A quick Backstory

If you are new here let me first say that we have two girls, 18 months apart…they are 12 and 10 now…life is much different these days but I still vividly remember having a newborn baby strapped to my chest and a toddler connected to my leg.  Let me say that if you are in this stage of life, bless you, ha!  I have written many posts about life with little ones and even captured much of our every day world when they were cute and squishy and throwing tantrums in the middle of target.  but life looks much different now and we have adapted our adventures from simply swinging at the park to big experiences.  Back when the girls turned 4 and 5 we decided to implement a rule that every other year we would have a birthday party and then the other year we would celebrate with an”experience”… this eventually spilled over to the Christmas season because as you can imagine they get to an age where they don’t really need or even want that many toys, and we aren’t too “into” electronics in our house so we transitioned to “adventure” gifts….this is where the cruising comes in to the equation….

Vacationing with Your Kids…the Tween Thing

I’ll spare you the long drawn out story but as my girls have gotten older I crave that continued connection with them…as the teenage angst and tween sass starts to rear its head I am always on the hunt for ways wrap my arms around my little family of four and hold on tight and these adventures have done just that…they have kept us close and given us the chance to “see” the world without breaking the bank. I am so passionate about vacationing with your kids that I even wrote an entire e-book on capturing your moments while doing it.  We have done it all y’all, we have skied with them, cruised with them, done Disney, road tripped and everything in between and I get asked soooooo many questions about it….so I have decided to start a blog series to try to share any tips or tricks I have for vacationing with your kids.  We are going to start with cruising because after SEVEN cruises as a family of 4 over the last 3 years you can imagine I have a lot to say.  one note before I dig in….MY children have never been to the kids club on any of these ships so I can not speak to the activities or childcare on the boat.  This is not because I don’t trust it but because when we decide to go on vacation together we are doing it to BE TOGETHER, that means the four of us, 24-7 in a teeny tiny room nonstop.  I know this sounds terrifying but let me be the first to tell you Vacation Mom is a lot different than Everyday mom….When you don’t have to worry about what to cook, cleaning the kitchen or doing laundry your ability to relax and truly enjoy each other is a much different experience. I think this is why we keep going on cruises ha because Vacation Mom and I are becoming best friends ha!

Top five tips for cruising with your kids

  1. Research The Boat: All cruise lines expect to have families on board and all have activities and designated spaces created with kids in mind but knowing which boat works best for YOUR family takes research from you!  90% of the time we have booked our cruised based on the boat, not the itinerary!  I truly love our time on the boat as much as our time in the ports and believe the cruise ship choice plays a key role in our family’s experience.  Here is my rundown of the cruise ships we have experienced, Please note we have been brand loyal thus far in our cruising because cruise line’s (much like casinos) create a marketing plan that allows you to build up a “status” based on how often you cruise with them.  (NOTE: I will share my thoughts on why we have chosen carnival in a later post and link it here when its done.  but if you are a Royal Caribbean cruiser don’t worry I hope to soon have a chance to give y’all a rundown of one of your ships as well…the Oasis of the seas may be coming to Galveston sooner than later)
    – Carnival Conquest– this was my first cruise ship to ever experience, it was many many years ago BEFORE I had children and I have not chosen this ship again since cruising with my family.  It was nice but there are newer and better options now when cruising with kids.
    – Carnival freedom – The Carnival Freedom is a nice boat and we did a 5 day cruise on it when we first started cruising again.  As with the Conquest this would not be my first choice if I were cruising with my kids, this ship is better suited for an adults only cruise as it doesn’t have waterworks or the twirly slides the Carnival Magic, Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze or Horizon have.  EXTRA PRO TIP:  this is one of the smaller ships in Carnival’s fleet so if you are not a fan of lots of people this is a great option for you!  the only real thing this boat has for kids is the pool so if you are traveling without kids be sure to use the Serenity Adults only area of the boat
    – Carnival Magic: This is when Carnival started to build ships with Families in mind!  This was the first ship we took our girls on and it was magical!  This ship has Carnival Waterworks which is an onboard waterpark complete with splash pad and a kiddie area for really small children.  Carnival set this up with parents in mind because is it on the main deck and there is plenty of seating with shade or seating on the deck not in shade if you want to get some sun.  We have been on the magic three times with our children as well as the sister ship (the Carnival Breeze which is almost identical) and they haven’t gotten tired of it yet.  Our first trip on the Carnival Magic was amazing because they had the best magic show we have ever seen!  Unfortunately it wasn’t a part of the entertainment schedule after that but don’t worry Carnival has some pretty great shows in their main theatre.  We recently flew to the port of Miami to hop on the Magic again!  This ship also has the Sky Crouse aka ropes course on the top deck of the ship above the ocean! more about this next!
    – Carnival Breeze:  So far this is our favorite ship!  We have been on the Breeze 4 times out of the Port of Galveston and while it is the sister ship to the Carnival Magic (which means its almost identical) there are a few extra’s on the Breeze that make us love it so much more.  First of all it too has the Sky course and waterworks as well as two TWIRLY waterslides!  But the breeze also has a non water activity called the Thrill Theatre that is a 3d movie theatre onboard!  The tickets do cost extra so be sure to buy the package and then let your kids go as often as they want.  We have seen several of the short movies multiple times on each cruise and never get tired of them! There is also a putt putt golf course, basketball court (but its usually older boys) and several ping pong tables on the main lido deck that are fun to take advantage of.  Of the ships we have been on the Breeze is my number pick for cruising with kids because its sort of an in-between-Golidlocks- ship….it’s not to big but not too small! The crowds aren’t excessive and the boat itself is pretty large so you don’t really notice the amount of people on the ship however….
    – Carnival Vista– The Carnival Vista just recently came to the port of galveston and you can bet we will be booking it as our next ship before it leaves!  IT is jam packed with even more extra activities for kids including an even better and bigger Waterworks and water slides, the Sky course and the newest sky ride plus it even has an IMAX theatre!  We watched the process of building this one on several of our cruises in 2017 and were so happy to finally see it come to our home state!
  2. Book your excursions Ahead of time and YES bring your tennis shoes
    Duh, this may seem like a no brainer but it has to be a tip because I am shocked at how many people don’t do it.  Listen, I can and will go through all of the ports we have been to and which ones I book a carnival adventure with and which ones I don’t but for now Ill start with simply this….book your excursions before you get on the boat.  We recently did a Terra cross excursion and we needed to bring bandannas for our faces, goggles and tennis shoes.  Had we not booked beforehand we wouldn’t have brought those things with us, sure you can buy them in port but who wants to buy a $10 bandana that hasn’t been washed and then put it over their faces?!  My bigger point is booking ahead of time will allow you to be fully prepared and in my book being fully prepared means being comfortable!  Also the less expensive excursions and the more thrilling ones tend to sell out so booking ahead ensures you get what you want.  Tons more tips for the tennis shoes part…You DO need closed toed shoes for activities in port as well as on the boat so bring them!  the sky course requires tennis shoes and shirts with sleeves (like no tank tops) so be sure you have the correct attire on before your family goes and stands in line because let me tell you standing in line and then getting to the front to be told you aren’t dressed appropriately is a sure fire way to invite a meltdown, I’ve seen it happen so many times and my girls are always thankful that I packed the right clothes.  Speaking of the sky course EXTRA PRO TIP: DO THE SKY COURSE as soon as you board to boat or in port.  The ability to keep this safe is dependent on the wind and too often than not while the ship is moving its super windy and the sky course is closed, so we always wear our tennis shoes onboard and then go directly to the course (well daddy cheeks goes to grab a few umbrella drinks) and i take the girls to the sky course.  most people don’t think to wear their tennis shoes and a sleeved shirt onboard so the line is typically really short.
  3.  A room with a view and your dinner time immediately!
    We are huge advocates of booking the balcony room for several reasons. Number 1 the higher to room the less you feel the movement of the ship, so if you are fearful of getting seasick go higher up.  PRO TIP: we typically book deck 11 or 12 because the lido deck is where all of the action is as well as all of the food, this allows us to be able to easily access the main deck (Lido deck aka deck 10) and not have to constantly wait for an elevator.  We also love the balcony room for late night star gazing and early morning coffee!  what I mean is late at night when our girls are ready for bed and we aren’t, we simply order some drinks take them to the room and sit out on the balcony and chat.  As for the morning…I am an early riser so I typically order room service coffee and fruit and sit out on my balcony and enjoy my coffee while my family sleeps in.  Trust me it’s worth the extra money to get the balcony room especially if you are traveling with kids.
    Details on how we set up our room IN THESE VIDEOS HERE PART ONE  PART TWO
    Now lets talk dinner times….Yall that early dining books lightening fast!  but if you are like us you want to eat early because just like when they are babies tweens get hangry and for the record so do daddy’s who have had one too many pina coladas ha so grab that early dining right away!  plus this gives you a chance to come to your room and shower around 5 which is a good “wake me up” and gives everyone a second wind for the day!
  4. Which Extras do we do?
    I get asked a lot of questions about what “extra” things we do on the boat, here is a quick rundown of the Extras that we have found useful or not
    – Cheers Package:  This is the adult beverage package that Carnival offers.  We do not do this and that is not because it isn’t a good deal its because for us and the amount or way that we drink on a cruise ship it just doesn’t work.  For example, we do not drink every single day on the cruise ship because , duh we have our kids with us and because we are not “conditioned” like we used to be back in our twenties hahaha!  So if i spend an afternoon cheers’ing it up you can bet your pretty little hungover face I won’t be drinking the next day!  Not mention we ALWAYS GET OFF OF THE SHIP at ports and there are some excursions that we choose to do that take all day plus your body just hurts after (like the good hurt y’all don’t freak out) but I just know that if i have one glass of champagne after a day of hiking a waterfall then I will certainly be asleep by 7! and who wants to go to sleep at 7 on a cruise ship!?  This is just what works for our family it might not be what works for yours.
    – FASTER TO THE FUN: little faster to the fun is truly a port-centric need.  FTTF is an additional fee that carnival offers to 10% of the cruise which includes Diamond and Platinum guests).  It allows you to get your luggage delivered to your room earlier than others, and is essentially a Fast Pass during embarkation, debarkation and for ports that require a tender.  We have cruised with it and without and I have learned there are certain times of the year (peak cruise times like Spring Break) that it is defining useful and certain ports that is is really not.  for example it was not necessary for the port of Miami!  Y’all those Floridians and the crew of the Magic had their stuff together and we had the quickest embarkation and debarkation we have ever had and did NOT have FFTF.
    – the Carnival Hub ap- GET IT!  it’s $5 per phone and is better than walkie talkies!  Our girls do not have cell phones so we set up them on old cell phones and added the ap.  This is your best source of onboard cruise ship communication with each other as well as the best way to see what is going on, what is coming up and what you need to know as far as activities go.  We favorite activities and then get reminders before they are about to start.  the best part is its basically like texting with anybody in your onboard network but not with the rest of the ship!  Like your kids can only connect with you unless you change the settings!
    – The Thrill Theatre – i already addressed this but we do buy this package (it’s not too expensive under $40 per person) and love the short 20 minute 3d movies

    copyright chubby cheek photography

  5. Take something special to give away
    we take something special (magnets, shot glasses, bottle openers, etc) that are specific to Houston.  remember not everyone on board in the crew is from the port, in fact most of them are not even from the United States, the room stewards, your dinner waiters and most of the Fun squad are from all over and if you are like us you will naturally gravitate toward certain crew members and vice versa.  We love leaving a little piece of us with special employees that go out of their way to make our cruising experience so great, so be sure to take little extras for those crew members you love!Which also leads me to one last thing, ultimately your vacation is YOUR VACATION!  it is what you make of it!  We challenge each member of our family to do or try something new with each cruise we take.  We have done everything from zip lining over the belizian rain forest to scaling a waterfall in Jamaica and of course those are memories we won’t ever forget but we also join in on the fun onboard such as trying new food at each port of call (in the dining room) to lip syncing on stage in an 80’s music trivia battle!  SO my biggest tip is that…step out of your comfort zone and try new things together as a family!Next UP…Cruise Packing list….Excursions, Favorite Ports and PRICE!have something you want me to address leave a comment here and ill be sure to answer it