Suzanne74 Posted January 24, 2008 #26 Share Posted January 24, 2008 When packing for the kids, I put together complete outfits (top, bottom, undies, socks) and put them into gallon size ziplock bags. Each day all they need to do is grab a bag and they have everything they need. Cuts down on arguments when getting dressed, especially if the child has helped you put together the outfits when packing. You can even use the ziplock bags over again for something else. GREAT IDEA!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinMermaid Posted January 24, 2008 #27 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Lovely post...we cruised with a 1 and 4 year old last year and had a wonderful time. We did the E. Carrib. on Disney and had a blast! My only tips are: Don't listen to individuals who say you can't bring car seats on a cruise. We hauled ours all around the Carrib. and had no problems finding transportation with seat belts. Don't listen to individuals who say that young children will not remember the cruise vacation. My 2 year old (18 months when we cruised) still talks about it and "plays" cruise ship with her sister. Memories for the whole family! I agree. Don't listen to naysayers who say young children won't remember going on the cruise. My three year old daughter and six-year old son both remember the cruises we took in the last couple years. They had a great time and we enjoyed the family time together. If you plan on visiting any beaches, bring a pail and shovel for the kids to dig around in the sand with. And pack a beach bag to carry your beach accessories with (ie: sunscreen, beach toys, etc). The cruise lines I've gone on always provided us with beach towels when we got off the ship so no need to pack any of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aunursa Posted January 29, 2008 #28 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Info for air travel... I had to type this out for one of my friends so I figured I would post it here too... --You aren't allowed to take boosters inside the aircraft so they will have to be gate checked. The only car seats allowed on the plane must be FAA certified and few are. --The car rental company will have car seats. They usually rent them for a small extra fee. Call the company and find out. It is honestly easier to rent them then to lug them. You can gate check boosters but it depends on the airline if it counts toward you baggage. I flew back from Hawaii yesterday. On all four legs (2 going and 2 returning), we were able to carry DD's booster seat onboard and stow it in the overhead bin. We were able to do the same on our flights to and from Chicago last year (different airline.) No hassles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted January 29, 2008 #29 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Wow, what a great thread!!!! I totally agree, this needs to be a sticky!!!! I'll be taking my children (2 and 5) on their second cruise this spring. We'll be back on the NCL Spirit. Since both kids will be old enough to participate in the Kid's Crew this time around I feel like I'm planning a totally different trip, not to mention it's a totally different itinerary!!!! I can't believe all the great ideas you've all come up with!!!! Here are some things that I found worked: ~I brought DD's floral crib sheet and Gagi (blankie) from home to make the transition to an unfamiliar crib go smoothly. ~I brought a small durable backpack that went EVERYWHERE with me for holding diaper packs, sippys, prepacked snacks, daily sheets, etc. ~Small zip lock bags are great for disposing of stinky diapers. ~An over-the-door organizer is a must for traveling with children. ~Bring more wipes and diapers than you normally use at home. ~We brought a ziplock bag of quarters from home for the video arcade. DS got to earn quarters for good behavior. ~When being seated in the DR, I always requested to be seated in the "noisy" section (the part of the room where they seat the large groups). This way if DD started to get fussy she would get drowned out by the party of 20 next to us! Luckily both my kids did great in the DR, but I always felt better surrounded by noisy groups rather than in a quiet intimate section of the room. Happy sailing :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the queen of clutter Posted February 28, 2008 #30 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Everyone's tips have been so good! Thanks. Altho we're not sailing until June I've printed out the deck plans for our ship. Our 9-year old has color coded restrooms, elevators, and "special places" (like the pool) on all public decks. She's already gotten the idea of the 3 sets of elevators and practiced how to get to certain areas, esp. should she get lost and confused. I've read that the Victory is a little hard to get around on some decks so I can use the info, too. I told her that if she gets lost from us to ask any mom that's near her where is the "info" desk (pursers), as that's where we'll wait for her (one of us, with the other frantically searching I imagine). She knows it's middle elevators on the lobby deck, but in case she forgets... Also, that if a stranger comes up to talk to her and she's alone to simply say, "Please leave me alone" and to be looking for the nearest mom to get close to. She's pretty shy so I don't want her running and screaming ;) She's usually very well mannered but we do have occasions where she'll turn to whining, not listening or just being stubborn, esp. if she's tired, so we still use some of the 1-2-3 time out stuff. It's usually one warning and then off to her room, or, depending on what she's done it could be take away a toy. So I am making up a cruise coupon book, with coupons for each day. Each day will have stuff like a pizza run, room service cookies and milk at bedtime, an extra swim, arcade game, dinner in the dining room, build a bear, etc. This will give me something to "take away" to get her attention. Keep the great tips coming! pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerCar Posted February 28, 2008 #31 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Everyone's tips have been so good! Thanks. Altho we're not sailing until June I've printed out the deck plans for our ship. Our 9-year old has color coded restrooms, elevators, and "special places" (like the pool) on all public decks. She's already gotten the idea of the 3 sets of elevators and practiced how to get to certain areas, esp. should she get lost and confused. I've read that the Victory is a little hard to get around on some decks so I can use the info, too. I told her that if she gets lost from us to ask any mom that's near her where is the "info" desk (pursers), as that's where we'll wait for her (one of us, with the other frantically searching I imagine). She knows it's middle elevators on the lobby deck, but in case she forgets... Also, that if a stranger comes up to talk to her and she's alone to simply say, "Please leave me alone" and to be looking for the nearest mom to get close to. She's pretty shy so I don't want her running and screaming ;) She's usually very well mannered but we do have occasions where she'll turn to whining, not listening or just being stubborn, esp. if she's tired, so we still use some of the 1-2-3 time out stuff. It's usually one warning and then off to her room, or, depending on what she's done it could be take away a toy. So I am making up a cruise coupon book, with coupons for each day. Each day will have stuff like a pizza run, room service cookies and milk at bedtime, an extra swim, arcade game, dinner in the dining room, build a bear, etc. This will give me something to "take away" to get her attention. Keep the great tips coming! pat Wow. . .great tips! I'm so glad this post has resurfaced:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizingwithtoddlers Posted February 28, 2008 #32 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Another tip I did with my 2 on our last cruise (they were 3.3 & 2 yrs old) I went to the $1 store and Target and bought $1-2 dollar gifts and wrapped them up (1 for each kid each night) and when we went to dinner (in the main dinning room) I let them open them (if they had been good during the day) So they had something new to play with during dinner and was small enough not to be bothersome. I also brought crayons and colouring books as a back up. They were excited to see what their gift was each night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerseybean Posted March 4, 2008 #33 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I'll add mine - for an older child take an autograph book and the child can request those he meets to sign or draw something. My son then 7 filled his book with both staff and passengers jottings. The staff particularly went out of their way to write some beautiful sayings, poems, messages, some in their own language or draw great pictures. This way he got to know their names and found out lots about the countries they were from. It also gave him a respect for them and the job they were doing. It is a lovely keepsake. - We use the complete outfit in a ziplock bag method. If you squeeze the air out of them they hardly take any space. Thoroughly recommend. - Take a pack of cards, borrow a library books of card games and photocopy some new ones to take with you. This makes queueing waiting, and travelling in general more fun. Also magnetic travel games such as chess, etc -Make you own I spy game - a simple grid or notebook with lists of public transport and things your likely to see and do in ports or while travelling. Assign points according to rarity - ie 1 for a bus journey, 2 for a train, 3 for tram, 4 for cable car. You can do the same for sights, castle, river, bridge etc. Research ahead and get them to search for things you are going to see anyway. My son loved leading us from the front entrance of the Louvre to the Mona Lisa by following the signs that were posted every few yards! On a practical note always take a rucksack with drinks, snacks, suncream etc. I always take wipes and disenfectant gel. In Europe take small chage for toilets and always take the opportunity to use a public toilets when you spot one as they are few and far between and never around when they need one!:o Make sure you involve kids in the planning and include child friendly places to visit, that way they stay enthusiastic about sightseeing.:) Happy Cruising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megnsamsgracie Posted March 4, 2008 #34 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I agree. Don't listen to naysayers who say young children won't remember going on the cruise. My three year old daughter and six-year old son both remember the cruises we took in the last couple years. They had a great time and we enjoyed the family time together. If you plan on visiting any beaches, bring a pail and shovel for the kids to dig around in the sand with. And pack a beach bag to carry your beach accessories with (ie: sunscreen, beach toys, etc). The cruise lines I've gone on always provided us with beach towels when we got off the ship so no need to pack any of those. I agree! My kids just went on their first cruise in December and we are doing a second family one in October.. 2 ports will be the same (San Juan and St Thomas) and my 6y/o tells me stuff she did in those ports! Amazing memories we had! I wouldnt trade it for the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the queen of clutter Posted March 4, 2008 #35 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I'll add mine - for an older child take an autograph book and the child can request those he meets to sign or draw something. My son then 7 filled his book with both staff and passengers jottings. The staff particularly went out of their way to write some beautiful sayings, poems, messages, some in their own language or draw great pictures. This way he got to know their names and found out lots about the countries they were from. It also gave him a respect for them and the job they were doing. It is a lovely keepsake. Happy Cruising What a great tip! Thanks a ton. My 9-year old was going to take a journal anyway because she scrapbooks. On our last (land) vacation she was our "scribe" during drives. We talked about best, worst, etc. and she'd write it down. The journal pages went into our scrapbook and is priceless. I would have never thought about having the crew members sign and write in it! My only question is when did they have time? I know these guys stay super busy and wouldn't want to shove a paper in front of them. We are also making a list of pictures to take during the cruise, since I seem to miss the "every day" ones that can really jazz up an album. Examples: Picture of the menu, the food, the staff (right, I have no pics of them), that long hallway, etc. Thanks to all who are providing great info! Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncmomof2 Posted March 6, 2008 #36 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Info for air travel... --Bring LOADS of snacks. You can't bring liquids (over 3oz) through security so it's best to get through security and then grab some bottles of juice or water at the airport store. My personal favorite travel trick -- while you can't bring liquids through airport security, you CAN bring empty water bottles and sippy cups and fill them at the water fountain rather than pay $$$ :eek: for the airport drinks. You may have to tell about 100 security people that they're empty, but they will let you through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytee4ever Posted March 6, 2008 #37 Share Posted March 6, 2008 We will be going on our first family cruise this summer. I have gotten so many ideas from this thread that I probably would have never thought of before! DH & I have been on 6 cruises & I have never taken a highlighter, but can definitely see why it is a great idea. Also from the various photos posting on these boards, I will definitely be taking pictures of the food, the hallways, etc. I have gotten shots of locations on board as well as the various decorations throughout the ship, but never of the food or menus. I guess the only thing I have to add is get to the airport early. We went to Disney 3 years ago & little did we know, our oldest ds' name is on a watch list! Couldn't get checked in on-line & not enough time in the terminal, so we got re-routed everywhere for our trip to Orlando! He has recently joined the Marines, so he won't be joining us on this trip. Guess he won't have the name problem any more! Anyway, thanks again for the tips & I can't wait for our trip! Towanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayniac Posted March 6, 2008 #38 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Bring a flashlight. We found the lights (bathroom or cabin) were too bright and would wake our napping toddler (Captain Ryan). The DW and I found we could maximize his nap time and successfully navigate around the cabin getting dressed and such during nap time and evenings without disturbing the little one. Grab some of the small boxes of cheerios from the Windjammer/buffet for snack/finger food. (You can also ask your server if you prefer the sit down breakfast.). Tired of tripping over the stroller? Store it in the shower. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ommax2 Posted March 6, 2008 #39 Share Posted March 6, 2008 we took our gameboy to dinner in the dining room...made for a quiet evening of adult conversation while waiting...and my ds was an angel.........never would do at home, but on a ship...you bet!:):rolleyes::p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerseybean Posted March 10, 2008 #40 Share Posted March 10, 2008 My only question is when did they have time? I know these guys stay super busy and wouldn't want to shove a paper in front of them. The Queen of Clutter - When we got to know the wait staff we would wait for a quieter moment to ask. All the staff were great our head waiter took it to the others and they all loved it. My son gets to know the cruise ship staff and chats to them every night. Funnily enough the only one to refuse was the Captain, he offered to give us a photocopy of his signature!:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakdgr Posted March 11, 2008 #41 Share Posted March 11, 2008 "So I am making up a cruise coupon book, with coupons for each day. Each day will have stuff like a pizza run, room service cookies and milk at bedtime, an extra swim, arcade game, dinner in the dining room, build a bear, etc. This will give me something to "take away" to get her attention." Love this idea - my DD will be nearly 11 when we go on our holiday so I might copy this for sure and perhaps add in a voucher to attend the late party night at kids club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted March 12, 2008 #42 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I plan a treasure hunt for DD and a few of her friends for one fo the sea days. For example, on our last cruise to the Greek islands, I picked up some really cute change purses in Split, Croatia for DD and her 4 12YO buddies and set up a hunt for our final day on board. Hiding the clues in "public" areas can be a bit dicey so I generally set up with some of the cruise staff's help (one clue was in the food/bar area in the Solarium, another behind a picture of all of them on formal night, others you just have to hope are still there when they get there -- in a book in the library, etc. -- the final clue led to the treasure that was in the Teen club under the counselor's protection). We also had a few "amazing race" type activities that they needed to do - one of the group had to hit a hole-in-one, we had five dice and they needed to each toss one at the same time and get a 5-of-a-kind, etc. DH supervised them the entire time to make certain they were not overexuberent or mess with anyone else's plans (like on the golf course). She's kept in touch with a couple of the girls she's met over the years, and in their emails most of the girls still talk about the hunts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise08 Posted March 13, 2008 #43 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I'm planning our first cruise to Alaska in June, and just wanted to say thank you to all of you!! These are wonderful ideas! This thread is a TREASURE! :D ;) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marthas harbour Posted March 22, 2008 #44 Share Posted March 22, 2008 So glad I found this thread, have picked up lots of ideas for our first cruise. When it comes to dining in the evening I was expecting the children to eat with us, would this be a problem with joining in with the childrens clubs in the evenings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted March 22, 2008 #45 Share Posted March 22, 2008 So glad I found this thread, have picked up lots of ideas for our first cruise. When it comes to dining in the evening I was expecting the children to eat with us, would this be a problem with joining in with the childrens clubs in the evenings? I just looked at the Princess Patters and it looks like they DO have some evening meals with the kid's club. I see a pizza and pasta party at 7pm. Which seating time do you have? How old are the kids? You are welcome to look here (it's not the same ship) but it could give you some ideas of what they do http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/Princess%20Patters/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvisan85 Posted March 23, 2008 #46 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Hi Thanks for the wonderfull tips. I just found out the on MSC Cruises all KIDS are free. Just another tip for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marthas harbour Posted March 23, 2008 #47 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Hi Michele My children are 14, 11 and 7. We are opting for anytime dining so maybe as you suggest we will look and see what is on for them and adjust our eating times to suit, so they can do the club activities they want and join us at other times. I suppose as we have never been on a cruise before it is the unknown but not much longer now:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.