Cruising with a 14 month old

[Raider07]

My wife and I will be going on the Liberty in June for a 6 day cruise with our daughter. We would like to know if anybody has had any problems with the babysitting onboard Carnival, or if you would recommend it. We would also like to know if Carnival offers in-room babysitting instead of having to bring your child to a room at 10PM. We have no problem paying for either service, but it seems easier for them to come to the room if possible.

 

We have been on cruises before we had our daughter and are looking forward to this cruise as well.

 

 

Any other suggestions would be accepted as well. I have already read several posts and have gotten some great tips. Thanks for the help.

[dnj1]

Carnival will not come to your room for babysitting. They also have limted, scheduled time for baby-sitting. It is not around-the-clock. This is all what I have heard and read. I will be taking my first cruise with child in August.

[rebeccalouise]

Carnival only offers babysitting at Camp Carnival from 10PM-3AM for a fee of $ 6 per hour.

I am not sure that this is going to work for you. The only way I can imagine it would is to lay her down for the "slumber Party" and then put your child in an umbrella stroller and transfer her back to the room.

 

14 months isn't a great age for travel. She isn't going to necessarily like being babysat at 10PM with strangers and may suffer from separation anxiety. You'll have to see how it plays out.

 

My child will get up at exactly 7AM- regardless of when he goes to bed. It could be midnight but he will still get up at the same time. This has been my experience. By having them stay up late- the next day you might have a very fussy child.

 

My recommendation would be to invite grandparents along. If that isn't an option, then take a stroller. Tire her out during the day- sot that she will sleep after dinner and you can stroll around to the bars and even get in the hot tub at night- with her asleep in the stroller beside you.

 

Meals are going to be limiting unless you are prepared to entertain her in the formal diningroom. I'd recommend sticking with the buffet because it is going to be more or an ordeal trying to get a child that age to sit quietly for a two hour dinner.

 

Not trying to rain on your parade- by all means go but recognize the limitations so that you aren't disappointed.

[Kerry's Girls]

When I took my twins, there were a number of babies/toddlers who were brought to the babysitting already asleep in their strollers, and they just stayed asleep the whole time.

 

As the previous poster suggested, you can also just bring your sleeping baby with you to shows, lounges, etc. Others do the same. I would take my girls to the disco or on the dance floor on deck right after dinner and they'd chase the lights around the dance floor before going down to change into jammies so they could sleep in the stroller.

 

My twins first cruised when they were 13 months, and we had a ball. I actually find that the buffet is more complicated than enjoying a nice dinner in the main dining room. We ate all our meals in the main dining room for that reason. I was just always prepared to leave if one of the babies became at all disruptive. I brought clip on toys for the high chair, and that plus some finger food and I'd get to enjoy being served a meal rather than juggling trays + babies in the buffet.

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[srlafleur]

I would think the dining room WOULD be the best way to go. Much calmer atmosphere.

[Kerry's Girls]

I forgot to mention that if you have dinner in the dining room, the high chair will be all set up for you each night and the waiter will bring milk or have it also ready - as opposed to showing up at the buffet and then dealing with dragging a high chair or waiting for one to be brought, then going back and forth for whatever you need. I know many parents use the buffet, but I would try the dining room at least to start with. You can always leave and head to the buffet.

 

Best,

Mia

[Raider07]

Thanks for the help, we plan on going to the dinning room, and we'll take turns leaving if we have to..

[dnj1]

I had planned to eat buffet most of the time but.....after reading this thread, I beleive I will give the dining room a try. We are traveling with a 7 yo and 19mo. old.

[WeBCruisin]

My boys are 3 & 7 now but each took their first cruise at 14 months. They each LOVED the cruise and had a blast!! We were cruising with extended family which included grandparents but did not rely on them for extensive help with babysitting. We did not do much at all with them regarding shore excursions at that age - just off the boat at Labadee for a beach day - but they had a blast just being on the boat.

 

I agree with the other posters regarding the dining room. We found it MUCH easier and relaxing than the buffet - even for breakfast and lunch. In the dining room the staff will take excellent care of them- high chair waiting - would bring them their food ASAP and even do special requests for them. One particular day in the dining room during lunch the waiter noticed that our son had not touched much of his fruit bowl - we explained that he would only eat the grapes from it. Within 2 minutes the waiter (without any prompting) showed up at our table with an entire bowl of just grapes!! They also loved interacting with him and during lunch when they weren't as busy they would carry him around the dining room to entertain him (of course he never left our sight!).

 

Overall it was a very fun time and I would definitely reccomend taking your 14 month old - however I would pick an itinerary that you have done before as you won't really have a chance to do much in the way of exploring the ports.

[crusinmama06]

I can tell you from experience that this is a much easier age than the 2-3 year olds in regards to dining. ;)

 

We've always eaten in the dining room with our children, starting at 8 months old. Now they are 3 and 7 and they rush through their meals to get to the kid's club. :rolleyes:

[cruisead]

As opposed to what one poster said, we would never allow our children to run in the lounges or bars in the evening. IMHO, that's inappropriate, and could be dangerous to other passengers who are out on the dance floor, dodging running kids. On a recent Celebrity cruise, one couple had their two daughters running all over the dance floor in the RendesVous Lounge, and one child, about 4, was running so hard and fast that she knocked down an elderly lady who was dancing with her husband. Security personnel on the ship came over and sternly told the couple that they were not allowed to have their children running on the dance floor ever again---it's just too much of a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. We would never have allowed our boys to run in the bars and lounges at night when passengers are wanting to be entertained.

[OnTheBrink]

As opposed to what one poster said, we would never allow our children to run in the lounges or bars in the evening. IMHO, that's inappropriate, and could be dangerous to other passengers who are out on the dance floor, dodging running kids. On a recent Celebrity cruise, one couple had their two daughters running all over the dance floor in the RendesVous Lounge, and one child, about 4, was running so hard and fast that she knocked down an elderly lady who was dancing with her husband. Security personnel on the ship came over and sternly told the couple that they were not allowed to have their children running on the dance floor ever again---it's just too much of a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. We would never have allowed our boys to run in the bars and lounges at night when passengers are wanting to be entertained.

 

I don't think anyone's saying to let them run around. I was more picturing taking a toddler for a walk in the stroller until she falls asleep. Then, wheel the stroller into where you want to be. Keep the stroller close, but out of the way of other people. Let the baby sleep while the parents have fun!

[ginacc]

When I took my twins' date=' there were a number of babies/toddlers who were brought to the babysitting already asleep in their strollers, and they just stayed asleep the whole time.

 

As the previous poster suggested, you can also just bring your sleeping baby with you to shows, lounges, etc. Others do the same. I would take my girls to the disco or on the dance floor on deck right after dinner and they'd chase the lights around the dance floor before going down to change into jammies so they could sleep in the stroller.

 

My twins first cruised when they were 13 months, and we had a ball. I actually find that the buffet is more complicated than enjoying a nice dinner in the main dining room. We ate all our meals in the main dining room for that reason. I was just always prepared to leave if one of the babies became at all disruptive. I brought clip on toys for the high chair, and that plus some finger food and I'd get to enjoy being served a meal rather than juggling trays + babies in the buffet.

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

Mia, THANK YOU for your post. I'm travelling with my (then) 13 month old next month and this is exactly the kind of BTDT experience I was searching the boards for. It is shocking how many people think that I should have to leave my son at home to go on a cruise. He's the kind of kid who loves to be out with us, and I'm sure he'll sleep right through the slumber party too. We'll have a great time with him, I'm sure. And I feel GREAT knowing that your family did exactly what we're doing.

[Kerry's Girls]

Originally Posted by cruisead

As opposed to what one poster said, we would never allow our children to run in the lounges or bars in the evening. IMHO, that's inappropriate, and could be dangerous to other passengers who are out on the dance floor, dodging running kids. We would never have allowed our boys to run in the bars and lounges at night when passengers are wanting to be entertained.

 

 

As the previous poster suggested' date=' you can also just bring your [b']sleeping[/b] baby with you to shows, lounges, etc. Others do the same. I would take my girls to the disco or on the dance floor on deck right after dinner and they'd chase the lights around the dance floor before going down to change into jammies so they could sleep in the stroller.

 

 

I assume you mean my advice in the above quote. Sorry it wasn't clear, but I guess I was assuming common sense, which would dictate that you don't bring children to run around lounges filled with adults. That's why I mentioned the disco and the dance floor on deck specifically - because these are not open right after the early seating, so they are perfect places to let the kids run off some energy where they won't bother anyone. I hope no one else thought I intended this to mean to bring children to run wild in lounges that are crowded with adults trying to enjoy before or after-dinner dancing!

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Best,

Mia

[Kerry's Girls]

Mia, THANK YOU for your post. I'm travelling with my (then) 13 month old next month and this is exactly the kind of BTDT experience I was searching the boards for. It is shocking how many people think that I should have to leave my son at home to go on a cruise. He's the kind of kid who loves to be out with us, and I'm sure he'll sleep right through the slumber party too. We'll have a great time with him, I'm sure. And I feel GREAT knowing that your family did exactly what we're doing.

 

Just ignore the comments from those who don't know - as you can from all the people here, cruising is a great way to go with your toddler. EVERYONE told me I was nuts to take my twins on our first cruise, but I knew from cruising alone with my husband that it's the perfect way to spend quality time with my family while other people take care of all the cooking and cleaning. Especially since you can also have some quality time with your husband, which is equally important.

 

I'm jealous - our next cruise isn't until January. Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[Branwen]

We'll be traveling with our then 17 month old son in February on the Galaxy. I am relieved to read that it is entirely possible to have a fun and enjoyable vacation with a toddler on board. Lucky for us my parents will be with us and since they have done this cruise before, my husband and I will be able to get out and enjoy the ports while they take care of their grandson!

[cruisead]

We cruised with our three boys when they were toddlers,and never regretted it. They are now much older, but we'd never regret our decision. They grow too fast.

 

And Mia, I do have common sense, and I could not tell that you were referring to unoccupied areas of the ship. From your comment, one COULD assume you brought your daughters to the lounges to chase the lights when people were there. It's good to know that you wouldn't allow that, as many parents I see do on a regular basis.

[sandstan]

husband and I just got off Carnival ship on Saturday..we have a 17 month old, I started changing his sleep schedule about 3 -4 weeks before cruise. He usually takes one nap a day after lunch...on cruise we napped him around 3:00 till 5:30 -6:00, he would wake and we would give him a bath and get him ready for dinner...8:00 seating. We would walk around before dinner...maybe to get him a snack (fruit,pizza,etc) go to dinner. He was great at dinner and waiter always had something there for him when we got there..roll, watermelon, mac and cheese, etc. We did have waiter rush our dinner a bit...or else. After dinner we would go back to cabin, brush teeth, put pj's on, and head up to camp carnival. They were great. He was so tired by then that all they had to do was lay him down in pack and play and he was out. We had a beeper if they needed us. We would pick him up between 12 - 1 and he would stay asleep while we carried him back to cabin...he slept until 8 every day:) He slept better on the ship than he does at home...had a great time with him. Going on Princess in Feb and dreading the fact they do not offer any child care for 2 year olds...oh well early evenings for us too!!!