Showtune

On 12/7/2022 at 3:09 PM, Match Game 72 said:

Please note that free texting is not available for passengers under 18 years old.

 

Could you please clarify?  My 13 and 10 year old travel companions will not be permitted to use the text messaging feature of the MSCforMe app? I could understand them not being allowed to add additional people to their texts, they won't they be able to text even their own parents?

Sounds lovely. A USB charger will be very useful. I'm sailing on her just 3 weeks later.

Our 9 year old daughter will be onboard.

Wonderful! Our kids will be in the same group.

Thank you for the replies everyone. We are indeed travelling as a multi-generational group (myself, my wife, my parents, our son).

We are sailing the Rotterdam over Thanksgiving 2017. For those of you that have done a Thanksgiving week cruise on HAL, were there a decent amount of children on board? Our son will be 8 at the time of sailing. I know the numbers will be nothing like Carnival, Disney, NCL, or RCI, but hoping he won't be without peers.

We walked it with our 2 year old in the Ergo, it was fine. Trafficy for a few blocks until you get out of down town. Sidewalks 95% of the way. We stopped for lunch at the Fish Fry area before heading up to the Zoo/ Gardens. Took a taxi back, which the zoo was quite happy to call for us.

We booked the 2014 Thanksgiving cruise on the Sun out of Tampa in March 2014, party of 3 in a large interior (IA) for about $1780 total. The sailing was not part of the Kids Sail Free promotion in April. Prices dropped in May, and we got a price adjustment. Prices dropped massively about 3 weeks out and we upgraded to a balcony guarantee (BD) for a total of $17. If I were to book my original cabin today (7 days out) if would be $239 per person.

Considering I live driving distance to the port and there were at least 3 ships doing a similar itinerary on different lines, I would not book far in advance again. I would watch prices and book last minute.

We have received confirmation from both .bz and VIV tours that the 48" rule won't take place until Jan 1st, 2015. Until then, anyone 2 years old and up are able to come. VIV Tours did state that the person has to be able to walk the entire 30 minutes in the jungle to go. If you are going to book with him, I would confirm this before scheduling.

That is excellent news for us! Thank you!

Can I ask what your back-up plan is? There is so much information out there that I am slowly weeding my way through it.

 

Thanks!

My back up plan is to switch to the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins in Belize, instead of the one from Costa Maya. There seems to be other feasible options in Costa Maya that we can do on our own. Belize, not so much.

We need a back up plan for Costa Maya in case our cave tubing excursion in Belize can't happen (due to newly instated height restrictions). If we can't cave tube, we will go to the ruins in Belize, but that leaves us with no plan for Costa Maya.

Any recommendations for things to do that are not a beach or the ruins? Our party is 2 adults and a 5.5 year old. We live in FL, so have access to beautiful beaches year round. We are snorkelling in Couzmel and doing a zip line/ beach day in Roatan. We don't mind going off the beaten path a bit, one of our party can speak a small amount of Spanish, and we can be physically active. Other favorite cruise excursions have been hiking, local guided eco tours, horse back riding, etc. Thanks in advance!

I do have a back up plan, and the woman on my roll call that is in touch with the tour operator is keeping us up to date as she hears from him.

Thank you for posting this. We had also planned on using .bz and never received an e-mail (our trip is not until Dec, so hopefully that is the reason why). Our group organizer did e-mail him and he also confirmed and provided other options.

 

She also contacted Charlie from Charlie's Cave Tubing and he stated:

 

we will know if the National Institute of Culture and History will work with us by changing that rule they want to implement, by next week. We had a meeting today and hopefully all works in our favor. I will keep you posted. Charlie

 

My 5 year old was really looking forward to this. We are holding for now hoping they will change it; but also looking at other options.

 

Thanks again for updating everyone.

Jackie

So, the tour operators should know by November 21, hopefully? Goodness, that's cutting it close for us, our ship leaves on Nov 23 and we are supposed to do the .bz cave tubing excursion with our 5 year old. I will need to scramble to rearrange excursions if we can't do the cave tubing.

In St. Thomas, it is very easy to rent a car for the day at the port (bring your own car seat!) and then do a self guided beach tour. The island is quite small and you can drive around easily and take your time to accomodate nap schedule. We really liked Sapphire Beach and Coki Beach (this is where Coral World is). Bring snorkel gear if you have it, and take turns snorkelling from Coki Beach, there is a lot to see. The cost of a compact car for the day from Budget was cheaper than roundtrip taxi for 3 people to Coki beach, plus there was the additional safety of seatbelts and car seat for the kid!

In St. Maarten, if you dock on the Dutch side, the water taxi is a fun way to get over to the shopping area of Phillipsburg. Round trip was $6 per adult, I think our son was free, he was 19 months at the time. The beach is also rightthere and is quite adequate for 3 year old. Treat yourself to rented beach chairs and an umbrella and enjoy some fruity adult drinks while the little one plays. You can negotiate price, there are countless vendors all vying for your money. Once you settle in, you may get approached to buy trinkets from wandering vendors, but we didn't find them to be very aggressive.

Thank you everyone, I have been reading some great ideas and showdown I think that is a great idea.:)

Happy to help! We've done similar plans when travelling with a larger group/ kids and it works very well. Enjoy your cruise. I'm doingthe same one a few weeks later.

For as long a period as you are renting a car, you will likely be able to get a decent rate picking up in Orlando and dropping off in Tampa. As others have said, the rates will likely be for airport pick up/ drop off. Since you are travelling with a large party and a baby, here's what I'd recommend:

• Arrive in Orlando, rent car at Orlando airport, enjoy your stay.
  
• Early morning day of cruise, drive rental car to Tampa port (very easy 1.5-2 hrs drive from Orlando)
  
• Drop family and luggage off at the port. They can enjoy the Florida Aquarium right at the port.
  
• Driver returns rental car to Tampa airport and then takes a taxi back to the port.
  
• Cruise!
  
• On your return to Tampa, the driver should select walk-off departure. Leave the luggage with the family
  
• Driver takes taxi to Tampa airport to pick up rental car, then returns to port to pick up family and drive everyone back to Orlando to fly home.
  
• Optional: stay an extra day or 2 in the Tampa Bay area. You'll have a car, so you can stay anywhere. The beaches are over on the St. Petersburg side of the bay. The "Dolphin Tale" aquarium is in Clearwater which also has great beaches and is a nice faily destination.
  

I will be on the NCL Sun over Thanksgiving this year... what can you tell me? Thanksgiving dinner? Decorations? Special things? Will they start decorating for Christmas right away? Black Friday sales? (hee hee).... Anyone who has sailed over thanksgiving and can offer some clues/pictures/reviews etc??

We are on this same cruise, come join our roll call!

We have made an advanced dining reservation for Thanksgiving dinner in one of the MDRs, so we can hopefully avoid waiting for a table that evening. I'm very much looking forward to a relaxed turkey dinner and no dishes to wash!

Del Morro fort is a great place to explore with a little one. It's not a bad walk from the port, and will take you through a scenic part of Old San Juan with shopping. I would recommend against a stroller, as the cobblestone streets will be challenging and the sidewalks are narrow. At that age, we used an Ergo carrier when our son got tired of walking.

There's a nice little children's museum (Museo Del Nino) across from the Cathedral de San Juan Bautista.

I can also highly recommend getting ices (piragua) or sorbet from the little street carts. Very cheap and refreshing. It's absolutely the kind of a port day that you can do on your own for very cheap. Get a book from your local libray for maps and walking routes.

You know your kid the best. Ours would never nap anywhere except a dark quiet room. When we cruised with him at 19 months, we planned excursions that departed as early as possible and returned to the ship before 2. We were able to push his schedule slightly and nap him as soon as we got back to the ship (2:30-5). The consequences of this is that he was overtired and cranky even after napping, and a seated dinner (even with a 5:30 pm seating) was too much for him. We ended up tag teaming to take him to dinner in the buffet and then back to the room for bed by 7.

On this particular trip, we were travelling with his grandparents in an adjoining room, and having them available to "babysit" during nap time and after he went to bed was a sanity saver. They even took him on one port day for a 1/2 day beach excursion so that we could do a more adventurous all day one. You may find that your LO sleeps later than at home, due to the rocking motion of the ship and engine hum, and exhaustion from being on vacation. Your best bet is to be flexible and always have snacks on hand!

It was reported that the KSF promotion was not valid for Thanksgiving. That is not correct. I just had it applied to my reservation, and saved another $500 :)

Your cruise does not show KSF as being available. How did you get it? I'm on the Sun the same week and it's not available for me that I can see. Promo code "KIDSFREE" didn't apply either. Did you book through a TA, TA website, PCC, or NCL website?

Kids sail free is back on NCL for bookings made July 1-5. It applies for the 3rd-8th passangers in a stateroom, not just kids. Not available on all cruises (such as holiday weeks) but some good deals to be had. If you've already booked and are still outside of final payment, it's worth taking a look to see if you can save or upgrade to a better category for a small amount.

Wish I could take advantage, but my cruise is Thanksgiving week, so no go!

It seems like category O1 (Family Oceanview with Large Picture Window) has a sofa bed seperate from the main sleeping area. Most cabins also have bathtubs. So that might be a good option for you. The Bermuda cruise from NYC on September 7 is only $509 per person for a family of 4 in that room.

On our Carnival Pride cruise, we rented a minivan from Hertz and went to Downtown Disney with my son when he was 2.5. It was a great day and plenty of Disney for him. Since we had driven to our departure port, we brought our own car seat, but they were available to rent from Hertz.

I was off the ship as soon as they opened the doors and caught the first shuttle to the rental car office, then returned to the ship for the rest of my family. We enjoyed shopping, a few "pay as you go" rides (mini train, carousel) in the downtown Disney area, ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express and shared a sundae at Ghiradelli. Everyone had a great time.

Heading back to the port took a tad longer due to traffic (about and hour 20). I dropped the family off at the ship, then returned the car and caught the last shuttle back. If I'd missed the shuttle, it would not have been difficult to get a cab back instead.

This ended up being a very affrodable day, I think I got the rental mini-van for $25 with a coupon.

My wife and I are sailing the Thanksgiving cruise from Tampa on the NCL Sun. Looks like we'll be in Cozumel the same day as an Olivia ship, so yay for eye candy!

Any other family on board?

Thanks everyone, I went ahead and booked it. The agent praised my cabin choice and told me it would be 191 sq feet. It sleeps 4, so I think that means it will have a pullman above the sofa. My 5 year old will be delighted!

My family is looking at booking the Thanksgiving Caribbean cruise on the Sun. We are a couple with a 5 year old. I'm hoping someone can share their experiences with the 1A cabin type. There seems to be information out there that this is a slightly more spacious cabin than a regular inside or oceanview. From the video on the NCL site, the sofa seems to be off in a little alcove by itself. If the cabin sleeps 4, then I assume that means there's a berth above the sofa as well. Can anyone confirm? TIA!

A great little ship, we sailed her from Philly to Bermuda in 2006. Man, was our interior room tiny! 106 sq feet I think. We have a picture somewhere of us each standing with our backs to the side walls and leaning in for a kiss in the middle.