Cruising with Baby

[vision14k]

My wife and I really enjoyed cruising by ourselves before we had a child, who is now a little over 1-year old.

 

Question:  For those that have/had children, particularly very young one in diapers, was cruising still an enjoyable type of vacation for you? Or was it more stressful than it’s worth?

Edited January 7, 2023 by vision14k

[smokeybandit]

It depends on how you approach the vacation. If you want to be on the go and see/do everything, then it'd be more stressful than it's worth.

If you can just relax, enjoy the down time and the break away from the real world, and manage to fit in a few things you want to as your child allows, then most certainly, it's enjoyable.

[teddie]

I’m thinking it’s likely no different than taking a baby on a land vacation. Baby just needs the usual love, attention, and sleeping routine. 

It’s all up to you 🙂

[klfrodo]

I'm sure you could still have a great time, but if Gma & Gpa can go, you will probably have more free time cause they'll be spoilin the heck out of the grandkids

 

[Mapleleafforever]

11 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I'm sure you could still have a great time, but if Gma & Gpa can go, you will probably have more free time cause they'll be spoilin the heck out of the grandkids

 

This is exactly what we did when we brought our 1.5 year old daughter one year and our now 2.5 and 6 month old daughters the next year. I highly recommend joining balcony cabins. Good times.......great memories. 

[donswife]

Royal Caribbean is a good choice for cruising with a baby. Is your kiddo a good sleeper? Adaptable in new situations? Comfortable with lots of unfamiliar people around? If yes, it will probably be fine.

 

I would try a local hotel vacation first, then move on to a short cruise. 

[Mum2Mercury]

Since you mentioned diapers, I'll throw this in:  Diapers are easy.  A fully potty trained child is easy.  In between (or newly trained /still in need of lots of reinforcement) is hard.  

Edited January 7, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[jacobtsf]

My wife and I have currently done 2 cruises with our daughter, and have two more planned for the upcoming months. 
 

She first cruised in July 2021, just after turning 2, 7 days on the Allure. This was a perfect ship for such a young child, and being right when the restart was happening was awesome. The entire crew, and most of the passengers, knew her name by day 2, there was plenty for her to do, and the Babies and Tots Nursery program was available for her. 
 

Next was 12 days on the Jewel doing a British Isles cruise. This was originally supposed to be a Baltic Cruise when she was an infant, which would have had its own set of pros and cons, but that cruise was delayed multiple times first due to Covid and then Putin. We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa with us which really helped. While this ship doesn’t have all the bells and whistles the larger ones do we still found plenty to do with her. She liked being able to be in the “real pool” since she is now diaper trained, but she had some major separation issues and didn’t want us to leave her at Adventure Ocean. 
 

Our next two cruises will be 2 very different experiences. We are going on Rhapsody out of Barbados on an Island Hop cruise. 7 days, a different island every day, with 0 sea days. Yes this ship is very small compared to others with not a ton for young kids, but we won’t be spending a lot of time on the ship. When we are on board we will be in the pool and now that she goes to preschool at home she is more excited about Adventure Ocean. Grandma and Grandpa are not joining us for this one,  but we are cautiously optimistic. 

 

This summer we will bringing a bunch of friends on Oasis. Her other grandmother will be with us, and this entire trip is about having fun with all the kids.

 

So, what are my thoughts? If you can’t bring grandparents try to go on a larger ship with more for young ones to do, and a nursery program. Realize that you won’t be able to do everything you used to, but you and your partner should take turns doing a few fun activities while the other watches the kid. In terms of a room I suggest a balcony, so that after you put the kid into the pack and play you can go out on the balcony to relax with some wine. 
 

It can still be a ton of fun, but you have to know what you are getting in to. 

[D4]

It would also be much more of a hassle if you’re flying because of all the stuff you’ll need to bring.

 

Also consider what you like doing on cruises.  If you love to constantly be busy on a cruise, then you might want to wait.

[poocher]

As a Grammy who loves her grandkids, I somewhat resent being put forth as the built in babysitter.  Hey Mom, we’d love for you and Dad to join us on our cruise!  The kids are napping next door, we’ll be at the pool bar if you need us.

[jacobtsf]

6 minutes ago, poocher said:

As a Grammy who loves her grandkids, I somewhat resent being put forth as the built in babysitter.  Hey Mom, we’d love for you and Dad to join us on our cruise!  The kids are napping next door, we’ll be at the pool bar if you need us.

It isn’t that so much as it is that 4 adults to 1 toddler is a good ratio. Sure, there is babysitting, but there is also having different people to sit next to and occupy attention during meals and excursions/just another pair of eyes to watch. 

[ARandomTraveler]

I cruised with a 2 year old and it was not relaxing at all. Extended family who was on the trip with us were understandably not interested in giving up their vacation time to be babysitters, so I spent a lot of time in my room for naps, or trying to do tours and sightseeing while pushing a sleeping child in an umbrella stroller, or hanging out on the ship while everyone else went out adventuring.  
 

Personally, I don't think it's worth the money to take a vacation like this with small children, but it also depends on how much relaxing and/or adventuring you want to do (you won't do much of either with a toddler in tow).

 

It cost me $2600 for the 2 year old between airfare and cruise fare, and she wasn't allowed in the adventure ocean program, and she was very confused and upset the whole cruise as to why she wasn't allowed to swim in the pools, which was really the only fun thing on the ship for a 2 year old to do. 100% would save my money and never do that again.
 

That 2 year old is now 20 and we cruise and travel together all the time, and we have the best time, but at 2? I'd save my money. 

[ARandomTraveler]

22 hours ago, poocher said:

As a Grammy who loves her grandkids, I somewhat resent being put forth as the built in babysitter.  Hey Mom, we’d love for you and Dad to join us on our cruise!  The kids are napping next door, we’ll be at the pool bar if you need us.

 

22 hours ago, jacobtsf said:

It isn’t that so much as it is that 4 adults to 1 toddler is a good ratio. Sure, there is babysitting, but there is also having different people to sit next to and occupy attention during meals and excursions/just another pair of eyes to watch. 

1000% agree with @poocher! Who wants to be invited on a vacation to be a babysitter? That is NOT fun, no matter how

cute your kid is. 
 

For me, and I'm sure this is not how everyone feels, but having graduated from that stage of parenthood, the last thing I want to do is have to entertain or give attention to a toddler who is distracting me from adult conversations and relaxing. Sorry but, no thank you. 

[poocher]

Really, I am a professional grandmother.  I have one or more of them at my house 3-4 days a week.  It’s just reading posts asking about taking young children & getting “oh yes, you can do it.  Bring the grandparents” replies that rub me the wrong way.  If it’s too hard to manage your offspring without help, take a different vacation.  I never brought anyone on vacation with us.  They were our kids, we took trips that we and they could handle.

Edited January 8, 2023 by poocher

[ARandomTraveler]

7 minutes ago, poocher said:

Really, I am a professional grandmother.  I have one or more of them at my house 3-4 days a week.  It’s just reading posts asking about taking young children & getting “oh yes, you can do it.  Bring the grandparents” replies that rub me the wrong way.  If it’s too hard to manage your offspring without help, take a different vacation.

I get that totally. I don't dislike children at all, in fact most of them at that age are hilarious and entertaining, but I don't want to be in charge of them on vacation...ever.
 

And I don't mind if they're in my vicinity while on vacation, as long as I'm not expected to keep them entertained or to disrupt my adult time, which I paid good money for, in order to give their parents a break. 
 

Every time I see people make suggestions about bringing the grandparents on vacation to watch the kids, I wonder how the grandparents feel about that. I wouldn't appreciate it.
 

Becoming a parent means making some major sacrifices in your life for many years. Relaxing on vacation is one of them. 
 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[poocher]

And I take mine on vacation just about every year but we do their stuff, usually 4/5 days at the beach.  They love the water & sand.  And they sleep like rocks!

[ARandomTraveler]

2 minutes ago, poocher said:

And I take mine on vacation just about every year but we do their stuff, usually 4/5 days at the beach.  They love the water & sand.  And they sleep like rocks!

That's different than being invited on a vacation to be a babysitter. When you plan to take children on a trip, your mind is set accordingly to be the babysitter and playmate. When I book a vacation for myself, it's not my idea of fun to be put in charge of other people's children. Maybe that's just me, but I wouldn't do it. 

[mikefromny]

When our kids were little my parents were kind enough to babysit the kids at home. If that's an option I definitely recommend it. The alone time for the two and the respite from caring for a young child will have you coming home much more ready to keep being a happy parent.

[Ret MP]

Nobody puts Baby in the corner:

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

I love my Grands.  We are taking our family on a cruise in 2024.  The grands will be 3 -14. I don’t mind a couple hours in the evening reading in a connecting room while the adult kids go to a show and have a drink.  But I don’t want to spend my whole evening doing that or every evening even though I love them to pieces.  It’s my vacation too.  
 

We have taken a 1 year old grand (with his parents.)  He was exhausted by 7 pm and wasn’t one to sleep in a stroller.  Half way through the week he had a fever and was miserable for a day.  We managed the week but he did not have the greatest time. 

 

If you don’t have anyone to care for the baby or you can’t imagine leaving him at home, adjust your expectations.  They still need their routine naps and bedtime or they will make you miserable too.  Get a cabin that you can at least sit on a balcony while they sleep.  Bring EVERYTHING they might need including fever reducing meds.  

[twinmommy08]

My twins are now teenagers but we took them on several cruises while still in diapers. In my experience, you and your spouse’s expectations will determine if you have a good time or not. While not perfect every time, my husband and I enjoyed ourselves while understanding the following: 
 

1. The babies don’t care you spent money for a cruise. 
2. Stick to the child’s routine as much as possible. 
3. Understand you and your spouse will have to take shifts of alone time to “have fun” as you won’t have the same outcome together with your child in tow. We have given each other an hour or more at a time while the other managed nap times or early bedtimes. 
4. Take opportunities as they come when the baby is well fed, happy, and calm. Basically don’t stay in your room when this happens, take the opportunity to walk outside or visit a show, etc. 

5. Your child will tell you when they are overwhelmed. Listen to the child and take a break, even if it’s inconvenient to you. 
6. The staff will give you extra attention and be very caring. Most have littles of their own back home and miss them terribly. We found the staff wanted to over accommodate us at meal times. 
7. Ignore the grumpy folks who can’t imagine why you brought a baby on a cruise ship. Take advantage of those kids sail free sales! 

Edited January 9, 2023 by twinmommy08

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we left our then infant (9m) and later toddler (2.5 yo) at home with nana and grandpa when we cruised. It would not have been a fun or relaxing vacation with him in tow at that age. Also - no need to lug a car seat with us, or a suitcase full of diapers.

 

When he was 3 and fully day potty trained, he went on his first cruise with us - it was a blast, and he cruised with us ever since. He still napped at that time, so I spent that time in the cabin reading or listening to audiobooks.

 

When he was older, my parents came with us as well, but not as built in babysitters. Our kid doesn't do kid's club as he is not a social butterfly, so he is always with us every minute of the cruise. 

 

OP, check out this board for more advice:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/

 

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

Edited January 9, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy