Cruise with 2 year old - Need Help Deciding

[ToddlerMom]

Hi everyone, apologies up front if I ask stupid questions. I have looked at old discussions here so sorry if I'm asking the same questions all new people ask. :)

 

We are planning a cruise for either february or march 2012. We've never cruised before. DD will be 2 by then and might be potty trained.

 

I want a no stress vacation. Basically I want to sit in the sun someplace warm and pretty and do nothing. We don't gamble. I don't want to shop in the ports although I might like to wander around. We would like some time to ourselves so need childcare.

 

It looks like Carnival and NCL are the only lines that have complimentary childcare for a 2 year old. Is complimentary childcare enough of a reason to select Carnival or NCL over a line where you have to pay? I don't mind paying if I can get the childcare when I need it but I worry that I might not be able to reserve it when I want it.

 

The Carnival counselors will change diapers but NCL's won't. If I got paged on NCL to change DD's diaper, how quickly could I get to her? I worry about her sitting in a dirty diaper for too long.

 

What do the kids do while they are in the childcare? Do they watch TV or do they have activities?

 

What about RCCL? I know I would have to be with DD when she as in the Royal Tots program but we might enjoy doing activities together. How hard is it to reserve in cabin babysitting?

[boulders]

RCCL in cabin babysitting may or may not be available. I had good luck when I sailed with my 2 year old, but now there is a time limit (I forget exactly how long, but I think it's 3 hours) and there have been many reports of people not being able to get in cabin sitting as well.

 

I've been on one Carnival cruise, I didn't so much care for it, but if I were sailing with a 2 year old, I would definitely choose Carnival over the others. We sailed Carnival when ds was 3. They do have activities in Camp Carnival. I don't recall them every watching TV. I haven't sailed NCL, but I would prefer not to be having to worry about the pager and rushing back to change diapers.

 

In sum,

It looks like Carnival and NCL are the only lines that have complimentary childcare for a 2 year old. Is complimentary childcare enough of a reason to select Carnival or NCL over a line where you have to pay?

 

YES

 

I don't mind paying if I can get the childcare when I need it but I worry that I might not be able to reserve it when I want it.

 

This is a very valid concern. Childcare is not guaranteed for 2 year olds except on Carnival and NCL.

 

Disney and some of the RCCL ships have nurseries, but you can only sign up for a limited number of hours.

[SadieN]

Activities are similar to play time at daycare or preschool.

[Essiesmom]

Look for a post by or a reply by crusinmama06. She has links to the daily programs for the kids clubs in several cruise lines, including Carnival, NCL, and Royal. EM

[Tggrtoes]

We chose Carnival for the very reasons you mention... I wanted to spend a lot of time with DS but also wanted some alone time with DH.

 

I felt that going back to changing diaper could be difficult depending on where I was on ship and what I was doing. I also thought that would be difficult to come in and change diaper and then leave again. On a related note, One of the things I remember cruisinmama (i think) mentioning too about the being potty trained thing on other lines is that they have to be able to do it completely on their own - they won't help them onto the potty, wipe, do up buttons, etc. So that may factor into your decision about whether you think you'll be ready in time.

 

The experiences at Camp Carnival seem to vary drastically - obviously every family is going to have different expectations not to mention that the camp staff vary ship to ship. Our personal experience was excellent. DS pretty much begged to go back to camp each day (he was used to preschool, but isn't a huge social butterfly so even we were surprised).

 

I think Disney is also an option, but I seem to recall that they don't change diapers. I also remembered in the younger groups they did limit the hours in club (maybe 10 hours total?) which we weren't happy with. I think also some of the newer ships may change diapers (Oasis maybe?)... but it's been a couple of years since I shopped for a cruise with a non potty trained kid. Sorry for the mini novel writing here... hope it helps. :cool:

[mymollysue]

We did a Disney Cruise (Disney Dream) with our DD who was almost 2 at the time. She went to the nursery pretty much almost everyday and she LOVED it. You can prebook the nursery online and then add more time if it is available when you get on the ship. They do change diapers, they even put my DD in her pajamas. One night she fell asleep in the nursery she was so tired.

 

They have tons of toys, they play Disney cartoons and the characters come to visit them in the nursery. One night we came to pick her up and the staff handed me a picture of my DD with Snow White. It made my night!

 

Everyone also has phones for the staff to contact you if need be. They only contacted me once to let me know my DD was upset because she saw parents picking up their kids. When I asked if she was ok, they let me know she was back to playing. Their nursery is really top notch. The charge was $6 an hour. Totally worth it in my book.

 

In December we are going on RCCL LOS because they also have a nursery. I think they are $8 an hour. As soon as we get on board, we will head there to book our nursery time. Hopefully we will have a good experience there as well. We may try to book the in cabin babysitting for one evening as well in case DH and I want to have one late night.

 

We took DD on a NCL cruise when she was 1 so I can't really comment on their kids clubs except that I do know they don't change diapers. On the Jewel, the only changing table was in the kids club on the whole ship.

 

Good luck with your choice!!!!!

[Julienatul]

We have sailed with our kids alot. My DS is almost 3 now and DD is 6. Just beware if you sail Carnival, Camp Carnival is more of an activity service versus babysitting. If the kids are fussy or unhappy or exhibit separation anxiety they will call you to come get them and they cant participate. The counselors are not so warm and engaging for the shy ones. They are wonderful for kids who want to be there though. My DD wouldn't go into Camp carnival until she was almost 4. We tried multiple times during the week on about 3-4 different cruises when she was that age. She was just too scared being around strangers in an unfamiliar environment and she has been a daycare baby since 4 months so she is used to separating from us. So plan that you might be spending the entire cruise with your child just in case if you sail Carnival.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've used Carnival when we cruised with a (non-potty trained) grandson just turned 3. We thought the kid's program was excellent and all the kids had fun.

 

With a two-year-old it kind of depends on whether you think they will go to and stay in the kid's club by themselves. Is he used to daycare? Outgoing or shy? Clingy or take-charge? It's hard to tell at that age just what they will do.

 

We've sailed a lot of different cruise lines and Carnival is just fine--and we're in our 60's. We have never cruised on them, though, in the height of spring break, when they are lots of kids on board.

 

We've also taken grandkids on RCI, which was great, but they don't take 2's in their kids club. NCL, as you know, takes 2's but doesn't change diapers. I think they'd call you right away if one is needed and the kid's clubs are usually quite close to the Lido deck, if not right on it.

 

There's nothing wrong with wanting a few hours to yourself and it can be good for kids to experience a little independence. Plus, my grandkids loved the clubs.

 

Some cruise lines will watch kids while you are on shore, but I'm not sure which ones. If you take your son on shore, keep it simple--use a stroller if walking around, go to a beach.