Detailed Experience on Allure with Toddler

[flhokie]

A little background...DH, DD (2 years, 4 months) and I just returned from 7 days on Allure of the Seas. DH & I have cruised quite a bit (even got married at sea), but never with DD. We sailed with a group of family & friends which was a lot of fun.

 

I did a lot of planning when it came to packing. In the end I think that I really over packed for all of us. We had 2 checked suitcases (1 large and 1 medium), a carry-on roller board suitcase, DD's Trunkie, purse & backpack. Next time we should be able to do it with 1 large checked bag and the carry-ons. I did take all the possible medications for DD. We never used them, but it was better safe than sorry. We took way too many coloring books, etc. to try to entertain DD. She was happy with the toys from the nursery and a few coloring activities (many books & activities came home unused). I also took toddler utensils, disposable bibs & disposable placemats. We did not end up using these (if DD was younger I'm sure we would have). We took her umbrella stroller. It was good to have, but we didn't use it much.

 

Because we live in Central Florida, we did not have to worry about air travel. We did drive to Ft. Lauderdale the day before the cruise to avoid added stress. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport which was nice. Others in our group stayed at Comfort Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruiseport and were happy with it. We all met for dinner at Ernie's BBQ (N. Federal Hwy) Saturday night. They have an outdoor (covered) seating area upstairs that's great for groups.

 

Embarkation Day - After a light breakfast, DH, DD & I headed for the port around 11 am. By the time we waited in the line to drop off the checked bags and waited for DH to park the car, we went through security around 11:45 and were on the ship by noon. It was a very easy and smooth embarkation process.

 

Shortly after boarding, my parents boarded and we headed to Park Cafe with them to have some lunch (rooms weren't ready yet). DH went to try to find his dad, but got lost (easy to do). We got to our room around 1:30 and headed out to explore. We were in a D1 Balcony Stateroom (Deck 8). We knew that with the excitement and mandatory safety drill that a nap would not happen this day.

 

After looking at the Boardwalk & pool areas, we headed to the Adventure Ocean area. DD played in the play room with DH while I checked out a bag of toys and got information on the nursery. The lady working this day told me that they give out the phones once you start booking hours. We then headed back to the room and DD played with the toys while we did some unpacking.

 

Around 4:15 we headed to the safety drill. Not having to take life jackets & having a place to sit really made it bearable with DD. One note on safety/children, they give bracelets to children 3 and up (to a certain age), but not to children under 3. This was a little confusing at boarding as the sign said for anyone with children under 12 to get in a line for a bracelet. Luckily, a nice lady asked DD's age and told us we could get one onboard if we wanted, but it wasn't required under 3.

 

We had 1st seating dinner with family & friends. DD was the only child in the group, but there were children at tables around us and they became fast "friends" despite the language barrier. Dinner on night one started out ok, but ended in disaster. DD fell asleep in my lap before any food was served. She woke up a little while later (after appetizers) screaming and carrying on. DH, my mom and I all tried to calm her down in the seating area outside the dining room. Nothing worked and she & I left (DH brought my entree to the room). After a short walk she started to calm down and was herself about 1/2 hour later. DD, my parents and I went to the Ocean Aria show in the Aqua Theater at 9 pm. DD loved it (as did the rest of us). After a couple rides on the carousel it was time for bed.

 

The cabin attendant folded out the sofa bed and had it all made up. This was the only night we had her do this. After this night DD slept in a small "bed" of comforters and sheets beside the couch (at home she gets out of her bed to sleep on the floor). This worked much better for space and her comfort zone. A pack n play was not an option as she is too tall for one.

 

Day 2 - We docked in Nassau at 7 am. DH went to town for one thing and was back by 8. DD & I did not get off the ship. We had breakfast at the buffet (after a stop at the Boardwalk for a donut) and went to the H2O Zone. Because we were in port, H2O Zone was empty. One of the pool attendants questioned me when he saw that DD was in the regular area (not area for diapered babies) as she was under 3 (no wristband). I assured him she was potty trained and not wearing a swim diaper. He seemed to ask any parents with children under 3 that were in the regular area which is understandable. We had worked hard at potty training since she is used to swimming weekly & would have had a hard time understanding if she couldn't go in the water. It seemed that if the parents didn't understand English they gave up on trying to communicate fairly quickly. I did find it a little upsetting that they never said anything about the 8-9 year old girl that was running around topless or the 7-8 year old boy pulling his bathing suit down to have the jets hit his bare bottom. DD loved H2O zone. After a small ice cream cone (bribe to get her out of the water), it was nap time.

 

I stopped at the nursery again and registered DD. The lady working this day was a bit more helpful than the one on embarkation day. She had me fill out paperwork, gave me their contact information, gave me a bag to put anything in for DD and gave me a deck phone. Later in the day, I booked nursery for the next night so DH & I could go to Chops.

 

DD loved getting dressed up for formal night. We went to the Ice Games show before dinner. She loved the show, but got a little antsy towards the end (it was nearly an hour).

 

Dinner went smoothly. DD visited with the kids at the other table and with the people from our group at another table. BTW...she did not use a high chair. She's very tall for her age and would not have fit in it.

 

The evening was spent riding the carousel, getting ice cream and watching the divers while standing outside the Aqua Theater (she was fascinated by the divers & couldn't get enough of them).

 

Day 3 - This was a sea day and we had booked the DreamWorks character breakfast (free) with my parents and some friends. DD really enjoyed it and was very cozy with Puss in Boots and Princess Fiona. She got close to Shrek, but was a little intimidated. The selection wasn't wonderful for food, but none of us left hungry. Yes, some of us had chocolate milkshakes at breakfast.

 

After breakfast, we went to the Crown & Anchor event in the Aqua Theater. DD got to see divers again. We tried to see the parade a little later, but it was too crowded to get a good spot so we headed for some lunch and a nap.

After her nap, we went to the family festival on the boardwalk. DD got her face painted and played in the little playground there.

 

After dinner was more carousel and Promenade time. She got a stuffed animal at the Pets at Sea shop. It wasn't cheap, but no more expensive than Build a Bear.

 

Day 4 - After breakfast, we got off the ship in St. Thomas, but stayed in the port area. DH purchased some Pepsi and I got my boss a bottle of liquor for his birthday.

 

We got back on the ship and had lunch. After lunch, DD took a nap and I went to the spa (DH stayed in the room with DD). After her nap, DD & I explored the ship more and found the toddler miniature golf area (next to regular miniature golf). It was so cute with little clubs and soft balls. She played in there for a while.

 

At 5, I dropped her off at the nursery. They asked if she would be eating there and I said yes (getting her fed dinner before 5 was not practical). They had baked chicken, mashed potatoes & mixed vegetables. I headed off to get ready for dinner at Chops. We never heard from the nursery (good news). We did peek in right after our dinner and she was playing with other kids. At pick up, they told me what she ate and what she did for the evening. They were very professional!

 

DH & I enjoyed Chops and DD had a great time at the nursery so it was a win-win. DD actually wanted to go back, but we never got the chance to do it again.

 

Day 5 - After breakfast, we got off the ship in St. Maarten. We were going to take the water taxi to town, but it was very hot and looking like rain. We did a little shopping in the port area and returned to the ship. We knew DD would be happier at the H2O Zone than going all over town.

 

We spent a couple hours at the H2OZone and then had a nap. Dinner went smoothly again and we spent time on the Boardwalk & Promenade in the evening.

 

Day 6 - We started off the sea day by ice skating. DD had never been on skates & I hadn't been on them in 10+ years. We got our skates & helmets on and took to the ice in the beginning of the session. It was challenging, but we made it around the ice rink 1 time (really, an accomplishment).

 

After ice skating and lunch, we headed back to the H2O Zone. It was very crowded since we were at sea. Most of the attendants were now focused on keeping kids under control (quite a bit of rough play) rather than whether the young swimmers were potty trained.

 

This was formal night number 2. We got some great pictures. DD enjoyed dressing up like a princess. Again, we enjoyed the Promenade and Boardwalk after dinner.

 

Day 7 - After breakfast, we headed to the Boardwalk to get a balloon animal. After a few carousel rides, we walked around a little and then went to the Madegascar Aqua Show. It was a very cute show, but it was very hot to sit there in the afternoon sun.

 

We then headed to the H2O Zone. It was very crowded again and kind of cool (cloudy). After an hour and a half we got dressed so I could try the zip line. Unfortunately, the line was way too long to do it.

 

While DH tried to get DD to nap, I returned the toy bag and phone to the nursery. We could have exchanged the toy bag during the week, but DD loved it.

 

After a very short nap, it was time for "Blue Planet." Thanks to friend & family, we got front row seats. DD loved the show. She was dancing at her seat throughout. It was an amazing show and I'm glad we decided to take her.

 

Dinner was nice and the evening was spent doing final carousel rides, purchasing a King Julien plush (she had a chance run in with him on the Boardwalk one evening and had a lot of fun with him), purchasing pictures, saying goodbyes and taking lots of pictures.

 

Overall Thoughts:

We had a fantastic time! It was nothing like cruising before DD, but it was awesome to see it all through her eyes (often she didn't seem to realize we were on the boat which was a little funny). The biggest thing is to remain flexible. We didn't really have much of a schedule except for dinner and a few shows. This worked really well.

 

The staff was fantastic and always bending over backwards to help with DD!! Many talked about their children at home and just loved it when she talked to them. Our waiter had a bowl of fruit for her as soon as we sat down to dinner. He also brought her dinner at the same time as our appetizers. Royal Caribbean had a really good children's menu, but after a few nights, we just started ordering DD the pasta from the regular menu. One night, DD dropped her plush little bunny in our hallway. I didn't realize it until the next morning when our cabin attendant had it. One of the other attendants on the floor found it and thought it might be DD's so he gave it to our attendant. They were just so observant and helpful.

 

We can't wait to go back on Allure or Oasis (LOVED the ship)! DD will probably be 3 by then and able to participate in Adventure Ocean which will be great. One evening DD saw the kids leaving the dining room with the AO staff and was very upset she couldn't join them. I really can't see cruising any other line than Royal Caribbean with DD at this point. They were great!

[Sweet on the sea]

Thanks for the review. :)

[Keith1010]

Excellent review.

 

Keith

[IttaBit]

Great review! It makes me even more excited about our Allure vacation.

[hornedfrog]

Thanks for the review! I am cruising in July with my DD who will be nearly exactly the same age as your DD during your cruise. I have a few questions if you don't mind...

 

Did you have a stroller on board? If so, was it used a lot? And what kind was it? (Umbrella, full-size, etc.) Also, do you feel like the stroller fit through the walkways of the ship easily? If you didn't bring the stroller, do you wish you had? And how did your DD get around the ship (did she walk, or did you wear her in a baby carrier)?

 

Sorry for the 20 questions, but I am seriously torn on whether or not to bring a stroller! At home, we hardly ever use a stroller. We baby-wear a lot (we have a toddler carrier), and we let her walk a lot. But sometimes it is really nice to have a stroller, and a cruise might be one of those times! Thanks. :)

[mamamia37]

At hornedfrog - not to speak for OP, but I purchased a nicer umbrella-style stroller by Chicco years ago for my son when we took him on a cruise at age 2, and also for the airport portion. The full-size stroller is way too big for either, but I also wouldn't take a cheapy umbrella stroller as they not too comfortable for the child, no storage and the handles are short, so you end up crouching over it. I found it to be great for those long walks down the corridors and exploring the ship. We used it on other cruises until he no longer needed a stroller and now we will use it for my daughter on our next cruise on Allure in August (she'll be 20 months). I may bring my Ergo carrier also, but not sure how much I'll use it. She is very mobile and doesn't like being confined too long, so a stroller I can quickly unlatch and release her from is easier for me (and my back!)

 

 

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[flhokie]

Thanks for the review! I am cruising in July with my DD who will be nearly exactly the same age as your DD during your cruise. I have a few questions if you don't mind...

 

Did you have a stroller on board? If so, was it used a lot? And what kind was it? (Umbrella, full-size, etc.) Also, do you feel like the stroller fit through the walkways of the ship easily? If you didn't bring the stroller, do you wish you had? And how did your DD get around the ship (did she walk, or did you wear her in a baby carrier)?

 

Sorry for the 20 questions, but I am seriously torn on whether or not to bring a stroller! At home, we hardly ever use a stroller. We baby-wear a lot (we have a toddler carrier), and we let her walk a lot. But sometimes it is really nice to have a stroller, and a cruise might be one of those times! Thanks. :)

 

We took a cheap umbrella stroller we got at Target to do Disney with (it has a sunshade, but no storage). It spent almost the entire cruise folded up in the corner of our cabin. We used it at embarkation--up until security (she didn't want to get back in & it wasn't very crowded). The only 2 other times we used it were when we explored the ship after embarkation and a little in the port at St. Maarten.

 

DD mostly walked around the ship. We stressed and stressed that she always had to hold the hand of mommy, daddy or one of the adults with us and she did well with that. We don't have stairs at home so she loved going up & down stairs. When we ended up in a crowd (mostly crowded elevators) she would have me pick her up. I haven't used a carrier with since she started walking so we just had her walk except for crowded situations when I'd carry her for a short time.

 

If we had used it much, our stroller would have worked well size wise. I saw others with larger/full sized strollers. They seemed to do ok, but took up most of the hallway (by cabins).

 

If we had flown to the port I'm sure we would have used the stroller in the airport, but we drove. Even though we didn't use it much, I'm glad we had the stroller just in case the walking had been too much for her (there is a lot of walking).

 

Let me know if you have any other questions :)

[kitkat343]

hornedfrog, we traveled with our son who was 2 years 1 months to the Panama Canal. We brought the BOB, which worked out quite well on tours and fit in our closet (mini suite on Coral Princess). The only problem is that (at least on Princess) no stroller -even the smallest umbrella stroller - will fit past a cleaning cart. You will need to take your child out, fold it up and carry it past each and every cleaning cart. So I did find it a bit frustrating to take the stroller out, and we only brought it with us for excursions. The Bob was great since it had lots of storage room (we brought a lot of different cereals from the ship and our son was happy choosing his food while we were on tours) and it was very versatile - we were even able to use it in the Costa Rican rainforest. But my son is very happy in his stroller, so it was a different calculation for our family.

[mcgrate]

Hi all, jumping in on the stroller debate. We're hoping to bring our 3 wheeler stroller on navigator cruise in oct? Has any one brought this kind on board?

Our DD is 3 and mobile but were doing med cruise so port intensive. We need a decent stroller.

 

 

 

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[Mom2B&Z]

Hi all, jumping in on the stroller debate. We're hoping to bring our 3 wheeler stroller on navigator cruise in oct? Has any one brought this kind on board?

Our DD is 3 and mobile but were doing med cruise so port intensive. We need a decent stroller.

 

 

 

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The BOB described above is a 3 wheel/jogging stroller. They are big and difficult to use on a ship, but great in port. Depends on your needs, cabin storage and child.

[mcgrate]

We'll have a balcony cabin so hoping to store on balcony when not in use.

Why is it not good on ship?

 

 

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[Mom2B&Z]

We'll have a balcony cabin so hoping to store on balcony when not in use.

Why is it not good on ship?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Jogging strollers tend to be wide. Cruise ship corridors tend to be narrow, and often partially blocked by cabin steward cleaning carts. So it can be a pain to use the bigger strollers on the ship, even though it may be the best choice for in port. If your child is happy walking around the ship, then you can simply fold up the stroller until you disembark in port; however if you need the stroller onboard, it can be a big hassle. They can also be difficult to store in a small cabin, as they may not fit under a bed or in a closet. You may not be able to store it on the balcony, as it could technically be thrown into the sea in bad weather...you're not supposed to store anything on the balcony for that reason.

I'm not a big stroller fan, we used our Ergo carrier with DS2 until he was 4 years old, and that was only to get through busy airports with tight connections. The BOB is great, but I'd never bring it on a cruiseship!

[aznluv82482]

Ok so I'm planning to bring my double 3 wheel stroller for excursions/beach/shopping. Is that too big? I can't have 2 toddlers running around. What do I do?

[aznluv82482]

Btw great review! I'm excited to bring my girls!!

[Archaegeo]

We are bringing the Citi Mini, we have the bob as well, but agree its too big for the ship part, though its awesome on beaches/uneven surfaces/anywhere for its smooth rolling and shock absorption.

 

The citi mini is very nice as well, and folds up super small, has a huge shade, and storage.

[aznluv82482]

Would I be the only crazy mom that brings a tike tech double stroller on a ship? I won't be using it unless I get off ship.

[flhokie]

Would I be the only crazy mom that brings a tike tech double stroller on a ship? I won't be using it unless I get off ship.

 

Probably not, but keep in mind that storage in the cabins is usually very limited. Also, to get it to & from your cabin you will have to go down the narrow hallways so you need to be comfortable transporting it folded up (housekeeping carts often make it difficult to navigate the halls with a single stroller).

[MariVellLogan12]

Hello all! I was actually wondering about the cribs in the ship..., should we bring our own pack n play what do you guys suggest? We are going on Oasis RC with my almost 2 year old its my 1st cruise so I'm totally lost!

[flhokie]

I've heard that the pack n plays on the ship are good (just bring your own sheet for it). DD (2 yrs) has been too big for the pack n play for a while. We planned on her sleeping on the sofa but slept on the floor in the end (cabin attendant created a nice little bed for her).

[MariVellLogan12]

Great thank you! I found a picture of it online it looks like a standard size so my sheet should fit just fine.

[snorkelman]

There will come a time when the dining room will be a bad experience. I have twin daughters who are very board with the dining room. They LOVE the kids program and prefer to eat dinner with the other kids, so we let them do that. Day 1 is still for some reason no kids program in place, so our kids either have to go to the dining room with us, or we have to go to some other venue. We usually go to Johnny Rockets on Day 1 with them, as there is no need to have them be bored and not enjoying their cruise.

 

Just a heads-up on what to expect for the future.

[ncaw1207]

Thank you all for the awesome reviews. My dh and I will be cruising on the allure of the seas with our almost two year old son next month and I have been trying to figure out how it will all come together!

 

I planned on taking the jeep stroller, which is a little bigger than the lightweight umbrella stroller yet still smaller than the regular one. We have to fly into and out of fort Lauderdale and will have some carryover vacation days so if only for the airport, and general sightseeing in fort Lauderdale and the other ports, we will utilize the stroller.

 

Did any of you bother to bring a car seat? Also, did they allow children in the shows - eg Chicago? I know they aren't allowed in the adult comedy shows but I'm not sure about the others. Lastly, did any of you utilize the laundry service for the baby clothes? Was it the same price as adults?

 

Any other tips will be be greatly appreciated.

[Lerin]

I did a lot of planning when it came to packing. In the end I think that I really over packed for all of us. We had 2 checked suitcases (1 large and 1 medium), a carry-on roller board suitcase, DD's Trunkie, purse & backpack. Next time we should be able to do it with 1 large checked bag and the carry-ons.

:eek:

Overpacked!?

Holy WOW. Could you please come to my house and help me limit our luggage to that amount? The last trip we did we had 3 suitcases, 4 carry ons, 2 purses, stroller(with diaper bag), car seat, box of diapers, backpack, and computer bag. And a few other bags of shopping on the way home.

 

Glad you had a great trip

[flhokie]

We did not take a carseat onboard. We drove to the port (only live 3 hours away) & left the carseat in the car. We did not get off in Nassau. In St Thomas & St Maarten we walked around the port area. We were going to use the water taxi in St Maarten to go to town & possibly a beach, but it was very hot and we decided to just head back to the ship and the Splash Zone.

 

Kids are allowed in the shows other than comedy. We took DD to OceanAria, Ice Games, Blue Planet & Dreamworks Aqua Show. She loved them all! The longest was around 1 hour which was about the max time for DD to stay interested. We didn't take her to Chicago.

 

We did not use laundry so I don't know the answer on that.

 

Have a great time!

[ncaw1207]

Great - Thanks!