River Cruising with Young Child?

[GirlWriter]

Hi there! I know it's not the norm for a river cruise, but we are considering taking a river cruise with our little one (he'll be 3 by the time we go).

 

Has anyone on here ever done a river cruise with a very young child / toddler? If so, are there any tips / do's and don'ts you could tell us about?

 

Or, is the general consensus that a river cruise is no place for a little kid?

 

:)

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[pacmom]

Most of the lines have age restrictions for children. There have been no children on any of our 15 river cruises. There is absouletly nothing for a child to do on a river cruise. There are no safety features on board for tiny people. The majority of the pax are 65 and older. Do a land trip or ocean cruise or leave the child with doting grandparents and go off by yourself. Pat

[gnome12]

Sorry, I don't think that a 3 year old would get anything out of a cruise. There is NOTHING to occupy them, and, to be honest, they would be unhappy and make all the other passengers unhappy.

[alexandra cruiser]

under 15 or so,,,feel it would be unsafe for toddler,,esp.top deck,,,or even french balcony,,,plus,,agree with above,,,nothing to amuse him...and a crying,fussing child on boat with mostly seniors...would be hard on him and you...how about Disney cruise???or come down here to Disney world...he d have a ball....:)

[YoungDubFan]

Check with the companies, but as a previous poster said, I think most have an age restriction. I remember seeing this when I was doing my research. I think the minimums that I saw were between 12-15.

[newlondon]

Imo not just nothing to do-the safety issues are mind-boggling; inside and out.

[gnome12]

This is what Uniworld says about children:

 

Q: Are we able to take our children and is there an age restriction?

A: Passengers who are under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult who is 21 years of age or older. Uniworld’s long-term experience is that most young children (especially those under 8 years of age) do not enjoy or appreciate the river cruise experience. There are no special arrangements, activities, or accommodations for children on Uniworld river cruises and tour programs. An exception to this is our Multigenerational Family-Friendly Cruise Program, which is offered on select itineraries during the summer months. Please contact our reservations department at (800) 733-7820 for more details. Adults accompanying children are responsible for their behavior during the trip.

[Paulinda]

I agree with the other posters. Not sure that a 3 yo would eat the cuisine and I doubt the kitchen staff is able to prepare food for a toddler. The OP would be better off doing a land cruise.

[cormike1]

I fully agree with previous posters. The youngest we have seen was 12 and sometimes he enjoyed the itinerary (Russia) and sometimes he didn't. There was nothing for him to do but go along with his parents. Very educational but he did get bored. A river cruise is NO place for a 3 year old. I have grandchildren and love them dearly, but one of the things I absolutely love about river cruising is I don't have to put up with little kids running all over and their parents sitting there saying "Isn't he such a darling". No he is not!!!! Do a Disney cruise or leave him with his loving grandparents and you enjoy the cruise with your hubby!!! Thanking you in advance lol.

[RachelG]

I really have to wonder why, in the huge possibilities regarding vacations, one would ever think a river cruise would be appropriate for a 3 year old.

I have 2 sons--20 and 25. They are very polite and well-traveled young men. They have been on many ocean cruises, but I would think twice about bringing them on a river cruise even at their ages.

There are much more appropriate trips for a 3 year old--think beach or a Disney cruise or Disney World.

[steamboats]

GirlWriter,

 

We travelled with our DD on river cruises starting at the age of 18 months (in the US). Her first European river cruise was at the age of 5y.

 

First of all it all depends on the kid and how travel experienced it is. Second it depends on the cruise line and cruise. River cruises sold on the US market are tending to an older crowd. Ships are not regulary equipped with kids´ stuff - no kids´ books or any kind of entertainment or highchairs/booster seats. If you need anything of this you should ask the specific company in advance.

 

Third at that may be the main reason I won´t suggest to travel with a toddler on a US marketed river cruise company: You have all tours included. Tours are definitely not made for kids or walking with a stroller. Your kids might be bored pretty soon.

 

On our river cruises (both in the US and Europe) we seldomly booked any shore tours (which weren´t included except for the one in Alaska and on the Columbia river, but back then our DD was 5 yo). I usually did (and still do) my homework and research in advance what might suit her. So I did book a Puzta tour out of Budapest as there was a horse show and carriage ride included. We did our own thing in Vienna (which included a Sacher torte at Café Sacher, climbing up the church tower of St. Stephan, riding the ferris wheel at Prater, doing a horse carriage tour and used public transportation). So I always was (and am still) looking for kids suited stuff to do. We´ve just returned from a cruise an some aquariums along the route were on my list (we only did one). She also loves zoos. And in some cities she´s interested in sightseeing (it was her who wanted to go into the Colosseum in Rome at the age of 8y).

 

If you do have an very active kids who loves to run around instead of sitting in a stroller for hours you definitely will not enjoy a European river cruise. BTW I do know nearly every playground along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers :rolleyes::D!

 

I think an ocean cruise might be the better choice at this age. He can enjoy the kids´ club and other stuff offered for kids there.

 

steamboats

[Bowie MeMe]

We just returned from the River Duchess tulip cruise and I would echo the information that others have given you as to no equipment for young folks. I would also state that IMO you could not fit a child in the stateroom. With the chair in our room I had to exactly place it and the stool exactly right or I would crash at night. There was no place a child could sleep except in the single bed that is 2 small twins put together. The bathroom is small and unless your 3yo can take a shower by himself you would have a problem here also as the glass door would make it hard to bathe the child. 2 in the bathroom would be really tight. Dinner service is nice but it averaged over 90 minutes and as they offer only 3 plates and most would not be among the 3yo set of favorites. No high chairs or seats for youngsters. No DVD or other entertainment systems.

I traveled often with my young children including Europe and they now travel with their children since 6 mths of age (ocean cruise) but I would see no hope of a good cruise for your young child. I think you would enjoy more 3 or 4 cities (not too far apart) and stay 3 or 4 days in each city and travel by train. Enjoy your travels and your child will too.:D

[stretchcruz]

One of the main reasons we booked and loved our river cruise so much was that there were no children. Can't imagine what a child would do onboard...

[gbp]

Our 11-year-old enjoyed our AMA Waterways Tulip Time cruise at the beginning of April. It was our first-ever river cruise, although he has been on ocean cruises: Alaska when he was 6 and the Westeran Caribbean when he 9.

 

Unlike the ocean cruises, as stated by others, there were no children's programs on our river cruise. In fact, he was the only child on the ship. Believe it or not, he enjoyed it, as well as interacting with the other passengers and the ship's crew. The waitstaff was great with him. Since every day was a port day, we'd start off with breakfast -- probably the best meal aboard the ship -- and do at least one shore excursion per day.

 

His free time aboard was spent reading, working on his daily journal, and playing his Nintendo DS, and other games. There was a small but nice rear observation lounge on our deck, which had a number of board games.

 

What made this all doable were two things:

 

1. We booked a junior suite (about 275 sqft, IIRC) and AMA Waterways allowed him as a third passenger in our cabin. Of course, it wasn't free. :)

 

2. Despite no "official" bed for him, the Cruise Director arranged for a mattress with full bedding (no box-spring necessary), which would be on the carpeted floor at night (part of our nightly turndown) and would be stood up against the wall behind our sofa during the day.

 

Although I'm sure parts of the some of the shore excursions were more boring for him than others, we always made sure there was something interesting for him to see and do. He was our official photographer, so that helped, and we'd sometimes go off to do our own exploring.

 

Of course, this is much different than bringing a 3-year-old, but I wanted to debunk the notion that river cruises are unsuitable for *all* children. Depending on the child, itinerary, and other factors, it can be an enriching, fun experience for a family.

[Bruno Ribeiro]

I must agree with the majority of the answers. 3yr old is too young to enjoy a river cruise and, due to safety issues, it would prevent you from enjoying it too.

 

I was planning to do a river cruise on Central Europe on the next couple of years, but with the birth of my daughter I'll change the plans to ocean cruise, probably Disney as they're more focused on younger children.