First Cruise with Kids

[Lasarre]

We will be going on the Dec 18th Jewel Cruise. This is our first time cruising with our children ages 8 and 10. Is there anything I should remember to bring for them? Also, what about walkie talkies? Do they work on the ship and what kind should I get? The children will be in a cabin across the hall from us. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[iamwatiyam]

Scroll down to Nov. 12 posting. There is some discussion about the walkie-talkies. We are also taking two children, girls, ages 10 and 11 on the Wind sailing Dec.4th. Perhaps if I have time, I'll post a trip report upon our return that might be of some interest to people like yourself who are traveling with young children. This is our first cruise also and it will be a learning experience. But I have been reading various post in different forums and so far I think we'll survive.:rolleyes: We will be taking our radios, just in case.

 

Eddie

[Onessa]

The walkie-talkie things don't seem to work very well. We have a "high quality" set that works really well out in the woods but were next to worthless on our last cruise (RCL Voyeger of the Seas in June)

 

My daughter (now 9) has been on several cruises with us. She really enjoys the children's programming. We have also have a portable DVD player - since the TV on the ship is not to her liking. Haven't used it too much, but it was nice one evening when we got an in-room sitter.

 

Bring snacks with. The food is great and most of the wait staff really cater to the kids, but I've always found that the quickest way to a cranky kid is an empty stomach! Some quick snacks (peanut butter on crackers, etc.) can really head off disasters.

 

An extra swimming suit for each kid is nice to have on a warm weather cruise.

 

Be certain to pack some entertainment for the debarkation day. If you are not in an early group to leave the ship, kids can get antsy. We were with a very late group on our last cruise, but it wasn't a problem since we had the upper decks almost to ourselves - we played ping pong (you may want to bring your own ball though just for that last day!), minature golf, shuffle board, and basketball. I always have colored pencils and paper for games and coloring, and a book or two. If you are not waiting to embark, or to debark, you'll probably be waiting for a plane or train somewhere!

[Lasarre]

Thanks for the ideas. Any other ideas will also be appreciated.

[lbchew]

one thing you should definitely bring is lanyards for everyone to wear their sea pass cards on. They will punch 3 holes in the kids card to show they are under age and you can ask to have your cards punched as well. You have to show your cards every time you get on and off the ship and this made it very convenient. I also suggest bringing a popup hamper to keep in the corner of the closet in your room. The rooms are pretty small and it helps to keep the dirty clothes tucked away. We didn't have good luck with the walkie talkies. I only tried them a few times because they didn't work well and I felt they were to noisy and I didn't want to disturb other guests. One last recommendation--snorkeling equipment for the kids. We went to lots of beaches and we didn't have to rent the gear each time. It was worth carrying with us. Oh- If you are going to the beaches, a water proof beachbag was handy. Each morning the kids took a few small boxes of cereal from the ship to munch on. I had also packed granola bars from home. We were able to last 3-4 hours on the beach without having to find a place to eat. Don't bring your own towels-at least on RCCL you can take theirs to the beach with you. Have fun!

[dianelevene]

I would also suggest extra swimsuits. My kids hate putting on wet swimsuits and with how little room they take in the suitcase, it just wasn't worth the hassle. I packed three or four swimsuits for each of my girls. I also fill a backpack with some small toys, notebooks and crayons. It gives the kids something to do while we are in our cabin, or waiting for different things. I also pack light sweaters for my girls. They complained of being too cool in the dining room and the theater several times so the sweaters came in handy. We also stopped on one island and bought some juice boxes. They were expensive, but handy to have in our cabin and to throw into our totes to take to the beach. I also pack a couple of sun dresses that our girls can throw over the swimsuits. You can't eat at the buffet in your swimsuit so it helped to have something they could throw on so we did not have to go back to the cabin and change clothes! Another thing to consider packing is a waterproof disposable camera for each of your kids. They are very expensive on the ship or on the islands. My kids love being able to take some pictures when they are in the pool or at the beach. Have a fun cruise!

Diane

[hilltopfamily]

I'll pass on a tip I only heard about in time for our 3rd cruise with our kids. Take a baby monitor! I know, I know, your kids aren't babies (neither were mine with our youngest being 7). :p But with me & DH being across the hall, it sure was nice to turn it on when we went to bed at night. I could make sure they were "alright" all night long and I could tell in the AM when they were waking up! ;) And since they knew Mom & Dad could hear all that they were doing/saying, they were probably on better behavior than they might have been otherwise. :D And this way I knew they were not disturbing neighbors on either side of them. Now for the best part----I got mine at a garage sale for $5. Or, if you don't "do" garage sales, most cities have baby/children's consignment shops where you could pick one up cheaply. But also remember an extension cord with additional outlets. With the monitor plugged in and our camera/battery charger, we usually needed the extra plugin that the cord afforded us. And the whole thing didn't take up very much packing space.

[iamwatiyam]

We will be going on the Dec 18th Jewel Cruise. This is our first time cruising with our children ages 8 and 10. Is there anything I should remember to bring for them? Also, what about walkie talkies? Do they work on the ship and what kind should I get? The children will be in a cabin across the hall from us. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

We just got back from the Hawaii/Fanning trip. Take the walkie-talkies! They not only came in handy on the ship, but on shore as well. For example when we went to Wal-Mart we were always in contact with the girls (they always head to the toy section). Be sure to bring sun block. Our kids did not take advantage of the children's program. They decided to do everything on their own. They knew every part of the ship within a few hours. They even figured out how to order room service for cookies and milk at night. ;)

I don't know about school work for your kids, but we brought a lot of school work to keep them busy at night. They didn't like it much but they had to do it. Just curious, why did you get seperate cabins? We had a quad and only paid $175 per child for an 11-day cruise. I can understand the privacy, but for us, it was rather cozy at night when we talked about the day's activities, dinner, homework, etc. We watched a lot of movies just prior to bed-time. All movies are family oriented. Remember, all sailing is done at night, so not much to see outside. However, during the two days at sea going, and two days returning from Fanning gave the girls a lot to do outside. Mostly the pools, shuffleboard, outdoor BBQs, etc. We thouroughly enjoyed our Wind cruise. Good luck.:)

Eddie