boymom Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Headed out with our boys for our first cruise, I have a couple of questions that I have tried to answer reading through other posts, but was unable to. #1 - Beach safe? We have 2 stops, Nassau and Cococay. Have been looking at investing in some sort of a beach safe, likely the bag style that locks to a chair. Is this necessary? Am I wasting my money? What do experienced travelers carry? And when on board, is it necessary to keep our stuff locked up if we all plan to get in the pool together? #2 - Does EVERY cruise have a formal night? We are only doing a 4 night, is this something they will tell us in advance about, or is it just understood? I haven't seen any information about it! #3 - Realistically on the day we leave, how many hours should I plan to entertain my kids while waiting to board the ship. We depart at 4pm, do we need to be there waiting at noon? Earlier? I know there are more questions, not sure what at this moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 5 hours ago, boymom said: Headed out with our boys for our first cruise, I have a couple of questions that I have tried to answer reading through other posts, but was unable to. #1 - Beach safe? We have 2 stops, Nassau and Cococay. Have been looking at investing in some sort of a beach safe, likely the bag style that locks to a chair. Is this necessary? Am I wasting my money? What do experienced travelers carry? And when on board, is it necessary to keep our stuff locked up if we all plan to get in the pool together? #2 - Does EVERY cruise have a formal night? We are only doing a 4 night, is this something they will tell us in advance about, or is it just understood? I haven't seen any information about it! #3 - Realistically on the day we leave, how many hours should I plan to entertain my kids while waiting to board the ship. We depart at 4pm, do we need to be there waiting at noon? Earlier? I know there are more questions, not sure what at this moment! I will try to answer some of the questions : 1. Beach safe , in CocCay , I do not think you need it as it is a private Island of RC and very safe , you also do not need to take too much money with you, Nassau is different story, but I will invested in such Beach Safe only if all of you planning going on the same time to swim. 2. Usually , you should have 1 Official night (most of the times on the second day) , but the best will be to go on this site to the cruise compass archive and find similar cruise which can give you allot of information what to expect. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass Some example for a four day cruise : https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/majesty-of-the-seas/mon-2018-03-05-0000 3. The best will be to come around 10:30-11 AM , most of the chances that by 12 (and many time earlier) you will be able to board. most of the big lines start to form around 1 - 2PM when people start to come from the airport. mind that rooms are available only from 1 PM. if anything goes without issues (ship are not late, custom is not doing special checks or ship need extra cleaning) you should expect between 10 - 20 minutes (tops) lines in the check in and between 10 to 40 minutes wait to be boarded (many time not even that , our of my 6 cruise until now I had to wait only on two , all the rest was just check in and directly tot he ship). to minimize the check in time it is highly recommended to complete the online check in at RC site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Get to the ship say 10:30 a.m. You will get a good parking place if you are driving. Get on board and head to the Windjammer and grab a bite to eat. Coco Cay is private and safe. Nassau stay together. Formal night (only 1 on a shorter cruise) you can go the main dining room or Windjammer or specialty rest. The boys will be fine in a polo shirt and pants if you go to the main dining room. They don`t need a shirt and tie unless they want to dress up. When you disembark do the walk off where you take your luggage off on your own. This way you are not waiting around for your number to be called. As far as on board lock up all of your valuables in your room safe. All you need to carry with you is your sea pass to get in your room or to purchase anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 11 hours ago, boymom said: #2 - Does EVERY cruise have a formal night? We are only doing a 4 night, is this something they will tell us in advance about, or is it just understood? I haven't seen any information about it! Yes, there will be one formal night on the second night of your cruise. 11 hours ago, boymom said: #3 - Realistically on the day we leave, how many hours should I plan to entertain my kids while waiting to board the ship. We depart at 4pm, do we need to be there waiting at noon? Earlier? If you get to the terminal between 10:30 and 11:30am, you will be among the first to board and beat the crowds that arrive once noon hits. The amount of waiting before the ship starts to board is dependent on local authorities clearing the ship. Boarding usually begins at some time in the 11:00 hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd W Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 not one of your questions but from one parent to another... our boys loved their first cruise. they were 12 & 14 at the time and had a blast. we gave them quite a bit of responsibility to be on their own but it came with conditions that had to be followed or they lost the ability to be on their own and were going to be attached to our hip after that. We gave them watches and had set check in times every couple hours or so. We made sure they knew where they could find us or if we weren't sure where we would be, they had to pop into our room and leave a sticky note on the mirror to let us know where we could find them. I was nervous at first but they did surprisingly great!! ellcee, WAAAYTOOO and SassMaster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 13 hours ago, boymom said: Headed out with our boys for our first cruise, I have a couple of questions that I have tried to answer reading through other posts, but was unable to. #1 - Beach safe? We have 2 stops, Nassau and Cococay. Have been looking at investing in some sort of a beach safe, likely the bag style that locks to a chair. Is this necessary? Am I wasting my money? What do experienced travelers carry? And when on board, is it necessary to keep our stuff locked up if we all plan to get in the pool together? #2 - Does EVERY cruise have a formal night? We are only doing a 4 night, is this something they will tell us in advance about, or is it just understood? I haven't seen any information about it! #3 - Realistically on the day we leave, how many hours should I plan to entertain my kids while waiting to board the ship. We depart at 4pm, do we need to be there waiting at noon? Earlier? I know there are more questions, not sure what at this moment! Another $0.02... #1 -- at Coco Cay, all you need is your SeaPass card unless you want to go to buy souvenirs at the little Straw Market they set up...it's all the same cheap stuff that you can find in the big Straw Market in Nassau, so I wouldn't bother with cash there. If you go to Junkanoo Beach, make sure someone is always with your stuff or go all out with one of these...https://www.amazon.com/Hrome-Wireless-Bluetooth-Waterproof-Shoulder/dp/B0749JHM68/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1527001481&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=beach+safe&psc=1 (I think it's overkill) As long as you stay between Junkanoo and the port and the port to Fort Fincastle, it's perfectly fine safety wise. You may be hounded to spend money in some of the shops you pass. If you go to the British Colonial Hilton, Baha Mar or Atlantis, you should be ok...I still wouldn't leave stuff unattended at the beach or pool. I am pretty sure Atlantis has lockers...someone could probably confirm. #2 -- Empress has not had a formal night recently, so if you are sailing on her, I wouldn't worry about it. Business casual passes fine for formal night on other ships. I always like to treat dinner in the Main Dining Room as an occasion anyway, because it is such a nice experience regardless of what ship you are sailing on. Check out a cruise compass for your ship --> mentioned in a previous reply. #3 -- You will have access to your room around 1 pm. If you get to the port between 10:30 and 11, you should be able to access the Windjammer buffet...it usually opens at 11 on most ships. I recommend having your boys go to the port in their swim gear on or under their clothes and let them swim in the pool if you have some idle time. You could also bring them a change of clothes in a backpack or tote. There are restrooms just off the pool on every ship where they can change. You can also check out Adventure Ocean to sign them up for activities. There will probably be a table set up in the centrum of the ship you are sailing where you can sign up and be directed to it for a brief tour. There will be lots of activity when you board...the best thing to do is head up to the pool deck to get some space if the WJ isn't open yet. The wait for the elevator may take a little longer than you are used to especially with all of the distraction going on around you the first few minutes you are on board. If you have lots of energy, you can walk up the six or so decks to wear out your boys slightly. I'm excited for you for your first cruise. You will love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Just now, DunkelBierJay said: Empress has not had a formal night recently You're right, Empress is the only ship that doesn't have formal night and I always forget that. Granted, that's quite the outlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighTrout Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Appreciate this topic - I had some similar type questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus527 Posted March 15, 2023 Report Share Posted March 15, 2023 On 5/22/2018 at 8:26 AM, DunkelBierJay said: Another $0.02... #1 -- at Coco Cay, all you need is your SeaPass card unless you want to go to buy souvenirs at the little Straw Market they set up...it's all the same cheap stuff that you can find in the big Straw Market in Nassau, so I wouldn't bother with cash there. If you go to Junkanoo Beach, make sure someone is always with your stuff or go all out with one of these...https://www.amazon.com/Hrome-Wireless-Bluetooth-Waterproof-Shoulder/dp/B0749JHM68/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1527001481&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=beach+safe&psc=1 (I think it's overkill) @DunkelBierJay do you have another link to this product? I can't find it via the link or a search on Amazon, so I think with the searching I'm just not locating what you're referencing. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted March 15, 2023 Report Share Posted March 15, 2023 We really like this travel safe: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017ROYKWK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 It fits my phone and my kindle, or two phones. Plus some other small stuff, like keys, keycards, etc. The black does get a bit hot inside, so when our teens got phones and we bought a second one, we went with a lighter color. We use it on every vacation at some point. Cactus527 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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