Are we crazy? Cruising with a ONE YEAR OLD!

[Cruise, J.D.]

My wife and I had our first child last year and thought we were done cruising for awhile. But, we said "what the heck" and booked one. Luckily her parents and sisters are coming too, so that will help.

 

The Holiday was really a no-brainer. Easy driving distance and a 5 nighter. We know the experience will be different, but we can't imagine leaving him at home.

 

We've both been reading on the Family board and there are a lot of good tips. Can't wait to sail again!!

[SheriNtexas]

My wife and I had our first child last year and thought we were done cruising for awhile. But, we said "what the heck" and booked one. Luckily her parents and sisters are coming too, so that will help.

 

The Holiday was really a no-brainer. Easy driving distance and a 5 nighter. We know the experience will be different, but we can't imagine leaving him at home.

 

We've both been reading on the Family board and there are a lot of good tips. Can't wait to sail again!!

 

 

I think y'all will have a great time!!:D When my 16yo daughter and I were on Conquest, the people in the next room to us had TWO little ones, the oldest was maybe 3, and the little one was around a year old, and we never even KNEW they were there! One morning, i was out on our balcony, and i heard the dad singing to the baby!:) Since you are taking family with you, y'all will all have a chance to watch him, and take turns having time to yourself, which you may not have had much of since he was born!;) I hope y'all have a wonderful time. You DO know that you will possibly be creating an addiction to cruising for your baby!? A future Cruise Critic member and a seasoned cruiser!:D

[Cruise, J.D.]

Thanks for the reassurance Sheri!

 

We just found out this morning that the family wanted to go, so I got everyone booked up. I hope we do create a little cruise addict. If this goes OK, he will be going on a lot more in the future. I'm thinking when he gets to 2 that Camp Carnival will really help out in giving us a little break here and there.

[SheriNtexas]

I'm thinking when he gets to 2 that Camp Carnival will really help out in giving us a little break here and there.

 

 

Now THAT will be nice!! Nice for y'all, and nice for him, because he will get to play and be around other kids! Nice for y'all because you may actually get to FINISH a meal! My kids are almost 21, 19, and almost 17, and I remember those "young" days, lol!! Hope y'all have fun!!:)

[2 rednecks]

this may sound mean but i'm not sure when i want to start cruising with the kids, we have 3 they are 4, 2, and 1. and for the DW and i the cruise in our mental health holiday. we love our kids but want time for us. the kids don't go to day care and only the oldest is in school so there is never a day when we don't have atleast two of them in the house. for us it's all about re-connecting and pure relaxation. maybe someday when they are all old enough for camp carnival so we can still have us time, and kids time. it's great my MIL and FIL every year decided to babysit for a week for us to get away for our aniversary so what better way to get away, it started last year and we are booked for 08 and 09 so i can't wait till aug or sept every year

[Cruise, J.D.]

Not mean at all. I understand completely. Every family is different.

 

It was not an easy decision to make but our heart told us to do it. After we found out her parents wanted to go, it made it easier.

[2 rednecks]

i agree if we had family that wanted to go we would probabally do it, but we are the only ones who aren't scared to death of the ocean and ships also my MIL doesn't get to see her grandkids often so she loves the time with them

[matj2000]

We didn't cruise until are kids turned at least 2 so we could take them to Camp Carnival. I wouldn't even try to bring anyone under, but each his own.

One thing we always do, is we have them deliver a crib, then for space, we move the little nite-stand next to the sofa over next to the other one in the corner.

Then push the bed against the sofa. This makes room to put the crib between the bed and the balcony door.

It gives you alot of extra space.

[Kurbanfan]

If you do it I commend you:D People do it all the time. Just not us:D

[deborahjo]

All I will say is that you are one brave soul. Go have fun.....

[jam82]

Yes, you probably are crazy. We took our 11 month old last month for a four day 'test' cruise. It was different than before, but it was still fun. We just booked a seven day for March. If it makes you feel any better, there were 86 children under two on our last cruise.

 

We scheduled our activities around the babysitting. The staff was wonderful. They were even more wonderful after receiving gratuity. Next time I will tip up front. Having other family there will help.

 

Our cabin was tiny, especially with the crib. It made us crazy, so we really didn't spend much time in the cabin. For the seven day we have a balcony. I think this will make a big difference so that he can nap and we can still enjoy being outside. Also, he was still drinking formula at the time, so washing bottles was somewhat of an inconvenience.

 

As long as you realize it won't be the same, you will have a good time. It's just a new kind of fun.

 

I am looking forward to him turning two so we can use Camp Carnival.

[JenniGail]

We are taking our 2 yo on this years cruise, and like you, will have family there to help. He is somewhat shy, so I don't think he'd be very interested in Camp Carnival yet (although my 2 DD's can't wait to go back to it.) On our last family cruise my youngest DD was 4 yo which was actually harder than when she was one! LOL!

 

I think having the family there is the big piece. It can sometimes be stressful, but having that support and being able to go see a show or some alone time will be good for you, while still having the enjoyment of knowing your little one is on vacation with you.

 

Enjoy!

 

Jen:D

[PJBUCHEIT]

My wife and I had our first child last year and thought we were done cruising for awhile. But, we said "what the heck" and booked one. Luckily her parents and sisters are coming too, so that will help.

 

The Holiday was really a no-brainer. Easy driving distance and a 5 nighter. We know the experience will be different, but we can't imagine leaving him at home.

 

We've both been reading on the Family board and there are a lot of good tips. Can't wait to sail again!!

 

I worried about when we were taking out then 2 year old. But now I am so glad we took all of our kids. They all had a great time. The 2 year old was old enough to go to Camp Carnival, but she did not like it. So she just stayed with us. She had a great time. We have done two cruise with out her and it is really hard for me to leave her. But I wouldn't worry about bring the little ones along. They seem to do all right. And it is nice to have them memories with your kids.

[ata1976]

We have cruised when our son was 7 months and 15 months, but we have cruised with family so that helps a lot. On our next cruise this fall he will be over 2, so Camp Carnival here I come! :D Both of the cruises that he has went on he has done fine and they were only 4 nights with an OV cabin. The next cruise we will definitely book a balcony because just like the pp said then he can be napping and we can still be outside enjoying the ocean.

[Sassy American Bird]

My wife and I had our first child last year and thought we were done cruising for awhile. But, we said "what the heck" and booked one. Luckily her parents and sisters are coming too, so that will help.

 

The Holiday was really a no-brainer. Easy driving distance and a 5 nighter. We know the experience will be different, but we can't imagine leaving him at home.

 

We've both been reading on the Family board and there are a lot of good tips. Can't wait to sail again!!

 

You aren't crazy at all!

 

We took our 13 month old on the Carnival Miracle in 2006 and it was fantastic. She even took her first steps on the cruise!!! We had my parents with us which provided a nice break from time to time since we weren't able to put her into the Camp Carnival activities yet.

 

You have read all the tips which helped us TREMENDOUSLY in planning our trip. I just want to reiterate pack more nappies (diapers) than you will need as these are a very rare commodity!

 

I found the staff to be very accommodating as we took her most places with us. We even had to visit the infirmary as our daughter became constipated. The nurse gave us the old fashioned remedy - olive oil - and even checked on us later. Everyone was commenting on how cute she was! We found loads of fun excursions that she thoroughly enjoyed (the butterfly farm in GC was a huge hit!!!). She loved the little wading pool on the ship, too.

 

We are looking into going on the Legend in March 08 and wouldn't think of going without our little lovey. I think this will be even better than last time as she can participate in all the Camp activities. Plus she is potty trained - hurrah!

 

Just to echo the opinion of my fellow posters, I think you will have a great fun filled holiday. Cruising is one of the most affordable family vacations around and the cruise lines are very welcoming of children. (This despite those few bratty out of control kids)!

 

Can't wait to hear what a wonderful time you have! Happy sailing!

[Cruise, J.D.]

Thanks Sassy!! It does sound like you had a great experience. That makes me feel a lot better about our choice. We are pretty laid back and we think we can make this work. Maybe we can "train" our son to love cruises as much as we do lol.

[Elaine515]

My girls were 7 months old and "in my belly" when they started cruising and they are now 14 & 17 and we haven't stopped...Of course, like you, the whole family cruised with us and we really had noone to leave them with, but looking back, I don't believe that either my husband or I wanted to leave them behind and now I'm really glad we didn't...

 

Yes, its quite different.... you are with them all the time... But, go with the mental state that you will not be able to do what you want, where you want and when you want you'll have a great time....

 

And, what I didn't see mentioned, if you seriously want some adult time, Carnival will allow you to put the baby in the Camp after 10PM for (I believe) $6. for the first hour and $4. for each additional hour... So, you can still go into the casino, bars, take in the R rated shows if you want to etc...

 

So, yes, bring the baby....and NO, you're not crazy at all....

[TanyaH321]

I don't think you are crazy at all. We took our kids on their first cruise, Jan of '07 and we all had the best time. My oldest was 3 at that time and our DD was 15 months. My son went to Camp Carnival and loved it. He would have spent the whole time there if we had let him. My daughter was, of course, too young but she had a great time as well. She had just started walking totally and, I swear, she walked every square inch of that ship. We didn't have any family go along with us so we did it all solo and had the best time. We are going on another one in October, our son will be 5, our daughter will be 3 and our youngest will be 11 months. I'm so excited. My mother and MIL will be going too so we might be able to get a bit of a break at times. But, as far as traveling goes, we wouldn't have it any other way. We would never go on a trip without the kids, that's just us. We feel like that we are a family and we should go on trips as a family. We also feel that if we wanted to go on vacations without the kids, then we shouldn't have had kids. Of course, that is how we feel. We have nothing against anyone who feels they need some time to themselves. To each his own.

 

Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll have the best time!

[TanyaH321]

Oops! Double post!

[PINEVIEW01]

We cruised with the granddaughter at 8 mo and 2. She was really easier at 8 months. Both times she went to dinner with us. At 8 months, I took her out for diaper changes. At two we took turns taking her out for a walk. Only onces didn't she not make it back for the rest of dinner.

[Aidansmommy2]

Not crazy at all. We took a cruise when our son Aidan was only 4 months old! He was such a good baby and we never had a problem with him. We brought all we would need from home and we had his stroller and he was as good as gold. Only problem was that we really couldn't have any late nights since we had to take him with us since he was too young for Camp Carnival. Everyone thought we were crazy for taking an infant that young on a cruise, but mommy needed a vacation as I had spent the last 6 months of my pregnancy on bedrest and I was tired of being at home!:eek: So go and enjoy, you'll have a great time!

Happy Cruising :)

Barb

[MrPete]

Our now 9 year old "sailed" with us on our transpacific cruise when DW was 5 months pregnant.

 

We tried cruising without her when she was 1 year old.

 

It was awful.

 

We missed her so much, and she must have missed us as well, as she broke out crying when she saw us upon our return.

 

She's cruised with us ever since. She's almost platinum. And has never once stood foot in a ship's camp.

[Charming01]

I'm on the fence about this. I think with more family coming along to help (hopefully they know they are helping :) ) it would be a little bit easier BUT I couldn't imagine telling my little one that she couldn't go in the pool and splash around with everyone else.

We are leaving our 18 month old with my Mom because Gramma wants the time with her and also it's nice to be able to reconnect with hubby!:o

[Cruise, J.D.]

Thanks for all of the stories! It really does help put our mind at ease that others have done it and it worked out.

 

I agree with you Mr. Pete. It would be hard to enjoy ourself knowing he was back home.

 

Good point Charming about everyone being on the same page in regards to help from the family. This is their vacation too. We are not about to dump our son off on them so we can party. If they want to watch him some, great, if not, that's great too! We were booking the cruise with or without the family - I learned the morning I was contacting the TA that they wanted to go.

[CruisingMainer]

You are not crazy at all. We took our son when he was just 2 and it was fine. Different than the previous cruises we had taken, but still fine. We booked adjoining rooms that time so that when he was napping one of us could go in the other cabin and read, watch a movie, etc. We had friends that went with us and each of us took an afternoon "shift" while he napped. (Personally I think everyone liked having an excuse for an afternoon nap.) At night after dinner we would put him in his jammies and push him around in the stroller. He liked the music at the shows (we always found a seat in the very back on near the door so that one of us could leave if he started being disruptive. Our friends usually retired to their cabin after the show (about 10 p.m.) Our son would be asleep by then and we would leave the adjoining cabin doors ajar. My husband and I would go out for a couple of hours of "couple" time and then shut the adjoining doors when we got back. We did end up doing more things alone than we normally would have.

 

My son is now six and we are going on our third cruise w/him in February. We now book balcony cabins so that when he has had enough and it is time for him to go to bed, we can sit out on the balcony and enjoy the warm weather and some time alone.