Unsure if we should cancel. Opinions welcome

[Yankee587]

We are a family of 4, my wife and I are both vaccinated and my children are both under 8.  Wondering if it is worth the high air fare its going to cost to get there and then have to pay $300 for my children to get tested and then from what I've read they aren't allowed off the ship at certain ports.  Would hate to cancel but is it worth spending all that money? Is it more or less normal on the ships/island? 

[BoozinCroozin]

Only you can decide if it is worth it. No one knows your financial situation, need to get away, not able to send the kids to camp, and have to stay on ship at many ports. Personally, I wouldn't, but plenty are.

[mondello]

Vaccines will soon be approved for ages 5-12, most likely. That could lead to changes in testing requirements, end of bubble tours, and reopening of the children's programming. They will once again be able to book the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast. Kids would enjoy cruising now; however, I think they'd have more fun after they are vaccinated and the current restrictions are relaxed.

[Jasonsterling]

I would cancel if I was going to be unable to vaccinate them before sailing AND if a substantial portion of what I paid to go on vacation was non-refundable (i.e. airfare, hotel, rental cars what have you) should I fail to get an exemption for my kids. Not everyone gets an exemption for their children as there are only so many being offered and it's on a first come first serve basis, so that would  heavily play into my decision. The other factor would be how much do my kids enjoy hanging out with me and vice versa- without organized kids activities your children will be pretty much always with you. Lastly there is the consideration of excursion. You'll only be allowed on "Bubble Tours" which have to date been pretty limited in there offerings- often just a beach excursion and some reviews have stated that they were confined to a fairly small area of the beach at that but that's the ONLY way you'll be allowed to leave the ship in ports of call barring a medical emergency. So... I probably wouldn't do it but, my son mostly likes spending time with me anyway, I've been to all the ports so staying on board is no big deal and I, knowing the situation with kids, probably would book flexible arrangements so that the financial loss would be zero or low (although there's still lost vacation time possibly to consider and trying to find alternatives at the last minute). With that in mind I might do it, if I was just dying to take a cruise right now and he was also okay with the restrictions.   

[happy cruzer]

Driving to a child friendly resort would be my first choice for awhile.  Cruising will get better with a little time.

[topaz123]

I would cancel, just too much "angst" to jump through all the hoops. That Rapid Test with the 48 hour time clock is a real crusher, if you can even find somewhere to get it done. And airfare...up up and away. Maybe 2022 looks better, and some return to normal life can occur. Just too much stress especially with children.

[jsglow]

Assuming you plan to get your kids vaxxed and have some schedule flexibility (say shifting from Winter break to Spring break), I'd personally delay the cruise.  I honestly think you'll have a better time with kids a few months out.  Carnival has been VERY accommodating.  Right now, there are very few kids onboard.  Again, it's hard for us to get in your shoes but I have cruised twice.  As a vaxxed adult, the challenges are mostly pre-cruise with 'some' inconveniences onboard and ashore at ports.  For kids,I suspect the cruise experience is pretty different right now.

[GeoHack]

If it were me I would probably book an all-inclusive in the Cancun area. You don't say when your cruise is or if you have the exemption letter already? With both kids younger and not a lot of kids on the ships, not sure how much they'll enjoy it and the added costs would push me to something different.

[firefly333]

Hotel rates for weekends in Galveston are sky high. I think people who can drive to a beach with their kids must be driving there. Its winter in January and the ocean is too cold and prices are still high on weekends, by my march 19 date, they are crazy.

 

Last winter everyone went to florida. .. and local beaches. Car rentals are still terrible, so many are driving. Until kids can cruise, there are few other kids on cruises.

[eclue]

I would not take children on a cruise at this time - there are plenty of other things to do and places to go.

 

[groundloop]

I'll echo what's already been said, there's not much for kids to do on the ships at this time so I'd either delay the cruise or else make alternative vacation plans.  

[Jamman54]

I agree with the majority. Just not the right time yet to cruise with children that young. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

4 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Driving to a child friendly resort would be my first choice for awhile.  Cruising will get better with a little time.

This was my thought as well.  Another thought, take them to Yellowstone and Teton Nat'l Park.  Raft down the Snake River.  Stay in a lodge, or in a teepee.  See grizzlies, bison, eagles and more in the wild from the comfort and safety of your car.  Or get the US map out and ask the family where they'd like to go.  Cruising will be more fun for families with kids in a while.

[Trash Queen]

The new requirements are through February so a month out won't help as some suggested.  They told us that the exemptions for kids will be issued between 7 and 14 days prior to the cruise, but that is too late to cancel air, etc. 

 

Unfortunately, I booked through the Carnival website, not with a TA.  Cannot find on the website how to cancel; it's not there like it is for a hotel room.  Called the 800 # and was on hold for 20 minutes to get through to the "payments" option, but she cannot cancel a cruise so forwarded my call to that department about 1 1/2 hours ago.  Is this the only way to cancel if the cruise was booked through the website?

 

Charlotte

[evandbob]

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Last winter everyone went to florida. .. and local beaches. Car rentals are still terrible, so many are driving. Until kids can cruise, there are few other kids on cruises.

We live in Ft Myers since 2018, and each "tourist season" we see northerners coming down to enjoy our beaches, despite the presence of red tide.  By golly, they spent time and money to have a getaway, and they will enjoy it no matter what.  What's some toxins in the water and air anyway?

 

In 2018, hundreds of tons of dead fish and sea mammals were bulldozed off the beaches of Sanibel, Captiva, Ft Myers and Naples.  This year, the worst area seems to be Tampa south to Sarasota.

 

Red tide is naturally occurring, but it gets a veritable steroid boost from fertilizer and septic system runoff.  Florida is known, even proud, of its lack of government regulations, so don't expect any relief soon.

[Yankee587]

Thanks all, I was leaning towards canceling for a future date just looking for reassurance I guess. Gonna see what carnival has to offer in regards to changing dates

[Colorado Beach Bum]

We moved our cruise with grandkids ages 8 & 9 out to summer of ‘23.  Glad we did as we were on the ship last month without them and it just wouldn’t have been a great experience.  Very few kids, no kids club and you couldn’t do the trampoline area unless you were vaccinated.  They would have been disappointed. Instead of the cruise we did take them to Sea World and Aquatica and they had a blast. 

[SNJCruisers]

Go to a family all inclusive like Beaches and push the cruise off a year after the kids are vaccinated and things are closer to how it was in 2019.  No reason to pay the extra money for testing the kids and pay the higher airfare as well.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

We live in Ft Myers since 2018, and each "tourist season" we see northerners coming down to enjoy our beaches, despite the presence of red tide.  By golly, they spent time and money to have a getaway, and they will enjoy it no matter what.  What's some toxins in the water and air anyway?

 

In 2018, hundreds of tons of dead fish and sea mammals were bulldozed off the beaches of Sanibel, Captiva, Ft Myers and Naples.  This year, the worst area seems to be Tampa south to Sarasota.

 

Red tide is naturally occurring, but it gets a veritable steroid boost from fertilizer and septic system runoff.  Florida is known, even proud, of its lack of government regulations, so don't expect any relief soon.

Galveston is hot for bookings right now and more tourist friendly than ever. The $1 trolley, free for kids, and other things to do. Great but expensive aquarium.  Bad thing is hotels along seawall this winter $200 and over $300 for spring break. I need march 19 Galveston and even some 400s and 500s prices on so so hotels. Dont go spring break.

[silvercrikhix]

4 hours ago, Trash Queen said:

The new requirements are through February so a month out won't help as some suggested.  They told us that the exemptions for kids will be issued between 7 and 14 days prior to the cruise, but that is too late to cancel air, etc. 

 

Unfortunately, I booked through the Carnival website, not with a TA.  Cannot find on the website how to cancel; it's not there like it is for a hotel room.  Called the 800 # and was on hold for 20 minutes to get through to the "payments" option, but she cannot cancel a cruise so forwarded my call to that department about 1 1/2 hours ago.  Is this the only way to cancel if the cruise was booked through the website?

 

Charlotte

 Yes, you can cancel it on Carnivals website. Go to your booking\planner area. Look at payment details or some wording like that.  It will tell you what the terms of cancellation are. 

[Trash Queen]

4 minutes ago, silvercrikhix said:

 Yes, you can cancel it on Carnivals website. Go to your booking\planner area. Look at payment details or some wording like that.  It will tell you what the terms of cancellation are. 

Thank you.  I hadn't scrolled down far enough.  All of my money will be refunded.

 

Charlotte

[Tapi]

13 hours ago, Yankee587 said:

Is it more or less normal on the ships/island? 

When are you cruising? Ship/itinerary?

 

We are also a family of 4 with two children too young to be vaccinated (9 and 11). Like you, I struggled with the decision on whether to go on a cruise or not. 
 

Long story short, we did sail during the first week of September and had an absolutely wonderful time. Making sure that we met all the health and safety protocols was the most stressful part about it, but once we got those initial steps out of the way, it was smooth sailing from there. We scheduled NAAT (IDNOW) Covid tests from Walgreens and they were completely free of charge (with or without insurance). We got the results in one hour. At the port, the kids were required to take an additional pre-boarding Covid test (also free of charge) but it was quick and uneventful. We just had to wait 20-30 minutes inside the terminal for the results, but after that, we proceeded to regular check in. 
 

There was PLENTY for the kids to do, both on the ship and ashore. The kids club ran a good program with plenty of activities to keep them entertained (although they only attended two times for an hour at a time). Swimming pools, water slides, video arcades, ropes course, etc were all open. At the private island, we were allowed to unmask and enjoy the day with few limitations. We also enjoyed a fantastic waverunner excursion as a family. It was truly the highlight of our cruise. 
 

Since this was our first cruise since the pandemic started, I wanted to keep things as simple as possible and to minimize limitations, possible risks and last minute setbacks. After looking at various itineraries, and reading health and safety protocols

from different cruise lines, we chose a 3 night itinerary from Miami on MSC visiting only the cruise line’s private island followed by a day at sea. While super short, it was the perfect way to “test the waters” and get back into cruising. The experience was so enjoyable that we’re now planning our next cruise(s). 
 

Hope you decide to cruise. I know you may have concerns. I sure did. But once I was there and got to experience how all these protocols come together, and how we were able to have a wonderful time even with those in place, I was glad that we decided to cruise. It was a much needed and long awaited break. 

Edited October 15, 2021 by Tapi

[IntrepidFromDC]

5 hours ago, Trash Queen said:

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything; the happiest people make the best of everything"

 

Charlotte

What a great quote!

[Trash Queen]

13 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

What a great quote!

 

13 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

What a great quote!

from Virginia Satir

 

[matymil]

33 minutes ago, Tapi said:

When are you cruising? Ship/itinerary?

 

We are also a family of 4 with two children too young to be vaccinated (9 and 11). Like you, I struggled with the decision on whether to go on a cruise or not. 
 

Long story short, we did sail during the first week of September and had an absolutely wonderful time. Making sure that we met all the health and safety protocols was the most stressful part about it, but once we got those initial steps out of the way, it was smooth sailing from there. We scheduled NAAT (IDNOW) Covid tests from Walgreens and they were completely free of charge (with or without insurance). We got the results in one hour. At the port, the kids were required to take an additional pre-boarding Covid test (also free of charge) but it was quick and uneventful. We just had to wait 20-30 minutes inside the terminal for the results, but after that, we proceeded to regular check in. 
 

There was PLENTY for the kids to do, both on the ship and ashore. The kids club ran a good program with plenty of activities to keep them entertained (although they only attended two times for an hour at a time). Swimming pools, water slides, video arcades, ropes course, etc were all open. At the private island, we were allowed to unmask and enjoy the day with few limitations. We also enjoyed a fantastic waverunner excursion as a family. It was truly the highlight of our cruise. 
 

Since this was our first cruise since the pandemic started, I wanted to keep things as simple as possible and to minimize limitations, possible risks and last minute setbacks. After looking at various itineraries, and reading health and safety protocols

from different cruise lines, we chose a 3 night itinerary from Miami on MSC visiting only the cruise line’s private island followed by a day at sea. While super short, it was the perfect way to “test the waters” and get back into cruising. The experience was so enjoyable that we’re now planning our next cruise(s). 
 

Hope you decide to cruise. I know you may have concerns. I sure did. But once I was there and got to experience how all these protocols come together, and how we were able to have a wonderful time even with those in place, I was glad that we decided to cruise. It was a much needed and long awaited break. 

We had a very similar experience when we went a couple of weeks ago. Our child is much younger (still a toddler) but he at no point was board. These kind of questions are literally impossible to get answers to because there are so many factors at the end of the day nobody knows your kids like you do. Like i know our son could have just as much fun playing with his cars on the balcony (he did) as he would on an excursion but its not like that for every child.