erin327

We were on the Carnival Ecstasy last spring with our almost 3 year old. There were two small slides that she loved. The child must be potty trained though.

We will be cruising on the Freedom of the Seas Eastern Caribbean in a couple weeks. My 6 year old really got a kick out of the parade of chef's that she saw in the Samantha Brown show aboard the Freedom. Do they still do that? Which night is it? We plan to do a mix of the MDR and other places and I don't want her to miss the parade of chefs.

We are considering taking Bernard's tour. My 6 year old's top objective is to have a pastry at the bakery in Marigot. Bernard's website shows Marigot as a 30 minute stop. Is there time to get a pastry or not really?

Is there a better alternative for us? We are 4 people (2 kids - 3 and 6). We want some time to explore in Marigot, a little sightseeing, and a beautiful beach. Pretty sure my girls will be terrified by Maho as we have issues with loud noises.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

How do car rentals work in St. Thomas? Do we need an international driver's license? Or just our US license? Is the driving and parking reasonable? Any other tips?

How do car rentals work in St. Martin? Do we need an international driver's license? Or just our US license? Is the driving and parking reasonable? Any other tips?

Thanks!

When we got our oldest her first passport she was only a month or so old. We took her to a place that does passport photos, but they still had no idea how to do hers since she couldn't hold her head up yet. The pictures they ended up getting had my hands in them too. None of us thought that would work. We ended up going to another place that does passport photos. They knew just how to do it! I had brought a plain white blanket to use as the background thinking maybe we could somehow put it behind her in the car seat for the photo. They just had us lay the white blanket on the floor and lay her on it. Then the photographer stood over her and took the picture worked great. So if the first passport photo place you try doesn't know how to deal with babies, try another.

Sounds like we should be fine. Thank you!

I read that the ice skates that are available for use on the Freedom of the Seas start at a kids size 2. Does anyone know if that is correct or are there skates available for smaller kids? Could we bring our own?

We have also done Half Moon Cay, but not yet Coco Cay. We also found Half Moon Cay to be absolutely beautiful! Shallow, clear, calm water and nice soft sand.

I am sure this has been asked before, but my searches aren't turning up much. We will be traveling with young kids who still need car seats, but we won't be bringing their seats on the ship. We won't be doing any taxis in port. Are there are shore excursions through the ship or not through the ship where all of our travel would be done by boat and / or bus? We will be visiting St. Thomas and St. Martin. Thanks in advance for sharing any ideas you have.

Does it also cost $5.95 extra for children to eat there?

I know Carnival does discounts for 3rd and 4th passenger in a cabin. Are there other cruise lines that do something similar or even kids sail free deals? We are 2 adults and 2 young kids and are looking for the least expensive cruise so we can try to do one this year. Any thoughts?

Which do you prefer and why? :)