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A few questions about sailing w my 1 and 2 year old on RCI


BoydsMomma
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My family is set to sail on Harmony on Easter. While we are veteran cruisers my husband and I have never cruised w kids before. We are bringing our 1 and 2 year old w us. I have 3 questions if anyone is so willing to answer them. 

 

1) should we bring beach toys for the islands?  I want to make sure my kids have something to do on the beach and I’m not sure if things like that will be available on the beach excursions we have set up. 

 

2). Those that have cruised w 2 young ones still in pack n plays, how did u manage to make everything fit at night time?  My 2 year old still doesn’t sleep great if not in a crib or pack n play, so I’m not sure that the couch is an option. We have the larger balcony cabin on this cruise. 

 

3) to help w the noise ( along w our white noise machine) we usually travel w a small type of fan. Has anyone ever brought a fan on board for their room?  Plus we get so hot when we sleep we almost always use a fan at night. 

 

Thanks so so much for any advice or input u may have!!

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I'm following this post because my husband and I are traveling on the same cruise on Easter with our 5 yr old and 14 month old children.  Like you, his is our first time traveling with the kids.  We haven't cruised in 6 years.  Thankfully, we'll have 7 other family members to help when needed.  We have a balcony room, but not sure if having the pack and play will make the room tighter. 

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Hey there! I would definitely bring your own beach toys from home— slightly annoying to haul around, but very convenient to just have on hand without to trying to find a place to buy once in port (if you can find them at all). Also if your children use puddle jumpers (not sure of your oldest’s weight) then consider bringing that, too, for any beach swimming. 

 

We haven’t sailed with our child on RCI so I can’t speak to any specifics regarding that (Disney and HAL cruisers here), but we have a 5 year old, and the logistics of kid travel are the same— just bring everything you need with you, particularly diapers, medicine, formula, etc, and operate on the assumption that you can’t buy it (even though sometimes you can). Have fun on your trip!!! 

 

When our son was still in the pack n play, our steward would fold it up during the day to give us more room— our preference, so just plan to have this conversation with the stewards once you board. And I’m sure RCI is the same as other lines, in that you need to request the pack n play in advance to ensure availability and prompt delivery to your cabin. 

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You definitely don't want to be hunting for beach toys once you get there.  A couple buckets actually doesn't take up too much space in luggage since you can fill them with socks, etc., plus a couple cheap shovels, shapes and you're all set.  Also a blow up beach ball or two.  I always left the toys on the last beach so we wouldn't have to pack sandy items.  

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5 hours ago, dimepiece18 said:

I'm following this post because my husband and I are traveling on the same cruise on Easter with our 5 yr old and 14 month old children.  Like you, his is our first time traveling with the kids.  We haven't cruised in 6 years.  Thankfully, we'll have 7 other family members to help when needed.  We have a balcony room, but not sure if having the pack and play will make the room tighter. 

How exciting!!  My youngest is 14 months as well. We will have both sets of grandparents w us to help as well. Thank goodness for family!  I suppose if the room is tight we can have one child spend the night in a grandparents room. 

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2 hours ago, Dulciana8 said:

Hey there! I would definitely bring your own beach toys from home— slightly annoying to haul around, but very convenient to just have on hand without to trying to find a place to buy once in port (if you can find them at all). Also if your children use puddle jumpers (not sure of your oldest’s weight) then consider bringing that, too, for any beach swimming. 

 

We haven’t sailed with our child on RCI so I can’t speak to any specifics regarding that (Disney and HAL cruisers here), but we have a 5 year old, and the logistics of kid travel are the same— just bring everything you need with you, particularly diapers, medicine, formula, etc, and operate on the assumption that you can’t buy it (even though sometimes you can). Have fun on your trip!!! 

 

When our son was still in the pack n play, our steward would fold it up during the day to give us more room— our preference, so just plan to have this conversation with the stewards once you board. And I’m sure RCI is the same as other lines, in that you need to request the pack n play in advance to ensure availability and prompt delivery to your cabin. 

 

I have one pack n play reserved for our room. I can’t get the second one until on board. Ugh. I really don’t want to have to use 2 but I think that it will be best for my oldest. Having the cabin steward fold the pack n play up during the day is a great idea!  

 

I will be sure to bring some beach toys. Ones I can leave and won’t lose sleep over. Lol. Thanks for the input!!!

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Yes, bring beach toys. I always tuck a few in the suitcase when we go. I still do this, and my kids are 7 and 10. 

We only had to use one pack and play at a time, so we didn't have that issue, but one thing that did work well for us was our 3 year old slept in the bed with me and my hubby took the twin bed (or vice versa - my hubby and I rotated). It helped him sleep better during the night, instead of being in his own bed.

 

I'd check to make sure you can have a fan before bringing one. We never bring one with us.

 

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I have seen many people report that they bring small fans on board - for the same reason, white noise and breeze.  Our son loves his meditation tape, so we downloaded that onto our phone and play that for him each night.  Believe it or not, the sea air and the ship’s motion made our son super sleepy when he was younger (3-4), and he slept very well at night.  

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18 hours ago, BoydsMomma said:

 

I have one pack n play reserved for our room. I can’t get the second one until on board. Ugh. I really don’t want to have to use 2 but I think that it will be best for my oldest. Having the cabin steward fold the pack n play up during the day is a great idea!  

 

I will be sure to bring some beach toys. Ones I can leave and won’t lose sleep over. Lol. Thanks for the input!!!

Fingers crossed you can get that second pack n play— when kiddos get good sleep at night everyone else is happy! 

 

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2 hours ago, Dulciana8 said:

Fingers crossed you can get that second pack n play— when kiddos get good sleep at night everyone else is happy! 

 

I could always bring ours but I was trying to avoid the extra items. Hmmmmm.....what to do!

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your fan will most likely get confiscated upon embarkation. Our splitter was confiscated when we sailed on the Allure 2 weeks ago, and when we picked it up on disembarkation, there was a ton of confiscated items, like fans, rice maker, clothes steamer, etc.

 

Our DS is 8, and we've brought his sand toys AND his puddle jumpers (now floaties and an inflatable ring) with us on every cruise.

Also bring every medication known to men and a thermometer.

20190403_120424 - Copy.jpg

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30 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

your fan will most likely get confiscated upon embarkation. Our splitter was confiscated when we sailed on the Allure 2 weeks ago, and when we picked it up on disembarkation, there was a ton of confiscated items, like fans, rice maker, clothes steamer, etc.

 

Our DS is 8, and we've brought his sand toys AND his puddle jumpers (now floaties and an inflatable ring) with us on every cruise.

Also bring every medication known to men and a thermometer.

20190403_120424 - Copy.jpg

Okay thanks for the advice!  Why in the world would someone bring a rice maker???  Lol 🤦🏼‍♀️  I will leave the fan at home. The only thing I’m bringing is a cruise approved non surge protected strip to add more Outlets’s and USB ports. I bought some small beach toys today that I plan on packing. I’m still undecided about the floaties bc neither child knows how to swim and would never be in the water w out an adult. 

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1 hour ago, BoydsMomma said:

 The only thing I’m bringing is a cruise approved non surge protected strip to add more Outlets’s and USB ports.

we brought this and it was confiscated on our Allure sailing (never had a problem with it on Princess or Norwegian):

 

51sQbNtoVXL._SL1000_.jpg

 

However, a 3 outlet USB hub was allowed.

Edited by Itchy&Scratchy
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1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we brought this and it was confiscated on our Allure sailing (never had a problem with it on Princess or Norwegian):

 

51sQbNtoVXL._SL1000_.jpg

 

However, a 3 outlet USB hub was allowed.

This is what I have to bring w me. Hopefully it doesn’t get taken. It shouldn’t but ya never know!

3D20C8DE-FB23-4331-9AF7-FB6276823663.png

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