[PaulineN]

Hi DH suggested we go on a cruise this year for our yearly get away. Every year we usualy go up the coast and stay in an appartment on the beachfront. So, looking for something totally different.

People have said cruises are great for kids as there's heaps for them to do as well.

So my questions are:

How was your cruise holiday? would you do it again?
Did you kids enjoy it? if so what were their ages? (my ds is 6.5yrs)
How did you cope with the tiny tiny tiny cabins?
Who did you book through? the cruise line itself or a travel agent.

Any other advice for someone who knows nothing about cruises and finds some of the info on the web a bit hard to follow - for example if there is 2 adults and 1 child, do we pay as if it is twin share or quad share?

thanks in advance

[Hufflepuff]

Don't hesitate just do it!!!

You pay for three people & need a 3 berth cabin. A travel agent will be able to help you or you need to look at the deck plans there will be a symbol for 3 berth cabins.

Your son will have a ball in kids clubs. You will have a ball doing activities without him. You will all have fun together too discovering the ports, swimming, having meals together etc....
Don't worry about the size of cabin. You really are only in there to sleep.

Unless you get a 'Suite' you will be sleeping in bunk beds. We cruise every year & our kids have been cruising since 12 months of age.

Cruise Sale Finder is a good place to book through & usually have the cheapest fares. I have used them for my last few cruises with no problems at all.

[LittleMissPink]

You will pay for 2 adults and one child, there will be 3 beds in the room, one bunk and one single.

PP is right, you only sleep in the cabin and shower.

[amabanana]

You will pay for 2 adults and one child, there will be 3 beds in the room, one bunk and one single.

PP is right, you only sleep in the cabin and shower.

Why do you sleep in the shower.

[charlottesmum04]

As PP's have said.

Although I would choose Just Cruises to book through as they will change the price for you if it drops. (ie say you book for 799 and suddenly the price drops to 599. Usually they will honor the new price and refund you the difference.)

Think of what cruise line you want to use. Royal Carribean has a drinks package ( all you can drink sotdrink packages) which can save you money if you drink alot of it. But P & O allow you to take cartons of soft drink and poppers on board.

Some people say you should get an outside cabin as some people are sensitive to not seeing daylight in their room, but some people with young kids say it helps to get them off to sleep. If you do get an inside cabin switch the tv over to the view from the front of the ship and leave the tv on all night. That way when you wake up you can see straight away if its daylight or not.

Book early if you have kids as they only let a certain number of kids at certain ages on and it fills up fast.

Be careful about ticking yes to upgrades. It may not actually be an upgrade ie you can go from outside unobstructed view but midship to 2 floors up unobstructed but at the front or back, as long as its considered a more expensive cabin then p & O consider it an upgrade and once changed you cant go back to your original cabin.

Speaking of which midship and nice and low is considered to be the best for sea sickness.

If you can afford a suite go for it. Sooo nice and with only 3 of you you can fit into a mini suite on p & O.

Some people have issues with using credit cards for paying for their on board credit as p & O uses a holds system similar to car rental companies, so use cash or simply get a credit card purposely for the cruise

P & O have a fantastic facebook page. If you have any questions if you ask on there someone will tell you. Which islands are you considering heading too? I can help with suggestions for most of them.

[Dien W]

How was your cruise holiday? would you do it again?
Definitely. I have 2 more lined up already

Did you kids enjoy it? if so what were their ages? My children loved it and can't wait to go again. They ranged in age from middle school to toddler.

How did you cope with the tiny tiny tiny cabins?
Didn't require anything bigger, we were barely in them.

Who did you book through? the cruise line itself or a travel agent.
Travel agent.

[pascalls]

We went on the Carnival Spirit last October and that was our first cruise. We had a 9 year old & a 5 year old & we all loved it! The kids went to kids club a bit & enjoyed it. We would check the timetable & they only went if there was something on they wanted to do.

Our cabin was actually bigger than I was expecting (though not huge). We had enough cupboard space to unpack everything for the 4 of us & store the suitcases under the bed. We had a king size bed for DH & I, a sofa bed for DD and a bunk bed that came down from the roof for DS.

Our cabin was classed and priced as an inside cabin but it was actually on the outside with the lifeboats right outside the door. There were french doors that we could open & get some fresh air and our room was at the front of the lifeboat so we could see a bit of the ocean underneath the curve of the boat.

We booked directly through Carnival and got some onboard credit. I'd definitely do it again!

[Bek+3]

I absolutely hated cruising and you wouldn't get me on another cruise-liner again!!

It might have been better if I'd managed to get my head out of the toilet a little less often. OMG I was so sick. For the times I was able to compose myself, I found the entertainment cheesy, the activities and drinks expensive and the food really really average.

We won't do it again. We love taking the kids to a different resort every year though. Last year we did Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast and loved it.

[Peppery]

How was your cruise holiday? would you do it again?

- Most definitely. I booked our next cruise (DD & I) while we were on the cruise. We will be cruising again this October. I am counting down the days.

Did you kids enjoy it? if so what were their ages? (my ds is 6.5yrs)

- DD was 3 when we went on the cruise. She absolutely loved it. The staff make such a fuss of the kids. DD wanted to stay in kids club the entire time.

How did you cope with the tiny tiny tiny cabins?

- I found the size of the cabin comparable to motel rooms i have stayed in. We didn't really spend much time in the cabin though.

Who did you book through? the cruise line itself or a travel agent.

- We booked directly through P&O.

I am a single mum, normally i am the one doing all of the driving, meal preparation and keeping DD amused. I got to switch off and just relax.

This post has been edited by Peppery: 15/02/2013, 11:58 AM

[~Kee~In~Hawaii~]

I think I am well known around here for being cruising obsessed

Though I don't have kids, I have friends who have been on a cruise with their kids and they all loved it. The kids club kept the kids entertained during sea days and all the shore excursions they did were tailored to suit families.

I think cruising is fantastic because you unpack once and it's like your hotel room goes to all these different places with you in it, rather than having to re-pack and make the mad dash to the airport to get from place to place.

If you do drink, it pays to get the drinks packages. Also check what you are allowed to take on board with you so far as snacks and non-alcoholic drinks go as having some juice and soda with you in your cabin may cut down on costs.

I've done 5 cruises and I have always made it a point to have a sea sickness tablet every morning with breakfast. I have no idea if I get sea sick, I've never waited to get sick to find out. Prevention is better than a ruined holiday.

I purchase my cruises through a cruise wholesaler based in Texas who deals with Aussie customers all the time. So far the actual cruise line hasn't even been able to beat their prices each cruise so I will continue to book through them. They have some really great cabin credit offers as well.

So far I've cruise multiple times around the Hawaiian Islands, the Bahamas, I'll be cruising this year from Hawaii to Australia, I'm in the process of booking an Alaska cruise and after that it's a cruise to Mexico and Jamaica. I definitely think cruising is THE way to travel



This post has been edited by ~Kee~In~Hawaii~: 15/02/2013, 12:07 PM