11 day Serenade of the Seas with toddler = good idea?

[trajan]

Hi,

 

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

[Clarea]

The toddler would have to be toilet trained to use the pools on Serenade. There are no pools that allow swim diapers.

Edited June 10, 2016 by clarea

[Doug S]

Wouldn't be my thing, but that's just my opinion. Tons of people will follow me on here and say how great it is. When my boys were that age we focused on vacations that were more designed for that age and really put a smile on their faces like Disney and zoos and stuff. By the time they were about 5 they cruised and were able to really do the kids programs and loved It. Just my opinion.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Hi,

 

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

 

Do you mean 2017?

[island lady]

Long Serenade cruise with lots of sea days: Good for lots of us older folks enjoying quiet and relaxing times. 50's Swing music, soft jazz, quiet Solarium days, reading, playing cards, triva. Think Spa/Zen thing.

 

 

Oasis/Allure/Harmony/Anthem/Quantum/Freedom/Liberty/Indy: Think Disney World, Sea World atmosphere. Lots of stuff for the little kids and active families to enjoy. Think Carnival, Water park, Breakfast with Fiona and Shrek, with lots of animated creatures on parade thing.

 

Which do you think would occupy them more? ;)

Edited June 10, 2016 by island lady

[cb at sea]

It will be like ANY vacation with a toddler! No worries!

 

As far as ports...a guidebook will be most helpful in finding things that will keep everyone happy...beaches are always a fun time for little ones....and 99% of the time, they are totally doable without excursions!

[nbsjcruiser]

Hi,

 

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

 

That really depends on the child. We have 3 kids, all adults now but all 3 were different when they were toddlers. Our daughter was a truly prim and proper little girl and loved to dress up and do grown up things. I'd have no issue bringing her as a toddler on a cruise. Our middle child? Oh boy, he was a handful - going out with him as a toddler was Chucky Cheese, Six Flags and places like that. Anything to keep him occupied and his attention well and truly hooked otherwise he'd be into God knows what. I wouldn't dream of an 11 day cruise with him as a toddler. Our 3rd child was much like the first, could take him anywhere. All 3 are great kids but they were all a different and had different needs.

 

So it really depends on the child to be honest. There's really no right answer in truth. If keeping your toddler occupied for 11 days on a smaller ship like the Serenade ins't an issue then by all means. The only thing I would say is, don't be planning too far ahead when you're on the ship and be ready to pick up and change plans when the cranky 6 year old shows up, and he will. So if you're in the MDR and things are getting cranky, be prepared to pick up and head to the buffet or have an early night in your stateroom. Sounds like you pretty much just want to hang out together as a family so it looks like you've got the right idea with kids that small and young. If the kids are easy to get along with on trips and you're flexible then you should be fine.

[Grandma Dazzles]

I would be more inclined towards a ship with an H2O zone and more activities for kids.

 

Sailed Serenade in April this year. Did not see any small kids on board (maybe a couple of small babies and a couple of 6+ year olds). Longer cruises tend to attract adults looking more for rest and relaxation.

 

Personally I would not do it! However, you know your kids.

[trajan]

Thank you all for the feedback! Yes, meant 2017. Re the ship, will check out the 8 day Freedom of the Seas that leaves a few days earlier.

 

We actually did Disney World last month and as much as I was paranoid about our baby getting too hot and being out all day she handled it better than any of us. So far she just loves getting out and seeing people. And yeah, we have no problem with one of us taking her out of the dining room for a walk if she gets cranky and otherwise adjusting plans as needed. So far so good. *knock on wood* :)

[island lady]

Thank you all for the feedback! Yes, meant 2017. Re the ship, will check out the 8 day Freedom of the Seas that leaves a few days earlier.

 

We actually did Disney World last month and as much as I was paranoid about our baby getting too hot and being out all day she handled it better than any of us. So far she just loves getting out and seeing people. And yeah, we have no problem with one of us taking her out of the dining room for a walk if she gets cranky and otherwise adjusting plans as needed. So far so good. *knock on wood* :)

 

You will love the Freedom! We will miss her dearly when she leaves us up here in PC. :(

 

Freedom is definitely geared towards family time, with lots to do for the little tykes.

Enjoy! :)

[FLSteve11]

Hi,

 

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

 

I think the toddler will be perfectly happy on the ship. It's pretty easy to make a toddler happy most of the time, bring some toys, have some things to do with them, etc.

 

It's the 6yo that will probably get bored on an 11-day cruise. Itineraries that long generally don't have too many kids on board, and that ship doesn't have the amount of kid-friendly things to do as the bigger ships.

[FLSteve11]

Thank you all for the feedback! Yes, meant 2017. Re the ship, will check out the 8 day Freedom of the Seas that leaves a few days earlier.

 

We actually did Disney World last month and as much as I was paranoid about our baby getting too hot and being out all day she handled it better than any of us. So far she just loves getting out and seeing people. And yeah, we have no problem with one of us taking her out of the dining room for a walk if she gets cranky and otherwise adjusting plans as needed. So far so good. *knock on wood* :)

 

That will be a better choice then the 11-day cruise. Not only is it larger and have more for children to do on it, but being only a week long you'll get more children for the 6yo to play with. A lot depends on the kid of course, and how much they interact with others, but to me that's a good choice in a cruise.

 

We've taken our daughter on a lot of cruises, and she really enjoyed the Liberty (sister ship to the freedom).

[angel54321]

I did a 7 day cruise in January embarking on my daughters first birthday. It was hard. She loved the ports and the beaches but on the ship there was very little for her to do. Basically every day was planned around her nap schedule- and me and my hubby felt like we missed out on a lot.

I don't think I'd do 11 days with a 15 month old. I'd try a shorter cruise.

 

I booked another cruise for when she is 26 months so we'll see how that goes.

[musicfam]

We did that cruise this spring and it seemed like a long time for a child AND the parents for that matter! Also, six ports in six days is pretty grueling even for seasoned cruisers. As some of the folks here said, Freedom (or Indy) would be a great choice.

[trajan]

Booked the Freedom. Bringing my nephew so we got a Family Promenade for a crazy low price with the kids sail free offer. Glad I asked here!

[CruisinCanadaFamily]

Hi,

 

We are looking at booking an 11 day Serenade of the Sea Caribbean Mar 6/2016. We would be traveling with our 6 yr old and 15 month old. Am wondering if this is a good idea? How toddler friendly is this ship?

We expect we'd do pretty light sightseeing in each port. No zip lining or crazy excursions. Be happy sticking together and sightseeing like we normally do on family vacations. Any tips on cabin? Ty for any replies!

 

We took this cruise this past March, and will be taking the exact same cruise this coming march. We have 8 and 6 year old kids that are already Diamond members on their own. I guess you can say they are used to cruising. That being said, I took my son on the Freedom of the Seas at 2 years old. It wasn't the most enjoyable cruise as he was too young to be in the Adventure Ocean Club. We had to pay to have him in the nursery to get any free time to ourselves.

 

I guess the real question is, are you prepared to be on an older boat with little to nil activities geared to children for 11 days and be ok with hanging out with your 15 month old?....If so then its a great cruise with a fantastic itinerary! There is a reason why we are doing the exact same itinerary, on the exact same boat during the exact same month 2 years in a row now.

[jbarn3]

We did a 15-night transatlantic on Serenade with a 13 month old. She had a great time. There were only a couple kids her age, but they had scheduled free classes in the nursery, and you could borrow toys to take back to your cabin. They offer in-room or in-nursery babysitting.

 

She couldn't use the pool, but we took an inflatable baby bathtub to use as a splash pool on our balcony. I'd go for at least an ocean view, she liked looking outside. A bigger room gives more space for a pack-n-play, and more space to toddle around.

 

She had a good time, made friends with the staff, ate in the main dining room every night. She loved the towel animals. We took a stroller, but didn't use it much on the ship.

 

She was teething on our port day in Tenerife, but that was the only day she was fussy or anything. We stopped for lunch and she had some gnocchi, and the waitress gave her some hard cookies and she was better. She didn't like wearing a fancy dress on formal night, but we had another outfit ready and just changed her.

 

For us the key has been letting the kids' needs dictate the schedule. If it's nap time, let them nap. If you work on their schedule, they'll be fine. Other people may think a trip like that with a toddler wouldn't be fun, but that depends on what your expectations are. Don't expect a vacation from parenting a toddler, but there's a lot of fun things you can all do together.

[IsanTom]

Not a good idea! Time to call the grandparents!

[CruisinCanadaFamily]

Just repriced the 11 night serenade during march break (canadian) 2017. reduced for us.

 

my kids loved the 6 different islands in a row.

[quandrea]

Does the Serenade not have a children's club that runs every day? I realize that the toddler can't join it, but the six year old could. We've sailed long cruises with Celebrity, and while the ship was mostly adults, our children were very happy with the ports and with the attention received in the kids programme. Does RCI not run a similar programme on her older ships? I realize the Serenade won't have all the bells and whistles of the newer ships, but I was counting on the kids programme at least.

[Clarea]

Does the Serenade not have a children's club that runs every day? I realize that the toddler can't join it, but the six year old could. We've sailed long cruises with Celebrity, and while the ship was mostly adults, our children were very happy with the ports and with the attention received in the kids programme. Does RCI not run a similar programme on her older ships? I realize the Serenade won't have all the bells and whistles of the newer ships, but I was counting on the kids programme at least.

Serenade does have Adventure Ocean for children.

[CruisinCanadaFamily]

Serenade does have a kids program, the hours depend on the port of call / sea day. My wife and I never had an issue.

 

Royal Carribean is great fleet wife for kids.

[IsanTom]

No, you'll need to take care of your kids and toddlers! You will be able to turn them over to the staff during the day for awhile! Where are the grandparents?

[nunk]

No, you'll need to take care of your kids and toddlers! You will be able to turn them over to the staff during the day for awhile! Where are the grandparents?

 

I think she stated it was their "family" vacation so they are planning with the kids;)

[trajan]

No, you'll need to take care of your kids and toddlers! You will be able to turn them over to the staff during the day for awhile! Where are the grandparents?

 

Grandparents just booked! Little update; as I posted previously we went with the 8 day Freedom and yeah, grandparents are coming too. Should be a blast!

 

CruisinCanadaFamily and jbarn3, good to hear about your experiences. I still very much want to do the 11 day Serenade cruise some time. Spending time with my kids is usually the best part of any vacation so I think I'd be happy with that cruise but yeah, that one's for a few years down the road. Ty again all!

Edited September 11, 2016 by trajan