Best cruises for 3 year old triplets

[CoolTripletMom]

My parents want to take my whole family on a cruise next summer. I have 3 year old triplets.

 

-What cruise line would you recommend for us and why?

-Excursions, should we do them?

-Dinners - will the early seating cut off time from experiencing the port? We have only been on late seatings when we cruised prior to having kids.

-Should we even consider a cruise longer then 5-7 nights?

[boulders]

Where are you planning to cruise to? Will your kids be toilet trained ie are they 3 now or will they be 3 when you cruise? What type of shore excursion were you thinking of? What is your budget? What ships have you sailed on before and did you like them? What are the ages of the other travelers? There are advantages to all the cruiselines and ships within the lines.

[MNmomof4]

You will need to find a cruise line that accomodates 5 to a room or have one of the triplets with another family member. I've always done early seating with my kids and that worked fine for us. Many cruise lines now have anytime or freestyle dining which gives you flexibility.

[Kerry's Girls]

Potty training is a big issue. You don't want to have the pressure of making sure they're all potty trained because you're booked on a ship that requires it in the kids club. Plus, if they're not all potty trained, you may want to look for a ship that has water play areas for kids in diapers.

 

A cabin close to the elevators would be important to me. As would an itinerary with easy to walk to diversions (top pick for me would be beach resorts).

 

I would want early dining at a set time, so I'd know when I show up, the conveniently located table is ready, and the waiters are ready with whatever it is they know my kids like to start with. I swear, main seating on cruise ships are the most relaxing meals I have with my twins (including on land) because after the first night, the waiters take such good care of my girls, that I actually get to enjoy a stress-free meal.

 

I think a cruise will be a great way for you all to go - enjoy!

 

Best,

Mia

[CeleBrat]

Oh mu gosh! You have your hands full! If it's your first cruise, I'd suggest a shorter 3-4-5 day cruise.

 

Disney, RCCL, and NCL offer some great 3 and 4 day routes.

 

Have fun!--CeleBrat

[cb at sea]

Definitely wait until the kids are 3 years old and totally potty-trained...it will make your life sooooo much easier on the ship!

[A&Jfamily]

I can't comment on anyone's kids program but Carnival, and I have been very pleased. We started crusing the month when my youngest turned 3. He was basically potty trained, but they take them as young as 2, and no they do not need to be potty trained. He had an "accident" - peed on himself cause he didn't get pants down in time. The staff handled it perfectly; treated it like it was no big deal. Put him in a CC t-shirt and spare pair of shorts, and paged us, so we could bring him fresh clothes of his own. I even packed his potty seat for the room (never used those stand alone things, just the one that fits over the regular seat).

 

So, I'd say whether they are all potty trained or not, I would say go for it. Cruising is a great family vacation - especially when grandparents are along to help out. Mom and Dad can actually find some alone time! :D

 

We prefer 7 day cruises...it seems like more of a real vacation and you have enough time to relax before you have to pack up again.

 

We have done western twice, a shorter Bahamas/KW out of Jax, and are doing eastern this summer. My son's LOVED the western - we did a swim with the sting rays in Grand Cayman, a dophin enounter in Cozumel (other trip we went to Costa Maya and took the older one to the ruins, but the port itself made a great beach afternoon), snorkeling/beach stuff in Belize (Goff's Caye was PERFECT when my DS was 2 b/c you can snorkel from the boat or the island and Mom and Dad just took turns) and Tabayana Beach (fantastic beach) and Gumbalimba park to play with the parrots and monkeys in Roatan.

 

Pretty much every port I have looked at, I have found kid friendly stuff to do, from the zoo in Nassau to the train in KW.

 

GO for it!

[boating girl]

Have you thought of taking someone with you who could act as a nanny? You could book a cabin for the nanny and the triplets. Then, you could have some free time with your husband and the nanny could have free time when you are spending time with the kids.

[CoolTripletMom]

Thanks. This is very helpful information! Have you cruised with your kids to BErmuda at all? Any thoughts on that island with kids?

[#1TravelMom]

Where do you live? If NCY is convenient, I'd suggest NCL Dawn to Bermuda. Several reasons, very good pricing and very condusive to "toddler wrangling". I have an extremely active 4 year old and the most difficult part of a cruise is making sure we have sight of her at all times. We just returned from the Liberty and the H2O splash zone was amazing, but it was difficult to keep her in sight as she ran around. One of us actually had to follow her around. It isn't possible to sit and relax, even right next to the zone and keep children in sight while there. I can't imagine trying to manage 3. On the Dawn, there is a confined children's pool area enclosed in glass with a door latch at 6 feet. There is a nice children's pool(plenty big enough for parents to join), children's hot tub and 2 mid-size water slides all in the enclosure. We sat in the sun and relaxed for hours each day while our daughter played in our view. Also, they have a toddler-size buffet area with miniature tables, again confined by metal railing, except for the entrance. Is this the most spectacular ship at sea - no. But for a large portion of the cruise - pool time and eating, the setup would be great for triplets.