abcsteward

What are the room accommodation choices for 4 people in a balcony cabin on the lido deck? We would prefer not to have an "upper" bunk if possible. Thanks!

We cruised in a Balcony room with three people on the Victory and had a Upper... Ick... It was right above the couch...

As the others have said... We always have the standard tips taken out when we first board or even sometimes go ahead and pay for them when we book...

Extra tipping to MDR Wait Staff, Cabin Steward, Room Service Waiter always when the awesome service is rendered...

I don't mind children on the ship, especially if they're well behaved. It's the few "bad apples" that spoil the whole bunch though. :) But even with the not-so-well-behaved ones I either just ignore, and be thankful they're not mine, or I remove myself from the area. The only time I remember a truly ill-behaved child was a little girl named Hailey on the elevator. She had gotten on with two other little girls and they were giggling, then Hailey pressed all the buttons on the elevator. Her two little friends were embarrassed and they got off at the first stop. But little Hailey would get off then run right back in. We put up with it for a couple of stops but then I did say something to her about her behavior. It didn't make a difference. She was definitely a little brat. I was so hoping we'd meet up with her again in an elevator, along with her parents, so I could ask her if she wanted to press all the buttons again. :) But it never happened, darn it. :)

 

I don't like seeing parents let their children run amok, but thankfully most parents aren't like that. I wouldn't like seeing a child in diapers in the hot tub, or as a PP said one with goggles jumping in the hot tub already full of adults. I think I would tell the kid to get out. Small children shouldn't be in them anyway.

 

As for taking the kids out of school, I don't see anything wrong with it if the kids are good students and don't have any trouble doing the make up homework. Some teachers will even give it early so the child can get it done before they go on vacation.

Gotta just love the little brats when their parents arent around... :(

We leave next week on the Dream with our kids. Daughter is 9, and this will be her 3rd cruise. Son is 15 months. We are taking the advice of other posters and bringing an inflatable bath tub so he can have his own "pool" without being in the actual pool. Daughter has never been a problem on a cruise, in fact we've been complimented on her behavior. I'm hoping son is the same!

Love the inflatable pool idea... Thanks...

Hope yall have a blast and enjoy your cruise to its fullest potential!!

Carnival is absolutely for families, and for singles, and for adults, and for empty-nesters. (We are now the last.:D) We took our boys on their first cruise when they were 11 and 14 and their last cruise was 10 years later. (It was a hoot drinking shots with our guys. :eek:)

 

That said, I have no problems with kids who behave reasonably well. (C'mon, they're kids. They can't, and shouldn't, be angels 24/7.) But it does irk me when kids wearing goggles climb into a hot full of adults and splash everyone, or run by us and almost knock us down, or scream and chase each other in the hallways.

 

Then there are the parents who take their diapered babies into the pools:

On Magic last year, a couple took their eight-month old daughter into the aft hot tub and pool. Yes, I complained to security about the diaper. It happened every single day. On the last sea day, security told me it was OK-the father took the baby's diaper off so she could be in the hot tub.

 

We sailed Victory in November. A family had their diapered toddler in the hot tub. Someone must have said something because we watched security talk to them. The father left and came back minutes later with a little bathing suit. He actually took the kid's diaper off on the ledge of the hot tub and slipped on his bathing suit.

 

So...I am not against sailing with families and children. I love watching kids have fun. I think the only sound better than a ship's horn is the laughter of children. But I don't think it's unreasonable to want an area, like a pool area, dedicated to adults so we don't have to be surrounded by jumping, splashing kids and diapered babies. (That's one reason I love the Spirit class ships-Serenity is the whole aft deck and has a pool. But there are only four ships and two are in Australia right now.)

This is where people need to read and go by the "rules"... No diapered babies are even suppossed to be in the "wet" areas because of health reasons... ;)

My daughter will be 14 months old when we cruise in April. I can hardly wait! Sitting quietly during dinner time is hit or miss but I have no problem walking out with her if she goes into a tantrum.

 

I guarantee there will be an adult somewhere on that ship who will make Lily look reserved by comparison. Every problem I've seen on cruises were created by adults.

My thoughts exactly... I dont mind removing a child from certain situations if need be... ;)

I don't disagree with you, but sometimes, when we know that it's time to be together, then we go be together. I like the cruise because it is hard to get in touch with us, we are able to disconnect from jobs/pressures.

 

And, I ALWAYS meet with the teachers if we are wanting to take them out of school to see if they are ok to miss...we are fortunate that both our kids our good students and their teachers have absolutely no concerns. I don't think it's any different than the students who miss afternoons or full on days to travel for their sports.

 

But, a previous poster is right, we got off topic so I apologize to the OP :)

No biggie... It is part of traveling with kids... ;)

Ok, reading all the posts, it seems it went from is it ok to take your kids on a cruise to taking my kids with me everywhere to taking them out of school for a cruise.

 

Those are not the issues. The issue is how the kids behave on the cruise.

If they behave and not run around unattended, don't scream and throw fits, everything is fine. Most kids I have encountered are fine and well behaved. But there is always a few that press all the buttons in the elevator, run down the hallways at all hours of the night with no parent in sight and scream because they won't eat their dinner but want ice cream.

The real problem is the parents. Hey, you brought them, now you stay with them, take care of them, you deal with them. Remember, all the other passengers paid big money to enjoy their cruise. Don't ruin their time even if your kids is not acting up to standards.

 

The other side of that is that I can always get up and leave too. I can just go up to Serenity, get me a Pina Coloda and relax in a hammock.

 

BTW, I have taken my kids on several cruises and now that they are grown up and moved away, they are always up for a cruise with Mom and Dad again. Just got off the Breeze with my 2 daughters ages 26 &23. Very good memories grown up cruising when young. Enjoy these times.

I can totally relate... And agree... If your child is reacting badly to a situation remove them!!!

Just keep the screaming child-poopie pants away :D

 

 

 

from the drunk pp-pants adults. :p

 

All pre-teens go to early seating. ;)

LOL... Keep all poopie and pp pants away from me no matter what age you are!!!

This year is the first time we are cruising with our kids, otherwise I've traveled solo or with hubby or a friend. I would be fine not taking my kids out of school, except for the fact that when school is on break they double/triple the price. Doesn't exactly scream family. So yes, we are opting to take our kids out of school this year, but for 4 days, since there is a 4 day week. And, to be honest, I don't want to take my kids cruising in summer since we live in a cold climate with long winters - or fall during hurricane season.

 

The only time I've ever had trouble with kids on a cruise was last year when 3/4 families all with several children grouped together, the kids didn't want to sit in their seats and ran around the tables in circles the entire time, pushing each other down, running into waiters, knocking over other peoples drinks, it was bad, the worst I'd ever seen, and this was the late seating.

Now those are the kids that give our good kids a bad name... Shame on them...

I am a former teacher, and I guess I kinda disagree? I think it is more of a personal decision. We are taking all 9 of our kids out of school in October for a cruise (not because of price, but my fiancé's work schedule). Anytime they miss school for anything pre planned, they make up work before we go. So far we have no problems. One just finished school early, graduates in May, and another is on track to be valedictorian. I think it just all depends on the situation, and making sure they don't miss stuff like state tests, etc.

 

 

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I agree... Enjoy your cruise...

We take our kids out of school twice a year for vacation. I love what you said...my kids, my decision...it is no one else's business why my kids are out if school. My kids love cruising. February marks their third cruise. We also do almost everything with our kids. I love traveling with them. We bond so much on vacation.

 

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And traveling the World is a good way to show them different cultures!!! Enjoy!!!

Three weeks away from our first cruise with our four year-old granddaughter. Cannot. Wait. Bursting with excitement.

I am also bring along my Grandson on our next cruise... I traveled with him a year ago to Hawaii... And then this past summer to Arizona... So I am excited to take him on the ship... :)

Yep. Take your young one and have a great cruise. I've never worried a bit about offending someone for taking my son.

Im taking my almost 2 year old Grandson on my next cruise... It is my first B2B cruise... And although it will be a long cruise and a bit trying... I hope to not have to many mad shipmates, cause he is my World and I might just go off...

You have people complaining on Disney forums about kids too. With night time activities and how kids should be sleeping etc.

Oh yeah... Theres a good one... NOT... Disney Cruises are all about kids!!!

We bring our two girls who are 4 and 7 everywhere we go. We will be taking them on a Thanksgiving cruise this year. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanksgiving Cruise... That will be nice... Yall enjoy!!!

We just completed a trip on the Breeze with our 5 grown children and 11 grand kids 6 and and under (down to 7 months). It was a blast. A review is coming with some traveling with small children portions.....:rolleyes:

Yay... Cannot wait for the review... :)

I have a toddler myself and love kids..have no problem with them onboard. As the spouse of a teacher, I think it's not a good idea to take kids out of school to go on vacation. They get plenty of time off every year and to foresake their education for a cheaper cruise rate seems wrong to me.

 

 

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I agree with you. To date we have chosen to cruise only when they are out of school. However what another parent does is on them. And many children are on different, non traditional schedules.

I believe to each their own... ;) Us parents know our children... And how we choose to raise them should be noone elses business...

i wish someone would say something to me about why my children are onboard. Please. Carnival welcomes kids year round. Yes they should behave. So should the adults.

amen!!!

We leave in 11 days for our annual family cruise. This will be mine and hubby's 5th cruise, my 14yr old and 11 yr old's 4th cruise and my 4 yr olds 3rd cruise. Already planning our 2016 cruise. Our cruise in Feb 2014, i only got one snide remark from some uptight angry old man asking why my kids werent in school. My kids, my decision is what we told him. If you dont want to cruise with kids, dont cruise Carnival. There have always been a bunch of kids on every Carnival cruise we take regardless of when we have taken the cruise during the year. Just my opinion.

 

We will continue to cruise each year as long as we can. My kids love it and so do we.

I really hate when someone tries to parent someone elses children... Ughhhhhh... Enjoy yalls cruise...

DH and I have grown children and enjoy our adult time. We still find we can sail carnival relatively child free during the off season. We sail during Sept or May when there seem to be few children. If we were to sail during March break etc then it would serve us right if we were surrounded by little ones.

 

Don't get me wrong. We both love children, but at this stage in our life we enjoy a little more peaceful surroundings. If we ever find this not working for us we would probably switch to another line.

My Hubby and I's Anniversary is in March, so we always seem to be one of the few couples on board that dont have kiddos with us during that time... Oh well... There are plenty of kid free places too...

One of our best cruises was a few years ago when we took our kids and our than 1 year old grandson. He wasnt going to sit quietly over a two hour dinner in DR so as necessary we put him in his stroller and went for a walk.

 

In a few weeks we are doing it again and now he is 3 1/2 and his brother 15 months and will again have an awesome time.

 

Some people allow their kids to run amok on ships and it gives all kids a bad name.

Enjoy your cruise... Wishing you the best... :)

You can always hit the edit button and fix errors for about 15 minutes after you post. :)

 

To answer your question, Carnival IS for families. Some people just don't get that. They will make generalized negative comments regarding children onboard, and some will have ZERO tolerance for kids no matter what. I've received death stares and looks of disgust from some passengers who seem insulted at the sight of my completely quiet sleeping toddlers strapped to their umbrella strollers. :mad:

 

Unfortunately, there are a handful of unruly, poorly raised children that are usually running around unsupervised, and who simply don't know how to behave in public and even less on a cruise ship. These few are the ones that people have an issue with and the ones that give a bad name to the rest of kids onboard who are behaving properly.

 

BUT, saying that one doesn't want to sail with kids because of a few bad ones is the same as saying that one doesn't want to sail with adults because of a few idiots that are poorly behaved, have zero manners, drink too much, are too loud, or have poor hygiene which unfortunately can also be found onboard. Personally, I'm more annoyed by the poorly behaved adults than by the poorly behaved kids.

 

With all of that said, Carnival is a VERY poor choice for those wishing to avoid children altogether, even then ones that are well behaved. If someone wants to sail kid free, they better look at some of the more "adult oriented" cruise lines. And even then, kids can still be found onboard, although based on my last cruises on Holland America and Princess, the issues of kids running unsupervised, taking over hot tubs, screaming down hallways, or commandeering elevators are greatly minimized.

 

 

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I agree... I have seen some very naughty adults!!!

Sad that more people cant enjoy cruising with their well behaved kids cause being around family is what life is about...

Have a blast!!!

I really do enjoy reading all about your vacations... Makes me wanna leave today... Hope I am able to share some of my trip with yall when I get back... :)