Help for this single dad!

[escentialssoycandles]

I cruise with my kids 14,16,20 - let me know what your ports are and I can give you some inexpensive or free options :-)

[heidiatmn]

My three kids (16, 15, 13) and I will be sailing on the Carnival Freedom on January 5, 2019 for 7 days. I am needing some advice on several things...

 

1. Are excursions worth it? Could we just find our way to a beach on the ports?

 

2. Is the soda package worth buying?

 

3. What are some of the hidden fees I need to be aware of before sailing?

 

4. What are the don't miss activities for my kids and me?

 

 

 

Thanks SO much!!

 

 

 

Not a hidden fee but know that they take your photo quite frequently. Every cruise I say I’ll only buy one but have never been able to stick to it. I think they’re $20 a piece.

 

 

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[momof4girls]

We aren’t usually a big “excursion” family ourselves, but we usually let the kids pick one excursion/activity they would like to do. Our first cruise with the girls (Magic), one older daughter chose to zip line (we did that in Jamaica), and my other daughter chose to swim with dolphins (at Chankanaab in Cozumel). Younger daughters were two young at the time to pick anything. We are land-locked here in MO, so my girls are more than happy to just hang out at a beach in every port.

 

We brought two 12 packs of soda with us on the cruise, packed a couple tervis type cups, and the girls just filled them with the soda we brought (ice from the Lido deck). Worked perfectly and no extra cost!

 

We don’t gamble or play Bingo, and we haven’t eaten at a specialty restaurant yet, so our “hidden fees” are the alcohol tab and the arcade at the end of the cruise. We found that for the arcade, we would put a certain amount of cash on their sign & sail cards each day, and then we would never have to worry if they were spending more than the agreed upon amount.

 

As for the “don’t miss” activities, it depends on what your kids enjoy. My girls really love the trivia in the atrium (usually it’s in the evenings or late afternoon) that is hosted by the Cruise director. They also love watching the Dive-In movies with some popcorn (and later some ice cream). They spent so much time on the slides and in the pool that they were usually too tired to do much else (including argue and fight;))!

 

The ports you are going to, are the same ports we stopped at when we were on the Magic. In Cozumel, we went to Chankanaab so my daughter could do the dolphin excursion. Excellent excursion (highly recommend this place if that’s on your bucket list)! On a future cruise with the girls, we went to Paradise Beach http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com. Girls LOVED it with all the inflatables, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards. Prices for food and drinks wasn’t too bad either. They also have a very nice pool. They all agreed that we need to visit PB each time we go to Cozumel. In Jamaica, we did the zip lining. For that one, we chose an excursion through Carnival. I loved it, and the guides for it were wonderful! Very funny:) In Grand Cayman, we took a taxi to 7 Mike Beach. Gorgeous beach! Cheap day that the girls thoroughly enjoyed! Other than sunburns (bad mom), they said they could have spent all day there.

[Out of Iowa]

If you are going to Grand Cayman, go online to find Moby Dick tours. It's half the price of the ship's excursion, smaller group, excellent attention to safety information.....your kids will talk about snorkeling at the reef and swimming, feeding, touching the stingrays for years to come. Guaranteed to be a highlight for you all!

[Mutumbojimbo]

Paradise Beach in Cozumel is very reasonable and has "a la carte" pricing, which is nice if your kids never come out of the water. I think it's about a $20 taxi ride, they have lots of water activities (I think they were $12 the last time we were there).

 

I would book an excursion in Ocho Rios. Jamaica is beautiful, but outside of the port area I felt like everyone was trying to scam me.

[Homosassa]

Be very careful with your children's cell phones if you are going to allow them to have access to them or you might be very surprised at the whooping cell phone bill when you get home.

 

Someone more techno savy than me can probably tell you how to allow then to use the hub app while making sure they can't access the wifi and cell phone tower on board ship.