NotTheBatesMotel

This is my 4th cruise with my husband but it's our first time going with just the 2 of us! Had our families with us (on different floors, ha) for our wedding cruise, friend with us for the next cruise, and son with us for the 3rd cruise. I. can't. wait!

You have every right to be frustrated. I hope that a solution was reached!

Yep, that's what drew us back this time. We love balcony cabins and they tend to be so much more affordable on Carnival. We found the cruise on The Dream to be pretty comparable to RC (although I really missed the promenade/design of RC's Freedom class ships). I really want to take my son on a Disney cruise while he's still little, but don't know how I'll ever justify spending that much when we could get 2-3 cruises out of the cost of 1 DCL cruise.

Woo hoo!! 8 days until we fly out!

We were on the Dream January 2014 and the sewage smell was incredibly strong near the elevators a couple times. It definitely wasn't a big enough problem to stop me from going on a cruise. It was concentrated to that 1 area and only happened a couple times. Definitely not a deal-breaker.

I did! The in-laws gifted us a gift card and my parents are calling Carnival directly to put OBC on our account. A Merry Christmas, indeed!

I would sail on FOS. I love the Royal Promenade and layout of RC's Freedom class ships. The ice show is great, the flowrider is fun (even if you don't want to participate it's fun to see the wipe-outs!) and the adults-only area is fantastic. We had a great time on Carnival too, but (in my opinion) trying out the Freedom class is worth the $300 difference.

I did this for my (then 19 month old) son on my cruise in January. He obviously wasn't potty trained so he wasn't able to go in any of the other pools. He LOVED it! We just used a small inflatable baby bath (the duck one) and put it on the balcony. We used the ice bucket to put some water in it and deflated it when he was done. I wouldn't have felt comfortable bringing something like that in a public area, but it worked great on the balcony. Anything bigger would have been too cumbersome IMO.

Here is what he thought of it:

Amen! Though kudos to the op for a polite response to such a judgmental comment.

Agreed. I wouldn't have been so nice.

We're leaving this weekend with our 18 month old. Will it be the same as the cruises before kids? No, definitely not. Is it better than working+cooking dinner for a week? Can't see why it won't be.

I think the most important thing will be to bring realistic expectations. We know we will be in the cabin more than we used to, so we went with a balcony cabin. I am bringing a baby monitor and plan on using that so I can read on the balcony while he naps.

We bought an inflatable tub to use as a splash pool on the balcony and also to use for baths. We booked the most kid-friendly (AKA short, with easy departure if he's not cooperative) excursions they offered. We bought an umbrella stroller and plan on walking around the ship frequently. We are bringing the umbrella stroller to dinner and if he starts getting fussy we will take him out until the food is brought in. My Husband and I will alternate nights to take care of the LO in the MDR. We know that the MDR is likely to not be an option with a toddler so we're prepared to go to the buffet if he doesn't handle it well. Instead of a shoulder diaper bag we are bringing backpacks. It seems easier to hold our stuff in a backpack.

We're sailing with family (my parents, and my sister+her family) so we will have backup babysitters so my H and I can "go out" one night to celebrate my H's birthday. I am happy to have family in the cabins next to us, especially since this is our first big trip with the LO.

My parents cruised when I was 16 and my sister was 22. We were completely fine. My mom said the first day was tough but after that she had a blast! Try to enjoy your trip! :)

We're sailing with my 18 month in a few weeks. From what I've read, there isn't much to do on-board. We have 4 ports to visit, so I made sure to book kid-friendly excursions. He loves sand and swimming so we booked pretty much all beach activities.

We have a balcony cabin so I bought an inflatable tub to use as a pool/splash area on the balcony. We're only planning on putting a few cups of water in it but that should be enough to entertain him. He loves to people watch and engage with others, so we plan on sitting around the lido deck until he loses interest (or starts acting up). We will have an umbrella stroller with us (he loves going on walks) so I'm sure we will do a lot of walking around.

So much of what I love about cruising is sitting on the balcony staring at the ocean, so I feel like we can make it a good trip even with a toddler. I'm mentally preparing myself for doing things at a "traveling with toddler" pace and won't be disappointed if we have to spend a lot more time in the cabin than normal.

I second the bringing family if you can. My son's grandparents, cousins and aunt and uncle will be in the rooms next door. We won't be relying on them heavily for babysitting but my parents have volunteered to babysit the night of my husband's birthday so we can have a couple hours kid-free!

It's going to be a much different experience than cruising before kids, but at least I won't have to cook dinner for a week. ;)

I was wondering if anyone knew if I book under a rate code, lets just say the guest appreciation event sale that is going on now, for three people and in a few months it is decided that the third guest can not attend, will the rate for guests 1 and 2 stays the same or if the rate code has to change?

 

For example,

 

If I book now the price for guest 1 & 2 is $450 each and guest 3 is $150,

When I remove guest 3 in a few months, will only the $150 be deducted?

My husband and I booked under the more the merrier rate. We went to remove my toddler (grandparents volunteered to babysit!) and we would have ended up having to rebook under a much higher rate AND pay a fee for changing it. Toddler is now coming with us. ;)

Not the Bates... I see you got married on the FOS ... how was that.. we have friends considering this (on the FOS or otherwise). did you like it? did all the guests come on the cruise also?

It was the best decision I could have made while planning our wedding. We were originally planning a traditional October wedding with about 125 guests. We switched it to May to avoid hurricane season. I was so stress-free the day of the wedding that I kept realizing what a good decision we made.

We went through RC's "Royal Romance" department and were married the first day of the cruise. That way, my grandparents (who lived in FL) were able to attend without having to cruise. In total, we had 14 guests. 12 sailed with us. I had communication difficulties with Royal Romance in the beginning. After a couple problems, I called and asked to be transferred to a supervisor. After chatting with the supervisor, I had zero difficulties with them.

We are a really laid-back couple, so we weren't nit-picking the details. We provided our own music to walk down the aisle to, and aside from that, pretty much let them plan the details. If your friends are more particular, RR will allow them to bring in things (aisle runners, etc.) to personalize the experience. We went with the most basic service. We boarded the boat first, got ready in separate staterooms, my H did a brief "rehearsal" in the chapel, then we were married around 1:30PM in the Skylight chapel. We had a champagne toast and chocolate covered strawberries after. It was a really simple celebration, but the best decision we have made. After the ceremony we just switched into comfortable bride and groom shirts, and enjoyed the cruise! Everyone had an absolute blast on the cruise, and we had enough privacy where we could enjoy our honeymoon but still get to visit family and experience a great vacation all together.

One thing that your friends should keep in mind is that there are some sacrifices made when you decide on a destination wedding. I didn't have a bridal shower since we didn't have a traditional reception. (We had a very casual tropical-themed picnic to celebrate when we came home, so everyone could see our pictures and celebrate with us) I was fine with no bridal shower because I hate being the center of attention, but a lot of women wouldn't be okay with it. Also, there may be people who mean a lot to you that can't attend due to financial reasons, etc. I was sad that my closest Aunt wasn't able to attend, but she was able to come to our picnic reception and see all the pictures. All in all, it was sooo worth the sacrifice. I absolutely loved our wedding on FOS.

36 days until we'll be boarding Navigator!! Not to mention, only 5 more weeks of work to get through until 2 weeks off! :D