Brief thoughts for those with toddlers

[myacuna]

My daughter is just shy of three (bday in mid December). We just got off Mariner this am so here are some things I found helpful!

 

1. she is still happily sleeping in a pack n play and I’m going to ride this wave as long as I can. I brought a tri-fold travel mattress for extra padding and a stretchy blackout shade and used their provided pnp. 
 

2. we didn’t realize the room setup at the time but we were in 7610 (edge of the hump) which provided an amazing space between our curtain and the balcony. With the blackout shade she basically had her own room. Idk if this is manageable in the super hot months but she never seemed hot from the sun hitting the balcony doors at times. See photo.

 

3. while a stroller was necessary at times, it was a huge PITA. The smaller you can bring, the better. Leave the BOB at home. We had a simple umbrella stroller and even that was annoying. 

 

4. on day one, I went and talked with AO. This was our big win here - I really didn’t want to deal with royal babies and tots if I didn’t have to. The stress of having to make reservations and not being guaranteed the hours we needed is not something I enjoy on vacation. I kindly asked if they would consider moving her to the 3-5 room, seeing as she’s fully potty trained and in a 3 year old room at preschool. The wonderful staff happily obliged after making sure she was truly potty trained, could use the potty on her own with no help, and could follow organized activities. This “trial” seems to be offered when asked for (they didn’t bat an eye and explained it to me so they definitely have a process in place) and she passed within the first hour of day one. 
—-> I offer this information because I’ve read all over these boards that it’s not possible to move from the nursery to AO. I went in hopeful but with no expectations and my daughter would have been fine either way, but when I say she had the most amazing time at “camp” with her “teachers”, I’m not exaggerating. 
 

5. the staff was truly wonderful. We’ve sailed Mariner twice and love the size but we were just missing having a splash pad. Otherwise it was lovely. 

[BirdTravels]

Sounds like it was a win win win!  Great for you. 

[death_star]

Did they give you the full size width pack and play or the one that's like the home size sliced in half? It seems to be luck of the draw in our experience and DS does not fit in the smaller one really. 

 

Good to know about the trial period to get moved up to AO. We talked to them last month and they said they could certainly do it within like a week of the kids birthday but almost a month is even better. 

[myacuna]

@death_star it was a regular sized one, which is what we’ve gotten on wonder too, though the mattress we got on wonder was comical and glad we brought the travel tri-fold. I’m not sure if she was moved up because there was space or if they recognized that she’d be better in the 3-5. She’s tall for her age and she was absolutely the youngest - but she fit right in. Helps to have a much older brother too. 

[cruisegus]

Glad to hear the staff could accommodate you