JasonL

I think they just book up super fast, because I reserved a hotel 11 months before and I got my 10th choice. All the top hotels were already booked as soon as bookings opened it seems.

Also I'm not sure how far you have to fly, but try and book flight lengths and time of day that will work best for a happy baby. Our last cruise we flew from seattle to florida and were "lucky" enough to find a great deal on a direct flight. It was a disaster, not many babies or toddlers can handle that much time on a plane with no stops. If you have a long flight break it up with a layover. It will be good for you and baby. Also pick a flight that works well with baby's nap schedule(if baby sleeps well) or right after nap so baby is happy.

The nursery is GREAT. Use it! We have always found the staff to be so amazing. There is an hourly fee associated with infants, but it is worth it! Budget for using the nursery as much as you can, it will be the best money you spend all cruise. Also don't have expectations to do whatever you want, there will be times when you have to cater to the little one and other times when you can drop baby off at the nursery and get some private time. Have fun

Southern California or.... anywhere closer to Seattle than Florida

I find the photo packages are good to get if you plan on really utilizing as many as you can. You would want to make an effort to do most of the photo shoots and different backdrops. You can definitely get many more than 20 photos if you are trying to.

You are totally free to stress out, but I'm pretty confident that even if you went into the cruise with no research you would have an AMAZING time. I don't come on here because I'm stressed about my cruises, I do it because I love cruising so much that it's always on my mind and it actually alleviates the stresses of work and life! But yea, you it is also great to get all the info you can to optimize your vacation. So have fun researching and planning, but remember that this is exciting! One important thing though, don't sweat the small stuff. You will make minor "mistakes" and will wish you have done something different. That's ok also, just keep a positive attitude about everything and look forward to the next cruise where you will do X,Y & Z better. Welcome to the community and HAVE FUN!

When I am pricing out more than 4 I go through the mock booking until I can see the details of per person. Take the cost of the 4th passenger and simply add another at that price. That gets you really close is not exact on pricing

I always keep an eye on suite pricing, but have never even come close to pulling the trigger because it never inks out. I firmly believe the "Ultra Spacious" rooms are the best values for 3-5 people as long as 1 or 2 of those are smaller sized humans(A.K.A. young kids). They are the same size or bigger than JS and you can get them in multiple categories. I will probably switch to 2 joining rooms when my kids hit high school, but for now I don't think you can do better than the Ultra Spacious. Furthermore, on most ships I'd have to go to a 2 room GS to be able to fit my family of 5. I'd rather just get 2 rooms.

I prefer booking at least 18 months in advance(although if I get sudden time off I'd consider last minute). It's cheaper the further out you book. Also keep in mind that anytime kids are out of school prices will be higher, supply and demand. I also recommend a 7 night cruise, especially coming from Idaho.

Book as far out in advance as possible for the best price. Research the kinds of things you are interested in and then see which ships offer those things. Oasis class ships have the most activities, but are the newest and most expensive. The Freedom ships are great too, they are a little smaller but still have a ton to do. Those are the 2 classes I recommend for a 1st time cruiser with young kids.

They can't leave guests behind I'd think. It sounds like you should go to aquaventure yourself, that way you aren't limited to leaving with the group. Probably cheaper too

I agree. My favorite beach as well. The absolutely perfect sandy beach is long, deep, soft & clean. There are floating things, volleyball, bar, food & music but it's still really chill too. Love love love this beach!

Oh, I love this post! Apparently we don't take many photos, but I love seeing everyone elses. Here's Maho beach, which I always think is fun and my beautiful girls at the alligator farm

Well I'm a year away from my Liberty cruise now, so I'm wanting to book my hotel. I think I wanna stay in Galveston because I think it would be cool(first time in Galveston) and I want as easy of a day as possible the first day of the cruise. We will have our 3 kids(12,8,3) which is why I want it to be as easy as possible. I like really clean and nice, but not too fancy for my loud rowdy kids. Pool, breakfast & shuttle to the terminal would be a plus. When I travel with the kids I don't mind paying more for convenience, in fact I prefer it. Anyone have recommendations?

A nice perk of having adults in separate rooms each with a kid on the bookings is you can purchase an ultimate drink package for only 1 person. If me and the wife are in the same room we won't do the drink package because she will not drink enough to even come close to making it worth it.