Cruising with a Toddler

Hey there, we took a cruise with my family when my was had just turned one. He did well, but I would take some of his toys,things he is used too. Some cruise ships ofer cribs on the ship if it will be to much for you to take a pack-in-play. And just take some time on the ship to take your son around and look at the boat. If he is like my son he will like being on the ship. Have Fun!
~J.~

We took a week long Disney cruise with at the time a 3 1/2 year old and an 18 month old. The things I would do would be bring some snacks for in the room or for excursions so that you have them in between meals. We had a dinner time of 5:30 - the early seating by choice so that we made sure the kids were all in good moods through dinner. We did not take her to the shows because we were unsure of how she would do - she was really under the weather the first half of our trip. We had her babysat in the nursery during the shows and during one dinner when she was not going to sit through a 5 course meal. But she was allowed to go and play in the kids club that was full of activities and dress up things etc. if we played in there with her (you had to be 3 and potty trained to be out of the nursery). This was a good break one afternoon. I would look at some forums that have people on them that have cruised the ship you are going to be on. We had cartoons on the tv that occupied her fine while we got ready - there was a DVD player in our room too and we could check out movies if we wanted. I took bubbles to play with on the balcony and that was a lot of fun along with just a book bag of their normal toys along with a mega coloring book full of tons of stickers. The ship had a pack-n-play for her - we brought a fan for noise in our room so that we did not disturb the toddler. We had a great time and the kids did awesome - we are doing a 12 day next year with what will be a 5 year old, 3 1/2 year old and one year old. Oh - we did have an excursion - a swimming with the dolphins that the cruise ship said the 18 month old was too young for but when we got to the excursion they let her get in and experience it. It really helped us to just get familiar with what our ship offered ahead of time - we highly recommend Disney though - they do it all and they even cut the kids food up for me at dinner so I hardly had to do anything! And they loved it!! Good luck!

I don't have any experience with toddler on a cruise but I did go on my first cruise last October. One thing that I would recommend is bringing your toddler's favorite snacks and toys. I know they provide all the food you need on the cruise but sometimes between meals or when you are relaxing in your room, you may want to snack on something. I know I brought bottled water because I like water during the day and right before going to bed and I also brought a few small bottles of Mountain Dew (my favorite drink). I also had a few snacks. I even brought a small cooler and our person who cleaned our room (forgot the name) put ice in my cooler every day!!

Well, we are in the same boat. We'll be taking our 2 year old on a cruise with family soon too. I haven't done this yet, but I figure it can't be too much different than staying at a motel for an extended period of time. We generally have had to leave the room for my daughter to get to sleep or take a nap. We've taken her monitor and just went down the hall to a sitting area OR gone into the bathroom until she falls asleep and then reentered the room quietly to sit and read while she slept. Just take a lot of quiet entertainment for you! Make sure you have some of your son's favorite toys, blanket, etc for sleeping and playtime. Take more than you think you'll need of everything because finding stores with familiar brands is difficult in many ports (we have cruised w/o child before!). Don't forget toddler snacks (fish, cheerios, etc) because they probably won't have that on the ship. Snag an extra fruit from the buffet for later too! Don't forget the swim diapers and baby suncreen since many families spend hours swimming on the deck. A hat is a good idea too. Dress in layers since the decks can get cold (constant breeze due to ship moving). Hope that helps.

It is hard, but manageable. We cruised with our little guy in february. We brought his pack n play and it worked out great! We even brought it with us to the beach - perfect! Bring the music he goes to sleep to. Also, try to create a blockade in the room - like open the closet door to create a "room" for him. Or, you can always hang a blanket so he doesn't see you. It's tough, but the rocking of the ship should put him right out. :o) Have fun! Oh yah, and bring his favorite toys for the pack n play while getting ready. He will probably be the star of the ship! Enjoy!