Cruising with 18 month old

My wife and I will be cruising in December on the breeze and we are going to bring our 18 month old. We haven't had a vacation since she got pregnant and are super excited. We are however slightly nervous about cruising with an 18 month old who isn't old enough to utilize camp carnival. My question is this: is there anyone that has done this with a child under two that has any tips or advice that would make it easier i guess lol.

Good luck. That's a tough age. Hard to keep them still and quiet.

Remember he/she can't go in the pool.

IMHO - I don't feel it's much of a vacation cruising with an 18 month old!

:eek:

I am cruising on the Freedom in December with my 18 month old!

I cruised with my then 10 month old this past February and yes it was a different kind of vacation but we had a blast and are so glad we took him. There are pictures in my review (in my signature) of the crib and stroller you can get from the camp and the blow up tub we brought for baths. They have a parents stay an play in the camp carnival for the under twos and we took him there to run around freely and stretch his legs. Be flexible and you'll have a great time.

I have a hard time being still and quiet lol. And at least we dont have to cook for him...he is actually well behaved for his age and our vacation wouldn't be the same without him!

Our Grandson and his parents went with us a couple of years ago when he was that age.

We had a BLAST.

One of the life savers that the parents did was pre order the diapers and stuff so they didn't have to try and pack everything.

I didn't know you could pre order diapers!! I will have to look in to that.

Our son took his first cruise at 14 months. My best tip: bring family if you can!

You got to know going into the cruise it won't be the same experience as in the past. You will spend more time in the cabin and less time doing adult stuff. It will be a very low key cruise with a lot of simply walking around and relaxing. We still had fun. No cooking, no cleaning, and being able to go out to eat every day and attend some shows was great.

My baby brother went on his first cruise the month he turned 6 months old, and he went on his second last August. He's also been to Atlantic city and New Orleans this year and he will be on the cruise with me next week and Hawaii next year. The little bugger is going to be more well traveled at 3 then I am at 27.

My dad and step mom always pack plenty of clothes in case of accidents, and they always utilize laundry services. He has a lighter stroller he travels with, heavier then an umbrella with storage underneath but much lighter then the all in one car seat thing. Lots of wipes and diapers on cruises were there is no stop on Florida, (they pick up extras in Florida and other ports) They always stay in a suite (or the class just below the Haven on NCL) and sail out of New York (where we live) so its just a quick drive to the port. They bring and buy bottled water for his bottles and the powder although I know you can get premixed formula in individual packets. The baby is a wild sleeper so they don't take the pack and play anymore cause it's hard to crush a baby that keeps kicking you in the face...

This upcoming cruise my lil brother will be 18 months, my dad thinks he is going to bring the Ninja Bullet to make baby food with fruit and stuff from the buffet but I doubt they will even let him. I will try to remember to include tips in my post cruise review but they are pretty laid back, they just pack the essentials and plan on letting him terrorize the splash park.

We cruised last summer (2013) with my then 22 month old grand daughter. If you can any way afford a balcony, do so. It gives you a place to be together during naps and at bedtime. Carnival doesn't have a diapers on board or available for pre order like some other lines. You will need to bring what you will use. We bought diapers after our flight to reduce space. You will want to take any meds (RX and OTC) you think you might need as well as sun screen for baby. Again, not available on the ship. We took our own crib sheets so it would be more familiar as well as a favorite blanket and lovey. Carnival doesn't have crib sheets, they just fold a regular sheet. An umbrella stroller is easiest for travel and getting around on the ship. As post above a blow up pool is good for bath time but we just got our little one used to showers to have one last thing to pack. Since they have hand held shower heads, she was able to just stand up and we could wash and rinse easily. Camp carnival does have open time to let baby burn off some energy. We also found unused areas to let her run around. It will be a different vacation buy you will make memories to last a lifetime.

Hey...it's no different than everyday life at home...You do what you need to do. But...you will be on a cruise! In a lovely area of the world! It's all good!

We cruised with our son at 14 months and it was a good time. Different, but good. Spent lots of time walking around the ship with him in the stroller which I didn't mind. Good umbrella type stroller with recline and shade work best. Dining room staff offered to purée foods for him, but with an 18 month old you probably won't need that. We brought snacks from home since he was picky and definitely bring all meds for all possible ailments and more diapers than you think you'll need. Check the family board too, lots of good tips and packing lists over there.

We cruised when DD was 15 months old and a little over 2. And I would take the 15 months over a 2 year old any day!

My recommendations

-Under 2 they can't do camp carnival, but they have (paid) baby sitting after 10 p.m. if you are still awake (we usually weren't).

- on sea days for an hour or 2 before camp they have under 2 play time. You can leave your child for a fee or you can stay and the child can play. I really recommend this, as it gives your child a chance to run around and play with toys

- Any time dining. Your child will probably have their schedule thrown off. Inevitably if you have 6:00 dining, your child will finally drift off for a nap at 5:45.

- Umbrella stroller. We brought the stroller with our travel system. It was a mistake. it did not fit through the cabin door. Its not helpful if you child falls asleep in the stroller and you have to take him/her out to get back in the cabin.

- Bring a small backpack /bag with toys. Like little animals, cars etc. They don't take up much space but are helpful.

- Make sure you have (pre-packaged) snacks with you for ports and other times when food is not immediately available. You can grab boxes of cheerios or other cereal at buffet.

Have fun. One of my favorite memories was on DD's first cruise (she was 14 months) and we just took a tender to Grand Cayman. We waited forever for the tender and I was super stressed on the ride that she would get hurt somehow. We are getting off the tender and the water is shallow and super clear. DD was so excited, saying mommy/daddy look, fishies. All worth it.

The best advice I can offer is to be flexible and roll with it! Some of our best memories are cruise cruising with the kids.

My oldest daughter's first cruise was at 6 months and has been a regular cruiser the past 4 years. As such, I've watched her go from the potted plant stage - to full on toddler - to finally being able to go to camp (which is now her favorite thing about Carnival).

At 18 months, I image your child is well on the way to table food - maybe even fully so! In the dining room you will have standard "kids" menu type food (chicken fingers, spaghetti, pizza, etc). What I found is that the staff is quite accommodating for a youngster. For example one night the main dinner was served with a side of green beans - one of the kiddo's favorite foods at the time. So, just like an adult can order whatever they want, so can your kid - mine had 4 orders of green beans that night! (and the next night were peas - another fav!) If all else fails you can pick up a hot dog, burger, and fries on the Lido deck!

Regarding dining, we actually went with a fixed dining time (early). The week prior to the cruise, we slowly shifted her schedule so that by the time she got onto the ship, her dinner time was sync'd up! We were lucky in that our child was so fixed in her schedule - made it easy to know what to expect. As others have mentioned, if your child's schedule is anything but, the anytime dining may be more up to your needs. In the dining room they offered both high chairs and boosters. Also, now that you have a kids - you will never be placed at a table with random folks again (one of my favorite parts of pre kids cruising) - but that means there is no stress about how strangers may interact with your child.

If you are still using more prepared foods and snacks, one of the tricks that worked really well for us was to get a large box of diapers, open it up, remove the diapers we would not need and then pack that box with her wipes, food and snacks. Sealed the thing back up, slapped a room tag on it and dropped it off with rest of our baggage. Don't bother with a suite case for all those consumable items - just one more thing you'll need to drag off the ship when you get back into port. In a backpack we kept with us was a small supply of snacks and also some bowls and utensils we kept in zip-lock baggies.

Another thing that stayed in that backpack was her EpiPen. She had full on anaphylactic shock to pears (fortunately grew out of it!). Point being, don't forget any meds. That said, the dining staff was very helpful in making sure we avoided any potential food risks (you'd be amazed in how often pear juice is used as a cheap sweetener - shows up damn near everywhere!).

We brought a travel stroller with us just once - never again. They are just way to big to navigating for a crowded ship. When she was really young we just used a baby Bjorne. Yes we have photos of her strapped to my chest hiking up remote tropical mountains! If you must bring a stroller, get an umbrella type. We also intentionally picked excursions that would not involve too much walking so we could leave the stroller on the ship. Carnival is quite good on their site about noting age appropriateness of various excursions.

Don't forget to check the specific port threads for ideas of thing to do that are kid friendly in each of your ports. For example: my daughter loves water, so we found a private captain that specialized in family charters and we went swimming/wadding with the sting ray while she was still under 2.

And a final comment - get the kid a passport! It costs money; but, it is a lot easier to deal with than making sure you have the right kind of birth certificate and supporting documents. And not to be a downer; but, if something unfortunate did happen while out of country, a birth certificate is pretty much useless.

Again, not end on a down note - we love cruising with our daughter! In fact, our newest edition with be going on her first cruise this Thanksgiving at 11 months of age. And now our oldest daughter enjoys counting down the days to when she can return to "her" camp.

Just got off the dream with our 19 month old. Our basic rule was if she uses it home we will try to bring it with us. I set up a shelf in the bathroom with a hand towel (which our room steward didn't touch) and that was the bottle shelf. I bought 1 bottle brush and 2 bottles. I also picked up a small dishwashing liquid and washed her bottles n sippy cup as we went. An umbrella stroller was the best thing ever. I lysol wiped the room and put our clothing on the shelves in the closets so that the suitcases were out the way. I bought her swimming diapers and no one said anything that we let her splash around by the baby slide. We put chocolate milk in the fridge so in the case where she didn't eat much she could have her milk. My best advice would be keep the room in an order best for you and don't forget some toys. Have fun!!!! Oh.... and my cousin was 3 doors down so she watched my little one when the honey and I wanted an hour or so to our selves. There is also a paid service (that we didn't utilize) where they watch the babies and call u if there's a problem.

Bring the umbrella stroller for sure. I put my son in his "chariot" at that age. He couldn't wait to go explore the ship every morning and he would get in there and I'd harness him in until we got to breakfast at the buffet. There he would go right in the high chair and one of us would get his food first and then our own. This kept him busy.

The key to enjoying a trip with a toddler is be prepared to walk, and walk and walk. They also love to climb. They will have an absolute ball in this new exciting playground but you will not have time to enjoy the shipboard activities-shows, games, pools, casino, hot tubs-- at least together. I didn't have a good time with my toddler and took a two year break from travel after that. It wasn't relaxing for me.

One thing is that they are still in diapers. You will be changing diapers in a really small cabin where they get ripe. Bring little bags for them so that your room doesn't smell.

We took our DS7 on 2 cruises before he could go into Camp. Yes, it was much different than how we cruise now and was not as relaxing. Agree with all comments.

- Get a balcony. Brought a baby monitor and DH and I could sit out and just talk after DS went to bed. Worked great for naps - I could read and DH would go on ship and play. We also did breakfast there every am. DH would go pick up at buffet and bring back to room. DS loved watching the water.

- Work with your DH to take turns babysitting. Make sure you both get alone time to recharge.

- Umbrella stroller that reclines and has shade

- Utilize the under 2 time in camp (with parent). You can also check out toys too - hit/miss on if those are good or not, but worth checking.

- Usually the night clubs were empty during the day - we'd go in there and have a blast running around and being crazy.

- Carnival staff will be great and make a big deal about him.

 

 

One thing is that they are still in diapers. You will be changing diapers in a really small cabin where they get ripe. Bring little bags for them so that your room doesn't smell.

we had diaper bags (looks like little grocery bags). U can get them at babies r us. Wrap the poo up in 3 of em and spray the room with frebreeze and we were ok. The room steward was good about changing the garbage often.

I agree u don't get to enjoy the night activities but we made the best of it. We watched movies on the lido and took turns at night doing different things solo. Don't forgetu have the night owl option.

Last december (2013) i took my 19 month old. we went with another family with an 18 month old. the kids were night and day, so yes, the key is to be flexible. if you are saying your kid is very well behaved, he is probably more like my son.

we did choose royal caribbean for cruising at that age, however, for 2 reasons. 1) they have a nursery on select ships for the under 3 set. $6 or $8 an hour depending on the time of day - where i live you can't get babysitting that cheap anymore. so, we used it. 2) they have a splash pool for the diapered set.

otherwise, here are things we did:

1) have a wonderful reclining umbrella stroller. they are smaller and lightweight to bring and if your kid will nap in a stroller like mine does, you can be on the go and nap anywhere.

2) we had a balcony for extra space.

3) our room had a couch so instead of using the pack n play, we turned the couch around so it was facing the wall. so, the wall was on 2 sides of the couch, the high back was a 3rd side and then the last "arm" side we just put a suitcase in front of so he was blocked in. they put a sheet and blanket down on top of the cushions and he slept on top of that all week very happily. it saved so much space too and he had a big area in front of the couch on the floor to play.

4) i brought a lot of books, coloring books to play with. i also brought my i-pod loaded with tv shows for dinners. he would eat and then quietly watch his show while we finished. but we did tell the waiter we needed to be out within an hour and NOT to draw out our meal at a leisurely pace. An hour worked great for all of us and my son was fine. (the other kid, well, he would sit for 5 minutes and scream no matter what).

5) i got dish soap down in FL before we boarded and washed his cups. we also brought the take and toss cups and left them there after. he would drink a lot of the cold fruity soups from the cups - he loved them.

6) playdoh works wonders while waiting at dinner

7) i did buy snacks, diapers, wipes, etc in florida before we got in. i didn't fly with that stuff and i packed an empty duffle in my suitcase to throw all that stuff into when we arrived.

8) just be flexible and watch his cues.

my son had an amazing time at that age

also get the powdered packets of pedialyte to bring. it's single serve, you open the pack and dump it in water. you will want these in case of diarrhea or anything hits.

Hello,

We are sailing next year on the Oasis of the Seas RCCL with our 15 month old baby. There are quite a few differences between Carnival and Oasis child options. I know on RCCL you can pre order Gerber foods and Huggie diapers but they are very expensive. I'm sure Carnival has something similar. We have sailed on Carnival and loved it but being that this our baby's first cruise we wanted to go on Oasis since they have the nursery on board even though it costs $6-8 a hour depending on what time of day.

There are some great packing lists on here for babies if you search.

I would suggest getting a passport for the baby if you don't have one already. A umbrella stroller will be a life saver for you if you don't want to bring a car seat with you on board. We just bought a Ignite Umbrella stroller on amazon for under $80 and our 10 month old loves it. I would also suggest to bring a inflatable baby bathtub you can buy at babies r us for $8.00 if your baby doesn't like taking showers. Those cheap plastic bags for dirty diapers are great that babies r us sells. Buy disposable bibs, forks, spoons and sippy cups that "Take & Toss" sells. Lysol or Clorox wipes for wiping the cabin room down is a very good idea. A backpack style diaper bag is great for carry on and going in port. I highly suggest buying a travel baby carrier if you like to wear your baby.

I'm sure you guys will have a great time with your little one!

Hello,

 

We are sailing next year on the Oasis of the Seas RCCL with our 15 month old baby. There are quite a few differences between Carnival and Oasis child options. I know on RCCL you can pre order Gerber foods and Huggie diapers but they are very expensive. I'm sure Carnival has something similar. We have sailed on Carnival and loved it but being that this our baby's first cruise we wanted to go on Oasis since they have the nursery on board even though it costs $6-8 a hour depending on what time of day.

 

There are some great packing lists on here for babies if you search.

 

I would suggest getting a passport for the baby if you don't have one already. A umbrella stroller will be a life saver for you if you don't want to bring a car seat with you on board. We just bought a Ignite Umbrella stroller on amazon for under $80 and our 10 month old loves it. I would also suggest to bring a inflatable baby bathtub you can buy at babies r us for $8.00 if your baby doesn't like taking showers. Those cheap plastic bags for dirty diapers are great that babies r us sells. Buy disposable bibs, forks, spoons and sippy cups that "Take & Toss" sells. Lysol or Clorox wipes for wiping the cabin room down is a very good idea. A backpack style diaper bag is great for carry on and going in port. I highly suggest buying a travel baby carrier if you like to wear your baby.

 

I'm sure you guys will have a great time with your little one!

also get the powdered packets of pedialyte to bring. it's single serve, you open the pack and dump it in water. you will want these in case of diarrhea or anything hits.

Some good points about the pedialyte and the forks, spoons, sippy cups. The MDR has big water glasses (goblet type), so even though my DD is 3 and can drink from a cup, we will bring a sippy cup. And the forks and spoons are helpful, because the ones in the MDR are big.

Thank you for all the advice. We will just go with the flow and have fun.

We will cruise with our 4 yr old daughter and 18 month old son this December. Our friends had cruised several times with their little ones and they always had a good time. Of course we will spend more time in the cabin than other passengers but I think that's ok. We'll just get room service whenever we want and take a break at the balcony when we have to. We will pack enough pouch and diapers and wipes.