Cruise talk again
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive January 2005:
Cruise talk again
I know there have been posts on this.
We are planning on going on a cruise in Aug 2006. Yes, that is a long way to go..I have 2 reasons to wait, one it will take me that much time to save the money, and 2, we want Faith to be older. She will be 2 yrs old when we plan on going.I have done lots of research already, and found out that Carnival is the only one who accept kids in their program as young as 2 and not pottytrained. Now, No I dont plan on keeping my kids in the childrens area all day. When we went 1 1/2 yrs ago on a cruise with my parents. After dinner we would take the 2 older kids to the childrens camp, and they had a ball for a few hrs, while me and my husband and parents enjoyed some shows and casinos..
Ive been talking with a local Travel agent via e-mail. The only thing I havent asked is due Travel agents charge a fee to book cruises?
I hate any extra fees.
Also has anybody ever cruised with a 2 yr old. For us, leaving our kids at home is not an option.
No travel agents do NOT charge fees!Try Buycruises.com I have always gotten the lowest prices there.
Be aware a lot of the kids programs are not late into the night. After a certain time (I think 8-9 PM) it is a babysitting option in which you pay for. Royal Caribbean does offer baby-sitting. We have gone on several cruises. Any questions feel free to ask.
Yvonne
Thanks Yvonne
Yes, I read that on Carnival after a certain time you have to pay babysitting charges. Royal Carribean will not take kids as young as 2 in their programs. We cruised on Royal Carribean the first and only time we went and I just loved the whole experience.
I dont worry about the later hrs and babysitting as Faith will only be 2 yrs old, so I wont be keeping her up too late.
Our other problem is we want to go as cheap as possible with cabins, and to find one where all 5 of us can fit. Everytime I put we are a party off 5 on the cruise sites, it states I must talk to a travel agent. Plus, prices for Aug 2006 on Carnival are not out yet, the travel agent said they wont be out until June 2005.
I dont mind the earlier hrs
It's possible you may need to book a suite for 5 people. I know with 4, you can get a cabin with 2 upper bunks and 2 single beds, which can convert to a double/queen.
Obviously a suite is more expensive - ask a travel agent because I've never known of anyone who booked a cabin with 5 people in it.
Carnival will definitely be the way to go for you with young kids unless you book Disney. Have you looked into the Disney cruise?
It tends to be cheaper to get two rooms side by side than a suite. We priced them a few times and it never worked out cheaper for a room to hold all those people. We had a room on Royal Caribbean that the balcony opened so we could go back and forth on the balcony between both rooms.
FYI the cruise sites prices are ALWAYS higher than you should get through a travel agent.
Check with your dh's place of employment and see if they offer a discount. Through my dh's employment we get 35% off carnival cruises.
Oh I know that cruise prices are higher on the cruise websites. But, I just love looking at all the sites have to offer. I like to go to a travel agent with alot of knowledge before I give them all my money LOL
As much as I would love to go on a Disney cruise, they are more money then I want to spend. I just love planning vacations.
Hi Jackie. We recently booked a cruise through Carnival. I did lots and lots of looking around online for deals and I got the best price through Carnival directly. They also keep checking for lower prices. She called me later to tell me that she saved me more money! If you book through Carnival and they have a price drop, you get that rate. (Believe me! I called and did searches on every travel/cruise Website!)
Also, some of the older ships can book 5 per room. We were looking into doing this, but decided to go with a different ship. I can give you the name and info. if you want to email me.
We chose Carnival because we wanted the "fun ship" family atmosphere. I hear wonderful things about Camp Carnival. We can't wait to check it out. We'll let DD go anytime she wants. They have lots of planned activities for parents to be involved in too. Don't forget about those Carnival waterslides! Happy planning!
Eve-when are you going on your cruise? Where are you going?
Yes I have read that the older Carnival ships will put 5 in a room. See, Im not worried about that. When we went on a Cruise 1 1/2 yrs ago we had 4 in a room. And even then , my 5 yr old slept in the same bed with my husband most nights.
My problem is now, that Im looking for a cruise with more port visits and less fun days at sea. I guess I want the most bang for my buck. BUT, only the older Carnival ships will do the 5 per room. But the the older ships dont have the most port visits, the newer ships do...So Im at a crossroads now. Lucky thought, prices for Aug 2006 havent come out yet, so I have to do more research.
Jackie, the way to see more ports is, unfortunately, book a longer cruise. However, you might want to check Celebrity's western Carribean cruises - I seem to remember them making more ports of call than the western Carribean Carnival cruise we took.
Jackie-Just keep looking. I chose ours because it had the stops I really wanted and it did seem to have more. Also check the times. I almost booked one that went to San Juan that looked great, but we pulled into port at 6pm until 10pm! So, we couldn't really walk around and shop. This is our first cruise, so you probably already know what to look for! LOL! They were very helpful at Carnival. My planner had been on many cruises and so she gave me advice on how to save money and what ships she thought I would enjoy. She wasn't pushy or trying to sell me. It couldn't hurt to give them a call.
We are leaving the end of Feb from Port Canaveral, Florida. Here's our intinerary:
Key West Florida
Day at Sea
Belize City, Belize
Cozumel, Mexico
Progresso, Yucitan
Day at Sea
Back to Port
Eve, do you scuba dive??????? All of those places have excellent diving. My dh and I went to Cozumel once, but i wasnt certified at that time so we didnt get to dive it.  I am drewling over your itinerary. lol!
Have a GREAT time on your cruise, Eve!
We are hoping to go on a cruise to the VI in 2006. We may opt to do that without kids tho (depends on the price )!! We recently priced a Disney Cruise. It was out of our price range! It was cheaper to get 2 inside cabins side by side--than to get a cabin large enough for the 5 of us. But either way, it was more money than we wanted to spend.
Honestly, I dont know if a cruise ship would ever be quite the same after my boys rode on it. I already told the travel agent that Disney World will never be the same after our family hits it. She witnessed my 4.5 yo taunting his big brothers (who are 3x his size-- he picks on them constantly), witnessed the oldest tackling him after finally having enough, witnessed my 4.5yo pick up almost every book (oh- he put them back where they belonged, but do we have to touch EVERY travel book they have? ahhhhh)And lets not forget how he kept interrupting me and the travel agent to explain to her how the fireworks come out of the castle at DisneyWorld, and to ask too see her PAPERCLIP HOLDER???,etc...) I will never take my kids back in there. I came home and began drinking at 4pm.
Jackie, happy hunting!! ;) Let us know what you end up booking. I would be interested in knowing what deals you find in '06. Thanks!
ROFL, Conni! Oh you made me crack up! I can totally see my DD doing the same thing! I tell me DH "You know it's a bad day if I am drinking by the time you get home!" It's not often, but oh yes, it's happened! LOL!
I don't Scuba dive. You'll laugh, but I'm scared of fish! LOL! (We even lived on a house boat when I was little! Go figure!)I do plan on snorkeling though. Belize is supposed to be amazing. I'm pushing myself to try new things! I'll let you know...
We also priced the Disney cruise ship. We decided to spend the money to take my Mom and my sister along. We just chose a new Carnival ship. We've never been and we aren't picky. We just want to lay in the sun with a large tropical drink and have fun!! LOL!
Jackie-Expedia has cruises for '06 already. You can at least get an idea of itineraries and ships and then hunt around for the best deal. Good luck!
Hello Jackie, I am a Travel Agent that owns her own home based Travel Agency (see my profile for website) And I have 12 years experience. I can tell you that you are correct about the potty training requirement on most cruise lines and I see you did your research and found out Carnival allows it. Also yes, to confirm what most I see are saying, Travel Agents do have the best Cruise prices usually (even better than the cruise line directly) because they offer us a "Key account Rate" Or we know how to shop the best rate for you. Also - I believe only Carnival allows 5 people per cabin which is VERY tight and usually consists of 2 uppers/ 2 lowers and a rollaway bed. And... there are very limited cabins on each ship that allows that. SO BOOK EARLY! You can check stuff out on my site, without committing to anything and feel free to email me with questions. Also - Travel Agents do not usually charge a fee for cruises. We only charge a fee for straight airline tickets because the airlines choose to not pay us commissions anymore.
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