What do you do when they sleep at night?

[brightonbelle]

We have done a few cruises as a couple and are looking into the possiblity of doing a cruise with are little one who will be around 18 months old.

 

My main convenr is that he goes to bed at 7pm and I am not sure what to do once he needs to go to sleep for the night? Do we we just have to creep around the cabin very quietly and try not distrub him?

 

I understand that some operators do night nurseries, but I am not sure how that would work - He doesn't settle that easily at bedtime - so how would they deal with that?

 

At this rate I can't see us doing a cruise until I'd be happy he could stay up much later,

 

Whats do other people do to overcome this?

[cb at sea]

Some cruiselines offer "in cabin" babysitting--you could get him settled and then the babysitter will sit there...you can go out for awhile!

Many folks will get a balcony cabin, so that they can retreat to the balcony with a drink, book or conversation.

Or, leave the little one with a member of the family, and have a lovely "couples" cruise again!

[crusinmama06]

Yes CB named what we do. We put them to bed and go out on the balcony. :D

 

That's why it's tough for us to sail without a balcony. As the kids are getting older, it is becoming less of an issue.

[sandytoes03]

Yes CB named what we do. We put them to bed and go out on the balcony. :D

 

That's why it's tough for us to sail without a balcony. As the kids are getting older, it is becoming less of an issue.

 

 

Crusinmama--Not related to the thread, but you're not doing Oasis anymore? Just wondering.

[lamolesky]

When we cruised with our 18 month old (at the time), we let him nap a little longer during the day (we napped too) and sleep a little longer in the morning. That way his usual 7pm bedtime could be stretched until 9 or 10pm. Of course you will spend a lot of time in the room but that is something you have to expect if you are going to cruise with a little one. Bring some good books with you and catch up on your reading and your sleep!

[c-cruise]

Don't know if this is an option for you or not, but this is what has worked for us. Have now done 4 cruises with an under 2yr old and each time we have gone with family and gotten balcony cabins next to each other. On most ships the balcony dividers open so you can go between the rooms without having to go out into the hallway. We bring a baby monitor along and then when our daughter goes to sleep we can go over to the other room and still listen to her on the monitor. Also allows us to have grandma keep an eye on her while we got to a show or something in the evening.

[JMB123]

My husband and I take turns going out at night. We're gamblers, so most of the time is spent in the casino. It's not ideal, since we can't be together, but at least we each get some night time fun. The person who stays in the cabin with the kids relaxes, reads, watches a movie with earphones, etc. I find myself so tired on my day to stay in the cabin that I'm asleep by 9:00 pm!

 

We also stretch the kids' bedtime until about 8:00 pm, which helps. Oh, and we do bring Grandma! She helps us get some couple time in, but usually during the day or dinner time, but she does do one evening for us.

[cruisingram1]

Don't know if this is an option for you or not, but this is what has worked for us. Have now done 4 cruises with an under 2yr old and each time we have gone with family and gotten balcony cabins next to each other. On most ships the balcony dividers open so you can go between the rooms without having to go out into the hallway. We bring a baby monitor along and then when our daughter goes to sleep we can go over to the other room and still listen to her on the monitor. Also allows us to have grandma keep an eye on her while we got to a show or something in the evening.

 

This worked for our first cruise although not all dividers open. (Voyager is a case in point) But even better... we discovered CONNECTING rooms with a door in between. RCL, in particular, has a good many number of connecting cabins that sleep more than just two. That's the first thing we look for when selecting a ship. My "big" kids can go out and we can watch the grandkids.

[sunandseagirl617]

We always found the extra expense of getting a balcony stateroom...We ventured out there for a bottle of wine while the kid's sleep or we watch a movie....while the curtain is pulled.....:):):)

[brenderlou]

Don't forget the stroller!! Our daughter is now 4 and still sleeps in it....the motion of walking around with her in it puts her to sleep FAST....especially on a cruise w/ the motion of the boat She 2 yrs old on her first cruise and we took a small stroller on board. She napped in that thing at the pool w/ the steel drum band playing w/out a problem.

After dinner when she was tired and we wanted to walk around (aka, have a cocktail :D) we would put her in the stroller so she could sleep and then we could put her to bed. She has always loved her stoller and slept in it easily

I am less strict w/ bed time when we are on a cruise hoping for late sleep in times for all of us. It's vacation!!!!

Also, I have noticed our daughter sleeps HARD on cruises which I think is due to the slight motion of the boat she feels. I bet your child will fall asleep alot easier on a cruise.....just a thought

[crusinmama06]

Crusinmama--Not related to the thread, but you're not doing Oasis anymore? Just wondering.

 

Not at this point. I won a couple of cruises. :eek: (which explains my sudden departure from Royal Caribbean sailings...lol) So I had to cancel my Oasis bookings. :( But if I can find a way to make it work, I am going to jump back on the 9/11/10 Oasis CC group. They were a great group of people and I would love to sail with them. :D

[sandytoes03]

Not at this point. I won a couple of cruises. :eek: (which explains my sudden departure from Royal Caribbean sailings...lol) So I had to cancel my Oasis bookings. :( But if I can find a way to make it work, I am going to jump back on the 9/11/10 Oasis CC group. They were a great group of people and I would love to sail with them. :D

 

 

Cool! Well hopefully it will work out. Did you see the new pictures posted on the RCI board?

[Julienatul]

When our DD was 18mo, we would put her in the stroller and stroll around in the evenings while she slept, sometimes she would stay up and watch the shows with us, sometimes she was tired and we would just go back to the cabin and watch a movie or read while she slept or we relaxed on the balcony if we had one. With little ones you have to be flexible and honestly on the nights we went back to the cabin we were both asleep pretty quickly. The day tires you out, especially when your little one wakes up at 6 or 7am. If you are looking for tons of nightlife then it might be best to wait until your baby is older. Some lines have in-cabin sitting others have group babysitting starting at 10pm where you would just bring your baby (already asleep) and they have cribs set up for them.

[crusinmama06]

Cool! Well hopefully it will work out. Did you see the new pictures posted on the RCI board?

 

No I haven't...will have to go check it out. Thanks. :D

[geegee1]

for our 3 year old, we used a whole bunch of different options at night. a babysitter, placed her in the stroller and she passed out as we walked around.

 

sometimes both or one of us were so tired from the day that we passed out right after putting her to sleep. that sea air can be a killer.

[trace1208]

Good thread. We are leaving APril 18th with twins on the Pride. I do have a balcony next door to grandmas so if we have to put them in early at least we can sit in the room next door. We also have lots of family coming so hopefully get one or 2 nights out, but honestly this twin mama is looking forward to the sun wearing me out enough to be in bed with them lol :rolleyes:

[MamaParrotHead]

We're taking DS6 and DD10 on their first cruise this fall. We budgeted to get the connecting OV cabin, so we can hang out and watch TV and talk while the kids are sleeping. Truth be told, though, we're usually so darn worn out, we probably won't be too far behind them when it comes to bedtime. Our last two cruises we had to STRUGGLE to stay up past 11, LOL.