Cruising with young toddler and 9 yr old, which line is the best?

[Cruzangelz]

We will be taking an extended family cruise with my son and grandkids. Which line would be be best for cruising with a young baby and 9 yr. old? We want everyone to have a great time. What about onboard activities for toddlers and 9 yr old girl to enjoy? This will be my dil & grankids first cruise. Any info appreciated, thanks.

[onthelake]

We will be taking an extended family cruise with my son and grandkids. Which line would be be best for cruising with a young baby and 9 yr. old? We want everyone to have a great time. What about onboard activities for toddlers and 9 yr old girl to enjoy? This will be my dil & grankids first cruise. Any info appreciated, thanks.

I would think about what the closest port is for your son's family and look at the cruises from there. All the main cruis lines have great children's programs although the toddler's age may make a difference with the services provided by the different lines. Also look at port days/sea days and balance what you would like to do with how much the toddler can happily manage. Some little ones will sleep anywhere, any time and others just get cranky so you need to consult your son and DIL to see what they think would work the best.

 

I suggest a close port because flying with a toddler can be a challenge and if there is a port they can drive to, it will probably be easier on the nerves and they can bring car seat, stroller, etc. without any problem.

[kitkat343]

How one is the toddler? Are they 3(minimum age for most drop off kids club programs?). If under 3, do the parents want a nursery to be able to drop them off at?

[cb at sea]

That's true...some lines don't have anything for the "under 3" crowd! And, on all lines, anyone, baby or not, in diapers is NOT allowed in the pools. The pools are simply to small to handle any fecal contamination....and that can happen when a "swim diaper" gets wet! A few ships will have a "baby splash zone", where the water is continuously replaced....but it's not a "pool".

 

Carnival allows 2 year olds in their clubs, and some (but not all) RCI ships have a nursery for those under 3.

[jkatz]

I imagine Disney Cruises would be the best as they cater to kids and have bathtubs in the cabins. That being said, I agree with the above mentions that not having to fly or drive a long distance make up for that. And if you're driving you can easily pack a small inflatable pool if the lack of bathtub is really an issue.

 

My husband and I are experienced cruisers, but this April we're taking our 4 and 2 year old on their first cruise. We went with a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore, which is around an hour drive or so from us. Our cabin will have a king size bed as well as a pullman with an upper & lower bunk. We're hoping our 4 year old will be ok with the upper bunk, otherwise we'll just pull the mattress down on the floor.

 

Carnival isn't the most luxurious, but it's still pretty nice. They have lots of things for kids as well a a Dr. Suess themed breakfast one day. We're looking forward to movie nights on deck as well as the kids splash park. I just have to convince the 2 1/2 year old to finish potty training so she can go in the water...we're most of the way there.

 

Let me know if I can answer any questions!