lkt89science

My son was 14 months on his first cruise and had a ball. Luckily we had family along who watched him, because the only time we tried to leave him in the ship daycare he cried nonstop (I'm a stay-at-home mom, so daycare was scary new.) We were very grateful for our balcony, because he was still napping twice a day. Bring bath toys for the splash pool. You really only need an umbrella stroller, unless you are planning some serious excursions. We purchased a blow-up bathtub, but you could also just get him used to showers. Room service is amazing. I would order extra milk and fruit at breakfast so we always had a snack when he woke up from a nap. Definitely, bring children's medicines for your own peace of mind.

We are cruising with our son in March. He will be 13 months then. We've started researching and trying stuff out so travel will be less overwhelming.

Daycare- We are looking forward to couple time, but our son has never been in daycare before. Thankfully a gym nearby takes kids as young as 6 months for an hour, and there is a Tumble Town drop-off center in the next city. The first time went well.

Shower- A suite is not in our budget, and a blow-up bathtub is one more thing to buy and store, so we are gradually introducing showers. Right now it is just a rinse after a shallow bath.

Sleeping- Our son sleeps on a Montessori floor bed, so the first time he saw a hotel Pack n Play he was fascinated-- for 3 hours. This time I am going to do a better job introducing the pack n play over naps and bringing a sheet that smells like home. Or just doing the family bed.

Schedule- One way we have found to make childcare seem fair: one person does morning nap, the other gets afternoon and whoever does bedtime gets to leave at 9 and enjoy the rest of the evening. I really, really hope we get that balcony we are on the waiting list for.

Travel- We live close enough to drive and have discovered this magic form of transportation- driving through naptime. We will take a nice long break in the middle somewhere he can crawl around.

Hope this helps!