crosbystreet

Hi, I am just off Adventure this morning. We had My Time Dining and were on Deck 3. The people with fixed times were on the upper two decks above three. 

The only difference I noticed was the decks that and the standard dining times has the waiter parade and the napkin waving tradition on the last night and My Time doesn’t get that - so we talked up the interior stairs to show my son this part of a cruise. 

On 8/12/2019 at 4:04 PM, Don'tNeedAName said:

Awesome, @crosbystreet!  Have a great time!

 

Above all (as you already kind of recognized by getting the larger balcony), remember that this cruise will be SO DIFFERENT from all those cruises without a toddler.  But it's still a great vacation!

 

One thing we always enjoyed around naptime was that while one of us was putting him down, the other would go bring a plate and drink back from the buffet, then the other would go get their plate, and we'd sit out on the balcony, eat, drink, and take our own naps!

• A point to this, if you have an easily packable video monitor, bring it with you.  The reception through metal walls of the ship suck, but it is good enough to use while you sit out on the balcony.

 

My general thoughts for this age...

 

Adventure Ocean

• Even if you don't think he will like Adventure Ocean, make sure you go the first day.
• They have a couple different "open-house" times that you can get him signed up, meet some of the staff, and you can be in the little play area with him for a little bit.  This seemed to do a better job of easing ours into the setting.
• Note, ours just started daycare within the past few months, whereas he had previously been with grandparents during the workday, so he ultimately only went a few times to AO and said he did not want to go back after spending a couple hours there over the course of the next few days.  As noted above, it's his vacation too, so we didn't force it.

Activities around the ship

• Seriously, our 3 y/o loved the ice show.  We saw it twice, and he will not stop talking about it and saying he is an ice skater... even though when we went to an open skate time, he cried the entire one lap I managed to get him to do, lol!
• Peek-a-boo bridge... deck 11 forward, go out from the port side, and walk all the way to the front of the ship, and you can look down at the bridge.  Ours loved going up there just about every day and watching them for a while.
• Helicopter pad.  Easiest to access from outside on deck 4, and keep walking forward and upstairs.  Our 3 y/o wanted to go every single day.
• Pools... our 3 y/o preferred the main pool to the children's splash area, but we did spend some time in the splash area, and it was nice.  The 1.5 y/o was relegated to the even smaller area for those still in swim diapers, but he had a great time.

Packing

• Our kids aren't generally picky eaters when it comes to meal times, but they have a few particular snacks that they really like.  Since restaurant times aren't always most convenient on board when a toddler wants a snack, we did make sure to pack some extras of their favorite snacks for the room.
• We bought this foldable potty seat off Amazon that was easy to pack and great for him to use on board.
• We brought along inflatable bed rails.  Our 3 y/o rolls around a TON.  People have mentioned that the cabin steward will create makeshift rails out of bedding/towels, and I'm sure that would be just as useful (and free of course)... however, we really liked these and would recommend them.  Note, if you just get the bed rails, I don't think it comes with an inflator.  However, any air mattress inflator will do the trick.
• We have been using these sunblock sticks, and our 3 y/o loves using it on his own.  We go back over and make sure he's covered, but he likes feeling self-sufficient using it.
• As far as toys, hot wheels are a huge hit with our sons... they play with them non-stop, and don't take up that much room.  We bought a cheap zipper pencil bag to throw a bunch of cars in before we left.  We also decided to get some new books and small toys to up the excitement factor a little... however, don't go overboard--there is plenty to keep them entertained!

Hey we leave tomorrow - I wanted to jump back in here quick and say how helpful this advice is. Three year old boys are a particular kind of traveler and this advice has been so helpful. I can’t wait for him to see the ship tomorrow. 

I am sailing on Adventure on Saturday! Our first real vacation with our 3 year old. He’s super excited. 

Many new tips of things that were good for the little kids? Did you pack special stuff they liked?

We have an aft cabin with larger balcony as we expect to be spending much more time in the room than before kids. 

We are going on Royal and AOS for the first time in a few weeks. Excited to hear your advice. I’ve only been on Celebrity before. 

I'm booked in 1688 on Adventure of the Seas in August 2019. The links to the photos don't work, but I'm assuming it's great based on the feedback here.

Ricknyc. What did you think of the Breakaway?

Does anyone have an opinion on Breakaway? The recent reviews here aren't great (http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=642).

But they are sailing out of NYC for weekends at $205pp. I thought it could be a fun way to check out the ship.

I just booked a Bermuda cruise on Summit for August. I was having a hard time deciding between an Aqua room on deck 11 or an aft cabin on 9. I like the idea of the sunny exposed balcony on 11, but the balconies on 9 aft are huge!

The best of both would be an aft on 11, but those are always sold out!

Cruise Critic is always so useful. I just booked 9162 for a Bermuda sailing in July. It's great to see just how huge that balcony is!

Wow, you all are planners. We just booked Bermuda in September (2012, that is) last night.

We do have one 2013 booked too thought. We're joining a bunch of friends from our neighborhood taking the NCL cruise to nowhere from Manhattan in January 2013. I would like to book for 2014 CTN on the Breakaway on that sailing.

Hello from Brooklyn! My partner and I learned we love cruises. They are such a relaxing escape.

We weren't going to take one this year, but we finally decided today we're going to go out of Cape Liberty on the Celebrity Summit in September.

We're also going with some friends on the NCL Jewel cruise to nowhere in January. Im hoping we'll do that one again in 2014 to see the new Breakaway.

That's exactly what I would like to do. I'll ask before I purchase something.

On our Caribbean sailing, all the lounges and even the chairs were sold out every day. The Sanctuary itself was far from full, but people "owned" all the chairs.

Are you saying that I would get the same chair at the exact same place for the whole week? That's not what I want... :(

Yes, you get the same chair in the same space with the same steward for the whole week. I loved it -- saw it as a great luxury, especially with all the chair-hogging.

Where on the ship can I book it? At the Sanctuary or at the Spa?

On the CB Princess, we booked with the serenity steward at the Sanctuary. They will show you a map of the seats that are left.

Look up before you book to see how much sun the seat gets before you sign up.

Can I purchase a seat for the entire sailing before the cruise from Princess' website? I looked an couldn't find any info.

No, you need to book the Sanctuary seat when you board. You might want to board early to make sure you get a spot.

We were at the Sanctuary at about 11 am on the CB Princess and the seats available for the entire sailing were nearly gone.

Just got off Caribbean 9 day cruise $135.00 for the 9days pp to me it was well worth the extra money,,......only complaint is that anyone except kids can use the spa pool which is right where we are...would prefer restricted to spa guests and sanctuary guests only... it really is the place to relax and reflect......:):p:D;)

I just got off this cruise on the Caribbean Princess as well. I purchased a seat for the entire sailing as soon as we got on the ship. I was really glad I did it. Friends who didn't reserve for the entire sailing had to wake at 5:30 a.m. and be in line by 6 a.m. to get a Sanctuary seat. Not my idea of a vacation.

As Cruise Crew said, there were some loud people in the spa pool at times during our sailing. But it is still a relatively quiet escape with a high level of service. If you are looking for a quiet escape, I really encourage you to treat yourself to the Sanctuary.

I took some photos and will post them soon.