Re: motion sickness. I am prone to it as is DD. Never a problem on a cruise. In Alaska we experienced rough waters and DD needed sea bands but the toughness didn’t last long and the bands helped immediately.
As far as norovirus goes wash your hands a lot and avoid the buffet. I think it’s an overblown concern and can happen anywhere.
However you sound like you don’t actually want to cruise so find what you want to do! We prefer cruises over all inclusives by a lot but we like just exploring places even more. You will find what truly appeals to you.
Cruising is definitely not for everyone. Our kids are 14 and 16 and being stuck in one hotel room is a nightmare. However, Disney cruise line’s split bathrooms are a game changer if you want one room. We were very comfortable on our last cruise. We had a port heavy itinerary too so we were out all the time. I like all inclusives and many have water parks which should be fun for that age group.
We've cruised as a family a few times. For tweens and teens, it can be an awesome fit.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never gotten norovirus. Royal Carribean larger and newer ships are great for the age your kids are. If you're doing 2 rooms, I would put them in an interior room across from your balcony room rather than adjoining.
We are boarding a cruise tomorrow! First for my family, second for me. I’m nervous about DD being prone to motion sickness. My husband is paranoid about norovirus. I’m looking forward to relaxing without any stressful itineraries because DS and I are booked on only one excursion of the 3 ports we visit. I would’ve done a 3 or 4 night cruise as their first one just to see if they liked it. Since my husband was behind this trip, it’s 7 nights and I hope we come out relaxed and healthy. I also hope they enjoy it so I can book another one down the line because I’m looking forward to narrowing my vacation searches down to just looking for cruises at X ports on Y dates.
Also knowing my family, I booked a suite to have the bigger space so we don’t feel crammed. This also includes a daily happy hour so we didn’t buy the drink packages. I wasn’t planning to drink enough to get my money’s worth since I still have to be on mom duty so a happy hour will be plenty for me.
What about an all-inclusive resort? Lots of good options for that age, and your not on a boat! Lol
I'm not opposed to this, either! I get motion sick which is a big reason that cruises don't appeal to me, but people swear you don't feel the motion on bigger boats. Some of these posts about swaying long after you get off make me nervous though.
We did an all inclusive in Punta Cana maybe 5 years ago and we all loved it. I would welcome suggestions if you have them! We are not really a sit on the beach all day kind of family, so would want a resort with a lot of activities.
Flights are cheaper and more available to Florida though, which is why I was thinking maybe a cruise this time to keep the cost down.
We were on a very large boat to Alaska a few weeks ago. My husband got so sea sick that he paid a $1,000 fine to get off after a few days and then flew home. No amount of meds helped. I could definitely feel it moving a lot, but thankfully the kids and I did not get sick.
I get motion sickness easily. Car sick even if I’m driving, on windy roads, carousels, swings, even the car wash that moves your car itself.
We did a 3 day to test it and with the ear patch, I was fine. I made sure to book the lowest, most middle cabin with a balcony I could. The only time I felt it, was waiting in an interior lobby for a restaurant. But even then it didn’t bother me, I was just aware of the movement.
But, by day 3, my reading vision was blurry, which was scary until I realized the ear patch was doing it!
I really want to go on one of RC’s big ships and go to their private island for the water park, but it’ll have to wait a couple more years.
We’re taking our 11/13 year olds to Dreams Natura in a couple of weeks. They have water slides and a zip line thing, but the beach is apparently gross and has crocodiles. But based on our $$$$ disaster of a Hawaiian trip last year, they’ll be perfectly happy there. I used CC points to book it, so it’s way cheaper than a cruise would have been.
I will also say that since I get severe motion sickness I was super anxious about going on the cruise (because if you’ve gotten seasick it stains your memory forever) so my doc also gave me a script for Valium with the patch. It helped both with the motion sickness and the anxiety (but it didn’t wipe it out completely for me).
I really want to go on one of RC’s big ships and go to their private island for the water park, but it’ll have to wait a couple more years.
Just a FYI the WaterPark costs extra and the price gets more expensive as you get closer to sailing. I also thought it was a rip off. We booked ASAP for $75pp and no one got their money’s worth.
I really want to go on one of RC’s big ships and go to their private island for the water park, but it’ll have to wait a couple more years.
Just a FYI the WaterPark costs extra and the price gets more expensive as you get closer to sailing. I also thought it was a rip off. We booked ASAP for $75pp and no one got their money’s worth.
😢 I hadn’t looked into it that in depth, so that’s a bummer. But it’s good information, thank you!
I really want to go on one of RC’s big ships and go to their private island for the water park, but it’ll have to wait a couple more years.
Just a FYI the WaterPark costs extra and the price gets more expensive as you get closer to sailing. I also thought it was a rip off. We booked ASAP for $75pp and no one got their money’s worth.
My friend booked one of those floating private cabanas and we were all soooo disappointed. They really hyped it up to be this spectacular thing with top notch food and service. It was not.