Newbie questions

[38anchor]

Hi guys, just found this site and wow, just in the nick of time it seems.

 

Me and parnet (both early 30's - no kids) are looking to book out very first cruise shortly and have decided that we would love to go on the Xmas 2007 sailing of Feedom. I think we are going to go for either a Ocean Viw or Balcony.

 

Now my questions (and please forgive me as they may be basic bit I am new to all this):

 

- any floors/cabins to avoid and vice verca any to go for if available?

- How formal are formal nights, esp at Xmas?

- I know the ship will be full of famillies, but is it likely to feel 'heaving'?

- How do children generally behave on RCL? May seem a silly question but are they left to run riot, should be book later meals or are they generally well behaved?

 

Any (and I mean any) advice or input would be gratefully received. Its going to be a lot of money for us UK'ers to spend, and I would love to make the most of it.

[TheLastDream]

Welcome to the boards!

 

1. If you dislike noise, avoid the aft. My familiy stayed in the very rear of the ship on one cruise, and the engines kept us awake at night! For placement, I recommend closest to the stairs/elevators as possible, especially on a ship as big as the Freedom!

 

2. Formal means formal. Personally, I wear a suit and tie, but I see many men wearing tuxedos. The woman generally wear dresses, however some wear just a fancy skirt/blouse.

 

3. Not really, my family and I vacation on the Disney ships (which has even more families) and it wasn't really "heaving" with kids.

 

4. Kids are generally well-behaved; however, kids are extremely routy near the pools that are open to them. In addition, kids my age (I'm 15) can get, let's say, perverse. If you happen to run into us at night (3/4 in the morning) you may see more than you wanted to.

[38anchor]

Thanks for that 'The Last Dream'.

 

I have heard though that if we want a balcony, aft is better as they are larger - is this true?????

 

Any other comments...... please........

[PhinsAndGills]

1. I'm sorry, but I can't help you here, I don't spend much time in my stateroom and book wherever I can. Never had a problem with ANY room (other than one on the Majesty hearing the anchor, but that won't be a problem for you!)

 

2. RCCL's dress code is suggested, and not an enforced rule (you'll hear MANY opinions about this, most very STRONG on this board.) However, I treat the suggestion like being invited to a friend's party. If my friend asked me to dress formally, I would think it very rude to show up in jeans and a t-shirt. However, you'll see it all. I cruised over Thanksgiving and even though Thanksgiving night was not a listed "formal" night, MANY people dressed up a little more because it was a holiday. I imagine the same would apply for Christmas. My husband brings a black suit or tux and I wear a formal, no matter what others are wearing. We've ALWAYS gotten complements and many times people (other passengers, wait staff, head waiter, etc.) have thanked us for dressing up.

 

3. Again, comparing my Thanksgiving experience, because it's a school break, there were a LOT of kids (almost 1300!!! :eek: as reported by one bar staff) on the Mariner. However, I don't feel like they were overrunning the place. They are noticable, but not heaving.

 

4. Behavior is such a subjective thing. I've personally had very few issues with kids on board, (and I'm a teacher, I notice these things...) If you have a problem, my best advice would be locate a staff member. On my last cruise, there was a girl snorkeling in one of the adults-only hot tubs. A staff member was told about the problem and they told her that wasn't allowed here. Mother got huffy, but they left. After repeated announcements, a large group of children did not leave the adults-only comedy show, but I didn't notice any staff members say anything directly to the children (who were sitting without parents). I imagine that if someone had notified a staff member, they may have been told to leave. Again, that's a VERY heated topic on these boards, so you'll hear everything. Some take the opinions that their children (and themselves) are above the rules for whatever reason and that's not going to change. Others have respect for the rules and I personally appreciate that.

 

Overall, it's going to depend on your ship, sailing, and outlook. If you look for misbehaving kids, you'll find them. If you look for sloppy drunks spending too much money in the casino, you'll find them. If you look for chair hogs, you won't find them, but you'll see their stuff (ha ha). If you look for tons of families, you'll find them. However, if you look to have a great time, see beautiful ports, find new friends, and a wonderful cruise experience, you can most definetly find that, too! GOOD LUCK and let us know what you decide! :)

[Sunrunner3]

- any floors/cabins to avoid and vice verca any to go for if available?

 

Hi,

 

I have one comment about floors/cabins to avoid, remember to see what is above or below your cabin as we had the disco below our cabin last year and heard thump thump thump till it closed. I will have cabins above and below me from now on.

 

Robin