My Cruise Experience With Our 16 Month Old on NCL Dawn

[ktpc2005]

My wife and I took our 16 month old son aboard the NCL Dawn for a seven day cruise to Bermuda last week. This was our first cruise as a family, but not our first vacation. We have taken many weekend vacations, flights to grandmas house, and other trips (one of the perks of being in the travel industry).

 

Our cruise was great and out son was great throughout the whole trip. He enjoyed exploring the ship and interacting with the crew.

 

Cabin: We had a balcony cabin on deck 10 midship which was a great choice. The cabin was large enough that my son could play in the cabin. He loved going out on the balcony and each afternoon we would put his pool out there. We were lucky that there was a drain right at our balcony which allowed us to drain the pool right there.

 

My son slept well in his pack and play for most of the time. When the ship was rolling, he would roll into the walls of the pack and play causing him to wake up a lot. We then had them sleep b/w us which solved the problem.

 

Dining: We ate our breakfast mostly in the buffet which had a great selection of things that our son ate.

 

Lunches and dinners were mostly in ate in the main dining rooms. DS would eat from a combination of the kid's menu and our meals. The crew would constantly be interacting with him which he loved.

 

Onboard: Our son loved going to the Under 2 Zoo which had a toys, mats, tents, and tunnels that he would play in. We would spend about an hour there in the morning and evening.

 

He loved all the shows and music and would stand there and dance along with the music. He loved the Stage show Bollywood as there was a lot of dancing and music.

 

In Bermuda: On the first day we took the bus to Horeshoe Bay and spent a couple of hours there. Our DS loved playing at the protected cove to the right of the main beach. He is very good in the water and can already swim with on his own with the assistance of a bubble.

 

Our second day, we took the ferry to St George where we toured around the city. We then took the bus to Crystal Caves and then had lunch at the famous Swizzle Inn. We then took the bus to Hamilton and took the ferry home from there.

 

On the third day, we took the ferry to Hamilton and then a bus to the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo (BAMZ). We then took the bus back to Hamilton and did some shopping before taking the ferry back to the cruise ship.

 

Overall: We really enjoyed cruising with our little guy and plan to do it again really soon. We did not feel like the cruise was much different with the little guy as we are very chill on cruise and are not big partiers. Our little guy was great throughout the cruise and we had no big issues.

[Woodmnky]

Always great to hear of a successful family vacation with a toddler. I'm glad that you all had a good time.

[gaylemh]

Were you able to take a stroller on the buses to horseshoe?

[ktpc2005]

Were you able to take a stroller on the buses to horseshoe?

 

We had a Britax B-Nimble stroller withus and we were able to take that on all the buses. Before we got on the bus, we folded up the stroller and most buses have a storage area at the front of the bus. On the buses that didn't we sat in a row with a large aisle and held the stroller next to us.

 

We did take the stroller to the beach, but once we got on the stand we let the little guy walk and folded up the stroller.

[crusinmama06]

We had a Britax B-Nimble stroller withus and we were able to take that on all the buses.

 

Does this fold up like an umbrella stroller? I just googled it and I am trying to picture it. This seems to be the big question of the month around here. :D The bus/ferry rules say "no strollers, except the umbrella stollers variety".

 

So would you say it was small enough to fold up.

 

And I know I told you this already, but WELCOME BACK! :D

[ktpc2005]

Does this fold up like an umbrella stroller? I just googled it and I am trying to picture it. This seems to be the big question of the month around here. :D The bus/ferry rules say "no strollers, except the umbrella stollers variety".

 

So would you say it was small enough to fold up.

 

And I know I told you this already, but WELCOME BACK! :D

 

 

It fold up like an umbrella stroller. Its an umbrella that has some storage, a sun canopy, and the seat can recline. You can also attach certain baby carriers to it as well. I like it because it easy to open and close and also has a carry strap so I can put it over my should when not using it.

 

This video give shows it when it is collapsed:

 

I also bought the travel bag as well for it from Amazon which keeps it protected when we gate check it at the airport.

 

I got it by cashing in some expired Thank you points and they were having a promotion that it was on discount. We have had it for about a year and have had no problems with it.