cruising with 2 year old??

[dolphiness]

My son and daughter in law are thinking of bringing their 2 yr. old with us on 5 day. Can anyone give me story of how it might be? I don't know how the Kids clubs work....like how it is to register..are they well taken care of? that sort of thing??? PLEASE..any help much appreciated.

[lcpagejr]

I suggest you go on the Carnival site and review the kids clubs. It will also give a brief overview of how you set them up in the club, etc

 

A few years ago my sister took her 2 year old....The staff is very attentive and really try to please. Alot will depend on your grand daughter and how well she deals with separation. Even if she goes to daycare daily....it will be a new environment for her to adjust to. As long as your son and daughter-in-law are prepared to deal with the "unknown"...you/they will be fine. They may end up needing to spend more time with her if things do not work out. But Carnival does offer a variety of care support throughout the evening which will allow them to have some private grownup time. I think if everyone goes with an open mind and remains flexible..... you all will have a great cruise

[crooooze]

Our daughter was 2 when we took her along on our first cruise. Kids club was great. No complaints at all. It was a long time ago and they gave us pagers so they can call us if needed. Fast forward to the modern age, I think they lend out cell phones now. Drop off and pick ups are tightly controlled - they didnt release the kids to anyone. The staff were very friendly. Some kids adapt better than others. Some were always crying when mom and dad left and others went right to the toys and didnt look back.

[Essiesmom]

Just so they know that he/she will not be allowed in the pools or waterworks, no swim diapers. EM

[Djptcp]

Why not leave the kid at home with a babysitter and have a nice short 5-day cruise by themselves? Take him/her later when the kid is older and can use the pools and might be more socialized to have fun in the kids club activities. My parents always left me at home with a babysitter (best friends, not grandparents) and took vacations by themselves until I was much older and could appreciate the trips. Just a suggestion.

[tea4ular]

I've never minded kids on a cruise. I actually prefer the babies and toddlers to the older kids who run crazy on board being annoying and with nary a parent in sight.

 

I notice those freaky videos of brawls, crazy antics, screaming matches, and even chair hog stories never have a baby or toddler as the main perpetrator. So yeah, me too...;p:p

[riffatsea]

There is no guarantee that a 2year old(or any age child) will be happy being left at the Kids Club. No matter how good the counselors may be or how many fun activities there are some kids prefer being with their parents.

You and your family need to be prepared for that possibility.

[brookeq]

We took our daughter on a cruise when she was 2 1/2. It was the dream. you can see my review in my signature. (the pictures aren't working anymore).

The first day is hard. You get on with all of your stuff but can't get to your room and all of the lines for the food is long. But after that we were fine.

 

Dinner can be hard but we brought lots of things for them to do. Waiters made sure they had food so they weren't just sitting there. You can also take your kids to the kids club during dinner time and they will feed them and you can eat a nice meal. That was my favorite thing about the kids club. We did that twice I think.

 

We have since taken the kids on two more cruises so that tells you we liked it. They enjoy the kids club.

 

We pack snacks they like for when we get off the boat and even when on it. Kids get picky And food isn't cheap. Esp if they won't eat it.

 

Depending on the ship there are rooms that have a small tub. We had one on the dream.

 

I am heading out the door but if I think of more things to post I will.

[pcvtmom]

There's lots of information on the Family Cruises section in the Cruise Critic boards. We've been perusing them, since we've decided to include our granddaughter (who will be 18 months) on our next cruise.

[Shaded Lady]

An important item to note is your granddaughter must be toilet-trained to go in the pool or the splash zone area... lots of people don't know (or don't care) but if they go (#1 or #2) in their swim diaper the pool/spa needs to be emptied, disinfected and refilled, which impacts everyone. So if she's not toilet-trained yet, be prepared to disappoint her when she wants to play in the water...

 

EDIT- just re-read your original post and I realized you don't say if it's a boy or a girl, so I apologize in advance if I guessed incorrectly!

[alpine6]

We took our daughter on a 7 day Glory cruise last year. Use Camp Carnival, especially during dinner. We worked hard to potty train before we went, but she didn't use the pool much anyway. She used the splash areas much more on the Magic this year. Ours is a go with the flow toddler, so it worked great, including zip lining in Roatan. Everything depends on the specific kid, but you should have a great time.

 

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[TheLadyK]

We took our daughter on her first cruise last fall, at 2 1/2. It was the best family vacation!

 

It wasn’t a bunch of lazing by the pool and drinking, or long, slow meals with quiet conversation. If that is essential to the experience for you, maybe wait until kiddo is older.

 

It was a lot of really fun family time with a joyful little kid. She tore up the dance floors, made friends everywhere, went swimming every day (she’s potty trained), ate tacos and ice cream, explored the ship, watched movies together. The kids club was excellent, and she mostly enjoyed it. We did get called to come get her once when we were trying to do dinner and she got freaked out. She also tried to ditch us for dinner twice and go eat with the club instead.

 

If you can go with the flow and enjoy what the toddler is up for, cursing is really fun.

[gannk]

We had our 2 year old on the Valor last year, and she loved it. The Camp Ocean staff was great and really did a good job helping each kid have a fun time. They gave us a phone and would call us if she cried, and we could use it to call and check in on her and our 4 year old. If they take your kiddo to dinner, they have a list of food allergies and put them on the back of their name tag. They also put a wrist band on your child with their muster station listed, so they can bring them to you in case of emergency.

 

Make sure you hit the Dr Seuss Parade and reading of Cat In The Hat. My kids really loved it, and spent months pretending they were still in the parade, screaming “Dr Seuss is on the loose” while marching around the house. We also really enjoyed the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast. We registered for it the first day when we checked in at the Camp Ocean table on the lido deck.

 

I was nervous about nap time, but she slept every day during the time that camp is closed and then demanded to go back as soon as they reopened. She also loved dancing to all of the music on board and the all you can eat ice cream.

 

 

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[brookeq]

Yes I forgot the dr suess breakfast was fun and worth the small cost

[eyzwdeshut]

We took our 2-year old twins on a cruise and they DID NOT want to be in the kids' club area. They wanted to be with us so they cried and cried. So we had them with us a lot. I should also note, they weren't strangers to the "daycare" concept or atmosphere.

We took them on another cruise with us when they turned 3, and they loved the club.

One of the 'harder' things was going to bed early. It was just the 4 of us, so when they went to bed, we went to bed. When they took naps, we took naps.