ampc007

where are you seeing that Escape will be in dry dock in December? we sail her during thanksgiving week. My understanding the dry dock will be october? 

I've noticed some people asking lately about Sapphire we just returned 2 weeks ago, and I posted this on another thread, thought it might be helpful to those asking recently.

we just returned from a RCCL stop, and took a taxi to sapphire for the 9 of us. Was $10pp each way. I think it took about 20 min maybe? She actually kept trying to get us to go to Coki beach instead (maybe she gets a kick back?) When we first got there, there was hardly anyone around. It was beautiful! The only disappointment was there was a ton of seaweed on the sand/shore line.

we rented chairs and floats for the kids. We had lunch (yes the Mahi sandwich was great and the food had big portions)I had the best drink ever the BBC (Banana Bailey Colada) OMG soo good!

The kids snorkeled and saw more fish here than they did in ST. Maarten . We brought fruit loops (please forgive me if that was a no no) and they kids loved seeing the fish come up close to them. Was not rough, crystal clear water, was rocky in spots, but we thought Coco cay was way more rocky at least in certain spots. We had a great time, and would for sure come back again! We also rented a jet ski over by the marina which was like a 5 min walk. So glad we choose sapphire!... The chairs were $9 and food ranged $8-15 and drinks I think $6-8, soda $2 I believe. The waverunner cost a whole lot less than Coco Cay as well. HTH

Did your smaller kids go just once to the kids club or did they try it again? How about at night after dinner for a few hours? I'm traveling with a 5 year old girl and 8 year old boy...hoping that they combine those two age groups as they are very shy and won't even try it if they have to be separated.

 

Thank you for the review! we sail in a couple of weeks so this helps with the excitement!

My boys went 4x, never for more than 2hours. 2x after dinner and 2 afternoons. Although they never wanted to go on their own, they did always say they had fun. I'm sure you will be able to bump up your dd to the next group 6-8 so they can be together.. Just ask. Our older dd just turned 12 the day before and we didn't want her in the teen group, and they said no problem to bump her down. We never did put her in, and ended up giving her more freedom than we thought we would, but all worked out.

Enjoy!!!

Thank you for the review. We leave Sunday and your post is helpful to us. Glad you had a good time on FotS!

Enjoy your trip!

Hi we also were on this ship and roll call (just did a little review as well) looking forward to reading more. :)

Thanks for this. We leave on Sunday for the same itinerary. We have a private driver booked for St Maarten, but I haven't made any plans for St Thomas.

 

Was Sapphire a nice beach? Was that cab fare for all of you? There are 5 of us and I was worried about the cost. You said you rented chairs and had lunch. How much did those things cost? Was the water clear? Was the beach sand or rocky?

 

Trying to make a decision before we leave on which beach to visit in St Thomas. Thanks

yes it was $10 pp each way so $20 plus tip.. My hubby took care of the rental, but I believe it was $9 for the chair rental ( I think they gave us the kids noodles and floats for free) The food was VERY big portions we thought, and ranged from $9-14.. The Mahi Mahi was really good. I the drinks also ranged from $6-10 dollars I think.. wasn't cheap by any means but was good. The beach girls will give you a menu. The water was crystal clear and lots of fish for snorkeling .. There was alot of seaweed on the shore, and parts of the water were rocky, but we thought coca cay was way more rocky in the water. We had some friends on the boat that went to Megans Bay and said it was great. From what I've been told you really can't go wrong with any of the beaches here hope that helps. Enjoy!

I don't know how to move this over to the Freedom page.. sorry

First family cruise review (never done this so be nice now J ) Eastern FOS 9/20

We are a family of 7 kids ranging from 6-16, we had 2 connecting inside cabins deck 8.

We paid to park at the port, because my hubby wanted covered parking and the convenience, was well worth it to us. We thought the ship was beautiful and nicely laid out. My kids quickly figured out where everything was by the end of the night, and we relied upon them often for directions lol..

I felt our room was clean, but the carpet could have used a much better vacuum job. Think it’s more the vacuum and not the person doing it? We loved our room steward he was super attentive and quickly learned our names even could tell apart our twins. We took the advice from reading things here, and moved the glass coffee table into the closest. We then placed our shoes under and on top. Placed our bags under the beds. Best purchase was a mini surge protector 3 outlets and usb charger . With 3 teens and all the “hair” stuff definitely needed the extra outlets. Also brought along some magnetic door hooks, and clips which we used to hang up our cover ups and post the cruise compass for the day. Brought along some highlighters (but I’m the only one who used it) which was helpful as well. We carried on a small case of water bottles and between the 2 fridges we were able to add about 4-6 bottles every day with out having to move any of the other things inside with plenty of room. We left the bathroom light on every night as a night light. The kids watched Madagascar 1000x j/k sortof but that is the only channel that was ever on in our room it seemed lol

We had MTD reserved every night, and after the first night requested the same table with no problems. We also loved our wait staff!! the assistant was much more personable though and did tricks and things for the kids. They sure work hard! We all took advantage of being able to try and order multiple things, we routinely ordered 3 apptz and 2 dinners (not much went to waste) I think we all gained about 8pds lol. The kids loved being able to order anything! I know food is subjective, for the most part we all liked our food. It was much better than “wedding” food. We thought the lobster night was great! The only part that never wowed me was the desserts…. For me nothing stood out, it was all ok, not bad and not great.

We ate most mornings in the Windjammer we found a table first and then took turns getting our food since there were 9 of us total. There were a lot of choices, but nothing here was fantastic, you can’t really mess up breakfast, but was just ok. Wish they would have had different cut up fruit choices, and more muffin, donut, pastry choices. The one day we ate in the dining room for breakfast took forever and the wait staff was no where near as friendly as our dinner staff. We ate once in the dining room for lunch and the salad bar that everyone talks about was amazing!!! Definitely a must do. Again tho the staff was just not as friendly as at dinner. They didn’t even give us a kids menu and said there wasn’t one? (they did have chicken fingers on main menu tho) We loved sorrentos sandwiches, the pizza was fine for what it was. Café Promenade also had great sandwich choices. LOVED the fact that there was a star bucks available (but no Pumpkin spice :( ) We got the older kids the Soda package and not sure we would do that again or not? The only complaint really about the dining room, was they never seemed to ask us if we wanted drinks, and when we asked for them , they took forever to come. No one wanted to carry around the soda mug. We mostly just went to the pool bar. (They would ask for Shirley temples no problem)

The kids H2O area is wonderful! The main pool area was way to crowded for us with smaller kids. We usually just stayed by the kids area, and I did try the hot tub in the Solorium one day. Which was nice, but honestly the Solorium is where we thought most of the chair hogs were lol. Every time we would go through there were no chairs, and hardly anyone in the pool lol. But maybe our timing was just off? But their chairs sure seem comfy.

The kids loved loved loved all the choices for activitites.. They tried it all. My older teens had no interest in trying out the teen club, they went once to something and said it was “lame” I think it was because they combined the ages groups tho. My twins never wanted to go to the club, so that surprised me some, but when we picked them up, they said they had fun… That group was also combined. I have to be honest though I have a lot of friends who only sail Disney, and have nothing but rave reviews of the kids club. So maybe my expectations were high? But I wasn’t overly impressed. The main thing here was the staff, they were nice and all, but not overly friendly, and didn’t seem to go out of their way to make the newcomers feel welcome… just my opinion.

We loved the ports. The older kids did the Aqua Park in Coco Cay and said it was fun, but much harder than it looks! The little ones had fun just floating around and trying to snorkel on their own. We enjoyed putting our chairs down in the water. Tried the Coco Loco was pretty good but not as good as what I had in St.Thomas. The BBQ was fine for what it was, but wished they would have had more covered seating. It was HOT! Not sure if all of Coco Cay is like this or not, but the area we were in (by the Aqua Park) was very rocky and had to be careful where you walked in the water.

St. Thomas we jumped in a cab and went to Sapphire Beach (She kept trying to get us to go to Coki) $10 pp each way. We loved our choice, hardly anyone there and beautiful. We rented some chairs and they had floats for the kids. Ordered a wonderful lunch and had drinks. The best drink ever was the BBC…. Banana Baileys Colada yummy!!! WE also rented a jet ski over by the marina. Much cheaper than what they charged on Coco Cay. Stayed for about 3 hours our taxi driver came back to get us no problem, walked around port (shopped) and tried everyone of the Cruzan samples lol.. St. Thomas was our favorite for sure!

ST. Maarten we did the RCCL excursion Airport Adventure SXM

Was about a 3 hour tour… they take you out to Maho and you can swim, snorkel etc there is NO beach access tho. They offer food and drinks on board and the crew was great!! Was a lot of fun, the kids being novice snorkels loved the experience. We saw a lot of smaller commuter type planes. Was fine for what we wanted. I did a review over on the St. Maarten page. The little kids were hot and tired when we came back, so that is all we did.

We thought the onboard entertainment was great, the kids loved the shows and one of my twins got picked to be in the ice show (the first show) when they pull them around at the end :) (yes it was an issue that the “other” twin didn’t get picked lol) but was made better by a cupcake and ice cream ;) We really enjoyed the Elton John guy he was funny and really good! Entertainment is also subjective, but we didn’t enjoy Drew Thomas, way to chatty lol… My husband and son went to the first comedian and said he was funny, we went to the late show the last night of the other guy and walked out… didn’t think he was that funny, if all you have to go on is the F word, well that’s not my thing. Heard great things about the Schooners guy, he was pretty good, got better as the night went on lol.. No disrespect here, but we felt very under aged in there lol. Our favorite night was the 70’s party in the promenade lots of fun, then we went up to the silent Disco to people watch… pretty funny and fun. We thought Casey the Cruise Director was awesome!!!

Well that’s all I can think of (sorry much longer than I intended) if anyone has any questions let me know.

Oh and the whole towel check out thing was a PITA… but it’s all good, we had a GREAT time and would for sure do it again!!! We couldn’t have asked for better weather :)

Not sure if this is a tip or not, but When we returned we grabbed a porter that takes you through a separate line and seemed much faster than going through the “other” line.

we just returned from our first family cruise on FOS Sunday. My 6 yr old twins used AO club I think 3x for about 2 hours... They never wanted to go, but when we picked them up they said they had fun. (but have to be honest i wasn't that impressed) they will take kids until they are full (whatever that number is) our entire cruise in the evening the group of 6-8 and 9-11 was combined and it said they would be doing that on the AO compass every day.. The teen group of 12-14 15-17 was also combined the whole cruise (my older kids had no interest in that ) Can't comment on the nursery at all.

Sorry just noticed you said your dd was 5, guessing it must be separate as well. Didn't see any little ones in my boys group.

we just got back from our first cruise Sunday... We packed a big cooler bag with our bottles of wine and a case of small water bottles. No one batted an eye. I saw many many people bringing water on board. My sister in law who did not check with me first lol, called Royal and asked if they could bring water, and was told no, so she was not happy lol...

we just returned from a RCCL stop, and took a taxi to sapphire for the 9 of us. Was $10pp each way. I think it took about 20 min maybe? She actually kept trying to get us to go to Coki beach instead (maybe she gets a kick back?) When we first got there, there was hardly anyone around. It was beautiful! The only disappointment was there was a ton of seaweed on the sand/shore line.

we rented chairs and floats for the kids. We had lunch (yes the Mahi sandwich was great and the food was big portions)I had the best drink ever the BBC (Banana Bailey Colada) OMG soo good!

The kids snorkeled and saw more fish here than they did in ST. Maarten . We brought fruit loops (please forgive me if that was a no no) and they kids loved seeing the fish come up close to them. Was not rough, crystal clear water, was rocky in spots, but we thought Coco cay was way more rocky at least in spots. We had a great time, and would for sure come back again! We also rented a jet ski over by the marina which was like a 5 min walk. So glad we choose sapphire!

I said I would report back, we took this excursion on Thursday (9/24) from RCCL. Weather was great! We had a fun time and the crew is terrific. There is a bar that serves food and drinks all very reasonable priced. The best part is they let you run a tab, and you just settle it up before getting off.

Our tour was in the morning, it took about 20-30 min to get out to Maho area, then we had about 2 hours out in the water. We had a mix of children with us (6-16) all novice snorklers. They had a BLAST! I didn't see much a whole lot of fish, but my kids didn't have anything to compare. It was fun to just float around in the water.

Now for the plane action, it certainly is not the same experience I have been told as to standing on the beach. The picture above that shows all the rocks, is exactly what it looked like last week as well. There really isn't any beach except to the left if facing the airport. We saw several small planes and one bigger plane. The afternoon tour maybe from carnival? Will get to see bigger and better planes I think.

IF you think you can have beach access or will get to see the big 747, you will probably be disappointed. But if you go into this knowing what is is, it truly was a lot of fun. Would I do it again, no probably not but glad we did it.

Also when they bring you back they give you the option to get off the boat at port (where they picked you up) or bring you into town, you can than walk back which they said was a 15 min walk or take the water taxi. We didn't know ahead that was an option and the little kids were tried and wanted to get off. If anyone has any questions let me know.

This must be the new excursion I mentioned here some time ago.

 

gary

yes that's the one... We are traveling with small kids, I would love the experience on the beach, but not with them. We settled on this b/c we do want to see this (even though it's off to the side) it will be a nice boat ride, and the older kids can try and snorkel (even though I guess it's not a great spot) they will all just have fun floating around in the water if nothing else. We hope to enjoy it, we may be disappointed. I think people would be very disappointed if they don't know exactly what it is... I'll report back in 2 weeks .

I would definitely find out if they take you to shore. I saw a boat out by the point on the Sunset Bar and Grill end of the beach. It had a floating dock. I saw people swimming by the boat but did not see anyone being brought to the beach by dinghy. The planes do not fly over head where this boat was so if that's the boat that is the excursion boat I think knowing the answer to that question would be very important if you want a real Maho experience.

No you can not go to shore... The planes are off to side...I agree if that's the experience you want this might be a disappointment..but we are OK with that.

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Airport adventures sxm

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we sail in 2 weeks, and just booked this thru RCCL (have small kids too) .... they have a Facebook page that has TONS of pictures! I can report back if you'd like and give you more info?:)

I have a question if anyone can tell me, Under circumstances like this, when an emergency evacuation is happening, If you had kids in the kids club are you able to get to them or a meeting point outside of the ship?? Just curious as this is something I never have thought of , and we are traveling first time with small children soon. Thanks for any input.

are the kids doing anything with the teen clubs? I will have kids the same age.. What movies are being shown at night?

I too have been affected by this, its very frustrating... I tried multiply computers, different browsers, different CC.. keeps saying credit card error... finally called, got someone who barely speaks English and said nothing what so ever was in my cart! I had no problems booking or paying for cruise online but can't do a thing in my cruise planner.

the one I found is from June not "live" is there another one he did?... never mind think I found it ;)

We don't sail until September but we plan on doing this for sure! :)

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I don't see why one would choose this over a tour like Captain Bob's. On Captain Bob's tour, you go around the whole island, go to a couple snorkel spots and a couple of beach stops, eat lunch, and stop at Maho for a while to watch the planes. We were probably anchored at Maho for at least 30-minutes. I have video of the tour in my vacation video linked in my siggy. Anyone want to explain the appeal of just going to Maho to me?

We aren't interested in Captain Bob's b/c we will be with small children and the speed boat thing isn't our thing.. We would much rather prefer the type of boat that this tour offers... Different strokes for different folks right

Awesome what a great surprise! Thanks for coming back :) so looking forward to this as we are first times with our 5 kids...

For your interest: I have finally completed our video presentation of our cruise stop in CocoCay. There are clips of the Aqua Park and the waterslide in it.

 

[YOUTUBE]-4FrXrPViE4[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks for sharing that was awesome! Also help me decide that my 6yr olds would not be able to lift them selves out of the water to do most of the slides...

todd there are several daysails that moor off stj or stt for snorkeling. We enjoyed new horizons out if sapphire marina, they moor off honeymoon beach in caneel bay, stj and often dingy you in to the beach if you want that. There are also operators with smaller motorboats who will take you to different locations of your choosing. You'll find these listed under charters/daysails on vinow dot com.

best way to get to sapphire or any other beach is by just hopping a safari-type taxi at the dock, $20pp round trip.

probably a silly question but we want to make sure our whole party stays together, will we have a problem getting a taxi for 9 people to Sapphire?

I have heard so much about the silent Disco from friends who insist we must go!! I can't wait to try that! sounds like a blast!