Anthem questions - first time on RCC, cruising with toddler

[cruiserkris22]

Hello - We are boarding the Anthem on Saturday, June 3rd. It will be me, my husband and our 2.5yo daughter. We've cruised before though never with RCC and never with a kid.

 

questions mostly pertain to 2.5yo - we pre-booked whatever dining we could but after reading all the threads I'm concerned about waiting in line with her to be seated plus however long it takes us to dine. Any suggestions how to handle this? We plan to eat around 6/6:30 to keep it around the same time she eats at home so I'm hopeful the lines won't be too long then.

 

Can we show up to Bayonne whenever even though our boarding time is 1:30 - 2:00?

 

Very curious about the room situation. We will be bringing a pack n' play for her to sleep in. We got a (small?) balcony room deck 7, room 534. where the heck is this thing going to fit? Do we ask the room steward to move/remove anything to accomodate?

 

If I read correctly, we cannot drop her off at Adventure Ocean, right? I thought I read they have to be 3 and potty trained. We're not there just yet. (I'm not sure I would even feel comfortable and I'm 99% sure she won't stay with anyone she doesn't know but would be nice to know if it's even an option.)

 

Any other tips for cruising with a toddler? (aside from "don't" as it's already booked!;p)

[Clarea]

You can show up at the cruise terminal whenever you like, but prior to 90 minutes before scheduled departure.

[DonnaK]

I would recommend getting to the terminal around 10:30am, if you can. You'll avoid traffic which backs up at the luggage dropoff, and there'll be minimal lines.

 

I would also recommend eating closer to 6pm for shorter lines. It gets significantly busier after that.

 

There will be a spot for the pack and play at night. During the day, you can fold it up for more space

[Grandma Dazzles]

There is a board dedicated to traveling with children - you might find a lot of good information there.

 

Would definitely make sure you take everything you think you might need with you. Plenty of diapers, sunscreen, baby meds, etc. A lot of stuff is not available on board; and if available will be very expensive.

 

A lot of people take Sippy cups or similar; again not part of the normal table service. Small stroller can be very useful for excursions and around the ship (a lot of walking).

[njkruzer]

My granddaughter sailed on the Quantum when she was 2. We arranged for the ship to provide the pack 'n play, though it might be too late to arrange this. I would suggest you bring your own sheets. She went to the nursery once so we could go to the broadway show. At my suggestion my kids got her a tablet with cartoons and stuff she liked and with sound limiting ear phones. It kept are occupied while we finished dinner. The waiters were great about getting her served quickly. Highchairs were always provided. She had fun and cruised again at 2.5. Mostly, just enjoy.

[gaylemh]

I'll also be sailing on Anthem this saturday with my daughter and her family. My grandsons are 7 and 2.5, and will sleep on the pull out sofa. We have connecting cabins. I'm sure there will be a few sleepovers in my cabin. The nursery for under 3 is $6.00/hr during the day and $8.00/hr at night. I believe you have to make a reservation. I've sailed on Anthem 9 times and never waited more than 5 minutes for a table around 7 - 7:30. This time we are also going to try to eat around 6:30. I can't wait to have my grandsons on "mama's boat". Maybe we'll see you at dinner, or the baby pool.

[DaniDanielle]

My grandson, almost three at the time, loved the evening babysitting. His parents enjoyed a show and he played with friends.

 

 

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[CathyCanada]

If you have My Time dining, you can pre-book your dining time for every night and bypass any lines or wait (other than a couple of minutes if there are people checking in ahead of you). Loved the Anthem, we sailed her in April and I have to say that the main dining room food was excellent.

 

Enjoy!

[Jenjer]

One thing that helped when we traveled with little ones that even today as teenagers my kids still joke I should do.

 

I packed each their individual outfits in a gal size zip lock bag. Everything socks, undies, hair accessories. 1 outfit per bag.

 

took forever to pack but made getting ready in the small cabins a snap.

 

Also bring a collapsible dirty laundry hamper

[Spacecaydet]

I'll also be sailing on Anthem this saturday with my daughter and her family. My grandsons are 7 and 2.5, and will sleep on the pull out sofa. We have connecting cabins. I'm sure there will be a few sleepovers in my cabin. The nursery for under 3 is $6.00/hr during the day and $8.00/hr at night. I believe you have to make a reservation. I've sailed on Anthem 9 times and never waited more than 5 minutes for a table around 7 - 7:30. This time we are also going to try to eat around 6:30. I can't wait to have my grandsons on "mama's boat". Maybe we'll see you at dinner, or the baby pool.

 

Can't wait! Glad to here about the MTD dining wait. Had me a little concerned. Sailing with 4 and 2 year old this Saturday to Bermuda. Maybe we will bump into you on the ship!

 

-Bert

[MacMarauder]

I've cruised with my son at one year old (Allure) and two years old (Anthem) so hopefully I can be of some help!

 

Dining - I was worried about this too but never had an issue. We ate in the main dining room three times, had reservations around 6:00pm and only had to wait a couple minutes. Specialty dining was even easier, just walked up when we had reservations with no problems.

 

When to show up - Not sure on this one, we were staying at a hotel near the Newark airport and left for Bayonne after my son's nap which worked great. That might not be an option for you depending on travel plans but it is nice to get the nap out of the way before boarding!

 

Pack and Play - We had a balcony room as well and I thought the pack and play fit great. Our cabin had the bed next to the bathroom and the couch next to the balcony, the pack and play was next to the couch. You don't have to have the room steward move anything- it will fit as is. On the Allure our steward set up/took down the pack and play a couple times but we found it more convenient to do it ourselves when tidying up. Someone mentioned this in another thread, it is a good idea to bring fitted sheets for the pack and play along with pillow / anything else they sleep with.

 

Adventure Ocean - First off, the kids area has a really cool supervised play area with lots of toys that are appropriate for a toddler. There is a yellow bike in there that looks like a giraffe that my son loved to play on. Also, you absolutely can drop off non-potty trained kids, they have a nursery called Royal Babies and Tots which is for children 1-3 and has age appropriate toys, books, etc. They will give you a bag when you sign up the first day to put extra diapers, wipes, clothes, snacks, etc and you drop the bag off along with your child at the nursery. They will give you a cell phone during dropoff and call you if there are any issues. The staff on both the Allure and Anthem were great, but my experience was totally different on each ship. On the Allure when my son was one he had no issues being dropped off and had a great time playing - which was very nice for my wife and I to have some alone time as well! However on Anthem as a two year old he did not enjoy it at all. I dropped him off and half an hour later the cell phone rang- he was crying so we picked him up. The nursery staff gave it a good shot but he just wasn't having it. So, long story short it just depends on your child but the option is certainly there!

 

Other tips - We purchased a small backpack (the Buckle Buddy backpack is the exact one) for him to keep toys, snacks, sippy cups, etc in. That worked great, as you know toddlers have a lot of accessories so it was nice to have a small place to put them beside the full diaper bag. He got lots of compliments on it when walking around the ship!

 

That's about all I can think off for now, have a great trip!

[cruiserkris22]

Thank you! thank you! Thank you!

 

One other question - my daughter does drink warm milk when she wakes up and sometimes in the evening. Any ideas how to get this? We're fine if we have to go get it as I hope we wouldn't have to pay the room service fee. Do we ask them to warm it up? She won't drink it cold. We'll bring her cups and we got the drink package so she'll drink water the rest of the day.

[gaylemh]

Thank you! thank you! Thank you!

 

One other question - my daughter does drink warm milk when she wakes up and sometimes in the evening. Any ideas how to get this? We're fine if we have to go get it as I hope we wouldn't have to pay the room service fee. Do we ask them to warm it up? She won't drink it cold. We'll bring her cups and we got the drink package so she'll drink water the rest of the day.

The water in the cabins can get very hot. I think it would be hot enough to warm the milk. Just get some cartons of milk in the WJ to keep in the fridge (the fridge on Anthem is cold). and put it into some kind of closed container in hot water in the sink.

[cb at sea]

I agree with just filling the sink with hot water (it IS HOT!) and submerge your container for a bit. There are no microwaves for any passenger anywhere.

 

The 2-3 age can have "separation anxiety"..just the age!! If she doesn't want to be apart from you this time, she will next cruise!

[Amanda16]

I took my daughter on her first cruise when she was 2. We had MTD as well. We found the waiters rushed her food but not the rest of us adults' so my daughter was just getting antsy as we were eating our dessert. To save on space we just co-slept. I was so glad I brought a backpack harness for my daughter since she's so independent yet doesn't like to hold hands.

 

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[cruiserkris22]

Thank you! Probably see you by the baby pool. I'll be the one screaming "Harper!"

[gaylemh]

Thank you! Probably see you by the baby pool. I'll be the one screaming "Harper!"

 

We'll be screaming Tommy (7 yr old) and Danny (2 yr old). See you there!!!

[firerecruit71295]

I love hearing about parents cruising with their children!

 

We have a now 2 year old and he has cruised three times with us and we have another one scheduled for October. As long as you prepare and read ALOT of threads on CC you will be just fine.

 

Boarding - we always get to the cruise terminal by 10/1030 so we can get on the ship ASAP and enjoy an "extra day."

 

Dining - two out of the three cruises we have brought him on we had the 830pm dining time. We chose this one because we would take him to the windjammer around 530/6 and get him dinner. He would run around our room while we got dressed for dinner for the evening. And then we would put him in his PJs and get him asleep in his stroller by 8pm. We then just wheeled him upstairs to the nursery and they watched him from 830-1130 each night ($8/hr) which was well worth it. This gave my wife and I a chance to have a nice sit down dinner, kid free, each night. The one cruise we did not do it this way was when we went with my parents, my brother, sister in law, and their three kids. We did early dining and got a big table for all of us. It was a different experience both good and bad. It was definitely not the relaxing dinner that we usually have but it was fun to have the whole family together for a sit down dinner each night.

 

Fun tips - we bought a small inflatable bath tub (looks like a duck/got it from target I believe) and we were able to use it to bath him in or fill it up on the balcony and he sat in that while we sat out. The last cruise we had no problem with our son standing in the shower... he actually liked it but I could see how that shower head could be scary for some kids so the inflatable tub may come in handy.

 

Bring clothes pins. They come in handy when you need to hang stuff out on the balcony... just clip the clothes to the chair.

 

We packed travel packs of Dreft detergent in case we needed to wash some of his clothes in the sink.

 

Just remember to take your time, have patience and have fun!!! Its definitely different kind of cruising when you are with a toddler. Happy cruising!