Triumph with an infant and toddler

I'm looking at booking on Triumph for my family. We have an infant, she will be about a year at the time of sailing, and a three year old. Has anyone had experiences sailing with these age groups? Did you feel too restricted on shipboard activities or shore excursions?

A few months ago we took a 7 month old and a 3 year old. The 3 year old was amazing. He was so good and loved it. It was his 2nd cruise and he tells us all the time that he wants to go on a cruise ship. I was just saying the other day that I would have liked to wait until a yr old to take our then 7 month old. He is 1 now and I think he would do better with the food and sleeping aspect. That said he went to the nursery a few times on Royal so we could get through dinner. If your kid is a good sleeper and eater, I would say yes. If not, it may be a little harder. Also, how many sea days? I would say the less the better.

Your 3yo can go to the camp.

They need to be potty trained to go into the water and pools.

Also ask this on the Family Board.

I went on a cruise last year with a (at the time) 15 month old child. While it was a different experience vs the other times my wife and I cruise on our own, it was still enjoyable.

You do need to remember to take all items you will need with you (and things you think you might need) as they might be impossible to get while on a ship. For us that meant all the diapers/wipes we would need, took medicines we might need, and toys to entertain him while in the cabin.

The ship staff was amazing with him when we were out on decks with him. He once had a little meltdown while we were at the buffet and one of the workers that would clear the tables came over and was talking to him and made him a little towel animal out of a napkin which cheered him up.

As far as shows and excursions went, we were lucky enough to have his grandma in an adjacent room sailing with us. She would watch him at night while my wife and I went for drinks at the club. We did not do any organized excursions on our trip, instead doing beach days which were easy to do with our son.

If you search for posts by CruiseProf, she's got three excellent reviews from the point-of-view of her toddler son.

If you search for posts by CruiseProf, she's got three excellent reviews from the point-of-view of her toddler son.

As wampuscat7 mentioned (thanks for the shout out!), I've written several reviews from the perspective of my toddler son with lots of tips (links available in my signature). I started cruising with him just before he turned two. We've always had a fabulous time -- just bring along a little extra flexibility and patience. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Thanks, everyone! ProfCruise, I'll be stalking your posts after the kiddos are in bed tonight!

Brought my 1 year old last cruise and did not enjoy the cruise one bit- on ship there was nothing she could do, no swimming, no camp carnival, no late night shows (sleepy crying babies are no fun!) so basically all we did was eat and sleep unless on port than we ate and swam. Tea time was very fun though. We're going solo this time.

As a mom of 4 kids, I would have to say don't take the 1 year old on a cruise, unless you have a grandma/babysitter/dedicated person to help. Babies don't respond well to schedule changes, and the last thing you want to do is being stuck in your cabin with a fussy baby. Think about it, at home you have the baby's room (where she can sleep in quietness) baby's crib, play place, bouncy seat, walker, multiple toys, favorite foods, changing table, etc. Plus you'll need to bring a stroller that will get in your way in your room.

Also, if your child is prone to illness - such as colds, ear infections etc. Then you'll be paying a lot to see the ship's doctor. And most 1 year olds do not have passports, so if the child becomes very ill then you'll run into trouble getting the child home quickly.

If you're ok with the 3 year old going to Camp Carnival (potty trained, ok with separation issues etc) then take them. But if you're a stay-at-home mother, and the child isn't used to being away from you, then you won't be doing much on the cruise.

I know this may not be the "popular" advice, but I've tried vacationing with little ones and it is not fun. Now that my kids are 5, 7, 9, 11 - we really can enjoy activities together.

We cruised on the triumph with our then barely 2 year old. She wouldn't go to the club and wasn't potty trained enough to go in the pool. We still had a nice time, we did have grandparents along. We made use of empty lounges to let her climb around and camp carnival let us play with her in the club in the mornings. There was also an outdoor toddler friendly play area she enjoyed, it was real susceptible to high winds. I didn't like that on the triumph many of the events were held directly across from the casino, so it was real smokey.

We took our now 3 year old on the Magic and I found it to be a much more kid friendly ship. We loved the waterworks and toddler friendly water slides, large lounges, and it had more activities. I'd consider checking out the magic, we liked it so much we're going again. We didn't even have grandparents along and it was great.

You have a toddler...not an "infant"! Just so you know! Will you feel "restricted"? I don't know...do you feel restricted at home?

Vacationing with kids is different than an adult only vacation...but it's your family, and you chose a family...so a family vacation it is!

Just go, make memories and have fun!

We cruised with our oldest at 13 months. Was it different? Yes. Was it horrible? Not in the least. There was very little organized for him to do on board, but he doesn't have organized activities at home either. We spent a lot of time exploring the ship, hanging out on our balcony while he played with cars, and playing with him. It was absolutely wonderful to finally get time to actually spend with him where we weren't worried about work or chores or schedules.

We cruised with our son at 11 months and really enjoyed it. We were able to go to a few shows at night with him asleep in the stroller and did alot of walking around the ship at night which we like to do anyway. He was very entertained by everything going on around him and the crew really doted on him. Ports were fun and though it was a different cruise with a baby, we made the most of it and enjoyed it overall.