Cruising with 3 1/2 Year Old

[tantine]

Hi,

I've read some really helpful info here which has convinced me that it is a good idea to bring our 3 1/2 year old ds along on the cruise we're planning...BUT I still have some questions...

 

1. Do kids this young get seasick?

2. What selection of TV channels are offered in the room? Are DVD players available to rent or should we bring a portable?

3. Are the regular balcony rooms comfy enough to spend some time in to give ds some downtime?

4. Are babysitters available on board for in room babysitting at night? (I'd still like to have some adult time!)

 

***We're cruising out of NY and our choices are: Royal C, Norwegian, Carnival, Holland and Princess. For those of you who have cruised with 3 year olds, which were the best cruises for this age group?

 

Thanks SO much for your feedback!

[crusinmama06]

1. Do kids this young get seasick?

It depends on the child. Does your child get sick on amusement park rides or in a car? That could be a good indicator of how a child does on the sea. None of the kids I've traveled with ever got sea sickness.

 

2. What selection of TV channels are offered in the room? Are DVD players available to rent or should we bring a portable?

Depends on the cruiseline. There ARE kids channels in the room. Some ships have first run movies on (like I watched the new Superman movie and Pirates of the Carribean on our last Carnival Cruise) Some rooms on some ships have DVD players. Mostly the suites will have them but it's not the same with all lines.

 

3. Are the regular balcony rooms comfy enough to spend some time in to give ds some downtime? Yes, no doubt. It's great to put the child down for a nap and head outside on the balcony for a little down time of your own too. :D

 

 

4. Are babysitters available on board for in room babysitting at night? (I'd still like to have some adult time!) Yes. For his age all of those cruselines have kids clubs available for him. Some actually go to 3am for a small price of $6/hour after 10pm. Some go all night with no additional charge.

 

We're cruising out of NY and our choices are: Royal C, Norwegian, Carnival, Holland and Princess. For those of you who have cruised with 3 year olds, which were the best cruises for this age group?

 

You won't go wrong on any of those cruislines. They all cater to children. Maybe RCCL and Carnival more so than the others....but none of them would be wrong choices.

 

Have fun. :D

[Tammyg]

crusinmama answered all your questions really well but I figured I'd throw in my experience too :)

 

I've only sailed on RCCL with my DS - we had 1 Carnival before he was born - and it seems like a really good fit for us. His first cruise he was almost 3 and he had experienced some car sickness so I expected him to be seasick ( my DH suffers ALOT) but he was fine. There is bonine available in child dosages I got a recommendation from his MD. The only problem he had was car sickness on a bus ride in Belize. He turned a nasty shade of green about mid way in our bus ride. Thankfully we were sitting right by the bathroom but he made it off the bus and didn't get sick. He slept on the way back so it wasn't an issue. That's just so you can pick a better place to sit on excursions than we did ;)

 

We were in a balcony room and it was a great spot to read or just relax when he was napping or at night.

 

He had his portable DVD player and earplugs and they were a lifesaver. Our room had Boomerang and he watched that alot. I think they may have also had Cartoon Network, if I remember correctly.

 

We didn't use the babysitting service but RCCL does have one. Also at 3 your DS is old enough for Adventure Ocean so you'd be able to leave him to play for the alloted time periods as long as he's potty trained. My son loves it.

 

Hope that helps.

[emelvee]

I agree that crusinmama06 covered everything - I just wanted to say you all should have a great time on a cruise! Our 4 yo came with us on our first, and she can't wait for our next cruise. We got a LOT more "adult" time than we ever do at home, and more than I figured we would get going to a resort for a week.

[rebeccalouise]

Kids and adults tend to get a little green sailing out of New York. Take some "Bonine" with you. If it starts to get a little rough, make sure to check on your child. I did this and my son did feel ill and was white as a ghost. I gave him 1/2 a tablet and he was up and running again in 10 minutes. So, I highly recommend this.

 

As for the babysitting. All of the cruise lines offer babysitting day and night in the Youth facility and some cruise lines will babysit in the room but you have to check with the various lines.

 

A 3 1/2 year old will have fun on any line and there will be plenty of kids their age on any line.

 

Of the lines you mentioned I have done Carnival and Princess and he enjoyed both of them.

[1alexcartermom]

I agree with what the other moms have stated. Additionally, I would add that we would never do anything but a balcony room, but measures do have to be taken with a balcony and a three year old. There is no way a three year old could fall off a balcony by just standing on the balcony, however, my three year old loves to climb and doesn't think twice about pushing a chair to where he wants to be to get a better view--not so safe! Because of that, we have a very strict rule that the kids are never allowed to move the chairs, stand on the chairs or be on the balcony without an adult. Our kids know this (as we review the rules several times after we get on the ship) and we haven't had any problems.

 

With that being said, we love to put our inflatable pool on our balcony for our three year old as many ship pools are not great for a three year old.

[tantine]

Thanks for your great feedback! Sounds like we'll have a great time - now comes the time to narrow down our choices!:)