Carnival Miracle with 17 Month Old

[Rhealsmom]

What a wonderful vacation. Here is my attempt at a review.... Sorry that it is so very long.... But here are a few of our musts....

 

Wouldn't travel without: stroller (embarking, debarking, life boat drill); backpack tether "leash" (used this every day onboard the ship and in port); multiple soothers; toddler utensils (5 sets); sippy cups (5); 2 blankies; bed time buddy (1); inflatable pool for our balcony; baby shampoo (forgot this -- shampoo provided on the ship bothered her eyes)

 

Would leave at home; extra nibblers (crackers, granola bars, etc -- plenty to take along as snacks on board); toys (she just needed 1 puzzle and a book for our cabin along with her pool which she used quite a bit); too many clothes (easier to do a wash then carry all of those extra clothes).

 

Itinerary -- Departed New York City, Thursday, May 1/08 -- San Juan, St. Thomas & Tortola -- returninging on Friday, May 9/08.

 

1st - a bit of history... This was our 4th cruise (my husband, our son and myself) - but the 1st cruise for my sister and her 17 month old daughter.

 

DH and I are parents of a 30 year old special needs son. Because of our son's needs and our desire to take an attendant along, cruising is not very frequent -- but when we finally get to go -- we want to fully enjoy it.

 

For this cruise - DH and I were booked in a Category 11 suite (saved 7 years for this cruise) and our son, my sister (his attendant for this trip) and her daughter were in the adjoining 8E cabin (We had 6152 & 6154). We kept all of our sons clothing and supplies in our cabin -- he was simply in the other cabin for sleeping purposes.

 

Our son cannot fly --- so we drove down from Saint John, New Brunswick to Windsor Locks, CT on Wednesday... and spent the night at the Comfort Suites. The hotel provided us with a "mini crib" (same crib as was on the ship) -- but did not have baby blanket's etc., so bring your own.

 

Olivia (17 month old) is not used to sleeping in the same room as anyone else (she has her own room at home) and found it difficult to sleep in the hotel room with us all -- so she and Aunty (myself) were off and wandering the halls at 3:30am on Thursday morning --- I like to think she was just so excited about what was coming up.

 

She was in a wonderful mood and went back into her car seat really easily.

 

We left Windsor Locks around 8:30am and arrived at the port at 11:30am.

 

Embarkation - we arrived too early... We had opted to park at the pier ($240.00 for the 8 nights ---- remember to bring your parking receipt from the car) as it was cheaper then parking elsewhere and taking the trains, cabs and or car services to the pier.

 

DH dropped us off at the main entrance and went to park the car. We put Livvy into her stroller right away --- but because the previous cruise was still debarking --- there were no porters or trolly's available to take the luggage - so we waited outside amongst the confusion for about 10 minutes. Eventually, we did find a porter and were able to push our way through the crowd to the main registration area where we waited for DH to join us.

 

We have always embarked early on our previous cruises -- but this is one case where it doesn't pay to arrive too early (in my opinion).

 

Once we made it through the pier embarkation process -- we were boarding the ship and were ushered immediatly up to Horatio's on Lido Deck. We were told we could go to our cabin at 1:30pm --- but were not actually allowed down until 2:30pm --- so make sure you have diapers, wipes, toys, blankies, etc... with you --- as you may be up on Lido for a while before you can get to your cabins.

 

There are no change tables anywhere on the ship - so be prepared to find an empty chaise to do your changing. Livvy hates being changed, so she made the announcement every time we were trying to discreetly get her cleaned up...:o

 

Cabin 6152 - This is a standard 8E cabin. My twin beds were together and we left them this way (in case she had to co-sleep) with Livvy. Our son slept on the sleeper sofa (which he has always slept on and likes) and Livvy's crib fit nicely at the foot of the twin beds.

 

The primary drawback was that this blocked the floor access to the deck. If Lesley wanted to go out to the deck - she had to crawl across the bed. The plus to this was that it slowed Olivia down from getting to the balcony door and prevented our son from getting to that door as well.

 

The crib provided by Carnival is a small white metal crib. They make up the crib with twin bedsheets -- so you may wish to bring along your own. We used the ships sheets and Livvy didn't strip the bed - but she is a quiet sleeper. They did not provide any blankets -- so blankets from home are a must (we had two of Livvy's favorite blankets and her pillow from home and she was just fine.)

 

Drawback of the crib and where we placed it ---- Livvy learned that if she was in the crib and stepped onto the foot of the bed -- she could climb out of the crib. She also learned how to climb into the crib (teehee). We did speak with 4 others who had 17 - 22 month olds in the cribs and no one else learned how to climb out --- so don't worry too much.

 

There was lots of storage in the cabin. We took her stroller which collapses and it tucked neatly at the foot of the crib.

 

Livvy didn't mind the shower at all. The flusher to the toilet is behind the lid (so we just didn't show her how to flush -- as this is one of her new favorite toys -- flushing whatever can be found). Bathroom counters are quite deep so things can be pushed back quite well and there are shelves above the bathroom counter so again, things can be put up.

 

 

Cabin 6154 - is a category 11 suite -- so it has a lot more room (we were prepared to move the baby into our room if needed -- but she seemed to be doing OK in her cabin after the 1st night so we left her in her cabin with her mom and cousin). The one thing we did have is a bathtub with whirlpool -- so great for the evening tubby's. The bigger cabin was also used as the playroom, diningroom, anytime we were up room.

 

Lots and lots of closet space (had to leave one empty for Livvy --- she needs her privacy when having her bowel movements now :D --- we hope this is an early sign that she may be ready for potty training soon).

 

We also had the Pursers desk open the connecting door between our balcony's so we had one long balcony with 4 chairs, 2 tables and 1 chaise lounge == so plenty of room for her inflatable pool which we took with us.

 

Cabin Balconies - The balconies are clear glass -- probably about 4 feet high with a heavy wooden railing on top. The dividing walls between cabins is a frosted glass. You can't see anything through it (perhaps some shadows if they had their balcony lights on and you didn't) - but again very secure. There is a small gap under the connecting balconies that I worried that Livvy might be able to worm her way through -- but fortunately, she never thought of that.

 

Livvy is a real climber but even if she was standing on the seat of a chair or on one of the tables, she couldn't pull herself up and over the balcony rail. The furniture was too heavy for her to move.

 

We made a point of having all of the furniture along the back wall and of course --- she was never on the balcony without an adult.We left her pool inflated the whole time as well and were never crowded.

 

Meal Times - Horatios (deck 9 - Open dining) was where most of our breakfasts and lunches were held. We waited a very long time on two occasions for anyone to bring us a highchair (I didn't see any boosters - but the highchairs can be used with the tray or without).... On just about every other occasion when we went to get a highchair ourselves (they are always stored in the same spot -- just as you enter Horatio's from the aft stairwells); one of the staff would see us carrying the highchair and would take it from us and carry it to our table. For obvious reasons - the highchairs are not on wheels --- so it is difficult taking your toddler up to grab a meal on your own (carrying them, the tray with food, etc...). It is certainly much easier if you can take turns - one sitting with your little one while the other grabs dinner for you all.

 

Right from the 1st morning -- Olivia and I had our own routine. I would go to our balcony early (5am most mornings) and would read --- occassionally peeking in to the other cabin to see if she was up. When I noticed that Livvy had awoken, I would open their cabin door (Doors open out onto the balcony) and would take Livvy from her crib - and we would go explore the ship.

 

She could run freely up on Lido deck, with very few people to trip over her. We were able to get boxed cereal, milk (2percent, skim and chocolate) and yogurt - so after some running time --- she would have some milk and a bit of dry cereal (only saw sugared cereals - ie. fruit loops, cinnamon toast crunch, raisin bran, etc...) -- we would go for more running time and then back for yogurt and a glass of juice.

 

Livvy learned to climb stairs very well (most mornings she climbed the 3 flights up to the Lido deck) and had a lot of freedom. Lido deck is totally enclosed --- accept for the very aft by the Orpheus bar and pool - so is quite safe when no one else is around.

 

Bachus Dining Room -- staff were very good. After our 1st night - they made sure the highchair was at our table, always had rolls and a bowl of fruit ready for her. They made sure she had a coloring book, and new box of 3 crayons ready for her (she still eats crayons and we had trouble making the staff understand that we didn't want the crayons - so we gave up and started taking her back to the dining room with her soother in the mouth ---- after all, if the "plug" is in, the crayons won't fit :o ).

 

They are very accomodating. Livvy had a bowl of fruit and a bowl of steamed veggies each night (Fruit was usually, watermelon, cantelope, grapes, honeydew and a couple of strawberries ---- Steamed veggies came on a large dinner plate and was usually, potatoe, broccoli, asparagus and perhaps carrot). And then just gave her the meat, poultry or fish off of our plates. We did order a child's meal for her a couple of times -- but she is a great eater - so we just fed her off of our plates.

 

They would take her sippy cup and fill it with white or chocolate milk (whichever we requested).

 

They do not have toddler utensils or sippy cups -- so you have to take your own. We took along a bottle of dish soap, and a dish wand (the type you pour the liquid into the handle) and just did up her cups and utensils each evening in the cabin. We used the diningroom plates and bowls.

 

Life Boat Drill - Take your toddler to the life boat drill in their stroller if you have it with you. For lifeboat drill they want everyone on deck 3 - row after row, but they pulled us out of crowd because we had the stroller and asked us to sit inside within "Gatsby's Garden". We still had to be there with our life jackets -- but didn't have to stand for the 20 minutes - trying to keep track of her. (Our son doesn't handle crowds well at all - so all 5 of us were able to stay in Gatsby's Garden).

 

It is at the Life Boat Drill that your child will have a bracelet put on their arm. If you think it will be a problem on the arm, ask them to put it on the ankle.

 

The staff will say that all children under 12 have to have one on for the full duration of the cruise --- but a great number of the younger ones pulled theirs off - and the parents did not have them put back on. I don't think they can stay at Camp Carnival without a parent without them though.

 

Livvy didn't bother with hers at all, and in fact has been trying to put hers back on since we cut it off this morning.

 

If you don't have a toddler life jacket (we didn't) ask your stateroom attendant for one and they will make sure you have one (we got ours within about an hour of the life boat drill).

 

 

Camp Carnival - is for children over 2 years of age -- so she was too young to take and leave ---- but, I did take her for the family play time on 3 occasions. You will have to watch the Capers for the times -- but it is usually 12pm-2pm on Sea Days.

 

On our 1st sea day - I took her up (her mommy stayed back in the cabin and had a nap) and we stayed for about an hour. There were 5 child care attendants there, and only 2 children. I stayed with Livvy -- and she had full run of the room and all of the toys (full of "Little People" type of toys -- house, farm, school, garage, etc.). There was one other little boy who was 23 months old - his mom and dad had left him for babysitting - so the staff found it easier to entertain the two at the same time.

 

On our 2nd sea day - both Lesley and I went up to Camp Carnival with her - and again, it was only the two children. We didn't stay very long the 2nd day as the little boy was tired and they were trying to get him down for a nap (nap area is in the same space as the play area - so then we had to make sure that Livvy didn't step on him as she was trying to get from toy to toy).

 

I took her back again on our 5th sea day and this time she was the only one there. She had a good time running from toy to toy --- and myself and the counsellors just watched her "do her thing".

 

We did not use the babysitting services at all.

 

We did take both Livvy and Rheal (our 30 year old son --- developmentally around 2) to the Bear Factory --- bear building session. Livvy got a black dog and Rheal got a frog. On our cruise -- they offered, a bear, dog, frog or cat. The basic animal was $19.95 and comes with a carnival t-shirt. If you wanted extra's the 1st extra cost an extra $7 and all other extra's were $5 each. Extra's include a sound box (you put your own message on the box and stuff it into the pet's arm, leg, tummy, etc - so that when it is pressed -your child will hear your personal recording), Sailor boy or Sailer Girl outfits (if you selected the sailor boy outfit - you got a free baseball player outfit as well & if you selected the sailor girl outfit - you got a free cheerleader outfit as well), or a Police Officer Outfit. I don't know if other sailings have other options --- this is just what was available to us.

 

You have to stuff the pet yourself (very easy and zippers shut) and we left the staff our "pet's names, eye colors, etc... and their birth certificates were available to be picked up from Camp Carnival that night. We did this on May 3 which is our son's birthday so "Froggy" and Woof Woof and Rheal all have the same birthday.

 

Camp Carnival also has Strollers, Walkie Talkies & Game Boys to Rent for the week (I think each are $25)

 

 

San Juan - Ship docks right in town... A very short walk to many, many places to shop, and sights to see.

 

Streets are cobblestone -- tough on strollers (Livvy loved the rough ride though) -- but tougher on little legs that are at best unsteady. Don't forget, your little one has just been sailing for 3 days as well - so Sea legs on top of rough terraine - do not always go well together.

 

In San Juan - we just wandered around a little. This is an evening port - so we just took it easy... Walked around a bit, and then back to the ship and on-board for a quiet dip in the Kiddie pool and lots of play time, on a quiet ship.

 

St. Thomas - Ship docked right at Havensight pier.

 

We visitited the Butterfly Farm (At the aft end of the dock (towards the back end of the dock). This was wonderful for Olivia... She loved the flowers, butterflies and the Koi pond (they also have a big black dog - that just likes to lay down by the reception desk and greet all of the visitors).

 

We had Pre-booked a tour with Godfrey. It was wonderful. We did take the stroller (would not take in again on a St. Thomas tour) - which Godfrey kindly kept in the cab of the truck with him.

 

We did 1 hour shopping in Charlotte Amalie and then a 2 hour tour. You will be travelling on open Trolly type of buses (most had 4 or 5 rows of seats with each seat holding 4 adults).

 

There are also plenty of closed vans and buses (taxi's) offering the same kinds of tours -- but I can't comment on any of them.

 

When doing our research --- I was very leary of the Trolly for both Livvy and for our son Rheal - but after a number of e-mails between Godfrey and ourselves -- I was more comfortable that he would accomodate our needs. I was not disappointed at all. There are a couple of other popular tour guides in St. Thomas --- and after watching their drivers, I am even more confident that our choice was the best.

 

Just a note --- I did not see a single taxi or tour operator who had working seat belts in their vehicles --- so a car seat would not have worked. Livvy wanted to sit on the seat by herself. We are all very large people -- so once we had her wedged inbetween us - she couldn't go anywhere anyway.

 

My sister, Livvy and I opted to go to Coki Beach. Rheal and Allan, stayed on the bus and went right back to the ship. This was a wonderful stop. She just loved playing in the soft sand (like icing sugar). Once you go out about 4 feet -- there is quite a steep drop off (not too deep - just unexpected) and the undertow was quite strong --- but she just loved sitting in our arms as the waves came in and shifted us around on the beach.

 

There are chairs and umbrella's to rent their for your stay, there are also a few places to grab a bite to eat and wait people to come around and serve you. The Dive shop also had pails and shovels but I don't know what the cost was or if they were for rent or sale.

 

Godfrey picked us up 2 hours later as arranged and took us back to the ship.

 

We still had an hour and a half to move wander around the shops of Havensite - before boarding the ship again.

 

Tortola - We didn't have anything planned for Tortola. Here we simply walked off of the ship and wandered through the stalls of vendors that are just outside of the pier gates. There are about 30 tents/stalls set up with vendors selling clothing, t-shirts, souveniers, etc... No high pressure sales at all. If you walk a bit further into the town --- there is a small area of about 10 huts that are also selling their wares... There is very little commercialization in Tortola -- and we didn't see anywhere to buy diapers and the like -- but perhaps if we had taken a tour into town.

 

My sister did take Livvy on her own to Cane Garden Bay. Just caught a Trolly outside of the pier gates ($20 round trip --- there were 2 other groups going from our ship on this same bus so she felt quite safe). They really enjoyed the beach as well.

 

 

Debarkation - not fun for anyone. This was only the 2nd run on this itinerary for this year for the Miracle. We were told that we would be starting to debark around 8:30am and since we had a low debarkation number (5) we were told that it would be relatively early and we would be off the ship.

 

Lesley and I took the kids to the dining room for breakfast (final meal with our new friends) - while Allan went and found a seat in one of the lounges on deck 2 to wait in. Actuall debarkation didn't even start until 9:30 or quarter to 10. By the time the self assist had debarked (most of these people had been standing in line for 2-3 hours and their nerves were shot -- we watched a number of people break down as they had missed their 10:30am flights and others who were going to miss their 11am cabs and drives. It was around 11:30 before we got off the ship and we were one of the 1st groups after the self assist people. There were already a great number of people waiting to embark for the next cruise.

 

Claiming our luggage wasn't bad and we had a porter right away. Our porter suggested that we take our luggage up to the roof top deck where we claimed our minivan and loaded up. This was quite easy. Again, we had Livvy in her stroller - so easier to keep track of her.

 

 

Please ask away if you have any other questions.... It is definately not a relaxing vacation --- but one that we wouldn't have traded for the world.

 

DH is already talking about our next cruise with her.... haven't mentioned this to her mother yet though -- teehee. :D

[azbaby8062]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing June 10th. My son is older (7) but I found the review useful.

[AJI2596]

OMG!!!!!!! THAT WAS YOU!!!!! I was the Mom of Andrew:D I can't believe it. I saw you all over the place and had no idea this was you!!!! That is soo funny. Great review. Sorry Andrew was so sleepy. I had no idea. I think maybe it is the rocking of the front of the boat that made him so tired. The babysitting thing worked out very well for us. I was against it in the beg but once I saw how nice the area is and how nice the staff was, I changed my mind.

 

I also agree about packing too many clothes and toys. Def not needed. Andrew thank goodness loved the porta crib. I thought they would give us a pack n play but this worked out soo much better. And bringing his mobile, blanket and pillow from home really helped. He actually napped every day and went to bed early and woke up late every morning. It worked out perfect. And I def rec a suite if you can do it if you travel with a child. It gives you the room you need.

 

Sorry to hijack your thread. I can't believe that was you all those times and I didn't even know it!!!

[Rhealsmom]

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that this was you either... Andrew is so sweet, and what a quiet young man.

 

I watched the camp carnival staff interacting with him and they were great during the times that I was there. Livvy, as you noticed is really an independent "I'm doing my own thing" kind of girl. The only time she really noticed Andrew, was when he was almost asleep (lol).

 

We had 2 cabins, side by side. Livvy slept in her crib in the 8E cabin with her mother and our son Rheal --- but all of the play time, tub time, etc... was in our category 11 suite. We also opened the partition on the balconies so we had a lot of play space out there.

 

We had a wonderful break during the evenings - having my sister along to care for our son. And I also got to spend a lot of "play" time with Livvy during the day. I really had the best of both worlds on this cruise. Certainly not relaxing - but barrels of fun and an amazing experience. I hope you and your family were able to enjoy your cruise as well.

 

It was a wonderful cruise. We all enjoyed ourselves immensly and are looking forward to the next cruise (time and date as yet to be determined --- but more then likely, on the Miracle once again.)

 

Tracey

[Al's_gal]

Thank you so much for your detailed review! We are booking the Miracle next spring with our two todllers, 3 and 2 at time of cruising, and I'm going to print out your entire review so I can reference it later. Thanks again =)

[kenteecruisin]

Thanks for the great review. We're traveling with our 7 mo dd & some family & friends next month. Do you have any extra suggestions of what we should bring or expect?

 

Thank you.:p

[queenanneitis]

Great review and we appreciate it! We've cruised quite a bit but this will be the first time we're traveling with our grandson without his parents. He'll be 19 months old when we sail so you're review was perfect.

 

I'm a real planner so I already had a packing list and kid tips all researched for the cruise but I fine tuned it a little based on your review!