Do I regret it? NO!....

[gkrnjlr]

Would I do it again? NO. Without a doubt....NO.

 

As many of you know, I posted on this board for a million and one things for advice, etc. for our 9 month old daughter's first cruise. Everything turned out spectacular. She was the BEST behaved child ever! She didn't throw any tantrums, nor did she cause any scenes. She was truly the best cruise passenger that we could've ever asked for!

 

For those that remember my big "debate" as to which stroller to take? We did end up taking the big "comfy" one that held the infant carrier. That was the best thing we did! Ever! It held all of our miscellaneous "stuff" that we carried. The ONLY time it got in the way was when we first got on the ship we wanted to dump it in the cabin but couldn't. Other than that.....it was never in the way of ANYONE. Mind you, if the elevator had a couple people in it we opted to not crowd them and take the next elevator. That didn't bother us though.

 

Our cabin steward gave us a crib for our daughter. Not sure why, but she hated it. She sleeps in a crib at home.....so I am not sure why she hated it. This is where the "big comfy stroller" came in handy. We reclined it completely and it was a comfy bed that she slept through the night in! We would've never imagined it would be her bed!

 

The reason we would never do this again is......and a lot of people have said it.....IT'S A LOT OF WORK! We love our baby dearly. We left her brothers at home (their choice) with Grandma/Grandpa. We were with her for 24/7 for a 7 night cruise. IT IS A LOT OF WORK. Never a break. Maybe we made it harder on ourselves because we didn't want to disrupt any other passengers and we didn't want any problems for anyone. For example.....if she seemed like she was getting bored and fussy......we would "jump on it" and do extra to make sure she was happy. Of course we all keep our kids happy....but when on cruise and trying to make sure others aren't going to roll their eyes or get upset about anything our child is doing....we went above and beyond. It wasn't a headache at all. BUT 7 nights is a bit much without a break!

 

MY opinion......I would say that if you are going to take a cruise with a baby.....take someone with you so that you can at least get a break every so often.

 

Oh.....my only complaint and it's really not even a complaint....our daughter was known by EVERYONE in the dining room and even other cruisers that we didn't even know. We encountered EVERYONE in the dining room walking up and saying "Hey there, Elizabeth" to her. It was nice. BUT.....when you try to go into the dining room and get stopped by every 3rd person it sort of gets old. Then when you sit down.....your entire meal is disrupted by people coming up to talk to you about the baby and talk to her. The employees are not allowed to carry the babies (our asst waiter was telling us this.....) so I guess that's why they just decided to stand at our table. I eventually, towards the end of the cruise, just decided to eat while they stood there and played with my baby. It WAS very nice that they were so attentive......but it kind of got intrusive after a while.

 

I am not complaining, but it is just a LOT of work.

 

Thank you to EVERYONE that gave us advice, input and everything else! It was a GREAT cruise!

[sas80]

Your viewpoint is interesting.

 

DH and I find some relief that DS is actually "trapped" in the stateroom with us. Since it isn't our house, and there are not the same kid of breakable items around, DH and I find that we can let DS play and not feel so compelled to keep one eye on him at all times.

 

As well, DH and I always arrange for a babysitter so we can go to dinner everynight, alone. So we get our break.

 

DH and I conquered our fear of "fussy-baby" by making sure we took the time to get DS proper naps every day. Other than that, DS was thrilled to be out, and about, and enjoying the ship.

 

Really, DH and I didnt find it any more labor intensive than being at home with DS. We love the added perk of haing someone else cook and clean for us. that is one of the places we find it to be a break from being at home.

 

I guess it's just all a matter of "different strokes for different folks"!

[gkrnjlr]

I do agree that it was handy to not have things in the cabin that could've been broken. She did get to play on the floor and we brought toys...and that helped.

 

We didn't miss any naps! You're right about getting those in regularly! We even got some great naps while she did.

 

We debated whether or not we should get a babysitter one or two nights but she really was a pleasant little girl throughout the entire trip! We were really happy. I don't think we would've been able to get away with going to dinner without her since people were always looking for her as well as the fact that the waiter had a plate of watermelon and a banana.

 

I hope my post didn't come across as negative. We truly did have a great time but I guess the big difference was that when we're home and she has her brothers to play with it's "different" and it probably would've been different if they were with us on this trip.

 

We had a lot of great one on one time......it just wore us out moreso than it does at home!

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back! Sorry it wasn't what you had imagined. For me, being on a ship is 100 x's better than being at home with the baby. No one is cooking or cleaning for me at home. ;)

 

But like Sas said, different strokes.

 

So how was Belize?????

[NoelsCat]

:D I am glad you had a great cruise. We love cruising with our little one -- but of course, we always have grandma, papa, aunts and uncles... etc -- so we are pretty spoiled! Trust me -- if you like cruising without them -- it's an absolute DREAM with them. :D

[girltime30]

I wanted to say that I had the complete opposite than you. I am sorry to hear that you were unable to relax and enjoy(obviously as best you can with a little one). We took a few cruises before we had kids and figured that once we had kids that was the end of the cruising. We finally went on a cruise for my 30th bday when my sons were 3.5 and 8 months. I was so scared about what kind of time we would have. My RC cruise on the EOS was the most relaxing vacation we ever had since we have had kids. For once I wasn't standing in lines for rides and eating junk at amusement parks. My three year old loved the kids club and asked me to leave on the second day of staying with him there. With my baby, we had breakfast, took the aqua baby class and once that was over it was time for his morning nap. We we would bring my 3 year old to the kids club for an hour while the baby napped and we would sit out by the pool deck while he slept in the stroller. Then after lunch and some ship exploring he was back down for a nap again. At night he slept in the stroller while we are at dinner and then in the room while we enjoyed the balcony. I NEVER had so down time with the two and my 3 year old only went to the kids club for 1 hour in the morning and 1 in the afternoon and the night time party. So at most he was away from us for 4 hours. We loved the whole experience and then booked a Disney cruise in which we were spoiled even more. Now there was Flounder's Reef as well as the kids club. We used the Flounder's Reef twice. One day during the day for 2 hours and once at night at dinner. I don't think my husband and I have had dinner alone more than 3 times before the Disney cruise and probably once after and we took the cruise this past Dec. I feel sad that you didn't end up getting any relaxation. I am glad I had the experiences I did with cruising because otherwise I may have been turned off and not cruised again with my kids. Now it is my favorite thing to do!!

[notentirelynormal]

You didn't sound negative, just a little tired. :) Interesting that the staff said they weren't allowed to hold the baby. On Princess we always had them running up to hold them. At 2 YO my GS had a tour of the kitchen in the buffet and the main dining room. One night at dinner our waiter says "can I borrow him for a few minutes". Off he went to show him to the kitchen staff. It was funny.

[gkrnjlr]

We did have a lot of time to relax because we were in bed by 9:30 every night! We would hang out on the balcony while she slept but being away from home she was waking up to the slightest sounds. She's a super traveler, though! She slept through excursions, too!!! It was cute because half the pictures from excursions she's passed out cold! She had so much fun though it was worth it!

 

Belize was awesome! We took the Bacab Park Butterfly excursion. Bacab Park is great! We really enjoyed that. We said that we probably wouldn't do the butterfly portion again, though. The lunch that they served was nice. Large, too! There were several in the group that were with us that did the kayak tour there and they said that they wouldn't do the kayaking again either because the water was nasty and it was just too hot. Not to mention that the tour guide pointed out all the poisonous trees and vines around them! So....they loved Bacab Eco Park as well....but wouldn't do the kayaking portion. Our favorite excursion was (we missed Grand Cayman, so it can't be compared) in Roatan. (Does your cruise have this port in the itinerary?) We did the Pirates, Birds and Monkeys. It was awesome. LOVED IT! It was HOT but it was awesome. Got some gorgeous pictures of the monkies and one in particular of Peter (monkey) that was on my husband's arm playing with his sunglasses and then Peter suddenly realized that my daughter was right behind him (backpack carrier) and he leaned over DH's shoulder and was reaching for the baby! LOL The trainer stepped in and got him because he was concerned that Peter might try to go back and sit with her! LOL

 

Anyway......it really was a great cruise. We did have a lot of down time. We usually are "on the go" type of people. Even at home with the kids. We got a lot of quiet and down time. We missed literally all the shows, but that's okay. We did get to spend a lot of quality time.

 

As for the waiter's not being able to hold the baby.....the waiter that told us this explained that some parent had called and complained to Carnival that the waiters were holding her baby and taking him/her around the dining room. She apparently didn't like it and complained. I wouldn't have minded. Elizabeth would've been thrilled! Oh well!

 

It was a great cruise but next time we're going to cruise with Grandma/Grandpa!

[lastingtouch]

We will be going on the NCL Gem in Dec. with our daughter, her fiance' and my Granddaughter who will be 23 months then. She will be 3 weeks shy of 2 years and will not qualify for the Kids Club. It will be my DD first cruise since she was 6. She is very excited and I am excited to be able to do most of the babysitting! Unfortunately, no Martini Clinics for me this time. ;) We booked a suite so if Olyvia is not up to being too social, we can always order our meals in the cabin.

 

Based on some suggestions from these boards I have picked up a few good pointers. She doesn't normally ride in a stroller but after some suggestions on these threads, I think we will take one just incase. I did pick-up the monkey harness for her so she can walk around on her own. We are hoping she is potty trained by then too. It doesn't look too good yet. lol

[Julienatul]

Sorry you didnt have a relaxing time as you thought you would. I know what you mean about not wanting to disturb others and going above and beyond to assure it doesnt happen. That is exhausting! We did it on our first cruise with DD as well. We learned from it and the next one was much more relaxing.

 

I think these boards, especially the main boards with all the anti-kid comments cause you to be super anxious that everyone around will be judging you and your parenting ability so you exhaust yourself trying to please your child 24/7 in the event that it might disrupt someone if she cries at all. However, if your really look back at your cruise, most people are in such great moods just being on vacation and enjoying themselves that they hardly notice your child is crying. Its such a loud atmosphere anyway. Most people just light up when they see the baby.

 

Also, if you do decide to cruise again with your kids, trade off with DH so that each of you gets a little down time or bring grandma and grandpa with you!

 

Glad it was still a nice cruise for you. Thats a great idea about the stroller being used for a bed if neccesary.

 

Julie

[6rugrats]

Thanks OP for posting your honest review. It's not the viewpoint seen often on this board, but I think it's one that I would agree with.

 

I wouldn't ever have cruised with a child that young for the same reasons you state. People, including children are just different, and what works for one family, just doesn't work for another.

[gkrnjlr]

Exhausting is the word! LOL We're still catching up on our sleep! We did however book our next cruise today and it's one that my parents (a/k/a Grandma and Grandpa for my kids) are going to be going on as well! Yay! So it should be a little more relaxing. It is also not a 7 night cruise. It's 4 nights.

 

I think that maybe we were over anxious about other people and our daughter because of the main boards, as you mentioned. We didn't experience many kid haters until one afternoon in the dining room it was just outright obvious. We were sitting at a table in the dining room and our daughter was totally quiet. She was eating her food and then they seated a couple diagonal from us and she kept cutting us dirty looks. My daughter was QUIETLY laughing (about what I don't remember.....) and the woman turned, looked at us, cut us a dirty look and threw her fork and napkin on the table and walked out! If she had issues with my daughter THEN???? SHE has issues! That was the first child hater we really noticed. For no reason, either! :rolleyes:

[wanderingfool]

I too find it interesting that staff aren't allowed to hold the babies, since our previous experiences (RCCL and NCL) had staff "borrowing" DS whenever we were eating since they missed their own little ones at home. Too bad - I thought it was great exposing our son to new faces and accents and nicknames.

[gkrnjlr]

Sad, isn't it? One person complaining ruined it for all. My daughter would've LOVED to have been taken around while they were dancing and singing! Our waiter did hold her for a bit but he made it clear that they weren't allowed to take them around anymore. :(

[CruzzBee]

Thank you for your review. I am going to a 13nt cruise with my then 16 month daughter this Nov. This will be the 12th cruise for me but the first with a baby. I am more at ease now after reading your experience. This is pretty much what I expected. Well, it is pretty much what my typical day is with my baby at home. I work 3 days a week and have her with me 24/7 on the other 4 days. I already told my husband that we have to take turn napping with her, so he can go to the casino and I can spend some time in the spa. I guess the cruise will be just like home without the cooking and cleaning. Still sounds pretty good to me. I just wish I don't encounter any of those baby haters.

 

I also booked a Disney cruise next year with my mom and sis (no DH). I know for sure that will be a much relaxing cruise for me. Great having grandmom around with the baby.....vacation or not.

[Homosassa]

How sad that the waiters couldn't hold the baby!!

 

One of my favorite memories from my daughter's first cruise (she was 18 months and we were on a trans Panama Canal cruise on Sitmar) was the staff eagerly awaiting our appearance on deck for the on deck breakfast (in those days there were no casual buffet areas on ships, a breakfast buffet would be available on the promenade deck on the stern).

 

After realizing that we would appear around 7 AM for breakfast, the hotel director asked for my permission to take my daughter down to the crew dining area for breakfast. Everyday for the next 11 days, he would be waiting to whisk her away. He would bring her back to me 45 minutes later, usually with jelly smeared on her cheek and clutching the end of a croissant in her hand, and he would give me a report on what she had eaten.

 

One morning, it was the captain who returned her and thanked me for letting her breakfast with the crew. He said it meant a lot to them.

[Missourianluvscruising]

We just got back from a 4 night cruise with NCL with our DD (2). She went to the kids club the first night for an hour or so. But absolutely refused after that. We finally figured out that we needed to take turns at night to unwind. I knew it was going to be a different experience with her. I had a fantastic time with her, pool, beach etc but I was always worried if she started to get fussy was I disrupting everyone else. I was even nervous in the cabin. Did she wake our neighbors in the am. etc.? Next time it will be a suite and grandma will be going wether she wants to or not. She said she didn't want to this time so we didn't pressure her to. Not that Grandma would have her all the time but it would have been nice to go see a show together at least once during the trip. I would cruise again with my dd but I'm not so sure about dh.

[gkrnjlr]

How sad that the waiters couldn't hold the baby!!

 

One of my favorite memories from my daughter's first cruise (she was 18 months and we were on a trans Panama Canal cruise on Sitmar) was the staff eagerly awaiting our appearance on deck for the on deck breakfast (in those days there were no casual buffet areas on ships, a breakfast buffet would be available on the promenade deck on the stern).

 

After realizing that we would appear around 7 AM for breakfast, the hotel director asked for my permission to take my daughter down to the crew dining area for breakfast. Everyday for the next 11 days, he would be waiting to whisk her away. He would bring her back to me 45 minutes later, usually with jelly smeared on her cheek and clutching the end of a croissant in her hand, and he would give me a report on what she had eaten.

 

One morning, it was the captain who returned her and thanked me for letting her breakfast with the crew. He said it meant a lot to them.

 

How sweet!!!! See, I think that would be so fun for the baby AND the crew!

[neya]

Thank you for your post, I never posted my experience with my baby before but we felt exactly the same way when we took our daughter in her first cruise (she was 18 months). The ship had no activities for babies her age we used the children's area for about 1 hour everyday (mommy & me type of thing) and the little pool was freezing cold.

 

I think it was more like a mental exhaustion than physical one. We were constantly thinking of ways of distracting her, we brought toys, kept up with her schedule etc... but she went on a diet didn't want to eat anything or just ate very little. We booked an inside cabin (husband persistence :mad:) which meant we were taking a nap everyday even if we didn't want to (lol). The crew was awesome, hubby wanted to show baby off at dinner so every night we put her in a pretty summer dress off we went. Feeding her, distracting her, walking around dinning room, waiters coming by to take pictures with her holding and dancing with her while I finished my dinner. The crew was amazing, they showed us their children's pictures to us and talked about their families with so much pride, it was truly sweet.

 

Anyways, this was 2 years ago now Ms. Thing is 3 and 1/2 and we are all packed to go in another cruise this coming Sunday. Last year we were on the Wonder for 4 days and we had a lot of fun, totally different experience. She was still the same happy, smiling child but mommy was more relaxed (daddy is always relaxed). This time around I promised myself if she goes on a diet again,fine, she can eat all the salami and ice cream she wants to. After all we will be on vacation. Therefore for the next baby I would wait a little longer to take it on a cruise, just my humble opinion.

 

Neya

[wanderingfool]

How sad that the waiters couldn't hold the baby!!

 

One of my favorite memories from my daughter's first cruise (she was 18 months and we were on a trans Panama Canal cruise on Sitmar) was the staff eagerly awaiting our appearance on deck for the on deck breakfast (in those days there were no casual buffet areas on ships, a breakfast buffet would be available on the promenade deck on the stern).

 

After realizing that we would appear around 7 AM for breakfast, the hotel director asked for my permission to take my daughter down to the crew dining area for breakfast. Everyday for the next 11 days, he would be waiting to whisk her away. He would bring her back to me 45 minutes later, usually with jelly smeared on her cheek and clutching the end of a croissant in her hand, and he would give me a report on what she had eaten.

 

One morning, it was the captain who returned her and thanked me for letting her breakfast with the crew. He said it meant a lot to them.

 

Aw, that is so sweet! Did you get a photo with either the staff or the Captain? We have a page in our scrapbook of photos of DS with his various new cruise "friends".

 

I really hope that legalities and complainers don't make the staff interaction with babies forbidden on all lines! I understand why they might, and why some parents might not like it, but it's pretty easy to just say no, instead of saying nothing then complaining and ruining it for everyone.

[boulders]

OP

 

I had a similar experience with my 2 1/2 year old a few months ago. There wasn't much for ds to do. At dinner, I spent most of my time watching him to make sure he didn't spill anything. I missed all of the shows. And I ran into a child hater - strangely enough, it was a mom with kids. This was in spite of using the babysitting service liberally.

 

I'd had a great time by myself and with my 2 older children on the cruises we took, but found that cruising is just not for us until the youngest is older.

[mr. godfredo]

I brought my two year old son on a week cruise and though we had fun, it was tough and exhausting. He must have climbed every step on the ship a thousand times! We never got through a meal and really just gave up on shows. We first brought him on a cruise when he was 11 months and that was great,we all had a blast. We are leaving in November for another cruise with my three and five year olders and looking forward to them being able to go to the kids Club for some time each day. I hope it works!!!

[lagbunch8]

That is why DH and I didn't take ours until the youngest were 5. That was right for us.

 

We took ours on vacations to the gulf coast a couple of times as infants and it was A LOT of work like you are saying. We were staying in a condo 50 ft from the beach and it was work! We could not even imagine taking a baby on a cruise. That is just not for us.

 

For us each year the vacations get more enjoyable because the kids are getting older.

 

DH and I like to take "vacations"(just DH and I) and "family vacations"(family trips/bonding lol). That is the best of both worlds IMO. :D