Just Returned with 1 year old

[Colts88]

Our daughter just turned 1 and I can say she really was a fantastic traveler. The cruise was nice. However incredibly different having a baby with us. I've heard several mention to be prepared for a working vacation and that is so true.

 

While I don't regret taking our daughter, I'm not sure I'd do it again. We went on a 5 night which was perfect. As the days progressed she really did get fussier each day. 7 days would have been way too long. In the past 7 days was never enough. WOW how things change.

 

At any rate, if you are like me and do not want to leave your baby, by all means, take them. One suggestion would be to travel with family like grandparents or something that would be wiling to keep your little one. I know some of the cruises offer babysitting. However, we just never felt comfortable enough to do that. Even though deep down I know they are totally safe. I just felt that we missed so much of the cruise life because we really enjoy the shows and the occasionally visit to the casino. Since she was sleeping, it made nightlife nonexistent.

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions I received before the cruise.

[tropiclvrs]

We're getting ready for our 1st cruise post babies and are not expecting anything like what our last couple of cruises were. Our kids are 4 and 2 and I'm sure will be keeping us very busy, but we're looking forward to it! We do have one set of grandparents coming with us so maybe that will help a bit:-) We learned our lesson when we took our first to Hawaii at 7 months old. We had a great time, but was impossible to do anything that we otherwise would have.

 

Perhaps next year you can arrange for a cruise with just you and your SO! Or, wait a couple of years until the kids club becomes an option.

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back. :D

 

Yes, nightlife pretty much does go away when you have a baby. That's why we always booked balconies so that we could have our own little personal "nightlife" on the balcony when the kids were sleeping. :)

 

It does get a little easier as they get older. Except for when they are toddlers and just wanna go go go. Those days are rough anywhere, let alone on a ship. ;)

[Baxter]

When we crusie with our little ones, we take turns in the evening. So we still get nightlife, just every second night. It works well for us.

[my $.02]

We are doing our first post kid's this coming Jan, he will be 2. We are doing Carnival as they have all day/night activities in camp carnival for the kids.

 

In doing a lot of research on this and reading hundred's of suggestions, our plan (subject to change!!) is as follows:

 

Definitely a balcony so we can sit out there at night and during nap's.

 

We will each take "shift's" in the am with him. Room service in the am to deliver breakfast. Once done, we will split the remaining time (8 to 12) with "my time" for each other. Meaning, we each get 2 hour's free.

 

Then, we will do lunch as a family. From 1 to 4ish, we will put him in camp and have time together.

 

Then, dinner as a family and see how the nights go and how we feel. Maybe 1 or 2 with him in camp, and some we will split up.

 

I know, a lot of thought, but in my opinion seem to be the best scenario's I have come across.

[Julienatul]

Thats a good plan but just be prepared in case he doesnt want to go to the kids camp. We were so excited when our DD turned 2 and was able to go to camp but she has yet to go and stay (we've tried 3 separate cruises). They always call us after 15min to come pick her up. She is 3 and a half now and will be close to 4 at our next sailing so I am hoping (fingers crossed here) that she will go an enjoy it this next cruise. She is a daycare child too, has gone since she was 4 months old. She just doesnt feel secure in a strange place with strangers. So have a plan for that too just in case.

[LisaT91403]

We are leaving on a 7-night with our 1-year old next Sunday, and I hope it goes well. He's a pretty easy-going baby, but hasn't traveled much. We have one set of grandparents going with us, and they said we can all take turns watching the baby. We are going to play it by ear during the day, as we can't predict how things will go. Our evening plan is to take the baby to dinner early, then put him down at his regular bedtime (8:00), and leave him with the babysitter while we go out to dinner & to the casino :-)

[cantwait2cruise]

We just had a similar experience with our 17 month old if you want to read my thread.

 

I also just noticed we were both on Glory 3/31/07 and then sailed again same day...too funny. Crusing was definitely different pre-baby!

[LisaT91403]

We just got back from our Mariner sailing with our 1-year old, and we all had a great time. I will be posting a review soon, but thought I would update this thread as well.

 

The babysitting worked out great! DS went down by 7:15, the babysitter arrived at 7:30, and we were out at dinner and the casino until 11:30 every night. There was only one night (night 2) when DS woke up and the babysitter called us. Otherwise, it was really perfect.

 

The days were not like a "normal" cruise for us because of the baby. We had some down time because Grandma and Grandpa were there, but for the most part, we were hanging out with the baby. We still managed to go to bingo a couple of times, as well as the ice show twice because DS liked it. The Fisher Price classes were a great chance for DS to crawl around and play. They were at 9:00 every morning, and also at 2:00 on "at sea" days.

 

It was very different from our pre-baby cruises, but we still had a great time. If we hadn't been able to use the babysitting service every night, I'm not sure it would have been so great as the evenings were when we really felt like we were on vacation.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!