Little 'uns at night

[jfhandel]

Hello All

We are novice (if not quite new) cruisers, having 2 fantastic cruises under our belt. We have been very lucky in that both have been on cruise lines which a) have offered very low fares for our little boy (10%, and free respectively!) , and b) have also offered a free night nursery, which has allowed him to go to sleep at his normal time and allowed us a night out on our own.

We are looking at cruising for summer 2010 – and unfortunately we are now restricted to the summer holidays, as wifey works in schools. This means that the self same lines are asking more like 50% of the fare for our little boy – which sort of blows our budget…

We’ve seen a deal with Princess where kids go free, however they don’t offer any night-time facilities for our little boy, who will be 2 (their lower limit is 3 years).

What are people’s experiences of cruising with little 'uns under these circumstances?

Cheers

JFH

( and unfortunately we can’t stretch to a balcony either, so no sitting in the pale moonlight whilst bubs sleeps in the room ;-( )

[boulders]

For cruising with a 2 year old, I would recommend Carnival. They have full kids club for 2 year olds. Carnival has a 7 night round trip to Alaska out of Seattle. NCL also has kids facilities for that age group. RCCL has in cabin babysitting with at an additional cost, but availability is not guaranteed.

[Kerry's Girls]

I did a few Princess cruises before my twins were old enough to participate in the kids program. It just meant that we were together after dinner - we went dancing (off to the side of the lounge), went to the productions shows (they LOVED the lights and dancing), went for walks on deck. It was all very lovely and fun together. Depending on your child, lots of people also are able to take their sleeping child out in the stroller (you can use a beach towel to fully create a "hood" of coverage.

 

On Princess, you're also allowed to bring your underage child to the kids' area to play - you just have to stay with them.

 

And then I never minded getting to bed earlier than I used to pre-kids!

 

Best,

Mia

[Julienatul]

I would try Carnival or RCCL which has in-cabin sitting. That way you can assure yourself some free time. On Princess you wont have babysitting so your child will be with you always unless you bring family along to help. Good luck!!

[cclarke12]

Have you looked at Cunard for next Summer? They seem to have a few deals with children's places for free (on the transatlantic voyages at least), and they offer the night nursery and club during the day for children aged over 1. We are booked for half term October 2010 on a 7 night cruise up the East Coast of America and Canada as we have have free children's places for both kids. I have seen a few good reviews of Cunard for families with young children. I sympathise with you as our son starts school next year and the prices will rocket for us. We are making the most of things now and have a cruise with Royal Caribbean to Mexico/Belize booked for the spring. I also think MSC offer free child places on cruises during summer but the reviews are quite mixed and not all Brits seem to like the very Italian atmosphere.

 

Who did you cruise with previously? We went on Ocean Village last year and it was really good with a 2 year old. Very informal, but very easygoing and relaxed.

[jfhandel]

We've been very lucky with kids stuff on our cruises - we've done P&O and Cunard and both were very good for childcare, the former probably even better than the latter.

 

We did indeed get a great fare on Cunard last year, our boy went free; we wound up with a cruise that cost less than an identical duration cruise on P&O, which shouldn't be the case at all - wasn't a difficult decision to go Cunard!

 

Ocean Village would be another option (they're formerly an offshoot of P&O, so have the same childcare)...but they really only do fly-cruises, and bubs would have to have his own seat on the plane, so it works out even more expensive!

 

Can't really see us doing MSC as it does sound a bit hit and miss...

[A&Jfamily]

I would see if Carnival fits your budget as they offer Camp 9-12, 1-5 and 6-10 free of charge for 2 yo+. Then, if you want to stay out late, they offer babysitting until 3 am at like $6 and hour.

 

Carnival is one of the few lines that seems to take 2 year olds, which is why I started sailing them in 2007 with my 2 yo DS. They are well prepared for this age, have no issue with diapers or even accidents for those potty training (I know this from experience), and the kids just love it.

[jtm22372]

we are bringing our 19 month old on ccl in jan and our feelings are this is a family cruise we love being with our dd and not really careing for daycare would rather have her with us having fun than in some room somewhere with ppl she does not no. we may utilize the late evening babysitting while she is sleeping but thats about it .why bring a child on a vacation just to pawn them off so u can have fun without them??? it's their vacation too !!!!!:p

[cb at sea]

I'm not sure a 19 mo old really needs a vacation... and there's no reason not to use a babysitter sometimes...after all, mom and dad are more than parents...they are a couple and should have some "adult" time! There's nothing wrong with that!

[Onessa]

we are bringing our 19 month old on ccl in jan and our feelings are this is a family cruise we love being with our dd and not really careing for daycare would rather have her with us having fun than in some room somewhere with ppl she does not no. we may utilize the late evening babysitting while she is sleeping but thats about it .why bring a child on a vacation just to pawn them off so u can have fun without them??? it's their vacation too !!!!!:p

 

If you were a kid and had the choice of walking calmly on a quiet darkened deck with some adults or playing with cool toys and with cool kids with whom you'd never played with before, which would you choose?

 

Remember, it's their vacation too!!!

[karen_cpa]

We are leaving in a few days on NCL with our daughter who will be 2. NCL allows the 2 year olds in their Kids Club, they just will not change diapers. Also, she traveled for a flat rate of $199 plus port charges & taxes. I believe on most sailings the 3rd passenger is either $99 or $199, or if they are under 2, they are free (but then they can't use the Kids Club).