Momof4crazytocruise

I found that even though I told them not to use a voucher for things like orange juice, they sometimes still did. So make sure you are super clear (even though I am fairly certain I was clear) what you want.

The best I have EVER paid was the $18 intern special However, I paid $43/day 2 years ago on Liberty and Independence last year. I paid $54/day last January on Voyager - and I caught those in a very small window of time - within a few hours it was back up to around $64 as the next best price. For my upcoming Ovation cruise, the best I have seen is $59/day, but it's currently been sitting around $63/day. We elected to not get the package for the first time ever on that cruise because of the port intensive Alaskan itinerary and our new Diamond status vouchers + onboard credit would cover us well enough. Probably wouldn't do that for a Caribbean cruise though. For my upcoming January Mariner cruise, the lowest I have seen is $73/day.

The Galveston Children's museum is really great for young kids. https://galvestoncm.org/. Moody Gardens is super pricey, but the Aquarium there is pretty good.

well, we're definitely going to look into this for our party of 6!

I could be wrong, but I think GS only give breakfast in Chops, lunch isn't included in any of the specialty restaurants unless you have unlimited dining plan. We've sailed in GS on both ships recently and lunch was not an option, and Chops was the only breakfast option. I would double check if that is factoring in to your decision.

If we don't want to rent a car - is there a shuttle to take us there if we don't purchase from the ship excursion? Is taxi (or car rental) the only option?

I recommend making a stop at the Adventure Ocean right as one of your first stops once you get on board to get signed up and all the paper work done. It get's it out of the way and guarantees your kids will get a slot.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/48309852?source_impression_id=p3_1721068415_P3di8gBcEX40Unnn This is the one I stayed in, but there are a ton of reasonably priced units in that area. It looks like this one is no longer an Airbnb, or at least under this property owner, but there are several in the building and surrounding area. This building is behind the police barricade, so it's like you have security as well. It was awesome and walking distance to almost everywhere.

I stayed in a beautiful Airbnb near the Governor's palace in old San Juan, and could walk to the cruise port. Plenty of Ubers from the airport. Plenty of taxis in old town San Juan.

Honestly, you spend so little time in the room I wouldn't spend the extra money and just put it towards a drink package, excursions, or dining or something like that. There just isn't that big of a difference, certainly not like going from a balcony to a Junior Suite. Liberty is a great ship.

On my Ovation sailing, it's like the intern was involved again and swapped the prices for the extended iFly and extended Northstar, which up until today had each other's prices. Bizarre.

I highly recommend taking advantage of the reservation option in the cruise planner, and the earlier in your planning the better. Essentially My Time is now more 'when I feel like eating not at the early or late seating times' and you have way more control over it. I honestly wouldn't bother going to the MDR without a reservation - if I didn't have one it would be because we are planning to eat somewhere else that night. I study the itinerary, estimate what time we'll be back on board on port days, put some cushion in there for a shower, etc, and set a time. I set them up for the whole cruise, and then make adjustments when I get on board.

Typically breakfast in Chops is reserved for suite guests and I assume pinnacles. I have never seen it open to the general public.

In my experience, most people wait until the staterooms are open to go change for swimming, and closer to sail away time because that's when the activity on the pool deck starts to pick up. So it won't be super crowded right out of the gate. I recommend, after completing muster check in, going directly to Adventure Ocean and getting paper work filled out and time to tour - you little one will be excited about that too. Then eat, make all your dinner reservations if you need to. But then your room will be open and you candrop off your stuff and change and head to the pool deck. My kids are always excited to explore the ship before getting in the pool.

Check the cruise compass for the time each day they set up toys for toddlers - usually in the morning in the teen area. If your child won't be potty trained yet, the nursery is your only option - so make sure you visit right upon boarding and get the paperwork filled out and make as many reservations as they will let you - usually 2 or 3 to start off (this does cost like $6/hr whereas Adventure Ocean has no cost). Bring bags to put dirty diapers in, and take those to the hallway or public restroom trash cans - those are emptied much more frequently. If your little likes specific dry snacks, take a good supply. Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. I recommend an entire box. If you're travelling to the port, have Amazon deliver a box to the hotel and then just check it with your luggage. You can get milk in the Windjammer and all sorts of fruits, etc. throughout the day. Call and and ask them to put a pack n play in your room. Children under 3 are not allowed to sleep in the berths. Do NOT bring your giant stroller on board, there will be no where to put it. Invest in a collapsible umbrella stroller. I never used the stroller on board, but utilized baby wearing everywhere because it was much easier to get around not having to wait for elevators or be a nuisance to other guests in hallways. Be prepared for interruptions in sleep patterns and pack a big bag of patience! We liked to order the free continental breakfast room service with fruits and pastries to let our littles get something while we got ready to go to breakfast - it bought us time and peace. Also, be prepared to be somewhat isolated from your group to manage nap times - I was caught off guard how isolating it can be to manage nap times and bed times and found that it usually fell to me to manage. Make sure y'all make agreements on expectations for coverage otherwise you'll find it always falls to mom, and it feels like everyone else gets to have all the fun while you're stuck in the cabin at nap time and in the evenings. If you're planning to go to the beach, I found packing some collapsible sand buckets and a few sand toys was useful.