speedster

Hi Roger,

We are looking at booking the Oasis Catamaran for our group of 21 when we're there in August, and I understand from the company that it's 6-7 minute drive from the port.  They gave me a quote for a transfer, but do you know if there are city buses we can take as well?  Or given our group size if it's easier to just do the transfer through the company?  I don't want to worry about having to find 5 cabs at once to take us all. 

7 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

 

We are on the Oasis starting August 8th.  Same?  

If you meant the 18th, then yes 🙂

5 hours ago, roger b said:

Hi,

I think I have answered  the same question about 6 posts back  in post 533.

Thanks Roger, not sure how I missed that!

Some really great details in this thread, thanks for all the contributions!

We will be arriving in Mallorca mid-August 2024 on the Oasis - seeing that it may be unbearably hot, but looking at options.  We'll have a group of 12 (6 kids (6-16), 6 adults), and potentially another group of 11 (with similar makeup of kids/adults) Given the likely heat, what is the best way to see the port for the group?  I haven't looked at the tour options yet...

Thanks!

I've been looking through the hotels and many only offer rooms for 2 or 3 people.  Has anyone stayed in a hotel / or recommend one that can accommodate 5 (2 adults + 3 kids) in a good location with breakfast?

We are travelling on 8/13 on AOS to Bermuda, and was hoping to get some clarification from anyone travelling now or next week with the same itinerary.  Based on the latest policy update, Covid testing is no longer required for RCI, but if I’m reading correctly, seems like Bermuda still requires it and we will still need to do it. What if we don’t plan on getting off the ship? 
 

We will call RCI but the wait on hold may be longer than getting a reply here. 

Having done Carnival x 4 (and soon #5 next month), as well as Disney x2, the difference is night/day. The level of service, the new ships, the really cool technology on the new ships, large staterooms, really good food, and to be honest, no casinos - which is great when travelling with kids. Also really cool water slides!

While I was apprehensive at first in fear of too much Disney 24x7, it actually wan't bad at all. In fact, we found many people do Disney without kids purely because the level of service is that much higher. While I can't recall any specifics, I would agree that if Disney is 5 star, then Carnival would be around 3.5. The pricing is high during the busy season because hey, it's Disney and they can, but you can often find some pretty good deals too if you can travel in non-peak times.

You would do Disney not just for the cruise aspect, but for the Disney experience.

We got insurance after the fact from CAA (in Canada) - was significantly cheaper than Carnival and other options researched.

Agreed with posters above! We're going on the Pride in August, and with 3 kids, I'm especially curious to hear about your experience with the 3 year old. We also don't have any excursions planned, and will likely either stay on board or hit the beach at the ports. We have also sailed several times on Carnival, but this will be our first time on Pride. We swayed and tried NCL last year - won't be doing that again!

Thanks!

Reviving this thread to ask a related question - aside from the fish place, how do you check for price drops when your specific category appears to be sold out on the carnival site. At that point do you just stop checking, or is there something else?

You pick the time you want (based on availability) when you do the online check-in.

Thanks, great info for our upcoming cruise in August! Looks like we missed out on the FTTF but we keep checking in case it pops up.

Old thread revived here, but does anyone know if we have 2 cabins booked because of 3 kids, do I need to get it FTTF for both?

Wow I didn't even think of that! We just booked connecting balconies over the weekend, and would never even have thought about looking to see if that combination was available. Likely not, considering the timing, but will definitely keep that in mind for the next one.

We are booked on the Pride for next month and we have cabins 7106 and 7108, one of the rare sets of connecting balcony and inside. We are a family of four, and have myself and my husband in the balcony and the kids in the inside. Those rooms all have a max occupancy of 2, so unfortunately I don't think those will work for your kids either. I second your vote of bringing a little sweetie in a cabin with you and Grampy! [emoji4]

 

Ugh!!! Now my bubble is completely burst! But thanks for letting me know before I did any more research. :(:(

Has anyone in Canada been successful with this or is this a US only program? (yes, I will call Amex shortly to find out, but wanted to ask here first).

Thanks,

Tom

Are the shuttles/taxis readily available for the return trip too? I have 3 small kids, so thinking that a shuttle or taxi would be most convenient (kids are 8/6/2). Just curious how easy it will be to get back to the cruise ship.

Walk off on this cruise was easily the best disembarkation experience we've ever had. We headed down to Deck 7 forward shortly after 7am. We lined up adjacent to the bowling lanes in O'Sheehans - one or two families behind the roped-off area. They opened the gates around 7:40am, and we were out and at our car within 10 minutes.

This is great to hear! Hoping it will be just as easy for our cruise in October. With an 8 hour drive ahead, we'll want to be off the ship as early as possible!

In reading through this thread it's disappointing to see how strict NCL is with the ages. While I understand it somewhat, our 2 older kids are 8, and almost 6. They do everything together, so I think they will be bummed out that they can't hang out in the same group. Has anyone had any success at all in bumping their kids to the older age group? As someone else said, there is a huge gap between someone who just turned 3 and someone who is almost 6.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and replies. I had actually forgotten about starting the thread because we've been going back & forth between cruise vs. all-inclusive, and was almost about to book an all-inclusive when we decided to finally book this cruise. In the end, the connecting family balcony won! With the promos, it came to be only a little more than the OV, but still a good chunk less than the Haven would have been (although I will keep dreaming about that one!)

Thanks again!!

If you can afford it, I would go for the suite. Your prices seem a bit high, are you including the insurance?

 

Find a TA that would give you something for booking through them. I get around 10% in OBC from mine. Every little bit helps. :D Good luck!

Thanks for all the feedback! As for the price, I should have mentioned that it's CAN.. so yeah, about 20% more than what you'd see on US prices. Not the best time to travel for us Canucks!

Lots of great suggestions, and I think that if we go this route, the connecting balcony is the best option. Need to have the balcony while the kids are napping!!

Did you look into the Family Mini Suite?

Yes, it only accommodates up to 4.

Hi fellow cruisers..

We have done many cruises on Carnival, Princess, and Disney, and are now looking into the Oct. 18 Breakaway from NY, our first NCL tirp. Because we're now a family of 5, booking isn't as easy any more! Our options on this ship are the family OV rooms, 2 connecting balcony rooms, or the Haven Family Suite. With children ages 8,5, and almost 2, what would be your preference?

I'm kind of leaning towards the suite just to spoil ourselves since we've never done a suite (and so I can say I had a butler for a week!), but the practical side of me is leaning towards the 2 cabins, thinking we'd be way too crammed in the OV. In terms of price, the OV is roughly $3600, the 2 cabins would be ~$6000, and the suite around $7500..

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Tom