Toddler on Silhouette

[TheBigBean]

We are thinking of booking the Northern Europe cruise on Silhouette, and wondered what activities our 2.5 year old may be able to do. It seems that he wont't be allowed in the pool (not potty trained) and is too young for the kids club. The website mentions Toddler Time, but that is only "select times". Is there a general play area I can take him any time of day?

The alternative is a Cunard cruise which seems to better for toddlers, but has its own downsides.

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Any empty lounge should do.  The Hideaway on deck 7 should be fun.  Quasar when nothing is going on...EM

[rM3panno]

4 hours ago, TheBigBean said:

We are thinking of booking the Northern Europe cruise on Silhouette, and wondered what activities our 2.5 year old may be able to do. It seems that he wont't be allowed in the pool (not potty trained) and is too young for the kids club. The website mentions Toddler Time, but that is only "select times". Is there a general play area I can take him any time of day?

The alternative is a Cunard cruise which seems to better for toddlers, but has its own downsides.

 

 

We are Celebrity loyalists and our older son (3.5 years old) has been on 5 cruises. The latest cruise was the first he was old enough to go to the kids club and it made a huge difference in our trip. He loved it and we had some nice windows of time where we could do our own non kid activities. Having most recently done the Baltic in 2016, he was only 1 at the time and stayed with grandparents. That itinerary would be a little too long and port intensive for us if he didn’t have the kids club.

[TheBigBean]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Empty lounges are ok, but they are quite hard work as a parent as there are lots of tempting things to be thrown about e.g. menus, ornaments. I was really hoping there would be some sort of soft play area such as those often seen in airports.

 

rM3panno - what did you do before you had access to the kids clubs? And, am I right in thinking my son won't be able to play there even if he is accompanied?

 

 

 

[rM3panno]

27 minutes ago, TheBigBean said:

Thanks for the replies.

 

Empty lounges are ok, but they are quite hard work as a parent as there are lots of tempting things to be thrown about e.g. menus, ornaments. I was really hoping there would be some sort of soft play area such as those often seen in airports.

 

rM3panno - what did you do before you had access to the kids clubs? And, am I right in thinking my son won't be able to play there even if he is accompanied?

 

 

 

My wife and I would take him everywhere with us. Dinner, specialty restaurants, pool, etc. We would also take turns if one needed a break. 

 

In room babysitting has been hit or miss for us since the first cruise we took him on. When available it is great if you want a date night. $19/hr for 2 staff members in your room.

 

While the Baltic isn’t usually the most pool friendly itinerary we had our son potty trained right around 2.5 and the pool was a good distraction.

Edited May 5, 2019 by rM3panno

[cruisinsusin]

HI- just off Equinox with our toddler grandson (not quite 3)- there were 2-3 hour long time periods each day where the under 3 year olds could play in the kids area if accompanied by an adult. There were some family activities scheduled also like family bingo and scavenger hunts but we did not try those.

[MarLieb]

Have you considered a cruise line that has a nursery, like DCL?

[DebInAntigua]

12 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Any empty lounge should do.  The Hideaway on deck 7 should be fun.  Quasar when nothing is going on...EM

 

Surely you were joking? The Hideaway is a quiet place on the ship to have a conversation, read a book or relax. Not set a toddler loose to play. 

[TheBigBean]

10 hours ago, cruisinsusin said:

HI- just off Equinox with our toddler grandson (not quite 3)- there were 2-3 hour long time periods each day where the under 3 year olds could play in the kids area if accompanied by an adult. There were some family activities scheduled also like family bingo and scavenger hunts but we did not try those.

 

Thanks for the information. It's a shame there isn't a play area open all the time. 2-3 hours each day is fine, but it's not so good if it is scheduled during nap time for example.

 

9 hours ago, MarLieb said:

Have you considered a cruise line that has a nursery, like DCL?

 

We are limited by departure date and relatively last minute booking. Cunard is the alternative which does have a nursery open to two year olds, but it also has a 19th century dress code and 20th century internet. Plus my concern would be that there is an expectation that my son is put in nursery - I'm happy to spend the whole holiday with him, but would just like some sort of playground/ soft play area to go to.

 

Ultimately it is sounding like it is not going to work, so I need to consider another type of holiday.

[karli_ratte]

We will be on Reflection with our not quite 3-year-old daughter this summer. As she doesn't speak English any Kids Club offers and most likely in-room babysitting won't be an option, so she will be with us at all times. We were on an MSC cruise last year, realizing that Celebrity isn't quite the family cruise line, but really didn't like it, so we are back. 
Our daughter loved the stairs in the Grand Foyer on MSC. All the sparkle. She would walk up and down for hours (exhausting for the parent, but keeps the baby happy :-)). Also, she loves to people watch, so this year we will hang out in Cafe al Bacio during sea days and we are fairly certain that it will keep her busy to sip on a "baby-ffe" (her creation, it means "baby-coffee") while watching the bustle (Dance lessons, musicians etc.). 

We will also spend a lot of time on our balcony to give her time to come down from the very busy port days (2 days in St. Petersburg). She loves watching birds etc. We booked a C3 with a good view of the bridge and I hope that she'll be able to watch some activity there, as she's at the point where any machinery and how it works is just super-exciting. 

[chemmo]

Why not look at a shorter cruise to start with and see how you find it?

 

Royal Caribbean does have some shorter cruises from Southampton which are generally more child/family orientated.

 

 

[wendyam76]

The Lawn area would be a good place to play - shouldn’t think there would be too many sunbathers especially earlier in the day. Take a throw/mat and some toys. They also have been showing some movies up there (well they did on the Reflection) which during the day are usually family friendly.

Wendy 

[cruisinsusin]

4 hours ago, TheBigBean said:

 

Thanks for the information. It's a shame there isn't a play area open all the time. 2-3 hours each day is fine, but it's not so good if it is scheduled during nap time for example.

 

Ultimately it is sounding like it is not going to work, so I need to consider another type of holiday.

Our grandson had a blast on the cruise without spending much time in the play area- he loved the elevators, climbing stairs,watching the water and birds and action off the balcony, getting milk and cookies at Cafe al Bacio, not to mention the activities off the ship when in ports. We brought some amusements for him to play in the cabin as well. There are Disney and other kid movies on the TV for quiet times. The wait staff in the dining room really watched out for him and brought  his food out early. It was a great holiday time together