First time. Lots of questions

[rnmhaexec]

I am an avid researcher so I have researched much of this site as well as other. Thanks in advance to all of you for your great advice so far. I am about to book a cruise for the first time and have some last minute questions. I am a single mom traveling with my 3 boys, ages 14, 13, & 6. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Carnival Miracle in August. I guess my biggest concern has to do with $$ (who's isn't:) ). I wanted to spend about $5000 for the vacation. I know everyone says you don't spend too much time in your room, but I thought we needed a room upgrade to at least a balcony or even a balcony suite. I'm worried about having to change clothes in front of my teens and vice verse. I also don't like to go too far while they are sleeping and being teens they like to sleep late, so I thought the balcony might be a nice place for me to go while they sleep. I'm also concerned about the extras costs involved. I figured in excursions already, but I'm worried about extra onboard expenses. Hearing about parties of 2 bringing $2000 for extra expenses is worrisome. I'm pretty much up to my $5000, including cruise, travel insurance, airfaie, excursions, trips, and soda cards. One last question, Carnival seems to have at least decent kids activiites, but have I missed something? Are there other crise lines that are more all-inclusive? (Sorry for the long post!)

[dgack1]

When I travel with my kids (all boys), we book a GTY balcony. It will save you some money of you don't care where the room is. As far as the soda card, sometimes it is not worth the money. If the kids are at camp they are not allowed to use the soda card. They can get soda for free in the dinning room room at night (not buffet). We skip the soda cards. I usually buy an old suitcase from goodwill (2$) and put two 12 packs of soda and a collapsable cooler in it. I keep the drinks in the cooler on ice and throw away the old suitcase.

 

As for excursions, we do not book through the ship (tooooo expensive). I book through the local tour guides, they are normally half the price and less crowded. I have given "tour coupons" to my children for christmas/birthday presents. They were actually happy about it.

 

As for spending money, my kids are on their own in that department. They have been saving their money for the last six months.

 

Insurance- skip insurance though the cruise line. Ours is though travelex, cost us 95.00.

 

Hope your cruise works out...we will be on the miracle 9/18/2005

[dgack1]

Sorry one more thought, if you don't drink/gamble you shouldn't need a lot of extra funds. Our last cruise was for 5 days. Each one of my children spent an average of 50-70 dollars on the cruise..mainly for video games and junk in port. Our biggest expence was tips. I am extremely thrifty or cheap:rolleyes:

[cali-croozer]

One thing about the free soda in the dining room.......that's for kids 12 and under only.

 

About the room, once you see the difference in pricing between an inside and a balcony or even a suite, you can see if that extra space is really that important for you or if you want to spend that money elsewhere. We've sailed in a cabin with 4 people before (with 2 teen boys)......I just changed in the bathroom; not a big deal.

 

As far as sleeping in late, I think you'd be ok to leave the older ones to sleep in if you and your 6 year old are ready to start your day. Having said that, I make a point of waking my kids before the breakfast buffet is over (if they haven't gotten up on their own)......they really like the food and it gives them a good, not too late, start to their day. Plus, the days you are in port you'll need them up and out early. There's so much to do on the ship and they'll make a lot of friends that they may surprise you and actually get up early!:)

 

As far as onboard expenses, I buy my kids a soda card and let them choose a t-shirt from the gift shop, but I don't activate their sail and sign card. If they want to use the arcade, they bring their own money. There's so much free stuff do do on board, they really don't need to buy anything. I do like to purchase the coming on board picture and one of the formal pictures. It's easy to get carried away buying pictures if you don't go in with a limit in your head. Once you've picked the best picture, buy it and LEAVE!!!! LOL Your other expenses will be bar drinks, the casino, bingo, souveniers, specialty pastry/coffee.......... these are all "extras" that you can decide how much to budget for.

[lovemylife]

I'd say skip the bar and the casino, and you'll stick to your budget. We had two cabins on our last cruise, one inside, one balcony, and I loved the balcony.

The kids loved the arcade, I'd plan on spending some money there, too.

We only bought two pictures, and asked people to take pictures for us in "scenic" locations. Those actually are my favorite, since we don't look so posed.

 

Our total onboard charges for a 5 night cruise for 3 adults and 2 kids, including tips was less than $500. By comparison, my sister and brother in law on a 7 night cruise with 2 kids, 2700.00. The big difference, they love to party. Not a bad thing, but it can be expensive on a cruise.

 

You'll have a great time, I'd also bring 2-way radios so you can stay in touch with your older kids. :) lml

[FamilyMiracle]

Hope your cruise works out...we will be on the miracle 9/18/2005

 

Hey Denise......

 

Wave when you are getting off the boat. We will be waiting to board that day :)

[EmJakeBubbie]

You may find, upon inquiry, that the actual stateroom square footage doesn't vary significantly one category to another. If you are paying for a balcony to have more room, you may not be getting what you imagine. Your TA can assist with this. A QTY is always the least expensive booking within a specified category and a great opportunity for comp upgrades:) Whatever you book, you are going to be limited with walking space once all the beds (pullouts, etc.) are set up. Getting to that balcony could be a challenge; therefore, not necessarily what you imagine:rolleyes: Bathrooms are adequate for changing. I say Wake the Kids up for breakfast (room service) and enjoy the day ;) they can sleep when they go home:D

You are a Brave Mommy! Bon Voyage....

[Cruisin' Chick]

One thing about booking your own excursions: 1. Make sure to plan time to return to ship. If you book thru the cruiseline and something happens to your tourbus, etc., the ship will wait for you. If you're on your own, you can risk being left behind at departure time.

 

2. Read the cancellation policy to make sure you're not going to pay for an excursion if for some reason your ship skips that port. Someone going on the Island Princess had that problem when the ship had to skip one of the Hawaiian ports due to wind.