surreymum

We are similar ages to you, with 3 mostly grown up children. We have sailed predominantly with Royal but a couple of years ago sailed Celebrity on a 12 day European cruise as we loved the itinerary. I can't say we noticed a great deal of difference between the two. We loved that Celebrity don't do the ridiculous checking out of pool towels although don't remember that being an issue last year on our Royal cruise.

I feel that the differences you would see depend largely on the ship and the destination plus the particular stateroom/wait staff that you have. Last year we cruised Serenade of the Seas in Norway and I found the bed really uncomfortable (they fitted a mattress topper after I mentioned it), food and professionalism (although made up with personality) worse in the MDR than we have seen before but for the first time used speciality restaurants, which we enjoyed.

If you enjoy Royal I'm sure you would enjoy Celebrity.

Not sure of your itinerary but we sailed Serenade last summer stopping at Stavanger, Bergen, Alesund and Geiranger. Alesund library was just across the road from where we docked and offered free (and fast) wifi. We asked at the reception desk and were given the code by a very helpful and friendly young man. It was very useful, after a day out, to check emails and post to Facebook etc.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

We never had the option of leaving any one of our children with grandparents or relatives so if we wanted a holiday our babies came with us. Although we never cruised with them when they were that young that was because we didn't have sufficient funds to do so. A cruise is a really lovely place to have some time together as a family even if it is just walking round with them in a stroller. If you are the type of parent that can cope with changes in environment there is absolutely no reason why you couldn't take a baby on a cruise. We travelled a fair bit with ours as babies without difficulty.

I would also recommend Romeinlimo. We have used them twice in Rome and on the Amalfi coast and each time they have been excellent. We saw loads more than people on other tours that we spoke to particularly as we were always able to park right next to sites. Plenty of time is factored in to allow getting back to the ship or airport and the drivers are in constant contact with each other and their office so they swap traffic news. They cannot afford to miss a ship as they rely heavily on cruise critic and trip advisor reviews.

At that age it wouldn't be a problem. When my youngest was 4 we had our 3 in an inside directly opposite our balcony and were completely freaked out when he woke up in the night and not wanting to disturb his siblings came out and knocked on our door. Fortunately I am a light sleeper and heard him but the thought of him out in the corridor locked out of both rooms in the middle of the night gave me the shivers.

To be honest, the mattress wasn't as comfortable as other beds we have had in the past. I didn't sleep well, however, my husband's snoring may have contributed to that...:eek:!

We sailed on Serenade in the summer and I found the bed really hard compared to previous cruises. I remembered comments on CC about mattress toppers and asked our stateroom attendant. Within the day the bed was remade with a thick topper which made all the difference and followed up the following day from a visit from her superior to check we had found it an improvement.

We have just returned from Serenade. We pre booked Chops for the first night and the 20% discount appeared on my account as a refund a few days in automatically. We all loved Chops. We thought the food, service and setting was excellent.

Thank you Clarea.

With teenagers it is easier to bring black tie as we have various sizes from previous cruises (cheaper to buy than hire!!) but wondered whether an itinerary where cool, rainy weather is forecast would have an impact.

I am just packing for our Saturday departure on Serenade. Are there 2 formal nights and will Black tie still be the right formal wear?

I have spent a frustrating time making MTD reservations as linking two reservation numbers didn't seem to be as straightforward as you would think it should be. What time are the shows on Norwegian Fjord cruises as having booked most nights for 8:00 think I will probably be too early for one show and too late for the other?

Your review couldn't have come at a better time. I returned last week from a cruise of the Adriatic on Celebrity Silhouette and am considering Alaska but don't know where the best places are. All I need to do now is persuade my eldest two (21 and 18) that they are too old for a family holiday next year so the airfares from the UK don't cripple us.

a private driver will cost about 450E for a family of 4. You were going to pay quite a bit for that fast train thru the cruiseline I believe, so why not just crunch the numbers..add in the incredible convenience factor and get a private driver guide?

 

we use RomeCabs and Stefano Costantini and last year did his Etruscan tour on our port day as we had already done 5 days on our own pre cruise.

 

in 2008 we did his Rome historical tour and it was perfect.

 

btw..you will now see posts totally questioning and criticizing this suggestion and telling you to just take the regular train and if that is what you want to do I say go for it.

 

I make MY suggestion based on the fact that the fast train thru the ship is not so cheap but offers speed and convenience on a cramped port day. As does a private tour with driver.

 

ymmv

I agree with the previous poster about using a private tour company if you are prepared to spend the money. We last went to Rome when our 3 children were aged 7 to 13. We used Romeinlimo who could not be faulted. The easy access to sites, as they have a special taxi license, meant we were dropped virtually outside each attraction and spent the day hopping in and out of an air conditioned van. The children never got too hot, frazzled or bored and still talk about it as one of the best excursions we have taken.

There are many ways to do this excursion and a private driver is one of the more expensive but we saw so much more than those on the cruise line buses that we felt it was money very well spent. I wished we had done the same in Florence as the fact we all got so hot and tired traipsing about after the guide took the gloss off the place.

Has anyone been able to buy the reduced price student tickets as when I click on the English translation page on the "print at home" option the only box that comes up is for adult tickets?

Sure, but I appreciate in general if they are not widely circulated. As I've said before, I gathered the info together, but much of it is not original to me. I really, really do NOT want to see it showing up on some website somewhere. :o

Thanks Cruisemom

I completely understand. It will not go further.

Hi Cruisemom

I would be interested in your guide but wondered whether, to give you one less email to send, you would mind me asking Cadburysmom to forward it on to me. We are on the same roll call and I hope she wouldn't mind.

Thanks

Didn't try the sliders but they sounded good. Everyone at my table tried the strip steak once during the week and no one liked it. It was very gristley and pretty tough. The fillet was better in the main dining room than at Chops for some reason. Not bad at Chops just ok.

 

I'd say overall you are in for a treat! I'm glad they made the ugrade. I made a piggy of myself on this trip and ordered several options each night with no regret! :rolleyes: Almost always 2 apps and 2 deserts. Sometimes 3 and sometimes 2 main meals. :eek: I love, love, love dessert so I'd always order the BBB creme brule and something else. Happy eating!

Maybe you were just unlucky with the batch of strip steaks. On Freedom at the beginning of August the strip steaks were some of the best we'd had. Absolutely no gristle, tasty, tender and perfectly cooked. My DS had the sliders one night and loved them.

I do have some questions, it is funny that you should mention Autism on the Seas, I will be traveling with them on the Feb 3 cruise. How often did you see the group? Did they seem like they were having a good time? Were the "counselors" good with the kids? Did you notice anything that would make you say "don't travel with them". It is nice to have a completely outside opinion on it.

 

Did you buy a soda card? Just wondering if it is worth it.

 

Thank you for such a great and informative review.

From what we saw"Autism on the seas" looked fantastic. My teenage daughter made friends with the sister of an ASD child and commented how good and how supportive they were of the whole family. I saw nothing to suggest they weren't anything but wonderful.

One of my holiday highlights was watching my son in his flow rider lesson with a non verbal ASD boy and his brother. The flow rider staff were incredible and the expression of sheer joy on this boys face brought a tear to my eye.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

Are you British?

Yes. There were a couple of Brits, a Canadian and the rest of the forum were American.

I am sitting at the airport waiting for my flight so have not read all the pages of this thread so apologise if I am repeating anything. I was on this cruise with my family and had the good fortune to be asked to join a small forum to discuss the new menu with the head of food and beverage for the whole cruise line and a couple of his staff. Approx 12 of us spent 90 minutes with them and were rewarded with a $50 obc. They were asking about the presentation of the menus, their content, did we want to dine in the MDR, what makes a perfect experience and what we might like to see in the future. They were interested to hear that I had heard of the new menus through cruise critic and what items were being discussed.

They were aware that the steak was heavily critisied and my children had the manhattan strip several times and loved it. The Indian food has largely been dropped as they primarily put it there for the benefit of Indian guests but found that they were not particularly keen on it.

The themed menus were a little pointless IMO as they didn't seem to reflect the theme at all. Our food was all presented at the correct temperature but others complained that theirs hadn't been. They were aware that there were teething issues and that waiting staff had not been given the opportunity to learn the menus or try the dishes. The meeting was fascinating and the head honcho went on to invite us to a special guided tour of the kitchens. I was on a tour in Jamaica so was unable to make it - it seemed unfair to drag my family back from their first trip to Jamaica several hours early so I could go on a private look at the kitchen that they hadn't been invited to.

My fellow forum members said it had been excellent.

I felt lucky to be asked to present my opinions. Maybe my luck was in as my party of 4 won 3 of the prizes at the M&M. DH suggested he should take me to the casino to see how far my luck would hold.

I was asked to join a forum on board to discuss the new menu. There were about 12 of us that had a meeting with 3 RCI staff including the head of food and beverages for the whole cruise line. The meeting lasted approx 90 mins and we were given $50 obc as a thanks. They asked about the menu format, the importance of the dining experience, what we liked and didn't, what we would like to see in the future etc. It was fascinating. The head honcho arranged a galley tour for us but unfortunately I was on a tour in Jamaica so couldn't make it. I spoke to a few of those that did go and they said it was amazing. I fly back to the UK tonight so will post more when I get back.

"SOMEONE needed to stay awake the entire time – in case the pilot needed to consult with me about all things flying-related. "

That actually made me laugh out loud. I think I am going to enjoy this review.