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First cruise on Ventura with our child (aged 3) - advice


MaisyH
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Hello, My husband and I have done around 13 cruises but this will be our first with one of our children (aged 3). We have booked a balcony cabin. I would be so grateful for any tips that anyone has on how to make a cruise with a 3 year old work and be enjoyable. Thank you.

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The children's club is an obvious thing facility to use, they have organised activities for the various age groups e.g. 2 - 5, and the children can meet up with other playmates.

 

Afternoons there is a children's afternoon tea if you wish to dine as a couple at night/s.

 

The night nursery will accommodate sleeping children until very late.

 

Apart from that you can look at beach days, assuming itinerary permits this. Some beaches are at ports not normally associated with beach traditionally!

 

Some of the cruise line excursions are excellent for children. DIY excursions are easy at some ports and I have used http://www.viator.com for other excursions where the cruise line range has not been suitable.

 

Regards John

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The children's club is an obvious thing facility to use, they have organised activities for the various age groups e.g. 2 - 5, and the children can meet up with other playmates.

 

 

 

Afternoons there is a children's afternoon tea if you wish to dine as a couple at night/s.

 

 

 

The night nursery will accommodate sleeping children until very late.

 

 

 

Apart from that you can look at beach days, assuming itinerary permits this. Some beaches are at ports not normally associated with beach traditionally!

 

 

 

Some of the cruise line excursions are excellent for children. DIY excursions are easy at some ports and I have used http://www.viator.com for other excursions where the cruise line range has not been suitable.

 

 

 

Regards John

 

 

Seconded. The P&O youth teams are in my opinion the best in the business.

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I've just been on Ventura and the only time I saw children was when we got off the ship at the ports, most of them were young under 5 so I imagine the parents used the kids clubs although I questioned the minds of one or two parents when they decided to bring their toddlers to the theatre one or two nights despite the fact they're so young they wouldn't really appreciate it.

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We took our 2yo on Azura in December. She loved the kids club when she was there, but due to a clingy phase, didn't use it much. The girls there were great though. During the evening they have a wind down dvd, about 8pm, and all the kiddies crash out on beanbags, pick up by midnight. If you want a very late night, the night nursery closes at 2am.

 

We found kids tea a good option, from 5-6pm. It had a good choice of kiddie food, plus we found it was a better time for my Little One. We were on freedom dining but usually dined 6.30-7pm so my LG would either munch on a bread roll or just sit in her pushchair if she was tired. We were lucky to be seated around the edge of the dining room too.

 

We didn't really do any excursions, Caribbean, just visited some beaches. We did take a pushchair after much debating, and was glad because LG got very tired!

On Azura, the kiddie pool was aft, so we tended to go there. There's the choice of kiddie pool and aft pool plus it's quieter.

 

It's a great holiday with a young family and can't wait to do it again! Have a fab time ☀️

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Yes; pushchairs are a good idea to take on a cruise. You can deliver sleeping children to the night nursery. On excursions where a coach is employed you may put the pushchair in the boot, coach drivers are used to this. Typically the rule for excursions is roughly three year olds need a ticket and get a seat. Two year olds do not need a ticket and sit on parents laps but may use a free seat subject to availability(read the small print on the relevant excursion information page). Where a series of coaches are being used on an excursion the last one is the most likely to have any spare seats as they normally pack the first ones full, so hanging back is better than rushing to get front seats on the first coach. Incidentally if you ever rush about on a cruise for anything it starts to lose it's relaxing leisure value.

 

Regards John.

Edited by john watson
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