aggie_gal

According to the Carnival website, there is a kids menu available and their meal is $5. We took our 3 year old (almost 4) with us to Cucina Del Capitano and he loved it! This was a few years ago, but they had Wikki Stix for him to play with instead of the generic coloring sheet.

 

I'm not sure about the option to order off the adult menu....might have to pay the full price. However, you could possibly just order more starter...never know until you ask! :)

 

Don't forget it's open on embarkation day for lunch. It's a nice change from the chaos at the buffet...much quieter and relaxed.

Thanks so much for the input!

 

As far as NCL food, we have 3 specialty dining meals (part of a promotional package). Hopefully the other 4 meals will be edible. We've had subpar meals on even Disney. I can't imagine trying to feed 3000 people each evening. We don't have extremely high expectations....and we have the drink package, so hopefully that will help curb any poor quality entrees. ;)

 

We almost book our excursions independently. Some say we're crazy, but these businesses rely on reputation. They're going to get you back in time.

 

Princess was our other main option. I think I'm mostly worried about a party atmosphere. I think Princess is a great fit, but the Bliss simply looks amazing and they had a great promotion running when we booked.

I'm not even sure where to post this.

 

 

We're currently booked on the Norwegian Bliss for 2019 for an Alaskan cruise. It's my parents 50th wedding anniversary so they're taking my family and my brother and his wife along. :) Myself, my husband and our son (will be 9 when we cruise to Alaska) have sailed Carnival and Disney (complete opposites, I know). My parents have cruised Holland twice and commented how they were some of the youngest on the ship...they'll be 70 when we go to Alaska. My brother and his wife have never cruised, but do enjoy all-inclusive resorts.

 

What would you suggest for the best line for our family? Disney is out as the prices for Alaska are just ridiculous. My mom doesn't think Holland is a good fit as it is geared to a more senior crowd. We need something fun for our son, but not a huge party atmosphere because that's just not my parents cup of tea (they're footing the bill).

 

I *think* we'll be fine on Norwegian, but just wanting to make sure we didn't miss something. The Bliss is a brand new ship with some really fun features, but does it draw a party crowd, similar to Carnival? I've heard great things about Royal Caribbean. I've heard great things about Princess.

 

Our travel agent said Norwegian built this ship specifically for Alaska. Then my son saw the go-cart and laser tag, so my mom booked it. He's their only grandchild. ;) None of us have ever sailed Norwegian but the ship looks amazing! I tend to second guess everything and this is a lot of money. Just want to make sure we picked correctly.

I just read through your entire trip report. We're only a family of 3 (one kiddo) and we're getting priced out of Disney Cruise Line too. However, we did just buy into DVC, so I see a lot more trips to WDW and Disneyland in our future! We're in Texas, so we opt to cruise out of Galveston so that leaves Carnival and RCCL. We've done 3 cruises with DCL and have to fly to Miami or Orlando. The ones out of Galveston are $$$$$ (holiday season).

 

Thoroughly enjoyed your report! We're Carnival fans and DCL fans too. It's hard to beat the price of Carnival, but the service with DCL is top-notch!

You'll have a life vest and there is no swimming involved in the excursion unless you want to. Go for it...might not be a bad idea to let your guide know.

This was our experience...

 

We didn't get off on the first tender, but they were still waiting for us Terminal 1 in the port. As they get enough people, they take a group to the caves. There were 9 of us in our van...5 in our party and 2 other couples.

 

The hike to the caves is about 3/4 of a mile. There a plenty of stops, but it is hilly and there are a lot of rocks and it can be slick. Fortunately .bz is one of the only companies that doesn't require you to carry your tube. It'll be waiting for you at the river. Our whole excursion took over 5 hours, but we still had time to catch the tender. They're very aware of the times and will make sure you get back in time.

 

Excellent company and one of our favorite excursions ever!

The kid's portion is $5 (12 and under I think) and it includes things like spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, etc. I don't think we kept the menu, but all courses are included in their prices too. In fact, the cannoli dessert is the same as the adult one.

I think ours were labeled on our recent January 19 cruise. Shampoo was yellow...it's watered down some, so you need more than you think. The shower gel is green. Both have a light, clean,lemongrass type scent. I took my own conditioner and scrubby. We also brought a kid's 3-n-1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash for our 3-year old due to it being tear-free. Fortunately, he was ok with showering!

I don't have the one for Saturday, but here are the ones for Monday and Tuesday. I have the entire schedule at the house and will try to remember to upload it this evening. I just happened to have these on my phone. Instead of carrying the whole schedule, I'd just take a picture of the day's agenda and then I'd have that on my phone to glance at when I wanted.

 

I'm so sorry for the size, but if you go smaller, it's hard to read!

 

 

 

We just got off the Magic Sunday. I'm trying to get the images to upload, but in our experience with the Camp Carnival 2-5 class, they opened at 10:00 and ddin't close until 4:00 and stayed closed until 6:00. At 6:00, they opened for dinner in the Lido buffet. Stayed open until 10:00 and then had the Night Owls program until 3:00 (fees applied).

:confused:

Nobody has anything?

Looks like I'm not the only one! I found one from 2007, but I'm curious if it's changed any.

Can someone point me in the direction of a recent Camp Carnival Schedule for the 2-5 age group? We leave Sunday on the Magic and we're taking our 3-year old son with us. We've told him about camp carnival, but I'd like to go over some of the activities with him so we can decide what all he thinks he might be interested in.

We've booked Bodden Tours for our day in Roatan. Currently, we have 5 people going(myself, my husband and our son; my husband parents)...2 of them will be dropped of to go fishing. The other 3 are going to go to the butterfly gardens and then on to West Bay beach. The men that are fishing will be brought there to meet up with us. Now we're considering adding zip-lining for myself and my husband when he gets back from fishing.

 

Does anyone know how far West Bay beach is from Bodden's facility where the zip-lining is? Would it make sense to go there while the others are at the beach? Should we stop by there on the way back to the ship? Or can we take my in-laws and son back to the port, drop them off and then go zip-lining?? We'll be on the Carnival Magic and should be docking at Mahogany Bay assuming weather is cooperative.

Thanks everyone...I was hoping the in-laws can check him in/out. We all have the same last name, so hopefully that will help too. We tried to pre-register and noticed we couldn't add my husband's parents at that time, so that got us wondering. This clears things up! We'll all show up at the camp registration.

We're leaving on the Magic for the 2nd time in less than 2 weeks. I don't know ship terms, but here goes. On the left side on deck 5, is an outdoor smoking section, so balconies on deck 6, 7 and maybe 8 might be affected at midship. I wouldn't book deck 6, 7, or 8 because on deck 5, the promenade sticks out and when you look down from your balcony, you're looking at people, hottubs, etc. and not directly at water. We booked last minute the first time and were on deck 6 DIRECTLY above the seaside grill. Not fun. If you don't book a cove, I'd book deck 9 or higher.

 

This time we're giving the cove balconies a try. Nobody can see you, they're private and you look down and see water.

As parents, can we designate anyone to check our son in/out of Camp Carnival? He's 3, so obviously he won't be able to check himself in/out, but my in-laws are joining us on our cruise, and they babysit for us at home often. In the event they want to take him or check him out of camp, will they be allowed to if we designate them?

Absolutely to each their own...but I don't like lanyards. I just don't like anything around my neck unless it's a necklace, and even then, it's awkward because I just don't wear them much. I have a small cross-body bag I use on the ship. It's just big enough to hold my camera (small point and shoot), lipgloss/chapstick, ship map, sunglasses and my S&S card. For excursions, I can take the strap off the bag and toss it in my tote bag or backpack. Hubby carries his in one of his many pockets (usually he's wearing cargo shorts).

I take a spray bottle and spray a mist of water on my clothes as I unpack it. Let it hang and the wrinkles fall out. Cheaper than downy wrinkle release and just as effective. I'd avoid this on wool, silk or any formals. It works on anything cotton (tees, shorts, chinos, blouses, etc.)!

So that was Monday & Thursday...thanks!

We're leaving on January 19 on the Magic to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. Anyone happen to know what nights are the formal nights?

My husband will let you know after our cruise in 16 days! We have a cove balcony with a sofa and pullman (sleeps 4, we're a party of 3). My 3-year old son said I (mommy) gets the big bed, daddy gets the sofa and kiddo gets the pullman bunk. Sounds like a good plan to me!! My husband didn't agree. ;)

Hindsight is 20/20 and I made the same mistake, but you're allowed so many days to change your passport for free or a small fee after you get married. :rolleyes:

I actually just ordered the kids play set for our son to be delivered to our room when we board. I just have a hard time paying for food that I can go to the buffet and get! I'm cheap in that aspect, I know. :rolleyes: