BND

So, people are supposed to run away because people don't make their kids behave? We've had no issues with cruises with well behaved kids (usually that's cruises with the number of kids the ship can actually handle in it's youth programs). Why should anyone have to switch from a cruise line they have been sailing on for years? Personally, IMHO, the cruise line should limit the number of kids under 18 to what the programs can handle. That makes the most sense for everyone. And, who knows if this behavior continues, it may come to that. I wonder how those parents feel who have been kicked off the ship (and probably banned) feel after the fact? I know they most likely blame the cruise line which is 100% the problem.

I would have if I'd seen it. I like how you handled it. "lightening up" parenting is what gets kids into that kind of trouble as they know there are no consequences to their actions. Our boys never would have behaved the way I've seen some behave because they knew right from wrong and what we expected of them. They're in their 30's now and we never had a problem with them. We were strict but gave them independence too. We weren't their friends until they grew up. Our job was to raise responsible human beings, not spoiled brats. I also really wish that people would quit saying but "adults do xyz". That does not justify any of the behavior, at all.

What I find interesting is people report their actual experiences and what they witnessed onboard and people get offended by it. And others don't get the point and decide it's about them.

Yes, but even that's changing. Parents have zero problems with taking their kids out of school anytime they feel like it. Our upcoming Apr 8 cruise on EN is a 12 night and from the roll call, there are a lot of kids that will be onboard.

Yeah, it really doesn't work that way anymore for a lot of people. As I said earlier, parents will defend their kids even for doing things that are way beyond the norm of "kid" behavior.

And, the some of the behavior is enough to get the family banned for life from the line, yet some of those parents will continue to defend their little snowflakes. It's one thing to defend your child against something being done to them and quite another to defend them doing something to others, but these parents just don't get that. They misunderstand the whole self-esteem idea. A child's self esteem is built by what THEY accomplish, not always telling them how wonderful and perfect they are and how no one else can tell them what to do.

The subject of kids has come up about spring break on FB roll calls and when I mention our experience last year on EN with 695 kids, I have been attacked because you know "adults act worse, kids have every right to sail, etc". That's not what I mentioned. It's behavior and lack of parenting. Bobby the CD last year said kids club can only handle about 150 kids and that some (actually more than just some) parents don't parent their kids and when the cruise line does, the parents defend the kids, regardless of what they have done. We're back on EN Apr 8-20 and there seem to be a lot of kids going on our sailing on a ship that is not equipped for that many kids. As I said last year (and other spring break years) people need to research a ship before bringing their kids onboard. There are ships better equipped for lots of kids than the smaller ships out of Baltimore. Last April was the worst behavior I'd ever seen and at least one family got kicked off and other kids got caught doing things they shouldn't have been doing.

Ours also showed "suite" a few weeks ago. Now, it's not on there. How exactly are we supposed to use the suite entrance without it? I swear I printed out our passes when I first checked in, but we just moved and I can't find them so I went to print new ones and noticed suite was no longer on them.

Costa Maya was windy with waves pushing the ships against the pier when we were there in Nov. Is that just how the port is?

My entire family had the flu (4 of us) two years in a row when our boys were in elementary school before we started getting shots. Aches, fever, lethargy, exhaustion, headache, cough for a full week. That was full blown flu. I've also had a "mild case" one time when vaccinated and low grade temp, and all the same symptoms, but milder but I could still tell it was the flu. With a cold, I get a runny nose, cough, no temp and no body aches at all. Very different illnesses. You may have tested positive, but Flu symptoms are more than a stuffy head.

I will say, if you've ever actually had the flu, you will know the difference from a cold. Vastly different, even with a flu shot, while you don't get very sick, it's still different than a cold.

A four night cruise and they started feeling sick on the day they got off the ship, so technically Day five. They absolutely had enough time to catch the flu. Symptoms typically start two days after exposure but can range from one to four days so yes, they was enough time. But, that still can't be blamed on Royal.

You chose to pay what you did. You could have not gone. Report room issues to your steward. You chose to buy a drink package. BTW, your experience is not others when it comes to getting drinks. You didn't like the entertainment (that's a subjective opinion) Excursions, also subjective as many love Blue Lagoon. Crowds, um okay, sold out ship, correct? And as for the flu, it's flu season and has absolutely nothing to do with the ship other than someone onboard probably had it (you know kind of like people at work and school pass illnesses around). I guess you might get some sympathy if you weren't 100% negative about everything. Short cruises, especially over weekends, or spring break are notorious for the partying. So, here's my answer, PLEASE do not cruise again. I don't get people who book a cruise at a specific price and then complain about the price. No one is forcing you to cruise.

Geez, I go spend an hour unpacking and come back to 40+ posts.

Seriously, what's with that? I've been up for an hour here in cold and windy VA.

You all behave on CC today. As for me, we're about 65% unpacked. What's left is all the dining room, living room stuff and some smaller odds and ends. You know, the ones you stick somewhere and never look at again for 20 years? We also need a new bed frame/headboard. We broke ours the last night in the old house 😉

Let us all know how you feel in the morning. I had two glasses of wine last night and I'm feeling it this morning lol.

Hey all, I want food reports. On FB (dining page) there are extremes. Either raves about how good or complete rants about how bad. People complaining about cold food (that also happened before the new menu) and selections. Someone said almost no veggies (I don't buy that).

Following along as we unpack from our move. And, then we get to pack for our April 8 cruises. Edocs today. So, now I have to find all my cruise stuff 🙂

Search the Florida Departures board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

That's what I told DH. One per person over 21 is completely enforceable. 2 per cabin, not so much unless you are the only adult. We don't bother to carry on anymore as we're D+ with almost 600 points so on cruises longer than 6 days we can get 3 bottles of wine from C&A, but we never took more than two total.

The Maitre 'D is the one that assigns times, not the headwaiters (yes there are several) who in reality manage the wait staff in their area. But, we always book the time we want (late) when we book our cruise. As for MTD, there are usually other times available once you get onboard or are willing to wait for a table at earlier times.

Not vouchers, D+ gets a discount on a bottle of wine. So, for them, a couple who are both D+ gets two separate discounts.

Correct.

We've received two offers so far on our April 8 cruise. We didn't bid, but here's the rub. It's on EN over Easter and has been sold out for a while. We have only bid one time just for the heck of it last summer. Most of our cruises now are b2b in the same cabin so no way we'll bid for those. We always pick the cabin we want also. We have been back to cruising after restart since Nov 2021 and have received RoyalUp's for every cruise since they started offering. Also, a lot of people don't seem to understand that you need to have that you want to receive emails turned on in your profile or you'll never get anything.