He is cute to us, but probably not to everyone else

[ImpulsivePuppy]

especially when dining with him.

 

My DS will be 2 on our 9/16 Alaska cruise on the Sun. Now, his table manners are improving but let's face it, the kiddo is 2 and he will act his age. Though DW and I are used to it and find him very cute, we are aware that not everyone appreciates or wants to be around children now matter how freakin adorable they are like DS. ;) Heck, when we cruise alone we do so to be away from children and I certainly understand and empathize with our fellow passengers who will feel this way, after all, it is their vacation too.

 

Now, I am not sure about free style dining as we have never done it before, but when dining in the main dining rooms, are you assigned to a table with others or are you able to choose each time you go there? We really would not want to sit with others because DS does take time and focus and this would not be fair to other adults traveling without kids. And sometimes things get a tad messy with him and again, not fair to others to be subjected to that. So, can we always get a table for three or might we have no choice in the matter?

 

Thanks alot folks!

[wibeachbum]

You will always be able to eat at a table with just your family. You never have to be seated with other people. Enjoy!

[immargaret]

Freestyle is great with a 2 year old. You don't have to share a table, unless you want to, most cruisers don't . You can also take your son to the buffet so he doesn't have to sit through a long meal, drop him off for the kids crew, and then the two of you can eat in one of the main dining rooms or make reservations for a specialty restaurant.

 

Some of the ship actually have a kids area in the buffet, where the tables and chairs are built for them...and they have their own food area with chicken fingers and kid type foods. They usually have the best cookies in their area, many of the adult go there for the cookies.

[ImpulsivePuppy]

and then you and hubby can eat in one of the main dining rooms or make reservations for a specialty restaurant.

 

Yikes!!! I am the hubby!!!:eek: LOL!!!

 

Thanks so much for the responses. :) :) :)

[DroopySails]

What a considerate parent you are, IP. Enjoyed this post.

[ImpulsivePuppy]

What a considerate parent you are, IP. Enjoyed this post.

thanks droopy, i have learned from experience.;)

[claudie]

...I can't believe what I'm reading! You have got to be the most considerate person regarding the realistic expectations of a 2 yr. old and how that could affect others while dining. As stated you will find freestyle dining the perfect option when dining with a little cutie patutie. Have a fabulous cruise!

[momofmab]

We just cruised with my almost 3 y.o. dd (as well as our 10 y.o. dd) and we ate a couple of times with her in the main dining rooms and it was fine. I found the noise level in there to be compatible with an active toddler :) Plus - strangely enough for a full ship, it was never crowded when we were there. More often though we'd do either the buffet or room service for the kids and send them to kid's club at 7p.m. and enjoy dinner ourselves! It was Heaven! She absolutely LOVED the kids club, BTW - I would recommend trying it with your son.

[ImpulsivePuppy]

hi momofmab, were you on the sun? we will definately be doing the kids program for ben, could you tell me more about it? the types of activities, the crowd level, the staff, anything else? thanks so much.

 

thank to all of you for your kind comments.:o

[Stevie17]

I love this post! We recently sailed with our 3.5 year old, and typically, we "dined" with her in the buffet area, and then she headed off to the Kids Crew while we had dinner alone. She loved the Kids Crew, so this arragement worked really well for all of us (especially our fellow diners!)

[momofmab]

Yup - I was on the Sun last week. You can register for the kids crew on the first day (they had a table set up in the atrium). On our cruise the ages were divided into 2-5, 6-9, 10-12 and the teen club. Each group had it's own room. There were always 2 teachers in each room and I believe 8 or less kids in the 2-5 room at any given time (not sure what the official ratios were).

 

After you register they give you a schedule of what they will be doing with the kids for the week. Just to give an example, they have different themes, like one day they may dress like pirates and do a treasure hunt, on another they pretend to be princes and princesses. One day they had a Blue's Clue's birthday party. Their hours on sea days are generally 9-12, then a 2 hour break, 2-5, then a dinner break and then again at night from 7-10 p.m. On port days you have to pay hourly for the care during the day, but it's free again from 7-10 p.m. You can also sign up for paid care after 10 p.m. each night. On some of the nights they take the kids to the kid-family entertainment in the Stardust lounge, like the Cirque de Pan show. They also have snacks for them while they are there and on one of the sea days, they had a breakfast for the kids.

 

If your son isn't potty-trained, they'll give you a beeper and beep you when he needs to be changed. They have a changing facility right there so you can change him and go back to what you were doing. You're welcome to "sneak-a-peak" at them anytime through big portholes. We'd check every once and a while and every time both girls were having a ball. In my experience, the teachers seemed very competent. They learned the kids names right away and also knew which parent(s) went to which kid(s).

 

That's all I can think of...let me know if you have any other questions!

[ute_fan]

The other great thing about freestyle cruising with kids (and mine aren't kids anymore :D ), is that you don't have to eat at a certain time every night. If I remember those days correctly, there were nights when my kids were either waking up from a late nap, in the middle of something fun that they didn't want to stop, or having a two year-old temper tantrum. If any of those or similar circumstances are occuring, just wait until he's settled down and ready to eat. If it means you eat at 5:30 one night, 7:00 the next, and 6:00 on the third night, it won't be a problem.

 

Good luck! We didn't ever cruise until our kids were young adults. Hopefully one of these years I'll get to experience cruising with grandkids!

[ImpulsivePuppy]

hey everyone, thanks so much for the great information. makes me more excited for the cruise! Thanks!! go to bed booz.

[Dorothy]

You are very considerate! I wish all parents were like you. I love children and find the young ones adorable. I just don't like the ones who run rampant and unattended and then they misbehave because no ones watching. So glad to see someone who cares. Enjoy your vacation!

[Host CMLA]

I agree IP, you're very considerate. I'm beginning to understand a lot of the kid stuff I never knew before. I have a 6 month old son and we're taking his first plane trip next week. I'm already practicing my apology speech to those sitting around us in case my son isn't a good flyer. Sure, our situation is a bit different because we can't leave the space in order to not bother people but still...I hate that we may be "those people" with the crying baby. Know what I mean?

[ImpulsivePuppy]

host cecilia, i truly appreciate the kind words.

 

when you are traveling with a 6 month old on a plane you have nothing to apologize about, even if the kid screams his or her head off the entire time, which won't happen, you have every bit of a right to be there with your child as anyone else. not as many people are bothered by it as you may think. I think the only people who are bothered by babies on planes are those who have not been parents yet. This was true of myself. My job has me flying almost every week. Beyond two years ago babies on planes bugged me. After I became a parent, my whole attitude changed, now i love seeing children on planes, it doesn't bug me at all. 6 months is a great age to travel with babies. once they become mobile then it gets real challenging. Don;t worry, you will not be one of "those people" and I would be happy to sit in the vicinity of you and your son.

 

btw, your son is adorable!!

[Host CMLA]

btw, your son is adorable!!

Thank you. He's the most photographed baby in Colorado. :) I snap at least two pictures of him a day. And you hit the nail on the head...6 months ago when I heard a crying baby, I just wanted it to stop. Now I totally understand that babies cry and fuss and you can't control them. Who knew? :D If Nathan cries on the plane, I'll look around and try to convey my apologies for the noise and I'll do the best I can. Maybe I can blame my husband? LOL ;)

 

I'm terrified of planning our first cruise post baby. We've narrowed it down to a Mexican Riviera cruise in October 2007. Nathan will be 2 and we can use the kid's club. Is there an adult's club for parents coping with cruising with a toddler? LOL I joke a lot but I've seen hundreds of kids on cruises that were well behaved and seemed to know they were in a special place.

[Stevie17]

For me, my tollerance level regarding childrens' behavior has gone WAY up since becoming a parent. I can block out almost anything these days...a couple of years ago, that wouldn't have been possible. However, my tollerance level is not everyone's...we're keenly aware of others around us, and make every effort to be considerate when we travel. I'm one of those parents who believes that not every location (nice restaurants, weddings!!!!) is meant for children. I don't feel like the world needs to accommodate me and my little ones...period, end of story. I have trouble understanding parents who believe otherwise. It seems insanely self-absorbed to me. Different strokes, I guess.

[IMACRUZRNOW]

I cruised with my then 4 year old in October. Sitting for long periods of time in the dinning room was a challenge even at his age. So we dined with him every other night (3x's) and then either went to the kids buffet or ordered room service (he LOVED that). The we went to dinner after taking him to kids crew (which he also liked)

 

As for hostcecilia's post about crying babies on planes...that was MY SON! Yikes, was that embarassing. I was a new mom on our way to see grandma in hawaii from LA. My 8 month old SCREAMED for about 2 hours straight. Uggghhh. Thankfully, those days are over!

[newmexicoNita]

especially when dining with him.

 

My DS will be 2 on our 9/16 Alaska cruise on the Sun. Now, his table manners are improving but let's face it, the kiddo is 2 and he will act his age. Though DW and I are used to it and find him very cute, we are aware that not everyone appreciates or wants to be around children now matter how freakin adorable they are like DS. ;) Heck, when we cruise alone we do so to be away from children and I certainly understand and empathize with our fellow passengers who will feel this way, after all, it is their vacation too.

 

Now, I am not sure about free style dining as we have never done it before, but when dining in the main dining rooms, are you assigned to a table with others or are you able to choose each time you go there? We really would not want to sit with others because DS does take time and focus and this would not be fair to other adults traveling without kids. And sometimes things get a tad messy with him and again, not fair to others to be subjected to that. So, can we always get a table for three or might we have no choice in the matter?

 

Thanks alot folks!

I haven't read the other responses yet so I may be repeating what has been said: I want to commend you for realizing your adorable 2 year old may not be quite as cute to some others. I bet he is cute though!!! Normally you are asked if you want a table alone or would you be willing to share? If you share, they will put you at a table with others similar to you: in this case another family. Traveling with a young clild can be fun but challenging as you know: freestyle is perfect in this situation. go, enjoy and report back to all of us. NMNIta

[ImpulsivePuppy]

thank you ms nwnita!:)

[Barb Nahoumi]

I cruised with my then 4 year old in October. Sitting for long periods of time in the dinning room was a challenge even at his age. So we dined with him every other night (3x's) and then either went to the kids buffet or ordered room service (he LOVED that). The we went to dinner after taking him to kids crew (which he also liked)

 

As for hostcecilia's post about crying babies on planes...that was MY SON! Yikes, was that embarassing. I was a new mom on our way to see grandma in hawaii from LA. My 8 month old SCREAMED for about 2 hours straight. Uggghhh. Thankfully, those days are over!

 

I think that the reason small kids cry on planes, is their little ears hurt from the pressure of take-off. I can feel it in mine, so imagine what it feels like to an infant.

 

Ask your child's pediatrician for advice.

 

Barb

[Host CMLA]

I think that the reason small kids cry on planes, is their little ears hurt from the pressure of take-off. I can feel it in mine, so imagine what it feels like to an infant.

 

Ask your child's pediatrician for advice.

I agree Barb. I think it's the pressure. Our pediatrician said we can give a 1/2 teaspoon of Benadryl. It'll make him sleepy. We're only flying 2 hours to New Orleans so even if he does cry, it's a short flight. ;)

 

IMACRUZRNOW...when do those days end!!!! LOL I shouldn't complain. I waited 35 years to have this baby. The least I can do is enjoy the bad as well as the good. :)

[Rumncoke]

Is there an adult's club for parents coping with cruising with a toddler? LOL

 

Yes, Cecilia, there are lots of them. They're called bars.:D

 

I look forward to seeing your changing avatars, too cute!! Keep it up!

[Hikini]

ImpulsivePuppy - the fact that you are conscientious enough to make this post, tells me that your child will probably be one of the most well-behaved children on board, and no one else need worry!

 

Most people NEVER take into consideration how their behavior, or the behavior of their children can negatively affect others around them.

 

So, hats off to you for thinking of others, and it would be a pleasure, in my opinion, to cruise with you and your little beloved.

 

Hikini:D