LizzieandLuke

People have posted that they have put hot beverages into them but I wouldn't since the plastic is not rated for hot beverages.

I wouldn't either - I don't think it is safe.

We were on the Freedom last summer and on non-formal nights over half of the men were in golf style shorts. Most women had on casual summer dresses or capris. I don't think I saw anyone in jeans - men or women.

Downy makes a wrinkle release spray - target sells in their trial size area and I know my supermarket sells it in large bottle in the laundry aisle as well. You do need to spray about an hour before wearing, but it works pretty well. I hate to iron and use it at home as well especially on polo type shirts.

I wish they would have given us a chance to purchase prior to raising the prices like they did with the gratuity increase. :(

Congrats to the Mother of the Bride.

I'm going on my first ever cruise next year on Harmony if the Seas. I'm a single mum with 3 children twins who will be 13 at the time and a 12 year old. We too have booked a large inside cabin - will we have enough room?

I think you will be fine. Don't let other people scare you.

Did you look into the cost of two staterooms? The BOGO doesn't usually apply to the 3rd and 4th passenger so sometimes the difference between 1 and two rooms is negligible.

 

Is the BOGO 50% or 100%?

Yes, the kids were each half as well. It was a great deal.

My family loves adventure and 4 in an inside stateroom is just another one. :D

We are doing an interior next summer on the Freedom. My kids aren't as old as yours but I'm not sweating it. We had a balcony last summer and I will miss it but the bogo I got was so good I couldn't pass it up. We still only had one bathroom and we were fine. Our ship is port heavy and we are never in our room.

We do lots of excursions, drink packages, etc. I can't afford everything :cool: and need to cruise.

On the Freedom last summer, most young men/boys were in nice shorts on non formal nights.

Training- sorry, I have to disagree. There is no way, cruise ship staff, have much, if any training with the range of various disability needs. As example, in the system I worked, the nurse's assistance had a 400 hour training. PLUS, on the job training/supervision following. This involved "day care", with pts. who went to school/lived home, as well as inpatients.

 

Just trying to stress, both sides.

 

Your statement of "poor judgement", proves my point, that staff will be the first blamed. You do not know, why the events were deemed at the time. You immediately faulted, as being "wrong". Sorry, there could have been very valid reasons for the outcome. Again- liability. Until you are dragged into court- and have to defend your actions/decisions you won't understand- the caution you have to double and triple think about at the time of your decisions. I'm always going to err on the most conservative, and follow policies, etc, which I did, because my livelihood and other people's lives depended on it.

If you are against the 14 year old being with Downs syndrome (which is not a behavioral disability but a developmental one) being with 11 year olds I still don't see what the big deal is especially when it is all over these boards that children - including mine - have aged up and aged down and the OP believed that was cleared ahead of time - and unfortunately we all know Royal says one thing off the ship and another on board. I bet she could be on Independence tomorrow and they would take her son in a heart beat.

However, I think you are saying they should automatically not include special needs children - because that is what it sounds like and that is sad. As stated earlier by someone else, the staff all have BAs in education (which does require some special ed training) - and were wonderful. If you think Downs syndrome children have no place with other children maybe you should "change professions."

I will no longer respond to this thread as it making me one of those ugly people I hate on these boards. :mad:

When my son was on the Freedom, we were given a beeper (never used) and started out slowly - leaving him for an hour at time.

The reason they wouldn't take her son was the age not the disability. The Liability is exactly the same, whether her son was 11 or 14. So they are trained to care for an eleven year old with Downs syndrome but not a fourteen year old??

Part of the reason we choose to cruise with Royal is their reputation with Special Needs children - which is very good. I think this was poor judgement call by the staff.

My son has Fragile X syndrome and was 9 on the last cruise and he was placed with the 6 - 8 year olds with no problem. I thought they treated him wonderfully and it makes me sad that you didn't have the same experience.

On one hand I would not be comfortable with a teenage boy or boys (14 -17) being allowed in the 9 -11 group with my 9 year old daughter. I would be worried about unwanted attention from a teenage boy full of hormones who may not have the ability to control his actions. I am not saying that describes your son but we only know our own children.

I would have no problem with a 14 year old Downs syndrome boy being placed with my 9 year old daughter with full supervision - that is silly. I would be more upset with my special needs child being alone with typical teenage children. My son is in class with 4 boys with Downs Syndrome and they are polite, well behaved, and very sweet - just like my son. I know the teachers at his school are trying to get them to be more age appropriate (not watching Barney for example) not so much worrying about hormones. People are talking about special needs adult situations. Not special needs who are just becoming teenagers.

I would interpret the response you got before you left home to mean that he could be in Adventure Ocean. I too would be very disappointed especially since he couldn't even try.

My 9 year old lost her cup on day 2 or 3 and a replacement cup was 7.08.

Nice to know you can buy a replacement cup. My son threw his cup away the first day. I was digging through the trash can :eek:. Luckily, a nice bartender saw it and washed it out.

more questions...

-I assume there is a safe in all cabins?

-What is the time when they start & stop charging for room service?

-do cabins have a hairdryer & basic soap & shampoos?

The shampoo and soap mixture comes out of a wall container. If you need a half decent shampoo and conditioner bring your own.

I went on a Princess for my honeymoon many years ago and it was lovely. I now have a family and wouldn't think about cruising Princess. If it was just my husband and myself I would look carefully at both lines and if the price was right, Princess would probably win.

Thanks so much - this was very helpful.

We are doing a Grand Cayman stop on the Freedom and was looking for a good tour. How old were your girls?

So for goog service you pay extra and for bad service you pay 12 USD per person per day? For me this is too much honestly.

NO $12 a day is the cost of the cruise - an extra $20 is a thank you.

I've never received service that I didn't feel deserved an extra $20 for the week, less than $3/day. They work hard and they don't make much of a "paycheck" wage at all.

 

I just consider the tips (daily grats plus any I add at the end of the week) to be a cost of the cruise. If I were to eat at a land-based restaurant for three meals/day, I would be spending way more than that on tips for those meals!

I agree with you 100% - if I have good service giving an measly extra $20 (from my family of four no less) isn't going to break me. I am very fortunate to be able to cruise and am happy to reward those who gave me a great week.

I didn't mention we are a family of 4 and my kids were well taken care of :D

We gave everyone an extra $20 at least as everyone deserved it. We gave our waiter a bit more as well as our dining room bar tender. It only breaks out to less than $3 a day for a seven day cruise.

Yes, as long we get good service everyone gets an envelope. We had to ask for extra on our trip.

The cupcake bakery on the Promenade doesn’t have a huge selection, unlike Allure. It seems a little like an afterthought on FOS, and I haven't seen many people in there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it turned into something else eventually.

I was surprised it didn't disappear after the last dry dock as I always thought it was empty too.

It sounds like you are enjoying yourself. One day I would love to be on a cruise by myself. Someday....................................

Hubby gets Premium and daughter gets soda - they both get their money's worth or close enough to it. I don't want my hubby counting pennies on vacation. I drink the wine I bring on board or treat myself to the drink of the day as that is all I need. My son only drinks milk and juice so he doesn't need it either. Thank God we don't all have to order the same package.

They just installed freestyle machines at our local convenience store. The whole neighborhood is in awe. It's pretty funny watching someone who's never encountered them before try to wrap their head around all of the options.

I see you are a Philly girl. Must be your local WAWA. My daughter was so excited when they installed one in ours- she asks for one every time we go. I tell her she's not on the cruise:D

You can make hundreds of combinations. My eleven year old was in heaven.:p

I would not have made a scene and I would have happily dined with them. It would have awkward because I would have still requested to dine with just my my family the next night. I am on vacation and prefer to dine with just my family.

I also have a special needs son who usually but doesn't always make the best dining companion and I wouldn't want strangers to deal that - they are on vacation too. Not that it was relevant to the original story, just thought I would share that you don't always know why someone has certain requests.

I just posted the same thing on another thread. Make sure you stop by dining with your confirmation email in hand hours prior to dinner the first night. The land and sea don't always communicate. I did find the ship very accommodating though and I am sure they will make every effort to make sure you are happy (but the email won't hurt :p)