Bringing children on first cruise... advice needed

[CruizinMama1026]

We are trying to decide if we want to bring our 2 year old and 4 year old on their first cruise next spring. It would be an Eastern Carribean Itinerary to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Freeport.

 

I think it would be fun but at the same time I worry they may be too young.

 

Have any parents done this with similar aged children?

 

What type of cabin would you suggest? I liked the idea of connecting cabins and keeping the door open. But I am worried they might sneak out in the middle of the night so I think that option was ruled out.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[seashinesunshine]

We are trying to decide if we want to bring our 2 year old and 4 year old on their first cruise next spring. It would be an Eastern Carribean Itinerary to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Freeport.

 

I think it would be fun but at the same time I worry they may be too young.

 

Have any parents done this with similar aged children?

 

What type of cabin would you suggest? I liked the idea of connecting cabins and keeping the door open. But I am worried they might sneak out in the middle of the night so I think that option was ruled out.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

I think it is a great idea to take your kids on a cruise and while they are young, lots of people do it and have a great time!

Our kids were older when we first took them, but if you are worried about them opening the door and wandering the ship, maybe bringing a jingle bell (a loud one) that you can hang on the door knob and it would wake you up. I can't remember, but I wonder if there is a dead bolt type of lock on the door that might be out of their reach. My experience even as my kids got into their teens, is that they were so tired out from being active all day that they sleep like babies at night.

[elainmir]

I say try it! We have done a few cruises as a family and a few just the two of us. I miss the kiddos when they don't come!

 

Being so small you can try camp carnival but they may not like it. But they may LOVE it! If they do you can have some alone time with your hubby!

 

Remember to check if you go on excursions to make sure there is no age limit for that excursion. Some don't allow toddlers.

 

The pullout in the cabin will be perfect for the kiddos.

 

Try it once and see how it works! It's all about the memories

Best Wishes

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

The y won't be able to get out if you have an inside or oceanview cabin and lock the door properly, too hard to open. And if one of your kids figured it out and had the strength to open it you would hear them with the adjoining doors open. Your kids would love it. You can get some time to yourselves by putting them in the kids club for a few hours and they also have babysitting services available after hours in the evening. I say go for it!

[CruizinMama1026]

Thank you for the feedback. I never thought of bringing a bell! What a great idea. We are trying to decide between a cruise and Disney. I think a cruise would be better right now with everything in close proximity. Plus we can drive to the port in Baltimore vs flying to Florida.

[mzlinda]

I just went to Disney with a 4 year old and a 19 month old and it was pretty much a complete waste of money. We skipped any attraction that had a line (which was pretty much all of them). The baby would have been happier at home. The 4 year old liked seeing the characters but he was just as happy to go back to the hotel pool. I think a cruise would have been much better, especially with some beach days.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Unless they're in the habit of opening your outside doors at home, you don't have to worry about them opening the hallway door...they're sort of heavy and hard to open!

 

Depending on the ship/cruiseline, there may not be kid's club access for the 2 year old, but all ships will have a club for the 4 year old. Be aware that many ships won't allow diapered kids in the pools, so potty train, if possible!!

 

You are never too young or too old for a vacation, and that's all a cruise is! The kid's are still too young to fully appreciate the magic that is Disney, so I'd wait until the youngest is at least 6 years old before doing the parks! Any younger, and they simply don't "get" it! Plus, it's a HUGE plus if they are past the nap stage....the parks make for a very long (but fun!) day!

 

I would go for 2 connecting cabins, if possible...more space, more privacy...just a nicer experience!

[kitkat343]

It really depends on your child's temperament and personality. My son also couldn't stand in line so Disney would have been a disaster for us too, but he has greatly enjoyed the three cruises he has been on, starting at 24 months.

 

We booked private excursions to give us maximum flexibility and allow us to return to the ship if necessary. If your kids are good sleepers and prefer being out and exploring new things, then they will enjoy a cruise at those ages. If your kids are happier when they stay at home and enjoy having the same routine every day and have trouble sleeping in different places, you honestly might want to wait to cruise with them until they are older.

 

But if you have a kid who is really active and loves to see and do new things, a cruise can be perfect even from a young age. Especially if you think your child would enjoy being in a kid's club. My son loves cruising, and he is now 3.5 and keeps asking when he can go back to the kids club.

 

The one thing I would warn you is that my son could at 24 months open both the deadbolted cabin door and the balcony door on the Coral Princess. We haven't sailed Carnival with my son, but I wouldn't take the chance of putting kids that small in a connecting cabin without an adult.

[092306]

We've been taking our son since he was 11 months old and for our upcoming cruise in October, he will be 4. We enjoyed all of our cruises with him except the one where he was 2. We wanted to go home mid-way through that cruise and would have skipped that year's cruise in hindsight. I think working in your favor is that your children will have each other as playmates and be together in the kids camp which may make them stay long enough for you to enjoy adult time together. Also, I think the GT and HMC itinerary is great for little ones with the two beach days, so I think that will be fun.

[SadieN]

It really depends on your child's temperament and personality. My son also couldn't stand in line so Disney would have been a disaster for us too, but he has greatly enjoyed the three cruises he has been on, starting at 24 months.

 

 

 

We booked private excursions to give us maximum flexibility and allow us to return to the ship if necessary. If your kids are good sleepers and prefer being out and exploring new things, then they will enjoy a cruise at those ages. If your kids are happier when they stay at home and enjoy having the same routine every day and have trouble sleeping in different places, you honestly might want to wait to cruise with them until they are older.

 

 

 

But if you have a kid who is really active and loves to see and do new things, a cruise can be perfect even from a young age. Especially if you think your child would enjoy being in a kid's club. My son loves cruising, and he is now 3.5 and keeps asking when he can go back to the kids club.

 

 

 

The one thing I would warn you is that my son could at 24 months open both the deadbolted cabin door and the balcony door on the Coral Princess. We haven't sailed Carnival with my son, but I wouldn't take the chance of putting kids that small in a connecting cabin without an adult.

 

Carnival's Spirit class ships have a few balconies that connect to insides. On most Carnival ships the OV cabins are 220'

 

 

 

 

Carnival's Spirit class ships

[springs741]

I don't know what the budget for your trip is but IMHO the best value with kids that age is a balcony. You can enjoy the balcony when the kids nap or go to bed early. Both are old enough for camp carnival or whatever they are calling it these days. On the 4 Carnival ships I have sailed they couldn't have opened the doors.

[GradUT]

I would only go on a cruise with children this young if I were SURE they would participate in the Camp Carnival. What are you going to do all day with a 2-year-old on a sea day if they aren't in Camp Carnival? They can't go in the pool because they aren't toilet trained and there are no playgrounds on board the ship. While HMC is a nice port for kids, Freeport isn't, so you won't want to get off the ship there. (Haven't been to Grand Turk, so I don't know).

 

For kids this young, I think a beach vacation is much preferable to a cruise.

[xcell]

We brought our eldest (DD11) when she was 18 months. Not much for her to do but she enjoyed it but we didnt bring her again until she was 6 and then my youngest was 3.

 

At that time, we brought my parents and got connecting rooms for them, so in case we wanted to do something at night, we could leave them in the room, knowing my parents were there (connecting room open).

 

No worries about them opening main door (very heavy) or the balcony door.

 

Liberty, Freedom and Independence have larger H2O zones for them to play on. Oasis and Allure have the boardwalk and more things for them to do.

 

If you were to bring them along, bring a set of grandparents or both to help out. You will enjoy it more, especially if you are going to get connecting rooms just for you and the kids...you should be able to fit into one balcony room. Or get a JS suite for more room...

[flhokie]

I would look into sailing on Royal Caribbean. Many of their ships (not all) offer the Royal Tots Nursery for children under 3 and splash zones for non potty trained. They have ships that leave from the northeast.

 

DD was 2 when we sailed on Allure. She was potty trained so she could use the regular splash area. We used the nursery 1 time & she loved it. There was plenty for her to explore on the ship. There was a play area with lots of toys and a small playground on the Boardwalk. There was no way she could have opened the doors.

 

We are taking her on another cruise this fall (she will be 3 1/2--closer to 4). I plan to put something on the door to the hallway & use a rubber door stop overnight if she is able to open it this time.

[splintz]

my kids started cruising when they were 2 and 4 yrs old. now they have been on 3 cruises and have a 4th booked. they love it. what is good with carnival is that 2yr olds can go to camp carnival even if they are still in diapers. most of the other cruise lines they have to be 3 and potty trained. at that age they will give you a cell phone so they can contact you if you have to come pick up your child. these phones can also be used to call other rooms. and anyone from the ship can call you on the phone including passengers. we always get connecting rooms that way there are 2 tv's and 2 full bathrooms. at night we take the little coffee table in their room and block their door with it.

 

you say you are driving distance to baltimore. we usually cruise out of baltimore on the pride. and as stated above there are 6 connecting rooms that have a balcony connected to an interior. these are great we put the kids in the interior and we are in the balcony. on the spirit ships the only connecting rooms are balcony's. so these 6 rooms are the cheapest you can get and the only ones with an interior room that is in a connected room. these rooms are on deck 5,6, and 7 and are the most forward balcony rooms. they are 5108-5106, 5107-5105. also 6112-6108, 6115-6109. and 7108-7106, 7107-7105. obviously these rooms go fast and have to be booked well ahead of the cruise. also when you call to book them the carnival reps are usually not aware that you can have a balcony room that connects to an interior. i was told a couple times they don't exist and i had to tell them they do. also on the spirit ships camp carnival is on deck 5 forward and is literally 2 doors down from room 5106.

[Lerin]

We began cruising with our oldest at the age of 6 months. He's now been on 7 cruises and not yet in grade school. It's a wonderful family vacation!

 

Cruise ship cabin doors are heavy, only once at the age of 3 did he get ours partially opened, but he closed it right away. Do your kids normally open hotel room doors and wander off? If this is standard, then this may be a problem. But if it's never happened, I can't imagine why it suddenly would.

I personally would just get 1 cabin with kids that age, but totally understand why you may want the extra space. We aren't in the cabin but for sleeping and showering, so the added cost of 2 cabins isn't worth it for us. We often try to get larger cabins such as premium balconies, aft wraps and mini suites to have a little extra room, but we've also sailed just fine in standard inside cabins too.

 

Just this summer we did a cruise that went to HMC and Grand Turk.

These are PERFECT ports for small children. Lots of sandy beach and calm blue water.

At HMC we rented a cabana which was a great spot to drop off our stuff, and also provided a cool shady space for nap time. There is also a playground on the island which was a big hit with the 2-8 year old crowd.

We brought along a bucket, shovel and Coast Guard approved Puddle Jumpers and our child had a blast all day long.

 

There is a restaurant called Jack's Shack in Grand Turk where the owner has a trained dog. All the children had a blast playing with him.

 

You're going to have a wonderful family vacation with memories to last a lifetime. Enjoy :)

[moesyk4]

I think as long as you are realistic about cruising with kids, you will have a fantastic time. It is not the same as cruising by yourself, not at all, but it can still be fun! We took our son for the first time when he had just turned 4 this past January. It was sooo much fun. We did Carnival Breeze and found a great deal on a cove balcony (i'm slightly addicted now). I would highly recommend a balcony when you have kids...when they nap it was so nice to step outside and still be able to enjoy being on a cruise ship. He absolutely loved the ship and we were able to still do the long dinners, fun excursions like snorkeling, etc. But we know our child...he is the most easy going kid and is used to being among adults since none of our friends had kids for all of his life and so he could handle that. We did try Camp Carnival and he enjoyed it, but I was unimpressed...I wanted something that would enhance his vacation but I felt like it was more of a babysitting service (lots of movies, not a lot of staff interaction, etc.). So I planned to have more couple time, but it was fine.

 

We enjoyed experiencing it with him so much that we are now planning on taking him on our 10 year (and I'm pretty adamant about couples only vacations!). The only downside was the shows, he didn't like sitting through shows even with the tablet or toys. In hindsight, I would've saved Camp Carnival time for the evenings. Also, he was still on naps and it was hard to fit those in between ports and dinner.

 

We just booked our first cruise for next fall and will be taking our then 5 year old, 2 year old soon to be adopted foster son, and our 1 year old. I expect this to be a completely different vacation lol...our foster son is EXTREMELY active and impatient and would never sit through a dinner or heck, sit at all. We don't plan on doing any major excursions, sunbathing, etc. My MIL will be coming with to help with the insanity lol. But I think again, as long as our expectations are realistic, we will be fine.

 

It's been 7 years since I've been to Grand Turk, but if i remember right there is a beach right off the pier. A little rocky, but just fine for kids.

[apey9995]

I say go for it! We took our 2 and 6 year old for the first time last year, and are taking them again this year. We had a balcony room (Carnival) and I would definitely recommend it. It was nice to sit out on the balcony while the little one napped. The balcony doors are very hard to open so that wasn't a problem and I think the inside door (to the hallway) had a safety lock at the top similar to a hotel if I remember correctly.

[aehusk]

We are trying to decide if we want to bring our 2 year old and 4 year old on their first cruise next spring. It would be an Eastern Carribean Itinerary to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Freeport.

 

I think it would be fun but at the same time I worry they may be too young.

 

Have any parents done this with similar aged children?

 

What type of cabin would you suggest? I liked the idea of connecting cabins and keeping the door open. But I am worried they might sneak out in the middle of the night so I think that option was ruled out.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

Bring them!! My husband and I went on our first cruise with our children this past April. They were 3 and 2 at the time. We are going on a second cruise in March, we loved it so much!

 

We booked a balcony room. I wanted the balcony, but I didn't think we needed so much space to have the need to purchase a suite. I enjoyed spending that money on fun activities while we were there instead. Having the balcony was perfect. Hubby and I could have a drink at night when the kids were sleeping, or just soak it all in during their afternoon nap.

 

We traveled on Carnival, so we had a king size bed and twin size bunk beds. Our 2 year old slept on the bottom, and our 3 year old slept on the top bunk. I was nervous about that, but our housekeeper gave us extra pillows to put on the side near the railing.

 

Tips I can think of off the top of my head - We got in line at 11am, the earliest you could start boarding for our ship. We went through security and registration, etc. They took our bags for the room and then we went and had lunch once we were on the ship. Then we got OFF the ship and went to a local CVS pharmacy that was within walking distance from the cruise port. You can bring on I believe 24 water bottles or juice boxes, so we bought both. You can also bring on as many sealed snacks and food as you can fit in your bag. THAT was so worth it. Having goldfish, granola bars, zip lock bags of cereal, fruit gummies, basically anything to keep my kids happy in between meals. It was great. We brought a large lunchbox with us (next time we'll bring ice packs, we were filling zip lock bags with ice cubes.... messy!) and we would pack those up to bring to the beach with us everyday. Having juice, water and snacks for the kids all day at the beach was a life saver. Then we'd get back to the ship around 1pm, have lunch (so we wouldn't have to pay off ship) and then we'd head back to the room so my youngest could nap and my 3 year old would watch an hour of TV. Then we'd go enjoy the ship before dinner at 6. We'd usually head back out to the Lido deck and watch a movie until 8:30 (our housekeeper didn't finish our room until then) and then we'd head in and put the kids to bed!

 

That 7 day cruise flew by, and believe me, we were busy. But we can't wait to do it again. Being cut off from the world (no phone, internet, etc) is SO nice sometimes. And even though I had people telling me that I shouldn't bother bringing my kids because they wouldn't remember..... It's been over 7 months since our last cruise and my daughter asks to go on another vacation all the time. She still talks about how much fun it was and remembers the specific things we did. My son (who was 2, now is 3) vaguely remembers, mostly the plane and the beach, but the point is he remembers. They really enjoyed it and I've converted my husband into a cruise addict. :D If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me, I don't mind answering! Enjoy!!

[aehusk]

We began cruising with our oldest at the age of 6 months. He's now been on 7 cruises and not yet in grade school. It's a wonderful family vacation!

 

Cruise ship cabin doors are heavy, only once at the age of 3 did he get ours partially opened, but he closed it right away. Do your kids normally open hotel room doors and wander off? If this is standard, then this may be a problem. But if it's never happened, I can't imagine why it suddenly would.

I personally would just get 1 cabin with kids that age, but totally understand why you may want the extra space. We aren't in the cabin but for sleeping and showering, so the added cost of 2 cabins isn't worth it for us. We often try to get larger cabins such as premium balconies, aft wraps and mini suites to have a little extra room, but we've also sailed just fine in standard inside cabins too.

 

Just this summer we did a cruise that went to HMC and Grand Turk.

These are PERFECT ports for small children. Lots of sandy beach and calm blue water.

At HMC we rented a cabana which was a great spot to drop off our stuff, and also provided a cool shady space for nap time. There is also a playground on the island which was a big hit with the 2-8 year old crowd.

We brought along a bucket, shovel and Coast Guard approved Puddle Jumpers and our child had a blast all day long.

 

There is a restaurant called Jack's Shack in Grand Turk where the owner has a trained dog. All the children had a blast playing with him.

 

You're going to have a wonderful family vacation with memories to last a lifetime. Enjoy :)

 

We also brought along beach toys and the puddle jumpers. I would highly recommend them! Our kids were in their puddle jumpers at every beach and pool! Just pack a large beach tote to carry everything along with you and you'll be fine... It'll be just like carrying an oversize diaper bag. :rolleyes:

[aehusk]

I would only go on a cruise with children this young if I were SURE they would participate in the Camp Carnival. What are you going to do all day with a 2-year-old on a sea day if they aren't in Camp Carnival? They can't go in the pool because they aren't toilet trained and there are no playgrounds on board the ship. While HMC is a nice port for kids, Freeport isn't, so you won't want to get off the ship there. (Haven't been to Grand Turk, so I don't know).

 

For kids this young, I think a beach vacation is much preferable to a cruise.

 

We only had one day at sea and didn't use camp carnival. We had a great day. Obviously I would only want very few days at sea, but for the 1 day at sea (our youngest was still in diapers, so we couldn't use the main pool) it was everything I could have wanted.

 

We had a lazy morning, very different than our other days which we were up and ready to get off the ship. They started the day off with some cartoons and we hung out in our bed. We made our way down to breakfast. We explored the ship. We used the little kiddie pool to soak our feet in. I brought a couple blow up beach balls and they chased those around. We taught them how to play shuffleboard. Somewhere in the there we ate lunch. We rode up and down the elevators. We hung out in the room and colored in coloring books. Had our usual afternoon nap and quiet time watching cartoons. We had a ice cream cone. We went into the lobby where they were playing music and the kids danced for 45 minutes! Then we showered and got ready for dinner and finished the day off with a movie on the Lido deck. Was it an ideal day? No. But it was a perfect vacation day. We were lazy and laid back and really enjoyed not having the stresses of normal day life. The next day we were back to crazy, hectic "island life". :D

[Onessa]

DD just turned 19YO, but has been cruising/travelling with us since she was a newborn. She's been to 37 US states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 23 countries across Europe and Asia. She is a confident, self-suffient young lady and believe her early travels have contributed positively to her life.

 

Traveling with very young ones requires a great deal of flexibility from both parents. Aehusk's suggestions are great. I also agree with the comments that Disney (park) with two toddlers can be very challenging. If you can get a good rate to stay on the WDW grounds and limit you times in the park, it can be fun -- but if you are paying big bucks at WDW assuming that you will be at the parks and on the rides and stuff, it will be disappointing.

[cruisegirl06]

We've done 2 cruises, WDW and DL with our daughter all before the age of 3.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but as a PP stated we take a very laid back approach at Disney and get deals. We go during off-season when there are low crowds, get there at rope drop to hit up the rides that will have lines and generally have very low expectations of what we will "accomplish". If you go to Disney with that attitude, it's great with kids. We're hoping to go next fall when our girls are 4 and almost 2 to leverage one last trip before we are working around a school schedule and holiday break crowds! I would only do disney with toddlers non-peak season, with a good deal, and knowing you'll be back (not trying to cram everything in). DD loved it though and talks about it constantly (the last trip was over a year ago!)

 

The cruises were NCL and DCL. On NCL she was too young for the kids club, but we still had fun. We did their play group type activities, walked around the ship, hung out on the balcony, etc. DH and I both work full-time, so life at home is very busy and just having downtime to reconnect as a family is huge for us. Not having to commute, cook, do laundry, clean, etc. makes for a great week! DCL was amazing - DD could go to the nursery, loved the activities, and we had fun port days.

 

With the right attitude, it's a great way to go. Since having kids we just set simple travel "goals" and anything else is a bonus (and we usually wind up with plenty of bonuses each day with this approach)

[mdjohn5]

My kids are turning 4 and 6 next month, our next cruise in November will be the 4th for each of them.

 

It is a different cruise experience with young kids, but we love it. We get balcony rooms and bring the grandparents. A lot of ships can open the barrier between the balconies so you can get between the rooms on the balcony. That does not always work, but when it does it is very convenient.

 

Excursions get expensive, so we have found that ports with beaches close to the ship are the best for us when since the kids range is limited. Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk are perfect for this.

[boulders]

 

We thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but as a PP stated we take a very laid back approach at Disney and get deals. We go during off-season when there are low crowds, get there at rope drop to hit up the rides that will have lines and generally have very low expectations of what we will "accomplish". If you go to Disney with that attitude, it's great with kids. We're hoping to go next fall when our girls are 4 and almost 2 to leverage one last trip before we are working around a school schedule and holiday break crowds! I would only do disney with toddlers non-peak season, with a good deal, and knowing you'll be back (not trying to cram everything in). DD loved it though and talks about it constantly (the last trip was over a year ago!)

 

 

That's generally the way I have done WDW in the past. However, they have come out with FastPass plus. They're doing away with standby lines, making everyone make reservations for the rides. I won't be visiting Disney again while they have this system.