Advice on cruising with a toddler

[Hoosierpop]

We are taking a family cruise and our two year old granddaughter will be with us. I know Carnival offers cribs on a first come, first serve basis, but have a question for anyone who has experience with a toddler.

 

1) Are the Carnival cribs the easy answer? Are the cribs easy to take down so it’s not taking up so much room during the day?

2) Has anyone tried bed bumpers on the sofa? Not sure if that would work in the Carnival sofas.

3) Or should we just bring a pack and play and call it a day?

[x lindsay x]

The Carnival cribs are true mini cribs - they do not come down, they become part of your room furniture. A pack and play will actually take up more of a footprint so you'll have to weigh the benefit of being able to take it down vs. something smaller that will be in the room the entire cruise.

 

We haven't done bumpers but our LO was 3 when we put them in the sofa bed on a ship for the first time, they were already in a toddler bed at home so we didn't have an roll off issues. If your granddaughter is used to a crib at home I would not recommend trying out a bed on a cruise. 

[sredish]

My 2 yo daughter slept just fine on the pull out without bumpers.  She would have hated the mini crib...

 

If you're that worried about the short fall to the floor from the mattress, ask for extra towels and roll them up in a "log" shape and tuck them under the sheets to create your own bumpers.  

Edited May 17 by sredish

[1025cruise]

Something else to remember:

If your granddaughter is not potty trained, she will be unable to go in the pools. I don't believe Carnival has any ships with a splash area. No swim diapers allowed.

[nc762shooter]

A foam pool noodle from Walmart or the dollar store tucked under the sheet makes a great bumper too. If you're flying in you could probably pick one up near the port so you don't have to pack it. It's also cheap enough that if you don't want the hassle of bringing it home you can ditch it. 

[Purvis1231]

58 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Something else to remember:

If your granddaughter is not potty trained, she will be unable to go in the pools. I don't believe Carnival has any ships with a splash area. No swim diapers allowed.

Don't all the Carnival ships have a splash area? But the swimming pool rules apply.

[Purvis1231]

4 hours ago, Hoosierpop said:

We are taking a family cruise and our two year old granddaughter will be with us. I know Carnival offers cribs on a first come, first serve basis, but have a question for anyone who has experience with a toddler.

 

1) Are the Carnival cribs the easy answer? Are the cribs easy to take down so it’s not taking up so much room during the day?

2) Has anyone tried bed bumpers on the sofa? Not sure if that would work in the Carnival sofas.

3) Or should we just bring a pack and play and call it a day?

 

The sofa should work fine for a two year old. When our child was two, I took the pull down bed and my wie and child took the kid size bed. 

 

Make sure you have the legal paperwork needed for traveling out of the country with your grandchild. 

Have a great time! 

Edited May 17 by Purvis1231
typo

[Hoosierpop]

53 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

 

The sofa should work fine for a two year old. When our child was two, I took the pull down bed and my wie and child took the kid size bed. 

 

Make sure you have the legal paperwork needed for traveling out of the country with your grandchild. 

Have a great time! 

Thanks. Her mom is going. She’s just not on cruise critic to answer. If it was up to me, she’d sleep in a sleeping bag and learn to like it…..

[Hoosierpop]

59 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

Don't all the Carnival ships have a splash area? But the swimming pool rules apply.

Is the splash area at the bottom of the water slides? Last cruise I was on, the main pool was closed two days because of adults vomiting in it. Good times.

[sgttami]

I'm sure the beds would be fine.  My son was already in a bed at home when he turned 2. He would have climbed out of a crib...lol

[Purvis1231]

54 minutes ago, Hoosierpop said:

Is the splash area at the bottom of the water slides? Last cruise I was on, the main pool was closed two days because of adults vomiting in it. Good times.

The splash pad is around the waterslide but not at the bottom on the ships I have sailed on. 

[vswan]

My daughter's youngest turned 2 about 3 weeks before her cruise. They decided to do the potty train in 7 days and I laughed. Sure a boy potty trained in 7 days.... Turned out he was potty trained before they left. Well worth it to let him enjoy the pools/water options on board.

[Hoosierpop]

12 hours ago, vswan said:

My daughter's youngest turned 2 about 3 weeks before her cruise. They decided to do the potty train in 7 days and I laughed. Sure a boy potty trained in 7 days.... Turned out he was potty trained before they left. Well worth it to let him enjoy the pools/water options on board.

Wow. That’s impressive. My GD won’t be trained enough to get in the pool but she is going to be so busy with everything on board she won’t really miss it. She is going to love the beach though.

[mjkacmom]

20 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

Don't all the Carnival ships have a splash area? But the swimming pool rules apply.

The only cruise ships that sail out of the US with splash areas for diapered kids are DCL and a handful of RCCL ships, that’s it.

[mjkacmom]

18 hours ago, sgttami said:

I'm sure the beds would be fine.  My son was already in a bed at home when he turned 2. He would have climbed out of a crib...lol

But it doesn’t sound like he’s in a bed at home. I raised 5 kids, my first 3 stayed in cribs until 4, never climbed, the next 2 (twins) climbed at 2, so they were switched to twin beds. Life was so much easier with toddlers in cribs.

[vswan]

Dining with toddlers can also be a treat. My daughter's family found it was easier to just do the buffet and fast food options rather than waiting for food in the dining room. They do have high chairs in the dining rooms, but having a 2 year old wait for a meal can be a problem.

[Hoosierpop]

24 minutes ago, vswan said:

Dining with toddlers can also be a treat. My daughter's family found it was easier to just do the buffet and fast food options rather than waiting for food in the dining room. They do have high chairs in the dining rooms, but having a 2 year old wait for a meal can be a problem.

Totally get it. But amongst the blessings for my GD, she is the most patient child when it comes to dinner tables. Way better than my daughter was. But if she gets restless, it’s pizza time with Papa.

[Purvis1231]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

The only cruise ships that sail out of the US with splash areas for diapered kids are DCL and a handful of RCCL ships, that’s it.

As I stated on Carnival the pool rules apply to the splash areas. 

[ldubs]

On 5/17/2024 at 7:41 AM, Hoosierpop said:

We are taking a family cruise and our two year old granddaughter will be with us. I know Carnival offers cribs on a first come, first serve basis, but have a question for anyone who has experience with a toddler.

 

1) Are the Carnival cribs the easy answer? Are the cribs easy to take down so it’s not taking up so much room during the day?

2) Has anyone tried bed bumpers on the sofa? Not sure if that would work in the Carnival sofas.

3) Or should we just bring a pack and play and call it a day?

 

My vote would be for the pack and play and a slumber tent.   If they are used to a sound machine, bring it for sure.