7 Day cruise with 2 & 4 year old?

[kittycruize]

Hello everyone! We are considering going on a 7 day western on the RCCL Liberty with a 2 and 4 year old. Is this too long? What would we do on an average day on the ship, and what would we do in the ports such as Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica? Any advice would be appreciated! We have cruised before, just not with little kids! It would be myself (grandma) husband, and my daughter and her husband and the kids!:)

[MNmomof4]

My youngest kids are the same age and they love cruising. 7 days is definitely not too long! We will also be doing the Liberty of the Seas in Oct. My kids love mini golf, watching movies outside, water play areas, and pools. They love walking around and people watching. They also enjoy camp carnival. In cozumel, you can do a beach excursion. In Grand Cayman there is a turtel farm. The ports of calls boards will also have lots of ideas. We have opted just to walk around ports due to the car seat issue and not wanting them to be in a vehicle without being in a car seat. That is a decision we choose to make for our children's safety. I'm sure your grandchildren will love cruising and have a wonderful time! Liberty is a great family ship with so much to do/

[sharktums]

Any less than seven days and you're doing all of that packing, organization, rearranging for the majority of your time on board!

 

You'll have a great time. We did Liberty Western Itinerary last year with our then almost two year old and had a great time!

[MyMoses]

If you want to use the kids clubs, I would choose either Carnival or NCL as those are the only ones that will accept 2 year olds into their programs.

[Kerry's Girls]

I agree with Sharktums that less than a week would be too chaotic for me. Seven days is the minimum for me because of all the planning/arranging/packing etc. that goes into it. Once you get on board it takes a day or two to get in the swing of things. We've done two weeks (at 4 years old) and still could have stayed on board.

 

Best,

Mia

[poppan]

We did 14 nights on Celebrity with two 2.5 year olds and they had a blast. On the ship they loved the kids club (we accompanied them as they were too young to go alone) and pool, shuffle board at night, walking through the casino was a big hit (think lights & sounds), the music/lounge acts, everything was fun to them. Like you, my parents (the grandparents) came with us and we all took turns with the kids -- if you're like my parents and actually want to spend time with the grandkids, IMHO you don't need to pick a line for its kids club.

 

Onshore my kids really enjoyed the beach and going to see dolphins at one of those dolphin experience things, and we also called a port in Costa Rica where we booked a private tour and saw birds/monkeys/crocodiles. In planning I tried to pick things that I thought they would enjoy -- they like animals and they like sand. But they also did fine at Acapulco where we did very "adult" things (we walked all around the city and watched the cliff divers). I encourage you to go on the cruise -- we had so much fun!

[coordinator23]

We have traveled as a large family group several times. (4 generations) The littlest members had a blast. You will come back with some wonderful memories! (I can still picture my 2 year old grandaughter kicking and screaming, "No Daddy, water", when he had to pick her up and head back to the ship at Labadee. For someone who didn't like water much (bath) she sure took to the beach and water there.) Many other good memories both on board and off the ship. Go! They will have a good time and so will you!:) My daughter, son-in-law and 8 month old baby are joining us in a few weeks for a cruise. I can't wait to see her reaction to the beach. warm weather and new activities/sights.

[kittycruize]

Thank you all so much for your reply's, I really appreciate it! Just a couple more questions for you all. As far as the kids clubs go, mom is not comfortable leaving the kids in the clubs, so can she go in there with them so they can play etc for a bit? Also, have any of you been on both the Disney ships and RCCL? If so, which is better for families? We are still considering Disney because they seem so focused on kids, so think maybe that is the best cruiseline for us?:)

[Kerry's Girls]

My understanding is that the only line that lets parents join the children is Princess (which has a minimum age of 3).

 

Best,

Mia

[poppan]

I'm not sure about the others, but Celebrity let us (the parents) into the kids club with our kids. In fact, because our kids were younger than their minimum age (3), they were not allowed inside without us.