Cruising w/ 2 1/2 year old

My Hubby and I are looking to book a cruise with our 2 1/2 year old daughter (shes not quite 2 yet, so we know there is a lot of change coming in the next year!) My in laws have discussed coming with us, but nothing is final yet. We are looking at Royal Caribbean Oasis

Hubby and I have been on 5 cruises together and I have been on 7 total so we are not unaware of the process, but this would be the first time with a little one! We have also been on the Oasis (2015) and the Allure (2011) so we are semi familiar with this ship.

I HOPE to potty train her between now and November 2018 (she turns 2 in April) Shes already showing some signs of readiness!! Yay!! and I know and Understand the no swim diaper rules!

Looking for tips, ideas, thoughts, and information on cruising with a toddler! She is extremely independant and loves to RUN!!! Whats the deal with the "nursery" option for parents and kids, has anyone done these activities?

Also, we would like to stay with RCC but would consider Carnival if there is something spectacular for kids on their ships. So i'm open to suggestions!

Also, Hubby and I enjoy spending time with her, and have never had a babysitter for her! I am a stay at home mom so we really are not looking to put her in a daycare type setting while cruising, we enjoy the family activities, and with the possibility of the In Laws joining us, we may get a dinner alone!

You will find the schedule for parent/child nursery time in the daily compass. There will also be underused spaces on the ship where you can let your little one burn off some energy....you'll simply have to look for less-used spaces on daily ramblings about the ship!

Really, it won't be hard to have a great time....you'll do what you do at home, for the most part! I would say that the dining room for meals will generally be easier than the buffet. Easier to be served, rather than dealing with plates, and child at the same time!

And do get her used to the shower, if you haven't booked a cabin with a tub!

I found my biggest challenge with a child under 4 is finding enjoyable excursions. Many ship sponsored have age limits for things I would easily think my child capable of. We ended up finding private tours at all our ports and had an amazing time doing things that my 2 youngest couldn't go on if we had booked through Royal.

Carnival has the kid club starting at 2 but it sounds like you wouldn't be taking advantage of that,I found they were great at finding things to pull in my shy 2 YO and make him and me feel comfortable. We did no excursions on our carnival cruise but I'm planing our April cruise and I'm finding age limits are older than I would think necessary with that line too but I can't confirm until I do a similar tour and determine that it wasn't pushing the limit of my children abilities.

Both cruise lines had plenty of unused spaces the children could run and play. Just look for places that hold large amounts of people in the evening and check the daily guide for when they are not hosting events .

The nursery allows all families to sign up for a limited number of hours on the first night, and then releases all remaining time for everyone to use. If daycare were crucial for you, you’d want to sail carnival since 2 year olds can go into the regular kids club program. It sounds like you’ll be fine on rc since you are looking for more limited care and they also have a great reputation with families. We’ve also found private excursions to be best, since we can control the itinerary and not worry about ruining others vacations (and we took our 3 year old to St. Petersburg so ruining that for others would be a disaster). The destination boards or TripAdvisor should be able to help you find private tour operators

And when you’ve chosen a cruise post again since forum members may be able to help you find family friendly excursions there

We cruised the Eastern Caribbean on Carnival with our then 2 1/2 yr old and she had a blast. We did not put her in the daycare or kids program since she had never been left with babysitters or strangers and I wasn’t sure how she would react. If I remember correctly, the kids program wouldn’t let us watch/observe how she was doing. Both sets of grandparents were on the cruise and that was helpful.

There was plenty of places for her to run around and she loved going up and down the stairs. There also seemed to be enough activities and entertainment to keep her busy while on the ship. Off the ship, we didn’t join any excursions and did our own thing and it worked out perfectly. We did make sure she had naps, whether it was on the go or in the cabin. We always ate dinner in the main dining room and she did really well there. Just remember to bring crayons, books, phone or something to keep them entertained while waiting for the food to arrive. I don’t remember too many meltdowns and another cruiser even complimented on how well behaved she was during dinner...we finally did something right!

We are going on a Mediterranean cruise on RC in a few months with our 2 1/2 and 5 yr old. I don’t have any plans to put them in the kids program so haven’t researched it. Hoping to have the same success as the last cruise but with the time change and port intensive cruise with lots of tours and walking, I’m expecting more meltdowns. :loudcry:

We cruised with our twin boys when they were 2, then 3 and getting ready for one in a few months (4). I would say, by far, the most 'annoying' thing (& this is the same for hotel stays) is when they go to bed. You don't have a lot of options. We had to turn all the lights out, keep quiet and basically do their schedule. I don't know about you, but 9pm is not MY bedtime :)

I second the comment about the excursions being hard to find for younger ones. We usually stick to the beaches.

We opted for the buffet rather than the dining room most nights b/c it was just easier to pick things we knew they'd eat. We did go to the dining room a few times, but, depending on their mood, it was enjoyable... or not.

They also slept on the couch in our room (Carnival) both times without a problem. This time they will move to the Pullman beds.

At 2, they did NOT love the camp, but at 3 they did... it was nice for a little grown up time!

On RCI you're little one must be 3 and potty trained to be in the Adventure Ocean (Aquanauts)... under 3 they can only use the Royal Babies & Tot's Nursery (available on some ships)...Check out the Nursery you may have a completely different opinion once you see what's offered. We have used both and they were amazing with professional staff.