LoveVakays

I think that's the beauty of going to this place (Blue Kay), it works perfect for those that aren't in port very long. It's the first stop at the Malecon and easy to get a taxi back. It's only 5-10 minutes from port, so you can maximize you day there and not have a lot of travel time involved. Plus with it not being an AI, you don't have to worry about paying anything other than buying what you plan on drinking and eating. It's a win-win situation. :D

 

Have a wonderful day! :)

 

(Just so you know, I've been off the ship and sitting at the Malecon a few minutes after 7am before in late December and had no issues with it being too cold. It was even dark when we got off the ship. :eek:)

Thanks for that awesome reassurance! We're so looking forward to it.

I have no problem with kids on cruises as long as they have been taught some manners and are supervised by parents or are in the kids clubs. I can't stand kids who run around the ship causing trouble and their parents are nowhere to be found.

 

However, I don't understand why people take children under 3 years old on a cruise. Costs a lot of money for something the kids will never remember.

Agreed with your first comment. I also am annoyed by kids walking around the buffet unattended and attempting to get their own food.

As for your second comment, cruises are prob. the cheapest vacation options out there for families and so are families not supposed to vacation (vacation = memories) until everyone reaches the age of 3 and up? I don't know about you I need a vacation or two (or five) each year. :D

Also, one of my sons had his first cruise when he was 2.5 and def. remembered it - kept mentioning Camp Carnival when we got home, got excited every time he saw a Carnival commercial on the TV and easily recognizes the trademark Carnival ship tail logo and my second son who is currently 2.5 is very excited about our upcoming cruise in March. Plus, as parents you get to gain fond memories of vacationing with your children at any age.

Thank you for the info. I went ahead and booked the cruise - can't let one port prevent me from enjoying a week of relaxation! :D

So itin. indicates 7am-1pm for stop in Costa Maya. We would love to check out the beach, particularly Blue Kay (based on some awesome reviews here). But for those who've been to CM around this time frame - is it too short for a beach excursion? And would it be too cold if we headed to the beach 10am-12pm (which would make it 9am-11am local time) and be back on ship by 1230pm? About to book the Liberty for the March 1 trip but this one port is holding me back...Thank you all!

Cruising is the best option if you have kids (especially small ones)! Whenever we book a cruise, we get asked "Are you bringing the kids?" It never even crosses our mind to leave them home (even if we had sitters).

This year's cruise marks the 5th cruise for my 2yo and 4yo and they have a blast on each cruise we take and the 4yo begs to go to Camp Carnival or Adventure Ocean Club. I've never had negative feedback from fellow cruisers but then we're the type of parents to immediately remove our child if he's not behaving well or pre-plan so that we don't run into meltdown situations. The staff onboard have been nice and always manage to bond with our boys, particularly because they miss their own kids back home.

We will continue cruising with our boys until that dreaded day when they no longer want to be seen with us in public places. :(

We've been on the ALLURE which I heard is similar to OASIS and would def pick OASIS over BREEZE if same price (and even if OASIS was slightly more)...the ship is amazing!

Thanks GaPearl! So it seems like Breeze is out. B/t Conquest and Splendor, Conquest looks a little less gaudy and perhaps a better ship overall?

Thanks SadieN. Are the beaches not as nice with St. Maarten & St. Kitts? Also, how does Splendor as a ship compare to the Conquest?

Our family of 4 including two boys (ages 2.5 and 4) are trying to decide between

(1) Breeze for 6 days - Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel

(2) Conquest for 8 days - St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk

(3) Splendor for 7 days - Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk

Price diff is negligible, so it really comes down to newer ship (Breeze) for less ports/days) or older ship (Conquest/Splendor) for more ports/days. Breeze has the biggest pro of having upgrades/newer ship but we've been to both GC and Cozumel before. We're pretty much beach people when it comes to the ports since we have two small kids so no excursion/activity packed ports are necessary. But a nice beach that is easy to get to is. Thanks!

Hello, first time on Freedom of the Seas - we're between OV Cabins 3638 and 3312 on Deck 3 which are 183 sq ft and interior cabins on deck 8 which are 152sq ft. Don't care much about OV but extra sq ft is nice.

So leaning towards Deck 3 - Cabin 3638 is behind elevators it seems and 3312 is an adjoining one. Would be nice to be closer to elevators unless noise/foot traffic is majorly annoying. Any advice? Thanks.

Thanks to all for your great feedback! It really did help with making a decision, yeah we were back and forth and vowed not to even think of any of the Behemoth of the Seas ships until kids were older so that everyone could fully enjoy the amenities onboard.

I think given the awesome deal with kid's sail free and all those extras that *TAPI* pointed out, we'll stick with the ALLURE. I'll just cut back on the online shopping this year to save up for all those extra costs with RCL. :D

Hello all, so we're booked on the Allure but now are reconsidering whether the Breeze is a better option for us. We're a family of 4 with two small boys, ages 2.5 and 4 at the time of sailing. As a family we've only done CCL and my 3yo loves Camp Carnival (other son has been too young to partake). In the past we've been on an older RCL ship (Majesty) and a few NCL ships. We're no-frills, not demanding, just want a nice relaxing trip for this family. But we do love to be wowed.

Allure - interior family promenade is $2355 for 7 nights to Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel

Breeze - basic interior is $1736 and oceanview deluxe is $2036 for 6 nights to Grand Cayman, Ochos Rios and Cozumel (prob will go with basic Interior if on CCL)

Pros for Allure - brand new spanking ship with all the bells and whistles, kid's sail free promo makes it doable for us; Cons - we're prob going to spend more money onboard, no free kid's club for the 2.5yo but will have to do paid nursery and boys won't be in the same "nursery/club".

Pros for Breeze - new CCL ship with updated features, boys will be in the same kids club, familiarity with CCL, prob. will spend less $, love Grand Cayman; Cons - smaller cabin category, not as many bells and whistles, there might not be another kids' sail free promo in the near future that would make the Allure doable for us.

Btw, based on past experience, the 4yo will be in the kid's club for 2 or so hours during the day and 2 or so hours in the evenings depending on the club's activities and where we're dining. :p While I prefer both boys to be in same club, it's not a must bc the younger one is currently away from his older brother at daycare so he'll adjust.

Any thoughts - thanks!

Hello all, so we're booked on the Allure but now are reconsidering whether the Breeze is a better option for us. We're a family of 4 with two small boys, ages 2.5 and 4 at the time of sailing. As a family we've only done CCL and my 3yo loves Camp Carnival (other son has been too young to partake). In the past we've been on an older RCL ship (Majesty) and a few NCL ships. We're no-frills, not demanding, just want a nice relaxing trip for this family. But we do love to be wowed.

Allure - interior family promenade is $2355 for 7 nights to Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel

Breeze - basic interior is $1736 and oceanview deluxe is $2036 for 6 nights to Grand Cayman, Ochos Rios and Cozumel (prob will go with basic Interior if on CCL)

Pros for Allure - brand new spanking ship with all the bells and whistles, kid's sail free promo makes it doable for us; Cons - we're prob going to spend more money onboard, no free kid's club for the 2.5yo but will have to do paid nursery and boys won't be in the same "nursery/club".

Pros for Breeze - new CCL ship with updated features, boys will be in the same kids club, familiarity with CCL, prob. will spend less $, love Grand Cayman; Cons - smaller cabin category, not as many bells and whistles, there might not be another kids' sail free promo in the near future that would make the Allure doable for us.

Btw, based on past experience, the 4yo will be in the kid's club for 2 or so hours during the day and 2 or so hours in the evenings depending on the club's activities and where we're dining. :p While I prefer both boys to be in same club, it's not a must bc the younger one is currently away from his older brother at daycare so he'll adjust.

Any thoughts - thanks!

I hope someone can help with your question. Deciding between 7601 and 7605 on the Allure - not sure what that empty space next to 7605 is either.:confused:

Glad to hear you had a good time! We're sailing on the Fantasy on Oct 13 - we booked the cruise less than a week from being back on the Paradise!

Question for you: you mentioned dropping off you luggage and then heading out to shop. How does that work? Is the luggage drop off totally separate from the entire parking section so that you can pull in, get all that done without being part of the parking procession? We've always dropped off our bags with the porters and immediately went to check in.

Also, happy to hear that your child enjoyed CC. Our 2.5 yr old loved his time there also and this played a part in us going with Carnival again! Thanks.

Got $50 (first tried $30 then $40 and also added 3 stars) for Holiday Inn & Suites in Anaheim - the going rate on their website was $89. This is for our 2 day stay in the Orange County area before NCL Star on 10/03 - very excited! :rolleyes: