rethinking cruising with 23 month old

[megann831]

We have a cruise booked for this April. 7 days on Carnival Pride stopping at Disney and 2 Bahama ports. My daughter will have just turned 4 and my son will be 23 months. I'm a teacher, so with school schedules we can't go any other time and no family members can go with us. Our son is 17 months now and I'm really getting scared and thinking maybe I should look into rescheduling or canceling. I can usually get him to stay still at dinner for a while, or to sit calmly in a stroller with a bottle of milk. He's actually good in a stroller almost all the time, its meals that scare me. We do occationally go out to eat, but I wouldn't expect him to make more than 1/2 hour, maybe an hour if we take a break for a walk or something in between courses I'm sure he won't be potty trained so he can't go in the pool, although I'm also wondering how strictly that rule is followed. I know that rule from the boards, but do people that don't follow the boards know and follow the rule well? I know there are a ton of activities at Camp Carnival, but are any of them family activities that we can do with both our kids or other than a few hours of free play for under 2 is everything else drop off for over 2? I mean what is there really for him to do on sea days? He also goes to sleep early. His bed time was always 6:30, but sometimes I'd let him stay up till a little after 7 as long as he was still happy, lately he seems to be a mess by 6. My daughter on the other hand should be in bed by 8 or 9, but she could easily make it till 10 or 12 a few nights. I hope to make it to a few shows and we did get a suit so we have more room. Is this a terrible idea? Should we just put it off for another year or two? Do you think he'll be any calmer in the next 6 months? I seem to remember my daughter getting to be tough around 1 1/2 and slowly got better after 2, but wasn't really good till 3. We haven't done a real family vacation since having our daughter and I know she'll have a great time, I'm just worried about my stubborn little guy.

[flhokie]

The cruise lines are very strict about the no diapers in the pool rule. On Allure in May it seemed that every parent of a child under 3 (easy to spot as they aren't given wristbands) was questioned by the pool patrol, us included. DD & several others that appeared to be about 2-3 were potty trained & playing in the splash zone. The patrol asked us day 1 whether she was potty trained, etc.

They did seem surprised that anyone under 3 was potty trained, but they were fine once talking to the parents. My understanding is that it is due to the fact that they would have to close pools for at least an entire day if there was an accident in the pool since the water is not chlorinated like pools on land. Ironically they didn't care when a boy around 6-8 pulled down his bathing suit to have the water stream hit his bare bottom or that his 9-11 year old sister was running around topless.

 

We were able to do the dining room each night, but there was always a walk with me, DH, Grammy or Papa at some point. We tried the iPad which she really likes at home, but there was too much going on around her.

 

As for whether you should go or wait it really depends on what you are looking to get out of the trip. We were looking for a lot of family time together as I am gone a lot for work. We wanted some relaxation, but knew there probably wouldn't be a ton of that. In the end it was a lot of fun--lots of special memories, but not a lot of relaxing (no sitting by the pool reading a book like past cruises). It's hard to say how he will be by the time of sailing as I've heard of some that get better by that age. & others that don't.

[Gatrcruzer]

We have been taking my daughter cruising since she was a year old, and I have to say that age 2 was the hardest time period for us as far as cruising. She was mobile enough to be problematic, had limited patience for sitting, and was verbal enough to let us know that she wasn't happy. We didn't even try to eat in the main dining room - we knew that wouldn't work - and opted to eat dinner at the buffet every night. After a few days she started refusing to go to the buffet, so one of us would go get food and bring it back to the room. There also wasn't that much for someone her age to do on the ship. It was a long week.

 

Every child is different, and every family is different, but somehow 2 does seem to be a difficult age for cruising, or at least that was my experience. Could you do a different type of trip? Maybe rent a condo/house on the beach? I know it's not the same as cruising, but maybe less stress and more flexibility? I think 3 is a lot easier, so maybe wait. Developmentally what you are describing is fairly common and normal, and will likely add stress to the trip, so I think your instincts are good here.

[cb at sea]

Kids change alot in a few months at that age...however, if you aren't comfortable and are stressed, so will your kid's be....they pick up on YOUR moods!

 

You might want to wait until both of them are older, so they can actually enjoy what the ship has to offer. But, if you don't...you can make it work! There are other eating venues if your guy won't sit for 90 mins or so...

 

The pool thing is for everyone's safety. Ship pools don't have the filtration that a landbased pool might...so a "poopy" accident can truly contaminate the water, and possibly infect other kids (including yours!!)....so don't put babies in the pools! Even a swim diaper will allow the fecal material to come into contact with the water, and then, with other swimmers. Not a good thing. It's not so much urine...but feces...that's the big contaminent.

A blow up pool is useful for bathing AND for splashing on the pool deck, for those who aren't big enough to swim! Empty the water into the shower or floor drain!

Edited November 3, 2013 by cb at sea

[kitkat343]

We took our 25 month old son on a 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal. He really loved it, but that's because he is very social and loves being around other people. He loved riding up and down the glass elevators, and running all over the boat. He didn't make it through dinner particularly well (he was fine at the buffet in off peak hours, but the grandmothers we traveled with really wanted to do the MDR with him, and took turns walking around and riding the glass elevators.

 

The Princess kids club allows children under 3 to use the kids club with parental supervision, but I'm not sure if Carnival will let a 23 month old child into their kids club under any circumstances. However, you should go visit the kids club to check since we learned that behind the Coral Princess kids club was an open area with tricycles and a small wading pool that was apparently open 24/7 and accessible through the door that led from cabins to the back of the ship, so even when the kids club was closed we had somewhere child friendly to bring our son where he could climb and swim. Whether or not cruising at this age is a good idea really does depend upon your child - if he thrives on novelty and being around other people, he might love a cruise. If he is happier at home where it is quiet and he has his routine, it might be better to wait on the cruise. You also should consider how flexible he is about sleep - some kids have a narrow sleep window and if you put them down late, they have a really hard time adjusting. It is likely on port days that your child's nap schedule will be disrupted, and you may also have difficulties on the days you travel to the cruise.

 

I'm sorry about the timing - 23 months is really tough if your son just misses the cutoff for the kids club.

Edited November 3, 2013 by kitkat343

[Cruisin' Chick]

My hubby was hesitant to take our little one on her first official cruise (she "came" along when I was about 4 months along). Finally we decided to take her when she was 23 months of age on a Carnival cruise (even though she was a month too young for Camp Carnival, we were timing the trip for that time because the tall ships were coming to San Diego, and we paired the cruise with a trip there).

 

It was a three-day cruise just in case she wasn't enjoying herself. We figured that we would be with her the whole time. As it turned out, everything worked out fine. We had just one port (one that I don't care for anyway) which we just went off the ship, with the girl in the stroller, and over to the marketplace on the pier and then returned.

 

When we went to a show, we sat in the back, just in case we needed to make a quick exit. No problem as she enjoyed it (even on her most current cruise, #8, at age 15, she wanted to see some shows). She loved running around the ship, exploring. She was still potty training, so definitely no pool for her. (you don't want to take your kid in the pool unless they're out of diapers and pullups -- even swim diapers are a no-no -- as you'll be ruining the enjoyment of many other passengers if there's an accident)

 

Just be sure to take everything you might need for your toddler. The ship's store won't usually stock diapers/pullups, and certainly not in every size. Take any meds you might need as you can't depend on the infirmary having the particular one you want for your child. I took along a sippy cup, a small container of dish detergent, etc.

 

We were driving to the port, but if you're flying, go in at least a day ahead (which is recommended anyway) and then you can go to the store for anything you left behind.

[larronry]

My Son has been cruising since he was 26 months (and on that cruise line the kids club didn't start until 4 years old). He has since been diagnosed with autism so the terrible two's are still with us (He is now 8 and about to go on cruise #6). He loved to walk the ship and I always joke that if we went on the allure or to oasis I would have the deck plans memorized withing 24 hours of boarding. We have always had to take walks between courses during dinner with the exception of 1 cruise where we sat with another couple with a little girl his age. The first 3 cruises I brought the stroller to the dining room as well. His favorite activity has always been riding the glass elevators. I have had to skip shows to go to bed with him and yes it's been a bit more stressful, but one thing I have always loved about cruising as a Mom is that I pack once, go all these places, and I don't have to lift a finger or figure out driving directions, or locate a place to eat. On a cruise it's all easy and all right there. 2nd ship he was on had a splash zone which he could use with shimmies on. I really wasn't concerned about the potty training issue there anyhow because you could read it on his face although it never happened.

 

No it's not the same as cruising without kids and yes you have to determine what you are willing to give up. It is the perfect vacation for some and not for others. My son begged for our next cruise. He knows that mommy and daddy will give him undistracted attention. Even if we take turns he still gets that attention and having that cuddle time out on deck watching the ocean or in a lounge listening to music is absolutely wonderful.

 

If you do go and decide to go to a show you might want to look into the bright orange kids earplugs. I know it might be just an issue because of my son's autism but the shows can get really loud and early on I wondered if we would have had more success if we could have softened the volume.

[Lerin]

Any chance you can re-schedule for just 1 month later? At 2 your son will be old enough to attend Camp Carnival.

 

When we took our baby/toddler we sometimes took turns in the dining room. He could usually sit for appetizer, but for each of the other courses 1 of us would stroll him around the halls while the others ate. A few times we got dessert to go and would enjoy that on our balcony later. Of course since your guy is such an early sleeper, sounds like you'll have some very peaceful dinners. Feed him dinner from the Lido early, let him fall asleep and then go to the mdr. Just bring a comfy stroller with some sort of hood/cover to block noise and light.

 

For evening shows we'd get a spot in a back corner next to an exit. We'd stroll him in circles until he fell asleep and were still able to watch the show.

 

There are a few family activities at Camp, but no more than an hour. You can also pay a fee for him to be in night owl(even if he's just sleeping in his stroller)

 

A friend of mine is a teacher and she swears by the 3-day potty training method. She trained her 16 month old twins during her schools Christmas break. Perhaps something like that will work during your teaching vacations? Just a thought so your guy can use the pool. We also used something similar for our child and he was trained well before age 2.

 

Some of our best family memories are of cruising with a baby and toddler.

You're going to have a wonderful time. Relax. :)

[Gardeneroflove]

we took dd at 14 months, she had a blast, take him! We're going again in December.

 

1-by 23 months he should be potty trained. We pt'ed at 19 months. Most ships have splash pads if he's not. If he's not 100% pt'ed, keep him out of the pool. Last sea day they had to drain, clean and refill the pool because a kid pooped in the pool. The 3 day bare butt method, he's 17 months now so start introducing the potty idea, signing potty, letting him watch, put him on the potty when he wakes up and before bath. Then in the next 2-3 months, take a long weekend and JUST FOCUS on pt'ing. By day 4, while he may not be 100% he should know what to do. Of course, you can wait and deal with diapers, that's up to do. Just saying no reason not to pt'ing if you're wanting to.

 

2-cruising with babies/toddlers is different, adjust your expectations. We skipped all big shows, we traded off at dinner, room service is an option but dd did great with us taking breaks, daddy took her after dinner, I got dessert and coffee. We always to main/early dinning. We did find a few shows between dinner and the main show. I'm not big of the main shows on Disney (I like more Carnival style)

 

3-dd slept more and better on the ship. I did a second nap or quiet time before dinner, this helped her stay up a bit later. But still, sound a sleep by 8-9pm. NBD! Dh and I hung out and enjoyed each other, one night he went to a movie, another night I did. We ordered room service, watched a movie, I read by the deck, listened to music. Relaxed. It was great!

 

4-I find it easy to entertain a toddler. dd was never bored, always on the go. flip flops and ball. walking the ship. running the ship. splash pad. dancing in room. just people watching. Disney had open house hours in the clubs, we took dd to those.

[moesyk4]

I think it's a really personal choice..for us, we wouldn't take a child under 2 (or really any non potty trained child) on a cruise. Basically for all the reasons you mentioned...our last cruise was 5 days and DS had JUST turned 2. We knew he would be in bed by 8 at the latest, we'd be stuck in the room for naps as well, we would really not be able to just "relax" unless we took turns, he couldn't swim, we'd really be limiting our excursions to ones where he could participate, we couldn't justify the dinners as he might not make it through them, etc. It just didn't sound much like a vacation to us. We went and he stayed home with Nana and had a great time. I will say, the trip was 7 days including hotel stays and we were terribly homesick for him about 5 days in, so in the future, I'd do a shorter cruise or cut out the hotel stay (and i'm a huge advocate for parents only time!)

 

Our DS will just have turned 4 for our cruise in January and I have no reservations about taking him now and I am SO excited for him to experience it. We got a fantastic rate on a balcony so if he naps or goes to bed early we can relax and enjoy the view. Either way, he is extremely flexible with sleep time now so if he has to miss a nap or stay up late, he is very easygoing. He is very well behaved and will have no issues sitting through a long dinner or short show, and he is potty trained obviously and loves to swim. He can't do all excursions, of course, but enough so that we can have some great picks.

[Ashland]

Go on the cruise...don't hesitate...life is too short....enjoy each moment you have with your children and they have with you...We're going to be going on an Alaska family cruise in May 2014 with a 17 mos old (our grandchild his first cruise) and wouldn't even consider putting it off...we planned it regardless of his age...Enjoy !!

[CI66774]

Gosh - it's really up to you. If you think you can swing it will him in tow then I say "go for it." I, personally, waited until my child was old enough to participate in the kids clubs but, everyone is different. Whatever you decide will be the right decision. :)

[megann831]

Thanks for the replies, I love the idea of seeing if we can get him to sleep in the stroller during dinner. I'm waiting to wean him from the bottle because I know a nice bottle of milk always keeps him occupied for a while. My daughter was potty trained right after 2 and it seemed like she was the only one I knew of that age for a while, but I'm off Christmas break so maybe I'll give him a shot. I found out if I cancel we're out $1000 and my daughter keeps talking about the really, really, really, really big boat and all the stuff on it, so I think we're going to have to go for it. I'm not too upset about him missing out of the kids club because I highly doubt he'd stay anyway, but I'm also optimistic that if he wants to stay with my daughter one night for dinner maybe they'll give him a shot. I'm going to find a way to tactfully let them know I'll offer a nice tip.

[luvsviola]

I waited til DD was 2.5 and was glad I did. DH and I really enjoyed the little bit of downtime we got when she went in the kids club, and we had her eat dinner there a couple nights because a 2 hour dinner was just too much for her...after about 30 minutes she was DONE sitting nicely. Formal night was great with just DH, I and our 6 year old (4 and 2 year olds in kids club).

 

I'm too cheap to loose out on $1000, so for that, I'd go. :)

Edited November 7, 2013 by luvsviola

[Hstergo]

We have a cruise booked for this April. 7 days on Carnival Pride stopping at Disney and 2 Bahama ports. My daughter will have just turned 4 and my son will be 23 months. I'm a teacher, so with school schedules we can't go any other time and no family members can go with us. Our son is 17 months now and I'm really getting scared and thinking maybe I should look into rescheduling or canceling. I can usually get him to stay still at dinner for a while, or to sit calmly in a stroller with a bottle of milk. He's actually good in a stroller almost all the time, its meals that scare me. We do occationally go out to eat, but I wouldn't expect him to make more than 1/2 hour, maybe an hour if we take a break for a walk or something in between courses I'm sure he won't be potty trained so he can't go in the pool, although I'm also wondering how strictly that rule is followed. I know that rule from the boards, but do people that don't follow the boards know and follow the rule well? I know there are a ton of activities at Camp Carnival, but are any of them family activities that we can do with both our kids or other than a few hours of free play for under 2 is everything else drop off for over 2? I mean what is there really for him to do on sea days? He also goes to sleep early. His bed time was always 6:30, but sometimes I'd let him stay up till a little after 7 as long as he was still happy, lately he seems to be a mess by 6. My daughter on the other hand should be in bed by 8 or 9, but she could easily make it till 10 or 12 a few nights. I hope to make it to a few shows and we did get a suit so we have more room. Is this a terrible idea? Should we just put it off for another year or two? Do you think he'll be any calmer in the next 6 months? I seem to remember my daughter getting to be tough around 1 1/2 and slowly got better after 2, but wasn't really good till 3. We haven't done a real family vacation since having our daughter and I know she'll have a great time, I'm just worried about my stubborn little guy.

 

Paragraphs are your friends:eek:

[bertrande]

Gosh reading this makes me nervous - we're going on an Alaska cruise in Jul 2014 with our DD who will be 23 months at that time. We did a Med cruise when she was 9 months on RCCL and they were great with the toy loaning program but I suspect Celebrity isn't so child-friendly. We are already starting to have problems with meal times...:eek:

[mdjohn5]

Our kids are 5 and 3 and have been on several cuises.

 

We actually find the main dining room easier than the buffet. At the buffet, you are constantly running back and forth to get food for them, for you, etc. Frankly, it is a lot of work. At least in the MDR someone is bringing you food and you can concentrate on entertaining the kids. Most wait staff are pretty good about getting food in front of kids ASAP so they have something to do.

 

Last year when the boy was two, he and I had a blast playing "explore". I would set him down in the hallway outside the cabin and tell him to lead the way... I would just follow behind him to make sure he didnt get into anything dangerous...he lead me all over the ship. We found places I would never have found on my own...lol.

 

Cruising with kids is more work and diffenetly differnet than pre-kids...but in a lot of ways it is a lot more fun. At the end of the day, I am going to remember the time I spent on the cruise ships / vacation with the kids.

[mikesteg]

23 months is a difficult time to cruise. We cruised at 13 months which is also at that point where the kids are pretty mobile but don't understand that they can't just walk away. We were running after them the entire time. That was with twins, however. If you have 2 adults sharing that responsibility, probably not nearly as bad.

 

We waited until they were just over 2 to cruise again (which was a stretch for us)... and they wouldn't go to Camp for any length of time. We think DS had an issue with an older girl (DD of a CC roll call member) being a bit too 'motherly'. DD would not go to Camp without DS... so we were stuck. That is just to say, don't reschedule based on the idea that your LO will go to camp and be content.

 

Our kids really didn't take to Camp until their 3rd eligible cruise at 3YO. That said, they had a ball on their next cruise on MSC (at 3.5YO.) I don't know if that was because they had gotten used to it on CCL, or because the MSC model is much better about keeping the kids entertained.

 

That said: dinner will be very tough. The wait staff will speed it up for you if you let them know it is OK to do so. However, buffet might be a better option on most nights. Our kids eat much better, and can try new things w/o much waste, on the buffet.

 

The pool: Carnival never seemed to enforce this previously, but have gotten better in the last couple of years. I never witnessed a pool patrol as noted on RCCL, but they did start taling to parents. It's been a year since we sailed CCL so maybe they have gotten their act together and gotten proactive also. This is a health issue, and probably a greater risk to your 4YO daughter than the average passenger.

 

 

But, you have similar issues on any vacation. Maybe you don't have the dinner problem, but how many (cost competitive) vacations provide a 2-hour sit down dinner every night? It is not a bad problem to have the dinner available, and having the huge buffet as the 'undesirable' option. :D The pool is not an issue on land, but depending on the tie of year and destination, you may not have a pool at all.

 

Just my 2 cents, but it's all a part of parenting. We don't get the week off from parenting regardless, so we may as well do what we enjoy. Our kids love cruising, and we have some great memories/photos from our experiences. It's also a great laugh when your kid talks about how the hotel moves... ;)

[PhotoGal07]

We took our daughter on her first cruise when she was right about this age. I suggest practicing restaurant manners as much as possible between now and then. While in the dining room, we usually arranged it so that she had her entree served while we were eating our appetizer, and her dessert served while we were eating our entree. Then we would either order dessert to go, or order dessert from room service. We also brought stickers and crayons and a couple small toys with us to the dining room each night, and it worked out exceptionally well. I would also suggest just being flexible with how you do things, be prepared to leave early if necessary, or that things won't go according to plan, and don't try to force it.

 

Having a suite was definitely key for us enjoying our vacation with a little one that young. We had the balcony for us to use during nap time, which worked wonderfully. I think you mentioned having a suite, and trust me, it really will make life much easier.

 

I will say that we missed all the shows. We were back in our room every night by 7:00pm for our daughters bedtime, and keeping her on her normal schedule was definitely the right call for us. We caught a show or two on the closed circuit tv, and brought books, and a couple games for us to play and enjoy while we were in our room. Go out on the balcony, enjoy a glass of wine, then come back in to the room, eat dessert, read or watch a movie, then hit the sack. Your mileage may vary on the whole bedtime thing, but for us, trying to drag her to shows would have been a disaster.

 

We weren't able to enjoy the pools with her because she wasn't potty trained, but we did have two beach days while in port, and that was more than enough splashing around for her. While on the ship, she was content walking around, looking at the shops, stopping in the lounges when there was music, playing in the room, and stopping in the kids areas to play with the toys once or twice. Everything was so new, she was a happy camper simply sightseeing and exploring the ship, she was never even phased by the fact that we didn't go in the pool.

 

Hope this helps ease your mind that it can be done, and in an enjoyable fashion!

[happybooker1]

On the Ship last month I laid out by the pools several times, as well as the water works. Each day I would see babies and toddlers in swim diapers & no one said anything to them. I would be there a couple or 3 hours & employees never said anything to the parent(s).

 

At least 2 of the kids I saw were crawling babies so no way to confuse them with potty-trained youg kids at all!

 

YMMV-- just reporting on what I myself saw on the Magic.

[chengkp75]

I know this is a minor point in this thread, but let me clarify a few things about the pools.

 

The pools are generally salt water, and many youngsters don't like this. If it is a salt water pool, then while at sea (outside 12 miles from shore), it may be of the "flow through" type where sea water is continually pumped into the pool, and the excess overflows to the gutters and returns to the sea. This water is not chlorinated.

 

Within 12 miles of shore, in port, and some pools while at sea, are of the recirculation type. These pools are both filtered and chlorinated, whether they are salt water or fresh.

 

The restriction on non-potty trained children and swim diapers is not a cruise line thing, it is required by the USPH/CDC, and violations of these policies could result in the ship losing it's right to embark passengers in the US.

 

Some ships, mostly the largest and newest, will have a splash area for children in swim diapers. These pools must meet additional USPH requirements for construction and operation, must have a crew member assigned to it at all times, and there must be a supply of swim diapers available.

[gerif]

On the Ship last month I laid out by the pools several times, as well as the water works. Each day I would see babies and toddlers in swim diapers & no one said anything to them. I would be there a couple or 3 hours & employees never said anything to the parent(s).

 

At least 2 of the kids I saw were crawling babies so no way to confuse them with potty-trained youg kids at all!

 

YMMV-- just reporting on what I myself saw on the Magic.

 

Anyone who would put their child in such a pool would have to be a complete idiot. Ecoli can make a healthy adult ill but can kill a small child or immune suppressed adult. Shame on Carnival. They should be reported.