A Cruise with a Toddler

Hi C.,

I have not taken a cruise with a child...however I have been on a cruise and told my husband it is the way to go with kids! They have activities for the kids if they aren't intersted in what you're doing, and they are on the ship so you know they are safe and not off wandering the foreign country! Also, there are many food options so if you have a picky eater you are bound to find something for her. In addition, you only unpack once and get to see so many great places, it's so worth it!

Hello C. -

We have done this and would NOT recommend it. It was a waste of money and we really wish we would have waited until the wee one was older and we could have gone alone. We were not at all able to indulge in the benefits one typically looks forward to in a vacation.

Cheers-
D.

I could not imagine a cruise with a toddler. However I cruised with 5 and 7 year old and it was wonderful. We went to Alaska and the kids had a blast. Holland America had a program that if I wanted to do mom things, Club Hal took the kids from 8-12 and 1-10 most of the time we cruised the ship as a family exploring. The excursions is what was more of a bother. My kids are country kids and see more cows than they do cars. It was hard to keep them corraled. Now they are 7 and 9 and we are planning to go on a Bahama cruise. I will keep in mind the posts about those islands! I have taken them to Hawaii and all they wanted to do was stay in the pool not the ocean, not the exploring, nothing. They spent more time compaining about having to get out of the pool making a portion of the vacation miserable.

I wouldn't advise going on a cruise with a toddler. The boats have TINY cabins and if you have a child who wakes easily it will be a nightmare. There is hardly enough room for two adults to move around. If any of you get sea sick it will be a nightmare...you are trapped until the cruise is over. Your destination is also important - I would never feel safe bringing a small child on a Caribbean cruise for example. There are too many poor people on some of the islands and they know that tourists carry cash. I would opt for a destination vacation...like Hawaii or something similar. A cruise is good for yourself and your husband, but not the little one.

I don't suggest doing it with a toddler, esp. if you are not team parenting, as it seems you are not. I've been on a cruise and it is very unsettling for a toddler. There is a lot of waiting in line, crowded areas, so many adult things that are hard for toddlers. yes, they have kiddie day care but what is the point of taking a child with if you put your child in day care all day? A cruise is for adults. It sounds like you and your husband need some time away together. Get a babysitter and go by yourself.

I would say that it will definitely be more difficult but worth it. My daughter is 20 months so I know how you feel. I would use the day camps periodically so that you and your husband can maybe have a "date" or do something adultish with your friends. I wouldn't tell your husband that he CAN'T bring a book. Perhaps just sit him down and explain to him that it's going to be more difficult with a toddler and you will need to have more help so that you can enjoy this trip too. I would make a plan for "Mommy Date's" where you solely watch the babe so your husband can take a worry free dip or read on the beach and also for "Daddy Dates" where your husband solely watches the baby so that you can do the same. If your husband isn't used to much Daddy-baby time (mine isn't and usually freezes as to what to do as far as entertainment) maybe you could make a simple plan for activity for when your gone. e.g. read her fave books, color, build a fort with the blankets, go for a swim or get something to eat.
Try as much as you can to preserve her routine as much as possible. If you get up, get food get dressed and go for a walk every morning...try to do that while on the cruise. I would say bedtime routines would be the most important. Lastly I would recommend looking for a more "kid friendly" cruise this year. It would keep the "that kid's being too loud in this restraunt" and "Oh, honey, don't touch that" statements to a minimum. I hope this helps and have super fun! I'm jealous! I've never gone on a cruise.

We have two kids and took them both on a cruise, PLUS two 13-year-old cousins (cruise was free for kids up to age 14) who had great interaction with Dad and helped him with the fatherly role. Their parents helped with expenses and the teens watched our kids together once a day or evening. Land tours were together and they added a lot of joy to the trip. You may not want extras this time, but it is an option. Have backup ideas in mind in case of illness, tempers, needed extra rest, so that you don't feel that a less-than-joy-filled moment robs you of the overall fun. If your goal is to have the family alone together, cruising can be full of wonders for all.

I have been on one cruise (without our children) and I remember thinking how hard it would have been if we brought our children. The problem with a cruise is, you aren't really setting the schedule. It is packed with activities, most of which are late into the night. I think it would be a challenge to fully enjoy all the evening programs with a young child who really needs her sleep. I think I heard you can get a "nanny", but I'm not sure how you'd feel about that or how much it would cost. They have a great day care set up, but if your looking for a "family" vacation, leaving her in daycare doesn't really meet that need. Our cruise was a wonderful husaband and wife time, where we were both able to relax and have fun. I think it would be hard with a toddler (especially for you, Mom). Good luck on your decision.

Our daughter has been on three cruises with us from age 2 to 4 and we love it and so does she. Check into the kids club to find out the age ranges since they differ from cruise lines. We love having one room throughout the trip, she generally gets her naps and we can keep her eating schedules close including a bedtime snack delievered to the room! Some cruiselines have onboard daycare while at port so if you needed to you could leave her there for awhile it costs a little extra money but may be worth it if you want to go on an excursion that she can't. Cruising is the greated thing with young children. I would suggest getting a room with a deck so that while she is napping you can sit on the deck, enjoy the view and the fresh air!

Hi C.,

I understand your resistance to the cruise and I think that you can afford a Disney cruise, it that would be your best bet. We have a 2 1/2 year old and my husband's parents have booked a cruise for the whole family (7 adults, 1 ten year old and our son). I was so upset when they wouldn't really listen to me about my concerns about going on a cruise in the first place and then deciding not to use the Disney cruise line. I am trying to be upbeat about the whole thing but it is hard. We have cruised before (before kid) with friends and had a great time and looking back now at the things we did, I know I won't be able to do even half of the stuff I did then. (My in-laws picked a Carnival cruise to the eastern carribean in August of all things. Hot, Hot, Hot.) I called the cruise line and asked about age restrictions in the dining room, etc. because he will only be old enough to do one or two of the excursions for the whole trip. This was the biggest down side for me because my favorite parts of teh cruise are the shore excursions, riding horses, swimming with rays, snorkeling, scuba diving, etc. We won't be able to do any of that stuff as a family because our son is too young. Alot of the excursions have age limits somewhere between 6 and 10. The Carnival rep said that I should just leave my son in Camp Carnival on board the ship. But whats the point if you want to do things together. Anyway, as a antidote to my doubts of having fun, I have been trying to think of things that we can do together just on the islands without any organized group. Like playing of the beach and walking around, if it feels safe. (We didn't have a good experience in Jaimaca on our last cruise but we are going to islands we haven't been to before this time so..) I am sure that the grandparents and aunts/uncle and cousin will be happy to do stuff with him while we go have fun but he doesn't know them very well since they live in Texas and so we will just play it be ear. Meanwhile, I am trying to prepare myself to be with him most of the time and just take things that I can do during nap times and such.

Good Luck. I know it is tough to know until you do it so I am trying to keep an open mind that I will discover some other great things to do with my son.

S.

Hi. We recently took a cruise with our 20 month old son and 4 year old daughter. We took a Disney Cruise out of Florida. The hardest part, actually, was the flight across country! The cruise itself was great and I would highly recommend Disney if you haven't yet made plans. Also, on Disney, all of the passengers are in the same boat (no pun intended!) as you, in traveling with kids, so there is much more patience and empathy for a sudden toddler moment.
Our son is very active, but there is definitely a lot of space to run around in the common areas of the ship. Although after the 4th day (7-day cruise) you could tell he started to get a little tired of the small living space in the cabin. We brought a bag of our own toys for him to play with in the room so he had that familitarity. We brought our own pack-n-play, but the cruise line may have them.
Disney has a "nursery" under 3. If your ship has this, I would a least give it a try as it provides a much needed break for you and your husband. Our son loved having another place to play. It may also alleviate any resentment of sharing the parenting responsibilities.
We plan to take another Disney Cruise when our son is 3 as that is when they can go to Kids Club whenever they want. (The nursery required an appointment) It will also be better to be out of the baby stage. All in all we had a great time, but if you aren't in a huge hurry, I would recommend waiting another year.

Hey C.,
My husband, my 3 yr old and my 19 mo old took an Alaskan cruise close to one year ago. In many ways it was a lot of fun: just getting away as a family, the sites, the fact that we didn't have to clean, do dishes, or cook! The four of us were a bit cramped in the room with my daughter sleeping between us and my son in a crib in the small room. The down sides: will they remember it? My daughter does, but not my son (he was only about 11 months old). The space was cramped in the room. There's not much for the toddlers to do on a ship so I spent most of my time chasing my kids up and down the halls when we weren't off the ship. In the end, I think the positives outweighed the negatives. If you want more info, feel free to shoot me a message and I'm happy to share more. =0) Good luck and have fun!
L. A. =0)

Hello C.,
I think that if you want to go on a cruise as a family then, YES your husband should LEAVE THE BOOKS AT HOME! I took a cruise to the BAHAMAS with 3 kids it is a group effort.
GOOD LUCK
L.

Hi C.,

We just took our first family cruise last May. It was "ok". I did not have as much fun as prior cruises I've taken becuase I could not fully relax, always wondering if my son was wreaking havoc in the daycamp, and also knowing that my relaxation and fun on the ship had a time limit (nap times and evening bedtime). We took a Carnival cruise, becuase their daycare changes diapers. My son was about 2 1/2 when we went. We did have some great family time,and my son, husband and my mom and I all had so much fun in the pools. We did go with other family members, as we tend to do on cruises, so my mom could also offer up some babysitting so my hubby and I could have alone time. That is also very important on a vacation. Overall, I'd say it was kind of worth it but may have been better if my son was older, but you may want to consider the daycare so both you and your hubby have have time to yourselves. I actually was pretty happy with it, the only thing I didn' like was the funky hours. They closed in the middle of the day every day for several hours. So we always had to pick him up for nap time, which was part of the damper on our days. But between me, hubby and grandma, we all took turns so we could have have days to relax. We have decided our next cruise is going to be just us, no kids. We are going to wait until our second is old enough (out of diapers) before attempting another cruise with the kids, and that one will be a Disney. So family vacations from now on will be places we can drive to, or fly to and stay in one location (like Hawaii). If you do decide to go, be selective in where you take your child off teh boat. We went on western caribbean cruise, and I absolutley did NOT take my son off in Jamaica. Too dangerous. He stayed on board and had a day with grandma. Message me if you have any more questions. Be happy to talk more about our trip and suggestions!!! ;-)

We took my daughter on a cruise when she was first about 11 months old and again at almost 18 months old. She did great, it is a little more work at times to entertain them - the youngest you can put them in the kid's activities is 3 unfortunately, but we didn't have any problem taking her on any of the excursions with us (and you don't have to pay extra). I think it's a lot of fun and a great way for your daughter to see other parts of the world. I think to make it most enjoyable, I suggest having time for each of you, but also the team effort since it is a family vacation.

I just went on one w/outmy hubbie and it was awful! My son was 22 months too. There is not much geared toward toddlers.Day camp is for 3 and up, the pool says no diapers and is cold when out at sea. Formal dining is hard and there the rooms are so small. The buffet was hard b/c u are trying to get food for the bothe of you and they can be so picky! I would suggeast waiting til he's older or trying a Disney cruise? The only fun we had was at port on the beach or at hotel pools. I wish we would have just stayed ata hotel the whole week!

We took my grandson who was 21 months old. It was fun, but it was also challenging. He loved running in the hallways, the pool, and the child area. He wasn't old enough to leave in the child area, one of us had to be with him. dinner time was challenging. Nice multi course meals don't work well with little ones. We had to take turns leaving the table to take him out to walk.
He was able to open the doors in the state rooms, so when he napped, we propped our door (across the hall) open so that when he woke up he ran across to our room. We had a baby monitor to listen, but he was very quiet when he woke up!
We have wonderful photos, he likes looking at them now. It's work, but if you're geared up for it, it can be fun.

C., Welcome to the area, we just moved here too!
Can you take another vacation? We are a traveling family, have trip plane and car trips since b/f we had kids, and since they were newborn, with and without friends. I think the best vacations when my boys were younger even is simple low key, like a beach cabin. It is relaxing for all, and you can pick and choose your entertainment. Or one of the resorts that offer child care, so you have the option of a date/time alone if you chose.
Parenting is a team effort, that is why it takes two to make a baby IMO.

I say GO FOR IT! It won't be as relaxing as going alone, but you will see what fun family vacations are. You will find that the fun is now in seeing your daughter enjoy herself, and seeing her bond with daddy. Use the babysitting every once and a while so you guys can be alone, but learn to enjoy playing like a toddler, and give up your ideas of laying on the beach relaxing... it won't happen. Also, be sure to take turns with who stays with her at nap time so the other can go enjoy some relaxing time.... or better yet, use the time to enjoy having hubby all to yourself. If you can afford it, bring a teenage babysitter with you and use her to help with the diry work (like staying put at nap time, staying in the cabin after bedtime, and chasing active toddler when she runs to the water for the 100th time). You may even be able to negotiate paying for her to go as her compensation instead of also paying her extra. Just be sure to give her time alone too.