Extras you bring with a kiddo in tow?

Hey there,

My husband and I have cruised several times and are bringing our 8-year old son on his first cruise in January. Anything extra you typically bring when you have kids along? He's a pretty laid-back, easy going kid who is easily entertained but I feel like I'm going to forget something important he might like/want along!

Also, did you give your kids a spending allowance on the ship? He's been saving up his money so he has extra but I wonder what you have found to be a reasonable amount as a good compromise (I know this will vary some from family to family but would be interested to see what you think is a good/reasonable/realistic amount).

We're so excited to share cruising with him!!

Some families have their children pack a small backpack full of whatever toys they want to bring, and it is that child's responsibility to carry or wheel it through the airport. At that age, some books and an iPad should be enough, especially if he is the kind of kid who would like the kids club. We take boxed cereals from breakfast to bring them on excursions so our children always have a snack handy.

It sounds like everything will be great - our kids love cruising, and they were at much more difficult ages than yours (2-6). Our oldest at 6 just loves the kids club and exploring new cities, and is really easy to travel with. Preschoolers are a lot harder, so you should have a really fun trip!

My kids were 3 & 4 when we started cruising and they are now 7 & 8. To this day each child still brings the same things: a small backpack with 1 stuffed animal, 1 coloring book and some crayons/pencil, a favorite book and 1 Highlights/activity magazine. We found that this was enough to entertainment them at airports/plane and the cabin while waiting for mom/dad to get ready. As for the allowance, they also bring a $20 bill to buy anything they want on the ship. If the item is over $25 we say "no" but if it's less then we just add to their $20. Heck we end up paying for the stuff they buy anyway b/c even though they'll give us the money (to help pay for the cc bill) dh and I just sneak it back into their piggy bank once we get home.

Like the other comments, we have the kids pack their own bag of stuff. My son, at 11, tends to just pack his Kindle, DS and some games. When he was younger he might have taken along a blanket or stuffed animal. We will grab snacks in the morning to hold on to for the afternoon (like cereal, fruit and yogurt) but there's honestly food so readily available all the time that it's not really an issue.

Rather than a set spending limit we do things like - they're allowed to purchase 1 fruity 'extra' drink per day (or specialty pastry, etc). My boys aren't really all that into souvenirs but in Alaska they both requested to purchase a ball cap on the White Pass Railway which we allowed. There's really very little additional for kids to purchase on the ship. You may want to budget money for spending in port if you're into souvenirs.

If your son is into arcades, I would use caution there. Our experience is that cruise ship arcades are less video games and more like slot machines. If at all possible, keep him away from it!

Finally, it can be really fun sometimes for kids to do bingo - so you might want to add in money for a round of bingo. Depends on the kid really, but my sister and I cruised with our parents when were kids and LOVED bingo. We won the first pot of $300 and played the entire cruise. There was some grumbling when my younger sister subsequently won the bigger pot at the end of the cruise, but fair is fair. Didn't matter that she was only 8, her board won. ;)

My kids are 9 and 6. We let them bring tablets but that was more for the car ride. They watched some tv in the room and my dd had a coloring book. We were either doing excursions or hanging by the pool. I would bring swim goggles.

They were allowed to pick out one souvenir from either the stores on the ship or from the port. My parents were with us and ended up buying them more stuff.

These days kids can play bingo but an adult has to claim the prize.

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Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! My kiddo loves bingo so that might be fun for a Sea Day!

our 6 year old's tablet is a life saver. Before leaving, we download movies, cartoons and games on it because there is no free internet on the boat. He is occupied during dinner, and we can relax and talk to other adults to our hearts' content. Don't forget headphones. It's also super helpful in a variety of other activities.

DS has no interest in fruity drinks, specialty pastries or knickknacks in stores. He will also NOT stay at the kid's club.

DS brings one or two of his stuffed animals, and some legos (usually a new box or two to open on the trip).

We also bring 3-4 sand toys (a truck, a bulldozer, a small shovel, etc.). Floaties are a must - he can't swim, but loves the hot tub, ocean and pool. I found some that rate to 100#!

Double of everything beach related, because stuff just doesn't dry very well: 2 pairs of swimming trunks, 2-3 sunhats, 2 SPF shirts. SPF lotion.

1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of water shoes, 1 pair of snickers, 1 pair of generic crocs (he doesn't wear flip flops).

On our last cruise DS (8) brought 2 books and his kindle. One book he brought so we could work on a Cub Scout award. :) DD (also 8) brought so much stuff that she had to pack a separate backpack with art supplies. They are responsible for their own carry-on size suitcase (which includes most of their clothes) except on escalators.

We have not given them a budget on previous cruises, and just bought them something as a souvenir. DS collects keychains and he usually pays for that himself so he can get something better on my dime. On this cruise, we gave them $25 each on their S&S. For context, this was on a 7-day cruise, and they normally get $5 per week as allowance.

An 8 year old will not be "out and about" on his own, without you. If he needs/wants something, you can get it!

We do a "parent 401k" for our kids before each vacation. We match dollar-for-dollar everything they manage to save in the 6 months before the vacation (with a $100 per kid limit). That is the sum total of their spending money. We will occasionally buy them each a t-shirt.

On the list cruise, our kids were 6, 8, and 10 and had between $50 - $120 to spend. They hand me the cash when we board, and I pay for all their stuff, then mark the amount in a notebook. We do this rather than put it on the shipboard account because they also like to buy souvenirs in port. Since it's their money, they can spend it on anything, including fruity drinks or specialty desserts. At the end of the cruise, they get back anything they didn't spend. The youngest manages to spend every bit of his money down to the money on every vacation. The older two tend to have some left over.

We've started this for each kid when they turned 5, and it works really well to teach them how to budget their money. They are old pros now.

I second the recommendation to bring sand toys. Also, plastic bags to put the sand toys in when you return to the ship.

Swimmer's ear drops...just in case.

We also usually bring a new card game to play as a family.