looking for a mini van in the beginning of February, but I do not even see rates close to these lows.

We're doing a rental van in Feb and got a good deal $44 from dollar.com. Go to their website and click on deals and you'll see it there.

Nevermind I found their policy, they do one way rentals from MCO but with a $75 drop off fee. Dollar for me it is....

Do they not do one way rentals from airport to port? I couldn't find a way to do it on their rate search.

You can get a van for $44 a day with dollar dot com. Go to their website and click on deals and you'll see it come up.

Maybe check out tripadvisor dot com for hotel info.

I have found the procedure to be different at different ports. When we arrived back in Miami we walked through customs once we got off the ship. When we arrived in Tampa we had to get up really early and meet with customs in one of the lounges. I forget what happens in Port Canaveral.

I'm not sure how big the suite is as I've never been in one but just something to consider would be having two connecting cabins. Might make it easier for little one to sleep?

As for other suggestions, our daughter was 2 when we cruised, we found a stroller was essential. One that is narrow enough to fit through the cabin door but delux enough that it has a basket and can recline. Our daughter napped all around the ship - MDR, pool deck, etc. It was key in port too and at the airport.

Other suggestions - snacks for your cabin when you want to give a little snack but don't want to go get something.

Bring some toys but look into toy lending on your ship (never done it myself but heard others mention it).

If your child happens to be potty training around then maybe hold off b/c it's hard to do on a cruise.

I forgot one other suggestion which you're probably going to think is crazy.

We went to Mexico when our first born was 8 months old. He had just started sleeping through the night. In Mexico though he was up all night. He couldn't sleep in a room with us. He would wake up and want to nurse all night long. So around night number 5 of not sleeping I said to my husband, "we have to find him his own room to sleep in so we can all sleep". That's when I realized that the hotel crib fit in the shower stall. I know it's crazy but seriously this gave him his own space and out of sight was out of mind and he slept through the night.

So when we cruised with our 9mos old, we tried putting her crib in the shower on the cruise. This was on Carnival so it actually fit sort of sticking half out of the shower. We didn't close the door b/c it felt like we were sticking her in a closed up closet but because of the layout of the cabin just having her in there meant she couldn't see us in the cabin. We only did this in the day b/c at night she slept pretty well. In the day it was hard to keep our older kids quiet and she had trouble napping. Just something to consider especially if you don't have a balcony to hang out on and if you end up with a baby that just won't sleep if you're in eyesight.

My kids are currently 3, 4, 8, 9 and we've cruised with kids of all ages. I know others are suggesting it's not much of a vacay with a baby but in my experience you may have more of a vacay now than in a year or two. I find infants so portable and they can often go with the flow (especially if you have an "easy" baby). With our 9mos old on a cruise we enjoyed dinners in the MDR with baby in a highchair or sleeping in a stroller, we enjoyed hanging out in the sun with our baby nicely tucked in the shade. Your baby may not even be on the move yet which will make it even easier. We enjoyed relaxing in our cabin reading books while baby slept. We enjoyed walking around in ports or hanging on the beach. Lots to do with a baby, just like others have said plan, plan, plan and make choices that work for everyone. Having the grandparents along will help even more and using the nursery is a good idea if you're comfortable.

By your next trip you may likely have a toddler which IMO is harder than an infant!

We took our daughter on a cruise when she was about 9 months old. It went really well. She was also on bottles. We didn't sterilize at that point b/c public health around here (Canada advises it isn't necessary). You may be at that point too. If so, here's what I did, I brought powdered formula and mixed it with water in my cabin (I brought a case of water which was allowed on Carnival), I would warm the water first by letting the bottled water float around in the sink filled with hot water. On Carnival the tap water was very hot so this worker well. When the bottled water warmed up I mixed it in the baby bottle with the powder formula. For cleaning I brought a bit of dish soap and a bottle brush and scrubbed them in the sink. It worked just fine. Even better though, if you can start giving your child cooler bottles leading up to the cruise (temperature is a preference, but not necessary), then you may not even need to heat the bottles. Around that age though your child will be on some solids so you'll need a plan for solids - bibs, spoons, food (not sure if cruise line supplies or not).

Now for diapers, bring enough and extra just in case. Make sure you have some sort of odour reducing bags to put the diaper in. The cabin stewards will clear the diapers out fairly quickly but sometimes they sit for a bit and those bags really work to contain odour.

I don't believe your baby can go in the pool. On Carnival they cannot. But they could crawl around in the splash pad so I brought a swimming diaper and suit for this purpose.

Bring a stroller that your child can nap in. This was key for us. Our baby napped around the ship, sometimes even at dinner in the dining room. Cabin doors are often very narrow though so if you have a compact stroller it will be better.

Bring baby meds - Tylenol, etc.

Lots of sunscreen and sunhats.

Make sure you have your baby's passport or whatever id is required.

Plan ahead for port excursions so you know if you need a car seat or not. If you can still fit your daughter into the bucket infant car seat, particularly one that attaches to the stroller, this is much easier. When you get on board you can just tuck away the carseat and only use it as needed.

Bring baby toys/books/snacks (like baby mum mums or puffs if your child can manage them then) to keep baby happy on the plane and during down times.

If you're worried about your baby not sleeping in an unfamiliar crib consider bringing your crib sheet and blankie from home.

Don't worry about other passengers I would say most gushed over our baby, some ignored her but few if any gave us any sort of negative glance.

I hope that helps. Also check out the family cruising board.

On Carnival and Princess we had My Time Dining and we just showed up b/w the scheduled hours of 5:45 and 8:30ish and were seated just like a normal restaurant. We never had a reservation we just showed up whenever we felt like it. We flew by the seat of our pants basically when it came to dining. If we napped and went later, great, if we were hungry early, great.

I've read comments and noticed on my cruise booking that we can book reservations within our My Time Dining. Is this necessary? Can I not just wait and see how I feel each day and head over to dinner? Is there a benefit to booking in advance? We're a large group of 13 if that matters. We have 4 young children and might need to adjust our dining based on how tired they are or if they napped, etc. Thanks.

My advice is to do the math and make sure AI is worth it. You will need to drink approx. 8-10 drinks to make it worth it. If your ship is in port all day it may be more likely but often ships are there for the afternoon only.

Just something to consider.

We drank beer all afternoon and shared 2 appetizers. Group of 4 ladies and the bill was $90 plus tax. AI would've been $200.

I was in Cozumel in May on the Carnival Victory those hours. Depending on how many alcoholic drinks you want, the AI still may be worth it. We were 4 people and we did the pay as you go side since the AI would have costs us $200. We had a bucket of beers and a few frozen drinks and the bill was about $40. We didn't have any food.

 

If you are 2 people and plan on having quite a few drinks in the hours you are there then it may be worth doing the AI so this way you can grab some food too. The Coconut Shrimp there are delicious and it is ALL YOU CAN EAT, off the menu. So nachos, shrimps and a few other pickies can go a long way with all that alcohol :)

 

When we were there they did stay open until Sunset for late arriving ships but I have heard since then they have stopped that and now close at 5pm. They have a Facebook page so maybe you can send them a message and see what time they close when you are there.

 

Enjoy your cruise and Mr. Sanchos if you go.

I read this after my reply. I swear it's almost like we were in the same group of 4....

Oh wow, I did not think about the time change. The cruise is from Miami in February. Miami is EST so does that mean it would arrive at noon Cozumel time? That may be worth the trip to Mr Sanchos, right?

That is correct, you will have until 6pm ship time there (5pm local time). I think you should do the math and figure out what makes sense to you. It's $50 pp for all inclusive. Or, drinks are about $5 each and food is about $6-$8 each. I was there in October with 3 friends on the Imagination. We had the same hours as you. We ate lunch on the ship then got off right when we were able to. We took a cab to Mr. Sanchos right away. We did the pay as you go. The beach is beautiful and so is the resort. We enjoyed resting on lounge chairs in the sun, swimming, meeting people, eating, drinking, etc. We also used the free wifi (just ask the manager) to connect with home. We spent $90 plus tip for 4 of us. If we did AI we would've spent $200. We drank Sol beer all day long and ordered 2 appetizers to share. We ate dinner on the ship later that night.

You will need to consume approx. 10 drinks each to make AI worth your while. Or 8 drinks and eat some food. You will have about 4.5hrs there. For some it's worth it, for others it's not. Keep in mind you're there right b/w meal times so you might not eat much.

Key West is our favorite stop so we plan on getting off the ship as soon as we are able to. I just love the atmosphere in Key West.

 

By the way when you were there did the Imagination dock at the Outer Navy Mole and then you were shuttled into town on the Conch Tour Trains and Trolleys

I don't know the official name of the dock but we were able to walk off the boat, down a pier and right into the town. We were right beside the statue garden.

We are in the same position in 2 weeks on the Carnival Imagination. We arrive at 7:30 am and we depart Key West at 1:30 pm. We always rent from Sunshine Scooters....they are wonderful. The couple who own it....Jon and Sherry are super friendly. When you call in you will speak to Sherry....explain to her that you arrive at 7:30 am and they will make sure that they are there early to pick you up when you get off the ship. They will accommodate the time when you arrive in Key West.

I can't say enough good things about Sunshine Scooters. They will make sure that you are able to maximize your time in Key West

 

 

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We were also on the Imagination with this time schedule. We too rented from Sunshine. We ate breakfast around 7:30 on the ship and then walked off the ship around 8:15 or so. It was a breeze getting off the ship as the eager beavers had already rushed off. We called sunshine as soon as we were off and the driver "flipper" was there to pick us up within minutes. We had plenty of time to shop, go through museums, drive the whole island, etc. We dropped the car back around 12. You only get a certain amount of battery time anyway so you can't go too long/far.

On Carnival they only have the time and capacity to randomly scan checked luggage.

I've heard from other people that they put alcohol in all of their 4 suitcases and will typically have 1 noticed and the other 3 get through. This is due to the random scanning.

If they find contraband and it's in an unopened container, you get a polite note saying that they had to take it for safety reasons and you will get it back on the last morning of the cruise. If it is not in it's original container they toss it.

How does RCCL do it?

We actually "dress for dinner" every night of the cruise. Formal nights, more dressy; DH always wears tux or suit. We do it because we like the tradition, we like feeling good about the way we look, and it fits the venue of the MDR.

 

It's our choice.

 

Teddie

I agree totally. Our children are 3,4,8, 9 and they participate as well. We're teaching them to feel comfortable and confident in all styles of dress. My daughter loves to pick out "a party dress" and my boys are comfortable wearing khaki's and dress shirts. If I can raise kids that are familiar with and comfortable with everything from track pants to suits then I've done a good job. I love dressing up as I don't do it much at home. I love looking at my husband in a suit. I feel it adds some romance and jazzes it up a bit.

Canadian Universities typically have their break in late February. The elementary and high schools are almost always the week around March 17. I know it's mostly Americans on the cruises but on that week in March you'll see higher numbers of Canadians with children.

What's the food like at this breakfast? Is it a decent meal? Is there a children's menu at breakfast?

We're on FOS on Feb. 23. We haven't made final payment yet. I just tried to book meals and I can book at Chops, Cupcake class, etc but no character breakfast is showing. Think it's full?????

I can only speak to the Port questions.

Jamaica - we loved Mystic Mountain so did our kids (ranging from 2-15). Check it out.

Grand Cayman - loved going out with a private company for the day swimming with sting rays. I forget the company name, check ports of call section

Cozumel - we loved Mr. Sanchos, you can pay as you go if you don't expect to eat/drink a lot. Or do all inclusive. Great beach, great water toys for all ages, great food, great service, etc.

Can you tell me what to expect at this? Is it in a dining room? Do guests order off a menu? Is it buffet? Do Characters walk around and talk to tables? Thanks. Freedom of the Seas is the ship if that matters.