Tips for cruising with a 22 month old

[ChickyfromVA]

Husband I and have been on 19 cruises but this will be our first with our son. We leave from Miami on Feb 18 on the NCL Epic. Anyone have good advices for us?

[Onessa]

Best advice is to go with the flow and have fun. Cruising with a toddler is considerably different than cruising pre-kids. You know your son, so don't try activities or changes in schedules that you know he'll have trouble with.

 

Since you are leaving from a US port, be certain to find a discount retailer near your departure port and get the stuff he'll need (plus probably half again as much :) ) - diapers, specialized food, small bottle of laundry detergent for quick sink washing of one or two pieces of clothing, etc.

 

If he is potty trained or if you have alternate swimming options for him, multiple swimming suits are a must -- nothing worse than trying to get a toddler into a cold wet/damp suit!

[jenjaye]

Bring those disposable diaper bags - nothing worse than a stinky diaper in our stateroom!

 

We brought toys for our 24 month old to play with and some ships have toys you can check out. One night, he lost a favorite action figure while in the buffet and the crew figured out it was ours and brought it back to our cabin - talk about service!

 

MDR went fine - again, the crew are amazing! They will serve the kids' meals right away, bring more than one meal, etc - anything to keep the kids happy. We brought small coloring books and crayons, and, I'll admit it, an iPhone so he could play games at the table (no sound and we were in a corner...)

 

We had a balcony, so as soon as we got in the room, we moved all the furniture away from the railing and kept the door locked at all times. The balcony door was probably too heavy for him to open, but you never know...

[cb at sea]

At 22 mos., there is NO WAY that child could open a door!!!! NO WAY!

 

You know all about cruising....and you know about your almost 2 year old....merge what you know...and have a good time....you know you will!

[B_Mc]

We just did it and it was GREAT! Had a great time....the scented bags are a great idea. I'd also recommend bringing your own bedding for your LO, sheets, blankets, lovies, etc. We got in the habit of picking up lots of fruit from the buffet and keeping it in our room for early morning and quick snacks. Our DS loved splashing around in an inflatable tub on the pool deck and on the balcony. Hope you have a great trip!

[mymollysue]

One tip that worked out well for us is that we had room service deliver whole milk to us every morning. We kept extras in the fridge so we had milk available at all times. Also bring a small container of dish detergent to rinse out sippy cups. We also brought a portable DVD player in case our DD got antsy in the MDR if dinner was running long. That helped a lot!

[Cocoanib]

We just cruised with our 22 month old and had a blast!

Like the others said, you know your toddler, so go with what usually works for them.

 

Things that worked for us:

-We brought snacks for the room and our port day (luna bars, small packs of almonds and individual almond milks with straws). These were great for a healthy snack while on the tour bus and during in between meal times.

 

-We brought a mei tai type carrier instead of a stroller. This kept DD close to me in crowd situations and also allowed me to have my hands free. When we boarded a bus or got to a destination where DD could walk, I just rolled it up and put it in my bag.

 

-We sat in the very back for shows. this way we could leave if DD needed a potty break or needed to for any other reason. Also, it wasn't as loud and as overwhelming as sitting up front.

 

If I think of more I'll post! My review is in my siggy.

 

Have fun!