LilMissScareAll

Urgh. I wrote out a long response and the Internet ate it.

In a nutshell. We brought some squeeze pouches of food for my 19 month old on our last cruise. Bring the shelf stable ones and she won't have to worry about a cooler. We had a mini fridge but only used it if he didn't finish the whole pouch (rare)

There are lots of baby friendly foods on board. My son ate fruit, bread, and pasta almost every night for dinner. Along with bites off mom & dad's plate.

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I prepay. I'd rather keep that final cc charge as low as possible

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I use relax melodies, many sounds and doesn't drain my phone battery.

That's what I use too. We actually have used it every night for my son because the TV in the living room used to wake him up all the way on the other side of the house in the bedroom when he was a newborn

I have a Nikon Coolpix aw110 (??) It's a little over your budget, but I'd rather spend a little more on a camera that lasts.

I also have an older model Olympus Tough that I was quite happy with for many years.

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I ordered off the "adult" menu for my 19 month old on our last cruise. He eats what we eat generally.

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Andrew, my man! You're so young to have mastered the potty -- good job dude! As for me, after a few false starts my mom gave up on serious potty training until after our cruise, so I can't speak with any authority on the potty situation. If I had to offer my best guess at advice though, I'd probably practice with the big potty at home (if he's not using that already). If he's comfortable with that, he'll probably be fine (the potties on the boat are actually a bit smaller than a standard one -- so it's actually a bit easier I bet). If he's still not comfortable with a big potty at home, I think I'd pack a little potty just to be safe. Good luck and have fun (and report back with how it goes)! In potty news here, I made it through a whole day at daycare with no accidents (my first day back at daycare since training began). :cool:

Mom played the Daniel Tiger potty episode until I was brainwashed. That song is catchy! Congrats on your first day back at daycare. I stay at home with my great grandma when Mom goes and temps.

-A-

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Thanks for another great review, H! My Andrew is about 6 months younger than you and is quite jealous that you get to cruise as often as you do.

If you don't mind a quite personal question, can I ask about how you felt about potties on the big boat? Andrew has PLed, but I'm not sure how he's going to do with the potties on the big boat. Did your mom bring a little one for you?

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My son's first cruise was this year. Last April on the Miracle. He 💓 the ice cream machine.

Can't wait for our next cruise in February!

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It makes me so sad b/c mine fell out of the cabinet a few months ago and the base broke off. I tried looking on ebay but to not avail 😭😭

LilMISS, i am confused. You purchase a bottle of rum from Bon Voyage for roughly 2.3 times the price on land but think you save money by bringing on your own mixers?

Bringing my own 12 pack (2 of them since it's DH & myself) where I'm paying about $6 total vs purchasing the same amount of pop through BV which would cost $40. Yes, I do see that as saving money.

I then can make drinks on my balcony. Let's assume a 1.5oz pour gives me approx 20 drinks. So that's about $4.50 a drink. Much cheaper than at the bar on the ship.

Obviously I'm not saying I'm saving money compared to what I would pay to drink at home. Just saving a few bucks here and there on vacation.

I have never boarded a ship, any ship any line, with any kind of food or beverages. Don't quite understand the concept when I can get sodas, wine, alcholic, plenty of food either on the ship or at the ports I visit. For me, a cruise isn't a camping trip into the wilds where I need to bring my provisions and I can easily adjust my daily intake to what is available on board the ship. Also when traveling abroad I don't worry about having access to my favorites and will adjust to what each country has to offer.

 

I am curious if lugging things on board is a matter of money or taste or habit?

We usually get a bottle of rum or vodka through BV. We like having our own prefered mixers for the room

If they would bring the price of cans of pop down like they did water, I would gladly stop carrying it on. I spend plenty on board and if I can save a few dollars here and there, I'll do it.

We had an obstructed balcony on Miracle last April. I would absolutely book one of those rooms again. Our obstruction was only if we were looking directly down. Sitting on our balcony we had no problems viewing out.

Most of the tops of the lifeboats are level with the balcony floor. There are a few of them that the lifeboats come up to the rail, so still can see out while standing but obstructed while sitting

Following. Because I'm wondering for the opposite reason.

I have 2 year old that no way would I trust in a pull down bunk. We're booked on another Fantasy class ship in February

My last 2 cruises, I've ended up with amounts in the $20pp range in addition to obc 5th at I've gotten for other reasons (promos, price drops)

My theory is that they calculate taxes and fees at 90ish percent occupancy and if the boat sells out then everyone* gets a little refund

This sounds similar to the Go & Play offer that I just booked under (not going until Feb) but the offer was $50 each for 2 people with $100 obc on any 3/4 day cruise out of Long Beach between Sept - Feb. I had to pay regular 3rd person fare for my son. I figure it's still cheaper than a trip to Vegas!

I like Babyganics for my toddler. Also, he wears a shirt and swimsuit that has sun protection

If youre n going to be on the island over night, look into going to Fajardo (sp?) On the northeastern tip of the island. There you can do a dust/evening kayaking in the bio bay. It truly is an amazing experience

No matter what time you show up, there is a shorter line for you to go into with FTTF. If you'll arrive before 1, you'll still be able to go straight to your room. If you arrive after, then you can do that anyway.

Do you have any tender ports?

I was very happy to have FTTF when we went on our 7 day cruise with our 19 month old, but our next cruise is a 4 day and we're probably going to skip it and arrive later to the ship.

I have a really great rate offer for 2 people in an interior room that I'm going to be booking. However, there's 3 in our family. So my son is being booked at the prevailing 3rd passage rate, which is a little pricy.

Final payment isn't due until December, is there a way to check for price drops for the 3rd passanger? I'm guessing not, but never hurts to ask

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kolcraft-Cloud-Sport-Lightweight-Stroller-Cobalt-Blue/38542556

We purchased this stroller from Walmart for our last cruise. It was narrow enough for the hallways and to get in the cabin door, had a large canopy, and folded flat to store under the bed. It does have a 5pt harness and a decent (but not a flat) recline

From the 7 day I went on in April

Day 1: no classes

Day 2: 7a Sunrise Stretch

8a Pathway to Yoga $

10a Body Sculpt Bootcamp $

Day 3: 7a Stretch Class

Day 4: 7a Stretch Class

8a Pathway to Pilates $

Day 5: 7a Stretch Class

7:30a Fab Abs Class

8a Pathway to Pilates $

7p Evening Stretch

Day 6: 7a Morning Stretch

8a Pathway to Yoga $

10a Body Sculpt Bootcamp $

Day 7: 7a Sunrise Stretch

8a Pathway to Yoga $

Does anyone know if either or both have Suess at Sea yet?

I have a great casino offer for a 3/4 day on either of these ships and that would sway my decision.

He can gamble in the casino

Its about 45 minutes from LAX to port of Long Beach under normal traffic. So you would probably be at the port by 1:30ish

Great review. I'm cruising on Miracle in November. What did you think of the obstructed balcony? I'm currently booked in an interior but am considering upgrading to the obstructed view as that is closer to my budget.

We did this cruise in April with an obstructed balcony and I would say it was definitely worth it. We had 2 rooms booked originally for 4k french door but we're able to upgrade both rooms to rooms 5173 & 5175 through ES. Our view was only obstructed looking down. The lifeboats came to the bottom of the balcony. From 5175 , there was a gap at the end of the balcony (on the side closer to 5177) between lifeboats so that we could see straight to the water.

I would book that room type again in a heartbeat!