Carnival Libery Eastern Caribbean- Cruising with kids!

[apey9995]

Thank you so much! I thought I had our day in St. Thomas planned but now I want to do this instead!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I can't figure out how to send a private message on here? I found the inbox but no where is there a link to send a new message. If you want to send me your email address, I would be happy to send it to you that way! Sorry!

[soccersharon]

I can't figure out how to send a private message on here? I found the inbox but no where is there a link to send a new message. If you want to send me your email address, I would be happy to send it to you that way! Sorry!

 

Private message feature is not activated on these message boards :(

 

Sent from my mobile device. Typos are inevitable.

Edited April 29, 2014 by soccersharon

[apey9995]

Day 6, continued...

 

After we all returned to the ship, we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the views for a while before dinner. This was the 2nd formal night of the cruise. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of us dressed up this night. Dinner was excellent as usual- Bryan and I both had the Chateaubriand steak—it was one of my favorite meals of the cruise!

 

After dinner, Logan of course couldn’t wait to go back to camp (there was another Owl Jams party this night) but Brody wanted to hang out with us instead. So we dropped Logan off and decided to try to see a show with Brody (something “rock”, with lots of music). To our surprise he sat so still thru the whole show and watched it with us… he even was dancing along at one point. After the show, we went and bought some pictures from earlier in the week, visited the arcade, and then went on the Lido deck to see what movie was playing. We watched “Lincoln” for a little bit, and then went back to the room since it was past Brody’s bedtime (he was still going strong!). Bryan went back later to pick Logan up from the party, and he crashed big time! He got a mustache painted on his face and went to sleep with it on. When he woke up the next morning he didn’t realize it was still there… we had a good laugh at him with his bed head and mustache!! :)

[my1stcruise]

I can't figure out how to send a private message on here? I found the inbox but no where is there a link to send a new message. If you want to send me your email address, I would be happy to send it to you that way! Sorry!

 

 

Lol, I thought it was just me! My email is lrhodenhizer at hotmail. Thanks again! Your itinerary is so close to the one we will be doing on sunshine in November. Unfortunately we will be stopping in nassau instead of HMC. Whose idea was that ?!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[apey9995]

Cruise Day 7: Day at Sea

Unfortunately, we were too busy enjoying every last minute possible on this day so again, I didn’t take any pictures. We had the sea day brunch again, very good! It was a nice change from the buffet.

 

Our last day at sea was made up of a lot of sitting in the sun, Logan on the waterslide, packing up our luggage, visits to the arcade, and our last lunch at Guys and Blue Iguana!! Logan went to camp as much as possible. The day seemed to fly by—before we knew it, it was dinner time. It was sad to say goodbye to our servers, our boys loved them! After dinner we went to the family friendly comedy and made one last trip to the arcade and the casino to cash out.

 

Day 8: Debarkation

 

We had breakfast in the buffet and because of FTTF, we were in zone 1. We were off the ship and thru customs by 8:00! We used the SAS shuttle service to take us to Ft. Lauderdale airport, very easy to find once we left the cruise terminal. (I believe this was $15/person).

 

We were sad the cruise was over, but also ready to get home! Can’t wait to cruise again!! :)

 

early arrival into Miami

 

 

If I had to caption this photo I'd say, "What do mean the cruise is over?!!" haha

 

 

[apey9995]

Final thoughts:

 

I can honestly say I don’t have a single bad thing to say about Carnival based on our vacation. I hate reading these reviews that are so completely negative and when people complain about every little thing.

 

I love cruising, and I think it is a wonderful option for families. Actually, now that we’ve taken the kids, we will probably never get to take another “adults only” cruise with just my husband and I… I don’t think the kids will let us! Haha! Now that they’ve gotten to cruise, they talk about it all the time and can’t wait to go back! We compared costs of different vacation options for us as a family trip this coming year… and decided on another cruise. We really can’t beat the cost. Especially when you consider everything that’s included… for example going to the beach for a week, you would have to factor in groceries and/or eating out for the week, activities for the kids, etc. With a cruise all of those things are included! And we are lucky that both of the boys enjoyed going to camp (Logan maybe a little TOO much), so we were able to squeeze in a little bit of alone time during the week also. I think it was a vacation that each of us individually enjoyed for different reasons.

 

Also, can’t say enough good things about Camp Carnival. I touched on this a little bit previously in my review, but they are so much more than just a babysitting service. They really do a lot to make it enjoyable for the kids. There were a wide variety of activities, so it was never boring! I also like all of the safety measures they take with the signing in and out procedures (you have to have your S&S card with you each time, and sign the sheet, etc.), the phone beeper system, and the required handwashing. The staff were all very nice and great with the kids.

 

A few final tips for cruising with little ones…

 

1. Be flexible… I thought I had everything planned out pretty good, but nap times and unknown factors can definitely change things up, so just be ready to go with the flow!

 

2. If your kids drink a lot of milk like Brody does, make sure you grab a few extra cartons in the mornings from the breakfast buffet to keep in the cabin—these came in handy at naptime and at night when he wanted milk.

 

3. Again, the take and toss straw cups were a lifesaver. Remember to take a small container of dish soap and some type of sponge to wash them out in the cabin.

 

4. Pack light and do laundry!

 

5. Take water shoes for the kids—Half Moon Cay and St. Thomas beaches were fine, but Grand Turk was rocky.

 

6. My kids love disposable cameras- they had fun taking their own pictures and for the most part it kept them away from my camera. It’s fun once you get them developed (even though 50% of them don’t turn out), and can see things from their perspective!

 

Well that about wraps it up. Writing this makes me so excited to cruise again! If anyone has any questions, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer if I can! :) Thanks for reading along!

[apey9995]

Thanks for writing this review. We are expecting our first child and we plan to cruise with our child so your review gave me some valuable knowledge. :)

 

Thanks for reading... congrats on your pregnancy!! :)

[apey9995]

Lol, I thought it was just me! My email is lrhodenhizer at hotmail. Thanks again! Your itinerary is so close to the one we will be doing on sunshine in November. Unfortunately we will be stopping in nassau instead of HMC. Whose idea was that ?!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Ok, coming your way! Have fun on your cruise! (even without HMC, boo!) Hopefully you can find a good beach or excursion in Nassau to make up for it!

[apey9995]

Loved your review ! Your family pictures are just Beautiful & your boys are so cute! I loved the Liberty and this cruise was my favorite so far , would do this one again in a heartbeat!!

 

Thank you!

[razzzbere]

Thanks so much for your review and pics, you have a beautiful family! I hope you get to San Juan again and make it to the forts, they are really cool! We took our kids there last year, they were 4 and 7 and another time when they were 2 and 5, both times we stayed on island. Puerto Rico is really a beautiful place and the culture is interesting. We'll be in OSJ next Wed on the Splendor and can't wait! We'll have to try Punto de Vista!

[my1stcruise]

So glad to hear your boys enjoyed camp. I really hope my 3 do too so we can have some adult time! What cruise did you decide to do next?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[sunrise2]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your last cruise-- do you mind sharing what it was about the Sunshine you didn't like? I'm curious... I have heard others say that the layout was not good at all. Very chopped up and hard to get around? Hopefully you will enjoy your next cruise much more! We loved the Liberty... we have also thought about maybe trying the Western out of PC for 2015.

 

Yes it is very chopped up and not enough space for all to enjoy. More people and less area....hard to find tables at lunch in the Lido...Lounge is to small. Comedy club too small. I felt all I was doing was standing on line and living indoors since we could not find tables outside. My husband was upset he did not upgrade to balcony cabin because then for sure I would have had my own outdoor space...he felt we were in ocean view on Dream so it would work out on the Sunshine wrong. Glad this was free cruise from Carnival. I know the kids on the ship enjoyed the waterworks area and also club carnival, they were always happy....Oh and today we did book the Liberty for 2015......right after I read your review.... Thank you.

[Seany527]

Great review. Thanks for sharing :)

[apey9995]

Thanks so much for your review and pics, you have a beautiful family! I hope you get to San Juan again and make it to the forts, they are really cool! We took our kids there last year, they were 4 and 7 and another time when they were 2 and 5, both times we stayed on island. Puerto Rico is really a beautiful place and the culture is interesting. We'll be in OSJ next Wed on the Splendor and can't wait! We'll have to try Punto de Vista!

 

Thank you... I would definitely like to try to see the forts one day. And maybe even get to the restraunt I want next time! haha... hope you have a good vacation, its so close! Let me know if you try Punto de Vista! :)

[apey9995]

So glad to hear your boys enjoyed camp. I really hope my 3 do too so we can have some adult time! What cruise did you decide to do next?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Yes, they loved camp, hopefully your kids will too!

 

We are going to do the Fascination 5-day Bahamas out of Jacksonville this year... we have family near there so it will be a nice way to have a visit with them as well before or after the cruise! And we will be driving this time, so it will be interesting to see how that goes... Brody hasn't taken a road trip that long since he was a baby (Jacksonville will be about a 9 hour drive for us!). We'd love to do a western Caribbean itinerary at some point!

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

[apey9995]

Yes it is very chopped up and not enough space for all to enjoy. More people and less area....hard to find tables at lunch in the Lido...Lounge is to small. Comedy club too small. I felt all I was doing was standing on line and living indoors since we could not find tables outside. My husband was upset he did not upgrade to balcony cabin because then for sure I would have had my own outdoor space...he felt we were in ocean view on Dream so it would work out on the Sunshine wrong. Glad this was free cruise from Carnival. I know the kids on the ship enjoyed the waterworks area and also club carnival, they were always happy....Oh and today we did book the Liberty for 2015......right after I read your review.... Thank you.

 

Yay for booking the Liberty! I hope you have a great time! We loved our balcony on the liberty, our next cruise is in an oceanview room... I hope we don't regret it! I might have gotten spoiled from having a balcony!:p

[Whimsy88]

Thank you for reviewing the cruise from the perspective of a mom with kids. I know your information is very helpful and wish I had known some of these tips when we did our first cruise with kids then 1, 9 and 11! This summer will be our 4th Carnival cruise with the boys who are now 8, 15 and 17. It definitely is a great "bang for your buck" vacation. We rented a condo on the beach last year for a week to try and have a "cheaper" vacation, and boy was that NOT a good choice. We all spent the week comparing it to all the cool things we could be doing on a cruise for basically the same price. :rolleyes: So now we are headed for the Eastern Caribbean and are all getting really excited. As you said, it's important to know you are going to have to roll with punches sometimes. But a cruise is such a awesome way to teach etiquette (formal dining room), cultural experiences (crew from different countries and port calls), etc., without your kids even really knowing that's what is going on. They just know they are having fun!:D And I agree that Camp Carnival is awesome - my 8 year old is already driving us crazy with declarations of all the things he is going to do and how much time he is going to spend there!

 

I'm glad you had such an overall good first cruising experience with the kids! Enjoy your beautiful family on your next one!

[jaxkai]

this was one of the best reviews ive read. ive been begging my SIL to let me take my oldest granddaughter 5 on a cruise, i cruise with my grown kids or alone. he wants them to all be together first time and i so understand that. dont like it but respect it with a little whining added in.

 

im going on the liberty in sept with my daughter. im going to have them read this review in the am and beg them to let me book us all a cruise while im on the sept one. you wrote this so beautifully and carefully worded so we could all see in and outs of cruising with small children.

 

so im gonna hug you and keep my fingers crossed that you are the info they need to plan a cruise and well gramma will just be an extra room and extra hands on deck

 

again thank you thank you so much :)

[CruiseFlicks]

Enjoyed reading your posts, though I've probably skipped a couple in between. Where do you host your photos and do you reduce the resolution/size before uploading? I am asking because my Liberty review is temporarily on hold - until the 5th - as the photos I hosted out on photobucket have exceeded the bandwidth limit. I don't have the option of re-uploading the photos as there is no edit option on cruisecritic; in other words, those links will be permanently broken if I re-upload the photos :-(

[apey9995]

Thank you for reviewing the cruise from the perspective of a mom with kids. I know your information is very helpful and wish I had known some of these tips when we did our first cruise with kids then 1, 9 and 11! This summer will be our 4th Carnival cruise with the boys who are now 8, 15 and 17. It definitely is a great "bang for your buck" vacation. We rented a condo on the beach last year for a week to try and have a "cheaper" vacation, and boy was that NOT a good choice. We all spent the week comparing it to all the cool things we could be doing on a cruise for basically the same price. :rolleyes: So now we are headed for the Eastern Caribbean and are all getting really excited. As you said, it's important to know you are going to have to roll with punches sometimes. But a cruise is such a awesome way to teach etiquette (formal dining room), cultural experiences (crew from different countries and port calls), etc., without your kids even really knowing that's what is going on. They just know they are having fun!:D And I agree that Camp Carnival is awesome - my 8 year old is already driving us crazy with declarations of all the things he is going to do and how much time he is going to spend there!

 

I'm glad you had such an overall good first cruising experience with the kids! Enjoy your beautiful family on your next one!

 

You are so right... when we started comparing vacation costs we were thinking a beach trip would be a cheaper option too, wrong!

 

Thank you for reading along- hope your family has a great cruise this summer! I hope we are still cruising when our boys are older! :)

[apey9995]

this was one of the best reviews ive read. ive been begging my SIL to let me take my oldest granddaughter 5 on a cruise, i cruise with my grown kids or alone. he wants them to all be together first time and i so understand that. dont like it but respect it with a little whining added in.

 

im going on the liberty in sept with my daughter. im going to have them read this review in the am and beg them to let me book us all a cruise while im on the sept one. you wrote this so beautifully and carefully worded so we could all see in and outs of cruising with small children.

 

so im gonna hug you and keep my fingers crossed that you are the info they need to plan a cruise and well gramma will just be an extra room and extra hands on deck

 

again thank you thank you so much :)

 

Awe, best of luck! I know your granddaughter would have a great time! Hopefully you can convince the whole family to sale together, once they tried it they would be hooked!! :) Good luck!

[apey9995]

Enjoyed reading your posts, though I've probably skipped a couple in between. Where do you host your photos and do you reduce the resolution/size before uploading? I am asking because my Liberty review is temporarily on hold - until the 5th - as the photos I hosted out on photobucket have exceeded the bandwidth limit. I don't have the option of re-uploading the photos as there is no edit option on cruisecritic; in other words, those links will be permanently broken if I re-upload the photos :-(

 

I host all my photos in Shutterfly, which worked out well for writing the review since I already had them there for printing! I just view them in the album and right click to copy the picture URL.

 

Good luck! Hope you're able to fix it, I'd love to read your review! I hate that it doesn't let you go back and edit after a few minutes-- looking back I've found a few typos and sentences on mine that don't quite make sense, but too late to do anything about it now!

Edited May 1, 2014 by apey9995

[bttrflyprncss84]

I really enjoyed reading your review! I loved your mom perspective. We just booked this itinerary for Jan 2016. We will be on the Glory though. We will have our two littles (3.5 and 18 months) and your advice was really helpful.