sailing with a 15 month old

[Sandoo]

I am thinking of sailing on the Magic with my DS, DIL, and my 15 month grand daughter.  Can anyone please give us any advice?

We were wondering whether we can take a 15 month old into the main dining room, the show, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[dave_k58]

Lots of people do it and say they have a wonderful time.  Personally, I would not take a toddler on a cruise. The baby will be allowed in the MDR- but I can't say they would enjoy it.  They will NOT be allowed in any of the pools if they are not potty trained. Maybe another grand parent could take care of the baby. 

EDITED- the worst cruise we ever had was when a baby was in the cabin next door and it cried incessantly

Edited April 8, 2019 by dave_k58

[Elaine5715]

As long as you are willing to remove the baby from shows and restaurants immediately when the crying and fussing starts.  The music isn't loud enough to cover.  There are no cabin walls thick enough for 3 am cries.  Pretty much everyone of us have been onboard with too many parents who are taking a vacation from parenting so yes, we sigh loudly until we see parents parent. 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Elaine5715

[Tapi]

My kids started cruising at 13 months and 15 month of age respectively. Wonderful memories, but I’d lie to you if I told you that these early cruises weren’t filled with challenges that many cruisers sailing with toddlers either underestimate or aren’t aware of. 

 

There were moments when we thought it was all worth it, but there were moments when we questioned our sanity and even contemplated cutting the cruise short and going home at the next port of call. 

 

With that said, your toddler will be allowed at most venues including MDR and theater, except those specifically for adults only. At that young age, toddlers can’t attend the kids club or use the pools onboard. If the use of these facilities is something that’s important to you, I’d recommend sailing on cruise lines that do offer these for children that young. Royal Caribbean for example offers the Royal Babies and Tots program (for an extra fee) and they have specific pools for babies and toddlers still in diapers on select ships. Our second cruise with kids was on Royal Caribbean and it was like night and day compared to our first cruise on Carnival. We enjoyed that 2nd cruise considerably more than the 1st. 

 

As others mentioned, be aware that your time at the MDR, theater and other venues may be cut short due to inopportune fussiness or crying, and be ready to act quickly. Many times your evening may be cut much shorter than planned. We left the MDR more than once mid meal because of that. We skipped things that we normally enjoyed before we had kids. Getting dressed and taking formal family portraits had to be aborted when our son had a meltdown before we could even get him dressed to leave the stateroom one night. Most likely, you won’t have a moment of peace unless baby is taking a nap. That’s the kind of thing you need to go prepared for. 

 

But in retrospect, we don’t regret starting our kids cruising that young. Now at 7 and 9 years of age, they have completed their 10th cruise on 5 different cruise lines and sailed to 15 countries, from the Caribbean including Cuba, to Alaska, to the Mediterranean. They have become little world travelers and know what behavior is expected of them when we go on vacation. It makes cruising so much easier now.

 

Starting them young is what has enabled our ability to become more adventurous and expand our horizons beyond where we would normally sail to had we waited to get them started. 

 

Whatever your decision is, enjoy every minute of it! 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Tapi

[Sandoo]

Thank you for all of your inputs!

[thehappierhomemaker]

we started cruising when our youngest was 10 months. We chose Carnival because their kid's clubs change diapers and we knew that would be a necessary thing for us moving forward.  We're now eight years later and our kids are almost platinum! Don't let people scare you away, Carnival is the most kid-friendly cruise ship line I know of!

[VentureMan_2000]

I'll provide two pieces of advise to consider...

First, if you travel with your children, then the whole trip becomes about your children.  If you try to make it about yourself, then the kids will be miserable.  If you are not willing to make it about them, then you will be miserable.

However, You are the Grandma, so it's not your issue unless you allow your kids to include you in their issue regarding bringing and taking care of a infant child aboard.  You have the option to blow your DS and DIL off and totally enjoy yourself.

Just say'n...

[Babyfin]

Make sure you bring lots of diapers! The ship DOES NOT have them and when you drop them off to be watched you have to provide your own. So if you run out there is no running to the fun shops to get a package. They sell them in ports but we prepared to pay way more for them then you would want to. Also remember you still have to pay the cruise fair for them because they will be a passenger. But you do not have to pay gratuities for them. To get those removed you would need to call carnival or your TA needs to call and have it removed or not pay it till you get there.

[horsegal]

My oldest was 15 months when we took him on a cruise, it was on the magic! We had a great time and I can't wait to take both our boys on a cruise they are 3 and 1 (will be in a few days!). Sure it was different then cruises before kids but so is life!

[JaxsMama]

Make sure to pack an umbrella stroller.  We pushed our son around in the evening and he would fall asleep. We went to karaoke and lots of other events while he was happily asleep.  

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

Lots of people do it and say they have a wonderful time.  Personally, I would not take a toddler on a cruise. The baby will be allowed in the MDR- but I can't say they would enjoy it.  They will NOT be allowed in any of the pools if they are not potty trained. Maybe another grand parent could take care of the baby. 

EDITED- the worst cruise we ever had was when a baby was in the cabin next door and it cried incessantly

  very subtle.....   op, we cruise with out kids and grand kids often.  Carnival embraces families, they are most welcome in the mdr, despite what some think, it can be an enjoyable experience for  all.  Hope you ALL enjoy your cruise.  

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I'll provide two pieces of advise to consider...

First, if you travel with your children, then the whole trip becomes about your children.  If you try to make it about yourself, then the kids will be miserable.  If you are not willing to make it about them, then you will be miserable.

However, You are the Grandma, so it's not your issue unless you allow your kids to include you in their issue regarding bringing and taking care of a infant child aboard.  You have the option to blow your DS and DIL off and totally enjoy yourself.

Just say'n...

Wow

[Crusin Hogs]

Worst cruise we ever took ,there was a baby in the cabin next door ,, Cried day and night , Security was called several times ,by us and other cruisers around their cabin , Carnival did give us 25 % off pour next cruise ,, still it was a miserable  week .So think of others around you who are on vacation .

 

[jimbo5544]

3 minutes ago, Crusin Hogs said:

Worst cruise we ever took ,there was a baby in the cabin next door ,, Cried day and night , Security was called several times ,by us and other cruisers around their cabin , Carnival did give us 25 % off pour next cruise ,, still it was a miserable  week .So think of others around you who are on vacation .

 

Yeah, it is HAL after all .... wait a minute no, its Carnival.  I have had drunk’s next me that I had to call security on multiple times how do we get them banned, it is “my vacation” after all.  

Maybe they should have the little brat ashore soas not to ruin your vacation.  

[Tapi]

10 hours ago, thehappierhomemaker said:

we started cruising when our youngest was 10 months. We chose Carnival because their kid's clubs change diapers and we knew that would be a necessary thing for us moving forward.  We're now eight years later and our kids are almost platinum! Don't let people scare you away, Carnival is the most kid-friendly cruise ship line I know of!

The problem that we encountered with Carnival for kids under 2 was that they will only accept them after 10:00pm at night (and for an extra fee). Otherwise, kids need to be 2 before they can attend the kids program during regular hours. 

 

In my opinion, for kids under the age of 2, other cruise lines are more kid friendly (most notably Royal Caribbean and Disney since they have all day long kids programs starting as young as 6 months of age for an extra fee). Also, as mentioned before, some have pools that are temperature controlled and specially filtered for kids still in diapers, which in my opinion is a blessing. 

 

Between the ages of 2 and 3, then Carnival is the clear winner since other cruise lines' complimentary kids program starts at 3 and Carnival starts at 2. From the age of 3 forward, then the playing field is more even among all major cruise lines. 

 

Our last cruise was on the Carnival Fantasy, and at 7 and 9 years of age, my kids had an absolute blast; one of their most fun cruises according to them. But they've also said the same thing every time we return from any cruise! Haha. Even though my kids aren't too much into Dr. Seuss, they thoroughly enjoyed all the Dr. Seuss themed activities on Carnival. 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Tapi

[sweety51901]

My daughter was a year old on her first cruise and my baby is going to be 20 months old on his first cruise this July. My oldest was 3 on his first cruise. When we took my daughter, she was a year old, but not walking yet. She was delayed on her gross motor skills, so she was more at the 9 month level. We had a blast with her. We were on the Fantasy, so there was a zero entry area where she just sat and played the whole time. When we stopped at Cozumel, we went to paradise beach. I had taken some cheap sand toys to the beach and she just sat under the umbrella in the sand and played the entire 3 or 4 hours we were at the beach. She slept through the night and never cried or disrupted our neighbors. She loved the happenings in the main dining room, so we were able to enjoy dinner every night.

I do second the bringing an umbrella stroller. We had her stroller with us, so when we went for walks on the ship, she just strolled along. It really was an enjoyable experience. The worst part of it was that she didn't like the crib that was provided. It had a board for a mattress, so she slept with my husband and me. Other than that, it really was an enjoyable trip. It actually gave us reason to rest a little more since she was on a nap schedule. I do remember that my husband would stay in the room with her so that my oldest, my parents and I could enjoy the shows. My in-laws were also there, so we always had someone to sit in the room with the baby if we wanted to do something after dinner. She was typically in bed by 8 or 9. A must-have in our room was a travel DVD player. We brought several of her movies and she would chill in the room watching movies.

We did do a 5 day instead of a 7 day just to test the waters, pardon the pun.