BrotherCraig

We have used Bodden before and we just do the private tour for about $25 pp. We stop and see the sloths, go to West Bay Beach (infinity bay resort day pass), and do some quick shopping in West End Village. West Bay Beach has some of the best snorkeling from shore in the world. The beach is beautiful. Go down to the wall area. We love doing this.

Exactly. Spent $7000 for two cabins on Carnival for a 7 day cruise. Royal would have been $2K cheaper for the same kind of itinerary. Carnival is always more pricier for us when we cruise than Royal. I never understood the "discount" cruise line stuff. I don't ever see it unless it is a 4 or 5 day cruise.

I can understand that. We have cruised with our kids many times when they were under 2 years old and even at 9 months old. The cruises were all perfect for us with Carnival - the Breeze and the Magic with them when they were babies. We don't care for the camp stuff so not a deal breaker for us. We wouldn't want to leave our kids there and rather have them with us anyways but that is us. We do bring grandma with us every cruise so that helps some. We did take them as babies into Camp Ocean on Carnival and played with them there during free play every now and then. Just wasn't a need for us at that age though.

Tips: Milk. You can have milk cartons delivered to your cabin. Just tip. Also, milk is available in the mornings at the buffet in my experience. We always grabbed some extra and stored in the chiller in the room. For late nights, we would pick some up from the deli at no extra cost. That is with Carnival and Royal. Again, our experience. Small umbrella stroller. Easy to maneuver around the ship and easy to store.

For 5 times the price though. Carnival is great with families with small kids.

I agree with Tapi above when it comes to things to bring. We brought snacks and things like that when our kids were 9 months old cruising but they have plenty of food onboard of course. A lightweight umbrella stroller is great to have onboard. The baby will get a lot of attention on board from the crew members and will be treated great. We had an amazing time when our kids were cruising at that age. We are taking our 2 year old on his first cruise in a month or so. We will see how that one goes because he is a little wilder than the other two were. Ha! Pack plenty of patience and just enjoy the great time with your kids making great memories.

They are not allowed. Not allowed on balconies either. We brought one when our kids were 9 months old and we put it in the shower. Made it easier for bath time and such.

Hi, everyone. I have looked at the boards and researched hotels to stay at but didn't come across any information about Coral Gables area. We were looking at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. Anyone ever stay there? How is the Coral Gables area? We will have 6 of us - three kids ages 2-11. We were looking hotels in South Beach and the price range is a little much for one night and we can get a better deal in Coral Gables on a Sunday night. Any suggestions? We thought this might be a good place since it's close to the airport and near Little Havana as well since we want to hit up Versailles. Thank you in advance.

I agree. We tried different cabins and Coves are our favorite. Love the balconies and the location.

I always thought it depended on the time of day. Maybe not.

Thank you for the wonderful review. Don't worry about the haters. It is Cruise Critic and a lot of people can be nasty on here. Don't give them any attention.

Best memory was my very first cruise in 2009 on the Carnival Ecstasy. Why? Because that is the cruise where I met my wife - the love of my life. It was a 5 day cruise to Cozumel and I took my father on his very first vacation. We were sitting in the theater on day 2 of the cruise where a group sat down and joined our seating area. A couple of women from the group showed up a several minutes later and sat behind us. I introduced myself to them and that is when I met my wife. Her eyes met and it was love at first sight. We hung out that night around the ship and got to know each other. Had our first day in Cozumel at Nachi Cocom. We got married in 2011 and we have three amazing children together. So that was the fondest and greatest memory I have had on a cruise.

Yep. You just have to be responsible getting back on time.

Love Western Caribbean a lot. Roatan is our favorite port and island. Has one of the most beautiful and best beaches in the world. Always enjoyed Cozumel and always felt safe there. The only warnings in Mexico are the mainland and close the US border and some outer territories. No problems at the ports of Costa Maya and the island of Cozumel. We always go off on our own there.

True but they still had table cloths on elegant night all the way up to the shutdown during COVID in 2020.

They don't always have special events like that that hinders traffic. Cruised out there twice and no traffic thankfully. Spring Break is always a little crazy in that area. Bad thing is - Spring Break is about 4 weeks long.

Our dining room table always has a table cloth. We don't eat dinner in there every night since we have a kitchen nook table where we eat some meals together. But yes - we do. We change it out every week.

Same way on the Dream class ships as well. Yes, it is normal. Best place to be in my opinion. A lot of folks want to be where all the action is so that is why the lido area is so crowded. I usually go to the sides of the Lido deck or down to lanai area on the lower deck and sit.

Yeah, just imagine being on a ship with dining rooms like that. Horrible for sure.

Yeah. Some folks love the look the look and think it looks elegant.

Folks in the Royal Caribbean groups are saying the same thing.

Cove

Yeah. I remember when they announced they were removing them from the MDR other than elegant night but I missed when they said it was for all nights. A lot was happening during the whole covid shutdown so it was easy to miss it.

Why make just a comment? I was only asking the question because people ask me a lot and I want to give people the right answer. I don't care about table cloths and kind of glad they are gone. Making replies like the one you just did make people not want to ask questions on this site. It's a question.

Not important to me at all. Just asking the question since people ask me all of the time. I want to make sure I am telling people the right thing. Thanks for your feedback.