Celebrity with a 2 year old

[gavinfromlondon]

Hi all, we are considering a cruise next year with our daughter, who will be just under 2 years old. Prior to having us, we went on a number of cruises and think that (with realistic expectations!) it has the potential to be a good holiday for her age.

 

However, we are aware of the potential difficulties/ limitations and wondered how others had got on with cruising with a young child, particularly with celebrity. I guess our biggest query is around meal times and how that works.

 

Many thanks

 

Gavin

[dalitos]

We did it, it was great. We were also concerned about dinner time but our son was well behaved and managed to sit through most of the meal or just play on the side (we were next to a window, where he wouldn't bother other passengers).

We all had a great time, our son didn't participate in any children's activities (he was too young) but enjoyed the time together as a family.

You might get some replies here to go look for a more family oriented line... please ignore!

[ladylemondrop]

The ships cater to little ones very well, and if formal dining does not feel comfortable, the oceanview cafe is very relaxed and would suit, or even the lawn club grille (al fresco casual dining). The fun factory is huge, with lots of toys etc, they may charge to look after your little one, at certain times, am not sure.

Bring the swimming diapers, for the pool, and i think thats all you would need!

We have taken our children since they were little, and they and us, all love it.

[6andy6]

You might get some replies here to go look for a more family oriented line... please ignore!

 

I don't think you (or the OP) would get any answer like that...most people love children AS long as the parents look after the child.

 

It is the fate of todays generation that many think 'everyone' is endeared by their children and willing to put up with bad behaviour and lack of parental responsibility is seen as a positive. So, as long as everyone is respectful of everyones elses spaces....no one should ever care whether there is a 2 year old child or a 90 year old couple aboard..:cool:

 

So bring em along....and just make sure you have plenty of time to entertain them and give em a nap when needed and I think many will fawn over him/her. And most of all...be respectful when in your cabin - noise travels and it travels even faster with thin cabin walls and in the still of night.

[cruisestitch]

Not sure about that advice regarding swim diapers....I believe that children in diapers are forbidden from the pools

 

Do a search of this board and you will find several threads about cruising Celebrity with small children that may be informative

[chessbriar]

They will not be allowed in the pool. They must be potty trained to enter the pool.

 

We have been cruising with out daughter since she was 20 months old. She loves it and has learned so much every trip. Just realize, your child will be responsibility all the time. There is no kids club until they are 3 and fully potty trained.

 

You also must be sure you bring plenty of supplies for the little one, diapers and baby food. Also bring some of their favorite things to do to keep them entertained.

 

Enjoy

[karl_nj]

Hi all, we are considering a cruise next year with our daughter, who will be just under 2 years old. Prior to having us, we went on a number of cruises and think that (with realistic expectations!) it has the potential to be a good holiday for her age.

 

However, we are aware of the potential difficulties/ limitations and wondered how others had got on with cruising with a young child, particularly with celebrity. I guess our biggest query is around meal times and how that works.

 

I cruise with my young children frequently. Something you may want to consider is that your daughter will be too young for the kids club on Celebrity. Even if you don't plan on using it often, it's still nice to be able to have the option occasionally. Especially, as you mention, around meal times.

 

I've been wanting to try Celebrity for years, but I've put it off because I've been waiting for my youngest to be over 3 years of age.

 

We sailed on Cunard several times, because (at the time) they would accept 1 year olds in the children's program. We would feed the kids at the buffet or from room service at 5pm, and then drop them off at 6pm when the children program started. We would then head to our early seating dinner and enjoy it w/o the kids. Some nights we would have a drink in a lounge after dinner before picking up the kids, but other times we would just go and find them right after dinner. You could have left them in the kids club until 10pm if you wanted to. We brought them to the club in their PJ's, because eventually they would put away the toys and put on a quiet movie. Some of the kids would fall asleep before their parents picked them up.

 

On Cunard, they kids club would be closed the first and last nights. Dinners these nights were always more stressful for me. I'd usually have to take the one year old out for a walk during dinner, because it would be too long for her to sit quietly for 2 hours.

 

Of course, now that my youngest is 3, she can sit quietly and eat in the main dining room with no problems, so she will probably want to eat with us next summer when we sail to Bermuda on the Summit.

 

My recommendation would be to wait until your daughter is 2, and then sail on a line that accepts 2 year olds in their children's club. I'm not saying it needs to be a "family friendly" line -- I can't imagine anyone saying that Cunard is more "family friendly" then Celebrity. This would give you the option of dining w/o your daughter if it turns out she can't sit though a 2 hour dinner. If at the time it turns out that she can, all the better, but kids change quickly at this age. On my daughters first cruise, she just turned 1 and was not walking. She was happy to sit in a high chair for an hour, so we were able to enjoy breakfasts in the main dining room. 6 months later we cruised again, and she was walking. She was not willing to sit for very long, so we ended up having to go to the buffet for breakfast. My fear for you would you might get stuck going to the buffet for dinner ever night.

[cruisestitch]

INteresting information here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1598918&highlight=2+year+old

[arekayone]

I had this conversation with an officer on the Eclipse last week....."we are set up to accommodate children, but our cruises are not targeted at children the way other lines are".

 

We saw 6 children aboard the ship during the week. All seemed well behaved, but we never really saw them "frolicking" in the pool or really anywhere on the ship for that matter.

 

Our take on it was that we could probably take our 11 year old on Celebrity, but he would not have as much fun as he would on Royal Caribbean. Our officer friend agreed.

[karl_nj]

I had this conversation with an officer on the Eclipse last week....."we are set up to accommodate children, but our cruises are not targeted at children the way other lines are".

 

Our take on it was that we could probably take our 11 year old on Celebrity, but he would not have as much fun as he would on Royal Caribbean. Our officer friend agreed.

 

I haven't yet sailed on Celebrity, but you probably have a point. My kids would probably prefer we sail on Disney again, but since they aren't paying for the cruise it's not really their choice... :-)

 

But to keep this on topic, I don't think Celebrity is really "set up" to accommodate children under 3 years of age.

[CruzrMom]

Hi all, we are considering a cruise next year with our daughter, who will be just under 2 years old. Prior to having us, we went on a number of cruises and think that (with realistic expectations!) it has the potential to be a good holiday for her age.

 

However, we are aware of the potential difficulties/ limitations and wondered how others had got on with cruising with a young child, particularly with celebrity. I guess our biggest query is around meal times and how that works.

 

Many thanks

 

Gavin

 

 

As you can tell from the "CruzrMom" name, we too, have cruised with our children many, many times (although they're now 20 and 22!). Bottom line--it's the parenting that's the big thing. Be respectful of your fellow cruisers (as we all should be). If you child is making a fuss at dinner, take him out, or opt out of MDR and stick with other, more casual options...same goes for the shows. Be especially thoughtful in the cabins at night as the walls are thin and sound travels easily. Some people seem to think that because they're on vacation thier parenting skills can be on vacation as well. Just be careful, though...you might raise a child who absolutely loves to cruise and wants to go with you every time (like ours!). Enjoy your cruise.

[runnerandme]

We cruised with our three year old granddaughter. We fed her room service or at the buffet for dinner. We ate with her. It was our plan not use the MDR for this cruise. At three, two hours is a long time to sit for a meal. I do NOT take toys, DS, DVD's etc to restaurants to amuse and keep children occupied. She probably would have done ok in the MDR, but I do not think she would have enjoyed it. When we vacation with young children, we just rethink what will be easy and fun for all.

 

I think if you go knowing that your activity level will be geared with a two year old in mind you will have a good time.

 

Just make a list of all the things you love to do on a ship, now add a two year old and see if it will impact you enough to wait until she can go to the kids club.

 

I did not mind missing the casino, or taking turns and going alone. I did not mind skipping the shows. I did not mind not having a drink in the lounges. I did not mind skipping trivia. I love my grandchildren and had a good time doing what was appropriate and fun for them.

[Mercury]

We cruised on Silhouette in September with our 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter. It was an absolutely wonderful cruise and the Fun Factory staff were incredible with the children - they could not wait to go there. We had a very port intensive cruise so we were off the ship most days (with the children) but it was great to return to the ship, let them spend time in the Fun Factory and have a chance to have some time to relax, go to Cafe Al Bacio, enjoy a late lunch or just read a book!

 

Also, we had early dining, so we would let them spend the first hour in the MDR with us and then take them to the Fun Factory after.

 

Having said all that, your 2 year old will not be able to participate in the Fun Factory program. You may be able to let her play with some toys there but then you will have to be present at all times. So my advice is to wait one more year until she is 3 and can participate. She will love the Fun Factory and you will get the chance to have some adult time too. Alteernatively, try Carnival as I think they still accept 2 year olds in the program.

 

Enjoy!

[SusieV]

We took our son when he was 14 months old. He had a great time, but we didn't really get to enjoy ourselves. For the kind of money we spend on a cruise, we want to have some adult time. Now we leave him with his Nana and he has a nice time and we come home recharged :)

[phoenix_dream]

I love kids, and we started cruising with ours when he was three. Truthfully, a cruise would not be my first choice with a two year old. Can it be done? Of course, but it is really just not set up for kids that young. You will not have any relaxing options other than taking turns watching the little tyke. At that age you will miss so much of what makes a cruise enjoyable - relaxing in/by the pool (no diapers of any kind allowed), chilling in the bars before dinner, relaxing to some music after dinner, enjoying the shows, enjoying the casino, enjoying a nice relaxing dinner. Honestly, if I had to do it over again I would not take my son until he was at least 5 or 6. I don't recall if you said what cruise - if you decide to do so, I would definitely make sure it was a cruise with alot of port days so you can get off the ship and explore. But my opinion is to wait a year or two or three:)

[Joel&Hall]

We are taking our nearly 2 year old on Celebrity Eclipse in May and are really looking forward to it :) it is a very port intensive cruise though so we will be off the ship alot. I am pretty sure that Celebrity offers baby sitting services, my travel agent said for around $10 an hour up to 3 hours, so although we wont do that all the time we do have the option of having a nice adults only meal at least one night on the cruise :p you can take your child to the fun factory but as someone said you have to be there at all times to supervise, we know there will be some things we miss out on but it will still be an amazing family holiday :D

[Ahmne]

I'd say go for it as long as you both know you won't get the full cruise experience. Take turns with nap time. Book a babysitter so you can enjoy some quiet dinners. Book a balcony so you can enjoy being outside during nap time. If they're a heavy sleeper, put them in the stroller and enjoy the show.

Bring a mini blow up pool if your child really enjoys the water.

 

 

At 2 you have start paying for flight and the child as a third person. Take advantage of them being pretty much free! We're taking our three year old and it doesn't really matter at this age if a cruise line is family oriented or not.

 

We're taking our three year old in a few weeks and looking forward to it.

[beachchairs2]

oh NO not another topic on taking a toddler on a cruise....

 

I can only say, it is ridiculous to do so....

[gavinfromlondon]

Thanks for all the constructive feedback (both positive and negative), it is appreciated.