I hope to write a thorough review of the Getaway ship when travelling with kids. We were a family of 7 (hubby, son 8, son 5, daughter 4 and my inlaws). We spent the night before and after the cruise at the Homewood Suites on Blue Lagoon Dr. If you're looking for a hotel with a 2 bedroom suite for under $300, this is the place. Taxi to the port cost us $40.

We had 2 balcony rooms on the ninth deck (mid-ship aft). It was the ideal location for 2 reasons: close to the elevator for my father in law who has difficulty walking; and the balcony was above the waterfront and so beneath us was a small awning. My fear of the children ever falling off the balcony into the sea was rest assured. If the worse case scenario ever happened, there was that patio covering underneath to break their fall. The great thing was, although we were near elevator and above waterfront, we never heard any noise inside our cabin.

The kids enjoyed the Splash Academy very much, however, my eldest thinks the RCCL kids club had more activities. I thought the paperless computer sign in sign out for the kids was great and made me feel the kids were safe in their care. Nicklelodeon characters made some appearances on the ship, and there were a couple of "dance parties" in the Atrium where kids can go up and dance with Dora, Diego, SpongeBob, Ang the Avatar etc. There was also an "extra-fee" Pajama Jam breakfast, where they serve "kid-friendly" breakfast items and you can watch a short dance show and get photos taken with all the characters. The food was much too sweet and unappealing to me (but I'm no longer a kid), but my little ones were so enthralled with being up close with the characters that it made the event worth it. Read more