What's Your Best Tip/Resource for Kid Cruising

[norsie]

What the best resource/previous post/tips you have for someone bringing children on a cruise? I've been on 6 other cruises but we leave in a week for our first cruise with the kids (2 & 9 year old). My 9 year old has been on a cruise with his grandparents before so I'm not as worried about him but it will be an adventure with a 2 year old.

 

In case it impacts your tips, we will be on the Serenade of the Seas but I'm open to tips in general. I'm sure this thread has been started before but I must not be searching for the correct terms so if you want to point me in that direction it would be great. I am open to anything you think would be beneficial for us to know.

 

Some tips that I have read so far but have further questions...

Bringing an inflatable pool to use beside the pool? How do you fill it up? How do you blow it up? My daughter is potty trained but to be honest, I'd rather not be the one next to her in the pool if she has an accident. I'm sure there are other kids that have an accident but I'd rather not think about it!

 

What do I do about a car seat on the islands (our islands are St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua)? Bring it? Hold her on my lap (Yikes!)? Do the US territories have car seat laws?

 

Is there realistically room for a pack-n-play (we have a balcony cabin) or should I just put a bunch of pillows around her? Or bring a bed rail (pain in the butt!)?

 

Should I bring a toddler life vest? We bought her the floatable swim suits for the but I haven't actually tried them in water yet so I'm not sure how well they work.

 

What do you do for seasickness (either preventative or after-the-fact) for young children? Anyone know what is in the pills at the pursers desk? Appropriate for young children? Cut them in half? Do something else?

 

Is there a link to a great packing list for taking young children?

 

Is there a post/resource somewhere that would help me choose excursions (separate from the ship) for kids? Or do I just need to go to each board for each island? I wish I had a little more time for research but March came way too quickly!

 

Ok, that was a lot! Thanks for your input!

[ceilidh1]

Not sure if these are "tips" as such, but when we cruised with our little one we found that things we had assumed would be tough were quite easy, while things that we thought would be a breeeze were the headaches!

 

We requested a crib in the cabin from Princess (she NEVER has problems sleeping and loves her crib). There was definitely room for it, though it did make the cabin corwded. However, our little one flat out refused to sleep in it as she knew that we were in the room, too. This meant that she slept in our bed every night - we got the crib taken away after the second night as there was no point having it crowding the room. We had thought sleep would be no problem - but it was! We have also sailed the Serenade and there would be space in a balcony cabin for a pack and play, but you would need to get the small table taken out.

 

The Serenade has great "toddler" programs - even though your two year old wouldn't be old enough to leave there are great little groups that you can attend with your little one.

 

A huge issue for us that we never expected was the lack of a bath tub. My little one had never been in a shower before and was absolutely terrified. I ended up having to take a shower with her while she clung to me like a koala. Not much fun in a teeny cubicle on a rocking boat. At least on Serenade they have a glass door and not the sticking shower curtains that Princess has. You may want to get your little one used to a shower if not already!

 

We asked our doc about seasickness prior to sailing and he recommended children's gravol. We took it but never needed it - we all got seasick one time, but the little one didn't!

 

We took and used a "leash" - our daughter is very fast when she wants to be and most of the doors to the outside are automatic, so I had visions of her darting off and plunging overboard at any second. The leash gave me peace of mind and she never had any issue with it. The automatic doors proved to be a big headache for us as our little one was obsessed with them. Given the chance, she would have stood there all day making them open and close. We tried to avoid doors at all costs!!!!

 

Our two sailing were to Alaska, so never used the pool - too cold.

 

We mostly eat at the buffet with the little one - that way she gets to sample all the food and it's not a problem if she doesn't like something. She is fine with the sit down dinners, but they take so long that I am always concerned that she will get antsy and bother other passengers so we just skip them.

 

Make sure you take more than enough of the supplies you will need. We ran out of wipes on the second to last day and bought them at the ship store - we were glad they had them, but we almost had to take out a second mortgage to afford them! We also took basic first aid stuff like Pedialyte, Tylenol, etc. as you never know what provisions they have on board for the little ones!

 

Take lots of little toys and books that your little one has never seen or played with before. We bought a stack of "junk" at the dollar store - crayons, notebooks, playdough, etc. and packed them in indivdual baggies. Each day she got a new baggie and it would keep her entertained long enough to get a shower or get ready for dinner!

 

Think about nap times! Another thing we didn't consider was that our little one still naps for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Obviously, you need to stay in the cabin with them...but once again, she refused to sleep with us in the room. I ended up lying in bed with her every afternoon while she slept - not that I'm complaining, it's been a while since I've taken afternoon naps. However, this is something to think about as it does interfere with your day!

 

I'm sure I will think of other things and feel free to ask any questions. I got so much useful info from this board when I did my first cruise. Now we are getting set for the third one and my toddler is only just turning two!!! You will love the Serenade - it's a beautiful ship which is very family friendly!

[crusinmama06]

I try to put questions that are asked alot on this board over on my blog...

http://www.cruisingwithchildren.blogspot.com

 

Your question about inflatables is there (just bring a small one that can double as a bathtub if needed, since most cabins have showers, no tubs. Use a small bucket to fill it up and then look for a shower at the pool to drain it, a janitor's closet with sink or just as a crew member where the closest drain is.

 

Car seats (also at above link) - yes I bring ours. You can try to minimize your need for them by taking bus excursions. But it's often hard to determine whether the company will take a bus or not (looking at reviews of those excursions is one way to tell, but its not fool proof)

 

Is you balcony cabin a D1? You should have room for a pack n play. There are smaller balcony cabins (E1/E2) that make it a little tighter.

 

This board can help you with individual family friendly excursions. To get a faster response, start a thread with those ports in the title. :)

[Julienatul]

Get a clear plastic over the door shoe holder, great for storing all the stuff you bring and keeps the counters clear. Disposable sippy cups, bibs are great. Also for our 2yr old we just took the mattress off the top bunk when the room steward made up the room each evening and placed it on the floor against the wall.We would put it back every morning when she woke up and he would lock it back into the wall again. She was fine sleeping that way. No need to get the big pack in play. For naps, she napped in our bed with one of us lying next to her. Kids that age rarely get sea sick, your older one might and you can buy children's bonine but it doesnt start until age 6. You can also bring kids benadryl and give that to your little one, its an anti-emetic(nausea) as well as allergy med. We sailed during the hurricaine last year with BIG swells and everyone was sick but my DD, so go figure. Motion sickness rarely starts until 8-9 yrs of age.

[norsie]

Not sure if these are "tips" as such, but when we cruised with our little one we found that things we had assumed would be tough were quite easy, while things that we thought would be a breeeze were the headaches!

 

We requested a crib in the cabin from Princess (she NEVER has problems sleeping and loves her crib). There was definitely room for it, though it did make the cabin corwded. However, our little one flat out refused to sleep in it as she knew that we were in the room, too. This meant that she slept in our bed every night - we got the crib taken away after the second night as there was no point having it crowding the room. We had thought sleep would be no problem - but it was! We have also sailed the Serenade and there would be space in a balcony cabin for a pack and play, but you would need to get the small table taken out.

I also have a good sleeper so I hadn't thought about the fact that she might not sleep with us there.

 

The Serenade has great "toddler" programs - even though your two year old wouldn't be old enough to leave there are great little groups that you can attend with your little one. Do you know if anyone has posted a recent "program" showing what activities are available?

 

A huge issue for us that we never expected was the lack of a bath tub. My little one had never been in a shower before and was absolutely terrified. I ended up having to take a shower with her while she clung to me like a koala. Not much fun in a teeny cubicle on a rocking boat. At least on Serenade they have a glass door and not the sticking shower curtains that Princess has. You may want to get your little one used to a shower if not already!

We are going to take your advice and give her a shower tomorrow-Good idea!! Thanks!

 

We asked our doc about seasickness prior to sailing and he recommended children's gravol. We took it but never needed it - we all got seasick one time, but the little one didn't!

I'll ask about that at her appt on Monday

 

We took and used a "leash" - our daughter is very fast when she wants to be and most of the doors to the outside are automatic, so I had visions of her darting off and plunging overboard at any second. The leash gave me peace of mind and she never had any issue with it. The automatic doors proved to be a big headache for us as our little one was obsessed with them. Given the chance, she would have stood there all day making them open and close. We tried to avoid doors at all costs!!!!

I hadn't thought of the doors! Great tip!

Our two sailing were to Alaska, so never used the pool - too cold.

 

We mostly eat at the buffet with the little one - that way she gets to sample all the food and it's not a problem if she doesn't like something. She is fine with the sit down dinners, but they take so long that I am always concerned that she will get antsy and bother other passengers so we just skip them.

I think we'll call them and ask them to stick us in a remote corner with others who also have kids.

 

Make sure you take more than enough of the supplies you will need. We ran out of wipes on the second to last day and bought them at the ship store - we were glad they had them, but we almost had to take out a second mortgage to afford them! We also took basic first aid stuff like Pedialyte, Tylenol, etc. as you never know what provisions they have on board for the little ones!

I have that stuff all ready to go!

 

Take lots of little toys and books that your little one has never seen or played with before. We bought a stack of "junk" at the dollar store - crayons, notebooks, playdough, etc. and packed them in indivdual baggies. Each day she got a new baggie and it would keep her entertained long enough to get a shower or get ready for dinner!

This is good too since we have always surprised my son on vacation with surprises each day.

Think about nap times! Another thing we didn't consider was that our little one still naps for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Obviously, you need to stay in the cabin with them...but once again, she refused to sleep with us in the room. I ended up lying in bed with her every afternoon while she slept - not that I'm complaining, it's been a while since I've taken afternoon naps. However, this is something to think about as it does interfere with your day!

I've loaded my mp3 player with lots of podcasts for this time!

 

I'm sure I will think of other things and feel free to ask any questions. I got so much useful info from this board when I did my first cruise. Now we are getting set for the third one and my toddler is only just turning two!!! You will love the Serenade - it's a beautiful ship which is very family friendly!

What did you do about car seat for the islands?

[norsie]

I can't figure out how to reply to each of you so I'll try this...

 

Crusinmama-I checked out your blog. Thanks for the pool tip. The pool staff doesn't care that you fill a pool with pool water and put it beside the pool?

 

I couldn't find the info about the car seat but I'll have more time to read your blog tomorrow. YOu may answer this follow up there...what do you do with the car seat while you are on the island? Carry it with you? Should i buy something smaller for the cruise? Ours are the big high-back chair type. That would be a pain!

 

We are in an E2 :( but I like the idea that julienatul had by putting the mattress on the floor. Do they have two mattress in each room for the kids or do they have to share a mattress?

 

I didn't know that Benadryl helped with seasickness. I've already got that packed as part of our first aid kit.

 

Thanks for info!

[crusinmama06]

I can't figure out how to reply to each of you so I'll try this...

 

Crusinmama-I checked out your blog. Thanks for the pool tip. The pool staff doesn't care that you fill a pool with pool water and put it beside the pool?

 

I couldn't find the info about the car seat but I'll have more time to read your blog tomorrow. YOu may answer this follow up there...what do you do with the car seat while you are on the island? Carry it with you? Should i buy something smaller for the cruise? Ours are the big high-back chair type. That would be a pain!

 

We are in an E2 :( but I like the idea that julienatul had by putting the mattress on the floor. Do they have two mattress in each room for the kids or do they have to share a mattress?

 

I didn't know that Benadryl helped with seasickness. I've already got that packed as part of our first aid kit.

 

Thanks for info!

 

No, the crew doesn't care that you set up your own pool and fill it up with water. It's just a couple of buckets so it's not alot.

 

The car seat info is here...

http://cruisingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2008/05/transfers-and-car-seats.html