Is cruising with young children really relaxing?

[IAO]

As the one having to change kids in cramped areas. Wash off kids in the shower. Carry a sleeping child in a sand filled swimsuit back to the ship. Spend restless nights because the baby didn't sleep well in the strange environment. Sleep in a top bunk because the room was too small for a crib, etc.

 

I guess if you let those things stress you out, they will. IMO, those things are minor compared to the benefit of having someone cook and clean for you, of having multiple activities to suit everyone's needs. Of course, some of those things happen while staying in a condo, as well. Such as carrying a sleeping child in a sand filled swimsuit, a child in a strange environment, washing a kid off in a shower.

[larronry]

I've heard so many stories, some first hand, that lead me to believe that it may not be the best choice for families. Friends of ours have decided that it's best to take them to a resort/beach cabin, just for their own peace of mind, and happiness of their children. I know there are many relaxed parents who have children who can have fun on a cruise; their parents' attitudes have obviously rubbed off on them. But, I have seen parents screaming at their children, looking as if they wish they could get away with throwing them overboard; it's not pretty. Children come first, not vacations!

 

Why is it easier to take your child to a resort/beach cabin? Let's see my toddler likes to go and do and see to him the beach is boring. He apparently takes after my husband. At the beach he spends the whole time walking, just like he does on the ship. When it's time to eat mommy can cook (then clean up), we can get in the car (my toddler hates the car) and go to a restaurant, or we can walk to the dining room and be served. I like the last option. It would take as much stress and energy and a lot more work and decision making for a land based vacation.

 

This is what I call an old fogey started thread. Children are a joy but hard work. Is there any place you can relax with young children? Children learn from their parents. They need to be exposed to different things including cruising and people like Ms Blep....

 

Not every one can leave them home with their grand parents....nor should they. Should they be well behaved of course but then so should their parents....

 

Do they serve children in the dining room....yes par boiled....

I tried leaving mine at home when he was 14 months. I missed him way to much and will never do that again. Everyone thought I needed a rest, but I didn't need one that bad.

 

 

Anything with children is more difficult than being alone with DH, but for a family vacation, it is the BEST. My husband so looks forward to the cruises because he bonds with the kids. We always know where we will eat, and that they will have something good for the kids to eat. Cruising is so relaxing with kids, and I am not a mom that lets them just "wander off."

 

We have also taken 4 cruises without kids (2 of them after we had children), and we truly missed our kids. DH and I had nice, quality time, but we kept talking about how much fun our kids would have had.

 

One note, we started cruising when our youngest was 2. The kids club had 2-5 program, and so my middle child and youngest were in it together. Had we not had that, I am not sure that my youngest would have enjoyed it as much. It is her personality, and the others would have been just fine at two. This summer we cruised with 15 of us, and there was a 10 month old in our party. It was pretty stressful for the parents of that child, but more because they made it so. They had to make sure they were back at the room for her nap, and she had to be in bed at a certain time, etc. etc. etc. :eek: FIRST TIME parent stuff. Some of the rest of us did babysit for them so that they could do stuff together, but my recommendation is to wait until they are accepted at the kids club (different ages for different cruise lines).

That is so funny our first vacation our son was 9 months. I knew we weren't going to stick to his schedule, but I was going to follow his cues. He easily slept in his stroller, I had baby food with me at all times so I kept a somewhat normal feeding schedule, and at night I would put him in the infant car seat and there he slept while we ate and socialized and went in and out of the car to various places.

 

I think cruising with young children, or any other travel for that matter, is what you make of it. I am a TA that specializes in family travel. I tell clients they need to take into account their kids' needs and personalities. For example, when we took our kids to Spain, I would have LOVED a day trip to Morocco and and I would have LOVED a day trip to see Alhambra. I have been dreaming of Morocco for a long time. However, I know my children's temperaments and knew that those 2 trips would have made for too long of a day for my kids. So, we didn't do them because if we did, we would have all been miserable at the end of the day. Instead, we found excursions and things to do that worked well with my kids. When you see kids at Disney having meltdowns, it's probably because the parents have a vision of what the "magical" trip to Disney should entail and are are trying to do too much at once.

 

When traveling with kids, parents need to have realistic expectations and understand there is the possibility they (the parents) may not get to do everything they want. On our Disney cruise in November, we thought both of our kids would want to spend all their time in the kid's club. However, we found that while our daughter liked the club, she didn't want to spend that much time in there. She rathered be with DH and I. Whereas our son had to be bribed at one point to leave the club. DH and I would have liked to have more time to ourselves, but it wasn't to be and I certainly wasn't going to force DD into doing something she didn't want to meet my desires.

 

The parents screaming at their kids are in all likelihood the ones that had high expectations of what a cruise with kids should be like, and were disappointed when those expectations were met.

 

I love traveling with my kids. Their reactions and excitement are really what makes the trip. Sure, DH and I get away on their own (very important for us), but traveling with kids can be a blast.

 

I think that you need to do what will work for your kids. We took our son to Disney World at 22 months. We got up early and went to the parks and he walked a lot. We at lunch in the parks and then headed to the room. OK we did sometimes take a dip in the pool because it was August. And he would nap. In the evening it varied depending on his mood. Go to a park, go to Downtown Disney Marketplace, or hang around the hotel after dinner. That 3 night trip, btw, cost as much as my cruise next year.

 

Now what I did learn was that he won't sleep in a pack n play so he sleeps between us (so far we've always had a king size bed in hotels). He never sleeps in our bed at home and it's not a rule we made he really won't do it. So on the cruise in Dec he ended up sleeping between us. We tried to get him to sleep in the pull out sofa. And yes we had a standard room.

 

That said if you child is under 2 then you really need to think of your child's temperament because you won't get a break unless you have family with you. If your child is between 2 and 3 I would choose a cruise line where there is a kids club s/he can go to. Even if it's an hour or two a day you will appreciate it. This is something I didn't have a choice about or I did, but I would have given up a semi free (had to pay for my son) cruise.

 

I have no regrets taking my son in Dec and we are doing it again so it couldn't have been that awful. I am looking forward to my Carnival cruise where my son can spend some time in the kids club, but most of his time with me and that if he can't make it through dinner I can take him to the kids club when he is finished and pick him up when I'm finished. Neither our last cruise nor our future cruise did we plan any excursions. Although next year I do plan on hopping in a cab and going to Coral World other then that nothing is planned.

[pla]

That is so funny our first vacation our son was 9 months. I knew we weren't going to stick to his schedule, but I was going to follow his cues. He easily slept in his stroller, I had baby food with me at all times so I kept a somewhat normal feeding schedule, and at night I would put him in the infant car seat and there he slept while we ate and socialized and went in and out of the car to various places.

 

You are definitely more laid back than the ones that went with us! I meant it was "first time parent stuff" because with the second child, you realize the child will sleep when they need to, and as long as you have food and diapers, you are good to go!!

 

When my first child was a baby, someone said to me, "don't let them run your schedules, YOU are the boss." That stuck, and I realized they don't have to be in bed at a certain time (they fell asleep in the stroller or car seat), or be on a regular schedule. By the time my 3rd was born, and the first one was on tournament team softball (every weekend, all weekend long), it was very easy to just bring the baby along (with a little planning, of course).

 

A cruise with kids is what you make of it. If you are willing to try new things, have your kids try new things, and go with the flow, you will have a lot of fun. If you are stuck to doing things a certain way, forget it!

[katerkat]

No, taking a young child on a road trip is way more relaxing. ;)

 

Seriously, we've done a ton with my son. He's been to nearly thirty states on different road trips, the first one at four months old. He's been to Canada. He's been to Disney Land (twice, with a third time planned for March.) He's been to Disney World (twice.) His first flight was at seven weeks old, and now I think he's up to around 15 flights before his third birthday. (Three of those flights were cross country with two cats. Talk about un-relaxing!) We've done condos, we've done hotels.

 

All of these trips have been fun, but I'm looking forward to the cruise the most. (OK, perhaps because it follows a week with my in-laws. But I digress.) I can't imagine it NOT being relaxing. I don't have to cook, I don't have to clean, there's plenty for my son to look at and do, and the elevators have TONS of buttons for him to touch! (Kidding on the last one...really I am!)

 

But then, I've always been a relaxed parent. Never yelled at him in public (though I might threaten him between gritted teeth for asking the same question six hundred times.) He never cried in WDW because we made sure he got his nap and didn't push him past his limits. I planned all our excursions on this trip around his limitations and told him in exchange, Mommy wants to eat in the dining room without a fuss. We have a deal, so he tells me.

[myraid]

We have done 2 cruises with DS and 2 without. Were they different? Yes. But they were equally relaxing and I dare say, the 2 that we did with our DS (the last 2) were MORE relaxing. A prior poster said it best (PattyW?)- cruising with an infant/toddler forces you to slow down. I usually manage to sneak in a nap when he naps, and then I read on the balcony. My hubby goes to the gym and then when he gets back I head up to the pool for some sun. The first cruise that we went on with him, we had grandma and grandpa along and we never ONCE left him with them. We just never felt that we had to.

 

I get a lot of exercise, because I walk all over the place with him, and most importantly, we get to spend quality time with him. We both work full time and this is our fun time with him. We love it and have booked a 10 day cruise in November. He will be 3 then- maybe he will go to the kids club, maybe he won't...we don't care either way.

 

I think (as many before me have said) it depends on what you want out of your vacation. We want to relax and have quality family time (and maybe a little duty-free shopping here and there for mommy :D ). For us, that means that a cruise is the way to go!

[larronry]

You are definitely more laid back than the ones that went with us! I meant it was "first time parent stuff" because with the second child, you realize the child will sleep when they need to, and as long as you have food and diapers, you are good to go!!

 

When my first child was a baby, someone said to me, "don't let them run your schedules, YOU are the boss." That stuck, and I realized they don't have to be in bed at a certain time (they fell asleep in the stroller or car seat), or be on a regular schedule. By the time my 3rd was born, and the first one was on tournament team softball (every weekend, all weekend long), it was very easy to just bring the baby along (with a little planning, of course).

 

A cruise with kids is what you make of it. If you are willing to try new things, have your kids try new things, and go with the flow, you will have a lot of fun. If you are stuck to doing things a certain way, forget it!

I think I'm more laid back because I waited till I was near 40 to have a child and I've watched my friends have children, I used to be a foster care counselor (One of the good ones which is why it's a used to be- I couldn't stop caring and develop what I called black hearts disease and the system truly required you to look the other way, that is until something blew up in which case they would throw the person on the front line to the wolves. I'm serious when they tried to cover up a mistake made before I took over a case I really learned what the system was capable of and there was nothing I could do and I tried not to care, but I got sick for over 6 weeks. End result, long story, those kids ended up where they should be and they have grown into wonderful adults.) and currently I work with children as well (mainly children) and mostly autistic.

 

No, taking a young child on a road trip is way more relaxing. ;)

 

I planned all our excursions on this trip around his limitations and told him in exchange, Mommy wants to eat in the dining room without a fuss. We have a deal, so he tells me.

That's it what vacation with young children is truly relaxing. Now fun yeah I loved watching everything through my son's eyes. As for your last sentence how cute and I'm jealous. I can't wait till I can hear my son tell me we have a deal.

[JennyJenn]

We just returned from a cruise with our 2 year old daughter. We booked 15 months in advance so I had plenty of time to prepare myself as to how to overcome the normal hurdles that present themselves when travelling with small children. I also had plenty of time to think about what kind of vacation I wanted and could expect to have.

 

Was it relaxing? YES--there were afternoons between 4-6 where DD would watch Dr. Suess on the portable DVD player while DH and I napped. There were nights where we got plenty of rest because we decided to sleep after we put DD to bed.

 

Was it stressful? At times--we had a stressful embarkation when my DD set off the metal detectors at security and they wanted to pat her down.......LOL There were also all the times when she wanted me to carry her when we entered a new area that she was unfamiliar with.

 

Was it fun? ABSOLUTELY DD had a blast and is still talking about "the boat" and "the beach". Seeing the smile on her face watching the waiters sing in the Dining Room, playing in the splash area, playing on the beach and jumping her way through the Centrum to find pics of mommy and daddy at the photo gallery, and going to the show to hear the Motown music where she danced with people sitting near us.....all of that was a blast for both DH and I.

[MommaOML]

As first-time parents, we took our son (6 months old at the time) on our first cruise (first for all of us). It was wonderful. I didn't have to cook or clean. Our son was still highly portable, willing to sleep anywhere, happy to sit in his stroller and people watch. Making sure that we didn't try to do too much in a day (thus overwhelming him) ensured that WE had a relaxing vacation.

 

We had 2 stressful portions of our first cruise. The first was missing our connecting flight in Calgary and not getting into Tampa until 11 pm. But, this is why we flew in the night before, and surprisingly, I was the calm one! Usually I'm the one to fly off the handle and yell at the airlines, while my HB is detaching me from the Air Canada ticket agent. LOL! The second stressful portion was doing an island bus tour in Grand Cayman. The bus wasn't air conditioned and it was way over crowded. In retrospect, I wish we had just bailed on the tour and gone to the beach.

 

We loved cruising so much, we are going again this year. Our son will be 19 months old for our next cruise. I know he will not be as portable; instead, he will want to walk EVERYWHERE on the ship. Fine with me - he will sleep like a log!

 

He isn't a child who's prone to meltdowns or temper tantrums, so I have no qualms about taking him. If he gets overwhelmed, then we, as parents, need to change his environment to one that he can cope with. That's our job as parents - to push the envelope just enough so that he learns to adapt to new situations, without frustrating him so thoroughly that he becomes emotionally stunted. I have encountered more than enough adults who can't handle change. I hope to teach my son coping skills to handle those occasional deviations from plan with grace, dignity and a positive attitude.

 

Sure he can learn those lessons at home, but the weather here sucks. What better place to learn a life lesson than in the warm sun with salty sea air? :D

[SadieQ]

I had a great time at Disney with my kids, but it wasn't what I'd call relaxing. We took our first cruise with them at 4 and 6, and it was the most relaxing vacation we'd ever had with them.

 

They are 11 and 9 now, and have gotten to the point where other vacations aren't as tiring (although Disney still would be!), but cruising is still one of the most hassle-free ways to travel with kids IMO. As someone else said, being at a condo, you might as well be at home in some ways. Still have to cook, wash dishes, etc. And when they're little, you have to entertain them constantly too.

 

My kids are relatively mellow as far as travel. We've taken them a fair number of places from a young age, with reasonable expectations about what we can do (can't see everything at Disney, can't do everything on a cruise) and always had fun. My family never really took vacations when I was young, and I was always determined to take my kids lots of places.

 

So far so good.

[Onessa]

. . . . there's plenty for my son to look at and do, and the elevators have TONS of buttons for him to touch! . . .

Hey, at 3.5YO he's probably pretty short -- how many of those buttons can he really reach? Some people just complain too much :D

[rebeccalouise]

I guess if you let those things stress you out, they will. IMO, those things are minor compared to the benefit of having someone cook and clean for you, of having multiple activities to suit everyone's needs. Of course, some of those things happen while staying in a condo, as well. Such as carrying a sleeping child in a sand filled swimsuit, a child in a strange environment, washing a kid off in a shower.

 

I agree that no travel with toddlers is perfect- by any stretch of the imagination. But a standard stateroom on a ship (which frankly is what most families can afford) is not ideal for showering, cleaning bottles, and not much space for anything. At night, even with a balcony, you have to be quiet to get the child to sleep etc.

 

I have stayed in large hotel rooms and condos with my kids and we did dine out at local restaurants or ordered in pizza. Plus it was just nice to have all that space. I could make coffee in the morning and not disturb anyone- not have to step over other people and clean up after the kids in a confined space.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That's all I am saying.

 

I love cruising and my son has been on 14 and we have three more booked- but he is 7 and its easy.

[rebeccalouise]

I had a great time at Disney with my kids, but it wasn't what I'd call relaxing. We took our first cruise with them at 4 and 6, and it was the most relaxing vacation we'd ever had with them.

 

They are 11 and 9 now, and have gotten to the point where other vacations aren't as tiring (although Disney still would be!), but cruising is still one of the most hassle-free ways to travel with kids IMO. As someone else said, being at a condo, you might as well be at home in some ways. Still have to cook, wash dishes, etc. And when they're little, you have to entertain them constantly too.

 

My kids are relatively mellow as far as travel. We've taken them a fair number of places from a young age, with reasonable expectations about what we can do (can't see everything at Disney, can't do everything on a cruise) and always had fun. My family never really took vacations when I was young, and I was always determined to take my kids lots of places.

 

So far so good.

 

Exactly- you said 4 and 6- perfect ages for cruising. I think people are getting the wrong message. I was saying that babies and toddlers aren't easy to travel with on cruises and you miss out on many of the advantages of cruising- fine dining, late night shows, lounging by the pool and meeting new people. It is very hard to even carry on a conversation with a toddler (under 3) year old to constantly attend to.

[deppong]

I was in an elevator on a RCCL ship once and 2 little kids 10yrs? were being the elevator men. They would ask what floor please and push the button for you. People were giving them tips!

[katerkat]

Maybe I'm just weird... We do live in a 700 sq. ft. house and at one point, had a full-size crib in our bedroom along with our bed (and we're talking about a SMALL bedroom!) I don't find the cruise ship rooms THAT confined. And washing bottles was never necessary when mine was a baby (for us, obviously!) and now with his sippy cups, I'm a little relaxed about getting them really clean. On vacation, I usually only carry two - one for milk and one for juice - so they don't take up a lot of space.

 

As for lounging by the pool, carrying on conversations and meeting new people - I can do that with a toddler. I do that all the time. We actually meet more people because (IMHO) my son is pretty darn cute and a flirt and people are drawn to him. Fine dining - like I said, we have a deal that he'll behave in the dining room, and we're trading nights at Chops with my sister and baby niece. Show productions fascinate him, so he'll sit through those most likely. Late night stuff, I plan on getting a in-room babysitter or utilizing the grandparents/aunts (at THEIR preference, I would never force them to stay in the room.) Plus, I'm old - staying up past 11, even on vacation, is next to impossible, especially if I want to enjoy all the lovely excursions we have planned the next day.

 

Hey, at 3.5YO he's probably pretty short -- how many of those buttons can he really reach? Some people just complain too much :D

 

He's actually not even three, but pretty tall. I bet he could reach half of the buttons, easy. ;)

 

I was in an elevator on a RCCL ship once and 2 little kids 10yrs? were being the elevator men. They would ask what floor please and push the button for you. People were giving them tips!

 

Sweet! I finally found a way to make money off the little guy!

 

That's it what vacation with young children is truly relaxing. Now fun yeah I loved watching everything through my son's eyes. As for your last sentence how cute and I'm jealous. I can't wait till I can hear my son tell me we have a deal.

 

And seeing things through his eyes - AMAZING! I'm a huge Disney fan; I even worked at WDW for a summer. I was getting bored with it. Then Russ came along and we've gotten in five trips in 2.5 years, and it's so different and fresh and new to be there with him. And I want to have those experiences as much as possible before he's too cool to want to be with Mom anymore.

 

I hope your son starts talking soon. My son was a late talker and it was very frustrating... (Actually, he said his first full sentence in Disney World - "no, let go!" :D)

[Onessa]

Maybe I'm just weird...

 

Not at all weird -- you are one of the majority of the "live and let live" group. The weirdos are those people who feel that they should be telling everyone else how to live their lives. The people who will swear up and down that "it's just MHO" or the like, but then go off on a tear about what the rest of us are doing wrong!:D

[BethCarp]

My answer is no. It is not relaxing to travel with children. Did I have fun on our cruise? Of course, but there was very little relaxing. I still had to get up with my younger son who was usually up by 7am. I had to watch my kids at the pool so no napping on the pool deck for me. I had to swim in the ocean with my kids so no relaxing on a floating mat. And my younger son wouldn't go to the kids clubs so DH and I didn't get our relaxing adult dinner each night.

 

OK, so I didn't have to cook. If I don't want to cook at home, we eat out. I didn't have to clean. Well my house was a wreck when I came home from all the luggage. So I did double duty when we got home.

[TropicalSnowflake]

No, it is not RELAXING. I don't think I will ever relax again as a parent. I will always worry.

 

But I don't think that any other vacation would be any more or less "relaxing". I will always bring our kids on vacation or a cruise because it is family time, fun time and it broadens their little minds far beyond just sitting home for a week.

 

I am going on a 4 day cruise in May without my kids. Will I be relaxed? Certainly a lot more than I was on our family cruise last month. But, I will always think about them and worry. The big plus is that I'll be able to drink a lot more without worry about dealing with them AND a hangover the next morning. :D

[Baxter]

Relaxing? Absolutely. We did fun family activities together, plus my husband and I traded off so we could relax. He would take a spin class and swim in the morning while I walked the deck and visited by the pool, and in the afternoon I took an hour or two to lie by the pool and read/nap.

 

She loved the attention she received from passengers and staff, so she was always good natured as we moved around the ship. But we also made sure that we kept her on schedule.

 

We had fabulous beach days at the ports, and had a blast playing in the sand and swimming.

 

I can't imagine leaving her at home!

[myraid]

 

We had fabulous beach days at the ports, and had a blast playing in the sand and swimming.

 

 

Baxter, I see that you went on the Southern Caribbean with your little one? Could you give me some information on the beach stops you went to? I am doing the Southern on the Emerald in November and would be interested in any info you have!

 

OT, I know, but hopefully no one will mind!:D

[Baxter]

Baxter, I see that you went on the Southern Caribbean with your little one? Could you give me some information on the beach stops you went to? I am doing the Southern on the Emerald in November and would be interested in any info you have!

 

OT, I know, but hopefully no one will mind!:D

 

Glad to! In Aruba, we did an excursion called "Passport to Paradise at De Palm Island" (we weren't charged for our daughter). A short bus ride, and a short boat ride later, you're on a private island with a nice beach and a waterpark. She was too young to actually use the waterpark, but liked to play in the shallow part of the pool and walk around. Beverages, alcoholic and otherwise, were included as was lunch. A nice set-up.

 

In St Thomas, we took a "taxi" (that held 15 peole or so) to Megan's Bay. A stunning beach...white sand, the water was wonderful. It was $6 to rent a loung chair and $4 to get into the park, but was a nice day.

 

We were on Princess, so we stopped at Princess Cay...and found that their kids area actually had a pool that diapered little ones could swim in. There were lounge chairs around it, so it was like being at a resort! It was very shallow, and kept sand away for the day.

 

Not a beach stop, but in Dominica we found a local at the end of the pier who took us to the main sites. We climbed up to Trafalgar Falls with our daughter in the Baby Bjorn and she loved the walk! She was great during the drive too.

 

Hope that helps.

[myraid]

Glad to! In Aruba, we did an excursion called "Passport to Paradise at De Palm Island" (we weren't charged for our daughter). A short bus ride, and a short boat ride later, you're on a private island with a nice beach and a waterpark. She was too young to actually use the waterpark, but liked to play in the shallow part of the pool and walk around. Beverages, alcoholic and otherwise, were included as was lunch. A nice set-up.

 

In St Thomas, we took a "taxi" (that held 15 peole or so) to Megan's Bay. A stunning beach...white sand, the water was wonderful. It was $6 to rent a loung chair and $4 to get into the park, but was a nice day.

 

We were on Princess, so we stopped at Princess Cay...and found that their kids area actually had a pool that diapered little ones could swim in. There were lounge chairs around it, so it was like being at a resort! It was very shallow, and kept sand away for the day.

 

Not a beach stop, but in Dominica we found a local at the end of the pier who took us to the main sites. We climbed up to Trafalgar Falls with our daughter in the Baby Bjorn and she loved the walk! She was great during the drive too.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Thank you very much! That helps a lot. I was looking at the Paradise at De Palm excursion and it looked great. Do you know how long you were there? Were there options to come back earlier if you want?

 

Sounds like we are doing the same itinerary in November! Thank you again for your help!

[Baxter]

Thank you very much! That helps a lot. I was looking at the Paradise at De Palm excursion and it looked great. Do you know how long you were there? Were there options to come back earlier if you want?

 

I believe we met at 1:30 to return. No option to return early. One other thing to note about Aruba -- if you happen to be there on a Sunday, most things close around 1:00. Once we returned to town, we wanted to walk around town, and that was all we could do! Found a convenience store that was open, but any major "shopping" places were closed.