KimA75

Because they can charge more once people are on board and there are always people that wait until they board to book these.

I believe they keep some spots for booking while on board, but I'm not completely sure. I do know that for our Alaska cruise we tried to book an excursion for my ex-husband and his father. At the time, there was only one space left to book it online. We called in and they were able to get it booked for both people. So, it may be worth a phone call to see if there are some spots available on the excursion you are interested in.

I book on my own, as far out as I can. For Icon, I booked opening day in October 2022. Prices have been fairly consistently rising since then due to demand. Booking early out often gives the best price. But, it also gives you time to check prices as often as you want. If you see a price drop before final payment, you can call in to get your booking adjusted to the lower price. If it drops after final payment, you won't get the drop, but you can check to see if the next category also dropped. If it did, you can get into a better room for about the same price, maybe a little less, or sometimes for a little bit more. I like booking on my own so that I have control over it. I book online and call in for any changes. I've seen postings where there was a price drop and people were trying to find other ways around their travel agent to get the lower price because their agent wasn't available. Royal Caribbean won't talk to you if you used an agent. And, if yours happens to be on their own vacation at the time of a drop, you could be out of luck on accessing that drop.

I admit, I'm not familiar with Carnival cabins. I can say that we enjoy any of the ultraspacious rooms on Royal Caribbean. A lot of floor space, bunk beds are in the room and there is a pullout sofa. These are larger than standard rooms and book quickly. The category of interior, ocean view, or balcony vary depending on the class of ship that you are booking. Also, junior suites are a great option. These also have more floor space and many of them have a bathtub for the kids. They give you access to the suite restaurant for dinner as long as there is space available. We have also done connecting cabins and leave the interior door between the rooms open. On most ships, if you have a balcony, they can also open the connecting door there and give you a larger overall balcony. Plus, this gives you two bathrooms.

I would go with connecting rooms or, if you are sailing Royal Caribbean, an ultra spacious room. The ultra spacious are different locations depending on the class of ship. Some are interior, others are ocean view, and some are balcony. These have a lot more area in the room and have a bunk bed area along with the bed and pull out sofa. Granted, the bunk beds generally only have a curtain to close between the areas and not an actual door, but it does allow for some separation and gives a ton more floor space. Connecting rooms are great because you get two bathrooms. That way there isn't a concern about someone needing to use the bathroom while another person is showering, etc. Plus, it can give the adults a little more privacy. You book these as one adult and one child in each room. Once you are on board, you can go to guest services and have the keys arranged however you want. Kids have keys to one room while adults have keys to the other.

My dad (83) was just excluded for a trolley tour at a port. He is too old to ride a trolley... I am still shaking my head at that one.

Northeast and Canada don't return until September and are often still enjoying vacations at this time. I also admit, I have no problem taking my kids out of school to go on a vacation. The only time I found it to be an issue was when we tried to do it the last week before school break in December, due to exam scheduling. Otherwise, we ask for school work ahead of time and work on it in the cabin throughout the week and finish it when we are home. This year I will be taking them out in September to sail on Icon of the Seas. I booked it on opening day and literally looked for the lowest priced sailing. Sailing during school breaks is way over my budget, so this is how we are able to go and enjoy. Oh, and we also always book 7-8 night cruises to get the most out of it. No matter when we have gone, there have always been plenty of kids on board. If you don't want to be bothered with teens running around, I would suggest looking to one of the adult only cruise lines. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there will be few kids (pre-teens/teens) on board.

We stayed in Seattle for our 2019 cruise. Granted, that was several years ago, but I have relatives living there. It is fine as long as you follow the standard rules while traveling- don't walk alone at night, etc, etc. We thoroughly enjoyed Pike's Market and the Space Needle the day before the cruise. It really is an amazing place. We used Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas for the amenities on the ship since we had 9 & 5 year old boys. I believe your kids would enjoy this ship as well. Pros and cons that we immediately noticed: Flights in and out of Seattle were cheaper since it was not an international flight On a larger ship, and leaving from Seattle, the ports were not as intensive Plenty of activities to keep the kids busy on the cruise While we had an amazing time and loved the ship, your kids are old enough to do a one way cruise, either north or south. It means ending in a different port from where you started, so it could deeply impact flight costs. However, the ports are better since the ship does not have to return to the same port. It also means that you could include a land tour before or after the cruise, depending on which direction you are heading. Smaller ships can get into ports that the larger ships cannot. I admit, I am really looking forward to another one when I can do one direction and add a land tour. So, it all depends on budget and what exactly you are looking forward to. If the kids get bored easily, go with a larger ship that does a roundtrip out of Seattle. This is also the better option if you are on a tighter budget. If you have a larger budget and more time, go with a smaller ship, heading one direction, and throw in a land tour if possible. Alaska was beautiful and our multigenerational group thoroughly enjoyed this trip. I would have absolutely no hesitations on booking another cruise as I feel like there was still more we could do and see.

Legend was the first cruise I went on in 2016, before it was moved out of the fleet the next year. That cruise got me hooked! It didn't hurt that this was the first, and so far only, time I made it to Australia. I would definitely be willing to book another Legend.

I tried to do a search, but could only find something from 2002. Is there a service that will transfer luggage after the cruise to the airport? We are flying in/out of Ft. Lauderdale with a cruise out of Miami on Icon in September. I would love to be able to set the luggage outside the last night and not see it again until we get to our final destination. I know some cruise lines offer this service, but I'm not sure if Royal Caribbean does.

I am also a planner. I book at least a year out. For my upcoming cruise on Icon I booked on opening day in October 2022 and won't be on it until September this year. So, almost two years. Booking early often gets you the better prices. But, once you do book, keep an eye on any price changes to call back in and get lower prices, better cabins, or more onboard credit. It also gives me the chance to wait for sales on excursions, drink packages etc. I was able to book everything through the Black Friday sale last year and got almost everything at much better rates than I had seen before and am definitely seeing now. Popular excursions can sell out ahead of time, so booking those early can help. Plus early booking allows me to manage finances better. I split the amount over the months and make smaller payments.

We take noise control headphones/earmuffs for when the cruise is leaving port. The horn they blow can be loud, but we also enjoy being outside for it. My food limiting child has always been able to find options at both the buffet and main dining. At main dining he will sometimes order from the adult menu with some modifications and often orders from the child's menu. They are more than willing to leave off sauces, etc, as needed for him. Buffet always has burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc that are always a good stand by for him. I encourage each of my boys to try kids club at least once while on board. My oldest, who is diagnosed as on the spectrum, has loved it and asked to go back. My youngest, who hasn't been diagnosed but wouldn't surprise me with his food aversions, noise sensitivity, etc, will argue about going. But, he will generally agree to go once and try it. So far, he has never really taken to it and I haven't forced him to return. I figure that vacation is supposed to be relaxing for all of us. If I force him into the club I may get more time to relax, but he will be miserable. That isn't really fair to him as this is his vacation as well. My kids have always found enough activities on board that they enjoy. And kids club has always been great with them on their cruises. We have only cruised Royal Caribbean, but Celebrity is under the same company and I would imagine the people on board there will be just as good.

My ex and I cruised on an older and smaller ship for our first cruise in 2016. All we cared about was that it went where we wanted. I never even noticed any issues or thought about it being older until we started cruising more and booking newer, bigger ships. For our first cruise, the older, smaller ship was absolutely perfect. We had such a great time and I am now addicted to cruising. Ever since then, the kids have joined in. Because of what they like, I am booking the bigger ships. But, I am looking forward to cruising on my own later and returning to the smaller ships to experience more port options. I have only cruised Royal Caribbean, so I can't give any advice on the itineraries you are looking at. All I can say is that I would definitely not hesitate to book one of these.

I know pre-Covid you were able to be seated at a larger table with various other passengers. I'm not sure if that is still an option. If it is, we met some really interesting people that when we did this. I've read that some others made lifelong friends this way. I am recently divorced and while I am cruising with my kids now, I fully expect to cruise solo later. I am hoping this will still be, or will become, an option.

I did the passport renewal on February 20 for my youngest and we did not expedite it. We had it back within four weeks. If you expedite it, you should get it back in time. I'm not sure if location matters, but we are in metro Atlanta, GA area.

I usually get it at $21.99 per day or $23.99 per day. I usually see the lower price on Black Friday.

We have been on several in the Caribbean and love it. However, I want to get the boys over to London to see some sights. I figured that since we love cruising so much, we could do several days in London and then move on elsewhere. I gave them a choice between the train to Paris to spend a few more days there or take a cruise and they both agreed on cruise. It is rare to get them to agree on anything, so I take it when I can. I think we have it narrowed down to the Spain and Portugal cruise though

Thank you Essiesmom. After looking, I think you are right about the fjords. Yes, we are loyal to Royal at the moment. My oldest son absolutely loves the Flowrider for body boarding on their ships. Other cruise lines don’t have this. He was born with some limitations, so the fact that he can do this and loves it keeps us coming back. I’ll expand to other operators later. Thank you for the other suggestions as well. I’ll definitely check those out.

We are looking at a cruise out of Southampton in 2025. Yes, I am an early planner, mainly to have time to make lower payments each month towards the vacation and better prices earlier on. Which of these would you choose for a multigenerational family? My boys will be 15 and 11 by then and my parents will be in their 80’s. We are from the states and have never spent time in any of these areas to help with narrowing it down.

I couldn't think of a way to conduct a search without getting 50 million returns. I am debating about staying on board with my kids while at Cozumel on our next cruise. They will be 14 and 10. It is mainly that we have been there a few times and have seen just about everything we are interested in. I am wondering what activities are typically available while a ship is in port. This would be our first time staying on board. It will be Icon, so I know there is not a lot yet known about this one. But, on Oasis class and others- are the slides or Flow Rider available? I am assuming the pools would be open and the shops and casino are closed. I never paid much attention to the cruise compass before when we were in port since we were getting off. Are there planned activities and games?

Royal Caribbean has the ultra spacious rooms, but they differ according to ship class. These have the king bed, pull out sofa and a set of bunk beds. The problem is figuring out which type they fall under. Some ships only have them as interior, some as ocean view, and some have this option with a balcony. And, they often book fairly quickly. So, you have to do a mock booking for a family of four, find a sailing with the ultra spacious room available and then call in to book it since you have more than four people. Or, if you are able to splurge, there are a few 2 bedroom suites available. I have never been able to cough up the money for one of these rooms though. Keep in mind, kids sail free promotions are not usually good for any sailings during school breaks. So, you may not be able to grab one of these promotions unless you homeschool or are willing to take the kids out of school during the trip. We have done one of these ultra spacious rooms as an ocean view and loved the extra floor space it gave us. But, we have also done the connecting rooms and really appreciated having a second bathroom.

Get the form to the parents. Have them sign with a notary and then mail it to you. You then sign with a notary.

We always had dinner together. If there were excursions that everyone was interested in, then we booked those together. But, with the younger ones enjoying beaches and the older ones not really wanting beaches, that didn't happen often. We also usually ate breakfast together to go over plans for the day in case anyone wanted to meet up for a show or activity together that day.

We started when ours were 6 & 10. They have been on Freedom, Adventure, Ovation, and Oasis. They loved all of them. We were most recently on Oasis and were blown away by it. It was amazing how much was on there. But, any of these would work.

Can you just call in and upgrade your cabin? It might be cheaper than a bid anyway. I'm not sure how they would handle an upgrade request on a cabin won through a bid, but it couldn't hurt to try.