First time cruising with family

[scotto313]

My wife has been on several cruises prior to marriage and we decided to take advantage of what appears to be great pricing for a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore. We are booked on the Pride and depart August 4th 2013 and return August 11th. Our ports of call are Port Canaveral FL, Nassau Bahamas and Freeport Bahamas. We have a stateroom with a balcony.

I want to find fun things to do with the kids (boys ages 11 and 12). Kennedy Space Center seems like the obvious choice for Florida. Should we book with Carnival for this? Is there a better option for us in this port? We went to Disney 2 years ago and I have no interest in going back.

In Nassau or Freeport, I was hoping to experience a nice beach with the family. I am interested in taking the boys snorkeling but the wife is a little apprehensive. I have looked into a day pass at Atlantis, The Riu and The Colonial Hilton. Atlantis is way outside of our budget but a nice relaxing beach with some of the amenities of a resort would be nice.

We managed to book the cruise for just over 3K and we will be able to drive into Baltimore saving airfare. With drinks and excursions, we will need to be mindful of not overspending our budget of about 4K total.

Will we be able to have a good time with this type of budget? Are there any suggestions for a family of mostly novice cruisers?

[CorrieCJ]

I have done this itinerary twice. We did Kennedy Space Center but booked on our own -- we bought the tickets online and we used a car service called... hmmm.. Space Port Transport. They picked us up right off the ship, they were friendly and polite, and on time. Cost us a little less than doing it through Carnival (we were 5 people). In Nassau we took a cab to the Sheraton Cable Beach which has a pool, bar, beach access and other activities. You can get a day pass that includes a very nice buffet lunch as well. The Wyndham is right next door and they have a similar deal. We ended up taking the Jitney back to the ship, cheaper than a cab. In Freeport there isn't much, one year we did the Carnival glass bottom boat, which was a nice ride but I was surprised that you actually had to look over a tall wall to see out the glass bottom (ie, you are not right up against the glass - who knew?)... and one year we did a private excursion with Pat N Diane... it was supposed to be a snorkel boat with a waterslide, but the weather was too rough so they took us to a beach instead where you could snorkel off the beach.

[JohninDC]

Carnival is the easy way to do KSC, but also the most expensive. :(

 

You should be able to rent a car for the day or use taxis to get to KSC and back for less. Some have reported success in getting FREE KSC tickets through their congressional representatives.

 

I would read other Pride reviews here and check the FLA departure board for Port Canveral suggestions. Junkaroo Beach in Nassau is an almost free day for your family; with a short port visit to Freeport I would plan on a snorkel tour there -- you can save $$ by not booking through Carnival and with an inflatable vest your wife should be happier.

 

Good luck! :)

[Ourfirstfamilycruise]

I would do Kennedy Space Center on your own. The Sheraton is a great choice in Nassau. For Freeport, I highly recommend Paradise Cove/Deadman's Reef. Very inexpensive, family friendly and wife gets beach and you get to shore snorkel with the kids.

 

Have a great time! I just returned this past weekend.

[Ironmen]

Not sure how long you will be in Florida, but the kids at that age would love Sea World. It's about an hour drive into Orlando, but Sea World is very good.

[Ready 2 Go]

Hi scotto313. So it sounds like after tickets you have about 1k fun money left to spend? I think you can have a great time on that budget. As others have mentioned, try taking a look at the other boards as well. Sometimes there are great ideas for things you can do on your own (no formal excursions to book) that cost nothing or close to nothing and you will still have a great time. Also, make sure to have the kiddies signed up for Camp Carnival on the boat. It's like a club for kids onboard and it is free. It is a great way for them to make new friends while on the boat and participate in fun activities. They also have a end of cruise party. Whatever you choose, you will have great time because you are together and there is just something about ocean air that makes the cruise time special (at least for me!!). Have a fun on your cruise.

 

Ready2Go