Sleeping Arrangements With Babies & Toddlers: Lessons Learned?

Hello everyone!

I'm about to take my kids (2.5 & 10 mo) on a cruise (Norwegian Gem) for the first time, but I don't know what to anticipate when it comes to sleeping arrangements. :confused:

I'm wondering how your trip with young kids went in terms of sleeping arrangements -- and what advice you'd give.

My 2.5-year-old daughter is very active and also highly routinized. At home, she sleeps well, alone in her crib. She'll do 12 hours at night and still nap 2-3 hours midday most of the time. We took her on a weekend camping trip a year ago and tried to make the cabin as much like home as possible by putting a comfy mattress in her pack n play with all her favorite blankets/toys/mobile/books. But she cried and cried, and eventually just climbed right out of the pack n play! She proceeded to jump around our bed and had trouble winding down. It was pretty rough. A year is a long time in terms of child development, but she sometimes ask to come visit "the big people's bed" -- where she revels in the concept of "snuggles", which soon gives way to the "10 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" song.

My 10-month-old naps in a swing (which obviously can't come on the ship) and sleeps in our bed at night. He takes 2-3 naps a day (45 min to 3 hours in length) and sleeps 8 hours at night. At least he is comfortable with bed sharing, so it won't be that much of a switch for him... I hope. Yet, I'm not sure if all four of us will fit or if he will be able to rest comfortably if my toddler is bouncing all over the place.

I guess I'm expecting the worst, praying for a break... hoping the kids get so tuckered out they literally just PASS OUT. We are bringing a few umbrella strollers, although my kids usually don't sleep on a walk. We also ended up forking over the extra cash for the balcony upgrade so I have a place to relax if and when I can get them to settle for a nap.

How soon is this happening?

Late October

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My oldest will be four months shy of three... And my youngest will be 10 months at the time of sailing.

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Any chance your room has pullman beds?

Even one?

I would have one adult sleep on a pullman (alternating nights so you guys get rest) while the other is in the big bed with the kids. If you can get your 10month old to sleep in a playpen then put both adults up top and leave the 2.5yr old on her own with the big bed. She can't get up to your bed (if you put ladders away) so she'll learn to just go to sleep.

I would personally work hard to get your infant used to sleeping in a playpen now at home so there is hope you can keep them contained at night on the cruise. At least then you only have one child to worry about being on the loose!

I would definitely get the youngest used to sleeping in a pack n play. The rolling of the ship plus the normal hazards of sleeping in an adult bed with comforters is not worth it. The rolling can mean it is easier for infants to shift and adults/infants to sleep deeper than normal. My preschoolers have always liked the convertible couches, infants and toddlers went into the pack n plays. I liked knowing they were contained, especially when using a balcony. Granted most balcony doors are hard to open, but it was not unknown for my dh to get up earlier and leave the door open. Most balconies have solid sides, but did encounter one on the sky with just cables.... perhaps I am wrong, but it scared the snot out of me with my daughter at the time.

I'd call Norwegian. I was thinking about taking a RC cruise, and booking a balcony room for 4. When I called to place a hold, they told me that even though the balcony room was listed for 4, a pack n play wouldn't fit for my baby if my son pulled out the sofa and they recommended 2 connecting inside cabins (4 people can sleep in the room only if 2 of them are on the couch, although I guess you could not pull out the couch and let a 3 year old sleep on it as a couch, especially if you can turn it around so it faces the wall).

My then- 2 year old was insanely strong, and at 24 months he could open the balcony door even when it was locked on a Princess cruise.

At 36 months, that child also slept fine in a pack n play on a HAL cruise.

At 10 months my son slept fine in the pack n play that Norwegian provided (we did take our own quilted sheet to make it a little more comfy). At 2 and a few months he flipped out at the pack n play and ended up sleeping in our bed all week. At home he sleeps very well and happily in his crib. I would try the baby in a pack n play at home and see if you can get him used to it before your trip. Is he the type of kid you can move once asleep? Or the type that needs to go down where he will stay?

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Also, I don't know what price difference is or if any are available, but the mini suites on Gem are great for families. They have a bath tub and a curtain you can use to separate the couch area from the bed area. They are just larger balcony rooms, no suite amenities, but are one of my favorite types of NCL cabins. I wish they hadn't changed them in the newer ships!

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I would definitely get the youngest used to sleeping in a pack n play. The rolling of the ship plus the normal hazards of sleeping in an adult bed with comforters is not worth it. The rolling can mean it is easier for infants to shift and adults/infants to sleep deeper than normal. My preschoolers have always liked the convertible couches, infants and toddlers went into the pack n plays. I liked knowing they were contained, especially when using a balcony. Granted most balcony doors are hard to open, but it was not unknown for my dh to get up earlier and leave the door open. Most balconies have solid sides, but did encounter one on the sky with just cables.... perhaps I am wrong, but it scared the snot out of me with my daughter at the time.

I agree with the others--have the youngest one sleep in a pack n play. When DD was that age we were going to have her sleep on the pulled out sofa, but it left no room in the cabin. Then we were going to have her sleep on the sofa, but the cabin steward suggested making her a bed on the floor. That worked perfectly! The steward would use the comforter, pillows & a sheet from the sofa bed to make up a little bed for DD each night.

My BTDT advice is don't go until they cut down the naps to 1 a day, but it is too late for that. Where traveling with kids there is a fine line between tired and over tired, but I don't know how realistic 3 naps a day is on a vacation, that's a lot of time in an itty bitty room.

Ideally you call and see if there is any way to get 2 connecting rooms interior ocean view and split one adult and one kid in each. But at this point that might be an option.

I like the have an adult sleep on the pull down, 2 year old on the couch (turning it around is a good idea) and baby in bed with the other parent. In a few ways you are lucky you can all sleep together, my kids never could sleep with us.

One option I used when we traveled was a really small play tent. I could pitch it just about anywhere and my kid would sleep in the 6 sq ft. They loved them and thought it was good fun. It might provide the 2 year old enough separation to just go to sleep. I have stories from a few trips where my youngest just didn't sleep. I spent on memorable night in the lobby of a Great Wolf Lodge with my screaming 1 year old who just would not sleep. I figured in the lobby he wasn't keeping anyone else up. Generally these things work themselves out, if not there is always the empty seating area of the closed buffet

Good Luck

You might consider a KidCo PeaPod for the kids, or at least one of them. We have travelled a ton with our twins. One thing we learned early on was that they just didn't sleep well in new places, regardless of many variables (same pack n play as at home, same mattress, same lighting and sound machine, etc). We have tried it all! On our last trip to FL, we bought The Shrunks travel beds. They get great reviews online, but the crib sized ones are still pretty big in a hotel room (especially since we need two of them) and our kids can't seem to rest comfortably in them. After 3 trips with less than ideal results, they are now in a pile of items heading to the next local consignment sale!

Our saving grace has been pool noodles in a bed. We tuck them under the sides within the fitted sheets and line the bottom of the bed with pillows. Our kids are now 3 and sleep amazingly well in hotels! We leave next week for their first cruise. I purchased inflatable pool noodles from Amazon. Our plan is to have the children sleep together in the sofa bed and us in the King. I feel pretty confident that they will do well, since they likely won't take their usual 60-90 minute naps.

Best wishes that yours do better than ours at that age!

BUMP!

Any more tips from the trenches?

Products you bought that made sleeping easier?

Sleep stories - how well did your kids sleep?

Honestly the kids slept very well... the slight rocking motion worked wonders. My advice is to respect naptime/bedtime most of the time, the danger comes when they get overstimulated. I never put the kids in late night child care for that reason. We didn't get to stay up dancing, but the cruise was just as enjoyable as when we were childless but in different ways. Wind down before bedtime and keep the routine as normal as possible. Sometimes you can order milk and a warm cookie from room service for the older kids. It gave them something to look forward to versus being taken from the action. When we sailed with my DD as an infant we would sit on a chair outside in a quiet area that wasn't brightly lit and she would fall to sleep. With young ones I cap cruises at around 5 nights, any longer than that and they fell apart... just as good as long as they could be and too tired for self control.

I took my kids when they were similar ages and we found getting 1 kid settled and asleep (the younger one) first and then doing the second kid. Trying to do both at once was horrid and they just played off each other. We are travelling again in 5 weeks with now Miss almost 4 and Mr turning 2 on the ship and we are planning on sleeping both kids in the fold out couch in the cabin. Again we will get one asleep and then the other and hope it works again!

I took my kids when they were similar ages and we found getting 1 kid settled and asleep (the younger one) first and then doing the second kid. Trying to do both at once was horrid and they just played off each other. We are travelling again in 5 weeks with now Miss almost 4 and Mr turning 2 on the ship and we are planning on sleeping both kids in the fold out couch in the cabin. Again we will get one asleep and then the other and hope it works again!

Thanks for the tip.

Your toddler went right to sleep? Or the baby just slept through the noise? My 2.5 year old usually goes to sleep without a fuss, but she does like to read and sing and sometimes play in her bed -- sometimes for up to an hour! -- before she sleeps.

Hi there!

I have a son that is newly three and we have taken him at 7, 11, 20 months and now at 3y2m on 10/23. When the first three times he slept in the middle of us. We tried the crib and it was an epic fail. However, he slept SO good at night and he was a craaaaappy sleeper for a long time

This time we are bringing our 10 month old (will be 11 months 10/23) and he will sleep between us and our 3 year old will sleep on the pull out couch.

I would be more than happy to talk to you about any travel concerns! Feel free to contact me!

Hi there!

 

I have a son that is newly three and we have taken him at 7, 11, 20 months and now at 3y2m on 10/23. When the first three times he slept in the middle of us. We tried the crib and it was an epic fail. However, he slept SO good at night and he was a craaaaappy sleeper for a long time

 

This time we are bringing our 10 month old (will be 11 months 10/23) and he will sleep between us and our 3 year old will sleep on the pull out couch.

 

I would be more than happy to talk to you about any travel concerns! Feel free to contact me!

Hello! I'm not sure if there is a private message feature on here or not :confused: , but I would love to pick your brain! Your kids are at almost identical ages to mine, yet you have done this before.

Was your toddler ever a co-sleeper? Mine has never slept that well with us. She was too fidgety and wild, so she's been in her own crib since about 10 months. She can take up to an hour to wind down and fall asleep at night - reading, talking, singing in her crib.

My initial thought was to get her to sleep first and then lay the baby down because she tends to doze back off when awakened better than him. He would probably sleep between us and I could perhaps have the pullout as backup if he seems like he wants to flip and roll around too much in the night (which occasionally happens).

I'm trying to prepare my toddler for the pullout... showing her photos of the room, explaining "Here's where you'll sleep," but she sometimes says "I wanna go in the BIG BIG bed!" Some people have mentioned bringing magnetic hooks and a shower curtain to partition the room or a pop-up tent to turn into a private little nook for her, so I've been mulling all that over in my mind.

What were your biggest lessons learned to make the cruises go smoother?

Hi there!

So, I am no expert by any means, but we do have some BTDT experiences to offer.

We took our son on his first cruise at 13 months, in March 2015. He was a great sleeper at home, in his crib, 11-12 hours at night, and two good naps during the day. We sailed on RCI's Enchantment of the Seas and only had an inside room. We did opt for the pack n play in the room even though it was tight, and we pushed our beds together and against one wall, and slid the P&P vertically beside the bed and between that and the other wall. It all fit in like a game of Tetris, lol I had read on CC about bringing a shower curtain and using the magnets to "divide" his sleeping area from the rest of the room. I am chuckling to myself right now remembering those...let's just say our little guy didn't enjoy being in the P&P with us so obviously nearby, and he yanked the curtain right down. We tried to use magnets, duct tape, chip clips, you name it to keep it draped around the bed but out of his reach!

The first couple of nights were rough. He fussed a lot but eventually went to sleep (we had used modified cry it out to sleep train at home when he was 11 months, so he was used to the routine.) I didn't really feel like we were disturbing others, because it wasn't late at night, and he wasn't actually screaming. Eventually he got the sleeping arrangements down, and we did ok. As for naps, they were usually on the run. Either in a stroller in port, or lying with/on me while poolside, etc etc etc. He didn't follow the whole "they will be exhausted and pass out" thing. Boy was I hoping he would! He wasn't a great sleeper to begin with at home either, so I should have known.

So, since then we have had another little boy (a better sleeper it seems!), and we are cruising with both in May. Our oldest will be 3 years and 3 months, and the youngest will be 14 months. We opted for a totally different arrangement this time, in an effort to conquer the sleep issues. We are on the Carnival Pride and in two connecting staterooms, ours is a balcony and the kids have an inside. There are only like 6 of these combinations on the ship. Our plan is that for naps and the first couple hours of bedtime- while we are still up or on the balcony- the kids can sleep in their room, and then for the rest of the night, one of us will join them (for safety reasons.) Now, this could be an epic fail, but that's our plan! I've found that our kids need us out of sight to sleep well. For our budget and itinerary, this set-up worked well for us. Or, we hope it will ha-ha.

I hope this was somewhat helpful and it wasn't all just senseless rambling. =) Best of luck!

hi all -

totally new to this but came here looking for info about cruising with our 14 month old

we will be on Carnival Valor for a 4 day bahamas cruise november 13 after a week at walt disney world.

I'm trying to figure out how to divide the room. In WDW we will have multiple connecting rooms with additional extended family members, so we will have places to hang out nearby with a baby monitor when she goes to sleep - but with just the 3 of us on the cruise it's not feasible to get two rooms

Can anyone confirm for me that without a doubt the walls and ceiling of the balcony rooms are magnetic? We just received an email from Carnival that tape is no longer allowed in stateroom decor - nor is anything the ship's staff may deem flammable (that plastic shower curtain tacked up with tape is probably a fire hazard)

Also, my baby won't shower with me (safely or calmly) - how did you do a bath if there's no bathtub?

TIA!

hi all -

 

totally new to this but came here looking for info about cruising with our 14 month old

 

we will be on Carnival Valor for a 4 day bahamas cruise november 13 after a week at walt disney world.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to divide the room. In WDW we will have multiple connecting rooms with additional extended family members, so we will have places to hang out nearby with a baby monitor when she goes to sleep - but with just the 3 of us on the cruise it's not feasible to get two rooms

 

Can anyone confirm for me that without a doubt the walls and ceiling of the balcony rooms are magnetic? We just received an email from Carnival that tape is no longer allowed in stateroom decor - nor is anything the ship's staff may deem flammable (that plastic shower curtain tacked up with tape is probably a fire hazard)

 

Also, my baby won't shower with me (safely or calmly) - how did you do a bath if there's no bathtub?

 

 

TIA!

Hi!

You might refer to my post (directly above yours) because we also cruised with our son at about that age. He was 13 months. The walls and ceilings are definitely magnetic. We ordered heavy-duty magnetic hooks off of Amazon to put through the holes of the shower curtain and hung it from the ceiling. Also, as for baths: with only a 4 day cruise, I honestly did more of a "sponge bath" with him seated in the floor of the shower and wet washcloths to clean him. It worked well for us.

Hope this helps!

Have an amazing trip!

Hello! I'm not sure if there is a private message feature on here or not :confused: , but I would love to pick your brain! Your kids are at almost identical ages to mine, yet you have done this before.

 

 

 

Was your toddler ever a co-sleeper? Mine has never slept that well with us. She was too fidgety and wild, so she's been in her own crib since about 10 months. She can take up to an hour to wind down and fall asleep at night - reading, talking, singing in her crib.

 

 

 

My initial thought was to get her to sleep first and then lay the baby down because she tends to doze back off when awakened better than him. He would probably sleep between us and I could perhaps have the pullout as backup if he seems like he wants to flip and roll around too much in the night (which occasionally happens).

 

 

 

I'm trying to prepare my toddler for the pullout... showing her photos of the room, explaining "Here's where you'll sleep," but she sometimes says "I wanna go in the BIG BIG bed!" Some people have mentioned bringing magnetic hooks and a shower curtain to partition the room or a pop-up tent to turn into a private little nook for her, so I've been mulling all that over in my mind.

 

 

 

What were your biggest lessons learned to make the cruises go smoother?

Never a co-sleeper! The baby, yes, the toddler no. I would say that he fell asleep 2/7 nights while we were at a show. We always had him in his Jammie's and night time diaper after dinner just in case. These 2 nights were after long port days so he was tuckered out. We just transferred him gently when we got back to the room. The other nights, we always started him out in the pack n play (keep in mind he was 20 months the last time) and then he would come to bed with us at say, 3 am when he would wake. Unfortunately he's an early riser so we were up for the day at 5:30-6 most times.

This time, we just plan on co sleeping with my little one to save space in the room. Hoping it goes okay. I haven't read anything about the pop up tent or hooks! I should dig deeper into this. We have been doing similar with my three year old with showing him a pull out couch. He did surprisingly well in a hotel bed by himself last month when we traveled so hoping it will be the same this time.

Another thing to remember, the ships gentle rocking and swaying... sometimes had a tendency to lull little ones to sleep better than at home. Our first two cruises he slept like a dream. Maybe it's because we had an inside room with no light? Not sure!

So my advice is to keep to their schedules! My 10 month old is on a pretty structured 930 am nap and 130 pm nap. We also make Beckett lay down at 130 also.

Also, make sure you bring dish soap and a bottle brush to clean out bottles/sippies. If on formula, the ready to feed 8 oz bottles are a life saver while in port! Overpack diapers and wipes. We also bring the scented disposable sacks by arm and hammer to put diapers in to prevent smell between housekeeping.

If you have FB you can find me under Jordan Maska and I can answer any other questions :).

You're going to have fun!!

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hi all -

 

 

 

totally new to this but came here looking for info about cruising with our 14 month old

 

 

 

we will be on Carnival Valor for a 4 day bahamas cruise november 13 after a week at walt disney world.

 

 

 

I'm trying to figure out how to divide the room. In WDW we will have multiple connecting rooms with additional extended family members, so we will have places to hang out nearby with a baby monitor when she goes to sleep - but with just the 3 of us on the cruise it's not feasible to get two rooms

 

 

 

Can anyone confirm for me that without a doubt the walls and ceiling of the balcony rooms are magnetic? We just received an email from Carnival that tape is no longer allowed in stateroom decor - nor is anything the ship's staff may deem flammable (that plastic shower curtain tacked up with tape is probably a fire hazard)

 

 

 

Also, my baby won't shower with me (safely or calmly) - how did you do a bath if there's no bathtub?

 

 

 

 

 

TIA!

Look for the Munchkin duck tub off target or Amazon. I believe it's less than $10! :)

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