Opinions on cruising with a 15mon old

[bigboiracer]

Looking for opinions? my wife and I love cruising and want to share the experience with our daughter she would be 15 months at the time of sailing. past experiences, or any other input would be greatly appreciated. im just on the fence because we are deciding between Orlando or a cruise. thanks for all your help!!

[Scrapnana]

The cruise would be more relaxing, IMO. We took my just turned 2 grandson to Disney for three days and then on a cruise. It was much easier getting him his nap on the ship plus we could pay for him to go to the kid's club for a little break.

[Mrs.C05]

Based on other "family" reviews, I'm pretty excited to take our son on a cruise in September, his first one. He's a very good boy, energetic, people person, etc. and we know he'll enjoy himself.

 

Like the previous poster said, it seems it would be easier to get the little one's to take naps on a cruise (to just simply walk back to the room, or schedule your port days around the nap time), rather than at a theme park, but I know all children are different.

 

You know your child the best. Good luck and I hope they enjoy the cruise if that's what you choose.

[OzCanuck]

If you can afford it, try NCL's two bedroom family sute. Tried cruising for the first time with our 15 month old last December - and it was perfect. Put him down, shut the door, have the butler bring in a romantic dinner....

 

Unfortunately NCL doesn't really cater to children under 3, but we were very well looked after and enjoyed every minute of the cruise. So much so that we did another one in February, and are doing another one next week (all in the same cabin type..)

[RSLeesburg]

We took our son, then 3, to WDW last year, and it was a bit overwhelming for him. We stayed at the Poly, so was quick to get back for his nap (and he did sometimes take one), but he absolutely loved the pool, the beach, and the Neverland Club. With a 15 month old, it might be easier to get your daughter around (she has not reached the NO and Tantrum phases yet), but my advice would be to stay close to the park - Poly or Wilderness if you plan to spend time at MK, or Yacht Club if you favor Epcot/Studios, or Animal Kingdom Lodge - this makes it much easier to get back to room for naps. Also, she is too young for the various clubs, but believe that you can get baby sitter through Disney (at a cost). In terms of ships, several have nurseries (at a cost), such as RCI.

 

I think you would be fine either way, and the cost will probably be the same if you stay at one of the deluxe WDW resorts...

[092306]

I would do the cruise vs. Orlando with a 15 month old. We cruised with our son when he was 14 months and it was a great experience.

[c-cruise]

I would do the cruise as well. The parks can really be a slow, frustrating experience with a child that age. The cruise will be much more relaxing!

 

If you do decide on Disney World I would plan on just doing Magic Kingdom and staying at one of the monorail resorts. It's so nice to be able to come and go easily to take a break from the crowds and/or get back for nap times.

 

If you do the cruise I would definitely get a balcony so that you have somewhere to go while the child is napping. It's also really helpful to find a cabin that has a curtain to divide the sleeping areas. I would also look for a cruise line/ship that has a nursery facility for kids under 3. We just did the Disney Fantasy and the nursery looked pretty great although our kids were both now old enough for the regular kids club.

[RSLeesburg]

Yes. Balcony is critical - you do need a place to go while they nap. :)

[cb at sea]

15 months is too young for Disney's "magic"....they really need to be about 6 before they "get it"....and can enjoy it.

[flhokie]

15 months is too young for Disney's "magic"....they really need to be about 6 before they "get it"....and can enjoy it.

 

I agree that 15 months is young for Disney....especially for the cost of he vacation.

 

That being said, there is not a magic age that they get Disney/enjoy it. Our DD (2 years) loves it and really enjoys it (asks to go again all the time). We live locally & can go when we want which helps. When we got our passes we weren't sure how she would do (having worked there for years, I'd seen kids of all different ages react differently---it depended on the individual child), but she loves it so much. Some younger ones will do great & some older won't.

[boulders]

At that age, I'd prefer a condo on land. The youngest I've taken a child on a cruise was 32 months, and even that was too young as there was no nursery or kids club for them, although we did have in cabin babysitting. Naps, meals, running around, running to the store for something you ran out of or forgot, and finding things for a toddler to do is so much easier on land. Ships don't usually carry infant medicines or wipes or diapers. The one time I saw diapers in a ship's store, it was a tiny package and it was $1 per diaper.

[Swimfly]

15 months is too young for Disney's "magic"....they really need to be about 6 before they "get it"....and can enjoy it.

 

I actually disagree but that's my perspective.

 

Taking a 15 mo to the theme parks is a lot of work. We just returned from a Disney cruise with our 16 mo and it was the easiest vacation we've ever taken. The CM think of everything and really simplifies your life on board. Our daughter loved the "It's a Small World Nursery" and was bummed everytime we showed up to pick her up. Our room attendant provided little extras for our daughter including keep our fridge stocked with whole milk. I can't explain enough how every little detail was taken care of.

 

We've also been taking our daughter to WDW since she was 12 weeks. You're right she didn't experience the magic until our last trip but we really enjoy WDW as a family. We've stay at Swan & Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Polynesian with her. These resorts make it a lot easier with their proximity to the parks but it's still a lot of work. We're headed back next month for a stay at Beach Club and then 4th of July at the Grand Floridian. We're there a lot. However, it's a different type of family trip. Not so much relaxing but building memories together. The Disney cruise.... now that was relaxing! We've already rebooked on the Fantasy for next spring.

[Bobbyjean]

Our son went to Disney World when he was 3.5 and NEVER stops raving about the place now. I don't think you have to wait till they are 6, but being old enough to remember it (at least 2) would probably be beneficial unless you are really keen to go yourself.

 

Think about getting a suite or balcony and bring plenty of entertainment for during dinner, as it can be difficult to keep younger children quiet for all that time.

 

If we have another child I don't think we would bother with a cruise until they were 3 - it gets so much easier at this age as they are fully aware of their surroundings and can interact/enjoy everything. To be honest we found it a bit stressful when our son was 2 and missed out on a lot as we were stuck in the cabin during all of his lengthy naps/early bedtimes.

[Prinycesa07]

I would choose the cruise becuase its just easier in general. Everything is right there for you. Its also easy during nap and bed time to just go up to the room and the other parent can go out if they want. Or sit on the balcony if you get one. Its nice to be able to go "home" (your cabin) at any point if there is a melt down.

 

However, i will say, that i've cruised when my kids were 10 months, 17 months, 2 years, 2.5 years and 3.5 years (i have 2 kids, we havent gone that much LOL) and i found the 17 month age to be the most difficult (so right around your childs age). He had a lot of energy and just wanted to run, didnt understand consequences, couldnt sit still longer than .5 seconds, etc. The 3.5 yr and 10 month were the easiest for me so far.

[queenL]

You could always do both though! Cruise from Orlando and spend 1or 2 days precruise at WDW. :D If I had to choose I'd take the cruise. In fact, we cruise again next month. My youngest will be 15mos. Both of our girls began cruising at 5mos. It definitely takes more planning to travel with little ones. Like others have said diapers, extra pacifiers, toddler snacks, teething medications, infant tylenol etc are all pricey or difficult to find. Take those things with you. Once we spent 5 hr in Antigua looking to purchas another pacifier. We had packed three but managed to loose the others. With my oldest there was no peace without her pacifier. You really don't want to spend your port time doing that.

 

I agree with the poster that said Disney is best for slightly older kids (4-8yrs) IMO. We sailed Disney last year for my oldest who was 5 at the time. She did "get" the Disney magic and I thought that it was the perfect age for that. We don't do balconies with small kids. I'm just uncomfortable with that though many people do. We survived just fine without one. My kids nap anywhere so most of the time daytime naps are in the stroller. Other times we'd just go back to the room and watch a movie or read.

 

Princyesa is right the 15mos age is the hardest. They are active always grabbing, always dashing, always exploring. Toddler proofing the cabin is a must. I've found that when the kids club is closed to other children they will usually let you take the younger ones there (you must stay) and play. It gives them space to run free and grab things they can't break. When the childrens area wasn't available I found an empty lounge or conference room (brought our own toys) so that they could just run around freely. We ate in the casual dining area more frequently or one of us was always prepared to remove her if she got noisy during the 2-3 hr dinners.

 

I would also suggest that you select a line like RCL Oasis class that has a nursery for under 2. Most lines ignore that demographic. It is a great option though so you get some alone time. We just travel with grandparents and extended family so it's a lot easier for us to get a break w/o needing a nursery. If that is possible for you..do that.

 

Give it a try though. If you don't like it go by land next year.

[Onessa]

Really depends upon the kid -- DD consistently "freaked" when encountering any costumed character from the time she was about 6MO(Santa with "real" whiskers or Bucky Badger were her only exceptions). Even now at 17YO she is the one who takes her friends pictures with the characters. And she's never cared for amusement rides. So we never attempted any of the big theme parks with her.

 

I do recall that when she was 8MO she LOVED the sea turtle at the Monteray Aquarium and still recalls the birds (in St Mark's Square) from when she 18MO old.

[JB OceanFun]

We just returned from an Alaskan cruise on Golden Princess (5/19-5/26). Our daughter turned 16 months on 5/23. She had a blast running around and exploring!

No problems with naps except for skipping one on the second formal night which led to her passing out at dinner before the appetizers made it out. I took her up to the room, my husband explained what happened to our waiter, and we were allowed to order our same meal from room service!

 

We got a great deal on a minisuite so we had a tub for bath time and a balcony for nap time. Our biggest issue was keeping her little fingers safe from all the drawers that she constantly wanted to open and close.

 

Dinner was fine as long as we kept her occupied with little songs or dinner rolls. The high chairs have trays but sometimes we had to request it. We also made sure to have her food brought with our appetizers so she didnt fill up on bread. The staff and other passengers were very kind and attentive. The attention became a problem at meal time when she was too distracted to eat. This usually seemed to happen at lunch time. We just finished our meals and took food back to our room so she could eat undistracted.

 

We did our own activities on all stops except Juneau. There we took her whale watching. Our DD doesn't like sitting still so we tried to avoid bus tours. The boat we were on had 3 levels so she had room to roam. I had to stay on top of her so she didn't get under foot. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. :) I didn't miss any wildlife because the staff point it out.

 

The plane trip was from Milwaukee to Denver to Seattle. I admit that I cheated a little by not having her fully weaned so it was easy to help with the ear pressure changes and napping on the plane. I also bought her a couple new toys that fit in my carry on for the plane ride. I didn't allow her to see them until she was squirming.

 

The trip went great, but know your kid. Only you can decide if it will work for you. :)

[SecretSK]

We did both with our daughter, pretty close together and I don't think you can go wrong, as long as you're willing to go with their lead.

 

We took our daughter to Disney when she was 15 months - my husband ran in the half marathon. We weren't sure how she would do, but she had SO much more fun than I expected. She loved the princesses, she loved the characters. But, she would last a few hours, then crash for hours. Each day, we'd get in lunch, trip to the park, a few rides, a character or two, lunch, then she'd be down for the count. Some days, we'd let her sleep it off in the stroller, other days, we'd go back to our place at the Treehouse Villas (Disney property, part of Saratoga Springs, around the corner from Epcot).

 

A few months later, when she was about 17 months old, we took her on her first cruise. She LOVED all of the attention from the crew and being a "big girl" walking all over the ship. Cruising is great, but cruises aren't really designed for small children, so we followed her lead. We often napped with her, which is one of our favorite parts of a cruise. Meals were fine, too. Brought lots of snacks, lots of distractions and she did great (made it to early seating all but one night!). We had quite a few passengers give us a look of horror when we would walk in to the dining room, but she thankfully never had a melt down. By the end of the cruise, she was very popular, crew knew her by name and called me her mom wherever we went. :)

 

In our experience, in both settings, they love kids, so they will do their best to make her feel special and happy. We were lucky, I think, that our daughter wasn't teething, but she had a fantastic time on both trips.

 

15 months is not to young to go to Disney or to cruise. We're taking her on a Disney cruise in November, then going back to Disney in January.

 

I hope you have a great time no matter what you decide!

[carygirl]

We took our 10 month old on a cruise and the whole family had a great relaxing vacation.

 

Here a few things that weighed into our decision:

1. On a cruise you've already arrived. Don't need to put your kid in the carseat and drive out for food. No driving to theme parks, everything is close and walkable.

2. They get to know you. Every night our son had cheerios waiting for him with his dinner.

3. You can leave from a local port so you may be able to skip a plane ride. Our son does not like long travel.

4. If you pick a ship with a nursery you can can get a small parent break.

5. We sipped daiquiris while our son played in the fake grass on the sports deck. It was heaven.

 

We went with Carnival and had a great time. Since our kid was so young he wasn't picky on being on a disney ship or seeing characters. He just wanted to spend time with his parents in a relaxed environment. We definitely feel like we got that and had a great stress-free holiday.

[delily]

You're not really going to be sharing an experience with your 15 month old. She's way to young to remember it or even know what is happening while you're there. That being said, there's no reason not to take a baby on a cruise. You're used to caring for her and know what you'll need to do. Keep in mind that most "kids clubs" don't take kids under the age of 2. At least not the ones I've seen. You'll have to care for your daughter all of the time unless you find a ship that cares for babies. Check around. There might be some out there. That would at least give you a chance to have a quiet dinner or two.

[cb at sea]

15 months is too young for the "Disney magic"....they simply don't "get it" until they're about 6+....really!

 

A cruise would be great for the parents...and if parents are happy, so will your child be happy.

[KITKAT0229]

I'm having trouble deciding myself which would be better with our LO.

 

Here's some info I found regarding cruising with babies/toddlers: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=628

And a video review:

 

Here's some info I found about going to Disney World with babies/toddlers:

http://wdwprepschool.com/a-toddler-centered-disney-world-trip-plan/

 

I thought we had decided on a cruise and then we went to the Disney Store and I was torn again.

 

I have to realize that it will not be a typical Disney World trip with a toddler. We won't get to see and do everything. And that is ok because we'll just have to go back. We can make it what we want and be flexible.

 

Surprisingly if we go to Disney World during their Free Dining Promo it's cheaper than a cruise, at least compared to a 7 day cruise on Allure of the Seas and then you have to pay for babysitting or daycare at the nursery on top of that.

 

The nice thing about Allure of the Seas is that it has a nursery, playtime at the daycare, splash pool for kids in swim diapers, carousel, Dreamworks characters and parades, some shows he might enjoy (diving show & ice skating show) plus you can checkout toys from the nursery to take back to your room.

 

But then there's the Magic of Disney and the dream of taking our LO to see Mickey Mouse. I've been dreaming about it since before he was born. We're looking at staying at the Caribbean Beach resort - which would feed my need for the Caribbean. It also has a toddler splash pool with water slides plus parks for him to run and play on. I or DH could take LO back to the room for his afternoon nap while the other stayed and did some things by themselves. Here's a good video review of this resort:

 

So it's a really hard call for me and I just can't seem to decide.

[KITKAT0229]

After some more research I'm disappointed in the Baby Pool that is offered on Allure: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1497003

 

My LO will be so upset seeing all the other kids play in the big H2O zone not being able to join them.

[flhokie]

After some more research I'm disappointed in the Baby Pool that is offered on Allure: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1497003

 

My LO will be so upset seeing all the other kids play in the big H2O zone not being able to join them.

 

I totally understand this thought & was glad we got DD potty trained in time, but the young kids in the non-potty trained area last week seemed happy in there. There are a couple of the spray things that are just like those in H2O Zone. On the sea days DD actually tried to get in there a couple of times---much calmer than the very crowded H2O Zone.

 

We had a fantastic time on Allure, but I can understand wanting to possibly wait. Originally we were looking at going last November, but knew DD would most likely not be potty trained by then so we delayed by 6 months.

 

I posted a detailed review of our Allure sailing a couple of days ago. The toys from the nursery were great. As were the carousel, small playground on Boardwalk, the nursery and the shows. DD was disappointed she couldn't do Adventure Ocean (saw the kids), but really enjoyed the nursery (& we enjoyed a nice dinner at Chops).

[NJfoodie]

DS's first cruise was at 14 months and he loved it. Sure, it was not a vacation from parenting for us, but it was still a very enjoyable family vacation. We were on NCL sailing out of NYC to FL and bahamas. The key to cruising with a young toddler is to know your kid's limitations and habits and work around them, especially when it comes to eating and sleeping. Some kids can sleep through anything anywhere. Some need a set bedtime routine, etc. NCL worked out well for us because they are very flexible with dining times and options. We liked that we didn't have to pack up DS in the car seat, drive to a restaurant, wait for a table etc. We didn't have long formal dinners that DS was definitely not ready to sit through but didn't have to eat every meal in the buffet either. We would chill midday when DS needed his nap and either get room service for lunch in our room, sit out on our balcony and relax, or take a nap ourselves. And once he was asleep for the night, we took turns heading back out for the evening activities onboard. We chose an itinerary that wasn't once-in-a-lifetime. If for any reason we needed to stay onboard or cut a port day short because DS was unwell/tired/sick/etc, we would not have been all that upset about missing a port. He loved to explore the ship and wander around, and we brought him into some of the closed lounges during the day and he was fascinated just walking around the rows of chairs/tables, climbing into a chair, dancing in the aisles, etc. He pushed around the giant chess pieces, blew bubbles off our balcony, splashed around in the inflatable pool we put on our balcony for him (couldn't go in ship pools and it doubled as a bathtub for him). He had a great time! We still were on duty as parents the whole trip but it's still a vacation from the office, the cooking and the chores.