Need advice on ship/itinerary with 2 1/2 year old

[aliwnec10]

I need advice. We're going on a cruise in either late sept or october and we've narrowed it down to these choices:

 

-Royal Caribbean- 4 nights- Majesty of the Seas: Key west, nassau & CocoCay out of Miami.

 

-Royal Caribbean- 5 nights- Grandeur of Seas: key west, cozumel & CocoCay out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

-Carnival- 5 nights- Destiny: Turks & Caicos, Half Moon Bahamas & Nassau out of Miami.

 

-Carnival- 5 nights- Fascination: Key West & Bahamas out of Jacksonville FL.

 

 

Anyone have any recommendations? reviews? tips? Pros/cons?

 

We're traveling with a 2 1/2 year old and we can't decide which one would be better.

 

Also... how much of a risk are we taking with cruising in october or late sept because of hurricane season???

 

Thanks in advance! ;)

[flashdog_1]

The only way you could really truly avoid sailing when a storm was coming (since we don't know that now) is to wait to book until the week of the cruise when the weather reports will show if any hurricanes are in the Atlantic. And even then, one might develop while you are at sea. So you just do not know with any certainty. I myself have a cruise booked for Sept 12, so I'm taking the risk. But my itinerary is only offered during hurricane season, so my choices were limited! (Canada/New England out of New York).

 

It IS a tempting time for booking. Cruise prices are sometimes less, children are back in school & the weather is great (unless you get rain from a hurricane).

 

It's up to you if you want to take the risk. But get insurance, in case.

[SunniLicious]

IMO, if you're cruising with a two-year-old (and we've BTDT) Carnival is the only way to go. Only Carnival and Norwegian allow two-year-olds in their daytime kids' programs, and Norwegian won't change diapers, ever, so you're given a beeper to come back for each diaper change and you can't leave the ship. Carnival, OTOH, will change diapers, so if your little one's happy in kid camp, you can sneak in a zipline or two. :) RCCL's a great line, but their kids' programs (where THEY supervise the kids) start at age 3. They do have "playgroups" (with mom or dad) prior to that.

[aliwnec10]

IMO, if you're cruising with a two-year-old (and we've BTDT) Carnival is the only way to go. Only Carnival and Norwegian allow two-year-olds in their daytime kids' programs, and Norwegian won't change diapers, ever, so you're given a beeper to come back for each diaper change and you can't leave the ship. Carnival, OTOH, will change diapers, so if your little one's happy in kid camp, you can sneak in a zipline or two. :) RCCL's a great line, but their kids' programs (where THEY supervise the kids) start at age 3. They do have "playgroups" (with mom or dad) prior to that.

 

Well we're not totally relying on the Carnival Camp for my son. It's a nice feature and a bonus, but my son can be quite shy and attached to us. So i'm not even sure if he'd let us leave him there for a bit. So we can't 100% count on that, you know what i mean?

 

How is everything else? the pools (i'm hoping to have him potty trained by then) the food? I'm a little worried about the dining. I don't know that he could sit there for 2 hours every night. Is there anything less formal?

 

Also is there enough on the ship for him to do if he doesn't go to Camp?

[cb at sea]

Both Carnival and RCI now have some form of "anytime" dining...that may be an option...you won't have to take so much time to eat, if he gets antsy.

 

The dining room is quite welcoming to children, so don't be afraid to try it! There's alot going on and it seems to hold small children's attention...and the waiter will make a big deal over your child!

 

Get a guidebook and check out the different ports, and choose the ones that most appeal to you, and where there are things suitable for a small child....really "adventurous" excursions probably won't work well with a small one! Beaches are easy to do on your own, as is just wandering around town....but some places have aquarium-type attractions that may be of interest to a child, or other "wild-life" encounters....the guidebook may well be your best investment!

 

I don't think the itinerary will make a difference...pick the one YOU want...your son won't remember it!

[boulders]

IMO, if you're cruising with a two-year-old (and we've BTDT) Carnival is the only way to go. Only Carnival and Norwegian allow two-year-olds in their daytime kids' programs, and Norwegian won't change diapers, ever, so you're given a beeper to come back for each diaper change and you can't leave the ship. Carnival, OTOH, will change diapers, so if your little one's happy in kid camp, you can sneak in a zipline or two. :) RCCL's a great line, but their kids' programs (where THEY supervise the kids) start at age 3. They do have "playgroups" (with mom or dad) prior to that.

 

 

I agree with Sunni, and I've also been there, done that. A two year old won't be able to go in the pools, unless they're potty trained. And with a boy, I wouldn't count on having him potty trained at 2 1/2, also BTDT. Although we had the babysitter on RCCL, it wasn't a lot of fun for ds2. There's not a lot of anything else available on ships for little ones.

 

Generally, we're out in about 1 hour for dinner in the MDR. There's the main buffet, if you don't want to go to the MDR.

[jam82]

Carnival Destiny

 

1. Because it's Carnival and you will have the option of you son going to Camp Carnival. It is a place he can run around and have fun. You night be surpirsed that he likes it.

2. Because I like those ports better than your other choices of cruises.

 

Dining (and most other activities) are pretty similar on both lines. One isn't really less formal than the other. The Carnival waiters sing and dance at the end. Usually they will bring out the children's menu, and bring the kid meal right away. This helps with the waiting. You will have fun no matter which you choose.

[CruizinMom2c]

Fascination...since it has the Waterworks (if your child is potty trained by then)

 

Also it goes to:

 

Key West= which is great, since its a safe american port, that your child can eat the food and you can spend the whole day out, since you know you won't have problems finding a food place, or a clean bathroom..etc.

 

 

Bahamas= Because if you go to Nassau, you can take a cheap water taxi over to Atlantis and explore the hotel, then go to the free beach at the end of the hotel. (Our cheapest excursion yet!)

 

 

And anything Carnival..due to the Camp Carnival, you never know your son could LOVE it!

[CruizinMom2c]

I agree with Sunni, and I've also been there, done that. A two year old won't be able to go in the pools, unless they're potty trained. And with a boy, I wouldn't count on having him potty trained at 2 1/2, also BTDT.

 

 

 

 

I am sure you can have him potty trained by 2 1/2...we recently have our son 100% potty trained (even at night) and it was when he was a little older than 2 1/2...so I think you have plenty of time to potty train him. If all else fails, put him in underwear for a week, and I am sure you will potty train him. That is what we did...after a few cleanups the first couple days...he was pretty much trained in about 4-5 days.

[dalitos]

It's so hard to give advice because everything depends so much on you and your family..

About ship and ports: I would go with a 5 day itinerary (4 is just too short for me), and I would go with 3 ports instead of 2 because we love port days. Even though many people enjoy the ship and that's fine, at least with port days you have an alternative, you can always go down and go to the beach, etc, or stay on board if you prefer.

About line: I haven't been on Carnival, and been on RCI pre-kid, but for what I've heard both are very family oriented... we are going on the Summit with our almost 2 year old son soon, so I will let you know how that goes.. we are NOT planning on leaving him on any activity, I think at 2 years old they are just too small for that. Plus our son, like yours, is very attached to us and he won't stay there without a fight.. so what's the point, we are on vacation, we want to be with him.

About dinner: yes, we are worried about a toddler sitting through a 2 hour dinner, not sure that's going to happen. We will try the MDR but still alone and try to get through the meal faster if possible, also considering alternating nights with the buffet and room service.

[msublonde1]

Since ya'll did bring up Hurricane season, I just want to throw our our story for consideration...In August of 2005, we took the Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans, leaving on a Sunday, returning the following Sunday. Tropical Storm Katrina was barely a blip on the radar screen when we left. By mid-week, it had crossed over Florida and had picked up speed. We knew that we were in trouble on Friday morning. Due to Mississippi River closing on Saturday, we were not able to return back to New Orleans (thank GOD!!). They took us to Galveston for debarkation Sunday morning. I can tell you how Carnival handled all of that, but it really isn't the point right now. My point is: Even with the weather, even with the best preparation, you just NEVER know what it will be like during Hurricane season. Hurricane Ike cancelled our latest cruise in 2008. We were able to immediately rebook another cruise out of Miami. The cruise director on that ship told us we were jinxed. Our carnival travel person has vowed never to let us sail during hurricane season again! We always get travel insurance just in case!

We are taking our 2 1/2 year old on the Ecstasy in exactly four weeks. We, too, are very excited and have the same concerns, potty training, dining rooms,, etc.

Based on OUR experience, we will not book again during hurricane season unless it is a last minute booking.

Best of luck on your search. No matter what you chose, no matter when you go, remember to have fun. We made the most of our situation both times. Wasn't easy, but we got through it. Now we look forward to sharing our first cruise together as a family!