Cruising on Dream with toddler-a few questions

[TandTinHou]

Hello,

 

We will be cruising on the Dream Nov 5 with our 2 year-old daughter. This will be our first Carnival cruise. I've tried to do some searching on the boards, but felt it best to attempt to get the most current information available. I have some questions particularly about cruising with a toddler...

 

1) Are cartons of milk (whole milk) available 24/7 from the buffet? Can we also get cartons from room service?

 

2) I'm assuming that Carnival has a pretty standard "kids menu" available in the MDR? She's a picky eater, and for dinner prefers mac n cheese and yogurt...smh.

 

3) I saw on an older thread that cribs are only available "ahead of time" for children under 2. Since our daughter is 2, but still sleeping in a crib, can we request one from our room steward upon arrival? For people with any experience with this...how much risk is there that there will not be a crib available? What is the quality and type of crib? We live in NOLA, and could bring our "pack and play" if needed.

 

4) Is there a mini-fridge in a grand suite? This will make it "easier" for milk and snacks for our daughter, but not a deal breaker by any means.

 

 

Thanks in advance for your insight and opinions!

 

Tim and Teresa

[Sunkissed Mommy]

1, We found cartons of milk at breakfast and no other time. We'd often take a couple back to the room for the mini-fridge/cooler there. My older son is a milkaholic. We also grabbed a couple boxes of cereal for snacks at times as well.

 

2. Yes, they have a standard kids menu to order from. My son is VERY picky and found something to eat each night on each of our Carnival cruises.

 

3. I have never requested a crib in advance. Shame on me? Nah. All 3 of the cruises we took on Carnival in which we needed one, they had. One time we got to our room and it wasnt there. They brought it later that night. Two other times it was already set up. I guess the age on the booking triggers a note for the room attendant. It cant hurt to request it in advance though.

 

4. There are mini fridges/coolers (not quite a cold fridge) in every room.

 

 

Have fun!!

[Schoifmom]

Hello,

 

We will be cruising on the Dream Nov 5 with our 2 year-old daughter. This will be our first Carnival cruise. I've tried to do some searching on the boards, but felt it best to attempt to get the most current information available. I have some questions particularly about cruising with a toddler...

 

1) Are cartons of milk (whole milk) available 24/7 from the buffet? Can we also get cartons from room service?

 

2) I'm assuming that Carnival has a pretty standard "kids menu" available in the MDR? She's a picky eater, and for dinner prefers mac n cheese and yogurt...smh.

 

3) I saw on an older thread that cribs are only available "ahead of time" for children under 2. Since our daughter is 2, but still sleeping in a crib, can we request one from our room steward upon arrival? For people with any experience with this...how much risk is there that there will not be a crib available? What is the quality and type of crib? We live in NOLA, and could bring our "pack and play" if needed.

 

4) Is there a mini-fridge in a grand suite? This will make it "easier" for milk and snacks for our daughter, but not a deal breaker by any means.

 

 

Thanks in advance for your insight and opinions!

 

Tim and Teresa

 

1) There are milk cartons available during breakfast on the Lido and in the MDR. Milk is available during every meal in MDR. When milk is not out in the Lido, you can simply ask an attendant and they will get it for you. It is also available through room service.

2) There is a kids menu and kids can also order from the adult menu (and adults from the kids :D).

3) I can't help with the crib question, although I understand that they are similar to a pack-n-play.

4) Fridges, well "coolers" in every room. Prop the outer door open to increase air flow and allow it to get colder.

[elcuchio24]

Its a pack and play, not a crib. We have cruised twice with a young one and told both times 'we cant garantee you will have once since we have a limited number.....BUT I dont know of a time we have ever not had one for someone who needed it' so we just rolled the dice and have never had an issue getting one.

 

I think the rest of your questions were answered. Keep in mind, activites for the little ones are pretty minimal until 3YO

[SadieN]

The kids club accepts two year olds.

Check the temp of the fridge (out travel clocks have a thermometer). Ours have never been below 40F, even with the door propped open.

Don’t remember seeing cartons of whole milk on my last few cruises. 2% is available. Not recommended but have seen pax pour half n half and other milk products (in carafes by the coffee) into a glass.

 

The family board has lots of info.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Drazil65]

We have always been able to get cold whole milk from room service...also can grab a couple extra cartons from B'fast to put in fridge..cold enough to keep the milk for that day

[mdsgu]

We started cruising with our 2 kids when the oldest was only 7 months old. Both are now Gold VIFPs. We've never had any problems. If you have a Grand Suite, you will have more than enough room. We've done balconies and interior rooms without problems. If you have a pack and play, I would suggest taking it with you -- we've folded it up and taken it on beach excursions. They are generally small enough that if you don't use it, it will hide out in one of the closets. We have requested a crib in advance, and it was just that -- a crib, not a pack and play. Milk has never been a problem. My daughter is a very picky eater, and you can get mac 'n cheese and yogurt at every meal if you need to. Have a great time!

[angiegal]

You can get milk through room service 24/7. On the lido deck and in the dining room you can ask for milk as well. In the dining room they will even wash the sippy cup for you. In our experience the fridge is just a cooler so I wouldn't trust it with milk very long. This last cruise, we had a hard time getting whole milk after the second day, though.

 

There is a standard kids menu (pasta, cheeseburger, grilled cheese, etc.), but children can eat of the regular menu as well. A few times we just ordered our son a side dish like broccoli or an appetizer like spring rolls (he loved them!) and let him share from our plates as well. We've found the staff to be very accommodating when it comes to kids!

 

Unsolicited tip: We didn't use camp ocean, but took advantage of the scheduled parent/child play times. On our youngest son's first cruise my husband surprised to see that they were the only two people who showed up the first day. After talking to some other parents at dinner, while on lido deck, etc. we realized that people just didn't know about it. The second day, and every day after, there were at least half a dozen toddlers there which made it more fun.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Carnival uses actual cribs. 3 carnival cruises have all been the standard metal cribs on wheels. I will find a photo and post in a moment.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sunkissed Mommy]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[nicole9s]

On our recent Sunshine cruise, the milk in cartons was not whole, 2% maybe? Not sure what my son was given in the MDR.

 

We did not find that mac and cheese was available every night in the MDR.

 

The fridge in our room was not cool enough to keep milk cold. I had stored a carton and gave it to my son. The container felt cool to the touch, but he took one sip and gave it back; it was not cold, but not warm. We did keep the cabinet door open too.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[CruisingBeans]

We've cruised with both our girls at that age and younger. My recommendation- bring a crib sheet - they just fold a regular sheet under crib and if your child moves a lot it comes undone easy. Bring a small container of dishwashing soap and some take and toss sippy cups. If you bring to MDR your waiter will get milk for your daughter to put in it. Have fun.

[cruise_everywhere]

Our daughter is headed on her 4th cruise and just turned 5. Your questions have all been answered we were a little worried about these as well. The pack and play is a better option then the crib - easier to move around in the cabin and take down if needed or just toss up on one of the beds. We had a Pullman one time and was able to use it to store things at night to open up some more room. Never had an issue and she made the best of friends with all the crew.

 

One note we take Kids/Baby Dramamine with us just in case... she hasn't needed it but better safe than sorry.

 

Sent from my SM-G935T using Forums mobile app