what cabin with toddler?

[aliwnec10]

Do you think it's possible to do an interior room with a toddler? Or do you think the balcony is the only way to go? We'll be bringing our PNP with us.

 

Just wondering how necessary paying the extra money will be. I will, but i don't want to and then realize it was a waste. ;)

 

TIA! :)

[gerif]

Only you can really answer that question. Will your child nap while in a stroller so that you can possibly sit by the pool during the day or see a show at night? Can s/he sleep while there is any light or noise in the room (so that you can read or watch TV in the evening)? If yes, then you will be fine in an interior. If it would mean sitting in the cabin in the dark every time the child needs to sleep, I can see that getting old pretty fast.

[aliwnec10]

Only you can really answer that question. Will your child nap while in a stroller so that you can possibly sit by the pool during the day or see a show at night? Can s/he sleep while there is any light or noise in the room (so that you can read or watch TV in the evening)? If yes, then you will be fine in an interior. If it would mean sitting in the cabin in the dark every time the child needs to sleep, I can see that getting old pretty fast.

 

No he definitely will not nap in his stroller. I mean he can, but not for nearly as long as he needs.

 

Noise/light... no idea actually. I mean he has a noise machine in his room and sleeps through the super bowl parties we have (they get loud), so i'm not sure.

 

I guess you can't bring the monitor and set that up right? ha!

 

Although to be quite honest, i could definitely take a nap when he naps! I love napping! ;)

[RoadTripFanatic]

I agree with the other poster only you can decide. Yes you can easily do an inside room with a toddler. In fact all of DDs cruises as a toddler were in an inside cabin. We love how dark it is to take a nap during the daytime. DD wouldn't nap during the day if we were out by the pool. She had to have quiet. She is one of those kids who will go and go and go if there is something for her to look at during nap time. We used to take turns with her during nap time. One of us would hang out in the cabin while the other went to the pool or the casino.

The only thing that would make me want a balcony with a toddler is the fact that you could sit outside while the baby slept. But if you only have two days at sea then you really aren't missing too much during a nap. :) In that case I would bring a monitor. You can't hear anything in the cabins while you are on the balcony.

[MNmomof4]

We love interior rooms. Our daughter takes a nap after lunch and so does my husband! The dark room is perfectfor them. We hardly spend time in our room and would rather spend the money on excursions

[dalitos]

Ali, I'm sure you can do an inside with a toddler if that's the best choice for you right now! We are going on a cruise with a toddler soon and we were unsure about getting an oceanview or a balcony, not that an inside wasn't an option for me but DH is a bit claustrophobic so for him it was a no-go. Eventually we went with a balcony just because the difference wasn't that much! But if there had been a big difference we wouldn't have paid it, even with a toddler.

I don't think you will regret getting the balcony cabin as I'm sure you will enjoy it, but if you don't want to spend as much and decide for the inside, you'll manage just fine. When he naps you can just rest/hang out in the room, even take turns to go out for a little while. At night you are kind of stuck early in your room for your toddler to sleep, but you'll also be tired from the whole day... I'm sure you'll enjoy the cruise so much, that the inside won't be much of an issue.

[cb at sea]

If you can swing a balcony, that's what I'd do! A balcony gives you someplace "to be" when baby is sleeping....I can't imagine being stuck in an inside cabin during naps and early at night....no window...

With a balcony, you can take a book, read, watch the ocean, talk, etc...without disturbing baby!

[Tggrtoes]

I agree with all the comments. You know your child, your own boredom limits, and your budget. For us, a balcony is mandatory now that we have a toddler. Our son loved to go out there right when he woke up and DH would go to the lido and grab some food (and of course we brought some of his fav snacks with us) and we'd eat a brief breakfast on the balcony. I think it might have been my favorite part of the day - and DS loved it too. He LOVED watching the ocean and we saw dolphins one morning. I did nap with our son every day, so the balcony wasn't really a draw for that. Aside from mornings, the nicest thing was that DH and I went out there after our son was asleep at night and had time to unwind and talk. (they aren't super private, but it was still wonderful). Bottom line: if you can swing it, my advice it to go for the balcony - you won't regret it. However, if the extra $$ stresses you out, it's not worth it and you should go with the inside or ocean view room.

[Berk987]

HAL-Eurodam Nov 08 (toddlers 2, 4)

HAL-Westeram Nov 09 (toddlers 3, 5)

HAL - Niew Amsterdam Dec 10 (toddlers 4, 6)

 

Inside cabins. No lights, perfect for afternoon naps. If you're going to nap also, save the $$ and get an inside room. HAL interiors on the J deck was very quiet. Bring night light. Plenty of space. My sister had the room next door with her toddler + baby + baby cot and still space to move around and plenty of closet/cabinet space. That will depend on the ship but HAL was/is great for toddlers.

[jtm22372]

we did a balcony because we wanted somewhere to go while dd was napping . to be honest one of us always wound up falling asleep also so we could have done a ov . i personally would never do a inside room .

[A&Emom]

For me it would have to be a balcony. It's like having a 2nd room.

[MrsZee]

I am sure it can be done. We are taking ours on a ship without balconies, so we didn't really have a choice. But, since I stay at home with him, he has a fairly late bedtime so he can hang out without getting completely cranky. And during naptime, he will need it to be quiet and fairly dark, so the husband and I plan to take turns laying in the cabin with him reading a book while he sleeps.

 

I am not really sure what we are going to do on our port days. That is going to be a long day and he is going to get really tired. :(

[shortm]

We're going to be in a room with no balcony (oceanview I think it's called) when we go on Freedom in 2 weeks.

 

Ideally I wanted a balcony for the reasons that others said wrt napping, however there weren't any available so we'll just have to try it out.

[sprockie]

You don't miss what you've never had. I've never had a balcony either and we've always got along just fine. We just had an oceanview in February. We were out and about so much that we really just came back to rest, change, regroup and sleep. We took turns at naptimes and had walkie talkies to spell each other off. It worked just fine. I would sooner go on two cruises, or take more excursions than blow a lot on our room.

[Julienatul]

We have done both. We love the balcony but honestly rarely use it. Last cruise DS screamed unless I was in the room while he napped. I did sneak out once while he napped but he woke up the next time. Really we are out and about most of the day and take turns staying with DS in the evenings. It really is a matter of preference. If you like to spend alot of time in your room, or your child takes a lot of naps, a balcony is nice. If your child only naps for 1-2 hrs a day and the rest you enjoy outdoors then save the money and go for interior. Both work great it just a personal preference.

[mikesteg]

I would sooner go on two cruises, or take more excursions than blow a lot on our room.

 

That's the way we feel also (though we've had a balcony and been on the wraps, etc.) We're on Conquest next month and I have us in a 4J on Panorama. The cheapest quad balcony would be $600 more at the moment.

 

If they do reduce the fares on the large number of empty balconies to be super-cheap, I will probably still stick with the 4J for it's location since I think we should be able to get to Lido via ramps rather than elevator.