Cruising with toddlers onboard celebrity reflection- April 27th Italy and Greek isles

[AmandadeWitte]

My 3 year old son, my husband and I will be cruising onboard the Celebrity Reflection embarking on April 27th, 2018 with my brother and sister in law and their 2 year old. We need all the advice and tips we can get for cruising with toddlers. We’ve cruised quite a bit in the past but never with small children. Do you take strollers? Car seats? Have you used in stateroom babysitting services? Kids clubs? We are brand new to this and appreciate all the advice we can get! Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

 

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[pl281]

We've now done 3 cruises with our little one (currently 4.5) last cruise we did this past summer was italy and the greek isles....

So here is what I can tell you.....

 

1) Go with the flow - Your schedule on the ship will be off from at home - just go with it.

 

2) They have toddler time in the kids club where you can go in with LO and play with some of the toys - as the trip is very port intensive you might miss the times if going on excursions.

 

3) If you have a carrier / backpack I highly suggest using that as many of the places in Greece do not allow for a stroller

 

4) We started out (about 2 years ago) with an umbrella stroller from Toys R Us - this year we upgraded to an umbrella stroller by Jeep (got it at Target) folds up pretty small but still a big heavy duty

 

5) I recommend getting some magnetic hooks and a cloth shower curtain to put around pack n play / sofa

 

6) Our little one was still in diapers on all our trips - We planned on 10 per day and brought 2 extra days - it made packing a bit tricky but we said we'd rather have extra than not enough

 

7) I recommend the arm n hammer disposable diaper bags as they are individual bags and make life easy

 

8) While you are on board ship, there is a changing table in the bathroom by the kids club

 

9) We used the babysitting on the first cruise we did - it's $20/hr and that gets you 2 staff members, you have to signup / request at guest services (at least a day in advance) and it's based on staff who are available

 

10) We did the Celebrity excursions - you may want to consider getting a private van where you have some more flexibility with the little ones - we didn't bring a carseat - little one sat in our laps or in the seat on the charter bus

 

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

Philip

[AmandadeWitte]

Great info, Philip! Thank you!

 

 

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[cruisequeen4ever]

I don’t have children, but I saw a family onboard once that seemed to know what they were doing. They kept the baby in the stroller and wheeled him/her around most places on the ship. That way, they could enjoy the entertainment while keeping the baby semi entertained and on the move. The parents would just continually push the stroller during events. The baby seemed happy aka I never heard crying whenever we were around them.

 

I saw another family enjoying a leisurely dining room lunch by having their young son play games on an iPad. That worked the whole lunch.

 

 

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[AmandadeWitte]

I don’t have children, but I saw a family onboard once that seemed to know what they were doing. They kept the baby in the stroller and wheeled him/her around most places on the ship. That way, they could enjoy the entertainment while keeping the baby semi entertained and on the move. The parents would just continually push the stroller during events. The baby seemed happy aka I never heard crying whenever we were around them.

 

I saw another family enjoying a leisurely dining room lunch by having their young son play games on an iPad. That worked the whole lunch.

 

 

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iPads are lifesavers, for sure. [emoji5] thanks for the tips!

 

 

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[illiniwahoo]

They don't have a sign on all doors where they have changing tables. In equinox the ladies room just outside of the buffet had one in the "sideways" stall - first one on the right.

 

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[helen haywood]

Read this review. Younger child but lots of good advice!

 

Reflection Review w/9 Month Old Baby!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2583624

 

 

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