mdjohn5

Bring a stroller. period. end of sentence.

There is a lot of walking and standing on vacation....and 3 year olds have short legs! Nothing worse than having your arms full of travel stuff, and the kiddo decides their done walking :)

at 2-4 yo, I like to have them in the stroller in busy places like the airport, ports, etc so they don't get away from me.

We bought a "vacation" umbrella stroller at a garage sale for $5 with the intention of just throwing it away if it was ever too much of a hassle on vacation...we have had that thing for 6 plus years now.

Also, if you are flying it is nice to have the cheap stroller in the airport. In a lot of airports, having the kid in a stroller is what gets you moved to the family lines at security...

The stingrays on GC are really neat to see, but 6 yo might be a little young.

The sandbar is roughly in 4ft of water? (someone correct me...its been a few years), but I think a 6 year old would probably not be able to stand on it...they would need to cling to you or float in their life jacket.

For the price, I would recommend waiting a few years unless they are really good swimmers, just my 2 cents.

Dunn River Falls in Jamaica might be a good for an adventurous 6yo. Its a large park with a cool waterfall that you climb up.

If you have a room with a couch, you can turn it around to face the wall.

One more thing,

First day, if your child is a milk drinker, scout out the locations to get milk. Our kids like to drink it before bed, and the buffet is usually closed and/or closing about that time so its nice to know a few places to get it if you don't have any on ice or in a fridge (if your room has one).

You can always do room service, but that can take a while and (my) kids don't always have a while :).

Couple of tips from a father of 5 and 7 year olds who have each been on 5 cruises,

Set your expectations....cruising with kids is a different experience. You need to be able to roll with the punches! I go to the casino after the wife and kids are tucked in for the evening and my wife goes out to the pool/spa in the afternoons while I entertain the kids. Need to work it out so that everyone has a fun time.

Zip lock bags are your new best friends. Pack outfits in them and then re-use them as diaper holders in case it takes a while for your cabin garbage to be removed.

My kids love to color / draw. If you have a cabin with a balcony, you can use dry erase markers on the Plexiglas. I could sit out on the balcony and read while my kids go to town creating their next Picaso masterpiece!

We like to bring a few hard plastic toys that are multi-purpose. They can be used in the bathtub, in the room, in the pool, etc.

Don't be afraid of the main dinning room. I am always ready to remove the kids if they get loud, but its much easier to have people bring you food than have to juggle it all at the buffet. I don't think you said if your child was a boy/girl....but you can get a kids Tux online pretty cheap....and they are the hit of the dinning room on formal night.

Transportation is always an issue at that age, so scout it out first. You need to decide on your car seat strategy and how you plan to get between point A and B.

On most ships you can't use the kids club until they are potty sufficient...i.e they can do it by themselves but may need a little help. For my kids, the clubs can be hit or miss...really depends on how engaging the staff are and if they make friends early in the week. Some times we cant keep them out, and other times we have to push them in and run...... :)

Have a great time!

We have found that the buffet with toddlers / youngins is a lot of work, even with two parents.

I would just add to remember room service is available!

Ships go out of Galveston and New Orleans, those would be the closest drive for you in Kansas city. That said, if a 12 hour drive with 6 kids doesn't scare you, then you might as well consider Tampa and Orlando (Port Canaveral) for an extra 6 hours of driving, that will really open up your options.

We are not big Carnival fans per se, but unless you can find a good 3/4 person free deal on NCL/HA, ect, then it is going to be hard to beat Carnival for the price and their activities will be in your teenagers wheelhouse.

You do need to know that cruise ship cabins are not like hotel rooms. You can't just sneak a few extra kids in without anyone noticing, They know exactly how many people are on the ship so you will need at least two cabins. I have never done a group that size but there can be restrictions on cabins...you need one adult for each cabin, so you may not be able to book 3 cabins depending on how old your oldest is. I think those rules vary by cruise line so you need to be sure.

I am interested in what you decide on, please report back on what you book!

My wife and I did this several years ago and had a lot of fun.

That said, we are not sailors and/or even familiar with how to run a sail boat...and neither were the other 15 people they grouped us with. The excursion is set up with that in mind.

If your husband is an experienced sailor, he may find it frustrating to be on a sailboat with a bunch of people that have no idea what they are doing...especially when you are paying for the privilege.

I would recommend the dining room over the buffet, just for the ease of being served. At the buffet, you'll be juggling baby and food...not much fun!

I agree 100%!

As stated, kids don't need the passport to cruise closed loop in the US.

However, if something happens and you need to fly home from an international airport, everyone needs a passport, regardless of age. They are good to have for everyone in your party, just in case.

If you are in a Neptune Suites on Holland America, you get free laundry service as part of the suite perks. Just fill the bag and leave it for them.

Royal Caribbean usually has one day on a seven day cruise where they run a special for the bag of laundry...sometimes it is not well advertised so you have to look for it.

You can get the small boxes of Cherrios at breakfast, I would imagine that if you ask in the lido they will bring you some at any time of the day as well.

6 months may be too soon, but one trick we found was dinner rolls. At 1yr, my son loved the round dinner rolls they serve in the main dining room. They are about baseball sized, hard on the outside and soft on the inside. They were big enough for him to grab and slobber all over....would keep him entertained for 10-15 mins.

With a 1.5-2 year old, I would recommend you use whatever your normal cruise line was pre-kids assuming you can find a ship and itinerary that you like.

I would not recommend tailing your vacation to them at that age. They can't use the kids club on any ship until they are potty sufficient and only a select few ships outside of Disney have a nursery or baby sitting services...which you still have to be comfortable using as a parent...some people are not.

We have cruised with both our kids at that age and the reality is that a 1.5 year old is going to be spending almost all of their time with you on a cruise vacation. Cruising with young children is a lot different than cruising pre-kids. Better in some ways, more restrictive in others ...just a whole different experience.

You might as well be doing something you prefer vs what you think they may like....it won't make a difference to them :)

We prefer itineraries that have a few beach stops. Beaches seem to be a better bet for swimming. When the ship is sailing, the pool area on the bigger ships tends to get pretty windy and hard to use with younger kids.

In San Juan, the ship will dock right in Old San Jaun. We tend to just get off the ship and walk around Old San Juan. The old buildings, the Forts, the old graveyard are kind of cool to see and it doesn't cost anything..except maybe a cab ride back to the ship if people get tired.

St Martin is a good beach day. There is one fairly close to the where the ships dock, near the main shopping strip. That said they have lots of other beaches around the island that you can get to fairly easily either with a ship excursion or on your own. The French side of the island does have clothing optional beaches (i.e. Orient Beach)...not a huge deal for 2 and 4 year olds, but something to be aware of.

We also like to budget some time to stay on the ship when in ports...the ship empties out and you get the run of the place. We usually go up to the sport court, ping pong tables, etc...things that are harder to do with young kids when the older kids are around.

On our cruise on the Westerdam, it was 3x across the board.

Thanks! I will be on the Westerdam in a few months. Nice to hear the 3X odds.

We have been doing RCCL ships recently and their single odds is tough.

Its odd (no pun intended :) ) that they have different set ups on different ships, I kind of just assumed it would be standardized.

slightly off topic,

does anyone know what odds HA is offering on craps these days? Even, X2, ?

If you purchase transfers from the cruise line, they use large coach buses were you don't need a car seat.

Some private transfer services will also provide a car seat if you set it up before hand.

Carry on your swim suits....it may take a while for your bags to get to your room and you may want to hit the pool before they arrive.

Have a great cruise!

I would second the main dining room recommendation. We find the MDR so much easier than the buffet. Just be ready to get up and leave if you have too.

At that age we would bring several hard plastic toys that could be used everywhere...i.e the dinner table, in the bath tub, at the beach, in the splash pools, etc.

RC does have some toys you can check out from the kids club area, they were mainly fisher price toys when we did it.

If she is old enough to color/draw and you have a balcony room, we always bring dry erase markers. They work on the plexi glass and it gives them a fun activity to do on the balcony while you soak up some rays.

We also usually "skip" one port and just stay on the ship. With everyone off doing excursions, spaces get wide open and you can let them have some freedom to run around. The sport court is usually wide open during port days and great for letting them run.

Cruising with a toddler is different. Not worse, just a different than vacationing pre kids.

I have done the reverse drive before...rented a car from Disney and driven to Port Everglades for a cruise.

The drive really could not be simpler. The Turnpike goes straight between the two places. We rented from Dollar Rent a car. They have a program that for a set fee you get unlimited tolls on the turnpike. It gets expensive if you have the car for a lot of days, but since we just had it for one day to get to the port, it was reasonable and nice to just zoom through the EZ lanes on the turnpike.

Most of the major car companies treat Florida as one large location, so there is not usually a fee for doing one way rentals as long as you stay in Florida.

Most of the car rental companies have locations near Port Everglades, but I would recommend taking a cab to the airport and renting there. The port locations get overrun when the ships are disembarking. FFL is very close to the port and the car selection will be a lot better.

You might look at the larger Royal Caribbean ships....they are the very definition of "lots to do"

If you are looking at a 7 day cruise, the Carnival ships should be fine. As posted above, the shorter 3-5 day cruises on any line will be more of a party boat atmosphere, but especially on Carnival.

First, I am sorry for your loss. I hope you and your family are doing well.

We have done both HA and RC multiple times with our kids at those ages.

Our experience has been that the RC ships have a lot more "stuff" going on for kids and families, but since the HA ships generally have fewer kids onboard, our kids seem to get a lot more attention from the ClubHal staff.

Note that your 3yo will need to be "potty sufficient" to utilize the kids club on almost all of the major cruise lines.

I would echo the statement above to try and use the main dinning room for meals if possible. The buffets are hard to manage with two adults and young children, doing it with one person will be a major challenge. In our experience, dining room staffs are generally pretty good about learning what your kids like and getting food in front of them quickly. That lets you focus on entertaining the kids while someone else worries about the food.

Ports may be a challenge as well, I would recommend that on at least one port day, stay on the ship and utilize the pool etc. Having the run of the ship on port days is a lot of fun with the younger kids.

Good luck!

Make sure you bring dish detergent so you can wash sippy cups in your room.

We would pack outfits together in zip lock bags and then re-use the bags for poopy diapers.

Make sure you scout out the best places to get milk on your first day. We always found room service didn't really work, when our kids wanted milk....they wanted it NOW....not when room service got around to bring it :)

On a 7 day Caribbean cruise there will be a good number of kids on a HAL ship, at least that has been our experience.

Not as many as a Royal Caribbean ship, but a decent number.

If you have your bags with you, I have found that, in general, the fastest way into a cab is to use the porters. It costs you a few extra bucks in tips but they tend to know the fastest ways out of the building.

They also seem to have their own people helping them with the cabs vs the cab stand. When I use them, they tend to have their own people bringing cabs up for you.