icedancer43

On 12/15/2019 at 6:52 PM, twangster said:

A huge change for Oasis of the Seas is the addition of the Perfect Storm water slides.

 

 

 

 

 

The entrance and stairs for all three slides is on deck 15 port side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slides are a lot of fun and they've been open even on port days when there are no lines and you can slide and slide again.

 

Thank you for all these pictures. We were on the Harmony and did not like the blue and yellow slides because they were pitch black. How were the orange and pink slides on the Oasis? They look like they have a design that might let some light in. Thank you for your time!

4 hours ago, dctravel said:

I should also note that we choose to eat breakfast in the main dining room each morning. Stephan, the Matre D, and Carol, his assistant were both wonderful. They put us with the same team each morning (table 503 with Joseph and Ronnie) and they took great care of us too. 🙂

Hi. Thank you for your review. We sail in a couple weeks. We are thinking of eating in the MDR for breakfast daily and didn't think we would have the option to have the staff every day. Did you request to have the same staff/table every morning?

On 8/26/2019 at 3:56 PM, dctravel said:

We opted for evening service, as he cleaned between 6 and 9 and we had early (6 pm) seating for dinner.

We have been on multiple cruises and the room is usually cleaned twice a day. Is this not the case with Carnival? Also, I am curious did you get towel animals every day? Thank you for your time. 

Love reading your review and seeing the pictures. We are on this itinerary in September. I know you said you utilized the app for schedules, but any chance you have a copy of the kids club schedule and/or the funtimes you can post? Thank you for your time in posting this review!

Does anyone happen to the have the funtimes for the Carnival Magic 6 day out of Fort Lauderdale with Simon as the cruise director, especially from the July 14th sailing since that is the exact itinerary we will be doing? I have already seen ones from May posted a couple weeks ago on a different website, but those were with a different cruise director and I know events/times/days change with new cruise directors. Thank you.

Hi Everyone. We are new to Carnival. I read that you can complete the official check in at Miami airport to speed up the process at port, but does anyone know if they are doing this at Fort Lauderdale Airport for cruise departures out of Port Everglades? Any advice you can give about the check in process would be great! Thank you!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Magic with our 4-year-old and this will be the first time he will be able to attend Camp Ocean. We went on a different cruise line last year and he was unable to go to the kids club due to not being potty trained. We have also been looking at the Funtimes from previous sailings to get an idea of what to expect aboard Carnival. We plan to have him with us most of the time, but would like to know what our options are to give him some time to play with other kids, especially at night time to give us some adult time. With our research, I know he will be in the Penguins group. We have some questions to manage our expectations for his experience in Camp Ocean. 

1. Is Camp Ocean open on embarkation day for children to participate in activities, especially at night?

2. What activities are done during the Night Owls time? 

3. How does charging work for Night Owls? For example, if a child is there from 10pm until 11:30pm, will they charge for a full 2 hours for prorate it for 1.5 hours?

4. If a child is already at Camp Ocean between the complimentary hours of 7pm and 10pm, can they stay over into the night owl hours or does a parent have to "resign" them in specifically        for the night owls program?

5. How much are extra kid activities, such as Build a Bear Workshop at Sea and Owl Jams Party?

6. Any other tips about Camp Ocean and Night Owls will be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you!

Hi. What cruise lines (and ships) have the best kids club? We are looking to take our very active 3-year-old on a cruise and have no experience with taking a child to kids clubs. Do any of the kids clubs have play areas with slides and such in them? I read that there is an outdoor playground on some Carnival ships, but have not been able to find any pictures. Do any other cruiselines have outdoor playgrounds? Thank you for any advice you can give so we can choose the right ship for our child.

Hi. We are looking at possibly sailing on the Horizon with a 3-year-old and have read that there is an outdoor playground for the kids. Does anyone have a picture of this playground? Also, are there other ships that have an outdoor playground for kids? Thank you.

On 11/19/2018 at 3:36 PM, chengkp75 said:

The only restriction for a child who is potty trained, and who uses the swim diaper splash area, is that they should use the deck showers in between going from the swim diaper area to the main kids splash area, as the water supplies are kept separate, and they don't want possible cross-contamination.

This was our experience as well. We saw a 3 or 4-year-old playing in the smaller splash area with her siblings and a staff member came by and told her and her parents to ensure the child uses the shower when she goes to the other side or uses the pools. 

1 minute ago, diegodenzel said:

How busy was the children’s pool? Especially the side for swim diapers?

Hi. The children's pool for the little ones didn't seem that busy when we were there. Maybe 5 or so children. The bigger splashaway bay area was busier with lines for the kids to go down both of the slides. 

On 12/19/2018 at 9:40 PM, Annie43 said:

We are thinking about booking a cruise on this ship.  We will have a toddler (age 15 months) at time of sailing.  What pools can the child use? are there any amenities for him?

 

Hi. We have not been on Symphony of the Seas, but were on her sister ship the Harmony in August 2018 with our 2.5-year-old. There is a small splash pad area with 2 small slides and water features for those in diapers. There is an area in the Kids club on Deck 14 called Play. It is a soft play area for kids under the age of six with various toys that kids can play in with adult supervision. I have included a link to pictures of the play area on the Harmony so the Symphony might have a different setup and/or toys. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/harmony-of-the-seas-983/kids-avenue-281753/kids-avenue--v12927409/

Hi. We were on in August 2018 and our 2.5-year-old enjoyed it. It has a lot of the toys that he plays with at home, such as kitchen, house, little slide, books, building blocks, etc. It was never busy when we went and we went at various times throughout the day when we wanted some play time out of the sun. There were maybe 1 or 2 other little kids when went were there. I'm sorry I do not remember the hours it was open, but we would be in there late morning and sometimes around 7 or 8 pm at night. On our cruise I never saw anything for the baby groups in the cruise compass. I have included a link that has pictures of the play area, but when we were on it, there were a lot more toys than those in the pictures. If you have any further questions regarding taking a toddler on the Harmony, please don't hesitate to ask. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/harmony-of-the-seas-983/kids-avenue-281753/kids-avenue--v12927409/

We traveled Harmony of the Seas in August 2018 and were very disappointed with the food options available after 9pm. The only options open were Sorrento's Pizza and Cafe Promenade with very limited variety for 6000 people, which made the lines extensively long. When we traveled on the Navigator when it was one or two years old, I remember going to the Windjammer after 9pm for snack food. Is this not offered anymore fleet-wide? Just wandering if there are more food options available after 9pm on other Royal ships? Thank you.

On 10/3/2018 at 3:53 AM, mgmigs said:

Cruised about a month ago. The camp worked out great. DS was in the 2-5 group. They had themes each night and did activities to match, crafts, dance parties, face painting, interactive games, free play, movies, special guests (dressed up in costumes), I know there was more but I can't remember. DS had a blast and loved every minute of it. Brought him for the kids dinner on lido most nights at 6pm so he could eat with his friends, so cute to see the kids eating and chatting with each other each night.

May I ask how check-in and drop-in works? For example, does the child need to be dropped off/picked up at the top of the hour or half-hour? Also, did you utilize the late night kids club option from 10:30p to 1am at all? If so, I was curious what activities are done during that time, such as quiet time activities (watching a movie, coloring, reading, etc.) or more active activities? Also, do you know by chance if the child is tired, will they let the child rest since it is so late? We like to attend the late night adult activities, such as love and marriage and quest game shows, but are not sure how our preschooler would do being up so late in the kids club since bedtime is usually 9pm. Just trying to figure out our options ahead of time. Thank you.

21 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

After 700, the pool and hot tubs are open for anyone to utilize, including those under the age of 12.  We never physically were in that area after 700 since we were either having dinner, having drinks or listening to music in the piano bar.

Thank you for that information. It is very helpful. 

16 hours ago, PalmTree601 said:

 

So this isn't a Horizon-specific answer, but the ships tend to be very similar.  As for food after 9pm, there is always pizza and ice cream 24hr/day.  The Deli is open until 11pm, which includes normal deli hot/cold sandwiches plus hot dogs and probably a few other options.  If you have Anytime Dining option, I think you can go to sit down dinner as late as 9:30pm.  Also the Lido buffet usually stays open for dinner until around 9:30pm.  I think the specialty restaurants (fee) are also usually open until 9:30pm.  They have a late night "snack" buffet with limited (but free) selections from 11:30pm until 1am - that includes usually grilled ham/cheese sandwiches, chips, cookies, and probably some other options I've forgotten.  Plus there is always room service, which will have a fee at night.  You should be able to find all these menus if you search a bit online. 

 

As for Havana, I believe all guests have to be 12 or over to book the room or be on the Havana deck.  I think the uncrowded pool deck until 7pm is the main attraction for Havana rooms, although they also have the Havana Cabana "patios" if you choose that room, which is a unique option.  Someone else probably has more details on this. 

 

Hope this helps... 

 

Thank you for the information about the Havana. Unfortunately, that option will not apply to us since we have a preschooler, but good to know for the future. I am glad to know there are a variety of food options. It also helps that the buffet is open until 9:30 pm and reopens again later at night. Thank you for all this  helpful information.

15 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

  The Havana area is open for those staying in a Havana cabin until 700 pm each day.  Afterwards it opens up for anyone. 

The Havana area being open for everyone after 7pm is a good tip. Thank you. Do you know if the Havana area is open for swimming after 7pm for everyone or just to spend time in the area? Also, when it is open for everyone, does the age of 12 still apply or can younger children come as well? Thank you for your information. 

Thank you for such a thorough review with the funtimes. Carnival was our very first cruise over 15 years ago and we have since traveled on Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. We are debating on going back to Carnival, but are concerned about the amount of entertainment available since Carnival does not have aqua or ice shows, but your review eased my mind on that aspect. It also seems like there is more of a variety of food options on Carnival. May I ask were there places to get food after 9pm? When we traveled on RC Harmony of the Seas, the only food options after 9pm were the Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's, which was disappointing. Also, may I ask what the perks of getting a Havana cabin are, other than the private pool/sundeck area? Do you know if kids are allowed in the Havana area or is it adults only? Thank you.

I was wondering what food options are available at night? We usually eat dinner around 5 or 5:30pm and like to get a late night snack around 9pm or so. We were recently on RC Harmony of the Seas and were very disappointed in the food options available after 9pm. I can't remember what ship we were on years ago that had the buffet open between 9pm and 12am for late night snacks. Does Norwegian have this option? Are there any food venues open 24/7? If it helps, we are looking at the Norwegian Escape. Thank you!

Yes, there is a decent sized splash pad on Labadee. It is located by Adrenaline Beach. However, I would highly recommend going to Columbus Cove if you wanted to spend time on a beach because it has very calm waters, soft sand, and shade. I heard Adrenaline Beach is very rocky and there can be waves. We took the one-way ferry to Columbus Cove from the ship dock, then took the tram back to the splash pad. 

We took our 2-year-old (one week away from being 3) on RC Harmony of the Seas. He enjoyed playing in Splashaway Bay, mini golf, riding the carousel, climbing in Luckey Climber on the Boardwalk, receiving balloon animals, face painting, watching the ice, aqua, and broadway shows, and meeting the Dreamworks characters (I hear these are going away next Spring). We were going to use the nursery since he wasn't quite 3, but it looked very babyish and thought he would be bored spending time there. This is one reason why I wish we would have done a Carnival ship since the Kids Club takes 2-year-olds regardless of potty training status free of charge during normal hours. However, our son had a great time on Harmony of Seas and we, as the parents, did as well, since we were able to ride down waterslides, ride the dry slide, play mini golf, watch shows, and climb the rock wall. Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask. 

Did you bring a pack n play or did your child sleep in a bed? I am going on this cruise in April of 19 and I will have a 1 year old and a 2 year old. I was wondering what the pack n plays were like or if I would be better off bringing my own.

We did not get a pack n play since my child is about 3 feet tall and already in a toddler bed at home. We packed a toddler rail (took it apart and put in our checked bag with the necessary tools needed to put it back together) and used it on the couch and he slept on that without any problems. If you want two pack n plays, I would call and request it now because from what I have been told, they are limited and not guaranteed.

Do you happen to remember how long your MDR dinners lasted? Our daughter will be 10.5mos during our upcoming cruise on Allure and she's great in a restaurant for about ~1-1.5hrs but after that she gets antsy. Is it possible to eat in that time frame without skipping a course, or should we plan on skipping dessert?

We had dinner reservations for 5:15pm and would get out between 6:15pm and 6:30pm. The servers did their best to serve us quickly, knowing we had a toddler who wants to eat and then go "ride the carousel".

Not 100% but if like some the other Royal ships might not be anyone in Nursery area talk to until later in the day. It's theirs and lot of the crews only down time during the week...

We recently got off the Harmony and the Nursery was open at 11:30am for parents to see the area, meet a staff member, register their child, and sign up for hours. I am not sure when it opened for watching children, I think in the evening hours on the first day. Also, the Harmony had a toy loaning program where you could sign out some toys to take to your room and return for new ones or at the end of the cruise to reduce the amount of toys you have to bring with you. However, I strongly recommend bringing some of your child's favorite toys, especially a favorite blanket or stuffed animal. Have a great cruise!

What a great review ! I am traveling with my 15 month old on the allure so a lot of your toddler info helped. Did you have a stroller with you ? Did you find you could bring your stroller in to restaurants or shows if baby is sleeping?

Any other tips for cruising with a toddler?

Hi. We did not have a stroller with us since our child loves to walk around everywhere. I think a small stroller that reclines would be great and easy to bring into restaurants and shows. We saw a family with twins who connected two umbrella strollers and were using those to travel with their children. I also saw families with strollers, wheelchairs, scooters, etc. get into the Windjammer and specially seated ahead of others.

Since your child is 15 months, I would recommend utilizing the nursery if you wish, especially for the late night shows (Love & Marriage, The Quest, etc.). They will put your child to sleep when he or she is tired in a crib and you could hopefully transfer the child to the stroller and then the pack n' play in your room while still asleep. If you haven't already, I would request a pack n' play for the room for your child to sleep in (unless you are bringing your own). Just remember to bring a pack n' play sheet or crib sheet. If you have traditional dining, then I would request a high chair to be at the table. Also, we brought any type of children's medication (motrin, tylenol, benadryl, & children's Dramamine) we thought our child might need since I did not see that they sold children's medications onboard.

If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I did lots of research before cruising with our toddler.