Traveling with 4 yo Freedom of Seas - bring? Toy borrow?

[ktcruiser]

We have cruised a lot but this is our first time cruising with our daughter who is four years old. Will be on RCI Freedom of the Seas, and we’re trying to figure out what to pack and what not to pack for her. Hopefully she’ll spend a lot of time in the kids club, but that’s not guaranteed that she will like it. I heard rumors of a toy lending library, anybody know anything about this?

 

Any hints on what the pack and what not to pack for her would be great. Thanks!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we always bring DS's toys with us - a plushie to sleep with, and some legos and a couple of hotwheel cars. RCI ships usually have lots of stuff to do (we were on the Indy - sister ship with our almost 4 yo) for kids and families, so he doesn't usually need a lot of toys on them. Now, Princess ships are a different story - nothing to do for kids aside from hot tubs, pools and kid's club - so we bring toys.

 

We also bring a tablet with cartoons and games to use during MDR dinners. Saves our sanity, because we can have a relaxed dinner, while DS is watching something with headphones on, without whining or running around.

 

Do you have a pullman bed for her? Is she ok to sleep on it? Mine was at 4.

 

[ktcruiser]

Thanks for the Pullman pic. It’s a possibility, although from your pic, the opening is pretty big and she rolls around a lot in her sleep, so we are still not sure who will be sleeping in the Pullman. Hmm.. maybe string or twine across the opening?

 

Good to know there are going to be a ton of family friendly activities. I’m hoping we can get the quick meal and send her to the kids club while we leisurely enjoy our dinner.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:47 AM, ktcruiser said:

Thanks for the Pullman pic. It’s a possibility, although from your pic, the opening is pretty big and she rolls around a lot in her sleep, so we are still not sure who will be sleeping in the Pullman. Hmm.. maybe string or twine across the opening?

 

Good to know there are going to be a ton of family friendly activities. I’m hoping we can get the quick meal and send her to the kids club while we leisurely enjoy our dinner.

the pic is from the Caribbean princess, but we were recently on the Allure which had similar rail guards.

[milton333]

We cruised with DS on Freedom OTS when he was 18 months.  There are open/parent-supervised play times in the kids club areas where you can stay with kiddos while they play.  There are toys for lending.  It's been a while, but for sure you could borrow a toy during that open/parent-supervised play time, and I'm pretty sure you could just ask at the club any time.  There were a lot of toys appropriate for an 18 month old, I didn't really pay attention for older kids.

 

My son's favorite thing to do was to run over the lit glass bridge on the promenade.  That and walking up and down stairs was huge entertainment at that age.  The splash zone was a huge hit.  He liked the walking/jogging track. The nursery for non-potty trained kids was very new on Freedom at that time, everyone seemed very nice, but DS was not having it, so we did not leave him in a club.  The ipad from home was absolutely vital - lots of pleasant time with mom and dad sitting on the balcony and kiddo lying in bed playing with his apps.

[ahughes517]

Our son was 3 the last time we cruised with him; he’ll be 6 on our next cruise this August, but we’ve done extensive travel since then. 

 

Absolutely echo what others have said - a few videos pre-loaded on a phone or tablet are essential. It’s also nice for the kiddo to have something familiar to watch. The RC TVs have a lot of cartoons, too.

 

We let our son pick a few toys, books and one stuffed animal for each trip. We remind him that these are the toys for the trip, and to choose carefully...definitely gives him an opportunity for ownership and to feel like he’s a part of the trip planning. 😉 Bubbles and glow sticks are also great toys to play with/share with other kids around the ship.

 

When he was younger, we brought some individually packaged snacks - like Goldfish - so he could have familiar food, if needed. Also packed a water bottle (with dish soap, so we could wash it in the sink each night), small amount of laundry detergent (accidents, food stains,) and Clorox wipes (to clean areas in the cabin.) Will probably still pack those cleaning items for our next cruise.

 

A little backpack for their trip is also great - we like one with a chest clip, so there’s less of a chance of him losing it. 

 

Hope this helps, and have a good cruise!

[CruisingWithTriplets]

We first cruised when my trio was 4. We didn't bring electronics, so we brought a few things to keep them entertained during down times. Crayola mess free markers with the coloring sheets, washable crayons and coloring books, several free printables of dot to dots or seek and find pages for preschoolers. I also hit the target dollar spot for some small toys that would be brand new (they had cute felt books at the time) so that they would still be exciting.