Stroller; should I bring one?

[Grota2]

Hi, leaving Sunday on Freedom, just wondering if we should bring a small umbrella stroller on the ship. Our son is 18 months, and walks well, but we're just concerned about the crowds, elevators ect. We don't want to get in the way of others, and are just wondering how badly it would be missed if we didn't bring it along.

I'm not worried about off ship times, as we'll be doing mostly beaches

 

Thanks for any replies

[Langley Cruisers]

Feel free to bring your stroller. Many parents do. Trust me, you won't be in the way at all as you will see strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, etc. It won't be a problem onboard. :)

[NorbertsNiece]

If your little fella needs a nap...a stroller will give you that freedom to still be out and about.

[Queen of Oakville]

Absolutely!

 

We just cruised the Dream in March and I brought strollers for my kids who were 4 and 2 1/2.

 

It came in handy for a number reasons

-AIRPORT - if the kids wanted to walk - the carryons got loaded into the strollers

-In PORT - the kids were able to nap, while we shopped at leisure

 

We did not use the strollers at all on board. I have the graco umbrella strollers which are large enough to hold a car seat - so they are on the large side, but they just fit under the bed. It was a bit of a nuisance to have 2 strollers in the cabin, but I'm glad I took them.

[sandinmypants]

We traveled with our little guy a LOT when he was that age. The best stroller we found was a very inexpensive one at Sears (we just happened upon it by chance!) It was umbrella-style, had a canopy, and had a bag on the back to carry a little bit of stuff. The best feature was that I could open & close it with one hand - a lifesaver so many times! There are times when you're by yourself and you don't want to let go of the little one, or you have stuff you just can't put down....

 

Enjoy traveling with your toddler, it's a lot of work but great fun!

[aggie1]

We did a family cruise in 08/09. Our youngest granddaughter was 2 at the time. Took a small umbrella stroller and it was a godsend. Long walk to dinner, at ports and for excursions. Easy to fold up and she was very happy not having to walk everywhere and parents happy not having to carry her. Take one especially for an 18 mo old.

[cb at sea]

Yes...bring a stroller...the ships are huge and a 2 yr old will tire easily with all the distractions. And ashore...you don't want to be 1/2 mile from the ship and he can't walk anymore....bring the stroller!!!!!

[shellito1012]

I am guessing you are back from your cruise by now and was wondering if you used your stroller and if you used baby sitting service....please contact me at bradyfigueroa at hotmail dot com if you have time to chat abou those two items. We are leaving Oct 9 on Raidance...thanks!

[Bound4Bermuda]

We're definitely bringing an umbrella stroller for my 2.5 yo. Even though she's a "real kid" now and not a "new walker," she still doesn't walk as quickly as I'm going to want to to get from one end of the ship to the other--and she's way too heavy for me to lug around all week! :p As was mentioned, I anticipate that she'll take naps in the stroller, so we can still be out and about doing things.

[Grota2]

hi, OP here. Yes we're back, an umbrella stroller is a GREAT idea. And we had to pack it on 2 flights each way.

 

Our baby did great on the flights, not so good in the MDR, although the waiter and asst waiter were very accomodating. We ended up eating about half the days in the Windjammer, once we went to the Windjammer for babies food and then took it to the MDR so he had something to eat right away. Our waiter had offered to have something ready when we got there, but we found it easier and more options to bring it ourselves.

 

Baby loved to stroll around the promenade (w/o the stroller), and also loved to go up and down the glass interior elevators over and over. He also did incredibly well at the Ice Show. The baby splash zone is pretty small though. We had a pack n play ready, but didn't use it as he slept with us.

 

Good time all in all, although we missed our stop at St Maarten which only gave us 2 stops for a 7 day cruise, really would have liked another.

 

Any questions regarding cruising with a toddler, feel free to ask away.

[Grota2]

One other point. We really wanted to partake in the lobster dinners, but by then were kind of frustrated with baby and the dinners. So we spoke to the head waiter the day before, asked if we could get our dinners to go and then take them to the Windjammer. He said of course, but please understand we can't serve you there. The next night, as soon as we arrived within about 2 minutes our lobster dinners were on the table, in to go plates with plastic tops to allow us to stack them.

 

The Windjammer staff even opened up a closed off area just for us, so baby wouldn't disturb other guests.

 

Well done, RC