Kerri7868

We are going to Dolphin Cove after looking at every option out there. We will have three 12 yr olds with us. There is more to do that swim with dolphins.

Where did you find options as far as who to take the excursion through? You're not going through the ship I assume?

The same for purchases made in the shops. You have to pick it up the morning you debark. Anything you purchase in the ports has to be turned in as soon as you get back onboard.

 

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Thanks!

Hello!

 

I have two boys, ages 14 and 10. We have been on Freedom twice with the boys. Once when they were 7 and 11 and once when they were 9 and 13.

 

They were both introduced by us to Adventure Ocean on the first day of their first cruise. We gave them the choice of going or not.

 

Both decided to go. They have never been in the same age group but for a few of the big things they combine the 6-8 year olds and the 9-11 year olds. Of course, this only applied the first year as they do not combine the teen group.

 

Once they started going they really did not want to do much with us from that point forward. LOL. They had their friends at AO and they had more fun with them than us. We always took them with us on port days though.

 

My older son especially liked last year as a 13 year old and being in the teen group. He had a lot more freedom (I was a little nervous at first, but once I saw how much he was enjoying himself and in all reality, how safe he was...I was good). The teen group had "prom" night one night (our formal night) where they all got dressed up and had their own formal dinner and dance. The group of them got their photo done and my son has it framed on his dresser.

 

For the teen group they also got free lessons on Flowrider which was a huge success. I think a good chunk of their time on the boat was spent on Flowrider.

 

My younger son asked me every night if he coud stay with his friends in AO after 10:00pm. This of course costed money...but it turns out all the AO kids were asking their parents to stay longer! So...every other night we let him stay until midnight...and even then we had to drag him out.

 

The older one, once in teen group had a curfew of 1:00am, and he never came in a minute earlier. My DH and I were long in bed resting until we heard the door open.

 

When you arrive on the boat each child is given a colour coded bracelet as to what their age group is...so if they are wandering the boat with their friends (you have to give permission), and there is any type of emergency where they have to go to their muster station, a staff will help them.

 

I ended up giving my 9 year old permission to sign himself in and out of the AO. The staff on the boat are fantastic and learned who he was. I did not worry about this at all. I will say that I did not do this the first cruise though.

 

We went on a ten day vacation this past summer to Mexico...an amazing vacation. We did lots of really fun activities. And you know what both my kids said at the end of it? It was fun , Mom, but we prefer the cruises.

 

Since we have had such amazing experiences on the Freedom level of RCCL boats, we don't want to try a bigger/smaller boat yet. And also, since we are VERY happy with RCCL, we will not be trying another line in the foreseeable future. I'm not sure any other line can top what we have had so far. Especially in the area of the kids.

 

S0, we have booked our next cruise, this time on Liberty of the Seas, out of TX. She will have the new slides by the time we go (November 27, 2016 sailing), which will be even more for my boys to do.

 

We ended up paying $377CDN each, and got two panoramic oceanview rooms. It is for a 7 day cruise. So, for $976 CDN per room we got an amazing deal. I am sure that is significantly less in USD since our dollar stinks right now.

 

If you keep your eyes open, deals will pop up out of the blue. Check every day. This one ended up being a special deal for Canadians on top of the 30% off and they were promoting the new panoramic rooms.

 

Also, if you see a cheaper price after you book, call your TA...they should be able to get a price adjustment for you.

 

Looks like two of your kids are around the same age as mine...you should come on our cruise ;)

 

Good luck deciding!

Great info, thanks a bunch!

The policy for liquor pick up changed months ago, and I'm pretty sure it would have been in effect by June.

 

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What is the policy for alcohol you buy in the ports?

 

Small ship, with, from what I was told, had under 1000 pax under 18 on the sailing. The teen center was open 24 hours a day, BUT most of the time it was unsupervised. I found that they really pushed alcohol and the games that included alcohol. I also went to one of the talks the last day when they discuss the sales in the onboard shops and they were saying that if you bought any alcohol in the shops you would get to keep it in your cabin since it was the last night and how "there was still time to get wasted!" That spoke volumes to me as to what Carnival was all about.

They didn't push alcohol and alcohol related games in the teen club, right?

Funny, I have bought most of those same things! Never thought of a Carnival gift card. Where do you get those? Are the items on the ship ridiculously priced?

I am currently working on Christmas stockings for my kids for our December sailing. They will get them in the morning at our pre-cruise hotel.

So far I have :

 

Lanyards - Doctor Who (they are fans)

Luggage Tags for their backpack - Fun ones that suit each of their personalities

Goggles - Because goggles never last a trip

Small water pistol for beach ( ;)we are driving to the port)

Water wings ( for the smallest)

Cabin door decorations (piratey this time)

Sunglasses - *See googles

Mints/ Gum / Chocolate pirate coins

(a new) Draw String bag - * see sunglasses

Carnival gift card

 

And Im still working on this project

Thank you all so much for taking the time to share this fantastic info! :):):)

So much fun buying surprise presents for people...... [emoji6]

It is, especially when they're cruise related!

Thank you, just ordered the lanyards, a blingy one for me and boring ones for my 4 guys. :) Never would've thought of those, thanks a bunch!

Ohhh, I'm going to get those bags! Thank you!

I'm not sure what they would use the roll of quarters on. Most arcades use their cards.

We're first timers so I didn't know that, thanks! I'm old school and assumed they took quarters. :)

they all have handheld devices so we're good to go there. I wish I could afford to get them all go pros! Great suggestions again everyone, thanks so much!

The disposable underwater camera were on my list too, I knew I forgot something!

These are awesome ideas, thank you everyone!

What are some good Christmas gift ideas for kids (boys aged 15, 9 and 6) that they can use on the cruise? A couple ideas I have are snorkel sets and rolls of quarters. And Santa is going to bring them all cash to spend on what they want on the cruise. I need other ideas please!

I believe legally, an adult must be booked in a room with a minor. Once on the ship, you can sleep wherever you want. My 2 boys shared a room next to us on our last cruise but I was listed as being in their room

I did hear or read somewhere that kids under a certain age (I can't remember what age) have to be with in three rooms of the parents. I don't know if that is referring to booking or sleeping.

It doesn't matter where they sleep, but which cabin they are booked.

Ahh yes, you're right. Agent put me with one kid and husband with the other two. I suppose I should get the kids switched to one.

so, the kids are in a separate cabin?

Not sure about sleeping arrangements yet, maybe since our oldest will be turning 15 (on the cruise!) and the cabins are next to each other.

Ship is the Conquest going to Falmouth, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

In this case, unless they want BOTH cabins ready or want all 5 to board a few minutes ahead of non FTTF people, one will do. The parents can board with the kids. It will give 1 cabin available to drop off carryons. The parents will have GS priveleges (kids won't need it). For tendering, the kids can board with the parents. Saves $59.

So say the husband and I got FTTF with our cabin not not for the kids. Would they check the kids' little cards (or whatever we are given) to make sure we ALL have FTTF before letting us all board together?

Kerri, you should also be asking if you need 2 FTTF or can you get away with one. I have read that some of the benifits can be redundant.

Thanks JCJR, will do!

Thank you so much for the replies. :)

What is the usual wait time to get into the room without FTTF? Are we talking hours?

First time cruisers here, 2 adults and 3 kids. We'll be paying $120 (2 cabins) and I'm wondering if it's worth the price. I don't think we'll be in any enormous rush to get embark or off at the ports. Am I wrong?

it is looking like we may be on the Sunshine in January. This is my first stop for reviews and your review the first one I read. I'm thinking I should just stop right here. :) Thank you for all the details it was all so very helpful!

I have, Serene. Expensive everywhere for spring break.

Eww, I don't like those things either, Marie.

Thank you for the tips!

Now we're thinking of going some time besides spring break. Way more affordable so we should be able to swing a 7 day. Just hated to pull the kids out of school, especially the oldest.

We REALLY want to do a 7 day but flight prices are just killing us so unfortunately I think we'll end up having to do a shorter cruise. :mad: