Logistical question for a Euro Summer Cruise with a 3 year old.

[andyoinfl]

Hi folks. My wife and I would like to take a Summer cruise to Europe. We are having a hard time finalizing plans. Ideally we'd like to go in June to the Mediterranean for 7-9 days and take our 3 year old and stay in a suite. There don't seem to be many options for cabins with a separate room and getting him his own/ a connecting room is cost prohibitive. None of the 3 of us would get any sleep if we got one room with 2 beds. Does anyone have any recommendations or creative ideas for a cruise where we might be able to travel in a 3-some and not spend double what we'd spend as a couple and actually get some sleep? Thank you in advance for any responses!

[cb at sea]

What cruiseline are you looking at? There are TONS of suites with 2 rooms on almost every ship....

[andyoinfl]

We are looking at Royal Caribbean. THere were only 4 suites on Liberty of the Seas and they're all booked.

[boulders]

There are many more suites than that, just not with 2 rooms. Did you ask about family cabins? They're not classified as suites, but they have a separate sleeping area.

[andyoinfl]

Thanks, Boulders. There are family cabins, but you need a minimum of 5 people and we're only going to have 3. Only 4 rooms with a true separate bedroom on this cruise ship.

[boulders]

They sometimes release the family cabins to smaller families if they don't sell to larger ones. The Grand Suites have kind of a separate sleeping area - over by the "bar" area. Connecting rooms would likely be about the same price.

 

Most of the cruises are pretty booked up for this June. Perhaps book a cruise for next summer? The itineraries will be released in the next month or so. Disney will be sailing the Med next summer and their itineraries are already released. They have 1 and 2 bedroom suites.

 

I've travelled with my little one on cruises since he's been 2. We've never had a problem falling asleep. We go to bed at the same time, LOL, between 10 and 11 pm. He looves the kids clubs and I have a hard time pulling him out.

[JenAndDan]

Have you cruised or done an active vacation with your 3 year old before? I am just asking because, normally, it would be impossible to sleep in the same room with my DS#1 (almost 3), not to mention also with our DS#2 (currently 8 months). On our cruise with DS#1 (when he was 18 months), we had a balcony cabin. Each night, we'd get him ready for bed, pull the curtain and then keep one small light on by our bed or our dvd player with headphones. It was pretty dark on his side of the curtain. Once he was asleep, we were able to watch TV no problem and after the first day or so, he would pass out right away. Cruises are exhausting - especially for young kids. Over the summer we did 2 trips in one hotel room for the four of us. My DS#1 was so wiped out from the day that he had no problems falling asleep and sleeping through the night EVEN with DS#2 getting up every few hours to nurse.

[onthelake]

The movement of the ship really is a great help in 'rocking' the whole family to sleep. Talk to a TA or call each cruise line directly to find out which cabins are available for the itineraries you are interested in. You also might find it worthwhile to book two cabins and take along a family member or nanny to help. It probably would not cost more than a suite.

[nothriver]

When my daugher was 4, I booked a Family View on Celebrity Millenium for just the three of us. They do hold some of these cabins for large families, but periodically release them to the general public. I checked availiablity every single day until I found the cabin I wanted.

 

We've booked two connecting inside cabins for our group of four for our upcoming cruise, so my daughter still has a private room to get to sleep in - once she's asleep she generally stays asleep. It would be nice to have a balcony, but I'm looking forward to having plenty of space between the two cabins, not to mention two bathrooms! My daughter sleeps so much better now that she is getting older, so hang in there, it gets easier! Good luck finding a cabin that suits your needs on the itinerary of your choice!

[TheCalicoCat]

WOW - Am I really "lucky" that we all got good nights sleep both at age 2 & age 3 in one room (one of which was an inside) on our cruises?

[martikus]

Not sure this is the answer you want but I'd just get one room if I were you and enjoy the savings for outings while on your trip. We find DS prefers to sleep in our room when we travel or he gets super scared and gets up a lot. At home he is a SUPER sleeper so it took us a while to realize what was happening when we travelled. So we save our costs and just all sleep in the same room.

 

We actually all end up going to bed at the same time. DS stays up later than he does at home and we go to bed earlier. I bring a travel light and read after DS is asleep if I'm not tired. DH is always out snoozing before DS - LOL.

 

DS gets up so early we find all going to bed at the same helps keep us rested and ready for the next day. DS also doesn't nap very well on vacation but if he wants a nap either one or both of us just nap at the same time.

[beachchick]

Hi folks. My wife and I would like to take a Summer cruise to Europe. We are having a hard time finalizing plans. Ideally we'd like to go in June to the Mediterranean for 7-9 days and take our 3 year old and stay in a suite. There don't seem to be many options for cabins with a separate room and getting him his own/ a connecting room is cost prohibitive. None of the 3 of us would get any sleep if we got one room with 2 beds. Does anyone have any recommendations or creative ideas for a cruise where we might be able to travel in a 3-some and not spend double what we'd spend as a couple and actually get some sleep? Thank you in advance for any responses!

 

(You may already know this, but just in case you don't.) If you decide to go with one cabin, make sure that what you book has a sofa bed and not a pullman for the third passenger. At 3, your son is too young to sleep safely in a pullman (at least, IMO). With young children and toddlers, some people don't even have the sofa bed pulled out at night, but rather have the sofa made up as a bed and turn it to face the wall.

 

beachchick