HELP! first cruises with littles

[hlb76]

we are gifting our son and his family a quick 4 day Carnival cruises ( NOLA to COZ) for next Oct. His boys are going to be 19 month and 3.5 when we travel. We did not start cruising with our kids until they where older so Ive never traveled with kids of this age.

 

I'd love any advise on how to make this a fun trip not overly stressful. I'm just starting my research but never thought about the car seats not being airline approved, taxis, shuttles etc. So every little bit of help or advise will be so helpful for us.

 

 

thanks in advance

[cb at sea]

Shuttles are buses, so no car seat is needed. That's the way to go for most things, if you don't want to lug the car seats for 2 kids! They will need a stroller...probably for both kids. Lots of walking on the ship AND in ports...nothing worse in the heat than having to carry weary children!

 

The pools don't allow anyone in diapers...shouldn't be a problem for the older one, but the baby will be a "no go". As you know, most cabins have showers, so a blow-up tub is great for bathing the baby..and can be used for "splashing" on the pool deck...only takes a couple ice buckets of water to keep a baby happy!

 

They will need to bring all the diapers and baby specific stuff, including any and all child medications they MIGHT need...the ships don't carry pediatric stuff!

 

Sorry...can't help with flying with the kids....didn't do flights until my kids were MUCH older than your grand babies!

 

Also...a guidebook on their ports would be a lovely gift...it's alway best to know something about where they're going, so they can choose things the whole family will enjoy in ports!

[Californiacruizers]

We first set sail when my daughter was 2.5 year old. She had a blast; she is almost 3.5 and talks about going on "bay-cation" every day. Car seats are not needed as you can always use a shuttle to and from the cruise port, for both kids. I did not bring a car seat, however I did bring an umbrella type stroller which also reclined. The stroller was lightweight and was very useful onboard the ship and in port. I also packed a beach mat that folded up and had a handle that you could carry like a purse; I used it on beach days along with a few sand toys that I purchased from the local dollar store prior to our trip. I found that the blow up tub was not needed because the showers had a hand held nozzle that I used to shower my daughter. She could also hold it herself and felt so grown up doing so. I would also pack various OTC medications that the kids may need (cough, allergies, runny nose). The ship will have a play room for the kids and many have toys that you can check out and return. I would bring a few insulated Sippy cups so that the kids can have cool drinks on port days.

[travelhound]

Our dd's first cruise was when she was 22 months. She'll be five in March and in February she'll be going on her sixth cruise...so we think it's fun having her with us.

 

It's not the same as an adults only cruise, but fun nevertheless. I found that when we went with no expectations of sticking to a schedule, no disappointment of what we will not be able to do with her, and a go with the flow attitude...it was all good.

 

The younger one will require more "stuff." Our dd was only not trained for the first cruise and there was soooo much more to bring because of that. Because it's only four days though, it won't be that bad. A year ago when she was the same age your oldest will be, we went on a 14 day Panama Canal cruise and she cried when we had to get off the ship. At that age she loved going to the kids' club and met a lot of other kids that way. We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves at that point. Relax...what's that?

 

I agree with bringing a stroller, especially for the airport. We've rarely, if ever, used it on the ship or excursion but it depends what you do. We never took it to the beach but we did take it when we walked all over Key West. We always did ship excursions that use buses, so no car seats.

 

If you decide to go the shower route and not bring a blow up tub, try it first at home. One the first trip we stayed at a Marriott for a week prior and they only had showers. I held her to take the shower and she cried for the first few days. Then she got over it and was ok. Now she loves the hand held showers on the ships, but it would be weird if you'd never tried it.

 

For the plane...bring snacks, a bag of goodies they haven't seen before like those dollar bin coloring books with the colors, cards, etc. We also bring a tablet with her favorite shows. Now that's mostly what she wants to do on the plane but she also likes playing with little figurines on the tray table. To that end, bring some of those Clorox wipes in the travel pack (travel bins at Target) and wipe down all of the plane surfaces before they start playing. We've run into some disgusting tray tables that I wouldn't want her to play on. They are also good for wiping down things in the cabin, like remotes and door handles.

 

They never seem to have small enough utensils so you may want to pack some of those disposable spoons/forks. Even now they will bring her ice cream with one of those huge spoons that don't fit in her mouth. At breakfast I have to search for the coffee teaspoons because the spoons for cereal are also huge. Cups with covers are also a good bet, especially for the little one.

 

I also bring an over the door shoe organizer and use it for all of her little things - shoes, hair bows, sox, swimsuits, hair brushes, etc. It keeps that cabin so much neater and easier to find everything. For me, that makes it less stressful.

 

I could go on and on, but I won't. However if you have any other questions, just ask. I find that the more I plan up front and bring simple things to make life on board easier, the less stressful it is once we get there.

[hlb76]

Thanks for all the comments. We have a long time to sort everything out so that helps. I'm just trying to get as much info and feedback as I can. My son knows his kids better than anyone so he will know how to proceed with much of this but I want to be as helpful as I can.

[redxpanda]

Our daughters first cruise was at 15 months, second at 24 months, third at 3.5. When we were in Cozumel, on her 2nd, we took a taxi to a beach club and hung out there for morning-mid afternoon. It was all-inclusive, she had fun in the pool and enjoyed the food. We did Mr Sanchos, it was a quiet day, not too busy. We brought a puddle jumper to help keep her afloat. If I recall correctly we didn't use a stroller that day, as we really only needed to walk from the pier to the taxi stand. With two, a stroller may be more necessary. Depends on how good of a walker the older one is. We did bring an umbrella stroller on each of those cruises, at the least to help with embark/debark.

 

Best tips for enjoying the cruise is to be ready to go with the flow and possibly miss out on activities that you want to do. Bring something to do in the cabin while kids nap. Be ok with the older one either loving the kids club so much he never wants to leave, or perhaps the opposite, you never know until they try it out for the first time. If you plan on having kids go to the MDR, bring something to entertain them... They try to get kids food out quicker, but sometimes you still have to wait and kids just don't seem to like waiting. ;)

 

 

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[kasi1979]

Did you alreasy request a pack and play or whatever type carnival has, type of bed for the 19 month old? If not, please do so, so you´ll have it without lugging it around.

Most cruiselines also offer baby articles to be requested (and paid for) such as food, diapers... If you´ve got the chance to stop at a local store before heading to port that might be easier and cheaper.

 

Our dd was 9 month old on her first cruise, we had a blast and found the empty disco during daytime to be a great place for crawling or in your case running around.

[gluecksbaer]

I'd love any advise on how to make this a fun trip not overly stressful. I'm just starting my research but never thought about the car seats not being airline approved, taxis, shuttles etc. So every little bit of help or advise will be so helpful for us.

 

Nearly all US car seats are FAA approved (harnessed ones that is, but your grandkids are too little for boosters anyway). So chances are the ones they have will work just fine. To confirm, look for a sticker on the side of the seat with a line (often in red ink) that says "This restraint certified for use in motor vehicle and aircraft." It will be mixed in with the other informational statements on one of the stickers.

 

Since our seats are big and bulky we bought the Cosco Scenera Next for both kids for the plane but my kids are still rear facing. The Next isn't a good forward facing seat so if the older boy is forward facing then the Evenflo Sureride is a great forward facing travel seat. Both of those are fairly cheap. (We fit both of the Scenera Nexts and two umbrella strollers in our cabin closet with room to hang a few items too)

[neoncandle]

Tips for flying with the kids: bring a variety of snacks. Bring a variety of activities for them to do. It is really difficult flying with a 19 month old (we did it with ours though, twin boys, without blinking an eye). We used the car seats to keep them restrained and found it nicer to book them their own ticket even though that is expensive. We always bring our kids with us on trips. Great advice on this board.

[hlb76]

Nearly all US car seats are FAA approved (harnessed ones that is, but your grandkids are too little for boosters anyway). So chances are the ones they have will work just fine. To confirm, look for a sticker on the side of the seat with a line (often in red ink) that says "This restraint certified for use in motor vehicle and aircraft." It will be mixed in with the other informational statements on one of the stickers.

 

Since our seats are big and bulky we bought the Cosco Scenera Next for both kids for the plane but my kids are still rear facing. The Next isn't a good forward facing seat so if the older boy is forward facing then the Evenflo Sureride is a great forward facing travel seat. Both of those are fairly cheap. (We fit both of the Scenera Nexts and two umbrella strollers in our cabin closet with room to hang a few items too)

 

Why is the Next not a good face forward? Its been years since I had to know a thing about car seats. I do know the ones they have in the car now are big and bulky so we may look into a lighter version for the trip.

 

 

Also wondering if anyone has suggestions on strollers? The thought about a double but I think 2 singles are a better choice. The oldest is not fan of the stroller as much these days but still needs it from time to time. Days when he can or will walk the double might be over kill for one kid???

[gluecksbaer]

Why is the Next not a good face forward? Its been years since I had to know a thing about car seats. I do know the ones they have in the car now are big and bulky so we may look into a lighter version for the trip.

 

For rear facing seats, the harness straps have to come from below the child's shoulders. For forward facing seats, the straps have to come from above the child's shoulders. (It has to do with the physics of how the seats move differently in a crash.)

The Scenera Next has particularly low top harness slots. So kids are quickly too tall for the straps to come from above their shoulders. (My son outgrew it forward facing last summer but has 2-3 inches of growth before he outgrows it rear facing. It's an odd seat that way as usually kids outgrow a seat rear facing and then you turn it forward until they outgrow it completely or are old enough to safely booster.)

 

 

Also wondering if anyone has suggestions on strollers? The thought about a double but I think 2 singles are a better choice. The oldest is not fan of the stroller as much these days but still needs it from time to time. Days when he can or will walk the double might be over kill for one kid???

 

We brought two umbrella strollers and stroller links to attach them. This makes a double that's too wide to use pretty much anywhere on the ship but works well if you just need it in port. Like your older grandson, my kids are old enough to walk most of the time but I still like the stroller to help with their stuff and for long distances. So we didn't use them on the ship, but always brought them in port. I just had my kids push their own strollers until we disembarked and then I attached the clips and pushed them both.

 

You do have to have the exact same model stroller for the stroller clips to work. But it could work to just use as a double in port. And you might even be able to fold big brother's stroller and hang it from little brother's stroller to just use when they need it.