Cranks rejoice

[klingoncruiser]

Looks like yet another attempt by RCI (and probably others) to prop up badly sagging sailing in Europe. Looks like the wild stampede to cram every ship in Europe is now over. :rolleyes:

[hazeleyez3]

If I was going to fly all the way to Europe, the last thing I would want to do is eat "Honey Stung Chicken" on a RC ship...

 

 

 

For the most part, I completely agree. My husband knows that I was up for a Scandinavian one, Norwegian Fjords, and Greek Isles. Mostly because I don't see me wanting to spend 3 nights in Estonia (as an example).

 

Everything else must be a land vacation. Having a 12 hr stop in Civitavecchia would make me go crazy. Especially since at least 3 hours would be dedicated to getting to and from Rome.

[Gilgo Surfer]

For all you kid lovers....new offer from RCL...."Kids sail free!" in the Med. For some it will be welcome news...others?.....panic. Seems like becoming a "family cruise line" is the direction Royal is heading.Have a GREAT Sat.:)

 

" The direction Royal is heading"?:confused:?:confused:?

 

I think they arrived there a long time ago...

 

Where have you been???...

 

BTW... What's a crank???

[grand isle joe]

" The direction Royal is heading"?:confused:?:confused:?

 

I think they arrived there a long time ago...

 

Where have you been???...

 

BTW... What's a crank???

 

 

 

 

 

..It was a backhanded statement to all of those who feel and post how annoying kids are onboard. Quite a heated discussion of kids in the C.L. Sorry you missed the fun. A "crank" is short for cranky old farts who feel that the ships belong to all those who acheive a certain level in that foolish loyalty program and that RCL should cater to their every whim. Much like that character in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" where all kids should be rounded up and disposed of.;):)

 

p.s. I've been on the sloops and now getting on the lake. I guess I gotta get a life....:D

[Gilgo Surfer]

..It was a backhanded statement to all of those who feel and post how annoying kids are onboard. Quite a heated discussion of kids in the C.L. Sorry you missed the fun. A "crank" is short for cranky old farts who feel that the ships belong to all those who acheive a certain level in that foolish loyalty program and that RCL should cater to their every whim. Much like that character in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" where all kids should be rounded up and disposed of.;):)

 

p.s. I've been on the sloops and now getting on the lake. I guess I gotta get a life....:D

 

OK G.I. Joe... Whatever you say.:eek:

[Big_G]

..It was a backhanded statement to all of those who feel and post how annoying kids are onboard. Quite a heated discussion of kids in the C.L. Sorry you missed the fun. A "crank" is short for cranky old farts who feel that the ships belong to all those who acheive a certain level in that foolish loyalty program and that RCL should cater to their every whim. Much like that character in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" where all kids should be rounded up and disposed of.;):)

 

p.s. I've been on the sloops and now getting on the lake. I guess I gotta get a life....:D

 

OK G.I. Joe... Whatever you say.:eek:

 

Guess you rubbed somebody the wrong way Joe but I won't mention any names.;):D

[pattle66]

Where can I find this offer? We will be heading to the UK from Aus to visit the in laws. I would feel soo much better about the visit if I could combine it with a cruise:p. i can't find it on the AUS website. Thanks in advance

[Gilgo Surfer]

Guess you rubbed somebody the wrong way Joe but I won't mention any names.;):D

 

Well you guessed wrong... No worries over here.:)

 

If anything I think it's G.I. Joe that got "rubbed the wrong way".;)

[marci22]

ok so yeah, 'cranks rejoice' is my favorite thread title so far. (And I've seen a few.) I even like it more than all of those 'Beware!' threads that I'm so fond of.

[Big_G]

Well you guessed wrong... No worries over here.:)

 

If anything I think it's G.I. Joe that got "rubbed the wrong way".;)

 

Nah...Joe's an amicable guy. He's just got a funny sense of humor.:D

[voyager70]

Hmmm...don't knock something if you haven't tried it. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean Ships with our kids in Northern Europe (England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Holland). We also took them on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to the Mediterranean (Barcelona, the South of France, Tuscany, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily).

 

They have kissed the Blarney Stone, walked the steps of the Mayflower

passengers, climbed the Eiffel Tower, seen where Anne Frank and her family hid during WWII, seen the beauty of Norway and Scotland. Sailing around the North of Scotland sitting on our aft balcony, oh the beauty! And that was just on one 12 day cruise.

 

On the Med cruise they saw the Leaning Tower of Pizza, Toured the Vatican, the Colosseum and Pompeii. They saw the vineyards of Tuscany and drove

along the beautiful Amalfi coast. They toured the island of Sicily and the city of Barcelona. This was on a 7 night cruise.

 

Cruising in Europe allows a family to visit so many places in a short period of time without packing and with meals and activities and room included

 

My kids are Diamond plus on Royal. They have cruised the Caribbean so many times but ask them what is their favorite cruise? The Europe/Med cruises top the list. And as far as cost, cruising in Europe is a great value. Yes, airfares are high now but still the whole package is a great value and a wonderful gift you can give your kids.

 

Oh and we never ate at Olive Garden, we had a lunch overlooking the water in Sorrento and the Italian food was so good! They ate lunch in the south of France where no one in the restaurant spoke English. The food was delicious and the experience priceless.

 

 

Couldn't have said it better. I've cruised all over the Med (as well as other parts of the world) and there's no way you can even compare it to a cruise out of North America.

[Tucker in Texas]

I would have killed for this opportunity when my boys were young.

 

We did the 21 day "If it's Tuesday, it's Belgium" tour bus tour when they were young mainly because DH had a business trip across the pond so his airfare was covered and we had ff miles to cover the rest of us.

 

By the time we got home, I was exhausted if for nothing else but the one-night stands requiring unpacking, packing again, keeping up with their belongings so that nothing was left behind. DH is not a whole lot better in keeping up with things, either. They could never share a room with us so every morning it was police their room, in the evenings gathering up their dirty clothes and parceling out their clean clothes.

 

Youngster's attention spans are rather short so they don't want/need all day in a museum You are lucky to get an hour out of them before they want to move on. They could care less about the complete history of the Acropolis--they just want to climb it. A cruise would have allowed them to see the highlights and put things on their bucket list for the future.

 

Another plus with a cruise is food. You don't spend time looking for restaurants which may or may not be good, may or may not have menus in English let alone personnel that speak English, with foods they are not familiar with and, therefore, loathe to try for which you have paid mucho euros only to see them leave it on their plate and still be hungry.

 

While mine are fairly good about adapting to different cuisines and eat all kinds of ethnic food in the US, in Europe if there was a Greasy Macs or Le Burger King in sight, no chance of getting them into the interesting little cafe on the corner. Also, in Europe, most restaurants don't even start serving dinner until 8:00 p.m. and by then they are beyond hungry with resultant bad humor.

 

Tucker in Texas

[bplazo]

Well, darn, now I am going to have to cancel my Med cruise :).

[grand isle joe]

Nah...Joe's an amicable guy. He's just got a funny sense of humor.:D

 

 

 

....Thank's Big G. for covering my back. Yea it should be all taken with a sense of humour. Life's too short huh?......:)

 

 

 

 

 

...(p.s...........the check will be in the mail tomorrow......;):D)

[drarill]

Hmmm...don't knock something if you haven't tried it. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean Ships with our kids in Northern Europe (England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Holland). We also took them on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to the Mediterranean (Barcelona, the South of France, Tuscany, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily).

 

They have kissed the Blarney Stone, walked the steps of the Mayflower

passengers, climbed the Eiffel Tower, seen where Anne Frank and her family hid during WWII, seen the beauty of Norway and Scotland. Sailing around the North of Scotland sitting on our aft balcony, oh the beauty! And that was just on one 12 day cruise.

 

On the Med cruise they saw the Leaning Tower of Pizza, Toured the Vatican, the Colosseum and Pompeii. They saw the vineyards of Tuscany and drove

along the beautiful Amalfi coast. They toured the island of Sicily and the city of Barcelona. This was on a 7 night cruise.

 

Cruising in Europe allows a family to visit so many places in a short period of time without packing and with meals and activities and room included

 

My kids are Diamond plus on Royal. They have cruised the Caribbean so many times but ask them what is their favorite cruise? The Europe/Med cruises top the list. And as far as cost, cruising in Europe is a great value. Yes, airfares are high now but still the whole package is a great value and a wonderful gift you can give your kids.

 

Oh and we never ate at Olive Garden, we had a lunch overlooking the water in Sorrento and the Italian food was so good! They ate lunch in the south of France where no one in the restaurant spoke English. The food was delicious and the experience priceless.

Well said!!! My children love cruising, and are D+ on their own right. We will sail the Silhouette this July and will be their fifth european cruise, three with Royal and two with Celebrity. I love traveling and cruising with them and as you said our experiences have been priceless. I look forward to many more memories and experiences:)

[voyager70]

Well said!!! My children love cruising, and are D+ on their own right. We will sail the Silhouette this July and will be their fifth european cruise, three with Royal and two with Celebrity. I love traveling and cruising with them and as you said our experiences have been priceless. I look forward to many more memories and experiences:)

 

How lucky you and your children are. I only wish I had been so fortunate to experience international cruising as a kid rather than in my 30's. I guess better late than never. Have a wonderful time on the Silhouette. I'm looking at one of Celebrity's S class ships for our next Med cruise as well! Royal's itineraries are getting old :mad:

[jcgamecock]

Both of my kids went on their first cruise before they could walk or talk. I took my daughter on a 2 week Eastern Med cruise when she was 3. The staff treated her like a princess the entire trip. She's now nearly 6 and still talks about it all the time. I have pictures of her overlooking the Dome of the Rock, on a camel at Giza, climbing the steps to the Acropolis. How on earth would I ever have done all that other than on a cruise? I can't spend months on end traipsing about Europe. Sure, you don't get a deep dive anywhere, but a three year old gets bored easily anyway.

 

That said, I have gone on several trips without my kids when I want an "adult" experience, and even though I love Las Vegas, I will never understand the people who choose it for a family vacation.

[grand isle joe]

Our daughter has been on 3 cruises in the Med. so far with another booked for next summer. She has loved these cruises and it is still the best vacations bar none. In her 6th grade class they were studying Ancient Rome and sure enough she could "lecture" the class on all she had seen in Rome and provide pictures of all the Roman ruins they were studying. Like posted before getting to travel the world is the best education you can give your children IMHO.:)

[BND]

Our daughter has been on 3 cruises in the Med. so far with another booked for next summer. She has loved these cruises and it is still the best vacations bar none. In her 6th grade class they were studying Ancient Rome and sure enough she could "lecture" the class on all she had seen in Rome and provide pictures of all the Roman ruins they were studying. Like posted before getting to travel the world is the best education you can give your children IMHO.:)

 

Not everyone can afford that. When our kids were born we made the choice for me to be a SAHM (which I LOVED) and it meant giving up big vacations. For us a vacation meant spending a long weekend in Ocean City, MD. We can now afford a lot more and enjoy vacationing just the two of us since the kids are grown and have no real interest in cruising. DH and I have been to Europe (before kids), but they haven't traveled as much yet, but they have plans to. But, I don't think our boys are lacking in anything just because they didnt' travel to Europe when they were children. That just comes across as elitist.

[grand isle joe]

Not everyone can afford that. When our kids were born we made the choice for me to be a SAHM (which I LOVED) and it meant giving up big vacations. For us a vacation meant spending a long weekend in Ocean City, MD. We can now afford a lot more and enjoy vacationing just the two of us since the kids are grown and have no real interest in cruising. DH and I have been to Europe (before kids), but they haven't traveled as much yet, but they have plans to. But, I don't think our boys are lacking in anything just because they didnt' travel to Europe when they were children. That just comes across as elitist.

 

 

 

 

The airfare cost is/was more than the cost of the cruise. Plus twice we took advantage of "kids sail free". It made things affordable. I applaud your choice.I believe your choice was very beneficial to the raising of your kids.But postings on a board by anyone you really don't know what choices they have made to afford such travel or their lifestyle at all.But to jump to a point where an innocent post offends your children than that says more about you than me. :cool:

[Onessa]

Not everyone can afford that. When our kids were born we made the choice for me to be a SAHM (which I LOVED) and it meant giving up big vacations. For us a vacation meant spending a long weekend in Ocean City, MD. We can now afford a lot more and enjoy vacationing just the two of us since the kids are grown and have no real interest in cruising. DH and I have been to Europe (before kids), but they haven't traveled as much yet, but they have plans to. But, I don't think our boys are lacking in anything just because they didnt' travel to Europe when they were children. That just comes across as elitist.

You know I'm happy that you were happy being a stay-at-home, but perhaps your comments come across as smug (just as you looked at someone else's as elitist.) For some people SAH for one of the parents makes sense, for others it does not.

 

For my family we make travel a priority, other families may make a cottage "up north", others are into competative dance or sports. Different strokes. I have someone who reports to me whose DH is a SAH -she DH, and two school-aged DDs arein Ireland for 10 days. They skrimp and save to travel because thatiswhat they love to do. . . Nothing elitist about it!

[tanelicus]

For all you kid lovers....new offer from RCL...."Kids sail free!" in the Med. For some it will be welcome news...others?.....panic. Seems like becoming a "family cruise line" is the direction Royal is heading.Have a GREAT Sat.:)

 

All I have to do is take out a second mortgage to fly my kids to Europe. :)

[bus man]

This offer is for certain Med sailings. Add taxes, port fees and hefty airfares, I don't see too many US families taking advantage.

 

Maybe RCI is trying to entice European families to cruise.