honeymooner16

We cruised with our oldest when he was 1 to Hawaii and our youngest took her first when she was 6 months. I'm sure there were some struggles, but all we remember is the fun memories. It is different than travel pre-baby, but life is different than pre-baby :). Go, you won't regret it! If you have specific questions of how we handled things on board, feel free to message me. There is also a cruising with kids board that is a wealth of information. Happy cruising!

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The Setsail pass usually has a barcode on the right - use a barcode decoding app to see what the underlying numbers are - it should be <booking number - cabin #> (if assigned internally).

Can you suggest a good app, please?

23 hours ago, b_cruise said:

What $ will I Lose? My TA doesn’t seem to respond to my emails. Ugh. I realize must of it but what about 

 

port fees?

tax?

gratuities?

Go to Royal's website now. They just announced you can cancel up to 48 hours out and get FCC. 

In case you haven't seen it yet...https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence.

20 hours ago, tennislvr8 said:

When and where do you request a pack n play? 

Your TA can do it for you if you have one. Or you can just email royal's special needs email and let them know you'd like one in your room. You can also just wait to request one on board. Most times we have to ask for it once we get to our room even if we have requested it prior. 

On our next cruise (Brilliance) they told us we can't request it until our room is assigned. Something about it not fitting if the sofa bed is pulled out. I'm certain this isn't true or it sounds like a law suit to deny a baby a safe place to sleep. We have crammed pack n plays into the tiniest of inside rooms before (move the bed all the way against one wall and put the pack n play right next to you). On oasis class, you should have plenty of room to put it between the bed and the couch. 

We cruised with my son at 14 months, 19 months, and 3 years, and took my daughter on her first cruise at 6 months. Kids LOVE cruising! We have a 15 night TA booked in two months. They will be 4 and 16 months. The baby splash pad is small, but enough for them to get wet. The kids area is amazing. They have so many toys for them to explore while you play with them. My daughter didn't love the babysitting, but the staff was wonderful despite her crying. If your son is used to being left with a babysitter/daycare he will be fine, but do get reservations as mentioned above. All of the staff was wonderful with our kids. We did the sit down dinners each night and they always had drinks and a bowl of fruit waiting for our kids. They made special meals and brought cookies for dessert each night. In the buffet, I felt like the waiters were fighting each other to be sure we had what we needed. 

The room is plenty big for a pack n play and the ship will provide one. Other than their favorite stuffed animals, we really didn't take anything special, but if you go to the family boards there are a ton of posts of ideas of things to take with kids. 

We live and die by a schedule, so we didn't have much of late nights (and didn't get to see the night time shows on Allure) but we have always had fun and great memories! We did book a neighborhood balcony on boardwalk so we could see some of the aqua shows. Having a balcony was nice as we could sit outside and people watch while she napped or went to bed early, but its not critical. 

I was curious if anyone has had luck accessing a work VPN while at sea? There seems to be mixed reviews if it will work or not on the surf and stream package and I hate to pay for it if I won't be able to access my work anyway. We use pulse secure if that matters? Thanks in advance! 

We cruised on Allure with our 3.5 year old in August and he loved it so much we are doing a TA for 15 nights in May. It'll be his 5th cruise. Kids love cruising. There is so much to do all the time. Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

If you don't need the car seat anywhere else....You can take the train from the airport to downtown Seattle and then the free bus to the cruise port. My husband and I did this with our cruise luggage for our honeymoon a few years ago. The train is right in the airport and there were many people doing the same thing that morning. 

We babywear and took our 14 month old to Hawaii without a stroller (needed the carseat that trip as we rented cars and drove for several excursions). 

Alaska is amazing and most of the towns are completely walkable. If you do a shore excursion, you'll be on a bus or van so won't need the seat. There is a train in one of the towns (Skagway?) - little ones would get a real kick out of that. 

You'll have a great time! Alaska is amazing and cruising with kids really isn't hard. 

We are traveling with a toddler who still needs bed rails, but royal doesn’t have them. Does anyone know if the couch can just be turned around so he could sleep between the back of the couch and the wall? 

Any other ideas for creating a way to prevent him from rolling out of bed without having to actually lug our own bed rails? (Would they even work on a pull out couch?)

Thanks in advance! 

We have the same issue with even younger kids, but I did see somewhere there is a company that will do horseback riding for kids as young as 3. I haven't been and haven't used them but Carabali ranch is the name I found. I have an email into them now to ask some questions. 

I've done 8 or so cruises, none with the baby yet, but I have never heard so much as a peep from my neighbors on the ship. One time a couple got into a nasty fight in the hallway and we could hear that pretty clearly, but never the rooms near us. I'm sure she will be fine!

we are doing a Hawaii trip next month and have a 12 hour flight to get there. Any suggestions on food to take on the plan for a 1 year old? He isn't a picky eater, but we will need things that will stay without ice for long periods.

Activity suggestions for the flight are also welcome!

ive read some rumors that American is returning its meal service to the flight between DFW AND HNl for main cabin, was curious if anyone can confirm?

We are traveling with a toddler from the east coast, so we will likely have lunch and dinne on the long leg. Any suggestions of food that stayed well on this long of a flight? The last time I flew this long meals were still included!

Thanks!

We are sailing in May and trying to figure out what risk there is booking independent tours. From a basic Google search it looks like there aren't a lot of storms that time of year?

I am considering a Hawaii cruise on POA. We will be traveling from Fort Lauderdale Fl. Does any one have any tips on getting to hawaii. I have seen a Direct flight from NY mentioned. Any other options???

 

Thanks

actiondave:)

We are flying from Tampa in May. We go Tampa to Dallas, Dallas to HNL. Its a long day, but it was the shortest duration. On the way home we are stopping in PHX for an overnight hotel room then coming the rest of the way the next day.

Check out Google Flights. Their recommended flights were normally the best and they search most airlines for you.

Morning everyone!

My husband, DS (14 months) and I are headed to Hawaii in May on POA and I have a few questions I was hoping you could help me out with. I have them listed below by port.

About us: We are in our early 30s and very fit/active, so we are looking for adventure. We also have the little one in tow, so he has to be allowed on the tours (many of the ship tours he isn’t allowed, but the private tour companies welcome him).

Honolulu:

1. What is the easiest way to get from the car return to the ship? Do we have to go back to the airport first or is there a bus/shuttle that will go direct?

Maui:

2. Road to Hana on our own with a rental car - Stopping at the State park for black sand beaches and the National park for the waterfalls. Are there any cool falls/parks/black sand beaches closer to the Port? DS is great in a backpack, but despises the car seat and I’m not sure how far on the Road to Hana we will actually make it. The goal is Wai’panapa

3. How is the sunset at the crater compared to sunrise? I can't find any info on how long this tour is, what time it begins? This one is through the cruise ship.

3. Snorkeling at Molokini and Turtle town through Pride of Maui - anyone use them? This will be second day in Maui so time off the ship won't be an issue, but is a cab the best way to get to the boat? Is this the best snorkeling?

4.Is there anything to do right near the cruise ship? Is there any cheap transportation to nearby attractions?

Kona:

4. We want to do the captain cook snorkel on the Fair Wind, but it warns cruise passengers may have a hard time getting to the boat in time due to the tenders. Is it hard to get one of the first tenders off the boat? We will likely be up around 3am local time with DS. Has anyone done this successfully or are we better going with the cruise tour on this one? Does the cruise tour go to the same place (I’d really like to avoid ship excursions)? Is there another tour company that goes to Captain Cook?

5. What other hiking/snorkeling is there to do in Kona without renting a car?

Kauai:

6. We are looking at doing KALALAU TRAIL and maybe Lydgate park for the first day with a rental car. Is there any good hiking closer to the cruise ship?

7. Is there anything to do right near the cruise ship? Anyone know the name of the bus/trolley so I can look up their route?

Thanks for the help!

I've done the helicopter tour in Alaska to land on a glacier. I haven't done one in Hawaii yet, but strongly recommend the Alaska one! My DH described it as life changing. We are from Florida though, so he had never seen anything like Alaska!