dad cruising w/ 13 year old

[maureencruiser]

Hi, If you search for the Member name Host Faith, she did a nice photo review of the Allure a few months ago. Also, look pon youtube for people posting videos, that is always a good way to see fun things.

[Kerry's Girls]

Originally Posted by DrD

Just out of curiosity, I thought a parent only needs a letter if last names are different? What if one's spouse is deceased? Or if one was never married? Pretty hard to get a letter from a sperm donor I'd think.

We saw a family on a show almost denied boarding, but in that case the kids had a different last name from both the adults they were traveling with (Mom and new BF).

If the other parent is deceased, the death certificate is required. If there is only one parent, then the birth certificate will only indicate one parent.

I know lots of people post here that they've never been asked, and I have been asked for proof only a fraction of the times I've cruised alone with my kids (usually when re-entering the U.S.), but I can't imagine risking missing a cruise or a flight home while it all gets sorted out - especially with a kid along (and insurance won't cover costs incurred because you didn't have the proper paperwork).

For the OP - have a great time - cruising is a wonderful way to travel on your own with kids. I've had wonderful luck finding what to do in port by posting on the ports of call page here and checking the tripadvisor forums. We save a lot of money and have more fun choosing independent tours. Also, joining the roll calls for our cruises has helped with making plans since others are doing the same research and sharing information.

Best,
Mia

[poncho1973]

Originally Posted by hwnorth

OK, the point is clear, she has a letter and a passport. Thank you..

Next.... Any advise on fun stuff
I have not the slightest what to expect, when to book, where, etc

I gave you quite a bit of advice. What to book, where, etc.

When is entirely up to you, but seriously, read the thread. There is more info than letters/passports.

[hwnorth]

Poncho, yes you did thank you.. looking into those :-)

On the boat,.... book every show, every activity now, or wait till onboard? Or will that be too late to get booked in?

[poncho1973]

I have never been on Allure, but I have read many reviews and they seem to indicate that booking shows now is a good idea.

My personal choice on cruises with reasonable hours in port is to book excursions outside of the ship's selections. You'll save a fortune and by checking out the areas of CC that focus on those ports and your specific roll call, you should have no problems.

Allure roll calls:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=578

St. Martin:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93

St. Thomas:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

[DrD]

Originally Posted by Kerry's Girls

If the other parent is deceased, the death certificate is required. If there is only one parent, then the birth certificate will only indicate one parent.

I know lots of people post here that they've never been asked, and I have been asked for proof only a fraction of the times I've cruised alone with my kids (usually when re-entering the U.S.), but I can't imagine risking missing a cruise or a flight home while it all gets sorted out - especially with a kid along (and insurance won't cover costs incurred because you didn't have the proper paperwork).

For the OP - have a great time - cruising is a wonderful way to travel on your own with kids. I've had wonderful luck finding what to do in port by posting on the ports of call page here and checking the tripadvisor forums. We save a lot of money and have more fun choosing independent tours. Also, joining the roll calls for our cruises has helped with making plans since others are doing the same research and sharing information.

Best,
Mia

My wife kept her maiden name, but we've never had an issue on 4 cruises.

However now you guys have got me worried enough that I'll bring a copy of the boys' birth certificates.

[cherylroslyn]

Originally Posted by hwnorth

OK, the point is clear, she has a letter and a passport. Thank you..

Next.... Any advise on fun stuff
I have not the slightest what to expect, when to book, where, etc

I just returned from the Oasis (the Allure's sister ship) in December. You MUST make your show reservations on-line before you board.... If you don't you will be struggling to find openings and fit things in all week.

I highly recommend the shows. You can always book them and then not go if you do not feel like it but make the reservations so that you hae them.....


My next piece of advice is do not under any circumstances book the Atlantis in Nassau..... You simply do not have enough time for that place based upon the short docking time of the Allure and the Oasis..... If you had a full day I would say "do it" but you have half a day and it will just leave you feeling upset that you didn't get to really use the resort and you will have spent far too much money........

I once did a swiming with the sting rays in Nassau and my to this day my daughter still asks if we can go back.........and she is 23 and very hard to impress.........

I agree that Orient is a great beach for a cheap beach day.....although you may see nudity it is nothing a 13 year old can't handle.

The advice regarding St. Thomas is also good advice, /the trip through the cruiseline to St. John is totally great. you can even just take the cruiseline ferry over (its about 40 per person and you can take a open air taxi to Trunk Bay and just make it a beach day. You can also rent snorkel equipment there and do the snorkel trail at your leisure.

If you want to swim with huge wild sea turtles I recommend Fury Charters in St. Thomas. If you google it you can find the website.......once in a lifetime experience.

Oh and consider siging up for the cupcake class and do it in advance....I know doesn't seem like a "Dad" thing but the cupcake class is very creative and she will have a blast......on this last trip we had quite a few in my group of 20 -24 year olds guys and girls who loved it..... book in advance though because it will fill before the sailing most of the time........

[johneeo]

Originally Posted by cherylroslyn

The advice regarding St. Thomas is also good advice, /the trip through the cruiseline to St. John is totally great. you can even just take the cruiseline ferry over

Where do you get the ferry to St. John?

Hoping you don't have to cattle car it to Red Hook.

[cruiser-007]

Hey hwnorth! Welcome to CC!

Our son was 13 years old when he cruised with us in 2009. We found what was most fun was letting him map out the ship and guide us around. It made him feel great and it made planning much easier for us.

Enjoy your cruise with your daughter! It's an awesome experience!

[cherylroslyn]

Originally Posted by johneeo

Where do you get the ferry to St. John?

Hoping you don't have to cattle car it to Red Hook.

Both Celebrity and Royal do a ferry to St. John and the excursions are labeled Shopping, historic walk or coastal cruise. The coastal cruise is actually the ferry itself and after dropping the shopping and historic walk people off it continues along the coast with a narated cruise.

the shopping and historic walk are to a certain extent self guided after a little bit....or if you prefer you can just take off on your own when you get to St. John. The only caveat is that you must be back at the dock on time.

I do the shopping or historic wal in order to get the ferry and I just go my seperate way once the ferry gets to the dock in St. John..... alot of people do it like that.......and the ferry takes you right back to the ship.

[johneeo]

Originally Posted by cherylroslyn

Both Celebrity and Royal do a ferry to St. John and the excursions are labeled Shopping, historic walk or coastal cruise. The coastal cruise is actually the ferry itself and after dropping the shopping and historic walk people off it continues along the coast with a narated cruise.

the shopping and historic walk are to a certain extent self guided after a little bit....or if you prefer you can just take off on your own when you get to St. John. The only caveat is that you must be back at the dock on time.

I do the shopping or historic wal in order to get the ferry and I just go my seperate way once the ferry gets to the dock in St. John..... alot of people do it like that.......and the ferry takes you right back to the ship.

Where do you get the ferry?

Crown Bay?
Havensite?
Red Hook?

[flowerone]

As long as your daughter has the same last name as you do, they won't consider you having to have a consent letter. Just been my experience with taking my Grandchildren on cruises.

[suizas]

Hi. I am a single mom of 3 boys.

I took them on Oasis summer of 2011 (Eastern) and Allure last summer (Western). They are 13, 15 & 17. Your daughter will have a great time! There are all sorts of activities for kids - I will say that my guys love just hanging with each other, so i could not get them interested in meeting other kids, but I could see that there were always groups of kids together all around the ship that must have formed friendships on board.

There are so many fun things for you both! I will admit to spending most of my afternoons watching 2 of my boys on the flowrider (boogie board side). So much fun to watch all the people and kids wipe out! THe other part of the day I would find a nice lounge chair near the Sky Bar and read.. Oh! we also played Bingo a few times. There are character parades (which we did not attend but I heard are great) and movies in the theatre...

As to excursions, I arranged for us to spend the day at Atlantis while in Nassau. I booked a room at the Comfort Inn Suites (literally a minutes walk to Atlantis) just so we could get day passes to the waterpark. The grounds of Atlantis are just beautiful! The waterpark doesn't really open until around 10am, so we also snuck(?) into The Dig... We did find the park very crowded (it was August though) and by 1:00 we all decided we had had enough and wanted to get back to the Oasis...

A friend of mine used to live in St. Thomas so he told us to grab a cab at the pier and head to a little resort called Secret Harbour. It took maybe 30 minutes to get there but it was so worth it. We just walked to the beach cove and settled in... They have a little hut where you can rent snorkel gear and such and a nice beach grill where we had the best beach lunch ever! We snorkeled right off the uncrowded beach. It was paradise!!!

On St. Marteen we did a snorkel trip on a schooner sail boat. LOTS of fun and the sailing part was great. We did not see as many fish as we had at Secret Harbour though. But I would do that again anyway :-)

THat's about all I can remember about the excursions.... If you have any questions about the Allure specifically I will try to help. I think we prefer the Allure a smidge better than Oasis ~ in fact I am sailing with my mom on her in 46 days! We are doing the Western route again only because that was her request as she thought it may be slightly warmer for this time of year.

Have a wonderful cruise! Your daughter will LOVE it

[suizas]

Oh, and have her do the Cupcake Class! Very fun and what a great way to spend time with her on her birthday