Cruising first time with 2 year old

[tweetypie_67]

Hello everyone,

 

I have cruised 30+ times and am a first time grand mother. We r taking our granddaughter on her 1 st cruise ( along with mom n dad) for her 2 nd birthday! We r very excited, but nervous about how she will do. We live only 20 min from the port we r leaving from, so don't have to fly with her. ANY suggestion and / or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Grandma Dazzles]

Hello everyone,

 

I have cruised 30+ times and am a first time grand mother. We r taking our granddaughter on her 1 st cruise ( along with mom n dad) for her 2 nd birthday! We r very excited, but nervous about how she will do. We live only 20 min from the port we r leaving from, so don't have to fly with her. ANY suggestion and / or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

You are obviously an experienced cruiser, so you know a lot about cruising. It would be helpful if you said what ship/cruise line - amenities for children vary greatly.

 

You also may find more information on the family boards, or the board of the line you are sailing.

[griffy116]

Check the boards for your specific cruise line and ship. Rules for 2 year olds vary by line and even by ship. On some of the ships, non-potty trained are not allowed in any of the pools or water activities.

[NMLady]

There is a Family Forum on CC where you can get lots of information from families experienced in cruising with toddlers. Check it out.

 

An umbrella stroller will be a big help.

Some suggest an inflatable pool for bathing child if there's only a shower, no tub.

Also it can be used on deck since non- potty trained children are not allowed in pools, not even in swim diapers.

 

On the family forum you can get suggestions about foods to bring, and other supplies.

[tweetypie_67]

Thanks for the advice. We r sailing on a smaller ship, RCL's Grandur of the Seas. This will b our 5 time on this ship so we r familiar with the lay out. We r aware of the fact that she won't be able to go into the pools or kids program because she is still in diapers. Just wondering if anyone had any "wish I would have known this before I sailed" kind of advice.

 

Thanks for ur advice,

Jacki

[serene56]

We sailed with an 18 month old. Take everything you need. Diapers are UBER expensive if you run out.

 

We took everything disposable. bibs, sippy cups etc

 

we let her eat chilled soups using a straw. she loved those.

 

after dinner we went to an open deck (by the pursers desk) and let her run about burning some of that pent up energy she just saved at dinner time.

 

a stroller is a must-- lots of walking and carrying the weight of a sleeping child--arghh

[cb at sea]

A 2 year old really doesn't care where they are, as long as YOU are happy! No worries, she'll do fine!

Yes..you do have to bring lots of "stuff" when you have toddlers!

[tweetypie_67]

Great advice, thanks everyone! I'm sure she will do fine, she is an awesome little girl who loves everyone and her favorite thing is to b the center of attention so I'm sure she will have a blast!

 

Jacki

[Lerin]

Sounds like a great cruise planned. My only suggestion would be to have the child's parents do some research to be sure they are comfortable with the situation.