Tips for cruising with a toddler??

[Leepin50]

Hey guys! Getting on the Odyssey with my nearly 2 year old next weekend. I booked this cruise sitting at home with a crying infant😅 I can't believe it's finally here!! But also we're going on his first plane ride and it'll be a totally different experience for me I'm sure.  I'd love to hear from those that have done it so I don't feel like maybe I was totally insane to do this:)

 

Also I've heard they will loan you toys from the adventure ocean for your room, has anyone heard if this is still happening??

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!

 

Kelly

[death_star]

We cruised on Allure with our then 1.5 YO. It is an entirely different trip than what you may have had a an adult. We had success with sticking mostly to her schedule. Had some sessions booked in the nursery as soon as we boarded.. Took advantage of any play times offered and the baby splash pool. 

 

The staff was great everywhere and most love kids. You will find new friends all over. We brought a few favorite toys from home but honestly we didn't have a ton of time to play with them. Which kind of cabin did you get?

 

We had great success with a shower curtain and magnetic hooks from the ceiling to sort of make a privacy curtain around the pack and play. She loved going on the balcony and we also enjoyed some time out on it while she was napping inside. 

 

Don't try to push them too much. 

[Ashland]

We have cruised/flown as an extended family several times with toddler grandchildren. And have had a wonderful time. New experiences and memories for all of us. 

 

Agree with the post above including their helpful details. However during times like these with Covid measures things might be much different. Don't let that stop you...go and enjoy !!!

[travelhound]

Our dd was 2 months short of her second birthday on her first cruise. It's different than going as an adult but that doesn't mean it not good. We had a blast with her and although she doesn't remember it now, she had a great time on that trip. 

 

You have to bring everything you think you will need and then some. You can't count on a ship shop to have extra diapers/wipes/food etc. It made for a lot of luggage but her clothes and shoes were small. 😅 I brought one of those over the door shoe organizer to put all her little shoes, tights, socks, hair acc etc. That was great because it kept everything more organized. We went to the dining room every night with her and she loved getting dressed up. In fact, when she was dressed up she acted better during dinner. If you bring anything you want to hang up, I suggest grabbing a few of your baby hangers because nothing will fit on the big ones. I just packed her hangable clothes on the baby hangers and pulled them out of the suitcase and put them right in the closet.

 

Bring a lightweight and small stroller. A big one won't make it down the hall, especially with a service cart that is often in the way. Our dd at that age was a crazy runner....always in a hurry. We had a backpack with a leash on the bottom. Before she was born I thought it was terrible to treat your kid like a dog. After I saw how fast she was and how easily she slipped away, I reconsidered. We didn't use it often, but in places like the car rental facility while signing paperwork...priceless.

 

If your child likes to drink milk at night, nab some cartons in the morning and put them in your fridge. They are not as easily found at night. Just make sure your fridge is cold enough. Also there is never any silverware that fits a little mouth. Bring some of your own. 

 

If you haven't taken a shower with your child before, now would be the time to practice. We always did baths and that was not a pleasant thing to do for the first time on vacation. At least cruise bathrooms have a hand held shower so they don't feel as if they're drowning. 

 

I don't know if your child is potty trained or not and if not, does the ship have a splash pad area that allows swim diapers. Only for the first cruise she was not potty trained and the ship we were on didn't allow swim diapers in the pools. (which I'm totally fine with) For that reason we went to a lot of beaches and swam in the ocean. We also went out of our way to not walk past the pool on the ship all of the time.

 

I don't know about toys, but with covid, it would surprise if they lent toys. FYI, the walls of the rooms are metal, thus magnetic. I didn't figure that out until our second or third cruise with her, but any letter, animals, figures that are magnetic are fun to play with while sitting on the bed pushed against the wall. Huge space to play!

 

I'm sure I could go on and on but she's 10 now and I don't remember all of the little things I used to bring to make the trip easier. However, if you have any other questions, just ask. Some moments are likely to be challenging but try to enjoy yourself in the moment. We have such great memories of cruising with our daughter at all different ages. 

[Ashland]

In addition to the above..make sure you have reserved a Pack-N-Play on your booking and don't forget to bring your own fitted sheets. Otherwise they will just wrap a large flat sheet around the mattress. And don't forget to take them home with you when you disembark.

[z_cruisers]

We agree with all said, our kids are now 12 and 10 but have been cruising since they were infants. I would add that booking nursery night hours were a savior. Play with kids all day and then nursery in the evening provided a nice dinner for mom and dad. Also there is a rubber ducky blow up tub (Target) that was great! We put in shower for baths and also if we were sitting on balcony an inch of water = lots of fun for kids. Don't be shy taking kids to dinners, the staff love having them and entertain them a lot! Yes its a different cruise than having no kids but its still great! Hey you're not cooking or cleaning for a week! 🙂 Enjoy!! 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

more tips on cruising here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/

 

and lots of tips on traveling with kids in general here:

 

https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a10635/traveling_with_children

[PhillyFan33579]

I would not cruise with an unvaccinated kid right now. There are too many limitations that apply when sailing with an unvaccinated person. 
 

[loman]

I must say you are a very brave individual. 🙂

I planned our first trip to disney land when my youngest was 6 .

I wanted him to be at an age when i could negotiate with him.

I hope things do work out well for you.

[Leepin50]

Thanks guys for all the tips!!  I think once I have one trip under our belt it'll be much easier mentally to get in the right frame of mind:)

 

I did reserve a pack n play and am going to bring a shower curtain to use for the space separation!  I booked a spacious Oceanview at the front of the ship in a corner for extra room, but am semi regretting not getting a balcony for his nap times🤣  I'm trying for a royal up so well see if I can snag one:)

 

Going in with no expectations and a ton more luggage than I'd normally pack, I'll let yall know how it goes:) just very happy to get back into some fun after almost two years of home time!!

 

 

[Sayuil]

6 hours ago, Leepin50 said:

Hey guys! Getting on the Odyssey with my nearly 2 year old next weekend. I booked this cruise sitting at home with a crying infant😅 I can't believe it's finally here!! But also we're going on his first plane ride and it'll be a totally different experience for me I'm sure.  I'd love to hear from those that have done it so I don't feel like maybe I was totally insane to do this:)

 

Also I've heard they will loan you toys from the adventure ocean for your room, has anyone heard if this is still happening??

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!

 

Kelly

Yes I was on Jewel last month. We were able to get toys from adventure ocean. You can also get crayons and play doh

[BSocial]

1 hour ago, Leepin50 said:

Thanks guys for all the tips!!  I think once I have one trip under our belt it'll be much easier mentally to get in the right frame of mind:)

 

I did reserve a pack n play and am going to bring a shower curtain to use for the space separation!  I booked a spacious Oceanview at the front of the ship in a corner for extra room, but am semi regretting not getting a balcony for his nap times🤣  I'm trying for a royal up so well see if I can snag one:)

 

Going in with no expectations and a ton more luggage than I'd normally pack, I'll let yall know how it goes:) just very happy to get back into some fun after almost two years of home time!!

 

 

what a cutie!  Have a wonderful cruise.

[KimA75]

If you bring sippy cups, then bring dish soap and the brush to wash them with.  We would wash ours in the sink with the soap and brush we brought.  Also, bring any meds you might need.  Children's ibuprofin, band-aids, etc.  They can be pricey in the ship stores if you happen to need any.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I would not cruise with an unvaccinated kid right now. There are too many limitations that apply when sailing with an unvaccinated person. 
 

not really. The only places we couldn't go with our 10 yo were places he shouldn't be at to begin with. There were tons of infants on our cruise as well. Not that I would travel with any kids under 4 at this time, simply because they are on the floor a lot more, and their hands are always in their mouths, and it's hard to keep a mask on them (2+ yos). I wouldn't travel with an unmasked kid at this time. Could barely wait to finish his second shot 2 days ago, and he'll still be masked for several months.

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Itchy&Scratchy

[puppycanducruise]

Hope you have a wonderful family vacation.  Take lots of photos!

[PhillyFan33579]

39 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

not really. The only places we couldn't go with our 10 yo were places he shouldn't be at to begin with. There were tons of infants on our cruise as well. Not that I would travel with any kids under 4 at this time, simply because they are on the floor a lot more, and their hands are always in their mouths, and it's hard to keep a mask on them (2+ yos). I wouldn't travel with an unmasked kid at this time. Could barely wait to finish his second shot 2 days ago, and he'll still be masked for several months.

 

You bring up a good point. I guess I spend too much time on cruises at places kids shouldn’t be at like you mentioned. 

[topnole]

Disagree on the small stroller comment.  That seems contingent on the person and their norms.  If your kid still likes being in a stroller and can nap or sleep in one, bring the one you think works best.  Umbrella strollers don’t work well for that.  Our regular size Grayco stroller lies flat and it can be a life saver if a young one can sleep comfortably while you are out and about.  Just depends on you and your norms.  We also did long walks on the jogging track while our kids slept in a stroller.  
 

We also brought our own pack and play after a cruise with our first being nasty dirty and the replacement having a broken bottom (the bed part which made it stick up in the middle).  They were out after that so we had to make the best of it.  Definitely bring pack and play sheets.  We brought 2.  
 

We brought a big storage cube that folds up (easy to pack) for toy storage in the cabin.  We also brought some small toys and some blow up toys like a small blow up ball (good for the pool).  
 

Walmart sells disposable bibs and sippy cups.  We used the cups more

than once, but cheap enough to pitch if they get to dirty/greasy.  
 

Obvious, but never leave a balcony door open and a toddler out of your sight.  
 

Bring food from the windjammer back to your room.  Bananas, oranges, etc. and milk.  
 

Don’t listen to the no kid comments.  Yes it is very different and harder, but we loved it still and had a blast watching our kids enjoy it.  We will soon be bringing our third toddler next year and will now get to see our oldest (now 6 year old) enjoy it that much more.  She was 6 months to the day on her first cruise and had several cruises under her belt before she was 1.  

[topnole]

5 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

not really. The only places we couldn't go with our 10 yo were places he shouldn't be at to begin with. There were tons of infants on our cruise as well. Not that I would travel with any kids under 4 at this time, simply because they are on the floor a lot more, and their hands are always in their mouths, and it's hard to keep a mask on them (2+ yos). I wouldn't travel with an unmasked kid at this time. Could barely wait to finish his second shot 2 days ago, and he'll still be masked for several months.

 

We cruised a bunch with our kids under 4.  They never once got sick on a ship or after.  Only thing new is Covid and the odds of that are so slim with pre cruise testing.  I’m honestly not worried

that they are somehow more likely to catching something now vs pre-Covid.  

[jauyeung]

You’ll have a great time. We checked out and used the toys from the nursery and exchanged it every couple days for a different set of toys to keep things fresh. The main dining was really tough for my LO though because it took too long for her attention span even with the tons of activities we brought for her to dinner. We gave some screen time and sometimes did buffet or room service. The nursery is great too. They’ll feed your child for meals if you bring the food so we packed some small tupperware to bring buffet food for meal times, our usual pouches, applesauce, puffs, etc. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

We sailed with our niece and her young (almost years old daughter) several years back and in addition to what has bee stated above you might consider brining the following other items. (keep in mind we are very over organizers).

-depending on which type of a cabin you are in, if you have a balcony and like to sit out at night you might want to consider some type of a "baby monitor" to hear them while on your balcony.

-we also brought along some small, inexpensive beach toys to play with.

-if you are doing any excursions on your own (and if you are renting a car somewhere) keep in mind that not all rental companies have car seats available..

Just enjoy the experience....

[soremekun]

Tips for cruising with a toddler?

 

Yes, $14.50 per day in junior suite and below.  $17.50 per day in grand suites and above.

[topnole]

13 hours ago, soremekun said:

Tips for cruising with a toddler?

 

Yes, $14.50 per day in junior suite and below.  $17.50 per day in grand suites and above.

Correct.  Tips are implied for everyone including the baby or toddler.  In fact I tip more due to having little kids that require more cleaning.  
 

Another tip.  Ask attendant for a roll of trash liners for the diapers.  He/she will appreciate it.  We bagged them air tight immediately.  Made it nicer for all of us.  We also asked for extra towels as a standing daily request.  
 

Bring room wash clothes with you for wiping the toddlers hand and face after meals.  The restaurant napkins seemingly repel water which makes it hard.  
 

Def bring a baby monitor if you have a balcony.  
 

Always remind every server your on clock with the little one.  Many of them don’t quite remember unless politely reminded.