rubygigi

Great review! I loved the shower curtain idea! Now that we have two little ones, we put the youngest in a pack n play in the bathroom with the video monitor and white noise machine so that he can have his own space to sleep. We booked our next cruise specifically after our youngest turns 2 so that both kids can enjoy Camp Carnival and we can eat dinner in peace and maybe finally hang out in Serenity! We can't wait! Our kids love to cruise and are already gold cruisers at under 3 years old!

We experienced this for the first time on our May cruise on the Sunshine. On previous cruises the photographers were set up just past the gangway. There were no additional waits for us to disembark though. What bugged me was that we had one child in a stroller who would be completely blocked by the gangway and they still want to take our photo. They even suggested that we take him out of the stroller! Ain't nobody got time for that! We generally don't stop for these photos anyway. There are tons more photo-worthy places at port than a gangway.

Oh and Port Canaveral was awesome! We've sailed from Tampa, NYC, and Miami and this was definitely the smoothest! They sent us through the short cuts through all of the lines (and those weren't that long even). Having 2 kids under 3 and all of their stuff in tow has its benefits on occasion!

Hello my name is Chris and will be sailing on the Carnival Sunshine with my wife Lynn and 3 year old Daughter Libby-Jane, My parents and sister her husband and 2 kids (3 and 1) will be joining us as well. It is my parents, Lynn, Libby-Jane and my first time cruising.

 

I would basically just love to hear from anyone who has been on the sunshine to give tips for my families first time on a cruise and what we should look out for on this ship. What are some of the things we should definitely do vs some of the things we should maybe avoid.

 

The ports we are going to are St. Thomas, Nassau, San Juan and Grand Turk so any tips for these ports would be great as well. I would love to know of some excursions that might be well worth checking out or even just locations to go and check out, or not go to as well.

 

Thanks in advance for any of your help.

We just got off the Sunshine on Sunday with our almost 3 year old and 15 month old sons. And we did that same itinerary on the Liberty in January. :)

Places to let the little ones play:

Waterworks water slides

Putt putt course

Pirate playground on deck 10 outside of Camp Carnival

Camp Carnival was great! Our oldest loves it! We took our 15m old to play during the early morning playtime on sea days. Also, they feed the kids dinner at 6pm in the Lido restaurant, so our oldest ate there each night.

Sleeping:

Not sure what type of cabin you have, but the baby slept in a pack n play in the bathroom and our oldest slept on the couch turned bed but we put the mattress on the floor since he was new to the "big boy bed" and we didn't want him to fall off. We brought the video monitors and would go to the balcony after they went to sleep and would keep an eye on them through the monitors. In January we had adjoining rooms with the in laws and we would do the same thing and go to their side. That beats going to bed with them at 8pm!

Dining:

We had to take our 15m old to the dining room with us each night, so to speed things up I would go first, order for everyone (they post the menu outside of the restaurant), and then my husband would come with the baby about 20 min. later when the food was arriving. That way the baby would eat something other than 3 rolls for dinner!

Nighttime:

Our 15m old liked the Playlist productions fortunately so we were able to see these awesome shows! We would get there early and claim the seats on level 5 that is like a long couch with a little table. We would take turns strolling him around until showtime. There was usually live music in Ocean Plaza afterwards so we would go there until he got fussy.

Ports:

Nassau - walked to Junkanoo Beach, ate at Twin Brothers at the Fish Fry

San Juan - walked through old San Juan to El Morro, ate at Raices

St. Thomas - tram to Paradise Point, taxi to Mountain Top, Drake's seat, and Magen's bay

Grand Turk - easy beach day right off the ship!

I'm sure there's plenty more, so if you have any questions about the ship or port I'm happy to help! We loved the Sunshine! We booked a cruise onboard for the Sunshine again in February so that both boys will be old enough for CC and we can at least eat dinner in peace!

Good luck! :)

My 2 year old loves Camp Carnival! They usually open around 10am on sea days and have activities until 3 or so. We would always pick him up early for lunch and naps. In the evenings they opened at 6 and served dinner at Fish & Chips. We would drop him off for that because he doesn't have the patience for the longer dinners in the MDR. We would pick him up after dinner, but I think the free activities go until around 10 and then the pay by hour services start. As others mentioned, they give you a phone at orientation so that they can call you if he needs anything and you can call to check on him. They do change diapers and we would always bring his little bookbag that had diapers, wipes, and his water bottle. They offer activities on port days, but they always come with us. We would still take him at 6 for dinner and evening activities.

This was the schedule on the Glory in Sept and the Liberty in January. We are going on the Sunshine next week, so we're hoping it will be similar. We will be booking a cruise for February after our baby turns 2 so that he can go as well and we can at least eat dinner in peace! ;)

http://imgur-dot.com/2bwDIWQ.jpg

 

I drew a diagram to help you understand the layout.

Highlight and copy the above link, paste in your address bar, remove -dot

I still haven't figured out why this site doesn't like imgur pictures, sorry.

 

What I know so far: take taxi to Spanish Town, ferry to Virgin Gorda, taxi to Top of the Baths?

Yes - get to #1 - this is a 5min. taxi, very quick. #1 has a restaurant and the parking lot.

 

Then there's a land trail down followed by a trail through the water/rocks?

Yes - The first trail is from #1 to #2, you get to the 1st beach. Spend time here if you want, very nice beach.

 

Then do you have to do the reverse to get back to the top?

No, the trail with all the big rocks is from 2 to 3 to 4

As you can see by the satellite picture, 2 and 4 is beach like, while 3 is just rocks.

Is going through the rocks the only way to get there?

I'm not sure I understand this one

 

In the photos I've seen, no one is carrying anything, so what do you do with your stuff? I feel like I'm missing a step or something!

A lot of people call this an active day, not a beach day. We wanted to explorer the rocks a lot, and make it an active day, so we only packed a small side bag. Enough room for a small towel, 2 water bottles and sun screen for the beach - and yes it was perfect, I wouldn't of wanted a backpack, but that's because we explored the rocks for 2 hours (#3). You can do #3 in 15 min. or 2 hours, its up to you. If your in the middle, a backpack isn't the end of the world either, just means your carrying stuff around.

 

We will have our two sons with us, so I want to know how much we will be able to see there if the trail through the water/rocks ends up not being possible for/with them.

How old are they?

 

Is there a way to get to the actual beach and then go through and explore the rocks on your own?

Yes - In the baths, you have 2 beaches. Beach 2 and beach 4. Beach 4 is the nicest one. If you want to get to beach 4, go by path 5. You can also go to 3 and 2 from 4, but you'll be against traffic / people in 3 - and yes, later in the day that could be an issue in there (some tight passage ways), but with patience you'll make it through.

 

I read about some tour boats that were able to drop you off at the beach itself, but it seems like they have to drop off at the marina now?

We were there December 2013 and boats were anchored right off the shore.

 

Thanks to anyone who dares read all of these questions and answer them! This plan-ahead mom would be ever so grateful!

You are so like my mom, I had to reply ;)

 

Last but not least. Stuff, backpack. #2 has pay lockers. I forget how much or how big they are, but there in an awkward spot. If you put stuff there, go to 3, then 4, you'd have to come back by 3 or by 5, to 1, back down to 2 to get your stuff, then go to 1, and down by 5 to hit beach 4 again. Yes, its awful, hence why people say don't bring stuff. The best alternative in my opinion, would be to do #5 first to get to #4, park there with your stuff, then split up the group to take turns exploring #3 all the way to #2, then returning to #4 by the same way, or back up to 1, then 5 down to 4.

It's a big circle.

 

If I confused you even more, let me know. I draw this diagram pretty late :)

Thank you so so so so much for taking the time to do that! Our kids are 15 months and almost 3. It sounds like the best option is to go from 1 to 4 via the 5 path. ;) That way we can get to the nice beach, take turns exploring the rocks and not have to carry the kids through the water/rocks trail like we would to go from 2 to 4. One of us will carry the baby in a carrier on our backs and the other can walk with our almost 3 year old. We are active people and the kids are used to exploring with us on our trips, so hopefully we can handle it! Trying to get them up and over the rocks and through the water with all of our stuff didn't seem ideal. I was unaware of the 5 trail so I was thinking that the only way to get to Devil's Bay was via the rocks. Thank you again for explaining this. You are awesome! :)

We will be in Tortola on the Sunshine in May. I have searched and this board and have a decent idea, but I would love if anyone could take the time to give me a step-by-step of what to expect at the Baths.

What I know so far: take taxi to Spanish Town, ferry to Virgin Gorda, taxi to Top of the Baths? Then there's a land trail down followed by a trail through the water/rocks? Then do you have to do the reverse to get back to the top? Is going through the rocks the only way to get there? In the photos I've seen, no one is carrying anything, so what do you do with your stuff? I feel like I'm missing a step or something!

We will have our two sons with us, so I want to know how much we will be able to see there if the trail through the water/rocks ends up not being possible for/with them. Is there a way to get to the actual beach and then go through and explore the rocks on your own? I read about some tour boats that were able to drop you off at the beach itself, but it seems like they have to drop off at the marina now?

Thanks to anyone who dares read all of these questions and answer them! This plan-ahead mom would be ever so grateful!

-price

-Camp Carnival starts at age 2 (other lines start at 3 and we have two boys under 3!)

-family friendly

I do wish they'd go back to Europe and expand their US west coast itineraries. We love to cruise because we get to see so many places in one trip. Unfortunately we are running out of new ports to see with Carnival. :(

Thanks for the advice! We were in the same dilemma with Tortola and trying to make the trip to Virgin Gorda to see the baths. That might be a better option since we get to port earlier that day (8am) and we're the only ship in port. I need to investigate the travel time for that. Decisions, decisions!

We will be in STT in May. We have 2 sons who are almost 3 and 15 months old. We were just in STT in January and had an amazing day! We did Paradise Point, a taxi tour of the island, Mountain Top, Drake's seat and a couple of hours at Magen's Bay. It was our favorite of the 4 ports for that cruise. We were thinking this time to try St. John to see something new. Now that I am researching, it seems like the travel time to and from St. John might be an issue for us (I read that it takes about 3 hours total of travel time?). We are in port from 12pm until 8pm along with 2 other ships. If we were in port earlier, it might be a different story, but I'm sure the kids will not make it until 8pm without a meltdown, so that even further cuts our time. So what would the experts suggest...not to miss the opportunity to see St. John or to try something different in St. Thomas to stay closer to port? Thanks so much for your insight!

Hello, I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do for our day in St. Thomas in January off the Liberty. We have a 2.5 year old and an 11 month old. I was thinking beach, shopping, eating, but what would be the best places to do that close to port? Also, are there any good lookout point for views and photographs? Thanks so much...this is kind of a last minute cruise and with the holidays, I haven't had the time to do my normal research and planning!

We arrived back at our cabin to find the pack n play, yay!!!

 

I set it up and gave my son a bath in his tub. It was way past his bed time at this point and we were worried about his becoming unmanageable at this point. But he did really well! We put him in the crib and draped muslin blankets around the sides so he wouldn't see us. Yes I know it sounds strange, but he's a fabulous sleeper. He has slept in his own room since he first came home from the hospital. I firmly believe that babies know the smell of their parents and some of them will wake more easily knowing they are right there. So we did our best to "hide" from him in the cabin at night. Once he's asleep, we were able to watch TV without him waking.

 

My son's sleep habits are very routine. He woke up at 6am, just like he does at home. This is what we saw every morning peering over at us...

 

 

DH woke up soon after us, he went to the gym, then we hit the buffet for breakfast. We both had a breakfast burrito from the Blue Iguana Cantina. It was pretty good, a nice change from the typical cruise fare for breakfast. I stuffed mine with regular eggs, chicken sausage, potatoes crispies, cheese, and tomatoes. Little guy had some honeydew.

 

 

 

Whoa...did you bring your son's music table?? I guess that's the difference in driving vs flying to the port! I'm a mom of 2 boys 2 and under so I noticed that right away! I'm an overpacker too, but flying helps keep me in check some I guess. We were on the Glory in September with our then 8 month old (and 2yo). They had a blast and got lots of love and attention from the crew.

I was reading the travel docs for our upcoming cruise on the Liberty out of Miami. It talks about checking in at the airport instead of the port if you are arriving on the day of the cruise (I'd C&P but it's not letting me from the PDF)? Has anyone done this before? Is it easier than just taking a taxi to the port and doing it there? Also, is this only for those who have purchased Carnival transfers? We were just planning on using a taxi instead of a transfer. Thanks so much!

After you walk down the long dock, just keep heading right and you will find it!LOVELY, area!!!

Thanks so much!

Can you tell me which direction to travel to get to the secluded beach area in Grand Turk? We'll be on the Liberty in January. Thanks so much!

I'm relieved that things like tablecloths and other cruisers wearing jeans will have no effect on how I enjoy my meal! As long as I'm with my family, it tastes good, and I don't have to cook it or clean it up, I am good to go!

We had it on the Glory in September from NYC. The lines were really long and with 2 kids 2 and under, we were so glad we had it! There was a chartered group on board with lots of international guests, so that may have attributed to the lines. And we had an early flight out of LGA and were able to be the first ones off after self-assist.

The eyes...the accent... <3

He was a nice guy!

Thanks for the great review! I have 2 boys (2 and 8 months) and we'll be on the Liberty in January at the same ports. That stateroom looks great for a family! We were just on the Glory last week and they put the muster bracelets on the boys' ankles. On our cruise before that my son flipped out about it being on his wrist too. We ended up taking it off anyway since he was too young for CC so he'd always be with us. This time he was fine with it on his ankle and called it his "sticker." Also, you might like the anytime dining option for the future. That's what we do and it works out great for the kids. Can't wait to read the rest! :)

Side note for those who mentioned their little ones not liking the showers: we have an inflatable duck tub that we bring along on all of our vacations and it works out great for bath time!