Help! I need advise for cruising with a toddler

[bgcruisegal]

I have done about 10 cruises before I had kids and now going on my second in April with a 4 yr. old this will be her 2nd cruise. We took her when she was 2 1/2 on Royal C. not old enough for the camp program and we didn't have family traveling with me. She had a blast she still remembers the ship especially the side by side pools and she can't wait till we go on the next cruise. You are the best judge of your child, if she hard to manage at home that won't be any easier on the ship. We didn't expose her to the dining room but opted for the buffet lines or room service, which she was thrilled with.

[cruisegirl2006]

First of all I want to thank those of you who gave supportive feedback.

 

What I was hoping to get from this board was to hear from people who had traveled with young children and learn what worked for them and what didn't. (Again, thanks to those who did that.) To me there is no option of leaving him at home. I don't want to be that far away from him and I don't need a vacation from parenting. Anyway all of our family is going with us. I was already aware of the camp carnival policy from the web site and my travel agent but I got different information from a carnival reprsentitive. We do have plans for how to handle dinner. If we do take him into the dining room, we have never let him continue to scream in a restaurant and we don't plan on starting now.

 

To those of you who don't like children, may I suggest adult only vacations.

[GoinCruisin]

I didn't see anyone that posted say they didn't like children... you asked for advice... that is what you got, you didn't specify that you only wanted a certain kind of advice, or only advice you would be happy with... you asked for advice. Next time you might want to be more specific and let everyone know what you want to hear, so everyone can accomodate ;):D

 

Have a fun cruise!!

[jckvpa0]

Our sons first cruise was in Feb. '05 he was 2 at the time. He loved everything about the cruise and still talks about it to this day. He is now 3 and going on his 2nd cruise next month and he can't wait! We dined everynight in the dining room with him and had no problem at all...He ate everything off the adult menu, sat thru dinner and acted better and looked better than most of the adults. We have been taking him everywhere with us since he was 1 week old...and wouldn't have it any other way. The only advice I can give to you is to enjoy your little ones...they are only little for a short time. :)

 

I agree, enjoy your little ones while you can because they grow so quickly! Your son must be something really special if in Feb 05 at the age of 2 you took him on a cruise & he still talks about it to this day! I'm not giving you a hard time here, that really is incredible that he can remember that & verbalize it!!!

[wcrzx]

best advice for cruising with a toddler "don't"

 

 

Rosie must be one of this people who hates kids!

[GoinCruisin]

Rosie must be one of this people who hates kids!

 

Not necessarily... there are alot of people that would give that same advice... perhaps they went on a cruise with their toddler and have personal experience behind that advice... doesn't mean they hate kids, it means that their best advice would be to not do it... it's crazy to think that just because someone recommends not doing it, they automatically hate kids :rolleyes:

[BonnieSte]

He's teething? Any idea how much your neighbors will love to hear him crying? If it were my child, I would be stressing more about disturbing my neighbors then alone time. Not to mention the stress on the baby. Being in a strange place while I am in pain. Poor thing. Keep him home with someone you trust. there is no way I would leave my baby with a stragner while my ship is in a port and could be snatched away never to be seen again.

[GoinCruisin]

He's teething? Any idea how much your neighbors will love to hear him crying? If it were my child, I would be stressing more about disturbing my neighbors then alone time. Not to mention the stress on the baby. Being in a strange place while I am in pain. Poor thing. Keep him home with someone you trust. there is no way I would leave my baby with a stragner while my ship is in a port and could be snatched away never to be seen again.

 

Child hater :p:p:p

[Loves_Dogs]

Rosie must be one of this people who hates kids!

 

NO....Rosie probably has had her vacation ruined by some couple who insisted on bringing a screaming baby on their cruise and ended up disturbing everyone around them.

 

As I have said, I am NOT a child hater, I have 2 kids of my own, but in my honest opinion a cruise vacation is no place for babies or toddlers.

[wcrzx]

For all those people who don't want to crusie don't book the GLory on 4/28/07. I am taking my 2 yo.

 

I think it is up to the parents to control their children. If my son get fussy its simple we will leave the area. I know it will cut into excurions but we plan on going to the beach and using Camp Carnival some while at sea and some nights for dinner.

 

I respect that people take a cruise and don't want to hear screaming kids. But responsible parentswill diffuse the situation by taking the child from the area.

 

Whats worse a sometimes fussy 2 yo or a group of 12-16 year olds running around the ship with no supervision.

[GoinCruisin]

For all those people who don't want to crusie don't book the GLory on 4/28/07. I am taking my 2 yo.

 

I think it is up to the parents to control their children. If my son get fussy its simple we will leave the area. I know it will cut into excurions but we plan on going to the beach and using Camp Carnival some while at sea and some nights for dinner.

 

I respect that people take a cruise and don't want to hear screaming kids. But responsible parentswill diffuse the situation by taking the child from the area.

 

Whats worse a sometimes fussy 2 yo or a group of 12-16 year olds running around the ship with no supervision.

 

I don't care what you do... and I won't be on that ship :D LOL! But, your child is of an age where he/she probably won't be waking up screaming in the middle of the night...younger children can and do. So if that happens, do you leave the cabin as to not disturb your neighbors? Is that how that problem would be diffused??

 

Like I said, I have no problem with what people do, I would just hope they would respect the other passengers, and many don't... bottom line, child or adult. Difference is, you can call security on a child or adult... and they can stop, you can't MAKE a baby stop crying if they are in pain or don't feel good.

[BlueHerons]

We took an 11 month old with us and he had a blast.

 

Just know that it is work and not a vacation for you. Even though my girlfriend had lots of help from all of us, she nor her husband could enjoy anything much.

 

They were so worried that he would disturb other people in the dining room, keeping him out of the sun, nap times, food, yadda yadda. She said she would not do it again.

 

He is a really well behaved well adjusted little guy who already travels quite a bit and he was a joy.

 

However, his parents were so worried they might spoil someone elses trip, I think it ruined it for them.

 

Remember, you child is going to be so far out of his/her element, not telling how the bably will act. Also, the motion of the ship could very well trigger sea sickness so be prepared for that.

[BonnieSte]

Child hater :p:p:p

 

 

LOL I love children! But also am one of those people who is cursed with thinking of people around you. Can't help it.

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Just curious....Did the other couple of thousand people on the ship have a good time ?

 

If they did not have a good time then they have no one to blame but themselves:)

[edfox]

We took our 6 month old son, 4 year old, and 11 month old cousin on our first cruise on the Conquest last Feb 05 and they all had a blast. The staff was all over the babies the whole time we were there saying how cute they were, how little they get to see babies on the ship and how much they missed there own children. As far as the 4 year old goes, he spent the majority of the time at Camp Carnival except to go see the Sting Rays. The best thing about the staff was we ate dinner in the dining room every night except formal night and they waited on them hand and foot, and was constantly keeping them entertain.

We are taking the same group of kids (all a year older now) on our second cruise in March. The oldest one can not wait, he can't stop telling everybody about it. My opinion is if you can control your kids or yourself with them, you will and everyone around you will enjoy themselves as much as they would if they were not there.

[cruisenk]

In 2003, we took our then 16 month old daughter on a cruise to Alaska. The cruise was a gift to my husband and me and I wasn't ready to be that far away from my daughter, so we brought her with us.

 

Some advice . . . try to keep your child on the same schedule on the cruise as at home. A balcony is ideal for a family. You can sit outside while the child naps or after the child goes to sleep at night. It also allows some special adult time with a beautiful view.

 

We did not have any family with us and my husband and I did miss out on some of the activities that the ship offered. But a couple of the nights I would stay in the cabin and he would go to the casino or I would go do something I wanted.

 

Book short shore excursions. We only scheduled 2-3 hour shore excursions so that we could get our daughter back to the ship for nap time. This ensured that we didn't have an overtired, cranky child at dinner.

 

We brought our daughter to dinner everynight (except the first) and she behaved wonderfully. I enjoy eating in nice restaurants and I want to continue to do so. Therefore, my husband I have never tolerated bad behavior from our child (now children). We received many compliments from passengers regarding our daughter. I believe that we were more sensitive to her behavior than others.

 

One embarkation day, do not eat in the dining room. I suggest the buffet because most likely you will have a tired, unnapped child.

 

Bring a white-noise maker. Some cabins may be loud.

 

I was worried about the norovirus, so I brought along Clorox wipes and we wiped down the entire cabin after we arrived. I will do it again on our next cruise. I just felt that little people would touch things that the cleaning crew might have missed.

 

In all, we had an incredible family vacation. Honestly, it was not the ideal trip with a 16 month old (an island vacation would have been easier), but it was fun and I am so glad we had the opportunity.

 

Best of luck to all traveling with toddlers!

 

Kari

[BEEZALAR]

We took my 11mo grandson last year and will again in April..he will be 22mo. He was no problem at 11mo, we will see about the next time. One thing I would advise is to take a child carry backpack if the child is still small enough for one.....was a life saver. Except for dad who had to carry him LOL.

 

Another thing is, if you are traveling with family and they have a room near you ,take a baby monitor so you can put the little one down for a nap and hang out in the other room. We were next to each other on the last cruise. acrossed the hall is ideal. Usually one person will be too tired for what ever the night entertainment is, so will opt to babysit. I loved to babysit and just hangout in the room at night all alone....(well, with the monitor of course).....but we took turns and it was not a problem. We have a balcony room this time so I think Grandpa will be wanting to babysit alot.

 

As for the (child negetive) remarks I am hearing.......I believe it is the difference between daycare (working) parents and stay at home parents. I have a daughter of each and can tell you there is a difference in patients with the child. I can only hope that everyone on board with us, are or were stay at home parents at one time in their life.

 

Oh, and next year we are all going on a cruise 4/07. That will include two 3 year old boys and a 1 1/2 year old girl. I will write and let everyone know the exact date and ship so you (child haters) can stear clear.

 

Life is too short to leave out your children because someone else might get upset............Look at all the rude drunks and inconsiderate smokers.

 

Okay I am stepping off my soapbox......Trisha

[cruisenk]

I also recommend a monitor. We had a front carrier (Baby Bjorn) and a child backpack. These were great for shore excursions. Additionally, we brought a child's life jacket. Our ship did not have a life jacket in a small enough small size.

 

Kari

[star10]

I just read this thread and I have to put in my 2 cents...

 

Maybe someone should inform Carnival that children under 2 should not be allowed to sail? Does Carnival not promote that they are the family cruise ship? It seems to me that there are an awful lot of people who would rather not cruise with toddlers on board. And for them, I just have to ask, why not find an adults-only cruise or vacation? Carnival is for families. Families contain babies and toddlers... Go figure.

 

I've cruised with my kids (ages 15,10 and 4) since they were toddlers. I've always been courteous to my fellow passengers and if they started fussing, I'd leave the dining room or where-ever. Life happens. Too bad the drunks on the ship couldn't be as courteous... we had one cruise where the people at the table next to us were so unruly and obnoxious... our toddler was like a model citizen compared!

 

I also think it's up to the parent to decide if their toddler is adaptable. There are some children who are harder to handle than others... others are more easy going. My boys were always angels and I never had to leave an area... I always got compliments on how well behaved they were. Then came my daughter... she is hard to handle and was a bit of work on the first cruise. We survived and had a great time. We always travel with extended family... Great for little breaks here and there. But looking back, it would've been nice to have had her stay home... only because she was a difficult baby. But it wasn't an option for me (both sets of grandparents travel with us!)

 

Yes, a crying toddler on an excursion is NOT fun. I'd recommend not doing a city tour or anything boring of that nature. A beach would be my choice for children. Pack a small pail and shovel, lots of sunscreen and find a beach with umbrellas.

 

I will say that now that they are older, cruising is even better! Camp Carnival is awesome!

 

I hope this helps you.

[GoinCruisin]

I just read this thread and I have to put in my 2 cents...

 

Maybe someone should inform Carnival that children under 2 should not be allowed to sail? Does Carnival not promote that they are the family cruise ship?

 

I understand what you are saying... yes, families include toddlers... however, and people can decide for themselves whether or not they are up for the task... For me, I can't see it... would love to take my nephew some time, but at 2, he would be hard to handle... he would hear and see the casino and want to go in, he would see the pool and want to go in, he likes to go everywhere and anywhere (he's all boy :D), and sadly, he couldn't at his age, on a cruise. He could go to CC now, but I don't know that we would want to put him there. I plan to take him on Disney in a few years when he will be old enough to truly enjoy it... It's a personal decision everyone should make. As for children under 2, there is not much for them to do on the ship, they can't go in the pools, they can't go to camp, etc etc, so it is definitely more work, but for those that want to take that on and also be considerate of their fellow passengers, I say more power to them.

[Loves_Dogs]

[sorry.....duplicate post...

[Loves_Dogs]

Sorry...duplicate post.

[Loves_Dogs]

As for the (child negetive) remarks I am hearing.......I believe it is the difference between daycare (working) parents and stay at home parents. I have a daughter of each and can tell you there is a difference in patients with the child. I can only hope that everyone on board with us, are or were stay at home parents at one time in their life.

 

 

 

Sooo.....are you saying that all working "daycare" parents have no PATIENCE? oohhh....I hope you have your flame suit on...

[BEEZALAR]

As for the (child negetive) remarks I am hearing.......I believe it is the difference between daycare (working) parents and stay at home parents. I have a daughter of each and can tell you there is a difference in patients with the child. I can only hope that everyone on board with us, are or were stay at home parents at one time in their life.

 

 

 

Sooo.....are you saying that all working "daycare" parents have no PATIENCE? oohhh....I hope you have your flame suit on...

 

NOT, no patience, Just less patience. As I said I have a daughter of both and if you spend less time with the child and on vacation are with them 24/7 it does ware on your nerves. Was not ment as a put down just an observation. My daughter is not insulted by that.......she agrees!!! Trisha

[lecach]

We wanted to take our DS on our Triumph cruise in May - he'll be 17 months. But since he cant go to Camp Carnival and we cant get a babysitter earlier than 10 (he goes to bed by 7) we're leaving him with Grandma. Maybe next year when he's old enough for the Camp we'll take him.