phxbne

Tokyo DisneySea is my favorite Disney park - we’ve been to all except Shanghai. Three nights there is perfect - we have been twice and stayed once at Sheraton and once at Hilton Tokyo Bay. I would stay at either again.

There is a train station - Mahaima - right at the parks, so there are probably rail options.

there are also regular shuttle buses to Narita and Haneda, so perhaps you could take one of them and then to the port.

 I think it is close enough that you could spend the night at Disney which would give more park time and one less packing up.

Sounds like a great start to a great cruise!

We did an Alaska cruise on HAL when DD was 10. She really enjoyed it - she is an animal lover so I chose animal focused shore activities. Our choice was based on dates, round trip Vancouver and an ‘Alaska expert’ cruise line. We did not do the land portion.

As KitKat said, what does the 10 year old like to do and what do they think might like to do in Alaska? While she has enjoyed the kids club on other cruises, she did not really care for the HAL one - no particular reason that she articulated. I have read good advice from others on this forum about focus 1 being itineraries and activities. There are a lot of stories here about kids who don’t like clubs, and just as many about those who do.

What a treat for your family - Have a wonderful cruise and create marvelous memories!

I have looked at Mekong cruises for three of us. Pandaw looks great and while they only have cabins for two they do have dates where 18 and under are free. And it reads they can have the cabin and not split the adults.

we did A triple on AMA Rhine when DD was 13 and it was very cozy and not a full twin bed for the third sleeping space

We did AMAKristina with our then 13 year old daughter on the foldout. It is quite firm and comfy, but narrow - kind of solid foam, not a mattress. Once it was folded out, cabin space was pretty tight.

hope that helps 

We did a great family trip on Celebrity. Not sure if they have family cabins though.

We did the Celebrity excursion about a year ago. We had a full day (Christmas Day) and then a half day. We did the half day junk on the second day. We opted for that rather than private for a few reasons, knowing we would just get a 'taste.'

One nice thing was that the junks came to the ship, so that reduced the hassle. They were all about the size of the red one - held around 20-25 I think. It was pretty full. I think they provided drinks (scary how bad my memory is).

It was very crowded walking to and through the cave - pretty much wall-to-wall people. The views from the junk were nice although it was a pretty 'standard' path.

One thing I did not realize was how scenic the cruising in/out of Halong Bay was - we left around 1pm, and the views were magnificent for an hour or so. In hindsight, I may have just done that......

I had been to Vietnam in 1999 and have memories of a very empty Halong Bay which was magical.

Looking forward to reading about this wondeful adventure!

We were on the Millennium cruise right before dry dock and did not notice anything. Lots of chats with crew about their roles, and apparently some workers came onboard a few days early. A few spots in public areas looked they had been ‘let go’ a little, but overall the ship looked better than I expected.

My parents cabin was not in great shape, but as one of the only handicap suites there was not much that could be done.

now I just want to sail on the refurbished version!

What an adventure and some great tips!

here are some things I’ve learned from multiple long flights and trips with kids:

- bring a stash of snacks from home that your kids like - many of our travel arguments involve looking for lunch.....or when your kid wakes up hungry on the flight

- eyeshades can help with sleep - planes can be bright  - I also like a light blanket - we have some from travelsmith that are great and we use them in hotels too often

- only use a sleep aid if you have tested them out at home - we use melatonin and essential oils - DD started with melatonin at about 8 

- if you are used to a backpack, stick to that! I tried tha5 Travelon bag and found it clunky and heavy. DH is our designated backpack mule. Keeps his wallet in a front pants pocket.

- carry some soap to wash a few things out in the sink - lots of ideas online about what soap etc - cruise cabins usually have a clothesline, but you could by one too

- we take reusable water bottles to spend less money on water everywhere....

- if you don’t use them, think about packing cubes to separate each persons clothes

have a wonderful time!

Fun idea!

things that pop to mind

- sunscreen stick

- games to play waiting for meals or hanging out in the cabin - Uno is a stand by, or a pack of cards - sushigo is fun and gamewright makes a ton of others; scattegories can be fun - pick ones the whole family can have fun with

- iTunes or apple card to download music or apps

- journal and pens or markers; word find or sudoku books; book for the trip - my daughter is not a reader despite my best efforts but has fun with word finds - I usually get a couple at the dollar store before a trip

have a great time!

We did a cruise over Christmas with our 13 year old - she had zero interest in the teen club. She did miss the first night because iof jet lag (cruise was in Asia) but I’m not sure that really mattered. She loves trivia and we played that every session offered.......If you haven’t already, I would get him involved in choosing shore excursions, where to eat in port or on the ship etc. We have done 8 cruises as a family, and what we do in port is really our focus.

We have sailed X 4 times with our now 13 year old. We have also sailed Crystal with her 3 times. I mention that because one of our Crystal cruises was over the summer and had KSF. Ship capacity was about 1000 - around 60 kids on board, 5-10 of whom were senior crew members children. As others have pointed out, I am guessing that was because some combo of price/itinerary/amenities did not appeal to many families. 

Celebrity has kids clubs for at least 8 years that I am aware of - any cruise line that offers a kids club, I expect kids to be on board (crystal does too, which is why we even considered cruising with them). So I view the promotion and marketing pics as a gradual shift, not a dramatic one.

Crystal offers kids club on designated/many sailings. My daughter loves it! Most kids we had on there was 60, with 4 counselors. And not all 60 used the club.

feel free to ask any questions - also take a look for threads on the Crystal forum that talk about kids.

Michele

I am a little obsessed by bags like this.....

Agree, I think searching for wristlets might help - or perhaps “pouch.” They may be bigger than what you have or are looking for though.

. I have some from Target - just luck of the draw as to what they have in stock. I have one from Charming Charlie and seen cute ones there.

Kipling has Creativity pouches that come in a couple of sizes and a range of colors. Travelon has a few types - I have seen them on ebags and Amazon.

My fanciest ones are from Michael Kors.

enjoy the hunt!

If you think you are unlikely to return, I suggest Hanoi.

We were in Halong Bay in December. If you cruise in or out in daylight you will see amazing scenery. Not as good as the overnight bay cruise, but a taste. I wish I had realized that before booking a 4 hour cruise - overnight on the bay could be cool, but Hanoi is fascinating.

When we disembarked in Singapore in January, we avoided one of those people in the terminal - quoted $60 for 5 of us - I was tempted but hubby saw through it.....

We walked out to the taxi lines to see a split line - left was for large limo/van taxis and right was for regular taxis.

We had 5 people, 7 suitcases, carryons and a folding wheelchair. 

We opted for 2 regular taxis which were $20 each to our hotel in Orchard Rd. The large van one would have cost us $60 - and we would have waited 30 minutes or so......

I love the tram idea!

Some other options between the airport and the city:

 If you are Disney/theme park fans, HK Disneyland is between the .

Also in between is a large shopping mall (Citygate Outlets) and the cable car to the Big Buddha (https://www.np360.com.hk/en/). 

Thanks for sharing the pics - we were on the last cruise pre dry dock so very curious about what is happening.

It was our first cruise in a suite and we did not find Michaels club appealing at all - love the new lighter look! 

We did a 3 day private tour with TJ a few years ago and included a couple of 'off the beaten' path/non-museum/palace elements. We picked matroshkya doll painting, a subway ride, canal cruise, walking around Nevsky Prospekt and supermarket visit. I just looked and what we did is pretty much  now '3 day children itinerary' with some add-ons. As someone else said, you should be able to pick and choose across elements if it is private.

Neither my then 10 year old or my parents are much into art galleries, so we spent I think an hour at the Hermitage......it was so crowded we were all happy to leave.

Have a great time - all of us left wanting to go back!

Hi

From what I recall the hours are something like 9 or 10 til Noon, 2 til 4 or 5 and then 7 til 9 or 10.

I think kids is 3-12, then there is a teen room too. There is only one room for each, but the ratio of staff to kids is good, so I think they are pretty good at modifying activities based on who shows up. On our 1st (Baltic) there were never more than about 8 kids with 3 staff, and on our 2nd (Med) my daughter was often the only one with 3 staff!

If kids are on the young end (3-4), know that the restroom is outside the space (near Palm Court).

There is a rule that you cannot leave kids in the club without an adult remaining on the ship.

They have a kids menu in the dining room - my daughter loved having 2 menus to pick from!

My daughter did not like the Disney kids club much at all - least of the 4 she has been in (Celebrity is 2nd fave, then Holland America) 

There is some info on the Crystal board - I had posted there and can't find it, but did find a thread 'Children On Crystal Cruises' 

Hope that helps - ask away!

Michele

Hi

We did one Disney cruise and it was our least favorite - almost everyone has kids.......so even if you have your own it can get a bit overwhelming. We also felt that it was overpriced.

We have traveled on Crystal with our daughter. They have dedicated kids clubs - not sure the ages of your family, or when or when you want to travel, but it was great. The kids club on Crystal was her favorite - lots of attention!

Celebrity might also be an option - kids club is pretty strong and on our recent Christmas cruise the teen program seemed strong (daughter didnt set foot in it.....). If you do a suite on Celebrity, you get drinks and a dedicated restaurant, which made it closer to Crystal.

Have a great trip!

Michele

My now 12 year olds first cruise was on Celebrity when she was 5 and she absolutely loved it. We have since done a couple more Celebrity cruises and been on other lines too. One of her favorite things was the main dining room and all the choices, plus waitstaff who did things like suggest 2 desserts when she couldn't decide.....

Definitely look at the kids club schedule. One thing we loved is that Celebrity has some 'family' things that are only listed there - like bingo, scavenger hunt etc.

When we cruise, we also make it about the ports, so plan port adventures we will all like.

Have fun!

We have been to the Spanish Riding School twice - once booked directly through them and once as part of a land tour. The tours were pretty similar, but the guide we had on the 'public' tour was much better and shared a lot more information. But that is the luck of the draw!

Another reason to do it independently is that the Spanish Riding School is basically in the Hofburg Palace and right in the heart of Vienna - so if you do it on your own there are lots of things right there to see and do!

Thank you - that was helpful! I have read both of your trip reports - maybe more than once......- and they are a lot of what got me excited!

Guess I was hoping that from the ship you could get shots like all those amazing Nat Geo photos of bears in Svalbard! Which I now realize is kind of silly....

And thanks for the feedback on the young teen too!

Over Thanksgiving, we had a fantastic trip to see the polar bears in Manitoba. So we now want to see them in Svalbard, and Silversea seems like an amazing option. I have some questions that I hope some here can answer:

- how are the seas? We do not do too well, in rough seas.....

- what is the 'usual' age range, if there is such a thing? We are late 40s and our daughter would be a young teen. I know there will not be specific activities for her, but she is the biggest animal lover of the family, and doesnt need bells and whistles. She could probably repeat everything our guide told us.... We have travelled on Crystal several times and she loves it.

Thanks

Michele