Advice sought all areas

[Northern Lad]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post and as I am a complete novice to cruising, I am looking for any advice anyone can give me.

My wife and I are looking to book our first cruise for next year on the Navigator of the Seas, sailing May 19th From Southampton for a 14 night med cruise. We have 2 kids, aged 10 and 6 at the time of sailing. Firstly what is the best cabin arrangement for a family of our type, can we get two cabins adjoining each other or is there faciltiy for all of us in one cabin:confused:

 

The ship looks well suited to kids, but we do want to enjoy the evenings as well once the little ones gets too tired to carry on - do the ships have a babysitting service so we can leave them safey and enjoy later evening entertainment?

 

We are UK based, so can anyone recommend a place to book through, there are so many sites all offering the "best" deals. It looks like a minefield, should we use a highstreet travel agent or spend hours trawling various websites to get a couple of quid off :rolleyes:

 

I am sure as the booking and cruise dates get nearer, I will have a hundred and one other questions, so any help or pointers are more than welcome :)

 

Thanks All

 

NL

[crusinmama06]

You can get 2 adjoining cabins. But if your children don't mind sharing a bed, maybe you could look into a Junior Suite. It would give you some extra space, a balcony and a slightly bigger bathroom.

 

You won't need "in room babysitting" for that age. Once my daughter hit 4 years old, there was no way to drag her from the kids club. She often outlasted me. I wanted to go to bed but had to wait up for her. So at 6 and 10 years old, they will be enjoying themselves in the kids club, no worries. There IS in room babysitting, but my guess is that you will not need it.

 

And from what I can tell, it doesn't matter what the cruise sites say, Royal Carribean does not offer deals to any one site without it being offered at its own site. So just book early at www.rccl.com and if they lower the price, they will honor it (just call them and ask them to lower it to the need discounted price). If they raise the price, your price is still locked in.

 

Your best bet is to book as soon as the dates become available.

[beaniebaby]

Hi Northern Lad and welcome,

 

We have recently booked a cruise on Mariner of the seas. We did book direct with RCCL as previous poster advised and you will be able to view each and every type of cabin available. If you book early enough you would have a good choice of cabin.

 

This week I found that cruisesdirect2u were offering the same cruises at 6%discount, so it is well worth a look.( I am also from the U.K.)

 

You will have a fantastic time:) as there will be so much for you all to do, i'ts the only way to holiday.

[Elaine0138]

In the UK there are many deals on and I'm afraid it is a matter of shopping round. If you are looking for a particular cabin it is best to book early.

 

I have found that the prices are better online that in a local travel agent. I usually phone Royal Caribbean first see what they are offering and the last time I was told by them to go to a TA as I would get some sort of discount.

 

In the UK RCI don't automatically give you a refund if the price drops. There are several differences between UK and the US booking conditions

[Nliedel]

You are going to have a blast.

 

We got conneting cabins for our kids and we are glad we did. Two TV's, two bathrooms and a door that closes. Ahh a real vacation.

 

The Brilliance has a few connecting cabins so you'll want to grab them up soon.

 

We used in room babysitting some nights because the kids were too tired to go to Adventure Ocean. The in room sitting for more than one child is actually cheaper than AO.

 

Sorry we cannot, on the boards, reccomend individual agencies but if you poke around here you will get ideas, look at the ads. Some of those agencies can book for UK passengers.

[MrsPete]

Firstly what is the best cabin arrangement for a family of our type, can we get two cabins adjoining each other or is there faciltiy for all of us in one cabin:confused:

We have always shared a cabin with our children; we are light packers, so the room isn't stuffed to the gills with unnecessary things. We like balcony rooms because it is a cheap way to get "two rooms" for less money; the balcony gives my husband a place to disappear when the girls are dressing, and it's a spot for adult company after the kids are in bed. It works for us. We're rarely in our room anyway.

The ship looks well suited to kids, but we do want to enjoy the evenings as well once the little ones gets too tired to carry on - do the ships have a babysitting service so we can leave them safey and enjoy later evening entertainment?

Your kids will be old enough for the kids' clubs (I think your kids will be separated into different age groups). You'll be given a list of activities for the week, and they can pick and choose what they want to do. They might offer a craft afternoon, or a science experiment morning. Most kids LOVE the clubs -- it's like summer camp. The clubs are supervised areas, so you can feel good abouat leaving your children there. Your youngest won't be allowed to sign herself in and out of the club, and you can decide whether to give your oldest permission to come and go as she pleases.

[shipknotshore]

The Navigator is a wonderful choice of ships to cruise on. There are fun things for everyone to do and nice spots to relax in too. DH & I enjoyed playing miniature golf, it's a fun family activity. The promenade is nice for a quick bite to eat - they have yummy little sandwiches and cookies.

We really had a wonderful time on this ship - I'm hoping you will too.

[mikeblum]

my daughter is sitting next to me in a frenzy, we took our two girls on their frist cruise at the age of 10 and 12, The 10 yer old is now 15. She hated the kids club, she says it was like a prison they wouldn't let her leave and when the wife and I wanted to go to shows alone the made the kids go anyways but sit up top. I must say the funniest part was when during one show my two daughters and a 11 year old from Canada told the teacher they where going to the bathroom and never came back. A cruise cop/ kid rangler had to come kind us to help find them

 

She left the room now, I guess she thinks the kid group is terribale, but telling the truth it was great knowing your kids where being taken care of

They didn't let them sign themselves out though, maybe it has changed

 

Welcome to cruising, you'll have a great time

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

Northern Lad:

 

We have cruise much and all but a couple were with our children, now aged 18 and 14 but who have cruised since they were nine months old.

 

I can tell you that the kids club is FANTASTIC!!! The kids WANT to go there. They are entertained all day long (9 a.m.-10 p.m.) except during lunch hour and dinner hours. They can stay after 10 p.m. also but you will pay for that. It is $5/hr per child.

 

We have never used in cabin babysitting. It wasn't something I was comfortable with.

 

As for room configuration we have mostly done standard inside cabins for 4 people. This is of course the least expensive way to go. We do that so we can cruise more often:D because of course you will get hooked:)

 

Even the size our guys are now we travel in one inside cabin for the four of us. Now we only take 4 suitcases and a garment bag and two carryon (small size) bags.

 

Navigator and all Voyager class ships are great for the kids. The kids facility is huge. Navigator has a fantastic, personable captain too. You are making a great choice.

 

We may even join you on that cruise!!!!

 

As for booking there are a few perks being offered by various online agencies as well as regular land based agencies but we have always booked direct with RCCL as we know more about cruising than the travel agents we have dealt with in the past and we find that extremely frustrating.

 

You are making a great choice. You will have a fabulous time!:)

[Northern Lad]

Thank you all for the positive and helpful comments, I don't know now whether to go for one room or two :)

 

I am already excited about the holiday and it is still over a year away ;)

 

Any more help will be gratefully received.

 

Thanks

 

NL

[Northern Lad]

Hello again all,

 

So we have taken the advice of Cruisinmama06 (ta Mama ;) ) and are going for a Junior Suite. At the moment we have been offered 4 cabins and would love to hear your opinions on which you think is best. I spoke to RCI's resevations dept in the UK and they have offered us (and we have an option on till tommorrow- Saturday) Deck 9 9594 which is about 6 forward from the "hump" or deck 10 Aft 1358.

 

An internet site has offered us either 9294 or 9598 both about 5/6 forward of the hump again one port one starboard.

 

Surprisingly at the moment RCI is actually £120 dearer than the website travel agent, do you think when the helpful chappy rings me back in the morning from RCI they are likely to do a price match?

 

Also after reading the forum a little, what do you think my chances of requesting a cabin actually on the hump are? Something like 9618 which is centre hump - are these particularly sought after cabins and if so why is that?

 

What should I be asking for, guys help me out :confused:

 

Thanks

 

NL

[Elaine0138]

RCI in the UK don't usually price match, in fact I was told by the guy I was talking to at RCI to try a TA as they would be cheaper. Ask if the cabin you are interested in is available, I have done that and always got the cabin i was after.

[debs1204]

Hi

We're also from the UK and I would suggest against booking with RCCL as I have always managed to get a cheaper price.

I dont think I am allowed to post websites on here so if you want to send me an email I'd gladly pass on a couple of websites where we've booked cruises at competitive rates. Also like the previous poster said we have always managed to book any cabin that is showing available with RCCL

You will have a wicked time on the Navigator, just be prepared to never want to holiday any other way in the future - cruisin is the best. :D

Debs

[debs1204]

Oops sorry my email address is

debzellis@btinternet.com

[QuitMyDayJob]

We traveled on the Navigator last December and fully expected the six year old in our group to love the AO, but she wasn't that wild about it. As for the in-room babysitting, it was great, and we used it twice so that all the adults could go to the specialty restaurants where kids under 13 aren't allowed. Our reservations were late enough that their parents had taken both kids to eat in the Windjammer and they were all but asleep when we left for dinner. The babysitter probably read the whole time!

 

Bottomline: there are several options depending on the situation and what your children are fond of.

 

Have a GREAT time!

[Elaine0138]

Just today I had a leaflet in the post from a UK TA with some good deals on Navigator, this company advertise in the Daily Mail, so it might be worth a check through the papers today for deals.