Mack2

If he had died, attorneys would be clamoring over each other to get his family to sue RCI.
Stupid, reckless, and irresponsible.

I hope this doesn't become an internet meme thing... although maybe that would be okay... Darwinism and all...

The bathroom/shower set up on the Epic was certainly efficient. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so.

I mean... I guess two people can shower and use the restroom at the same time...

We've met Confetti! She's famous!

Confetti is a guide animal... has been in service longer than a guide dog.

The cruises leaving from NY or NJ during the first week in November have tons of kids. There were 1200 on our last Breakaway cruise, and it looks like numbers were similar this year.

Yeah... usually we avoided NY/NJ cruises in November because of the cold and the people. It is still Jersey Week out of Miami, but still fewer kids in general.

What's it like with that many?

I don't know what irritates me yet but I think I may find out next cruise. Our first one was not in school holidays and there was only 40 children under the age of 12, I barely noticed them. Ours must have been behaving appropriately enough because we go compliments from some lovely older couples we met. Next cruise is June 2015 on the Oasis. I'm guessing I'll notice the extra kids and I'll be one of those parents expecting good behaviour and using inside voices. We've told them already that we'll make them stay in the cabin if they don't use their manners and good behaviour.:eek:

I've always taken advantage of "Jersey Week", the 1st week in November where the NJ Teachers Convention and Election Day coincide resulting in an extremely short school week (2 half-day sessions).

Being November, there aren't a lot of kids on the cruise ships... and it's a wonderful week to take a break... fewer crowds, fewer lines, etc...

This year, my eldest is in high school, and we've opted not to pull him out of school for the cruise, leaving us with Spring Break when we board the Quantum of the Seas for a cruise.

I'm anxious to see what it will be like... Spring Breakers, hundreds of kids, thousands of passengers.... all from the NY/NJ area.

I'm stressing a little..... :confused:

I was being funny [or at least trying to] in that it sometimes seems that those who actually make their children behave are nowadays in the minority unfortunately.

For the most part, I think that the people who come to the family board here at Cruise Critic are the responsible parents.

Why else are people here asking questions to help them make decisions about cruising that will benefit their families?

I can guarantee this... you know the parents who are drinking heavily at the pool while their kids are using the hot tub as a splash area?

Those parent's haven't gone to Cruise Critic to ask for advice.

The worst was in the Main Dining Room aboard the Carnival Legend - Western Caribbean.

There was a large extended family group that had taken up two tables during traditional dining, near our table. The adults on one table, and the kids running amok throughout the dining room. It got to the point where my kids were upset with the behavior of the kids...

It was pretty bad. We would be eating, and a toddler would come over to our table and try to engage us in a game of peek-a-boo... my kids would be eating and they'd get "tagged".

The slightly older kids would give the waiters a hard time although I don't remember how... I just remember commiserating with them because everybody in the dining room understood how difficult the kids table was.

The infuriating part was that the table of adults seemed oblivious to their behavior.

The first few days, the waiters would apologize to everyone... by the third day, the maitre-d had spoken to the family and I remember everybody applauding. After that, we didn't see them as much. I think maybe they started doing the buffet.

edit:

it was 2009

You can see them in the background to the left

Curacao - Ostrich Farm

It was around 8 years ago on the Adventure of the Seas out of Puerto Rico, Southern Caribbean cruise.

http://www.curacaoostrichfarm.com/

They're only young like that once and it's great to have these memories while they are... even if it's only for the parents to remember. :)

That's what I was thinking Mack. Too young to appreciate it. But we'll be happy.

 

 

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She doesn't remember... but it's freaking AWESOME!!!

One of my favorite cruise memories...

Tell the waiters, get a small candle on a slice of cake and have them sing.

Take a picture of your kid with the cake for the memories and leave it at that. Don't spend MORE money that you don't have to spend. The photo of your child at his 1st birthday in the dining room with a candle and two well dressed waiters should be more than enough. :)

I have posted this a few times with a few changes and updated information.

How come nobody ever thinks to ask the pharmacist?

Pharmacists can recommend over-the-counter remedies (and we can vaccinate people against the flu and other diseases).

There are few pharmaceutical options for kids.

Bonine, Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) which is meclizine

Dramamine Original Formula, Gravol (avail. in Canada) which is dimenhydrinate.

Benadryl which is diphenhydramine.

-----------------------------------------------

Bonine/Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) is not recommended for children under the age of 12.

http://www.drugs.com/meclizine.html

This medicine should not be given to a child younger than 12 years old.

This is because of the meclizine, it really hasn't been officially studied or submitted to the FDA for the use in children. Doesn't mean it's dangerous for kids... it's just not officially approved for kids. It's an old drug, and nobody wants to spend the money to conduct a placebo-controlled, double-blind, motion-sickness study on the use of meclizine in children. The liability waivers from the attorneys would cost a fortune alone.

This also means that if something bad does happen, the makers of the products are covered by the warning (but I don't think anything bad has happened... except maybe overdosage)

Bonine for Children was discontinued by the makers of Bonine. I didn't think that it was a good choice of a drug. It was cyclizine which was the main ingredient of another old remedy called Marezine which I don't think is marketed anymore, either. It caused a lot of drowsiness/dry mouth and was only approved for use in kids 6 and up. I did not like to recommend it.

Sure, take advantage of the Bonine name, but give a drug that is just not as good as it's main competitor (Dramamine) and market it for kids? That's just mean.

------------------------------------

Dramamine Original Formula/Gravol (dimenhydrinate). This medicine has been around a long time and has been studied for children. Dimenhydrinate has recommended doses for kids as young as 2 years old.

http://dramamine.com/products/kids

Directions To prevent or treat all forms of motion sickness, the first dose should be taken 1/2 to 1 hour before starting activity:

 

• children 2 to under 6 years: give 1/2 to 1 chewable tablet every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 3 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  
• children 6 to under 12 years: give 1 to 2 chewable tablets every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 6 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  

Do not use for children under 2 years of age unless directed by a doctor

--------------------------------------------------------------

Benadryl is the unusual one and can be given to kids 2 and up.

Diphenhydramine has been around for a long time. Benadryl used to be used as a cough medicine (Benylin) 50 years ago until it was decided that although it works to suppress coughs, it is a better drug for allergies. So, another one of Benadryl's uses... is motion sickness.

http://www.drugs.com/benadryl.html

Benadryl is also used to suppress coughs, to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat mild forms of Parkinson's disease. Benadryl is also used to suppress coughs, to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat mild forms of Parkinson's disease.

Sure it has all these other uses, and it's BEST for allergies and sleep, but... in a pinch? You can give it for motion sickness.

Benadryl is the only one you should ask the pediatrician for in regards to the dose for really little kids... in those cases, it's dosed on a milligram per kilogram (dosed by weight) basis.

Most infants/toddlers who are just learning to walk or are crawling around don't usually get motion sickness. Motion sickness happens when the balance center of the head doesn't agree with what the eyes are telling the brain. If the child doesn't have much balance to begin with, it doesn't matter as much.

____________________________________________________________

You also have some non-pharmaceutical natural remedies.

Ginger - Available as a gum, soft drink, capsules, candy.

I love Altoids... they use to sell the Ginger Altoids domestically... recently had to buy them from Amazon in bulk...

There's a new ginger candy that I found that I like (but haven't tried with motion sickness yet)

Chimes Ginger chews

All natural ginger candy... found them at Whole Foods.

Seaband makes a chewing gum

and there's ginger snap cookies that I've read on CruiseCritic that people said have worked.

Sea Bands which work for some and not for others

Hopefully, you will have smooth seas and won't even have to think about these remedies, but it doesn't hurt to have a supply just in case. I bring Dramamine and Ginger Altoids with me on cruises... haven't really had to use them often...

Great podcast.

Glad your family loved the Allure.

I love Ardastra Gardens... but it's not a beach day.

they have a marching flamingo show, but the fun is before or after the show when the Flamingos are just hanging out in the zoo.

Additionally, there's a thing where you feed apples to lorie parrots, and they just fly to you and start eating apples.

We've gone there since the kids were little... after the first time, we were hooked.

The OP's son is 13. So I'll make the assumption that he is near 7th grade.

Let me tell ya, these kids hear a lot of stuff on the bus. It's completely up to you whether you want to take him to the Love and Marriage show. He might understand some stuff, he might not, some stuff may go over his head... but he might not ask you about the innuendo either.

Teenagers (or tweens, 13?) might not even want to be seen with you at the show. Parents are embarrassing for some teens/tweens.

My eldest is 15. I don't think he'd ever seen the Love and Marriage show live... maybe when it was on the TV. I'd like to think he's relatively mature for his age... we didn't make it a point to see the show live (younger siblings).... but I think I would've let him see it.

It's funny. Heck, his friends are playing some game called "Cards Against Humanity"... it's like "Apples to Apples" but not very politically correct.

Very funny.

It is amazing how you are always able to change your story to continuously prove you are correct. That deserves some credit.

It is perhaps the reason why the poster has a post count that is over 10,000.

Nothing is more fun than starting arguments on a message board that is supposed to help others with questions and discussions.

The same poster must be a wonderful addition to their friends' social media accounts as well.

This discussion has gotten off-topic. It is no longer about taking a child on a "Non Kid-Friendly" cruise. Rather it has become a discussion about someone's personal preference in regards to their cruising wants and needs.

I would suggest ending the latter discussion or locking the thread.

What someone's personal preferences are regarding children on a cruise has no bearing on whether anyone has taken a child on a "Non Kid-Friendly" cruise. We understand that there are people who have this opinion and discussing their preferences does nothing to further benefit the thread.

Frankly, if somebody wants to discuss why they don't like children on a cruise, please create a new topic regarding that discussion so it does not interfere with the topic at hand. Failing to do so is rude to the families who genuinely want to know what it is like to cruise on the higher end lines that cater more towards older adults.

I have posted this a few times with a few changes and updated information.

How come nobody ever thinks to ask the pharmacist?

Pharmacists can recommend over-the-counter remedies (and we can vaccinate people against the flu and other diseases).

There are few pharmaceutical options for kids.

Bonine, Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) which is meclizine

Dramamine Original Formula, Gravol (avail. in Canada) which is dimenhydrinate.

Benadryl which is diphenhydramine.

-----------------------------------------------

Bonine/Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) is not recommended for children under the age of 12.

http://www.drugs.com/meclizine.html

This medicine should not be given to a child younger than 12 years old.

This is because of the meclizine, it really hasn't been officially studied or submitted to the FDA for the use in children. Doesn't mean it's dangerous for kids... it's just not officially approved for kids. It's an old drug, and nobody wants to spend the money to conduct a placebo-controlled, double-blind, motion-sickness study on the use of meclizine in children. The liability waivers from the attorneys would cost a fortune alone.

This also means that if something bad does happen, the makers of the products are covered by the warning (but I don't think anything bad has happened... except maybe overdosage)

Bonine for Children was discontinued by the makers of Bonine. I didn't think that it was a good choice of a drug. It was cyclizine which was the main ingredient of another old remedy called Marezine which I don't think is marketed anymore, either. It caused a lot of drowsiness/dry mouth and was only approved for use in kids 6 and up. I did not like to recommend it.

Sure, take advantage of the Bonine name, but give a drug that is just not as good as it's main competitor (Dramamine) and market it for kids? That's just mean.

------------------------------------

Dramamine Original Formula/Gravol (dimenhydrinate). This medicine has been around a long time and has been studied for children. Dimenhydrinate has recommended doses for kids as young as 2 years old.

http://dramamine.com/products/kids

Directions To prevent or treat all forms of motion sickness, the first dose should be taken 1/2 to 1 hour before starting activity:

 

• children 2 to under 6 years: give 1/2 to 1 chewable tablet every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 3 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  
• children 6 to under 12 years: give 1 to 2 chewable tablets every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 6 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  

 

Do not use for children under 2 years of age unless directed by a doctor

--------------------------------------------------------------

Benadryl is the unusual one and can be given to kids 2 and up.

Diphenhydramine has been around for a long time. Benadryl used to be used as a cough medicine (Benylin) 50 years ago until it was decided that although it works to suppress coughs, it is a better drug for allergies. So, another one of Benadryl's uses... is motion sickness.

http://www.drugs.com/benadryl.html

Benadryl is also used to suppress coughs, to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat mild forms of Parkinson's disease.

Sure it has all these other uses, and it's BEST for allergies and sleep, but... in a pinch? You can give it for motion sickness.

Benadryl is the only one you should ask the pediatrician for in regards to the dose for really little kids... in those cases, it's dosed on a milligram per kilogram (dosed by weight) basis.

Most infants/toddlers who are just learning to walk or are crawling around don't usually get motion sickness. Motion sickness happens when the balance center of the head doesn't agree with what the eyes are telling the brain. If the child doesn't have much balance to begin with, it doesn't matter as much.

____________________________________________________________

You also have some non-pharmaceutical natural remedies.

Ginger - Available as a gum, soft drink, capsules, candy.

I love Altoids... they use to sell the Ginger Altoids domestically... recently had to buy them from Amazon in bulk...

Seaband makes a chewing gum

and there's ginger snap cookies that I've read on CruiseCritic that people said have worked.

Sea Bands which work for some and not for others

Hopefully, you will have smooth seas and won't even have to think about these remedies, but it doesn't hurt to have a supply just in case. I bring Dramamine and Ginger Altoids with me on cruises... haven't really had to use them often...

I have posted this a few times with a few changes and updated information.

How come nobody ever thinks to ask the pharmacist?

Pharmacists can recommend over-the-counter remedies (and we can vaccinate people against the flu and other diseases).

There are few pharmaceutical options for kids.

Bonine, Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) which is meclizine

Dramamine Original Formula, Gravol (avail. in Canada) which is dimenhydrinate.

Benadryl which is diphenhydramine.

-----------------------------------------------

Bonine/Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) is not recommended for children under the age of 12.

http://www.drugs.com/meclizine.html

This medicine should not be given to a child younger than 12 years old.

This is because of the meclizine, it really hasn't been officially studied or submitted to the FDA for the use in children. Doesn't mean it's dangerous for kids... it's just not officially approved for kids. It's an old drug, and nobody wants to spend the money to conduct a placebo-controlled, double-blind, motion-sickness study on the use of meclizine in children. The liability waivers from the attorneys would cost a fortune alone.

This also means that if something bad does happen, the makers of the products are covered by the warning (but I don't think anything bad has happened... except maybe overdosage)

Bonine for Children was discontinued by the makers of Bonine. I didn't think that it was a good choice of a drug. It was cyclizine which was the main ingredient of another old remedy called Marezine which I don't think is marketed anymore, either. It caused a lot of drowsiness/dry mouth and was only approved for use in kids 6 and up. I did not like to recommend it.

Sure, take advantage of the Bonine name, but give a drug that is just not as good as it's main competitor (Dramamine) and market it for kids? That's just mean.

------------------------------------

Dramamine Original Formula/Gravol (dimenhydrinate). This medicine has been around a long time and has been studied for children. Dimenhydrinate has recommended doses for kids as young as 2 years old.

http://dramamine.com/products/kids

Directions To prevent or treat all forms of motion sickness, the first dose should be taken 1/2 to 1 hour before starting activity:

 

• children 2 to under 6 years: give 1/2 to 1 chewable tablet every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 3 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  
• children 6 to under 12 years: give 1 to 2 chewable tablets every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 6 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  

 

Do not use for children under 2 years of age unless directed by a doctor

--------------------------------------------------------------

Benadryl is the unusual one and can be given to kids 2 and up.

Diphenhydramine has been around for a long time. Benadryl used to be used as a cough medicine (Benylin) 50 years ago until it was decided that although it works to suppress coughs, it is a better drug for allergies. So, another one of Benadryl's uses... is motion sickness.

http://www.drugs.com/benadryl.html

Benadryl is also used to suppress coughs, to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat mild forms of Parkinson's disease.

Sure it has all these other uses, and it's BEST for allergies and sleep, but... in a pinch? You can give it for motion sickness.

Benadryl is the only one you should ask the pediatrician for in regards to the dose for really little kids... in those cases, it's dosed on a milligram per kilogram (dosed by weight) basis.

Most infants/toddlers who are just learning to walk or are crawling around don't usually get motion sickness. Motion sickness happens when the balance center of the head doesn't agree with what the eyes are telling the brain. If the child doesn't have much balance to begin with, it doesn't matter as much.

____________________________________________________________

You also have some non-pharmaceutical natural remedies.

Ginger - Available as a gum, soft drink, capsules, candy.

I love Altoids... they use to sell the Ginger Altoids domestically... recently had to buy them from Amazon in bulk...

Seaband makes a chewing gum

and there's ginger snap cookies that I've read on CruiseCritic that people said have worked.

Sea Bands which work for some and not for others

Hopefully, you will have smooth seas and won't even have to think about these remedies, but it doesn't hurt to have a supply just in case. I bring Dramamine and Ginger Altoids with me on cruises... haven't really had to use them often...

Charging for milk at the MDR is crazy!

I even took the time to look for a copy of the RCI Kid's menu to check

It's ambigious... can't tell.

What I can say is that if that is their practice now, it's not acceptable. If this is to be the case, I'd order a whole bunch of milk from room service and bring it to dinner.

http://www.shipcruise.org/royal-caribbean-menu-room-service/

Drinks

• Coffee (Regular, Decaffeinated)
  
• Tea (Regular, Herbal, Iced)
  
• Hot Chocolate
  
• Milk (and fat-free).
  

edit:

Photo credit" Cruisinmama06 :)

How do you get to Chankanaab from the ship ??? we will be 10 plus 6 kids =16..

Unfortunately, by cab.

Fortunately, they do post cab fares online.

http://www.travelnotes.cc/cozumel/links/taxifares.php

There is also a taxi stand at Chankanaab at the entrance, so during peak times, there are a good amount of cabs.

This was at Chankanaab in 2007. My daughter was 3 at the time. There was another kid in our group who was about a year younger, kid didn't want to go into the water... just stayed on the dock behind his parents.

Back then, he was free... Today? Not sure.

Cozumel has Chankunaab...

They have a Dolphin Discover thing there... swim with dolphins.

We took a cab there, and booked a dolphin swim online (where it was cheaper than the cruise price at the time)

http://www.dolphin discovery. com/cozumel/cozumel-activities-dolphin-encounter.asp <--- URL to the Dolphin Discover page without spaces.

In the past, children under 2 were free... not that you stuck the kids in the water, but one parent could go in, the other watch the baby, and everyone take a picture with the dolphin... because the company gets their money on the photos.

How cool would it be to get a picture with the baby and a dolphin?

If they don't do that anymore, there is a fresh water pool at Chankanaab as well as a little lagoon with a slightly rocky beach.

I'm new to cruise critic, and (with a little bit of trepidation...) will be cruising on Oceania in French Polynesia with my 3 yo DD. This will be my third cruise with Oceania, so I'm quite familiar with the line and the usual demographic. I fully expect that DD will be the only child (although I've seen a handful of kids on our other cruises). I do not expect any entertainment for her (realistically, I doubt that she would enjoy a "kid's club" anyway). She will be thrilled to be on the beaches on the islands, and we'll spend most of our time doing that. As far as no kid's menu? Her favourite foods are all seafood (shrimp, scallops, fish, etc). She'll be fine :)

 

This is a family vacation (my in-laws and brother-in-law are coming). We debated doing a more family-friendly cruise, but my in-laws are very frequent cruisers on Oceania, and really wanted to stick with the line.

 

So, I know my daughter won't exactly be "welcomed", but I am prepared to keep her very closely supervised, to entertain her ourselves and to dine in our suite if she's having an "off" night (we booked suites for that reason).

 

 

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My parents said the food was WONDERFUL! They couldn't say enough about it. You have realistic expectations of how your daughter will spend her time, and she'll have a GREAT time.

Enjoy the cruise!

I am curious to hear how kids are "welcomed" on such a cruise, though. My parents didn't see any kids on their French Polynesian cruise with Oceania.

Are people pleasant for the most part?

My ONE bad experience on a cruise with an unpleasant person occurred on a Princess Cruise. A number of things had happened the previous year, one of which was the discovery that my eldest son would be blind from a juvenile form of macular degeneration.

Long story short, we were rudely yelled at by an older passenger over seating for the main show.

My kid's vision had deteriorated to 20/200, and we arrived early to sit close to the stage so he could see the show.

An older passenger objected loudly, commenting that we should teach my kid to "deal with it" when we informed him of my kid's blindness.

I was more shocked than angry at the time.

One of the worst behaviors of another passenger we have ever experienced.

My parents just returned from an 18-day French Polynesian Oceania cruise aboard the Marina. They loved it. My father said he ate at the specialty restaurants 11 times out of the 18 nights they were aboard.

Both my parents are in their late-60s.

I had asked them whether they had seen any children on the ship, they said no. They told me that they fell into the average age of the folks on the ship... which was late-60s to early 70s.

Sounded like a wonderful cruise. The average age of the passengers is normal, I guess, for a cruise for that length of time (not many working folks can take 3 weeks for one holiday)

We have run into a few more unkind older folks than younger (<50 years old) folks. It shouldn't dissuade you from taking the kids on an amazing cruise, but you should be aware that they're out there.

I like RCI. We did the Oasis one year and the Epic the next.

Overall, we prefered the RCI cruise experience a little better than the NCL. Of course, it is difficult to compare those particular mega-cruise ships to the regular large ships.

Aboard the Epic, I felt that there were crowds.

Sure, it's a big, huge cruise ship... but crowds were somehow unavoidable. Whether people were lining up for a show here or there... it all happened around the same times, so there were times during the evenings where there were lines and crowds.

Not a big deal or a deal breaker... We enjoyed the cruise, nonetheless.

Also, the time we went aboard the Epic, she had just come back from Europe. So the crew was in a state of flux. My kids did not enjoy the Kids Club. It was very disorganized... but, again, not a deal breaker.

Aboard the Oasis, it is a bug, huge cruise ship... but it's designed like a destination. The concept of the different "neighborhoods" did a lot to disperse the passengers aboard the ship. It never felt quite that crowded, because you could always find a quite area on the ship. The kids club was enjoyed by the kids.

Our previous cruises have been aboard RCI, Princess, Disney, Carnival... but we tend to gravitate towards RCI.

I would do all of the other lines in a heartbeat... cruising itself is a great vacation... but I prefer RCI, so my opinion may be biased.