What's a good age for first cruise?

[2preschoolers]

Our girls are 2 and 3 1/2 right now. We were contemplating going on a cruise in the next year but now I'm starting to think maybe we'd ALL get more out of it if we waited a few years. (The idea of being cooped up in the cabin a few hours while my younger one naps is NOT fun and the older one refuses to nap and as a result is a cranky mess by 5pm!) So I'm thinking of maybe waiting till the youngest is 4 before we go on our first family cruise. (I've cruised a few times but never with kids)

 

Then my next concern is that if the younger one is 4, the older one would be 6 so they won't be able to be TOGETHER in the kids club. Anyone know if I have a 6 yr old who is just barely six, would they allow her to be in the same group as my 4 yr old or they don't make exceptions for siblings?

 

Anyhow - trying to figure out what is a good age to start with so that EVERYONE enjoys their experience. I keep feeling like it's best to wait till they don't require naps. Any thoughts or words of advice????

 

Thank you!

melanie

[Lady_Jag]

Sorry, I can't give you a concrete answer, because there are just too many variables including cruise line, itinerary, length of cruise, and your kids' own personalities.

 

I will say that we recently took our 3-year-old (she turned 3 at the end of March) on the Carnival Glory this past May, and she had a WONDERFUL time! We all did!

 

My daughter still takes naps most days, but we always managed to work something out the few days she DID nap in the cabin so that just one adult stayed with her in the cabin while the others did what they wanted to do. (Usually the adult who volunteered to stay wanted a nap too! LOL!)

 

My brother has 3 kids and takes a cruise every year. I remember asking him what the earliest "ideal" age was once, and he said that 2 was the magic number because there are kids clubs that will accept 2-year-olds.

 

On the other hand, there are plenty of people here on CC who take infants on a cruise and they have a fabulous time too. So it's all a matter of personal preference, I guess.

 

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but the only true answer to the question "What's a good age?" is "it depends." ;)

[Julienatul]

We started sailing when my DD was 7 months and now she is almost 4 yrs old. This will be her 7th cruise this summer and DS who is 8 months will be going on his first. To answer your question, it really depends on what you like to do and what your kids will do. My DH and I take turns every other day in the cabin while she naps so each of us gets some time to enjoy the day "nap free". If we can afford it, we get a balcony cabin and sit out there and enjoy a few drinks, read a book or listen to the ipod while she naps. We dont mind the few hrs of down time since we are pretty busy the rest of the day. She enjoys the music, dinners, evening shows etc so she is really well-behaved most of the time even when she doesnt nap. She is so enthralled by the new environment and people all around that she acts very well. We have rarely had to leave the dining room or anywhere with her onboard even when she was younger.

 

Its certainly not like it was before we had kids but still a very enjoyable vacation. We personally think its the best bang for your buck as far as family vacations. Once we are onboard everything is taken care of. There wont be any hauling the kids into the car, strapping them in their seats, driving to the restaurant, beach or tourist area, running to the store to buy food/drinks etc. We walk onboard and there is someone waiting on us 24/7, food 24/7, room service, cleaning service, entertainment. We can do as little or as much as we want and everything is in close proximity unlike land based vacations. We also bring the strollers with us so that they can nap on the go or in ports. If we get back late and dont want to rush to dinner, we order room service or hit the buffet. We sort of keep our expectations laid back and it's fun for all of us. We feel a cruise is a much easier way to travel with young kids and there is the benefit of the kids club and family activities.

 

Good luck! whether you decide to cruise now or later Im sure you will have a great time.

[malittlefoot971]

From my personal experience only... We started cruising when our oldest was 4 and the youngest was 2. We left the youngest home with grandparnets and only took the oldest with us. While it was nice, we regret not taking him along. We assumed that there'd not be much for him to do onboard. He wasn't fully potty trained etc. We were first time cruisers and didn't know of the family board on here. Boy we were dead wrong about nothing for him to do. While we did have an inside and he would have napped, we would have napped with him as well (or atleast I could have!!)

 

I know there are many on here and onboard that take very small children of all ages. Personally I'd say the "ideal" age for them to start is as soon as they are able to eat table food. However, I'd personally go with the 2 years old age just so they could enjoy the camp that they have on the ship and not be limited. As far as your worries about the napping you'll be surprised at how easily it will be to join them for a nap. If you are already an early riser and don't tire mid day then I'd reccomend a balcony room so you still have that to escape to while the nappers do their thing!:D:D

[tikcho]

Our first cruise was when my son was 13 month and we recently went on another one for his 2nd birthday. Both times he had tons of fun and so did we. Don;t know much about children's clubs since he is too young for those but couple of other points

- Yes, if they take naps that means one of you needs to be there but I was more than happy to do it since that gave me acouple of hours to relax or read a book.

- Nightime is hard because my son goes to bed no later than 9 which means someone has to be in the room with him every night. It worked for us because we had my in-laws there and the four of us took tunrs every night so I only really stayed in 2 nights out of 7. But if it's only you and the kids this would mean staying in every night and depending on your expectations, that may not be lots of fun. I love the night time activities on a cruise and that's part of why I cruise so I would not go if I have to stay in the cabin every night. But I know some people go to bed early and prefer to wake up early so it doesn't bother them.

- In terms of activities - there are tons for kids and adults on every cruise line so I don't think they'll be bored (nor will you). We usually spend most of the time on the ship by the pool and in ports we choose a nice beach or an island tour and our son has done well on those.

- I'd probably not choose Europe or some kind of other itinerary that is heavy on port activities/culture because at this age they don;t care about this much. Both times we went to the Caribbean but we do plan to do a Europe itinerary when he is 5-6 years old and can really appreciate it.

[cb at sea]

It will depend on what you want from your vacation. If you want to get past the "nap" stage, then you should wait!!!

Same with Disney vacations---I know Disney is a "kid" place, but very small kids just can't appreciate the wonder that Disney provides, and they tend to get cranky, parents get irritable,considering the $$$ they're spending, and the kid's crying and throwing a fit......

[crzgrl66]

It will depend on what you want from your vacation. If you want to get past the "nap" stage, then you should wait!!!

Same with Disney vacations---I know Disney is a "kid" place, but very small kids just can't appreciate the wonder that Disney provides, and they tend to get cranky, parents get irritable,considering the $$$ they're spending, and the kid's crying and throwing a fit......

 

I totally agree. If you are looking at your vacation as being relaxing, then you need to wait until about 4 years old when they will really enjoy the kids camp. My boys were 2 & 4 on our first cruise and when I got home I really felt I NEEDED a vacation. The kid activites for the 2 year old were really limited to coloring & watching videos. We spent tons of time in our cabin where they could play with toys and I wouldn't have to worry about the little one running off. Our next cruise they were 5 & 7. We had a blast, our best vacation ever!

[rebeccalouise]

Yes, I'd say 3 1/2-4 is a good time to start cruising.

 

As for naps- I absolutely made my kids take naps until they were 8 on vacation. Either that or a "rest".

 

If you want to stay up late on cruises this is really a must. Kids aren't used to all the stimulation on the ships. They are in the youth program, video arcades and the pool- then are staying up later than usual.

 

It just isn't fair to your kids not to make them have some down time. I would just go back to the room and we would have "quiet time"- no tv and lay on the beds. I have two very active boys and they almost always fell asleep for two hours- even as late as my last cruise in January (he was 8).

 

And my kids were never cranky.:)

[onthelake]

I echo what other folks have said - My son started cruising at 18 months but it was easy since my husband also loves a nap after lunch and we went on small ships that did not have the kids clubs. As my son got older (and potty trained), we started on sailing on larger ships and he started participating in the kids clubs. Your choice is of when is the right time is not so much age as how much time do you want to spend all together as a family and how much time would you like to take as 'adult' time using kids club or babysitting? From there, you can look at the different ages and cruise lines that suit your wants/needs.

[2Cruise4Ever]

We waited until our youngest was 2 so she could enjoy the Kids Crew. And, that gave DH and I an opportunity to have one dinner alone during the week (a luxury we rarely have at home). We traveled to the Outer Banks when she was just a baby (a few months old) for a family reunion. That trip was a disaster! We were not in comfortable surroundings and she cried most of the time. All the while I ended up cooking for 20 people nearly every night. After that, we decided no more traveling until she was older. The cruise was awesome!

[Martini Mom]

My kids, ages 9 and 12, will be going on their first cruise his November. While they could have cruised earlier, it's fun to see them old enough to really understand what a cool thing they are getting to do and old enough to "get our money's worth" out of their fare, lol.

[giantcrazy]

This is our first cruise - I'm hoping it works out well for the kids, since we've traveled extensively with our now-5 and 7 year olds, but this is the first trip with #3, who's only 8 months.

 

I'm not feeling the anxiety from other vacations though - which means either I've been missing out or I'm just not affected the same way. Since they were born, we've never traveled without the kids. We've got to Europe, the Caribbean, across the US - the same principles apply every time we travel; find somewhere that has easy access to entertainment, food, a good beach or pool and decent lodging. If you keep the kids busy enough, they'll never be too bothersome.

 

Seems like a cruise might work out well in that respect. But as to 'when is the best age' - I'm a firm believer that you get the kids used to traveling early, and it'll pay dividends forever. All of my kids were less than 2 the first time they traveled, and so long as we followed the above plan, we've never regretted it.

[WideOpenOcean]

My daughter went on her first cruise at 20 months. The downside was all the baby we stuff we had to haul with us! :) But she loved it. We went again when she was 3 1/2. Much less stuff that time! And that time she was old enough to go to AO. And she loved it. We're going again in October and she'll be 5. She's still taking a nap or rest, and on a cruise even I need that! It definitely helps to have a balcony if you can do it, so you can relax when they are sleeping without feeling too crowded.

 

As others have said, it all depends on your expectations.

[ottawa_traveler]

I just finished my first cruise with my boys, ages 6 and 8. We have been traveling since the boys were infants, and I can now say that I'm very glad we didn't do a cruise when they were younger, because:

 

1) Both were old enough to do almost all excursions (zip-lining and long hikes were the only things we couldn't do)

2) Both were old enough to get through the day without napping

3) Both were old enough to understand what was expected in terms of dining room behaviour and are beyond the meltdown phase

4) Both can swim (neither of the pools on our ship had very big shallow ends)

 

However, only the 8-yr old was really old enough to begin to appreciate the experience of cruising. He would look around at the glaciers and mountains and say "Mom, this is amazing!", whereas the 6-yr old kind of took a look and got bored of the scenery pretty fast. While younger kids can certainly enjoy cruising, they will pretty much enjoy whatever vacation you choose.

 

For holidays when my children were younger, I always preferred a cottage or villa rental where we had more space to accommodate naps/quiet time/early bedtimes, and a kitchen so that we could have some quiet meals with familiar foods instead of eating out three times/day.

 

We were asked to go on a cruise with our extended family when my boys were 1 and 3, and I turned it down as I didn't think it would be a good choice for our family. Now that I've actually been on a cruise, I'm very glad I made that decision and waited until the kids were older.

 

As for mixing age groups in the kids' club, our 8-yr old could have gone down to the 6-yr old's group, but the 6-yr old wasn't allowed to move up.

[spaceflower77]

I absolutely LOVED our cruise with my 3 and 8 year old and think that it is a GREAT time to cruise. Camp Carnival is fun and grants much needed relief and freedom for adults! We particularly enjoyed CC after hours and were happy to pay the $5/hour for our kids. My 3 year old (now 4) still talks about it ALL THE TIME and we have booked our next cruise for next October. I just wish we could go now! Next year we'll take all three kids. Our excursions may change as they get older, but for now we LOVED beach time. I brought the kids sand buckets, sand molds, an insulated picnic cooler and towels (provided by Carnival) and we did great just hanging out on a nice beach. We found uncrowded beaches at each port. It was GREAT! :)

[dreaminofsun]

It will depend on what you want from your vacation. If you want to get past the "nap" stage, then you should wait!!!

Same with Disney vacations---I know Disney is a "kid" place, but very small kids just can't appreciate the wonder that Disney provides, and they tend to get cranky, parents get irritable,considering the $$$ they're spending, and the kid's crying and throwing a fit......

 

I disagree about the Disney comment. I LOVE seeing the sense of wonder on a small child's face at Disney World. When they are very young they think everything is real and magical and believe that the characters are the real deal. When they get a bit older they love it for different reasons but they know that the characters are just people in costumes, etc.

True, Disney is not usually a relaxing vacation and you do need to take a slower pace with young children (a stoller that reclines is a must!) but I wouldn't trade those memories of my 2 yr old running up to Minnie Mouse and throwing his arms around her for anything.

Like others have said, I think it all depends on both your and your childrens personalities.

[Diabloshalo]

Don't know about your kids ages and what to do with them- I'm interested in the responses - as we just booked dd's first cruise. She'll be 12m when we sail next month. Actually- I guess technically it's her second bc she was in utero last year on our cruise! LOL!

Goodluck and have fun!

[Warm Breezes]

DD was 4 and DS 7 on our first cruise. I thought it was great timing on our part, especially since our first 2 cruises were on Disney. I think that was the perfect ages for us to get the most value out of the more expensive Disney Cruises. We've been on 6 cruises since then and have had a great time on all of them.

[Kerry's Girls]

In my opinion, as soon as momma wants a week of someone else doing all the cooking and cleaning, it's a good time to cruise. My twins have enjoyed all of their cruises, but certainly when they became old enough to enjoy the kids program (at age 2 on Carnival) they had even more fun. But really, it's not as much about them as it is me - since they were 13 months old, our cruises are always the best weeks I have with them during the year because we spend so much quality time together without the stress of chores, etc.

 

Best,

Mia

[A&Emom]

Each of my kids took their first cruise at 2yo and had a ball. With my daughter the staff from the diningroom to security as well as other passengers were so overly attentive, that by the end of the cruise we were calling her baby J-Lo.

 

The only reason we didn't take them earlier was that we had other non-cruise vaction plans.

[asylum575]

DS was on his first cruise at 15 months, he now has 5 under his belt at 5 years old. DD was also 15 months and has done two so far. Our pediatrician actually recommended going on vacation while they were young enough to be pushed around in the stroller. They aren't as mobile and you have more control over them. Just wait till most of the vaccinations are done.

We got a Combi stroller, it weighs about 10 pounds and folds up tight like an umbrella stroller, very well made.

[meatball77]

Vacationing at all with young kids isn't as easy as when they get older.

 

I think crusing is an Ideal vacation for people with pre-schoolers because you can drop them off in the kids club and do adult things that you wouldn't be able to do if you were on a different vacation, and you can even leave them in the kids club while you do adult excursions if your child is one that will be comfortable in the kids club.

 

We took my daughter when she was barely four and she had a terrific time. We had to go to bed an hour or so after dinner and we had to stay in the cabin for an hour or so after lunch for her nap, but we were also able to do things without her while she was in camp and that was so nice. She stayed on the boat when we were in two ports (she LOVED camp carnival) so we could do excursions she wasn't old enough for (like ziplining) and came off with us for one when we went to the caymans.

 

I wouldn't take a child that wasn't old enough to do the kids club. Meals and excursions and such would not be enjoyable with a baby and a land vacation would be more enjoyable and less stress.

[queenL]

3 mos? 6 mos? As soon as they are old enough to board! :D

We took our daughter for the first time when she was 5 mos old. We had no regrets.

[beachchick]

As for them being together in the children's program, they do sometimes allow children who are just older than the cutoff to move down. But I have to ask if your then 6-y/o would be likely to have a great time in a program geared for 2/3 to 5 y/os? Would she feel like "big sister has to take care of little sister" and "this is for babies"? Might it be good by then for the two sisters to have some "own" time with children in their own age groups? Even though they're close in age, they will likely want to have individual experiences. There's plenty of time and activities onboard and ashore for the family to all be together. Just something to consider as you decide what age is right for your children. It really does vary by child, parents, family expectations, etc. We'd wait until both were fully potty trained so they could both use the pools and we'd wait until they were both old enough for the children's program (which is 2 on some lines, but 3 on others).

 

beachchick

[debmkay]

We haven't cruised yet with our Grandson but hoping to in the future. We usually sail HAL but figure we will do something else with Jacob. He is 2.5 years old. I think we will try Carnival with him or RccL with him. We have been on RCCL not carnival but good reviews with kids for both. So not sure what age specifically but soon I know. Have fun whatever age they grow up too quickly!