ladylonghorn Posted December 21, 2007 #1 Share Posted December 21, 2007 We are just weeks away from our cruise on Carnival Liberty (8 days with stops in St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Martin). This is our first cruise with our daughter and we've been to St. Martin before. With all that said, now I'm starting to finalize what exactly I'll need, what to expect on the ship etc. Would certainly love your input. Start with the Basics (things to take): - Toys, coloring books, etc - Sand/water toys - Portable DVD player - Wipes, diapers - Sippy cup, snack trap - Soap to wash above - Numerous snacks - Umbrella stroller - Pack in Play (are the ship provided cribs REALLY decent? are they smaller than a PIP? right now we do not have a crib reserved, but am debating changing that so we don't have to haul our PIP) - Note - we are NOT taking a car seat. Before I get flamed, we have flown with and w/o the car seat. For us, everyone is happier without it as long as the DVD player is around. What am I missing from the above list? Life on board questions: - According to the details delivered with our tickets today, Camp Carnival is open on sea days from 9 AM to 10 PM and port days from port arrival to 10 PM. Several questions related to the above statement: 1. What about food while they are at CC (camp carnival)? Do they feed them snacks? Do they feed them meals? The way that it reads to me is that in essence, you could take your toddler to the buffet or do room service then drop them off at CC while the adults eat. 2. What about naps? 3. Do they change diapers? Do I need to provide diapers/wipes each time she is there? 4. What do most people do when your kids go to sleep? Just hang in the room (watch TV, read, trade off w/ hubby)? (We do have a balcony) 5. I thought I read somewhere that at her age, we will be given a pager when she goes to CC. Is that true? Our daughter currently goes to a pre-school/academy M-F 8 to 4, so she's very used to being active & around other kids all day. As such, I think that CC will be great so that DH and I can actually feel like we are really vacationing too. Other questions... 1. Inflatable pool - bring or not to bring? We have 4 days at sea, which seem like a lot to not let her swim. 2. Shore excrusions - - any you'd recommend with a toddler in our 3 ports? (I should mention that we are with a large group and there will be at least 3 other kids, ages 14 months, 4 & 5. 3. Any particular non-excursion (beach on our own) beaches you'd recommend? 4. Do/should I need to bring an infant life vest? I know this is long, so thanks for reading and responding!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted December 21, 2007 #2 Share Posted December 21, 2007 You really need to ask what your husband and you can do while your kid is over in the kids' area?????;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted December 21, 2007 #3 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I think the above poster misread your post. You didn't ask what you could do while your child was in the kids area- you asked about at bedtime. I understand why. I felt that my husband and I didn't get to do much at night when we traveled with our then 13 month old. I wanted to keep our child on a routine and wanted him in bed earlyish- so we were in the cabin by 10PM. My husband, a night owl, would stay out until 1 or 2 and I would be stuck in the cabin. We are now divorced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julienatul Posted December 21, 2007 #4 Share Posted December 21, 2007 We are just weeks away from our cruise on Carnival Liberty (8 days with stops in St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Martin). This is our first cruise with our daughter and we've been to St. Martin before. With all that said, now I'm starting to finalize what exactly I'll need, what to expect on the ship etc. Would certainly love your input. Start with the Basics (things to take): - Toys, coloring books, etc - Sand/water toys - Portable DVD player - Wipes, diapers - Sippy cup, snack trap - Soap to wash above - Numerous snacks - Umbrella stroller - Pack in Play (are the ship provided cribs REALLY decent? are they smaller than a PIP? right now we do not have a crib reserved, but am debating changing that so we don't have to haul our PIP) - Note - we are NOT taking a car seat. Before I get flamed, we have flown with and w/o the car seat. For us, everyone is happier without it as long as the DVD player is around. What am I missing from the above list? Life on board questions: - According to the details delivered with our tickets today, Camp Carnival is open on sea days from 9 AM to 10 PM and port days from port arrival to 10 PM. Several questions related to the above statement: 1. What about food while they are at CC (camp carnival)? Do they feed them snacks? Do they feed them meals? The way that it reads to me is that in essence, you could take your toddler to the buffet or do room service then drop them off at CC while the adults eat. 2. What about naps? 3. Do they change diapers? Do I need to provide diapers/wipes each time she is there? 4. What do most people do when your kids go to sleep? Just hang in the room (watch TV, read, trade off w/ hubby)? (We do have a balcony) 5. I thought I read somewhere that at her age, we will be given a pager when she goes to CC. Is that true? Our daughter currently goes to a pre-school/academy M-F 8 to 4, so she's very used to being active & around other kids all day. As such, I think that CC will be great so that DH and I can actually feel like we are really vacationing too. Other questions... 1. Inflatable pool - bring or not to bring? We have 4 days at sea, which seem like a lot to not let her swim. 2. Shore excrusions - - any you'd recommend with a toddler in our 3 ports? (I should mention that we are with a large group and there will be at least 3 other kids, ages 14 months, 4 & 5. 3. Any particular non-excursion (beach on our own) beaches you'd recommend? 4. Do/should I need to bring an infant life vest? I know this is long, so thanks for reading and responding!! Ok, my DD also 2 has been on 4 almost 5 cruises so we are pretty seasoned at this. The cribs Carnival provides are smaller than a pack n play, they are portable metal cribs, If your child is big for his/her age you may consider the pack n play or if you have a balcony cabin you can always turn the sofa around to face the wall and voila its a "crib" with 4 sides. We are probably going to do this on our New Yrs cruise since DD will be 27months then. She is small for her age and just barely fit in the crib when we went in Oct. Camp Carnival will provide some snacks in their activities, alot involve food. I always pack a backpack for DD with diapers, wipes, sippy cup and snacks so incase she gets hungry in between they can feed her. Meals, they make you pick them up for lunch. Camp is closed from 12-2pm each day, except on port days, if you are on an excursion they will feed them for you. Dinners they usually offer each evening for them if you choose. We always ate in the dining rm with DD so we never used the camp during dinner. Camp will give you a pager or cell phone to contact you if needed. They dont do naps so you will have to get your child for nap time. I would just watch a dvd when DD napped or sit on the balcony. In addition to your list above, you may want to bring small toys such as floaty water toys, small bucket/shovel, a blow up bathtub (if your child cant shower), we brought a blow-up pool but DD never used it once she got bigger. There is a very large ledge like 3 feet wide around the pools and it has about one inch of water in it. I would play with DD there with her water toys since she couldnt go in the pool. You will see lots of families with young kids doing that. Also bring plenty of diapers and wipes, you cant buy them there. And bring any medication you can think of just in case, tylenol, cough med, benadryl, neosporin bandaids ..just in case. They only sell adult meds on board in the gift shop so they wont have liquid meds for kids. DH and I would go out on the balcony or watch tv or read when DD went to bed but most nights we would just fall asleep since she still got up at her regular time of 6am and we were exhausted. We would stay out late and stroll around the ship with her in her stroller in her jammies and then go back to the room and sleep. We tried a few shows, DD loved the magic show, we sit in the very back by the door so if we have to make a quick exit we can. You can also go out on deck at night, the lights are beautiful and there arent many people so you wont disturb anyone. You dont need an infant life vest, your room steward will provide one for you. Shore excursions, we just go to the beach on our own. If you dont want to spend the money on a Carnival beach excursion just ask at the pursers desk for the best family friendly beach at each port and they will tell you and you can just get a cab there. Feel free to ask anymore questions if you think of any. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarebearxoxo Posted December 21, 2007 #5 Share Posted December 21, 2007 just to let you know last month an excursion bus that was sponsored by the cruise line in st thomas got into an accident and there was a 3 year old that didnt have a car seat and got seriously injured. i would reconsider at least bringing a booster car seat. ya caring it is a hassel, but soo worth it. have a great cruise you will love the liberty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notentirelynormal Posted December 21, 2007 #6 Share Posted December 21, 2007 just to let you know last month an excursion bus that was sponsored by the cruise line in st thomas got into an accident and there was a 3 year old that didnt have a car seat and got seriously injured. i would reconsider at least bringing a booster car seat. ya caring it is a hassel, but soo worth it. have a great cruise you will love the liberty. But buses don't have any way to attach the car seat/booser to the bus seat... that's why everyone says not to bother. If you're in a private car, then yes it would work. Again, that's assuming the car is up to US standards and has working seat belts. I know the ones I've been in in Mexico didn't have seat belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladylonghorn Posted December 23, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I made one mistake in my post....we are will be on the Miracle, not the Liberty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefintuna Posted December 23, 2007 #8 Share Posted December 23, 2007 When we cruised last Jan. our grandaughter was two. They took the mattress off the upper bunk and placed it on the floor next to the parent's bed. It worked great and no fear of falling out of bed. They brought the dvd player to the dining room and this kept her occcupied thru two hour meals. God bless Elmo and all his friends! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommaOML Posted December 23, 2007 #9 Share Posted December 23, 2007 My DS will be nearly 19 months on his second cruise. Depending on our cabin assignment, I will be packing the plastic bath tub in our really big suitcase. I believe it will fit height-wise, and we'll just pack clothes in & around it. This time, we will certainly be bringing the portable DVD player/laptop for movies. I bought him a life jacket because I think he will enjoy bobbing around in the ocean. They supply proper life jackets on the ship, but you can't take them off for shore excursions. We'll be bringing a shovel & bucket, too, I suspect. I bought a sticker book of vinyl clings for the flight (we have a cross-continent flight) amongst other things. Diapers & wipes are a must. I thought I packed extra last time, and only ended up with 1 extra diaper by the time we landed back at home :eek: ! The 2 poops on each flight didn't help that. I am now panicking that my son is not going to fit in the crib. As I recall, they're no more than 36" long, and my son is about 33" tall now! Off to email my PVP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry's Girls Posted December 23, 2007 #10 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I also bring a step stool for my toddlers to reach the sink. It's from IKEA and is hollow, so upside down in the suitcase, it doesn't take up any room. Target has a blow up bath tub for about $15-$20 that looks like a duck and fits perfect in a cruise shower. Bring extra sippy cups, diapers and anything else you can't live without since if it breaks/goes missing, it's impossible to replace on board. Have a great time! My twins and I leave on their fourth cruise in two weeks to celebrate their third birthday - it's a glorious way to go with todderls. Best, Mia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larronry Posted December 23, 2007 #11 Share Posted December 23, 2007 We are just weeks away from our cruise on Carnival Liberty (8 days with stops in St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Martin). This is our first cruise with our daughter and we've been to St. Martin before. With all that said, now I'm starting to finalize what exactly I'll need, what to expect on the ship etc. Would certainly love your input. Start with the Basics (things to take): - Toys, coloring books, etc - Sand/water toys - Portable DVD player - Wipes, diapers - Sippy cup, snack trap - Soap to wash above - Numerous snacks - Umbrella stroller - Pack in Play (are the ship provided cribs REALLY decent? are they smaller than a PIP? right now we do not have a crib reserved, but am debating changing that so we don't have to haul our PIP) - Note - we are NOT taking a car seat. Before I get flamed, we have flown with and w/o the car seat. For us, everyone is happier without it as long as the DVD player is around. What am I missing from the above list? Life on board questions: - According to the details delivered with our tickets today, Camp Carnival is open on sea days from 9 AM to 10 PM and port days from port arrival to 10 PM. Several questions related to the above statement: 1. What about food while they are at CC (camp carnival)? Do they feed them snacks? Do they feed them meals? The way that it reads to me is that in essence, you could take your toddler to the buffet or do room service then drop them off at CC while the adults eat. 2. What about naps? 3. Do they change diapers? Do I need to provide diapers/wipes each time she is there? 4. What do most people do when your kids go to sleep? Just hang in the room (watch TV, read, trade off w/ hubby)? (We do have a balcony) I brought DVDs for DH and I to watch. 5. I thought I read somewhere that at her age, we will be given a pager when she goes to CC. Is that true? Our daughter currently goes to a pre-school/academy M-F 8 to 4, so she's very used to being active & around other kids all day. As such, I think that CC will be great so that DH and I can actually feel like we are really vacationing too. Other questions... 1. Inflatable pool - bring or not to bring? We have 4 days at sea, which seem like a lot to not let her swim. 2. Shore excrusions - - any you'd recommend with a toddler in our 3 ports? (I should mention that we are with a large group and there will be at least 3 other kids, ages 14 months, 4 & 5. 3. Any particular non-excursion (beach on our own) beaches you'd recommend? 4. Do/should I need to bring an infant life vest? I know this is long, so thanks for reading and responding!! On the ship I was just on they had a sofa bed and I thought I would give that a try. It was actually pretty comical and I wish I videotaped the scene. (BTW I already know he won't do PNP's anymore) He does his inventory to make sure he has all his snuggies and after he checks for each one he then looks up and me and puts his hands up. We gave up and put him in our bed. Tight squeeze since we use King size beds when we go to hotels so he can sleep with us. Now that he is taking his first nap at home he is back in his crib no problem. As for what to bring I brought to many snacks. You can take Cheerios off the breakfast buffet. I took 4 or 5 boxes the first few days and would use it at ports and also at dinner so that he would have something in front of him right away. Carnival you will have less problems then I did, but the first night ask for a plate of something like fruit and cheese and a glass of milk to be waiting for you at the table so your daughter can eat right away. St. Martin has a little zoo which is where I would take my son. I used a Taxi to get there. http://sxmzoo.networkidl.net/ I think the above poster misread your post. You didn't ask what you could do while your child was in the kids area- you asked about at bedtime. I understand why. I felt that my husband and I didn't get to do much at night when we traveled with our then 13 month old. I wanted to keep our child on a routine and wanted him in bed earlyish- so we were in the cabin by 10PM. My husband, a night owl, would stay out until 1 or 2 and I would be stuck in the cabin. We are now divorced. Now that just doesn't seem fair. Now I know my husband loves karaoke, but he would ask if it was OK if he went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalSnowflake Posted December 24, 2007 #12 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Start with the Basics (things to take): - Toys, coloring books, etc (Her current favorite toys and don't forget the special sleep aid like a favorite pillow or stuffed animal) - Sand/water toys (we just bring plastic cups from the ship. saves packing room and kids don't care at that age) - Portable DVD player (w/ Headphones :D) We did not need one traveling with a 14 m/o and a 3.5 y/o. They really entertain themselves if you let them. But, be prepared. - Wipes, diapers - Sippy cup, snack trap - Soap to wash above - Numerous snacks (Cheerios and crackers are usually available on ship and you can bring them with you on excursions) - Umbrella stroller - Pack in Play (are the ship provided cribs REALLY decent? are they smaller than a PIP? right now we do not have a crib reserved, but am debating changing that so we don't have to haul our PIP) (Have traveled on RCCL, NCL and Princess with babies--all have Pack n Plays. I would bring own fitted sheets for these as they just fold up thier own sheets to fit and tuck in.) - Bring own baby blanket - Note - we are NOT taking a car seat. Before I get flamed, we have flown with and w/o the car seat. For us, everyone is happier without it as long as the DVD player is around. (not flaming, but may want to think about how to keep baby restrained in taxi?) What am I missing from the above list? - Baby Sunscreen. unless you want to pay $12 for a bottle on board:eek: Hat, sunglasses, extra white t-shirts. Take an extra shirt with you to any beach so baby can use one while playing and have a dry one to wear back to ship. - Children's Tylenol. Butt paste. Gas drops. GermEx - small cheap inflatable pool. Good for bathing and splashing. We bought a $12 inflatable bathtub at toys r us, but you can find better deals. - If you like to have things neat and organized, find a cheap, over-the-door shoe organizer to hold all of your stuff. Fits things like lotions, toys, glasses, etc. and hangs easily from closet doors. - Sense of adventure and "expect the unexpected". I have two boys and our cruises are fun and constant "on the go" feeling, but not relaxing. Maybe with one sweet girl you will find more relaxation than I did...but just expect that you might need a vacation from your vacation when you return. Book a spa appointment now!! ;) Other questions... 1. Inflatable pool - bring or not to bring? We have 4 days at sea, which seem like a lot to not let her swim. See above 2. Shore excrusions - - any you'd recommend with a toddler in our 3 ports? (I should mention that we are with a large group and there will be at least 3 other kids, ages 14 months, 4 & 5. I think they all have beaches. I hear St. Kitts has a scenic train but it is overpriced for the tour. We took our kids to Orient beach (not lower Orient where they are completely naked, but it's a great beach anyway). 3. Any particular non-excursion (beach on our own) beaches you'd recommend? We never book the ship's tour to a beach. Always do on our own. More flexibility if we need to leave early 4. Do/should I need to bring an infant life vest? The ship will give you one for muster/on ship emergencies, but they don't let you take those vests off the ship. I would bring an infant life vest for water taxis and excursions before I would pack sand toys. I know this is long, so thanks for reading and responding!! No problems! It's what we're here for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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