What size stateroom with a 15 month old

[moohaha]

We are planning a cruise with our daughter who will be 15 months old when the cruise would begin and are looking at the Allure of the Seas. We're currently considered the Large Inside Stateroom (category M) but am wondering if that's too tight with a PnP as well as just logistically not being a total pain if we leave her with a babysitter for the evening and return (changing in the dark, etc..)

 

Questions:

- would you advice to get another stateroom category?

- if so, would it be better to get a balcony? or to get a family stateroom to ensure an area that be closed off from the rest of the room (I'm thinking about the pullman-style bed area)

 

Thanks for your advice

[milton333]

We'll be cruising with a 20 month old, and got a balcony. While there may be times that he is with a sitter while we're out (we're also bringing along grandparents who have volunteered for child-watching), he's still a regular napper and we figure that between naps and early bedtimes, there will be a lot of times that we will need to be in the room with him, but don't want to sit quietly in the dark. The balcony gives us somewhere to be while he's sleeping.

[SusieV]

We got a Concierge Class stateroom and there just wasn't enough space to be comfortable with all his stuff, plus the pack n play took up most of the space. We had difficulty getting to the veranda because of it.

 

We'll likely never cruise again with a very small child, but if we do, the smallest cabin we'll sail in is a Sky Suite.

[cb at sea]

Definitely get a balcony...it will give you someplace "to be" when your child is sleeping/napping....you don't want to have to sit in a semi-dark room while baby falls asleep...go on the balcony!

 

Personally, I would never book anything (for 2 adults) less than a mini-suite....I enjoy a bit of space...I have it at home...why should a vacation be "cramped"?

[moohaha]

I'm debating between a balcony room now and a junior suite. The space in the junior suite is definitely nice but it's literally $3000 more to get a junior suite...that's practically another cruise! Is it really worth it?

[milton333]

I'm debating between a balcony room now and a junior suite. The space in the junior suite is definitely nice but it's literally $3000 more to get a junior suite...that's practically another cruise! Is it really worth it?

 

I'd say it's not worth $3k more. FWIW, we plan to be flexible with the pack n play. If it seems too cramped, we'll break it down and plan to have DS sleep in the bed with us. For naps and early bedtime, he can sleep in the bed with a "pillow wall" on the sides of the bed, and we'll bring our video baby cam to watch him while we sit out on the balcony. Or we're also considering bringing a toddler cot for him to sleep on (like they have at daycares), if we're worried about him falling out of the bed. I'd still get a balcony for nap times, but I'd ditch the PnP if it feels too crowded, and try to be flexible.

 

I wouldn't stretch to pay for the room, because there's so much else to pay for. Get the best room you can comfortably afford, but you're not going to spend that much time in the room.

[moohaha]

thanks milton333...that's what I'm thinking. For $3,000, I'd rather spend that on a nice dinner or for extra daycare on the trip. It might be cramped but like you, we don't plan on spending a lot of time in our cabin.

[queenL]

I'm going to stray from the masses here...we prefer an Inside or OV when we are cruising with our 3yr old. She has been sailing with us since 5mos and my fear is that she will somehow get on the balcony and fall overboard. Besides the practices we enjoy most when we have a balcony like sleeping with the door open will NEVER happen while she is a small child. So, paying the extra money wasn't worth it to us. The one time we had a balcony with her, I barricaded the sliding door (no upper safety latch) with the sleeper sofa. It was a hassle to get past it, so we didn't go out there as often as we usually do. I also find that the darkness of the inside cabin helps her sleep longer, particularly when there are time zone differences. We cruised once when our daughter was the age of your child and frankly the few extra sq ft was a negligible difference. Our daughter is so active that we ended up taking her to areas on the ship(empty conference rooms etc) where she could really toddle around and spread her toys out.

 

I see you are sailing on Allure. We sailed on the Oasis with our daughter in an inside. We had no storage or space problems and we brought the typical kid clutter: stroller, toys, etc.. Furthermore the Allure is a cruise on steriods. It surpasses the amount of entertainment on any other ship. Trust me when I say you will not be in the room enough to appreciate the extra expense of the cabin.

[moohaha]

queenL -- thank you so much for your insight!

[AJI2596]

I would get a balcony room and if you can afford one, a suite.

 

The balcony comes in so handy if your child naps, to just hang outside with your DC or even at night if your DC goes to bed early you can escape to the balcony:)

 

I like a suite when traveling with kids because of the larger room of course but also with the tub.

[milton333]

I would also say, if you have time, try to get your LO used to taking showers with one of you. My DS went into the shower for the first time when he had norovirus and got sick all over himself, just seemed fastest and easiest, since he didn't feel well. He did fine, and now we do give him showers a couple of times a week for the convenience of it. So he should have no problems on the cruise without a tub. Just a thought.

[Seraphine]

If you can get a room with a tub, fantastic, but if you have one of those small inflatable pools, it works just as well. Just pop it in the bottom of the shower stall and fill it up with warm bubbly water. Perfect!

 

We've travelled with two small children in both an inside and a regular balcony cabin. The balcony definately offered more room, but to be honest, an inside is still quite do-able, especially as one child is now big enough to go in an upper bunk.

 

I like space too, but we weigh it out as having more money to cruise more often if we take a smaller room. It's not like we're in the room that much anyway!

 

Have a fantastic cruise :)