Advice of What to Bring for Toddler?

[Pinkkong]

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

If you don't have one already, I suggest a toddler harness.

 

Yes, you will get snide comments about your kid not being a dog, but when your hands are full and the kid makes a break for it in an airport, a busy street or crowded deck, it is good to know that he can't get too far. If someone is too obnoxious about the harness, question them on what their interest is in your child being loose and  easy to snatch.

 

It will also give the independent minded toddler the feeling that he  is on his own  while you still have a firm grip on him.

You can also get those backpacks for toddlers that have a leash.  They can feel proud of carrying their own little backpack, and it 'camouflages' the harness to a certain extent.

 

[bamelin]

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

If you don't have one already, I suggest a toddler harness.

 

Yes, you will get snide comments about your kid not being a dog, but when your hands are full and the kid makes a break for it in an airport, a busy street or crowded deck, it is good to know that he can't get too far. If someone is too obnoxious about the harness, question them on what their interest is in your child being loose and  easy to snatch.

 

It will also give the independent minded toddler the feeling that he  is on his own  while you still have a firm grip on him.

yeah my wife wants one of those.  I’m kind of sold on it now although I’ll admit I made the snide dog comments when she first asked about it ... but I’ve thought it over and recognize the benefits.  
 

Do you recommend the backpack harness or straight harness?

[bamelin]

46 minutes ago, Pinkkong said:

You can also get those backpacks for toddlers that have a leash.  They can feel proud of carrying their own little backpack, and it 'camouflages' the harness to a certain extent.

 

Do you have a brand you recommend?  My wife mentioned skiphop (I think that’s the brand name)

[Pinkkong]

5 minutes ago, bamelin said:

Do you have a brand you recommend?  My wife mentioned skiphop (I think that’s the brand name)

There are two main ones, both are good.  It's more personal preference as to shape of backpack.  There's Skip Hop and Littlelife.  Skip Hop is easily available lots of places in Canada.  Littlelife can be a little harder to track down.  Well.ca carries them, Hudson's Bay online has them, and Westcoast Kids has them.  

[bamelin]

4 minutes ago, Pinkkong said:

There are two main ones, both are good.  It's more personal preference as to shape of backpack.  There's Skip Hop and Littlelife.  Skip Hop is easily available lots of places in Canada.  Littlelife can be a little harder to track down.  Well.ca carries them, Hudson's Bay online has them, and Westcoast Kids has them.  

my wife says thanks!  We use well.ca all the time so that’s a good option.

[SusieKIslandGirl]

My daughter found cute backpacks for her boys at Target. And we called the strap a "tether" rather than a leash but they're wonderful for ease and peace-of-mind.

[bamelin]

14 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

My daughter found cute backpacks for her boys at Target. And we called the strap a "tether" rather than a leash but they're wonderful for ease and peace-of-mind.

 

I'll admit I'm old school and was vehemently against the "leash".  I survived somehow ranging in parks and malls at age 7 miles away from home.  

 

But it's a different world nowadays.  And tbh after reading that story about the kid falling out the window on that cruise ship ... Horrible.  Yeah we will use the tether.  My kid is at that age where fully mobile but can't (barely) talk or completely understand what we are saying try.  He's so fast...

 

It's easy to make judgements until you have a little nugget running at a million miles an hour and you can barely keep up lol

 

Im an "old" dad at 43, I need the leash hehe

Edited November 9, 2019 by bamelin

[bamelin]

4 hours ago, stratixman said:

Bring a nanny.

 

Got that covered my parents are sailing  with us .  They are doing two weeks we are joining them on week two.  They are insisting on babysitting at least two nights so we can go out a couple nights.   That was a huge factor in choosing this cruise.

 

To be honest though I'm a home body I'll  be happy chilling in our room watching movies, drinking wine on balcony, enjoying MDR room service...

[Pinkkong]

10 hours ago, bamelin said:

 

Thank you for your advice!

 

We actually did want the Baby Jogger City Select Tour 2 was our first choice -- Unfortunately in Canada you can't get the Tour 2 they only have Tour 1.   Was going to cost almost double after paying border duties to get the Tour 2 shipped from the US so we went with the Nano which we found on sale.

 

I wanted the babyzen Yoyo so bad … was my most toppest choice but it was going to run close to $800 Canadian after tax  -- (the Nano was on sale for $200 CAD).  I took a big crash course on quality travel strollers heavily researched them -- there were a bunch to pick from.  The most important factor for us was that it's small enough to go into Carry On while still having some measure of comfort for our son. 

 

We have a huge Graco stroller built like an SUV.   The Babyzen one I wanted to replace the Graco completely --- but we couldn't justify the cost when we already had the Graco so we went with the Mountain Buggy Nano -- thinking at the price we got it ($200 CAD is like $140 US) it's a happy medium for something really good quality that will still fit most airline storage carry on compartments.

 

Thinking about the laundry package but we only cruising for a week … well it's complicated we are doing 2 cruises, 1 a cheapie carnival the week before then the Nieuw Statendam.  Staying in hotels in between with laundry so thinking we may just do laundry at the hotel then see how it goes the 2nd week once on Nieuw Statendam.  Debating --- it's only $50 bucks USD so we might just do unlimited laundry.   Is HAL prompt about getting clothes sent out back to clients?   On my last Princess cruise literally "everybody" was Elite Status so laundry took like 4 days to get back.

 

Ziplock bags to scoop extra food from buffet for snacks and store in mini fridge -- good idea.  I wouldn't have thought of that.

 

See this is why I made this thread, getting so many great ideas.

We were in Rome for just under a week before we boarded the ship, so we already had a decent amount of dirty laundry, and our cruise was 12 days. Also our daughter was teething, so we were going through a lot of bibs.  Originally I was going to handwash them and hang them to dry, but my husband said for $7 a day let's just get the laundry package.  It was great.  Things came back pressed the next day.   It was also possible to give special instructions like wash cold which it appears they followed because those things I was concerned about didn't shrink.  The other thing  I was concerned about was whether the laundry would come back with a strong scent because I am sensitive to scents, and use unscented detergent at home.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There was only the faintest scent discernable from the detergent they use.  If you have the ability to do laundry in between cruises and the cruise is only a week, you can probably get away without doing laundry on the ship, or you can do the stuff a bag thing which I think is $20 or $30 depending on what part of the world you are in.  You can get quite a bit in those bags.

 

In terms of the stroller, the Nano gets good reviews, and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.  It sounds like you got a good price.  I agree, the Yoyo is obscenely expensive, and my husband did have a small heart attack re the price, but it is an awesome stroller, and for us it has been worth every penny.  We originally got it for a trip to Toronto when our daughter was just over 6 months old.  We ended up with the Yoyo over the Tour because our daughter is quite tiny and at that age, the straps on the Tour didn't go low enough. Then we took it to Germany when she was 8 months, and this fall to the Mediterranean.  The ability to take it as carry on is brilliant.  You don't have to stand around waiting to get your gate checked stroller back, and there's no risk of the airline damaging it.  I've known people whose gate-checked strollers were bashed up.  One tip with regard to taking it as carry on.  This type of stroller is usually unfamiliar to most airline employees.  Most of them will try to pressure you to gate check it.  Things will go a lot smoother if you fold it and put it into it's carry bag at the gate before boarding begins, rather than folding it at the plane door.  When it's already in its bag, it doesn't seem to show up on their radar as much.  Stupid I know, but it is what it is.

 

 

[bamelin]

1 hour ago, Pinkkong said:

We were in Rome for just under a week before we boarded the ship, so we already had a decent amount of dirty laundry, and our cruise was 12 days. Also our daughter was teething, so we were going through a lot of bibs.  Originally I was going to handwash them and hang them to dry, but my husband said for $7 a day let's just get the laundry package.  It was great.  Things came back pressed the next day.   It was also possible to give special instructions like wash cold which it appears they followed because those things I was concerned about didn't shrink.  The other thing  I was concerned about was whether the laundry would come back with a strong scent because I am sensitive to scents, and use unscented detergent at home.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There was only the faintest scent discernable from the detergent they use.  If you have the ability to do laundry in between cruises and the cruise is only a week, you can probably get away without doing laundry on the ship, or you can do the stuff a bag thing which I think is $20 or $30 depending on what part of the world you are in.  You can get quite a bit in those bags.

 

In terms of the stroller, the Nano gets good reviews, and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.  It sounds like you got a good price.  I agree, the Yoyo is obscenely expensive, and my husband did have a small heart attack re the price, but it is an awesome stroller, and for us it has been worth every penny.  We originally got it for a trip to Toronto when our daughter was just over 6 months old.  We ended up with the Yoyo over the Tour because our daughter is quite tiny and at that age, the straps on the Tour didn't go low enough. Then we took it to Germany when she was 8 months, and this fall to the Mediterranean.  The ability to take it as carry on is brilliant.  You don't have to stand around waiting to get your gate checked stroller back, and there's no risk of the airline damaging it.  I've known people whose gate-checked strollers were bashed up.  One tip with regard to taking it as carry on.  This type of stroller is usually unfamiliar to most airline employees.  Most of them will try to pressure you to gate check it.  Things will go a lot smoother if you fold it and put it into it's carry bag at the gate before boarding begins, rather than folding it at the plane door.  When it's already in its bag, it doesn't seem to show up on their radar as much.  Stupid I know, but it is what it is.

 

 

For sure.  We are planning to be early, have it folded, in the bag.  You can fold it with wheels on or off, we will take off the wheels as it does reduce the footprint.   The nano folded with wheels off is borderline cabin walk on but on larger planes which we mostly are on it should be ok.

 

I wanted the yoyo so bad but just couldn’t justify 200 for the nano versus 800 for the yoyo.  Our winters are bad too so our massive graco will still get lots of use.  I’ll say though that the yoyo with add ons (leg rest and cupholder) has everything we wanted.  The price with add ons though ... yeah obscene.

 

Thanks for letting me know about special instructions with laundry ... thats our big worry his cloths will come back shrunk or messed up.  Or worse some detergent he has allergies to.

Edited November 9, 2019 by bamelin

[Homosassa]

9 hours ago, bamelin said:

 

Do you recommend the backpack harness or straight harness?

 

My daughter is now 35, so it has been a long time since I needed the harness.

 

I used the straight harness because besides being a fast runner, she was also a little Houdini. The regular over the shoulder V straps that were used in strollers and other child devices didn't work for her. And forget the lap belt in shopping carts;  she would roll her shoulders forward and get out of the straps. It is a long way down from the child seats in shopping carts to the floor.

 

I had a harness that was a vest that zipped up the front. The were two metal rings where I could either slide them together and use them to attach the strap or place them on the sides so that I could used the two straps that came with the harness and clip her onto the sides of the stroller, car sea seat, high chair  and shopping carts.

 

Decide what best suits your child.  Safety is the first priority, nasty looks and comments be "darned."

[Homosassa]

8 hours ago, bamelin said:

 

 

 My kid is at that age where fully mobile but can't (barely) talk or completely understand what we are saying try.  He's so fast...

 

 

 

LOL - He understands just fine. It is a matter of him testing to find out what the limits are and the consequences of his actions.

 

[ginger and professor]

DON'T

[fatcat04]

We just took dd to the doc for her flu shot and a lady was coming thru the door leaving with 2 very active what I guess were 2 years old twin boys "in harness." She was mushing them like huskies. 😄

 

We haven't needed the harness we have for dd yet but she is a good hand holder now thankfully and has also gotten to a more shy/wary age. Our son needed the harness as he never met a stranger and was a perpetual motion machine. 

[sprockie]

We will be on the same cruise - I replied to your post in the roll calls.  We have been travelling with our kids since they were tots and one of the most valuable things we packed when we were in Cuba when my son was 18 months and my daughter was 5 was pails and a few sand and water toys.  Although they make take a lot of space on the way down - you can just chuck them when your trips is over.  We just brought things like laundry soap pails with a handle, big Hellman's mayo pails, some smaller ones, pool noodles etc.  My son had the best time with a few pails at the pool and it attracted all the other little ones to join him.  He was busy all day filling, dumping and playing in the water.  If the pool on the Nieuw Statendam is anything like the other HAL ships I've been on, there's a pool deck inside the bench around the outside, so they can splash around in that area.  

Also, if you have a balcony.  I bought a nylon clothes line from ebay or amazon and a bag of diaper pins and I strung a clothes line (out of sight of the general public) and was able to hang bathing suits etc. out there.  The diaper pins kept them securely on the line in the wind.  I know some will burn me for that (having a clothes line), but we always found the line in the shower was not adequate to dry clothes - especially a lot of bathing suits, sun shirts etc.  Nothing worse than a bunch of soaking clothes hanging around the cabin and putting on wet bathingsuits.  

See you on board!

[Pinkkong]

3 hours ago, ginger and professor said:

DON'T

You're a bit late to the party with that advice.  Now that you've made this laconic contribution, do you expect the OP to cancel their cruise?  I think not.  Why is it that some people feel that it is acceptable to be gratuitously unpleasant whenever the topic of travelling with children is brought up?

[sprockie]

2 minutes ago, Pinkkong said:

You're a bit late to the party with that advice.  Now that you've made this laconic contribution, do you expect the OP to cancel their cruise?  I think not.  Why is it that some people feel that it is acceptable to be gratuitously unpleasant whenever the topic of travelling with children is brought up?

They are the same people who scowl on board when they see kids.  We have never had anything but a positive reception on HAL from the staff and crew with our kids.  Often they'd get to know us and call our kids by name.  I am quite sure the staff would much rather have more smiling kids and happy families on board than these scowly faced unpleasant people who think they are blue bloods on a Regent or Crystal cruise.

[ProfCruise]

Here are my best packing tips after cruising extensively with my son since he was 6 months old: https://profcruise.com/what-to-pack-and-not-pack-when-cruising-with-a-baby-or-toddler/

 

And some more general tips: https://profcruise.com/cruising-with-a-baby-or-toddler/

 

Enjoy your cruise and time together as a family!  We've always had a great experience on HAL. 

[weacat]

I wish we had some of these tips before we went on our first cruise with our 22 month old. One additional tip I can share is to check your child’s ears before you fly and/or cruise. Ours had a cold a week before we flew to Florida and we had no idea that she developed an ear infection while on the flight. Unfortunately the ships Dr. was unfamiliar with dosing for a child and overdosed her with antibiotics.  Ever since we get her ears checked if she’s been sick before we fly and if she has been sick, our pedi will prescribe an antibiotic in case an infection occurs during the trip.  Thankfully we have never had to use it, but we feel better having it with us and knowing it’s the right dosage.

[sprockie]

8 minutes ago, weacat said:

I wish we had some of these tips before we went on our first cruise with our 22 month old. One additional tip I can share is to check your child’s ears before you fly and/or cruise. Ours had a cold a week before we flew to Florida and we had no idea that she developed an ear infection while on the flight. Unfortunately the ships Dr. was unfamiliar with dosing for a child and overdosed her with antibiotics.  Ever since we get her ears checked if she’s been sick before we fly and if she has been sick, our pedi will prescribe an antibiotic in case an infection occurs during the trip.  Thankfully we have never had to use it, but we feel better having it with us and knowing it’s the right dosage.

Yes, we do this too.  Our doctor prescribes an antibiotic that may be used for any one of us if we get seriously ill.  Our daughter developed strep with a high fever towards the end of one cruise.  We will never travel without oral antibiotics and prescription antibiotic ear drops.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Ya'll are forgetting how the crew wonderful the crew is with kids. There was an adorable little girl who sat next to me with her mom on the Oosterdam the stewards were quick and efficient and helped mom getting the little girl settled at dinner in MDR.