Family Travel Unpacked: Make the Most of Travel With Kids

Icon of the Seas: A Kid's Take

• Melissa Conn • Season 1 • Episode 21

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Icon of the Seas from a kid's perspective! 11-year-old Shoshana shares her honest review of cruising with kids, from soft serve to Celiac dining.

What does an 11-year-old really think about Icon of the Seas? In this Quick Tip Tuesday episode, I interview my daughter Shoshana about her week on the world's largest cruise ship. She shares unfiltered opinions on everything from the shows and food to why she skipped kids club. Plus, her advice for other tweens considering a cruise!

Episode Highlights:

  • Why the 3-minute Sprinkles soft serve run became her favorite thing
  • Honest take on Adventure Ocean from a tween who didn't go
  • Cruising with Celiac disease - real kid perspective on gluten-free dining
  • Her favorite port (spoiler: it might surprise you!)
  • What she'd tell other 11-year-olds about Icon of the Seas

Perfect for families wondering if Icon of the Seas works for tweens and kids with dietary restrictions!

More tips for cruisers:

Don't miss this inspiring, practical travel with kids podcast hosted by family travel expert Melissa Conn, founder of The Family Voyage, certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, and mom of two who proves family travel is achievable for everyone.

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Melissa:

Hey there and welcome back to Family Travel Unpacked. I'm your host, Melissa, and in case you're new here, you can always find tons of detailed destination guides, travel tips, hacks, and more on my website, thefamilyvoyage.com. Now, if you listened to our last episode, you'll know that we just got back from sailing on Icon of the Seas. Today I wanna have a special guest on, she's one of my very favorite travel buddies, and we're gonna hear what she thought of Icon of the Seas. So let me turn it over. Can you tell us your name?

Shoshana:

I'm Shoshana.

Melissa:

And how old are you, Shoshana?

Shoshana:

I'm 11 years old.

Melissa:

And how do we know each other?

Shoshana:

She's my mom.

Melissa:

Okay. So today's special guest is my 11-year-old daughter, Shoshana, and we're gonna ask her for the kids' perspective on the icon of the seas. So Shosh what did you first think when we walked onto Icon?

Shoshana:

I thought, whoa, this is big. I'm not gonna get to do everything. But with like eight days on the ship, I can do a lot.

Melissa:

So it was bigger than you thought or was it about the size that you expected?

Shoshana:

It was a lot bigger than I thought.

Melissa:

And was there anything that surprised you about the ship?

Shoshana:

There were some places I didn't remember there being the last time.

Melissa:

When you say the last time, what are you talking about there?

Shoshana:

Two years ago we went on Wonder of the Seas, a part of the Oasis class.

Melissa:

Okay. And so on Icon, which is part of the Icon class, if you could only hang out in one place for the whole week, where would it be and why?

Shoshana:

This is a toughie. I would either hang out by the pool,'cause like the Mexican food is very, very, very good there.

Melissa:

Mm-hmm.

Shoshana:

Or I would hang out at Sorentos'cause like pizza.

Melissa:

Okay, so you're mostly in it for the food?

Shoshana:

Yes.

Melissa:

Alright, so what was the best thing you ate all week?

Shoshana:

The Caesar salad on there is the best Caesar salad I've ever had. So, good you have to try it.

Melissa:

Not what I would expect from an 11-year-old, but I'm glad that you like salad and the Caesar salad in the main dining room is very good. We would usually get one good for each person at the table.

Shoshana:

I got like two every night. It was so good.

Melissa:

Now, I know you have some big dietary restrictions that a lot of kids don't face. Do you wanna tell us about that and how it went for you on Icon of the Seas?

Shoshana:

Sure. I can't have gluten.

Melissa:

Why is that?

Shoshana:

'Cause I have celiac disease.

Melissa:

Okay.

Shoshana:

And everybody there was really nice about it. You can still get ice cream. I know they only have cones there, but if you're at Surfside, you can go to the place next door surfside bites,'cause you can steal one of their bowls. They don't mind. And you can get soft serve in there. And then, at the main dining room, if you want Caesar salad, so you can just ask for it without the croutons. And they also have gluten-free pasta.

Melissa:

And I know there was one special item that they offered gluten-free that you don't usually get to have at home that you would go for pretty much every night.

Shoshana:

Oh yeah. They had gluten-free crepes. I would have like two a day. They were so good. Also, just a little tip, you have to ask for fresh strawberries'cause otherwise they get, give you strawberry sauce.

Melissa:

Great insider tip, I like that.

Shoshana:

Also you can ask for extra Nutella, which is very good.

Melissa:

Alright, so ask for fresh strawberries and extra Nutella on the crepes. So apart from the food, what was your favorite thing to do on Icon of the seas, like during your free time after dinner? I liked to just stroll, grab five ice creams and get Sorrentos, which is open till like three in the morning. So no matter how late you stay up, you can get Sorentos. But, they also had a lot of activities at night, which kind of surprised me. They had open play volleyball, and a lot of other things. Also a tip for the arcade. It still lets you spend, even if you exceed your spending limit, like it doesn't stop you. I did not know that I spent 200 extra dollars until, almost the last day, so not fun. Right. It'll let you exceed any pre-purchased credit, but as a parent, you can set a lower spending limit than the default$50 a day if you go to guest services. So now we've learned that lesson the hard way, right?

Shoshana:

For the second time.

Melissa:

Right. Okay. Now you mentioned in the evening that there's a lot of things to do. Which of the big shows were your favorites and what did you think about maybe some of those smaller music spots? What did you like to do in terms of hanging out in the evening other than eating?

Shoshana:

If you look on the Royal Caribbean app, they have different activities going on at night.

Melissa:

What about some of the shows that we saw. We saw Wizard of Oz, we saw the Aqua Action Show.

Shoshana:

My favorite one was probably the Ice Skating Show.

Melissa:

Okay. What'd you like about it?

Shoshana:

The flips were cool.

Melissa:

Yeah, that was really neat. And did you like to hang out at any of the music spots?

Shoshana:

Um, no, that I didn't do that. No. Jazz is kind of boring to me.

Melissa:

Okay, so no dueling pianos for you?

Shoshana:

Nope.

Melissa:

Now talk to me about the kids club. What did you think of it?

Shoshana:

Mm-hmm. A hundred kids crammed into one room with giant age gaps. No. No. Mm-hmm. No way.

Melissa:

So did you go to the kids' club on this cruise at all?

Shoshana:

I looked at it and then I ran from it. I didn't like it.

Melissa:

Okay, so not your scene?

Shoshana:

No.

Melissa:

Now we had four different port stops on this cruise. And I'm curious which one was the most fun for you? Just to remind you, we visited the Bacalar Lagoon in Costa May. We went to the beach and some of us went snorkeling in Roatan. We had a really windy beach day on Cozumel and then we stopped at Coco Cay on our last day.

Shoshana:

Coco Cay.

Melissa:

And why was it your favorite?

Shoshana:

You can serve yourself the softserve there and the mango juice is so good. Have it please. I beg you.

Melissa:

What did you like on Coco Cay other than the food?

Shoshana:

Oh, there was like a splash zone area and, so they had a bunch of different slides. The slides there are free and they have a twisty blue one, They have three racer slides and they have a wide one that kids can go on with their parents. It was very fun.

Melissa:

Yeah. You're talking about the Splash Away Bay area. It also has so much water spraying everywhere, Right? I know they have like a big water fight.

Shoshana:

They have splash pads nearby. Even my 14-year-old brother had fun there.

Melissa:

Yeah, that was pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen that much water spraying around.

Shoshana:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Now what did you think of our rooms on Icon of the Seas?

Shoshana:

So we went on Wonder two years ago, i've mentioned that, and the rooms on Icon seemed a lot smaller than wonder. It was probably how the furniture was configured'cause we had like three different beds and it felt small. Even though it actually is bigger, it felt a lot smaller.

Melissa:

Now on this cruise, you were staying in a room with grandma and with one of your cousins. What was the bed configuration there since you mentioned three?

Shoshana:

So my grandma had a twin bed. Me and my cousin traded off nights in a twin bed, and one of us slept on the couch.

Melissa:

Okay. So you had the big bed separated into two twin beds, which might make the room feel a little bit more crowded because there's less space to walk between the beds and the desk. Right?

Shoshana:

Yeah.

Melissa:

And you guys aren't exactly the tidiest bunch to have altogether.

Shoshana:

No.

Melissa:

Surprisingly, the rooms on Icon of the seas are a little bit bigger than Wonder if the Seas, but I can understand how the furniture setup might make it feel smaller.

Shoshana:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Now the big question: we do a lot of different types of travel as a family, so I'm curious, what do you think about cruising compared with some of our other trips?

Shoshana:

I really enjoyed the cruise'cause it has a lot of options for dietary restrictions and they can make a lot of things gluten free, which I enjoy. It was also very chill. Like I had a lot more time to myself than I would on the other trips. It's only on the cruises me and my cousin get to roam around and do whatever we want.

Melissa:

That's pretty fun for a kid your age. So if you could sail on icon again, or take a totally different kind of vacation, let's say with your cousin, what would you pick?

Shoshana:

Ooh, I would for sure pick Hawaii.

Melissa:

Okay. So you'd choose a land-based trip again?

Shoshana:

Yeah, I like the beaches and the sun. And I also really like the shaved ice. I'm in it for the food in case you haven't noticed.

Melissa:

At least you're honest, Right? Let's say we were to go back on Icon or one of its sibling ship's star or Legend of the Seas. What would you wanna do that you didn't get to try this time?

Shoshana:

They have toppings in Surfside Eatery. I didn't get to try those, but I would've wanted to if we had more time.

Melissa:

Okay. Anything else that you would want to try that you didn't get to check out? Would you wanna try the water slides next time?

Shoshana:

Yeah. Yeah. I don't recommend the dropper slides though. Don't do those.

Melissa:

Yeah, that looked really intense. I was too scared to try it.

Shoshana:

Yeah, it went like straight down.

Melissa:

That wouldn't be on my list of things to do next time. No, but maybe that raft slide, we could do it together.

Shoshana:

Yeah that looked pretty chill. So if you're a family, you could do that because mm-hmm. If you're not a big fan of thrill and you wanna do a water slide, that would probably be the one, the green one.

Melissa:

Okay. Now, if another 11-year-old is going on Icon of the Seas, what's one thing that you'd tell them to make sure that they do? And what's one thing you'd tell them not to bother with?

Shoshana:

I would tell them to not bother with the gluten-free mac and cheese at Aqua Dome Market.

Melissa:

Hmm not so good?

Shoshana:

No, it, it was like, wet pasta. Okay. And it took a long time to prepare.

Melissa:

Okay.

Shoshana:

And also I would tell them to bring a device with them if they're gonna roam by themselves, And get the Royal Caribbean app so they can communicate.

Melissa:

Someone's old iPhone would definitely do the trick, right?

Shoshana:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Alright, that's a really good tip. Now to wrap up, I have a critical question for you. How many times do you think you got Sprinkles Soft serve on Icon of the Seas in our eight days on board?

Shoshana:

Two to three times a day.

Melissa:

Alright, do the math.

Shoshana:

Okay. Let's say I got two every day, which I did. Um, I, I got soft serve 16 times

Melissa:

now, do you really think it was only 16 times?

Shoshana:

I don't. I really don't. What's the real number? Be honest. Probably 25.

Melissa:

25 soft serves in one week. Well, that sounds like an amazing trip for any 11-year-old.

Shoshana:

Oh, yeah. Also, most things are free besides the candy store and, the gift shops, obviously the gift shops aren't free. But a lot of the other things are free. Like Sorrentos is free. AquaDome Market is free and Sprinkles is also free. Like almost everything is.

Melissa:

Yeah. And it's nice that you don't have to wait for mom and dad to say yes to something because almost everything is included.

Shoshana:

Yeah. You don't have to ask guys, this is$13, can we get it?" You don't have to do that'cause everything is free. The only question you should be asking your parents is"how many ice creams a day is healthy?" And then when they say the number, you gotta exceed it.'cause you know they're wrong.

Melissa:

Because it's cruise life, right?

Shoshana:

It's cruise life. Not normal life.

Melissa:

Well, thanks for sharing your perspective with us. There you have it, folks. That is what an 11-year-old thought of icon of the Seas. If you missed the previous episode where I did a deep dive into everything about the ship, be sure to go and have a listen.

Shoshana:

Thank you for listening.

Melissa:

Thanks for listening to Family Travel unpacked. As always, you can find more in-depth information and plenty of travel guides and cruising tips over on thefamilyvoyage.com. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave a review wherever you're listening and share it with a friend who's thinking about going on Icon of the Seas. Safe travels.

Shoshana:

Bye.