crazy cruiser w/ a 2 year old and 11 month old!

[kcengle]

^^^ That will be me in September^^^

 

Until then I'll be an ever faithful member of this board. when I'm excited about things I become obsessed with them so I'll be here alot!

 

I'm Cassidy, and I'm going on a 4 day Bahamas Cruise on the Carnival Sensation September 25th! I will be joined by my husband, 2 boys (ages then will be 2.5 yrs and 1/2 a month short of 1!), my in-laws, and my 2 late 20s sils...

 

I promise I will have a million questions... the first is---

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY FANTASTIC cruising with TODDLERS tips???:eek:

[rebeccalouiseagain]

A four day cruise is a good way to test the waters. The 2.5 year old will be able to use Camp Carnival and if potty trained.. the pool. I know they have night time babysitting for kids 6 mo. and up but it is in the youth program only from 10PM on. I would never keep two toddlers up that late. So it seems silly to me.

 

Anyway... tips. Be realistic. Ships offer casual dining now and unless your inlaws are willing to eat in shifts and allow you and hubby to do the MDR, I seriously would avoid the MDR. It just isn't going to be ideal for children this age. I know I'd be frustrated with never being able to eat in peace but that's just me. We did early seating and my parents did late seating and they enjoyed watching out son and being able to also eat sans children.

 

Kids get tired and tend to be fussy at meal time- chances double on this score when you have two little ones.

 

Most one year olds are going to be on the move- so I highly recommend having two folding strollers to use when need be. I used to tell my son, get in your "chariot" and he would dutifully get in and he enjoyed the ride down the hall to the elevator and so forth. This helped my back and my nerves.

 

By day the interior lounges on the ship are nearly empty. These made great places for my toddler to walk around without bothering other people and the chairs are soft and tables are rounded. I also let him run around in the empty show lounges and found quiet bars where we could sit have have drinks. Because the crew members aren't usually busy inside the ship by day- they loved interacting with the babies (I traveled with another mom) and were more than happy to entertain them and walk around with them a bit. So, just seek out these types of places.

 

A portable DVD player with familiar soothing movies is a must.

 

Remember that you do have helping hands and I found that my family was willing to pitch in and give me a break from time to time.

 

Nightlife is hard because no one really wants to sit in the cabin with the kids but be prepared to do it in shifts rather than put family in this role. If they volunteer great but its their cruise too.

[Ashera0]

Good morning. I am in the same boat as you - cruising with kids for the first time. Mine will be 5 and 1.5! I get obsessive too and start reading the boards to pick up tips. Here are some tips I picked up so far from reading the boards over the past few months

 

1) Buy life jackets for them. The ship has those for muster drill but if you have to go on any tender rides, you will need them for the rides. They are also good to have around pools and the ocean on any shore excursions.

 

2) Get them ID bracelets that have your cell number written on them. Don't put their names on them because you don't want any wrongdoers to trick them into thinking they are a friend of the family. SO just the cell number.

 

3) Pack dishsoap and a a bottle/sippy cup brush.

 

4) Carnival only does babysitting after 10pm (which is too late for anything!), but they do baby sit during the day on port days. I am not sure I will have the courage to leave my 1.5 year old with sitters anyway, but wanted to pass this on. I am going to let the 5 year old participate in Camp Carnival as long as he likes it.

 

5) don't know if you are getting a balcony cabin. If so, you can buy a door alarm on amazon or elsewhere that just sticks on to the door and chimes if it is opened. This will be helpful with your older one. I called arnival and they confirmed that the balcony rails are 45 inches high of solid plexiglass and there is a latch on the balcony door also at about 5.5 feet, so that is good also.

 

6) We are bringing along walkie talkies so I can easily get in touch with my husband if he is walking around with my older son while i am with the younger one. I don't want to count on the cell phone coverage always working.

 

Hope these tips help... I got them all from other cruisers so just passing on.

 

Hope these tips

[onthelake]

Give some thought to what you need any time you are away from home with your kids - like do they need a night light? do they get up in the night? are they comfortable in 'crowds'? will they sit at the table through a meal (even in the buffet) or do they move around? do they have to have a nap every afternoon from 1 - 3? will they sleep in a stroller?

 

Some kids are very adaptible and others really want routine. You need to base your expectations on your specific kids. Don't worry so much about taking enough clothing or toys - face it - you will buy the cute t's and little things on the trip, especially with grandma and grandpa along. Think about what it will take to keep your kids calm and happy. Then everyone will be calm and happy. (You know how it just takes one whiner to ruin a good time - same goes with kids). It will be fine.

[boulders]

Good morning. I am in the same boat as you - cruising with kids for the first time. Mine will be 5 and 1.5! I get obsessive too and start reading the boards to pick up tips. Here are some tips I picked up so far from reading the boards over the past few months

 

1) Buy life jackets for them. The ship has those for muster drill but if you have to go on any tender rides, you will need them for the rides. They are also good to have around pools and the ocean on any shore excursions.

 

2) Get them ID bracelets that have your cell number written on them. Don't put their names on them because you don't want any wrongdoers to trick them into thinking they are a friend of the family. SO just the cell number.

 

3) Pack dishsoap and a a bottle/sippy cup brush.

 

4) Carnival only does babysitting after 10pm (which is too late for anything!), but they do baby sit during the day on port days. I am not sure I will have the courage to leave my 1.5 year old with sitters anyway, but wanted to pass this on. I am going to let the 5 year old participate in Camp Carnival as long as he likes it.

 

5) don't know if you are getting a balcony cabin. If so, you can buy a door alarm on amazon or elsewhere that just sticks on to the door and chimes if it is opened. This will be helpful with your older one. I called arnival and they confirmed that the balcony rails are 45 inches high of solid plexiglass and there is a latch on the balcony door also at about 5.5 feet, so that is good also.

 

6) We are bringing along walkie talkies so I can easily get in touch with my husband if he is walking around with my older son while i am with the younger one. I don't want to count on the cell phone coverage always working.

 

Hope these tips help... I got them all from other cruisers so just passing on.

 

Hope these tips

 

 

1) It is not necessary to bring your own life jackets. The ship AND the tenders are required to have life jackets for children and adults.

 

2) The cruiseline will give the kids ID bracelets when you board. Any crew member can use them to figure out where the kids should be should they get separated from you.

 

Also, lock your cell phone away, and turn it off while on the ship unless you want a big surprise when you get home.

 

5) The balcony doors are very difficult to open. A child who cannot reach 5 1/2 feet couldn't open one.

 

6) Walkie talkies usually don't work on ships. There's too much superstructure.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I do feel that it is a good idea to bring life vests off the ship. I brought the ones that inflate- so they aren't "regulation" but I made sure they fit properly which sometimes the ones provided don't. You are not asked to have them wear life vests on the tenders but you may want them to wear them on the tender and also when swimming at the beach. I felt better taking my child out in the water with the vest on, especially in the deep water.

[Kerry's Girls]

 

1) Buy life jackets for them. The ship has those for muster drill but if you have to go on any tender rides, you will need them for the rides. They are also good to have around pools and the ocean on any shore excursions.

 

 

 

I know others have mentioned that they brought life jackets for their children for tender rides. I just always have my girls wear their swim vests when we're on a tender. It's just for the completely off chance that they ended up in the water, I know they wouldn't sink before someone could get to them (which would be very quick). Most people don't have their kids wear anything and are fine. There are children's life jackets on the tenders - you just aren't allowed to use them unless there's an emergency.

 

Best,

Mia

[jlrn366419]

I've been looking for tips/ideas as well. I've found some info on disney boards (ick, not a fan of Disney but there are Mom's with good ideas who post).

[Ashera0]

Hi everyone:

In terms of life jackets, I called Carnival and they said the tenders have life jackets but they are not placed on the kids unless there is an emergency. I know the chances are very small that they would fall in if the parents are doing their job, but what if someone slips by accident etc...why take a chance like that!!

 

I also read on the boards that only the muster station is printed on the Carnival ID bracelets. I wonder if other cruise lines print at least a cabin number also...

 

In any case, I am so grateful to everyone that posts these tips. I feel so much safer about cruising with the kids for the first time!:)

[erinlaw]

My older daughter started cruising on Carnival the week she turned 2 because Camp Carnival does not require them to be potty-trained. FYI--they are the only cruise line who does not. We took three cruises before she started kindergarten in the fall and she is always asking, "When are we going back on the big boat? I want to go to camp." She loves the camp so much that she never wanted to be with us! We always took her with us on port days, but other than that, I loved being able to drop her off for a few hours in the morning and then a few hours in the afternoon. The counselors have always been good and one even remembered from a different ship two years earlier:) Even at 2, she wanted to eat dinner with Camp Carnival rather than us.

 

We are scheduled to cruise in November just after DD #2 turns 2! In addition to what has already been stated, I would recommend port excursions that are low key like beach days or wandering around. Depending on where you go, it can be hot and humid and their little bodies can only take so much. I also went to the Dollar store and bought some little toys, coloring books, washcloths, etc. so I could bring "new stuff" but wasn't worried if it got lost or ruined.

 

Have fun!

[Cruiseholic]

We been doing this since our son was 1. We are going in a few weeks with him 3.5 and our daughter 1.5

We plan to do MDR and believe me they dont sit long. Normally my wife goes in first and places the order for all of us (I dont mind being surprised with her selection). So when I get in with the kids food is ready and whole family can enjoy. This time I plan on bringing new magnetic books and also look and find books to use at dinner if needed. We dont like using electronics at these places because they tend to fight over it.

During the day we take turns, they find fun just walking up and down stairs in the theater, atrium, etc.

Bring a RCA cable with you since you can hook your portable DVD to the TV in the room for them to watch. Bring some movies so you can watch when they are taking naps.

We remove all furniture from the balcony so they dont climb on it and fall over. The doors are pretty secure though.

[ehough]

My kids were those exact same ages on their first cruise! We did a 7 day southern Caribbean. It can't have been too bad because we're going again this year! I will echo the "be realistic" advice. We made sure to allow for naps- it made dinner so much easier, and they stayed up a little later, so we weren't stuck in our room at 8pm every night. We did the dining room only on one formal night- every other night was the Lido. Our 11 month old especially was not good at waiting or sitting still. And as for excursions, we just did simple beach days, and that was more than enough activity with the two of them.

 

Some more specific ideas- we let them roam the ship a lot. Wore them out and we got some great sleep out of them. The nightclub was always empty after dinner, so we headed there and let them dance. We also did the new things from the dollar store- I called it the "magic bag" and our 2.5 year old got to choose one thing from it every night if she had been good. It drew out the introduction of new toys and also led to good behavior!

[Cuellar]

We used walkies on our last cruise. I had a pair from when my wife and I snowboard, with a 3 mile range and they sucked pretty bad. My father in law had a little better one (5 mile?) and his worked fine. They do sell 15 mile range ones that probably should work fairly well on the boat... and I'm planning to buy some extras next time I go (I think ~$50 on amazon).

 

I will say though that you should bring extra batteries/rechargeables so that you can keep using your walkie while recharging.

 

The easiest thing I've found is just writing a note, and designating a favorite gathering spot for various times of the day (IE spot at the pool, spot for buffet, and favorite bar). With kids it's pretty hard to be anywhere on time...

[Mom2B&Z]

Bring a good book or two to read while you're in the cabin with the sleeping babies :D

DH and I have only had a balcony cabin, so we can at least sit outside while the kids are sleeping. We've also taken turns staying with the boys when they sleep, so the other can go roam the ship or port.

Stick to your familiar routines, it makes the transition back to life after the vacation much easier.

If they have a favourite book/toy, bring it, but be VERY CAREFUL not to lose it! Store it in a safe place when you are not in the cabin :)

I'll echo the turn-off-your-cell comment, my boys were 3 and 5 on our last cruise so I taught them our cabin number, but writing it into their shoes or hat would work too.

Have fun! Enjoy the trip and try to enjoy the moments when you get to relax ;)

[rin1]

Our LO only had her muster station on her anklet. She's still pretty much pre-verbal, so it would have been difficult for them to get her back to us if we had gotten separated. She was too young for Camp Carnival, though, and we never let her out of our sight so it wasn't an issue.

 

Great idea re: the MDR, Sensational Cruiser! I'd add to it that you can check the menu beforehand on your TV in the cabin (although occasionally it's incorrect) so you wouldn't need to be as surprised. :-)