Review - Rhapsody of the Seas, South Pacific, with a Toddler!

[Babymoon12]

My husband and I (early 30s) travelled with our daughter (13 months) on RCI’s Rhapsody of the Seas to the South Pacific over New Years.

 

Ok, this isn’t really a review. I have posted a ‘normal’ review in the RCI folder, but I wanted to include some toddler specific comments here. Some of my comments are stolen from other posts within this (frickin’ awesome!) forum. I’m repeating them for completeness.

 

Packing

1. We packed an outfit for each day for DD, and then some. She gets dirty and baby clothes don’t take up much room so I just did it. :D This included a number of dresses for dinner and 3 pairs of swimmers. I also packed 2 Grobags for sleeping.

2. I used 6 packing cubes for my suitcase. It had all my stuff as well as DD’s so it was FULL. When we arrived I simply popped the packing cubes in the draws. So easy and fast! Then my massive suitcase went under the bed.

3. We packed 15 nappies for the flight and the day before then picked up a box of 90 from Coles in Sydney as well as 2 packs of wipes. That was enough for the trip though the wipes started to get low.

4. I had disposable changing pads and bibs but didn’t use them. I found the changing pads annoying so just used a designated hand towel to lay DD on.

5. I packed every type of baby medicine and what not and I would do the same again. I used her suncream, baby wash, shampoo and nappy cream. I didn’t use the Neurofen, Bonjella, moisturiser or Euky Bear.

 

Flight

6. I took toys and food for our flights from Cairns to Sydney and fed DD on take off and landing and we had no screaming. She actually spent a lot of time looking out the window!

7. I had a Baby B’Air (a US baby vest for flights) but wasn’t allowed to use it for take off so it stayed in hubby’s bag.

 

Stateroom

8. I booked a cot (aka pack n play) but it was not in our stateroom when we were allowed in. Not a problem, I called and it was delivered within 20 minutes.

9. We stayed in stateroom 3502 which was all the way forward. It was longer than usual and had a fabulous bay window which the cot fit in. I had brought a shower curtain to hang from the ceiling (this was a brilliant idea I got from CC) but ended up hanging it over the portholes, then the room curtain closed between us and her so it was like she had her own room. (I’ll post a pic) I hung the shower curtain from the tv in our pre-cruise hotel.

10. I took a pack of 6 tea lights as night lights. They gave a perfect low glow and the battery life is impressive!

 

Equipment

11. I used a Baby Jogger City Mini pram. I love it. It is light weight but handles like a charm and has room underneath. Also, it fit through the stateroom door. I used it around the ship at times so I could do trivia or chill while DD slept (rather than being stuck in the stateroom which we did for the first few days). I also used it on shore a few times (but not when we were just going to park on the beach).

12. I used a Baby Bjorn Carrier One for travelling in taxis and walking around the Nanda Blue Hole at Luganville and the Cascade Waterfalls at Port Villa. DD actually fell asleep in the taxis – it was probably the wind blowing in her hair! I brought a chilly pad to keep us cool, but never used it since I didn’t carry her for long and/or it was usually windy.

13. DD wasn’t allowed in the pools which was a bummer, but I had a blow up pool. I took the pool to the towel guys on deck 9 and they got a pump and helped blow it up and then got a bucket to fill it with water from the spa. When DD was done, I dragged the pool to a drain in the deck and stood on the side for it to slowly empty. I left the pool inflated until the last day so we only had to get water on subsequent ‘swims’. This was a fantastic CC idea and worked wonderfully! Having said that, it might be nice to chose a ship with a H20 zone next time, or wait til she’s toilet trained.

 

Meals

14. The wait staff are fabulous with toddlers. They always came to talk to DD and make sure she was entertained.

15. At dinner each night (early sitting, 6pm) DD had a bowel of fruit within minutes and her dinner shortly after. I had packed some Rafferty’s Garden pouches as a precaution, but ended up just ordering from the kids menu. She ate spaghetti, fish, chicken, vegies, mash whatever!

16. I made a point of teaching DD to eat normal food and drink water from a cup before our cruise. This was really helpful at meal times! She still insisted on throwing food all over the floor though >.<

 

Royal Babies and Tots Nursery

17. The nursery had drop off time until after lunch and at night, and it had parent/child play time in the afternoon. They had a different theme of toys each day (eg music, animals, transport etc). We dropped DD off for a morning so we could snorkel and at night for New Years. We went for the parent/child play time a few times for something to do. She loved it.

18. The toy lending program is great too. You can borrow a bag of toys for a long as you want and take them wherever you want! We used the toys in the stateroom, at dinner and on deck 5 (for safe play and roaming). We switched toy bag about 4 times for variety.

19. We also used the in-room baby-sitting one night so hubby and I could go to the adult comedy show. It’s not a guaranteed service as it requires an employee to do it in their spare time. They had called during the day to confirm someone had volunteered, but that person got tied up and there was a delay getting a replacement. I called after 10 minutes and the replacement arrived 5 minutes later. We were 5 minutes late to the comedy show. DD was asleep so there was no issue there. It wasn’t a big deal, but just be aware it’s not a guaranteed service.

 

Other

20. Muster drill was painful. DD was in need of a nap and we were standing in direct sunlight. So, she cracked it. People were fairly understanding though and a lovely young man offered his shady spot for me.

21. I had an ID wrist band and one of those kid leash things but didn’t use them. She’s walking but we just took turns following her around so it was fine. I was initially worried about DD falling overboard, but we watched her near the open rails and the rest was glass or flat metal so it was fine.

22. DD has found her voice so did a bit or random yelling from time to time but didn’t have any meltdowns (aside from cracking at muster drill) and slept and ate with ease. I was actually really proud of her behaviour and felt like I have been doing at least some of this mummy stuff right. Phew!

23. I found CC and http://www.havebabywilltravel.com to be invaluable resources!

 

She won’t remember her first flight or cruise or South Pacific island, but I took heaps of pictures for when she grows up! 

[Babymoon12]

Some pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JenJD]

Thank you for a few great ideas!

I think I might still get a leash (lol) because I'm super paranoid he will go overboard.

[Esilef]

Your daughter is the cutest! Love her hair.

 

Great suggestions.

[tropical82]

Your daughter is the cutest! Love her hair.

 

Great suggestions.

 

I love reading successful toddler sailing posts. I'll be sailing with a 2 & 1 yo and need the reassurance it's doable!

[Esilef]

I love reading successful toddler sailing posts. I'll be sailing with a 2 & 1 yo and need the reassurance it's doable!

 

 

I've sailed with an autistic 4 yr old and I am sailing again with my son whom is turning 6.

 

Best thing we took with us was a travel lock which kept him in the room.

 

Lids love exploring new things. Your kids will love it!

[Babymoon12]

Your daughter is the cutest! Love her hair.

 

Great suggestions.

 

lol Thanks :) Her hair is crazy!

[Esilef]

lol Thanks :) Her hair is crazy!

 

 

It's beautiful!