periatza34

I only heard the washy washy 1 time on my cruise. Most of the time someone was just standing there greeting you as you walked in. I probably ate at the buffet a handful of times. Went there a lot for ice cream though!

I had asked and even left a 5 dollar bill on the bed for one and the steward said he never learned how.

I'll know for the future to book my dining way in advance. I didn't this trip as I wasn't sure how things would be going with the whole family. You live and learn. Our honeymoon cruise was memorial week which surprisingly wasnt all that busy. I assumed that two weeks after easter everyone would have their spring break vacation in already. I think I'll have to wait a few more weeks.

I sailed the Escape from April 23rd to April 30th with my wife and 3 kids, ages 16,14, and 5. This is my first cruise since 2016 which was with my wife for our honeymoon on the Getaway. We had a family oceanview room on deck 5 by the splash academy(that my daughter didn't use) that sleeps 5. Room worked for us and somehow we were able to rotate well enough for bathroom use. Ill briefly go over some of the good, some of the bad, and some of the change. Good: Service in most areas and crew members were amazing! So friendly! The ports were awesome. Puerto Plata, Taino Bay specifically, has an awesome port with a pool and lazy river with hammocks, clamshells and chairs all at no cost. We went to magens bay in st thomas which the views were breathtaking on the way there to the water being so clear. The two older kids got to experience snorkeling for the first time here and they absolutely fell in love with it. We got off the ship for a little while in Tortola but the times were 6am-12:30pm so we didnt do much. Great stirrup Cay was my wife's favorite as the water is clear and there is plenty of seating on the beach. Very hot and not much shade to find so be warned. Kids once again went snorkeling here. Entertainment was great. I enjoyed Will, the cruise director, along with the other staff who ran the shows. Bad: Plan out your whole vacation ahead of time! The last cruise I took, I don't remember having an issue getting a reservation somewhere, but this trip, everything was reserved before day 1 it seemed. I couldn't reserve anything! At least the main dining rooms(savor/taste) would allow walk ups. I went to Moderno one night to use our specialty up and they turned us away. I asked them what I could do as everything was full for the rest of the trip. They basically told me I was out of luck. My wife and I walked to La Cucina after which had no line and didn't look busy at all. Asked if there was a way we could get seated and he said that he was so booked up that we would have to take outdoor waterside seating. The hostess did mention to me that people will book multiple things and not show up which I think shouldn't be allowed. At this point we would take anything and did. All 4 shows of choir of man were sold out as long as all the other entertainment you could book. The ship was full, and most every passenger it seemed was entitled. Very rude people. I don't remember that being the case my last cruise. People have no regards to others and it just puts you in a bad mood. The elevators would be full all the time! You are on deck 16 going to deck 5, waiting for 5 minutes it seems for an elevator to come and as soon as it would, someone would run in front of you to hop on and take your spot. The bars were packed! I had to wait up to 10/15 minutes sometimes to get a drink. I am also one who tips every single time I get a drink. Not saying that I should get preferential treatment for this, but I know some of you will come back at me and say I need to tip to get good service. Changes: Some entertainment that used to be in the theater was changed to the atrium. I don't mind entertainment being there but it was just too small for the amount of people that would show up. If you didn't show up at least 45 minutes before the show, good luck finding somewhere to sit, let alone even see what's going on. Also, good luck getting a drink at the atrium bar. You were better off finding a server walking around and ordering a drink from them. Room being serviced changed to once a day. This isn't really a big deal for me but I never had any clue on when my room would get serviced. We had a pullman bed that just stayed down the whole cruise for people wondering. Last cruise we would get towel animals on our bed and now we don't. My 5 year old daughter was pretty dissapointed she didn't get to see one. All in all, we had an amazing vacation with plenty of memories and firsts for the kids. If I were to go again, I'd somehow either try to find a ship that isn't as booked, or at least plan out my whole vacation to the hour before going. I hate doing that. I hope this little review helps some of you in cruising in the near future and I'll try to answer any questions that I can. I don't have pictures of dailys.

I haven't yet. Still a little over two weeks away to get our documents. If it comes down to it, it won't be hard for us to get a new certificate. I'll call closer to sail date if need be.

Thanks for the help! She never had the same last name as her son. So in order to prove we would need his birth certificate and our marriage license to show her old last name. Almost seems pointless to have the passport card. The only reason we got them was so we didnt have to travel with all these documents. Not the end of the world to spend $23 on another birth certificate, just a waste when we have one and just waiting for it back.

So we decided to get our 15 and 5 year old passport cards instead of passports and the 16 year old a full passport. We got the 16 year old's passport in the mail two weeks ago. We still dont have the passport cards and we sail out in 16 days. I think we will have the cards by the time we sail, but I'm not sure the birth certificates will be mailed back in time. the 15 year old has a different last name than my wife and I. Without that birth certificate, will they take my wife's word that he is her son with the passport card? Do I have to go and buy new birth certificates now? What really is the point of the passport card if I still need to travel with their birth certificates? Also, when doing online check in, I checked 4 of us in early in the morning and was able to get 9:30-10 check in time. I wasnt able to check in the 5th till later in the day and was only able to get 10-10:30 check in time for him. They can't assume a minor is going to check in 30 minutes later than the rest of the family? I have only cruised two other times and with no minors before so I can't really remember how the process goes. Am I just being too worried? Last thing I want to do is fly all the way down there and get denied boarding.

I prepaid my $560 bill in "gratuities." My wife and I and 3 kids at $16 each for 7 days. Also paid the taxes on the beverage package that is "free." I will still feel obligated to tip when getting drinks or feel the wrath of the bartenders staring me down. I know, not their fault. With the prices going up to $20 a day plus, I may have to stop cruising and start all inclusives again. My daily gratuities will considerably go down.

HAHA! I think for a family cruise my wife and I can contain eachother for a week for the sake of our kids! I will check out some youtube videos. Thanks!

Kids club is not a big deal to me. If she wants to go, which I highly doubt cause she is shy that way, I won't stop her. Otherwise I'm completely fine doing everything with her. I just want to know what things on the ship I can do with her. What shows, if she will even enjoy them. I also have family coming on this cruise so if my wife and I do want a date night to ourselves, I'm sure we can get it.

I sailed on the Getaway back in 2016 for my honeymoon on my 2nd cruise ever. Just booked my 3rd cruise on the Escape in April but with a family of 5! Two teenage boys, a 5 year old girl, and my wife and I all in a family oceanview(woosah). So family cruising is very new to me. In reading the forums the last few weeks, I have noticed a lot of changes since 2016. One being that I only get 1 specialty dining perk for a 7 day cruise instead of 3. I was thinking about upgrading to the two extra for my wife and I but was wondering if I can bring my daughter to dinner and have her just order off of a complimentary kids menu, or would we have to buy her a dinner also? My other question is about the entertainment. First off it looks like Malevo was on this ship but no longer is. Anyone know if they will be replaced(nothing shows up yet)? Secondly, what shows are kid friendly? Would it be fine to take a 5 year old to any of these shows(the choir of man/the supper club/dueling pianos/ect)? I know they have the splash academy but I highly doubt she will let me leave her there while I go to a show. I really don't want to leave the babysitting to the boys either. Just trying to figure out all the things we can do at night as a family. Entourage sounds like a cool thing for the teen boys to go to but they roll their eyes at me when I tell them about it. Any way you think I could convince them that it will probably be something they want to do? I feel like I had more questions but can't seem to think of them at the moment. If you have any suggestions or tips for me to do on the escape with the family, I'd love to hear them!