Kids Camp and other Newbie Questions

[Yaya76]

Hi, We're going on our first cruise this summer (Alaska on Diamond) and I have a few questions. Any answers would be a great help.
1. Our 11 year old is just as curious as we are, what are the kid centers really like? Aside from Princess website it's been hard to find any details. Any specifics about what happens, games? is there a pool in that area? what is the staff like?
2. Soda Cards?- I plan on buying one, I drink way to much! But what about other drinks? I read Iced tea is free, juice only in the morning and lemonade you have to pay for. Is this true? What if you have a soda card, does that include lemonade also? And what if you order a soda through room service- is that included with the soda card or do you pay extra?
3. Lotus Spa- I would like to get my mother-in -law a gift certificate to the Lotus Spa to use during the cruise. You can order then on Princess online, but they don't list any prices. I would hate to buy one and it not be enough! Does anyone know the cost of the different massages they have?
Thanks in Advance for any help. I'm sure I'll have alot more questions when our cruise gets closer.

[Yaya76]

Hi, We're going on our first cruise this summer (Alaska on Diamond) and I have a few questions. Any answers would be a great help.
1. Our 11 year old is just as curious as we are, what are the kid centers really like? Aside from Princess website it's been hard to find any details. Any specifics about what happens, games? is there a pool in that area? what is the staff like?
2. Soda Cards?- I plan on buying one, I drink way to much! But what about other drinks? I read Iced tea is free, juice only in the morning and lemonade you have to pay for. Is this true? What if you have a soda card, does that include lemonade also? And what if you order a soda through room service- is that included with the soda card or do you pay extra?
3. Lotus Spa- I would like to get my mother-in -law a gift certificate to the Lotus Spa to use during the cruise. You can order then on Princess online, but they don't list any prices. I would hate to buy one and it not be enough! Does anyone know the cost of the different massages they have?
Thanks in Advance for any help. I'm sure I'll have alot more questions when our cruise gets closer.

[penny3333]

Hi Yaya76, welcome to cruise-chat!I hope you enjoy Princess as much as we do. We'll be on our 6th Princess cruise in November, Lord willing, and so far they've been our favorite line. They have all sorts of activities for children, games, treasure hunts, swimming, etc. There is a children's pool and adult pools. The staff is amazing. They have iced tea, coffee, and water (not bottled)available all day/night. I've not seen lemonade, but haven't looked for it either. I'm not sure if a soda card is worth it or not, I believe they're $35. Again, I don't know about lemonade, I drink ice tea and water. Juice is in the morning. Wait until your on board to purchase your Lotus Spa treatments, they run specials at certain times during the cruise, usually during a port day. The prices range from $70/up. I'm sure there are others with exact price knowledge as well as other tips on this board. Hope this helps a little.

[wooddon]

Hi, we just finish our Alaska cruise on the Diamond and we purchase the Pop card and it was a life saver. We were able to get a pop before bed and leave it in our room in case we needed it. Plus we did not have to worry about paying for any pop anywhere on the ship, we just show the card in the nigh clubs and you can drink all the pop you wanted. We don't drink beer or wine, so this was a blessing for us.

[Krysta]

Hi There,
I'm a newbie too,so I can only comment on the spa prices! The prices are listed on-line on Princess.com where you can access your cruise information. Just go through the steps as you were booking a spa service and it will list the prices for each (If I remember correctly, on our cruise it was going to cost around $115 for a 50 minute deep tissue massage.) Unless you have a specific date/time in mind (many appointment times were already booked up) I would follow the recommendation from the other experienced poster and wait for specials on board. I love this website - I have learned so much from others!
Krysta

[jach-cruiser]

If you have a specific day, time or treatment in mind i would definately recommend booking ahead of time. Specialty treatments like hot-stone massage have limited space and fill up early. Prices vary but tend to be cheaper and more available on port days. They also usually have embarkation day specials so if you're boarding early, you can start things off right.