**LIVE** From the May 26, 2007 FIRST DCL Cruise in the MED! (5/26/07)

[Jeisur]

Did anyone on the 1st Med Cruise travel with young kids/a stroller? On the excursions it always warns that there will be portions of the tour when the stroller must be folded up & a small stroller is recommended. Does that just refer to folding up the stroller while on the bus, or do you actually have lug around your stroller for portions of the day? If so, for how long? I'm trying to decide between 2 strollers to bring for my daughter...I'd prefer the bigger one that reclines & has a tray for her to eat snacks from but I don't want to carry it (or more accurately, have DH carry it) around all day!

Thanks for your help!

Depends on the excursion that you do. Our son turned 2 on the ship and we have a maclaren stroller that reclines slightly. The best purchase EVER! The roads are old, keep that in mind, sidewalks are hard to maneuver, bumpy bumpy bumpy. A lot of steps. Larger strollers would be hard to manage, you would be BEAT by the end of most excursions. Cheep umbrella strollers are not an option unless you want your kid to feel like they are in a rock tumbler all day! I was worried that poor Breighton's brain would explode with all the bumpies.

Check out our blog for what we did and stroller suggestions.... it was pretty easy on busses because they let you put it underneath (which means keeping it "stuff free"). Sometimes we carried him or let him walk and drug the stroller behind us. Our stroller has a shoulder strap to carry it, which was REALLY nice! But not too functional when going up steep steps.

If your child is prone to pull or wonder I highly suggest (eventhought I don't like them) one of those leash type harnesses for the kiddo. Traffic is mighty dangerous.

I also recommend those little "snack traps" you can get at Toys R' Us. Easy way to snack and not make a mess. We took two sippy cups since the are really isn't a clean place to wash them on excursions. And bring your own snacks for the kiddo or get cereal and fruit at the buffet in the morning. We stocked our room fridge with milk daily so avoid running up to get milk at 5am.

Anything else you need to know, just ask. We are very experienced in travel with our son now!

-Laurie

http://breighton.qseg.org

 

[dannleahsmom]

Did anyone on the 1st Med Cruise travel with young kids/a stroller? On the excursions it always warns that there will be portions of the tour when the stroller must be folded up & a small stroller is recommended. Does that just refer to folding up the stroller while on the bus, or do you actually have lug around your stroller for portions of the day? If so, for how long? I'm trying to decide between 2 strollers to bring for my daughter...I'd prefer the bigger one that reclines & has a tray for her to eat snacks from but I don't want to carry it (or more accurately, have DH carry it) around all day!

Thanks for your help!

I won't be sailing until June 27 but I have traveled in Europe before and I would recommend leaving the stroller behind and using a backpack-style carrier if you can still carry your daughter that way. Remember:
a.) the cobblestone streets are killer
b.) most sidewalks just end -- they are not wheelchair/stroller accessible so you have to muscle the curbs, and
c.) the summer crowding just makes using a stroller difficult.
Out of frustration what I ended up doing was I went into a shop and purchased a backpack carrier and it was just so much easier. I didn't have to worry about someone tripping over the stroller and I was able to walk through the streets with ease. Would have been cheaper if I had just brought one from home but it all worked out in the end.

 

[colleenlg]

Depends on the excursion that you do. Our son turned 2 on the ship and we have a maclaren stroller that reclines slightly. The best purchase EVER! The roads are old, keep that in mind, sidewalks are hard to maneuver, bumpy bumpy bumpy. A lot of steps. Larger strollers would be hard to manage, you would be BEAT by the end of most excursions. Cheep umbrella strollers are not an option unless you want your kid to feel like they are in a rock tumbler all day! I was worried that poor Breighton's brain would explode with all the bumpies.

Check out our blog for what we did and stroller suggestions.... it was pretty easy on busses because they let you put it underneath (which means keeping it "stuff free"). Sometimes we carried him or let him walk and drug the stroller behind us. Our stroller has a shoulder strap to carry it, which was REALLY nice! But not too functional when going up steep steps.

If your child is prone to pull or wonder I highly suggest (eventhought I don't like them) one of those leash type harnesses for the kiddo. Traffic is mighty dangerous.

I also recommend those little "snack traps" you can get at Toys R' Us. Easy way to snack and not make a mess. We took two sippy cups since the are really isn't a clean place to wash them on excursions. And bring your own snacks for the kiddo or get cereal and fruit at the buffet in the morning. We stocked our room fridge with milk daily so avoid running up to get milk at 5am.

Anything else you need to know, just ask. We are very experienced in travel with our son now!

-Laurie

http://breighton.qseg.org

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading your blog actually - great to get the perspective of parents of a 2-y-o like us! Are there any flat places to walk - like near the piers in any of the ports? Usually the only way we can get DD to nap on trips is if we get in a car & drive or keep wheeling her around in her stroller. Was trying to decide between our 2 strollers & your comments convinced me to go with the smaller, easier to carry one for sure!

I will bring a stroller plus one of those harnesses. (I recently bought one for the trip & am trying to get DD used to the idea - she seems to like having a little freedom & not having to hold hands all the time.)

I read on your blog that your DS got sick to his tummy...do you think that was from swimming in the Mickey pool. I've heard some bad stories...Also - is your son potty trained? Our DD isn't but she's never gone poopy in the pool! Did you check out the sprinkler area or whatever for the non-potty-trained kiddos?

I won't be sailing until June 27 but I have traveled in Europe before and I would recommend leaving the stroller behind and using a backpack-style carrier if you can still carry your daughter that way. Remember:
a.) the cobblestone streets are killer
b.) most sidewalks just end -- they are not wheelchair/stroller accessible so you have to muscle the curbs, and
c.) the summer crowding just makes using a stroller difficult.
Out of frustration what I ended up doing was I went into a shop and purchased a backpack carrier and it was just so much easier. I didn't have to worry about someone tripping over the stroller and I was able to walk through the streets with ease. Would have been cheaper if I had just brought one from home but it all worked out in the end.

Thanks for the suggestions! I think our DD is too big for those backpack carriers at age 2, non? Does your DC just sleep in the backpack then? Thanks again!

-Colleen

 

[Jeisur]

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading your blog actually - great to get the perspective of parents of a 2-y-o like us! Are there any flat places to walk - like near the piers in any of the ports? Usually the only way we can get DD to nap on trips is if we get in a car & drive or keep wheeling her around in her stroller. Was trying to decide between our 2 strollers & your comments convinced me to go with the smaller, easier to carry one for sure!

I will bring a stroller plus one of those harnesses. (I recently bought one for the trip & am trying to get DD used to the idea - she seems to like having a little freedom & not having to hold hands all the time.)

I read on your blog that your DS got sick to his tummy...do you think that was from swimming in the Mickey pool. I've heard some bad stories...Also - is your son potty trained? Our DD isn't but she's never gone poopy in the pool! Did you check out the sprinkler area or whatever for the non-potty-trained kiddos?

Our son is nearly potty-trained. He gives warning if it is a #2. #1 he warns also but refuses to go on the toilet most of the time. Travel threw him off greatly. We left him in diapers for the convenience of not having to rush to a potty every 20 minutes!

We tried out the splash area at first and he was like "WHAT??? I want the big kid pool!" (in less words of course). He just got done with 7 weeks of swimming lessons and wanted to be in the big water. We kept him in those "lined" swim trunks just to be safe. They don't allow swim diapers in the main mickey pool, just the one ear (splash area). We were never asked if he was fully potty-trained...I WAS asked if he was wearing a swim diaper, which technically he wasn't. He enjoyed the Mickey pool a LOT... Goofy pool was too busy and too deep for me to watch him safely. Once he was on the antibiotics from the "ick" I didn't let him swim anymore.

Didn't get a lot of time in the pool anyway, weather was a bit to frigid to have a toddler in it.

As for his "illness" I think it was a combination of teething and getting soaking wet from rain on a cold day in La Spezia. He STILL has a cough but is all better otherwise.

Our view on strollers in each port:
Barcelona( was great--lots of cute parks near the tourist bus route)
Palermo (not many steps but cobble roads...but not bad)
Naples (IMHO-stay on the ship...gross and dirty)
Olbia (extremely stroller friendly, a few steps but not bad, cute downtown area)
Civitevechia (stroller friendly once you are off the shuttle-bus, otherwise about 1.5 mile walk to town pushing a stroller)
La Spezia (didn't spend much time in port proper we went to Larechi and it was pretty stroller friendly except for the rain, our excursion on the other hand was NOT friendly for strollers because we went up to the castle)
Marseilles (was great for strollers)
Villefranche (Eze was rough just a LOT of steps(wide and long thought) that took a LOT of muscle to get up, the port itself was very rough for strollers...very tight roads and no curb-cuts)

Hope that helps!

 

[earpiemom]

Colleenlg,
Which Med sailing are you on? We also have a 2 year old and are on the 6-16 sailing.

 

[colleenlg]

Earpiemom-

We're on the 7-18 cruise. Too bad we won't be together!

-Colleen

 

[colleenlg]

Our son is nearly potty-trained. He gives warning if it is a #2. #1 he warns also but refuses to go on the toilet most of the time. Travel threw him off greatly. We left him in diapers for the convenience of not having to rush to a potty every 20 minutes!

We tried out the splash area at first and he was like "WHAT??? I want the big kid pool!" (in less words of course). He just got done with 7 weeks of swimming lessons and wanted to be in the big water. We kept him in those "lined" swim trunks just to be safe. They don't allow swim diapers in the main mickey pool, just the one ear (splash area). We were never asked if he was fully potty-trained...I WAS asked if he was wearing a swim diaper, which technically he wasn't. He enjoyed the Mickey pool a LOT... Goofy pool was too busy and too deep for me to watch him safely. Once he was on the antibiotics from the "ick" I didn't let him swim anymore.

Didn't get a lot of time in the pool anyway, weather was a bit to frigid to have a toddler in it.

As for his "illness" I think it was a combination of teething and getting soaking wet from rain on a cold day in La Spezia. He STILL has a cough but is all better otherwise.

Our view on strollers in each port:
Barcelona( was great--lots of cute parks near the tourist bus route)
Palermo (not many steps but cobble roads...but not bad)
Naples (IMHO-stay on the ship...gross and dirty)
Olbia (extremely stroller friendly, a few steps but not bad, cute downtown area)
Civitevechia (stroller friendly once you are off the shuttle-bus, otherwise about 1.5 mile walk to town pushing a stroller)
La Spezia (didn't spend much time in port proper we went to Larechi and it was pretty stroller friendly except for the rain, our excursion on the other hand was NOT friendly for strollers because we went up to the castle)
Marseilles (was great for strollers)
Villefranche (Eze was rough just a LOT of steps(wide and long thought) that took a LOT of muscle to get up, the port itself was very rough for strollers...very tight roads and no curb-cuts)

Hope that helps!

Thanks so much for the input! I'm going to print your stroller advice re: each port to take with us!

 

[seema]

Ok, I’ve got more time now for more of a report.


We got to the port early, but not early enough to see Joey Fatone brought onboard. Another DISer saw him, but had no clue who it was so I asked someone from DCL if it was Joey and they said “you guessed”. About 10:00 am they let us in the building. Security went pretty quick. They checked our ID at the door against the manifest, then we went through screening and on to check in. If you did your documents online, you could proceed to the check in. They made Castaway Club people go to the Castaway Club line. No choice. When we got in there was no line, but also there was no one at first time cruiser check in. The castmembers were very nice, but obviously still learning. I did have to tell ours that we both got lanyards and pins and she needed to keep my credit card authorization. When we checked in, we were told that all aboard was at 5:00 pm. This was different than any of the documents we had gotten or things we had heard. We could go back off the ship (via the aft gangway), but we needed to be aboard for the safety drill.

.

What time did you board the ship? The cruise documents state that one can get on at 1 PM. Once you got on, when could you go to your cabin? You could go off the ship after checking in and boarding; could you disembark after the safety drill - I understand that the ship departs at 10 PM?

 

[winotracy]

What time did you board the ship? The cruise documents state that one can get on at 1 PM. Once you got on, when could you go to your cabin? You could go off the ship after checking in and boarding; could you disembark after the safety drill - I understand that the ship departs at 10 PM?

We boarded around noon. We could not go to our room until 1:30 pm. We could get back off after checking in and boarding. We were told at check in that all aboard was at 5:00 pm, which was different than what we had been told before. I don't know about disembarking after the safety drill as that was after the time we were told was all aboard. I know there were a lot of people who didn't make it to the safety drill though.

 

[seaulater]

That being said though, I don't know if we would have gone alone if it was just Bill and I. We fight too much when we aren't sure of what we are doing. With others, we don't

Guess we won't be seeing the two of you on The Amazing Race anytime soon then huh?

Thanks to everyone for keeping us all in the loop. Wish we could have stayed and done the 11 night. Why does work always get in the way?

But, before you know it we will all be sailing together again!

 

[AskAGeek]

Guess we won't be seeing the two of you on The Amazing Race anytime soon then huh?

At times it seemed like the amazing race. We just had more time to enjoy the scenery.

 

[Hygiene99]

AskAGeek
Jim U. asked if I was a clown!

Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Near Madison, WI
Posts: 13

What is the anwser?


Still tired here today!

But, one bottle of wine from Chateanuef _Du _ Pape is Gone!
Was a fun trip!!!

 

[AskAGeek]

AskAGeek
Jim U. asked if I was a clown!

Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Near Madison, WI
Posts: 13

What is the anwser?

Still tired here today!

But, one bottle of wine from Chateanuef _Du _ Pape is Gone!
Was a fun trip!!!

You don't know? I'm thinking about a career change... 'nuf said. BTW, where can I get some big shoes?

I got a nap two days in a row!

T already has laundry done, cruise stuff sorted and packed away (for next time). It's pretty neat around here. It's 78 and the patio is open - tunes on, etc.

Not looking forward to Monday. Somebody isn't watching the email servers at central, so it hasn't been possible for me to check email since Friday night when I just skimmed through it. So, the vacation continues!!! KEWL now, KREWL come tomorrow!

This has to be one of the best trips ever, but it will take a while for all that we saw to sink in.

Thanks to everyone for making it great!

 

[figment52]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.

 

[winotracy]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.

I want one now!!! I agree that there should be a couple more days at sea. This was hard, but oh so much fun!!

 

[figment52]

I want one now!!! I agree that there should be a couple more days at sea. This was hard, but oh so much fun!!

At least you know how to make them - I'd have to call Christina and hope she would deliver; hmm, Med or Michigan, it's a tough decision -

 

[Hygiene99]

still dreaming of the vanilla martinis as I try and finish up laundry and unpacking.

My niece's graduation party was yesterday so I was baking as soon as I got home. She wanted this cake (as well as several others- lol)http://www.womansday.com/food/11697/how-to-make-coconut-palm-trees.html - it came out great (if I do say so myself) but it put a lot of pressure on someone recovering from jet lag.

When can we go again? I loved the Med cruise, but I think I'd like it better over 14 days with the same number of posts just a few more sea days to rest and relax in between ports.

Sandy, it was a pleasure to meet ya!


Also when you edit a post, you dont really have to type in a reason, Just skip it!
Believe me I Know!

Did you Book the 5 night - Magic?


Peter

 

[figment52]

Sandy, it was a pleasure to meet ya!


Also when you edit a post, you dont really have to type in a reason, Just skip it!
Believe me I Know!

Did you Book the 5 night - Magic?


Peter

It was great running into you guys all the time. OK- it was hard not to with you just 3 cabins away - lol. We decided we should adopt your philosophy for future cruises (WHOTSSOTS). Now if we could just get the matching t-shirts

As for rebooking I have a funny story - before I left my sister wanted to make sure I had the dates for their family cruise next year. It would be the last time to cruise together before the kids are off to college and different vacation schedules. Anyway, it was an ordeal to get the date from them but I had it and rebooked that one and another for late 2008 (to move to 2009). I got home and told her and she said "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we decided not to go then". They decided before I left but forgot to tell me. Oh well, I just have to go without them.

The 5 night Magic is Sept 2008 - right? I didn't yet but who knows, I may. I have the WB Panama booked and don't want to miss it again. I wanted to go so bad in 2005. It will depend on what the 2009 schedule turns out to be.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight?

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

 

[winotracy]

Quick question for those of you that just got back, did anyone gain weight?

I would really think you would lose or stay the same with all the walking you do?


Patricia

A little, but it's too soon to know. I always gain some with the water retention, etc., but it drops to what it should be within a week. I'm up less than 5 pounds right now and expect that to level off in the next few days.