RCL vs. Carnival with potty trained 2.5 yo

[lolakat]

I have a week of vacation in April/May and I've been thinking of taking a cruise with my DD who will be 2.5 and potty trained. I know the kids program on Carnival takes 2 yo but there is no in room baby sitting while on Royal Caribbean she would be too young for the kids club but there may be other activities for her during the day and we could use in room babysitting at night. What do you experienced cruisers think?

[cb at sea]

As long as she's truly toilet trained, she can go in the pools and use the babysitting. RCI still won't take her in the kid's club, tho....

I think there is a set time when you can take children too young for the club in to play with the toys (a parent must accompany them!).

Aside from the pool, I'm not sure what other activities there would be for a child that young....

[boulders]

RCCL is my favorite line. I have taken a 2 year old on an RCCL cruise. That having been said: TAKE CARNIVAL.

 

On RCCL, the 45 minutes a day that they have to play with Fisher Price toys was not very exciting. The babysitting costs $10-$12/hour, IF you can get it. My ds was bored, bored, bored.

 

On Carnival, the 2 year olds have access to over 12 hours of camp fun with other kids. They can do camp dinners, camp lunches etc etc. Much more fun for the 2 year old.

[RENMama]

we are taking our not quite potty trained, not quite 2.5yo on carnival.

she goes to childcare at the gym a few days a week and i think will LOVE camp carnival. i know my oldest cant wait to go back.

 

i think rccl is great too. their ships are pretty. but for my kids, carnival will work just fine.

[ruready]

I think your daughter will enjoy either. We will go on Royal in a few months when my son will be 3. We plan on having our son with us all of the time. For other activities outside the "camps", the daily program will list "Family Activities" such as scavenger hunts, family trivia, etc. I know with Royal a few nights during the cruise, they will have Family Disco for about an hour (usually 10 - 11 pm), which is fun. There will be enough to do outside of a club if your daughter is not allowed or does not like it. Also, not sure where you plan on sailing too, but if warm weather area, the pool could be her best friend. Again, I do not think you can go wrong with either.