katiedidthat

We walked to Junkanoo beach in Nassau, it has actually gotten nicer since we were there last. There is now security patrolling the beach regularly, and the vendors have been moved back to the sidewalk. We spent about 3 hours there playing on the beach and in the water, walked the main shopping, and spent the rest of the day at the waterworks on board.

In Freeport we did the "beach getaway" excursion. It was okay, but we wouldn't do it again. The buses were packed shoulder to shoulder with no ac for the drive over, you get to the beach and spend 20 minutes being lectured to like children before you can go sit, and then the chairs are lined up two deep the entire length of the beach right up to the waters edge from one side of their property to the other, so you can either sit in a chair or stand in the water. No laying in the sand or space for kids to play. The food was reasonably priced and good, but their vendors are all very pushy. We had about 2.5 hours total there before we had to be back on the busses. Not worth it for us. Next time we'll take a taxi back to Lucaya resort like we have in the past.

It was great for us. We've done the same excursion all three times we've done the Pride, and this was the busiest day at Disney so far, but we still saw most things we wanted to do.

When we went in 2011 with no kids, we got to the park at 9am and had to be on the bus by 5, in that trip we met 5-8 characters, saw the parade, ate lunch, walked around the whole park and shopped. We rode a few things (I think haunted mansion, small world, maybe splash mountain?) but we were more interested in just exploring. The crowds were about a 1 out of 10.

In 2013 we took our 1 year old. We got to the park at 930am and had to be on the bus by 330. We used fast pass to see Mickey Mouse, rode 5 rides (small world, carousel, tea cups, dumbo, and the train), saw both daytime parades and the stage show, and did some shopping. And we walked about 1/2 the park. The crowds were about a 3 out of 10.

This time we had two kids with us (3 & 1) and we got to the park at 915, had to be back on the bus by 415. We set up fast pass as soon as we got on the bus, and saw Mickey Mouse, rode dumbo twice, and small world, then met goofy and Donald, rode the teacups and the carousel, ate a 45 minute lunch, saw the stage show and street performances, shopped and walked 1/3-1/2 the park while our kids napped, and then caught the 3pm parade before riding the ferry back. The crowds were getting bad by the time we left, I'd say a 7 out of 10, Small World had a 90 minute wait at one point in the day. The good thing about the Disney trip through the Pride is that you get there basically at rope drop, and leave just after the 3pm parade, so it's not too busy until lunch time and you can knock out your favorites first thing. If you have older kids, or want to ride the coasters, I wouldn't recommend it, since you get 6-7 hours in the park and can't reserve fast passes until they give you your tickets on the bus, but if you just want a quick day at Disney with a few characters and the smaller rides, it's nice.

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

 

 

 

What did you do in Port Canaveral?

 

 

Magic Kingdom excursion. We were traveling with our two sons and my oldest wanted to see Mickey Mouse.

We were just on over Thanksgiving. We did not care for the American Table either. As for our ice water,,,,,ours was usually empty once we all got our glasses filled for the first go round. Our Bar service for soda/beer was horrible. Husband agrees that the choices were limited. We also agree about the entertainment. We did enjoy the music at the Red Pub (where Starry Night Lounge was).

 

 

 

All that aside our trip was great as usual.

 

 

Maybe ours wasn't an issue because we were a table of 4, and they brought us a new one as soon as it dropped below half. Our sodas were on the table when we got there and the waiters had no problem getting refills. We didn't order any other drinks though, just the same soda each night.

Hey all, just back from a 7 day on the pride (our third) so if you have any questions, let me know!

 

Just a few highlights:

American Table-- not good, IMO. The loss of tablecloths didn't bother me at all, and I enjoyed the water pitcher and bread basket, but the food options were so limited, and the quality of some things was really lacking (veal was very tough, pumpkin cheese pie was poorly executed), while other things were outstanding (crab cake was amazing, short ribs melted in your mouth).

We ate in the MDR every night and service was on point. Ken sang every night, the waiters did three dances (both formal nights and the final night). We never waited long for our next course and our cups were never empty. Dinner lasted about 90 minutes a night.

 

Shows:: this was a low point for us. The idea was good, but the execution was not. The singers just didn't seem into the songs and the backing tracks made it forced (track cheering in 88 keys, really?). The choreography was awesome, although a bit risqué at times, and the costuming was beautiful.

Two nights the comedy lounge was karaoke and the one show we actually made it into was packed, but funny. Hasbro was not entertaining and was too short.

 

Suess at Sea:: loved it! The parade and story time were cute, the breakfast was well thought out and detailed, and the character inclusion was just enough without being too much.

I can't imagine having a late check in time while sailing out of Baltimore. If the hotel tells you to be out by 11am, and your check in time at the port is 2pm, you're just supposed to sit in the snow in the parking lot for 3 hours? There is nothing anywhere near the port, and most hotel shuttles only run until check out time. This might be great for ports where there is something tourist related nearby, but an industrial port?

We're the odd ones out when it comes to this, it seems. Our littles are 1.5 and 3, and at home, they go to bed around 930pm and wake at 830am. On our last cruise, my oldest was 13 months and he napped 3-5 every day, then fell asleep during the evening shows (830-930/10) and was up until 1am in kids club nearly every night. We've been adjusting nap and bed times at home since mid summer and they can now both go from 9am to 330pm, nap til 5, and go again until 1130pm or 12am, so I'm expecting a decent number of late nights on our upcoming cruise. We are a go-go-go family at home as well though, so you just have to gauge your kids reactions and adjust.

They are about the size of a mini crib. I want to say they're 24 x 36.

 

This is ours in a balcony on the Pride.

Just off the Carnival Miracle out of Long Beach. A family was using this onboard.

http://m.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=collapsible%20wagon&camp=PPC:D0DQcsah_dm:7524434207%7Ce:%2Bfolding%20%2Bwagon&mkwid=D0DQcsah_dm&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=%2Bfolding%20%2Bwagon

No idea how they traveled to port, my guess is that they drove.

 

 

I'm curious how they got it past security since those are strictly forbidden for use onboard carnival ships.

We've been telling our 3 year old about our December cruise since around September. We like to talk about what we'll do, what's expected of them, and what they are looking forward to. Plus, part of the excitement of a trip is the count down.

You can't use them on Carnival, not sure of other lines, but I'd be surprised if you could.

 

I'd either get a tandem double, or plan on using a carrier with one of the 1 year olds and letting the 3 year old walk.

On the pride you can buy it at the bar in the center of lido. There will be a huge sign sitting on the bar advertising it.

Last I heard it was 11/22, as that is the week after Ken's vacation.

You should be fine. When we cruised with our oldest, they didn't even look at his baby stuff.

 

As for using powdered, you'd also need to take a lot of nursery water because the water in the bathroom sinks isn't great for adults to drink and I couldn't imagine giving it to a baby. So much extra stuff in it, and for some babies, it's not even an option. My youngest couldn't have powdered formula because of the possibility for contaminated water (he was a preemie) so we did pre made until he went to solids at 13 months. If someone told me they were confiscating my baby formula I'd be raising h3ll until someone in charge made it right.

The Pride now also has the waterworks area for kids.

I'd call your pvp and link the cabins to be sure if you haven't already done so but I'd assume so too. You can always go and get him switched at the MDR on embarkation day if you need to.

Likewise, when do the Christmas decorations get hung? Is it the closest embarkation pre-Christmas? i.e. if a cruise embarks on Dec.23, would the cruise PRIOR to that one get to have the decorations up, or would only the trip starting Dec.23 get them?

 

 

They announce a schedule for decorating usually in September or October, and they do one ship at a time. This year so far they have just said all ships will be done by December 3rd.

Just a suggestion. Book Dad with his own daughter. Book friend with the Mom. Sometime the most innocent of things can come back to bite you in the behind.

 

 

This. It's sad, but in the event this trip ever comes into question, you want to have your bases covered. An adult male should never be booked alone in a hotel room with an unrelated minor female if it can be avoided. I'm not saying there is anything untoward going on here, and I'm sure it was just a "one of us needs to be booked there, doesn't matter who" but to someone who is looking for an issue..

The newest and longest married are chosen based on who is in the audience usually, but I've also seen it as a couple the CD has spoken to at some point on the cruise that he/she thinks will get a good response. For example- on our honeymoon, we were the most recently married (married Friday, cruise Sunday) but a couple that had been married 6 weeks was chosen because the CD had met them at dinner and specifically invited them to the show. The middle couple is typically volunteer based, and then the cd has some silly task for "audience approval". I've seen Tarzan yells, make out contests, best dancing, and farthest traveled. Your best bet is to stand out, be loud, and be close to the stage.

 

Disclaimer- the CD often changes answers to make them funnier. On our last cruise the middle couple said he completely fabricated about 2/3 of her answers but they went along with it because it was so darn hilarious.

For those ports where all the luggage is in a huge warehouse type area with the luggage sorted by zones, are the higher zones bag in there even before they start calling the first zone? Meaning, could you have zone 35 and get off the ship with zone 1 and still have your bags ready? I have often wondered this...

 

 

Not in my experience. We were a mid range zone and they still hadn't brought our luggage out so we ended up waiting around. That was in Baltimore.

The most recent statement from carnival said the failed generator was being replaced while in Freeport. Right now the only concern is that they are a few hours behind in getting back to Baltimore (arriving around 10am).

I personally wouldn't, but that doesn't mean you can't. I've heard the argument of leaving your child in daycare while you go to work, but for me, that's different. If something happens to me while my child is at daycare, presumably I have an emergency contact in the area who will pick my child up from daycare and take them home or to their home and take care of them until I can make other arrangements or return.

On a cruise ship, if I'm injured on a zip line even 5 miles from the ship and the kids are in camp- they will be left with complete strangers for an undetermined period of time while I'm scrambling to either reunite with the ship at another port, or to arrange for someone to meet the ship at the next port. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

We take vacations to spend time with our boys. Alone time for us happens at home with a trusted babysitter.

I can't believe I didn't see this before now! I was so looking forward to this review. We'll be on the Pride in December with our just turned 3 and almost 2 year olds who share your penchant for hats and pizza. So, hello from some fellow yinzers! Maybe we'll end up on the same cruise some day.

 

I was looking at the camp carnival schedule you posted and saw "family free play" on a few days. Did you happen to visit that? I'm wondering if we'll be able to go with both our boys since its not drop off. Thanks for posting those though, I love to give my oldest a little idea of what he'll get to do at camp.

 

Also-- did you spend any time at the splash park on this cruise? Thanks!

[quote name='Bob7']Did you book directly with Carnival or thru a TA?[/QUOTE]


Carnival. And we always have them mark the occasion on our booking.

We've gotten an upsell call for both of our cruises so far. Our first was our honeymoon on the Pride- got a call Thursday night during our rehearsal to upgrade from a 4k to an 8k for $300 more total. Took it. Sailed on Sunday.
Next cruise was celebrating our anniversary. Same itinerary and ship. Booked in the same 8k with 3 people. Got a call on Wednesday offering a junior suite for $500 more. Did not take it since we were on a budget.
This time we've booked that same 8k. Not expecting an upsell call.

I've heard the same as pp's though- they tend to offer first to newlyweds and anniversaries, then to people in desirable rooms that they can re-sell at a higher price. If you want a better room- book it. Don't count on an upgrade.