Carnival Legend with 2 kids

[samnsky]

We are traveling to the Western Carribean in April 2009 on the Carnival Legend. I am new to Cruise Critic and have found this site to be awesome as we are first time cruisers and will be traveling with our 6 yr old and 2 1/2 yr old.

 

My question is about strollers. We plan on bringing our umbrella stroller. Can we take that along on excursions and is there room on the bus for us to take it? I can handle not having a stroller on the ship, but some of the excursions we are looking at include lengthy tours. Any suggestions?

[mcfam5]

You shouldn't have a problem taking an umbrella stroller on your excursions. Just bring a lightweight model so you are not breaking your back lugging it around when you are not using it!

 

Come back and give us a review when you go, I'll be sailing the Legend next summer and would love to hear about it!

 

Have fun planning, come back to this board often for great info!

[Kerry's Girls]

I've taken my big tandem double stroller on excursions with no problem - it just folds and goes in the cargo area of whatever our transportation is. If you're not sure, you can ask the shore excursion staff once you're on board.

 

Best,

Mia

[Julienatul]

We have always taken out stroller everywhere, on ferry boats they will just place it near the exit, on tour bus it will either be next to the bus door or in the back same with taxi's. We have never had a problem. They also have and area in the dining room where you can leave strollers, on the outer decks we have just strolled right up to a table and removed the chair and placed the stroller in its place or off to the side. You will have no problems.

 

Julie

[samnsky]

Thanks for the information! I just found online a stroller that folds up and can fit in an plane overhead. The maker is Mia Moda and called Cielo Evolution stroller. It is getting rave reviews. Maybe that will be a special purchase before we go :-)

 

Thanks again!

[crusinmama06]

Just so you know, they have always made us gate check our umbrella stroller, even if it does fold flat and fits in an airplane bin. ;)

 

As far as the excursion buses or vans - NO problem bringing a stroller. We have taken our umbrella stroller on all kinds of excursions and they never even blinked when we fold it up and go. Most of the time, I just fold it up and keep it in front of me.

[jkrislc]

The Mia Moda is a great stroller. It doesn't have any bells or whistles, but you wont find one that collapses more compactly than that one; it folds smaller than a carry-on suitecase. The only downside for us, and the reason we returned ours, was that the weight limit was too low for our giant 18 month old. While it's designed to go up to ages 3 or 4 (about 35 to 40 pounds), our little giant would have grown out of it in six months, so we opted for another stroller that goes to 75 pounds. Unfortunately, it's not as compact as the Mia Moda.

 

Others rave about the Maclarens (sp?) as well. They are extremly lightweight (about 8-9 pounds) and go up to about 55 pounds, but they are still fairly long when folded so you'd have to gate check them.

[Paumavista]

We just cruised on the Legend in April 08 with our family of 8. Children 3,4,7,8,18,20.

 

The little ones 3&4 really enjoyed the kids club...however, the boys 7&8 didn't care for it (too crowded & crazy during easter break week) - I'm sure there were fewer children in the 3/4 group. The kids play rooms are also kinda dark and hidden away (no windows) on the Legend. The boys much preferred the RC Seranade play area - much larger room with big windows (but we also cruised 2 weeks before xmas - a much slower season on the Seranade).

 

The "childrens" play pool is also not very useful in the very back of the ship not far from the slide area (where the line was ALWAYS too long). - It was a very small & completely in the sun. However, the regular pools (there are 2 of them) are very kid friendly. They have a deep area in the middle and then they have a shelf area about 4-5 feet in all directions where the water is only inches deep. It makes for a wonderful kid play area. We chose to use the pool closest to the front of the ship (the one without the adult pool games). Chairs were hard to find most times but there's a nice bench around the pool - where you'll have to be if you have kids anyway.

 

I liked that they offered a kids dinner every night with the kids club up in the buffett. My little ones loved it and it really made dinner much more enjoyable for the rest of our group. The food on the Legend was really very good.

 

Tours: All four of the younger ones remained in the kids program at Cozumel - it was nice just walking through town with my oldest 2. In Grand Cayman we snorkled with the stingrays - everyone loved it but my 8 year old who watched from the boat. In Belize we took a private boat tour to a beach island for the day. In Roatan we took a private tour and fed the iguana's & went to West End Beach (this was probably our favorite island).

 

Dispite my comments about the boys not wanting to participate in the kids activities (they had begged to spend time on the RC Seranade program - RC has beautiful facilities - especially the water area)...I think part of it was due to the number of kids that were traveling the week we were on the Legend.

 

Oh...the morning we disembarked they kept the dining room open! We loved this and after getting all ready we all went up for a last full breakfast (we preferred always eating in the dining room - otherwise with 4 little ones I became the waiter at the buffet)...Anyway, we ate a leisurely breakfast went and got our things from the rooms and literally headed off the ship....easiest time we've EVER had.

 

Have a great trip. Judy

[gkrnjlr]

Is an umbrella stroller REALLY better to take than the "big comfortable one" as I call it that the infant car seat/carrier will snap into?

 

We are still torn on which stroller to take and I prefer the "big comfortable one" because of the cup holder and large basket.

 

Thanks!

[mandyq]

I would only take a larger stroller if you need it for a carseat to snap into. There are some mid sized umbrella strollers that have trays and baskets that you may want to look into. There isn't a lot of extra room in the cabins so you would want something that folds up nicely.

[jkrislc]

I'd probably go with the full size one; that's what I'm planning for our upcoming cruise. Remember, you're going to be using it both on and off the ship, and presumably getting to and from the port.

 

I've toyed with some expensive "umbrella style" strollers and have always returned them. They either don't seem comfortable for my son, don't have a snack tray, a big enough canopy, are flimsy, etc. As a result, we just spent more on an upgraded stroller that will work until he's 75 pounds.

 

Good luck on your decision.

[Kerry's Girls]

Here's the monster stroller we cruise with (in this picture being used as a place to have a snack and watch a movie in the room). I just leave it pushed against the wall (and we always have the smallest cabin).

 

Best,

Mia

[gkrnjlr]

Husband and I totally disagree on this one! He doesn't want to take the big stroller because "it's big." I want to take the big stroller because we can keep her in the infant carrier and lock it into the stroller. I'm picturing us lugging a car seat around while pushing an umbrella stroller and that's not my idea of fun.

 

Of course in the ports that we wouldn't plan on taking a taxi anywhere (probably Cozumel) we'd not put her in the carrier, just in the stroller alone part.

 

We're not too concerned about the size of it open in the cabin. We are going to be in a category 9A so it's slightly larger and there are only three of us. I'm sure it'll still be tight, though.

 

I may start another thread today with a poll at the top for which stroller to take and let that be my deciding factor since I'm sold on "big and comfy" and he's sold on "umbrella."

 

Thanks for your help!