Just back from 10 days on Celebrity with an 18-month old

[squidward]

We had a fantastic cruise on Celebrity Equinox with our 18-month old. I plan to post several topics rather than try to include it all here, but here are a few observations:

 

- Securing in-room babysitting was a challenge, but we managed to get it every night except the last from 8:00-11:00.

 

- We did a number of ship's excursions, but if we did it over again we would go on our own - mainly because our toddler becomes impatient very easily and all the waiting around and frequent stops were hard for him. In St Martin, we rented a car and it was a much better experience.

 

- We used the stroller constantly, but never once used the Ergo.

 

- The Fun Factory was amazing. I can't wait until he is old enough to participate. We were able to play with him there, and the facility is really great.

 

- We learned that our son loves watermelon. It was about the only thing he ate the entire cruise!

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Ed

[alj1208]

Glad you had a great experience. We're going on the Eclipse with our 4-year-old this coming Satuday, so you're speaking my language if you think the Fun Factory is great. We are hoping our son is interested in going to the Fun Factory, but for times when he is playing in the cabin, do they allow you to borrow toys and/or craft items like paper and crayons? I am hoping to avoid bringing lots of toys in our suitcases.

[squidward]

Glad you had a great experience. We're going on the Eclipse with our 4-year-old this coming Satuday, so you're speaking my language if you think the Fun Factory is great. We are hoping our son is interested in going to the Fun Factory, but for times when he is playing in the cabin, do they allow you to borrow toys and/or craft items like paper and crayons? I am hoping to avoid bringing lots of toys in our suitcases.

 

They allow you to borrow toys for toddlers who were too young for the Fun Factory programs. I don't know if they allow it for 4-year old children, however. The facility is really outstanding, and the staff was great, so your son may want to be in the Fun Factory as much as possible anyway.

 

Have fun!

[boulders]

Do you know how many kids were on your cruise?

[squidward]

Do you know how many kids were on your cruise?

 

I don't know the exact number, but I would estimate about a dozen under 2. The Fun Factory always had a group of 10 or so kids of various ages, and there were probably 50 teenagers on board. This was a 10 day cruise, and most schools were in session, so there were fewer children on board than on a holiday cruise when they can number in the hundreds.

 

I did notice a lot more children on the RCL and Carnival ships that were in port with us. Those might have been 7-day cruises, plus those lines do tend to attract more younger families.

[Cruisebride2006]

Thanks squidward for your review! I would love to hear more. We will be cruising with our 4 year old and 18 month old and right now are torn about which ship would be the best for them. We are long time Celebrity cruisers and absolutely love everything about the line. My only hesiation is whether there is enough to do for the kids and how "family friendly" the dining situation is. Can you tell me what dining plan you had and what kinds of things you did with your 18 month old during days at sea?

Thanks!

[squidward]

Thanks squidward for your review! I would love to hear more. We will be cruising with our 4 year old and 18 month old and right now are torn about which ship would be the best for them. We are long time Celebrity cruisers and absolutely love everything about the line. My only hesiation is whether there is enough to do for the kids and how "family friendly" the dining situation is. Can you tell me what dining plan you had and what kinds of things you did with your 18 month old during days at sea?

Thanks!

 

I got the feeling that the Solstice class ships are more family friendly than the others, mainly because the Fun Factory is HUGE, and it is obvious they spared no expense. Caveat: Although I've sailed on all the other classes, this was the first time I visited the Fun Factory, so for all I know they may all be as nice).

 

We met lots of people with young kids and they all seemed to be having a great time, even though (or maybe because) the ship wasn't filled with kids.

 

On sea days, we usually had breakfast in our suite, then I took the baby for a walk in his stroller for 8 laps around the jogging track.

 

Then I took the baby to the pool deck, and let him play in the fountain near the pool. The fountain is a big square made up of lots of little squares, each with a small bubbling spout of water that shoots up about 3 inches. Just perfect for a toddler to splash around it, and completely safe and encouraged by Celebrity.

 

After about 45 minutes, it was time for a break. (Note: He never wanted to leave the fountain and made it very clear to everyone on the pool deck:D)

 

Before you knew it, it was time for lunch. We would feed him something in the Ocean View cafe, or bring it down to the suite and feed him there.

 

Nap time! For all of us!

 

After the nap, I would bring him up to the Fun Factory for about an hour of play. Then I would take him around the ship, maybe up to the lawn to play there.

 

Before you knew it, it was time for dinner. We ordered room service for him and put Sponge Bob on the DVD so we could get ready for our evening.

 

At 7PM I took him for a walk in his stroller. By 7:30 he was usually asleep.

 

All kids are different, and my son didn't always adhere to the schedule. But we worked it out and had a great time. Hopefully you will too!:)

[alj1208]

Is there a DVD player in the cabin, or, for rent on the ship? We aren't bringing one.

[Thefiveofus]

Thanks - this is great advice and info about being onboard with an eighteen month old. As first time cruisers we are flying from Canada and wonder about bringing a car seat for her. I have read some cruise comments that say definitely bring one, others say it isn't necessary for cars or taxis on the islands. What about getting to ship from the airport?

 

Can anyone help with this?:confused:

 

Thanks

[lidolovers]

Hi, we are also looking at going on the Equinox with our Baby in December who will be that age. How much was the in room babysitting? and did you find them to be professional and there was nothing to worry about? Do they just sit there in the dark while he sleeps? Or did they put him to bed? I am very curious about how this works with little ones. Also, was it the same person that came every night? Were you able to go to any shows at all? Did you ever bring the baby to the dining room at all? Breakfast?

 

We really want to take him this year on a cruise but we just have this image of us crouched in the dark in the room at 8pm going shhhh shhhh, or hiding out on the balcony in the wind or rain.

 

Any tips would be great!

 

Thanks

[squidward]

Is there a DVD player in the cabin, or, for rent on the ship? We aren't bringing one.

 

We asked for a DVD player and it was delivered to our suite. I do not know if all cabins can get a DVD player or if that's a perk of being in the suite.

 

We brought a small portable DVD player, which was great to use on the plane. I would highly recommend it, and if you bring attachment cords you could probably hook it up to the TV in the room.

[squidward]

Thanks - this is great advice and info about being onboard with an eighteen month old. As first time cruisers we are flying from Canada and wonder about bringing a car seat for her. I have read some cruise comments that say definitely bring one, others say it isn't necessary for cars or taxis on the islands. What about getting to ship from the airport?

 

Can anyone help with this?:confused:

 

Thanks

 

We brought a car seat to use on the plane (highly recommended if you child is squirmy like ours; sitting in our lap was not an option) and in the car we rented in Florida to get us to and from the hotel and ship. We did not bring the seat on the ship and just held him in our lap on the bus during the excursions. In St Martin, we rented a car and paid $5 to add a car seat.

 

The only downside is that it is very hard to carry the car seat through the airport since it didn't have a handle. But all in all I think it was worth it just for the flight.

 

Ed

[squidward]

Hi, we are also looking at going on the Equinox with our Baby in December who will be that age. How much was the in room babysitting? and did you find them to be professional and there was nothing to worry about? Do they just sit there in the dark while he sleeps? Or did they put him to bed? I am very curious about how this works with little ones. Also, was it the same person that came every night? Were you able to go to any shows at all? Did you ever bring the baby to the dining room at all? Breakfast?

 

We really want to take him this year on a cruise but we just have this image of us crouched in the dark in the room at 8pm going shhhh shhhh, or hiding out on the balcony in the wind or rain.

 

Any tips would be great!

 

Thanks

 

The babysitting was $8/hour and the ladies (always 2 of them) were wonderful, very professional, and spent time entertaining the baby when he wasn't asleep. They changed him and put him to bed, basically everything a babysitter should do.

 

We had the same people most nights but there were I think a total of 4 that rotated in and out.

 

I tried to take the baby to one show but he started to cry so we left the theater. I'm not much a show-goer normally, so it wasn't a big sacrifice for me.

 

We did take the baby to the cafe for breakfast and lunch. He either sat in his stroller or we used one of the high chairs. We did not take him to the main dining room for dinner; we always fed him dinner in the suite. We were able to get a high chair that we kept in the suite, which was great for feeding him.

 

Since we had a separate sleeping area for us in the suite, we never worried about waking him up at night. Then again, he is a sound sleeper and it probably wouldn't have been a problem for us even if he was in the same room with us.

 

Hope this helps!

 

:)

[cynbar]

I'm interested in the Fun Factory. It sounds as if you were able to go with your toddler so he could play there--- is there a separate section for toddlers?? What hours is it available? We are thinking of traveling to Bermuda this summer with an 18 month old, so any more info will be appreciated.

[squidward]

I'm interested in the Fun Factory. It sounds as if you were able to go with your toddler so he could play there--- is there a separate section for toddlers?? What hours is it available? We are thinking of traveling to Bermuda this summer with an 18 month old, so any more info will be appreciated.

 

On Equinox, there was a separate room for toddlers. It was open pretty much around the clock; they only closed when they took the older kids out for an activity. In the summer there will probably be a lot more toddlers on board, so they might scheduled toddler play times.

 

I don't know if the Fun Factor is the same on other ships, though. Equinox is part of the new Solstice class, but I believe that Summit sails to Bermuda, and it is from the older (but still nice) Millennium class.

[cnote100]

We brought a car seat to use on the plane (highly recommended if you child is squirmy like ours; sitting in our lap was not an option) and in the car we rented in Florida to get us to and from the hotel and ship. We did not bring the seat on the ship and just held him in our lap on the bus during the excursions. In St Martin, we rented a car and paid $5 to add a car seat.

 

The only downside is that it is very hard to carry the car seat through the airport since it didn't have a handle. But all in all I think it was worth it just for the flight.

 

Ed

 

Where'd did you leave your car seat when you went on the ship?

 

Also, thanks for the post. Despite doing a whole lot of reading on these boards, I think this was one of the most helpful posts I've read - Thank you!

[squidward]

Where'd did you leave your car seat when you went on the ship?

 

Also, thanks for the post. Despite doing a whole lot of reading on these boards, I think this was one of the most helpful posts I've read - Thank you!

 

We left the car seat in the car! We rented a car in Miami, drove to our hotel in Hollywood, then drove to Port Everglades where we parked the day the cruise departed.

 

We felt comfortable holding the baby in our lap during the ship's excursions, and then we rented a car with a car seat in St Martin for an extra $5.

 

If we did take the seat on board, we would have probably put it on the balcony, where we stowed his stroller on occasion. I know you're not supposed to keep belongings on the balcony, but I'm pretty sure everyone does it!;)

[jules1121]

- We used the stroller constantly, but never once used the Ergo.

 

-

 

Always awesome to see when people have great cruises with their LOs!! :D We took ours last year on a cruise at 13 months and had such a great time that we are going on a longer one this year. She will be the two yr old with a gold card. ;)

 

When we went we had the opposite on the carrier, we used the Ergo everywhere but never used the stroller except to carry stuff when were embarking and debarking. The Ergo came in handy when we were doing tours in Grand Cayman getting on and off the bus because I wasn't having to set up a stroller over and over again.

[jules1121]

We felt comfortable holding the baby in our lap during the ship's excursions, and then we rented a car with a car seat in St Martin for an extra $5.

 

 

I wanted to add that we had friends who just returned from a cruise that went to Cozumel where they rented a Jeep and were also able to rent a car seat there (so now thats what we are thinking we will do there too) :)

[meab]

quick question about the fountain area at the pool - we'll be on the solstice next month with our 18 month old. he loves playing with cups and buckets - filling with water, stacking, etc. do you know if they allow these toys in the fountains, and do you think we should bring a few of our own toys, or do they have some plastic cups onboard that i could get for him to play with?

[squidward]

quick question about the fountain area at the pool - we'll be on the solstice next month with our 18 month old. he loves playing with cups and buckets - filling with water, stacking, etc. do you know if they allow these toys in the fountains, and do you think we should bring a few of our own toys, or do they have some plastic cups onboard that i could get for him to play with?

 

I'm sure they would allow plastic toys on the fountain. It is used it as a dance floor when the water is turned off, so I doubt they would have any objection to toys.

 

I would either pack the cups and buckets or pick some up in the port on your way to the ship. The plastic cups they use to serve drinks are tall and narrow like drinking glasses, so they wouldn't work well as toys.