Family cruise questions

[solo]

We are traveling for the first time with our kids and grandkids, and have several questions we can't remember from previous cruises, or didn't have to consider then.

- Don't remember if we need to pack our own towels for the beach excursions, or if they are provided. Does the ship provide them, or are they available at the beach, or do you need your own (for a family of 5 that's a lot of packing space used for beach towels)?

- What about beach toys for the little ones, can you buy them in port rather than packing them from home?

- I've heard cell phone charges are expensive, how do four families communicate when they are on shore excursions, and want to meet up?

- The arcade on the ship for the kids, how does that work - do you get tokens?, do you use money? Are they free?

- Irons are not available in the rooms - how do you handle clothes that are wrinkled? Can you borrow an iron for a period of time? Do they have steamers available?

- How strict are the age limits for the various ship activities (like the teen room) - we have kids that may just be a year younger than ages we've see listed. Would they be able to join their older cousin?

 

The kids range from 15 months to 14 years, so any other helpful suggestions - either on ship, or on shore - would be most welcome.

We leave next month and questions keep coming up! Thanks to all that have answers!

[mcfam5]

My information below is from our experiences with Carnival Cruise Lines, so all answers may not apply to all cruise lines.

 

We are traveling for the first time with our kids and grandkids, and have several questions we can't remember from previous cruises, or didn't have to consider then.

- Don't remember if we need to pack our own towels for the beach excursions, or if they are provided. Does the ship provide them, or are they available at the beach, or do you need your own (for a family of 5 that's a lot of packing space used for beach towels)? Nice beach towels are provided in your stateroom that you are permitted to take in port. Beware: if you lose the towel you will be charged, going rate these days is about $24 per towel.

- What about beach toys for the little ones, can you buy them in port rather than packing them from home? Obviously, this will depend on the port. My suggestions would be to bring a few play shovels and maybe a bucket (which you could pack in your suitcase filled with socks to not use up precious packing space). My kids are always so enthralled with the surrounding nature (water, shells, fish, etc) they usually do not play with a ton of toys.

- I've heard cell phone charges are expensive, how do four families communicate when they are on shore excursions, and want to meet up? Cell phone charges are quite expensive because you are in a foriegn country. Not to freak you out but a friend of mine had a $600 cell phone bill because of her phone usage during a cruise. I would suggest setting a prearranged time and place to meet and communicating that to everyone in advance.

- The arcade on the ship for the kids, how does that work - do you get tokens?, do you use money? Are they free? Carnival's arcades are not free and they work on a token system. You can purchase tokens with your Sail & Sign card.

- Irons are not available in the rooms - how do you handle clothes that are wrinkled? Can you borrow an iron for a period of time? Do they have steamers available? Irons are not available in staterooms but are available in the laundry facility onboard. You can just run your wrinkled clothes to the laundry room to press them.

- How strict are the age limits for the various ship activities (like the teen room) - we have kids that may just be a year younger than ages we've see listed. Would they be able to join their older cousin? Our experience has been that they were pretty strict with the age groupings. I know I have read other people's posts saying the opposite, so I assume it depends on the ship, the staff, the number of kids, the phase the moon is in, etc., etc. HEHEHE

 

The kids range from 15 months to 14 years, so any other helpful suggestions - either on ship, or on shore - would be most welcome.

We leave next month and questions keep coming up! Thanks to all that have answers!

[rebeccalouise]

The ship provides towels for the beach.

 

Buy toys them ahead of time- it is much easier and cheaper.

 

Cell phones won't necessarily work on the islands. My verizon phone did not work many places. It did usually work on the ship in the caribbean. Don't rely on communicating via cell phones.

 

You put money on their cabin card at a terminal in the arcade.

 

On ships where they have self-service laundry (Cunard, Princess and Holland America) they have irons for use in the laundry room. Otherwise you can have them sent out for pressing.

 

They are very strict unless there aren't many children onboard. Then they combine the two age groups to make it more fun for the kids.

 

I don't know what line you are sailing. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity offer incabin sitting for the 15 month old. It is on a first come/first serve basis- so sign up as soon as you board. Carnival offers group babysitting for 15 month olds from 10PM-3AM (which for me wouldn't work with a baby).

 

Tips would be don't overpack. If you are doing the Caribbean- kids are going to be in swimsuits and coverups by day and dress clothes by night. I always try to bring the minimum amount and send things out to be washed, or use the self-serve washers and hand rinse underwear, etc.

 

Things that worked well- travel DVD player- since kids and adults rarely want to watch the same thing on the one tv provided.

 

Bring your own hairdryer- the ship dryers are horrible.

 

Bring an umbrella stroller for kids 3 and under. Works better than a regular stroller.

 

Dont' bring car seats- a hastle and you'll never use them. Most taxis are vans and the rides are short.

 

Take "rests" everyday. The whole family should rest for two hours in the late afternoon- so that everyone is refreshed for dinner.

 

Don't plan excursions with little kids- research and do your own thing. I seek out nice resorts like "Westins" and "Hyatts" and use their beach- usually the best ones on the islands. Most hotels will charge you $ 25 each for beach chairs but it is well worth it. Call ahead to make sure that they offer this (most do). Dont' expect to use private hotel beaches without paying some sort of fee.

 

Do bring swim vests for kids. There are vests that have inflatable chambers that pack flat.

 

Bring goggles!

 

Don't insist on bringing little kids to the main diningroom. If they prefer going to the youth program during meal times- let them. Its their vacation too.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

what cruiseline are you sailing?

[solo]

what cruiseline are you sailing?

I didn't mention that we are sailing Royal Caribbean, Freedom of the Seas, sailing week of July 20th. Thanks for all the tips, good advice and some things we hadn't thought of. Keep them coming

[khm1]

We are traveling for the first time with our kids and grandkids, and have several questions we can't remember from previous cruises, or didn't have to consider then.

- Don't remember if we need to pack our own towels for the beach excursions, or if they are provided. Does the ship provide them, or are they available at the beach, or do you need your own (for a family of 5 that's a lot of packing space used for beach towels)?

The ship provides them. You should get them in your cabin and can exchange them at the pool or your room attendant will change them for clean ones.

- What about beach toys for the little ones, can you buy them in port rather than packing them from home?

Bring them with you as PP suggested.

- I've heard cell phone charges are expensive, how do four families communicate when they are on shore excursions, and want to meet up?

Search this board for walkie talkie use or use post-its and cabin phones

- The arcade on the ship for the kids, how does that work - do you get tokens?, do you use money? Are they free?

They are NOT free! Talk to your kids about this. They swipe their room cards to get on the machines.

- Irons are not available in the rooms - how do you handle clothes that are wrinkled? Can you borrow an iron for a period of time? Do they have steamers available?

All you can do is send out for ironing. There are no self serve laundry or irons on RCCL.

- How strict are the age limits for the various ship activities (like the teen room) - we have kids that may just be a year younger than ages we've see listed. Would they be able to join their older cousin?

Depends on the cruise/how many kids on board. I'll bet there will be a lot; they will probably be strict.

 

The kids range from 15 months to 14 years, so any other helpful suggestions - either on ship, or on shore - would be most welcome.

We leave next month and questions keep coming up! Thanks to all that have answers!

Take a good attitude. Agree in advance as to adults and child care responsibilities to avoid hard feelings or high expectations. Be flexible. Have a wonderful cruise!

[ncmomof2]

How strict are the age limits for the various ship activities (like the teen room) - we have kids that may just be a year younger than ages we've see listed. Would they be able to join their older cousin?

 

I emailed RCCL about the possibility of bumping my DD up to the next age group if she was a couple of weeks shy of her bday and had a friend on board who's bday had passed and so would officially be in the next age group. Below is the response from RCCL. Also, I have heard reports (but this is only hearsay) that the teen activities aren't quite as structured and therefore they don't check ages as closely for those.

 

From RCCL:

"Concerning our Adventure Ocean program, it is understood that our younger guests wish to be together. To this end, our onboard staff will evaluate the request.

 

All requests for changes in age groups in the Adventure Ocean program are handled as follows:

 

Prior to any age group change request all children must be enrolled in their proper age group for one day activity session and one night activity session of at least 3 hours.

 

If after this period of time there is still a request to change age groups the Adventure Ocean Manager with the assistance of the supervising Youth Staff will decide if the child can change age groups.

 

Children may bump down an age group at any time as decided by the parents and Adventure Ocean Manager but they may not alternate back and forth between age groups.

 

The Adventure Ocean Manager can make an exception and bump up a child an age group if applicable and monitored for one full day."

 

Hope this helps!

[neya]

Hello:

 

Here are a few suggestions for the little one:

 

As far as beach toys you don't need anything large. We brought a small beach bucket with lid and a cups, pail which went inside of it. It fit in our backpack perfectly and it didn't take too much space. Target had it (by their backyard/beach toys section). Our daughter was 18 months when we went to the EC and she played with it for hours.

 

A ligth stroller, with small/narrow wheels, and canopy helped us alot.

 

I packed her complete outfits including shoes, hair accessories in ziplock bags. It seems a pain but it really helped us alot. One of us would grab a bag for next day's outing without thinking what should we bring etc.. I packed 2 outfits per day for a 7 day cruise and use almost all of it (she had her "beach outfit", " "formal night outfit" (hee!hee!) and "everyday outfit.

 

I also brought our own sheets for the crib,books, blanket and her lovie. The white metal crib was pretty decent but without the pads around it. I rolled a couple of bathroom towels really tight and they worked perfectly as a "bumper pad".

 

I also brought a large shoulder bag to use around the ship. In it I had zippy cup, wipes, my camera, etc... I came in handy at meal time when we needed to distract her while food was coming.. for the excursions I used our backpack, because of larger items (towels, beach toys, video camera, very small cooler (the one kids take to school) with snacks and drinks.

 

Bring very few small "new toys" to entertain the baby while inside the cabin (dressing, preparing stuff for next day etc..) Baby got restless one day and didn't want to wait 2 minutes for anything I had to put off whatever I was doing and take her out for a little walk.

 

As far as bringing toys we just brought a few books, playdough (huge hit), stickers, soft toys.

 

Diapers, ointment, 2 zippy cups, 1 cup for milk, small spoon, disposable bib, was enough for us. I would use at meal time, rinse it off and wipe it off and stick it in my bag for next meal. I didn't find necessary to bring a disposable cup, utensil for everyday (to use and toss it). We found milk at the cafe or in case their wore closed in the main dining room. Waiters gave us a couple of cartoons that we kept in fridge.

 

Mom and dad tried to relax. I was soooo worried about nap time, is she eating enough that I have to admit that I didn't enjoy the cruise as much. I wish I would have tried to keep up with her schedule but not obessed too much if she got out of it. You live and learn. (She is our first child).

 

Sorry this is so long, I hope it was of some help.

 

neya

[Quilcruisers]

Don't remember if we need to pack our own towels for the beach excursions, or if they are provided. Does the ship provide them, or are they available at the beach, or do you need your own (for a family of 5 that's a lot of packing space used for beach towels)? Carnival "provides" you with nice, large towels to take to the beach but I recommend bringing your own. They cost $20 to replace--I actually "misplaced" mine once at the beach. They never charged me for it but I was mortified to think I would hv to replace it. They will leave a towel for each guest on the night before the port.

- What about beach toys for the little ones, can you buy them in port rather than packing them from home? You could buy them in port but I plan on bringing my own for my son. I know its gonna be a pain to pack them but I think they will probably be expensive, and then I won't want to leave them there. Don't know if they have dollar stores at the ports :o

- I've heard cell phone charges are expensive, how do four families communicate when they are on shore excursions, and want to meet up? Cell phones are expensive while on the ship. I work for a cell phone company and we have customers all the time that didnt realize that its $2.49 a minute for using it on the ship. Sometimes the kids will run up the bill, not realizing that it is roaming, the ships have their own cell towers and will pick up the signal first before any land-based signal. That being said, I used my cell phone last year OFF THE SHIP in St. Thomas where I knew the roaming rate was $.69 a minute. I used it to call home to check on my son. Everyone in my party knew NOT to use the cell phones unless absolutely necessary. We worked it out among our party of 9 last year to meet up at noon at the same time for lunch at the same table. We met at dinner also at our assigned times. We were on different floors too but never "lost" anyone. This year, we have walkie-talkies that we plan on taking but I have heard those can be a pain to use on the ship--wrong channels, dead spots, etc. You could take your cell phones and use them ONLY if very important--like if someone was separated from the group but it is much cheaper to use it at the port as opposed to on the ship. The most expensive roaming is about $2.00-$2.50 a minute, if that-depends on where you are in the country.

- The arcade on the ship for the kids, how does that work - do you get tokens?, do you use money? Are they free? ???

- Irons are not available in the rooms - how do you handle clothes that are wrinkled? Can you borrow an iron for a period of time? Do they have steamers available? We brought a steamer for our first cruise. It did the job but it wasnt the preferred method. Irons are a fire-hazard on cruise ships so we did our best to abide by that rule. On the last cruise we took, there was a full-service laundry room (several of them on each floor). washer/dryers and iron/iron boards were available for use. you cant take the irons to your room, they are bolted down. Its best to go early and use it and not wait until right before formal night/dinner to iron. most times, we would iron early in the day for that night or even iron for a few nights when it was free. Sometimes there was a line for the iron. We also washed our clothes so that our luggage was not so heavy coming back from a 7 day cruise. We are not flying to our cruise this time so it probably won't be necessary but it is so much better to come back home with fresh/clean clothes and towels. This way, you can also have the same beach towels cleaned and ready to use for the next days port stop.

- How strict are the age limits for the various ship activities (like the teen room) - we have kids that may just be a year younger than ages we've see listed. Would they be able to join their older cousin? I dont know about this one.

Good luck to you and enjoy your cruise!

Angela

[solo]

Thanks to everyone that replied! Your information has been very helpful, and we appreciate you taking the time to share. I think we all feeling more comfortable - we leave this Sunday and can't wait! Happy cruising!

[crusinmama06]

Great ship! Don't forget, the youngest can use the H20 "Baby Splash Zone" for non-potty trained infants. :D

 

Have a blast!