Cruising with a 2 yr. old?

[reallyitsmema]

22 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Others will remember better than me. Cruise now. I think the kids sail free is either 12 and under or 8 and under. Use a TA or call if you want all 3 in one cabin for 5. It's not shown on their website but rcl unlike some will allow a 5th small child to share the beds. 

 

I read there is babysitting, maybe age 2 and up. 

 

I'm sure others have all the ages memorized. The other 2 can go to kids camp. They are so cute. I've seen the counsellors parading them around or taking them to lunch. At xmas they are in a children's show I've gone to. I sat in the theater with a mature 3 and 7 year old their parents sent early to save seats for shows. I sat with them, seemed a little young to be walking alone, but they assured me they both had cruised a lot and their parents even let them eat alone. Lol. So we sat every night together before the shows. Cute little boys.

 

21 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Our granddaughter did her 1st cruise for her 2nd birthday.  There was stuff for her and babysitting.  Dining room staff was great.   Waiters always immediately brought her something to eat while the rest of us us were still thinking.  We did get her a tablet. Her mother got her headphones and loaded it with stuff.   Kept her occupied while we ate.    No one had to leave to occupy her.  She's 7 and lives to cruise. 

 

Royal Caribbean hasn't offered babysitting for a few years.  There is Adventure Ocean for the three and up crowd and most ships now have a pay as you go Nursery with limited hours for the young crowd.

[njkruzer]

3 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

 

Royal Caribbean hasn't offered babysitting for a few years.  There is Adventure Ocean for the three and up crowd and most ships now have a pay as you go Nursery with limited hours for the young crowd.

You always paid for the babysitting. 

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, njkruzer said:

You always paid for the babysitting. 

 

Babysitting was in cabin, with two sitters, and has been discontinued.  The Nursery is a group setting and is available on most ships.  Both were/are for a fee.

[njkruzer]

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

 

Babysitting was in cabin, with two sitters, and has been discontinued.  The Nursery is a group setting and is available on most ships.  Both were/are for a fee.

The nursery was what we used.  

[BirdTravels]

On 11/21/2020 at 4:28 PM, chrcruiser said:

Would like to book a cruise for 2022 for our family - 2 Children their spouse and kids ages at the time 12, 9, 7 and 2. Should I wait until the two year old is older or book it? Just need advise for those that have cruised with one that age. Thanks!

Cruising with a 2 year old (or 4 year old) is fine. As long as you fully understand that other passengers don't want to be cruising with a 2 year old. That is, if the kid starts to fuss, becomes disruptive, or starts to run around, it is incumbent on you to remove the kid from public areas until they settle down. 

[FLSteve11]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Cruising with a 2 year old (or 4 year old) is fine. As long as you fully understand that other passengers don't want to be cruising with a 2 year old. That is, if the kid starts to fuss, becomes disruptive, or starts to run around, it is incumbent on you to remove the kid from public areas until they settle down. 

 

Exactly.   And really that shouldn't matter where you are.   As a parent you should be cognizant of what your child is doing when in a public setting.    Whether on a cruise, in a restaurant,  at an event,  if your child is being too disruptive it's time to move them out,  at least until they've calmed down and behave.  

[PigsCanFly]

We cruised with our son when he was 9 months old.  Our solution was to bring a grandmother along.  It was a great experience for all.  He has since joined us on 20+ cruises in the last 27 years.  My most vivid memory of his first cruise wasof my carrying alot of baby stuff (food, diapers, pack&play, etc)  We have learned since, that as he grew up, he can now be used to carry our stuff😊.  When (if?) cruising starts back up, we hope that 20 years from now we can get him to wheel us around.

[lovescats5]

Everyone seems to think small kids are the problem.  How about the person who has had too much to drink and becomes loud and obnoxious.  They are worse than the small kids.  We had our granddaughter on a cruise at 6 months and every year until she was 5 and had no problem.  We were grandparents and parents that would take her out if she started crying but kids are kids and they act up sometimes.  I would imagine as a child you were not perfect either.   If you do not want small kids around go to a different cruise line where there are no kids.  

[travelhound]

On 11/21/2020 at 3:28 PM, chrcruiser said:

Would like to book a cruise for 2022 for our family - 2 Children their spouse and kids ages at the time 12, 9, 7 and 2. Should I wait until the two year old is older or book it? Just need advise for those that have cruised with one that age. Thanks!

We took our daughter on her first cruise when she was one.  We had a great time and had no problems.

[BSocial]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Cruising with a 2 year old (or 4 year old) is fine. As long as you fully understand that other passengers don't want to be cruising with a 2 year old ...

Wow, please don’t speak for all passengers.   This is a Family-oriented cruise line.  Kids are certainly welcome!   

[nivek82]

We took our child on many cruises and in the age range that was asked (and younger.)  If you're comfortable with having a child in the nursery then it's a great experience.  We would book the night (just before dinner) and drop off our child with bottles and go eat then come back in a few hours and pickup the kid for bed.  The bottles were not warmed up but for our kid not a problem.  I sometimes think that sleeping while being carried back to the room is how our kid  sleep past anything these days 🙂  Back in the day they used to give parrents phones to take with them when they dropped off a kid in the nursery should something come up but we never had a call (except for maybe bring another diaper.)  They used to give you a small bag when you first checked in that we would fill with diapers, clothes, bottles and bring it with each night.  Also not sure if they are still doing it but you could check out toys from them too.  That was great to get "new" toys for the room every day or so. 

[bearette]

I would suggest a cruise without kids first for the parents, if they don't know if they like it, it will be harder with the kids.  If they have experienced a cruise before, they know what to expect. My kids went at 9 months old, I have twins. Where there is a will, there is a way, but it depends on what the parents want out of the trip. If they want some time away they will have to pay for it so I would recommend waiting until the youngest is 3 ( make sure he/she is potty trained, no pull ups allowed) so they can utilize the kid's club. I was the type that wouldn't let them babysit my kids so I took them everywhere before three. 18 months -3 years were the hardest travel ages for my family. All kids are different and parents too. My sister didn't want to travel with her son because she said it wasn't a vacation for her, just more work. So the bottom line, do the parents want to go? If so then go and enjoy.