Would you do this cruise with a 2.5 year old?

[2112]

Would you do this cruise with a 2.5 year old:

 

http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/CruiseDetailsItinerary.do;jsessionid=6322959EB8F2C92C4717106741C9F4C3.p0726?resSt=&pagerIndex=&resultsIndex=3&lead_price=1099.00&currency=USD&gtCty=&cruiseId=9761&promolink=false&deckId=&pPc=&action_code=TitleClick&price=&srRt=

 

A little info on me and my child:

 

I travel a lot and have been to Panama, Costa Rica and Grand Cayman before, so I really don't want to sightsee at these places but would rather do something active. My son is now 1.5 years old and, so far, is a pretty good traveler. We took him on his first cruise last December and he will be on his second in May. We have also taken him on several other trips and has always done well. He is, for the most part, an easy baby.

 

I was really excited to do this cruise. I've wanted to visit Cartagena and Labadee and wanted to go whitewater rafting in Costa Rica and diving in Grand Cayman. I also love the RCCL Radience Class ships. It is a little more than I wanted to spend but other than that is looks perfect (ok, I wish it spent a whole day in Colombia instead of a half day, but you can't have everything).

 

Here are my concerns:

 

There are over 4 sea days - and my son won't be old enough for the kids club on RCCL. Will it be difficult to keep him entertained?

 

I was planning on using babysitting for the port days in Costa Rica to go rafting and for half a day in Grand Cayman to go diving. Now I understand that there is no daytime babysitting available on RCCL. Is this correct?

 

For the most part, I think I could deal with having no kids club, but without child care for Costa Rica and Grand Cayman, it might just be too much. Unfortunately, this itinerary is not common and I don't see it listed for cruises after he turns 3 or on a more child friendly line like Carnival.

 

What do you think?

[crusinmama06]

You're right about the in cabin babysitting. I thought it was nighttime only. I could be totally wrong though.

 

Four sea days on a ship and he will have no access to a pool, unless you bring one. That's alot of days to entertain a 2.5 year old.

 

Would I do it? If it was my only chance to do THAT itinerary and I really wanted to do that itinerary than Heck Yeah. ;) But you wanted to do very specific things that you won't be able to do with a 2.5 year old.

 

Would it be better to try to get the same type of itinerary on Carnival, NCL or Disney so that you can have a sitter during the daytime (kids club and the nursery)? Yes it would but you already said they don't have these itineraries.

 

I think after weighing ALL of these options, I would probably hold off on it. I don't honestly think it's a once in a lifetime itinerary. They will have another ship doing that one again.

 

Having a 2.5 year old on a ship for that long isn't the problem. Not being able to do the excursions you want to do IS the problem. Would you be happy not doing those excursions? Probably not. :(

[crusinmama06]

Scratch everything I said, I just checked the RCCL site and they already released dates for THAT itinerary for 2009.

 

2009 Date(s): Jan 09 , Jan 30 , Feb 20 , Mar 13 , Apr 03

 

How old will he be then? If he is 1.5 now. Then in April 2009, will he be 3 yet?????? When does he turn 3?

[rebeccalouise]

have you looked into Norwegian cruise line. They do allow 2 year olds into the youth program.

 

I have done 4 NCL cruises and had a ball on each and every one. NCL ships are kind of gaudy (not as much as Carnival) but they have so many nice features. Love the pools and hot tubs, there are lots of food choices and kids really have a ball. The cabins are small though. That is a drawback. For three try to get a suite.

[2112]

Scratch everything I said, I just checked the RCCL site and they already released dates for THAT itinerary for 2009.

 

2009 Date(s): Jan 09 , Jan 30 , Feb 20 , Mar 13 , Apr 03

 

How old will he be then? If he is 1.5 now. Then in April 2009, will he be 3 yet?????? When does he turn 3?

 

He won't turn 3 until May 2009!

[larronry]

have you looked into Norwegian cruise line. They do allow 2 year olds into the youth program.

 

I have done 4 NCL cruises and had a ball on each and every one. NCL ships are kind of gaudy (not as much as Carnival) but they have so many nice features. Love the pools and hot tubs, there are lots of food choices and kids really have a ball. The cabins are small though. That is a drawback. For three try to get a suite.

The only problem with NCL and RCCL for that matter is that they don't do diapers. I would do the latest Itinerary possible to make sure he is potty trained. And potty trained we on this board mean 100% no accident totally independent no prompting necessary potty trained. They won't pull up bands or undo buttons. And if he was just potty trained before the cruise he won't be accident free or independent on the cruise. From reading posts from other moms the kids tend to backslide a bit.

[crusinmama06]

He won't turn 3 until May 2009!

 

Well then do what we did, celebrate his 3rd birthday on a RCCL ship. ;) I just can't imagine that RCCL will give up that itinerary. When they release the May 09 dates, I am willing to bet you will see Panama on there.

 

Then he gets to go to the kids club. You get the itinerary you want AND get to do the excursions. :D

 

Hold off and keep those fingers crossed! And I did a quick check of other cruislines doing that itinerary and came up with Celebrity (won't help ya), HAL (still won't help ya) and Princess (nope, must be age 3 for them too) LOL!

[2112]

Well, I've also thought about this one:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do;jsessionid=0000hSkooWpq2SMlCmR6V3-T3e1:12hbioe0u?packageCode=EN07D022&date=ANY&selectedCurrencyCode=&promoType=&hasSenior=&hasMilitary=&state=

 

He still wouldn't be old enough for the kid's club, but there is only 1 sea day.

[shellie100]

I took my son on a similar cruise when he was 2-1/2. There were way too many sea days and some of the port days were kind of boring for him. I only went because it was a four-generation family cruise, where I had help with Tommy. Also, I'm not sure if and when I would ever be able to cruise with my grandparents again, so I really didn't want to pass up the chance. It was a great trip, but I would rather do a more port-intensive, beach-intensive cruise with small children. Celebrity let Tommy play in the kids club if I stayed there, but really before too long I was bored to death of being in the kids club. My 4-1/2-yr-old is probably just now getting to the age where he would enjoy a more diversified cruise experience.

[shellie100]

Well, I've also thought about this one:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do;jsessionid=0000hSkooWpq2SMlCmR6V3-T3e1:12hbioe0u?packageCode=EN07D022&date=ANY&selectedCurrencyCode=&promoType=&hasSenior=&hasMilitary=&state=

 

He still wouldn't be old enough for the kid's club, but there is only 1 sea day.

 

Oh, that one's much better, and I love those ports for kids, especially Aruba and Curacao.

[wrp96]

Well then do what we did, celebrate his 3rd birthday on a RCCL ship. ;) I just can't imagine that RCCL will give up that itinerary. When they release the May 09 dates, I am willing to bet you will see Panama on there.

 

 

They only do the Panama Canal itineraries during the winter. But it should definitely be on there for winter 2009 through spring 2010.

[gazingm42]

At that age I would be worry about the sea days. I think I would try to find

one with less sea days and maybe not as long.

 

The other idea which may or maybe not be a option. A friend of ours has a 4.5

year old. They have a 14 year old Sister. They bring her along with the idea

of a baby sister. They pay her for the week, plus her cruise and spending $$.

 

Just something to considered.

[MoniqueS]

I really had a hard time with my 21 month old twins when I cruised in May. We were on RCCL and got nighttime babysitting twice but that is not enough downtime when you are gone for a week or more. I didn't notice if you could get daytime sitting or not. Even taking the kids to the playgroup in the morning was just not enough to keep them happy and entertained. The no pool thing was hard. We spent a lot of time wishing we would have waited until they were old enough to go to the kids club. Since I couldn't wait all the way until they are 3 to cruise again, I booked NCL for the spring so they can go to the kids club. They will be 2.75 by then. I am waiting sooooo anxiously for the May 2009 initeraries to come out because the will be our 10th and I'm thinking Europe...woohoo! And the kids will be toilet trained for sure by then! Sounds like a great cruise though...if it were me, I'd wait.

 

Monique

[MoniqueS]

Good idea about the teen babysitter...I'm considering that for my Disney cruise next fall.

 

Monique

[BethCarp]

I just returned from our first cruise with the kids aged 3 and 6. And I'm a bit jaded, so take my post with a grain of salt. :p

 

OK, the thing you have to remember is that kids change. And likely, the cruise you're planning on won't go just as planned with a child that age. My 3yo was a great baby, 1yo and 2yo. About 2 months ago, he started going through some weird stage. And this "stage" was in full force on our cruise. He enjoyed swimming in the pools, he enjoyed exploring the ship, he enjoyed the beaches. He was not, however, very good at night. He wouldn't go to the kids clubs so DH and I couldn't have our nice dinners together like we were hoping. We still enjoyed our cruise, but it would have been a lot nicer if he had cooperated. None of our port activities were affected because they all involved him. If we had planned on leaving the kids on the ship while we snorkeled in Cozumel, we wouldn't have been able to do that.

 

Also after 5 nights we were all ready to get home. So, no, after what I just experienced I would not take my little kids on a cruise that length. I also would not take a cruise with my main focus relying on my child being with a babysitter or the kids club.

 

Obviously, with cruise length, that's up to each family. If you're going to be disappointed that you can't do your port activities, you may want to wait. You just never know how cooperative a child that age is going to be.

[2112]

Thanks for the replies everyone. They were very helpful. At this point, I think we will scrap the idea of that 10 day cruise and try this one instead:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findac...tary =&state=

 

I think that one will work out better with a 2.5 year old (except for the longer flight) and we can do it a little later into the dry season.