Cruise with kids advice (royal carribbean)?

[susiebw]

I haven't been on a cruise since before we had kids, but we recently booked one for later this year with a few other families (7 adults and 8 kids total).  The kids range in age from 8-14.  My two are 10 and 13.  We'll be on RC Symphony OTS, stopping in Canaveral FL, CocoCay, and Nassau.  My family of 4 booked 2 interior balcony rooms (requested adjoining, but we'll see what we get).  Oh, and we're all pulling our kids from school for this, so it's not during a school break or other "peak" time.

I'm looking for general advice, I guess, but also have a few specific Qs.

We booked drink packages for DH and I already.  Should I do beverage packages for the kids?  I anticipate that they will spend a good deal of time away from us, between kids club, or just off doing their thing during sea days, so I wasn't sure if it was necessary/worth it, or if I could just get them drinks with my package, or if the freely available drinks were sufficient.  I may see what others in our group are doing about their kids here, but experiences would be appreciated.

If I book a cabana or daybed on CocoCay, can the whole group use it or are they strict about the 8-10 people limit?  I doubt we'd all be there at once, but I was thinking it would be nice to have a "home base" on the island for the day for all of us.  

Also on CocoCay, I've read that the water park can be super crowded and you spend more time in lines than riding slides, so for the $94/person price tag, it's often not worth it.  Are any of the bog extras there really worth it (zipline, water park, hot air balloon)?

What to do in Nassau?

My friend and I were saying the other day that Atlantis has always been somewhere we've wanted to go, and we're thinking about doing the day pass excursion through the cruiseline - is that the best way?  Is a daypass there not worth it because of crowds or anything?  Other things we should know?

Thanks everyone!

[Tacocat]

We were just on a RC (Harmony) cruise in February with our 11 yr old. My H and I got the drink package but did not get anything for our daughter. We’d just order her a soda or whatever she wanted when we got a drink since it was all included. We were never charged separately for any of her beverages. I would not spend the money to get them separate drink packages.

[icedcoffee]

May 6, 2024 12:27:23 GMT -5 susiebw said:

I haven't been on a cruise since before we had kids, but we recently booked one for later this year with a few other families (7 adults and 8 kids total).  The kids range in age from 8-14.  My two are 10 and 13.  We'll be on RC Symphony OTS, stopping in Canaveral FL, CocoCay, and Nassau.  My family of 4 booked 2 interior balcony rooms (requested adjoining, but we'll see what we get).  Oh, and we're all pulling our kids from school for this, so it's not during a school break or other "peak" time.

I'm looking for general advice, I guess, but also have a few specific Qs.

We booked drink packages for DH and I already.  Should I do beverage packages for the kids?  I anticipate that they will spend a good deal of time away from us, between kids club, or just off doing their thing during sea days, so I wasn't sure if it was necessary/worth it, or if I could just get them drinks with my package, or if the freely available drinks were sufficient.  I may see what others in our group are doing about their kids here, but experiences would be appreciated.  Lemonade, iced teas and flavored waters are always available free in the windjammer.  If you think they will want multiple sodas a day then a beverage package, might be worth it.  Otherwise, I'd just buy the random soda if they want it.  Also--how much do you and DH drink (not judging, asking) because often unless you are a really  heavy drinker it's actually cheaper to pay as you go.

If I book a cabana or daybed on CocoCay, can the whole group use it or are they strict about the 8-10 people limit?  I doubt we'd all be there at once, but I was thinking it would be nice to have a "home base" on the island for the day for all of us.  Not sure how strict they are, but lounge chairs with umbrellas are free and plentiful.  Just something to keep in mind.

Also on CocoCay, I've read that the water park can be super crowded and you spend more time in lines than riding slides, so for the $94/person price tag, it's often not worth it.  Are any of the bog extras there really worth it (zipline, water park, hot air balloon)?  I've heard the lines can be long and it's not worth the price tag.  Zipline looks fun, but we've not done it.  Out kids are happy playing in the free ocean and pools.

What to do in Nassau?

My friend and I were saying the other day that Atlantis has always been somewhere we've wanted to go, and we're thinking about doing the day pass excursion through the cruiseline - is that the best way?  Is a daypass there not worth it because of crowds or anything?  Other things we should know?  Nassau is my least favorite.  We did the  Grand Hyatt Baha Mar excursion through the cruiseline.  The kids loved it, but it was very pricey.

Thanks everyone!

See above in red.  We cruise RCCL with kids so happy to help with more questions.

[MDmomof2]

DH and I just did that RC cruise on Allure in February and are taking our kids (16 and 13) on it in July. We only got the soda package for ourselves as we aren't big drinkers but will get soda packages for all of us. That's the only way to get the cup you can use with the Freestyle machines and I know our kids will use it a lot. We did the adults only part when it was just DH and I so I can't speak to the rest of the stuff on Coco Cay. We plan to do a day bed when we go with the kids, but it's just us.

In Nassau DH and I walked around to several sites (Queen's Staircase, Pirate Museum) and went to a rum distillery. We don't plan to do that with the kids - directions were a little hard as we didn't want to turn on cell service so we just downloaded a few maps. Also, cars drive on the opposite side of the street, but not regularly! And there were few sidewalks. We plan to do an excursion with the kids, just not sure what type.

[dcrunnergirl52]

I don't have any advice but I'm so glad that I read this post b/c I had no idea that you had to pay extra for the waterpark on CocoCay. My kids would definiely want to go but I would be so irritated to pay $94pp for it.

[abs]

We get the refreshment package for all of us. DD loves the freedom of going up to the bars and ordering whatever mocktail she wants. Like it’s seriously her favorite part of cruising and the bartenders are always so nice to her! She ends up drinking 2-3 virgin mango daiquiris a day plus a coffee drink and waters so it’s worth it. The refreshment package is also worth it for me. I can’t stand the free coffee so I use it for water/americanos/virgin frozen drinks. Then I just get a glass of wine with dinner ala carte. You’d have to drink 5-6 alcoholic drinks a day to make the drink package worth it. The refreshment package is a lot more reasonable.

Sharing the drink package is very much so discouraged. If you are caught they can take it away from you. Saw this happen on our February cruise.

[UMaineTeach]

I did a little lying and would tell the bar tender that some of the drinks for my kid were for my husband, when they asked. We didn’t dedicate ourselves to this method. Clearly , if the kid is standing next to you or they are alone it doesn’t work.

In addition to the free drinks in the buffet, you will get 2 soda cups for the machines with your adult packages. Toss those to the kids, and suddenly they have the soda package (only at machines, not bars). The bar also charges for bottled water. I would agree that the non-alcohol package would be good for that age, but I wouldn’t get them just the soda package. We have never been charged for soda for the kid in the main dining room.

We had 6 people rotating in a casita (on ship cabana) and no one cared. Even if they did, people could have dropped their stuff in there and sat in a chair nearby. It was worth it on the port day that we got it. I’m not sure it would have been worth it at 5x the price for a sea day.

We got a beach bed on coco cay once, it was great while we were at the beach, but halfway through the day we went to the pool and the bed went unused for the remainder of the time. This last time we just found chairs at the beach. They don’t have signs on them about leaving your stuff there, but not occupying the chair like on the ship.

I have not done excursions on coco cay, but I do know that the balloon seems to get canceled a lot. I think unless there is something people really want to ride in the water park, there is enough free stuff to do. Also, the splash pad is not in the water park. So, beach, pool, and splash pad are all free.

I’ve done a couple excursions in Nassau. None that thrilling that I would do again.

[maudefindlay]

We didn't do a drink package as we are mostly water drinkers. The lemonade was treat enough to the kids, plus the free soft serve ice cream machines on the pool deck were really what my kids loved. They each probably had 4 a day, so that was plenty sugar. DH and I ordered a couple alcoholic drinks, but that was it.

[NewGirlNic]

I've gotten DS the drink package before and I thought it was worth it. If I remember correctly, RC has the CocaCola freedom self serve stations. (it's been about 5-6 years since we cruised RC). DS loved that, because he could grab whatever soda he wanted. He also loved getting virgin frozen drinks, smoothies and milkshakes. We've also done cruises when I didn't get him the package, and it was fine too. Like others said, there are stations with free tea, lemonade, juices etc. Also, H and I always get the drink package and I would often go to the bar to get myself a drink and ask for a soda for DS and they never charged me... even though he didn't have the package and I would specifically say it was for him. 
ETA- you can bring on a 12 pk of cans of soda per person (I think... I've never done this, but always see people do it... check the specifics for Royal)

[ksun]

We did a Disney cruise that stopped in Nassau in March. We did the pirate museum, which DH and DD and I all liked, did a little shopping and spent a couple hours at the local brewery. The cost of Atlantis was ridiciulous. We have a cruise on Princess there next spring (also going to DR and Haiti) and I promised DD (she'll be 16 then) we can swim with the pigs. Other than that we'll probably just head back to the brewery, do a little shopping and head to the ship early.