Toddler parents- need advice

[aliwnec10]

My husband and i want to take a cruise in october with our son who will be 2 1/2 at the time. I hope to start potty training him in 2 months, but who knows how that will go. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Is there any particular boat you would recommend? Itinerary?

 

Now let me get this straight, no kids can go in the pools unless they're potty trained right? Except on the Freedom, Independence, Liberty & Oasis? is that it?

 

We were thinking of the western itinerary on the Destiny boat, but i've read awful reviews about the boat.

 

My husband doesn't really care for Cozumel. We were thinking a 5 night cruise since it will be our sons first and we don't want to over do it in case it turns out to be a disaster. Ha!

 

Any advice would be appreciated?

[Queen of Oakville]

you know your child best! My 21/2 year old did amazingly on the Dream (although he HATED camp carnival). Every child is different. My was fully potty trained. He was too short for the slide (although he snuck down a few times and loved it). There is a baby slide which is for well ....babies.

 

He did okay in the pools although he wasn't a fan of the salt-water.

[RoadTripFanatic]

We took DD on two cruises when she was 2. She did great on both of them. One was with Princess and the other was NCL. I will say that if you potty train your child before you go take some supplies with you just in case. DD was 100% potty trained before we left. She had been for 4 months. She was "flushed" by a cruise ship auto-toilet. She completely freaked out and refused to use a toilet on the ship!! We only had pull ups with us and we had to buy diapers in Maui to get through the trip. ACK! Luckily when she came back she would use a regular toilet but it took me 3 months and a "hot wheel" bike to get her on a auto-flush toiler.

 

As for which cruise line I would go with one that allows two year olds in the kids center. That way you can have some peace and quiet for a few minutes on the ship or a quiet dinner. :)

 

I will say I do not like Cozumel either but we discovered Chakanaab. :) It's a great place to spend the day. We just skip the ships excursion and take a taxi to the park. It is very nice.

[jam82]

Until your son is 3 and fully potty trained, I wouldn't recommend booking anything but a Carnival cruise. My DS is 3 and has been on 10 Carnival cruises. IMHO, Carnival has the best child care for 2 year olds and they change diapers if needed. (When your son is ready to be potty trained, you will know it.) Really most lines are more similar than they are different. Our DS LOVES Camp Carnival and they have provided great care with a good variety of activities. Since he's usually been among the youngest, he seemed to get a little special attention. Disney and NCL also have care for two year olds, but it is not as comprehensive.

 

Of course the rule is that diapered kids are not allowed in the pool on Carnival. Many many people break this rule. I wouldn't break it because I'd be scared of what my DS would catch from all the other people breaking the rule. We would much rather have child care than a pool. On our last two cruises, he was potty trained, but we didn't even use the pool. There is plenty else to do with him on the ship that not swimming has never been an issue for us.

 

Most short western itinerairies will stop in Cozumel. Maybe you should look into a Bahama's?

 

Starting with a short cruise is what we did too. In retrospect, I wish we had done a longer one. It worked out fine. I'm sure you'll have fun.

 

P.S - Edit - Now that my DS is 3 we have booked two cruises on other lines, but for a 2 year old, Carnival was the ticket.

[MrsZee]

From what I have read, there is nothing to worry about with the Destiny anymore. It had some mechanical problems and would frequently missed ports, but they have since taken it out of commission for a few days and fixed it.

[Sandpiper10]

Hi there...

Just wanted to give you a little imput. We cruise with our daughters age 6 and 3 in May. This will be their 1st cruise, our 3rd. We are taking the Destiny on the 5 day Eastern cruise that visits Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We picked this cruise with our daughters in mind. Every port has a beach very close by, and they love the beach. Since your child may not be fully potty trained, they would still be able to go in the ocean with swimmy diapers. We just finished potty training our 3 year old finally, and we used the cruise to give her something to work for...to be able to get in the pools. This cruise only has 1 day at sea, so like in your case, if not fully potty trained, your child would get plenty of water time at the ports that we are visiting....

Yes, I agree...the Destiny was having problems, but since it was dry docked in February, the propulsion problems have been solved. Check out some of the reviews posted on the main board and you'll see people have been really happy with the ship.

I hope some of my advice will help you, especially the potty training incentive with the cruise....:)

Best wishes to you with the potty training and picking the perfect cruise and boat for you and your family!

[BalconyBreeze]

I can let you know how it goes, as I am leaving in ten days with a 2.5 and 4 year old. I thought that was a great point about how loud the toilets flush.....we have been prepping our son about this, as I remembered the first time he used the public restroom at an airport...it was a loud auto-flush......and it really scared him. We will bring diapers just in case. We are also doing the Bahamas as their first cruise......It's a 4 day one and I think it will give us a good feel for how well they do with things like the Kids Crew and excursions.

[Aelsantokie]

Of course every child is different and with that in mind....

 

I just didn't think about vacationing until my boys were at least 3 1/2 years old (but this is also due to the size of my family).

 

My boys were potty trained but the change of scenery or whatever but they kept having accidents (thank goodness I bought jumbo boxes of pull ups and swim diapers at Sams Club before I left!

 

They didn't really get to enjoy the kiddie pool but did enjoy the beaches we went to in the ports.

[jam82]

If you are worried about your child's reaction to the auto flush, bring a post -it note and place it over the sensor as soon as you enter the stall. My son isn't so much scared of the flush, but flushing is his reward for using the potty. It works for us.

[jerin]

Disney might be a good line for you to look at, too. They have various cruise lengths from 3 to 7 nights (including 5 nights), and I think that most, if not all, Disney ships have a place for diapered kids' water play and there are also kids' programs available for that age if he's so inclined to participate.

[MrsZee]

Disney might be a good line for you to look at, too. They have various cruise lengths from 3 to 7 nights (including 5 nights), and I think that most, if not all, Disney ships have a place for diapered kids' water play and there are also kids' programs available for that age if he's so inclined to participate.

 

I actually wouldn't do Disney yet, not til he is 3 and potty trained. Otherwise you are limited to only ten hours of babysitting that you pay for. Carnival allows kids as young as two and changes diapers. The Disney area for diapered kids is really just a little splash area. IMHO, Disney isn't worth it til your kids are 3.