best line for a 2 year old

[kathanderik]

Hi all,

thinking about booking a cruise for next Jan- it would be myself, my husband and our son who will be turning 2 in Nov.

I'm looking at RCCL ( we are diamonds) Freedom of the Seas so my son could go in the pool. I am also looking at Carnival and NCL because the kids club starts at 2. My son goes to daycare part time, and loves playing with other kids, and it would be nice if my husband could have a little time alone together. Any recomendations? Good/ bad about the lines. Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Which is more important...the pool, or the "daycare"? Carnival will give you time alone, as a couple, and RCI will give you pool access for your child....Either line will give the adults a good time.

[worldspan]

Most lines, including Royal Caribbean, you are on your own if your child is not yet 3 meaning you can never leave them at the children's program.

 

That said, I have taken my grandson on both Oasis and Allure, Oasis when he was under 2 and Allure just under 3. With their "nursery" program that caters to infants/small toddlers, it is the best if not the only cruise program out there for the under 3 crowd. They will even change diapers if necessary!

 

Worldspan

128 cruises/129th on Radiance of the Seas April 21. (he is now just over 3 so will be able to participate in the regular childrens program.

[kathanderik]

The CCL cruise I was looking at was out of San Juan, 5 ports, so we could go to the beach almost every day, and I was going to bring the blow up duck.

I was only looking to use the children's club for a few hours once or twice

 

I looked at the Allure and Oasis, the price point is pretty steep, esp since we would want a balcony stateroom For when my son was sleeping- goes to bed about 730- too early for us to turn in !

 

I know nothing about NCL- but the freestyle ascept seemed like it might work well with a little one

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

No experience with RCI.. But I love Carnival. I have a son who is 17 months, and he went on his first cruise last summer & will be going again this summer at 21 months. We were able to let him play in the kids club during off hours, and the room was just great. So many fun activities for children. And from what I have heard, CCL has a fantastic kids program & they really cater to all kids 2 & above. I think your child & yourself would have a great time on CCL and will give you a new experience since from your OP, it seems you have only sailed with RCI.

 

I sailed with NCL a few years ago before I had my son, and just had an overall bad experience with them. My father did 2 B2B cruises with them this year & again, had a terrible time & won't be sailing with them again.. He had his daughter with him as well who was 2 1/2 years old.

[Mom2B&Z]

We were on the Sun in January with our just turned 3yo son. He had a great time at kids club, the staff were great and very sensitive to the needs of a little guy. However, he is potty trained so could use the pool, which may not be the case for you. We spent most of the time in the kids pool on deck 12, it was perfect for little ones and the hot tub was very well situated for the adults to sit in and supervise lol! The freestyle dining was great, the staff on the Sun were all wonderful with the boys, most of them knew the names of our boys by the second day :)

IMHO the ports are just as important as the ship, as some ports are much more child-friendly than others.

[sunquest76]

We bought a Future Cruise Certificate for CCL just because of our awesome experience with Kids Club and our 2 yo daughter. She loves to swim, but never once asked about the pool. But every morning she asked to go play at the club. HIGHLY recommend them. The rest of the cruise was ok, but that made my vacation.

[patseacruiser]

NCL has kids club for 2 year olds and the Epic has a splash area for him also. Either NCL or CCL will give you a good time.

[carebear71]

One thing about the Norwegian's Kids Club - they will take 2 year olds, but they WILL NOT change diapers. If your child isn't potty trained, they will give you a pager to notify you when your little one needs a diaper change. The pagers only work on board, so you would not be able to go into port for an extended period of time and leave them in the kids club. This was a big consideration for us, but decided that we were okay with it since we don't plan on leaving our kids in the kids club for more than a few hours at a time.

I think that the Carnival's Kids Club does change diapers, so if that's important to you, I would suggest going with them. Hope this helps! :)

[milton333]

After the end of this month, Freedom will have the Royal Babies & Tots nursery, where you can leave a child between 6 months and 3 years old, for an hourly fee. Too young for the kids' club, but there is still a daycare-type setting for the younger ones.

 

You can check the list of RCCL ships scheduled for drydock this year to see who will get the nursery. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main Allure was built with it.

 

ETA: We'll be sailing with a 20 month old, and opted for Freedom because of the pool. I wanted the most options for things for him to do on the ship with us, and we can take him to the pool. Didn't want to have to leave him with daycare for there to be activities for him to burn off energy.

[kathanderik]

Thanks for all the replies, I decided on CCL, out of San Jaun, the Victory

Port heavy- only one sea day, so he will be going to the beach with us every day, booked an aft so a little bit larger balcony, so we can put the blow up duck on it and he'll be happy spashing