Traveling w/ext. family any tips?

[the plumbers wife]

HI, This will be our first cruise in over 12 years, we are taking our twin sons (age 12) and my parents are coming. We are all on the same deck, my parents are more towards the bow and we are more towards the back in two cabins across from each other. What tips do you have for traveling with family? The kids will eat earlier, but we are at the late seating, so we will have dinner together. We all agree that a cruise is the best way to go to travel with family, this will be our first adventure :confused: ! Thanks!

[Keith1010]

Many families cruise with their extended families. It's a nice time for the extended family to be together.

 

Here's a couple of things to think about.

 

Be sure that your reservations have been linked together so that you are all at the same table for dining. The TA can do this for you if that hasn't been done already. Decided if you just want to dine by yourselves, or if you want to dine at a larger table. You said that the kids are going to eat earlier. How do you envision that will that work? Are they going to eat in the cabin? Also, when you are eating what plans do you have for the children?

 

Also, at the ports that you visit, have you talked about if the six of you will stay together? If not, it's fun to plan what you will do at the various ports and who will do what.

 

Keith

[Sheffie]

Why are the kids eating earlier? I have found that most kids on a cruise enjoy eating dinners with their parents. Our friends' son loved trying the new foods, eating with "all that silverware," and being pampered by the waiters. Please try it!

 

When we have cruised with friends or family, we set up 2 rules:

1. We are not attached at the hip. If we want to do something different than the others, fine; if we want to do something together, great. (This goes for ON the ship as well as off the ship.)

 

2. We do not buy each other liquor. It gets hard remembering whose turn it is to buy drinks. This also alleviates any guilt over being the person who drinks more expensive drinks, or the feeling of being the one paying for someone elses expensive drink!

 

Have a fabulous time! What a wonderful family vacation!

[Happy ks]

I wholeheartedly agree with the above posters. The kids will enjoy dinner with you and you have to "do your own thing", meet up for dinner and have something to talk about.

 

Cruising is a great way to enjoy a family vacation. There is something for everyones separate interest and you still have together time. We cruised with a group of 15 family and friends and followed the above rules, everyone had fun. Sometimes we would run into each other on the ship and spend a while together, but there were no hard feelings if there was just a greeting and a "see you later!".

[Seago2]

I cruised Carnival last summer with four of my sons (15, 13, 11 and 7) in my cabin (I am Mom) and my mother and great aunt down the hall (different cabins, from different sides of my family and hadn't seen each other in 30 years- by choice). We had a blast.

 

Your kids will function as messengers, traveling between people to tell them where the other people are and what they are doing. This will go on night and day. You will never need to plan when to meet each other- you will just tell Twin One to see if Grandma is almost ready and then tell Twin Two to go get Twin One. It's just like when they were toddlers and you sent them on missions to keep them occupied all day.

 

My kids were pretty much on their own the whole time we were at sea. They just cruised around, checking in all the time, checking out the scene, reporting back. You will have zero worries with two twelve year olds. In terms of the adults- you might have problems there. The thing to do is just disengage from the power struggles. You may find that an older relative is panicking about where one of the kids is- just ignore. Camp Carnival lets kids over 8 check themselves in and out- that should show you the degree of risk (zero).

 

The worst thing I see on a cruise is some bossy mom ordering a husband around, yelling about sunscreen, screaming at a kid not to walk in the street, sulking at dinner, dramatically checking her watch while sitting by the pool.... this is the person you pray will not be on your shore excursion. If you just go with a relaxed attitude you will be fine.

 

Here is my review of that cruise. It is long and boring but you can skim it to see the relevant parts.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

http://www.cruisereviews.com/CarnivalCruiseLines/Elation79.htm

[serene56]

if you are sure you dont want the kids to be eating with you-- make sure your agent knows so she can free up their seats.

If you get onboard and see that the kids do have seats in the dining room let the matre d know that the kids wont be eating with you.

 

 

If you are eating at the later dining= this is when the camps have activities happening for the kids. Most activities are over by 10- which is when late dining is getting over. (so I do understand your point in the kids eating earlier or miss out on those activiites)

[the plumbers wife]

Thanks so much for all your advice, please keep the comments coming:D ! As far as the kids, I am sure that some nights they are going to want to eat (buffet) earlier and then go to the Adventure Club. I would like them to eat with us also to try new foods, ect. Although one twin is very fussy..lol and the other one loves everything and anything!!! I know that our reservations are linked, can I tell how many people are at our table ahead of time? My father can tend to worry about the kids, where they are, what they are doing, ect?? My Mom and I are calm so hopefully it should even out;) ! Good point about the kids being messengers!! My kids have a great relationship with my parents and I want it to be a vacation that they will remember as they get older!

[serene56]

You could get a table for 6 -- or a table for 8 or 10. you wont know til you are onboard.