Safety concern for cruising with 2 and 3 year old

I posted this on the Carnival site too, but I have some questions that maybe some of you can answer for me.

It's been 5 years since we last cruised and I'M GOING CRAZY!! I need a vacation!!!

Life has given us two precious ones since our last cruise and I have some questions about cruising with them. We are looking at the Inspiration 5 day out of Tampa for Jan 31, 2009 sailing. Our first choice would be a Spirit-class ship....LOVE that class, but for cost purposes, we chose the Inspiration over the Legend 7 day. Because of kenneling our dogs, we must have a port within driving distance and Tampa is about 6 hours away. But, you really didn't care about any of that, did you? On with my point......

1 - Do the beds on the Inspiration have storage room underneath them? I've been on her twice (honeymooned on her in 1996 when she was an 8 week old babe and again in 2001) and for the life of me, I can't remember. We cruised on the Pride in 2002 (did I mention I love the Spirit-class?) and was AMAZED at the storage room under the bed. Suitcases, everything fit under there.

The reason I ask is that our boys are only 3 and 2 and I don't feel that they will be ready for upper bunks. So, I plan to have them sleep under the bed. LOL. Actually, we have portable beds that are about 53" long and 5" high that we would like to store under the bed during the day and pull out for sleeping at night and naps. Just need to know if there is room under the beds for them.

2 - My next questions has to do with safety for little ones. While I don't plan on letting my chilren run amok on the ship, I have had recurring nightmares of them falling overboard by fitting through the railings. I know.....freaky mommy dreams. How safe is the railing area? Is the horizontal area between the railings small? Is there plexiglass? Is there some sort of netting? I have mommy brain and can't remember anything about the rails from the 5 cruises I've been on. I want my boys to be able to be on deck and watch as the ship sets sail, but I want to do so without having a valium I.V. drip. Somebody set my mind at ease. Post some pics of the rails!!

3 - Camp Carnival - I intend to spend time with my children while cruising, but also want a little alone time with my hubby. This question goes along with the railing question. Do the counselors at CC take the kids out on deck at all? For outside play or swimming?

Yes, I have turned from a carefree cruiser to an over anxious mom. Help alleviate my fears, please. I NEED this vacation!!!! I'll be going on one in April 2009 with a shipful of my friends (I assume privately chartered...cool), but I want to cruise with my family as well.

We have sailed now twice with our son....the first time he was about 9 months old and we just got back from another cruise and he is almost one..

1 - Do the beds on the Inspiration have storage room underneath them?

I know with the sensation and fantasy they had plenty of room under the beds to slide luggage and such under them

2 - My next questions has to do with safety for little ones. How safe is the railing area? Is the horizontal area between the railings small? Is there plexiglass? Is there some sort of netting?

Most of the ship on the Lido deck and such do not have nets or plexi glass.....so we didnt allow him to walk around that area....we just stay clear of that....now around the childrens pool they had nets over the railings so that was pretty safe...and I think on the balconies of rooms there is plexi glass

3 - Camp Carnival - I intend to spend time with my children while cruising, but also want a little alone time with my hubby. This question goes along with the railing question. Do the counselors at CC take the kids out on deck at all? For outside play or swimming?

I am not sure...we didnt use the actual program since he is under two....but I dont remember ever seeing them around the main decks....the childrens pool area was right outside the camp carnival and that is the place where the nets are over the railings...

As for the Camp: in my experience, the 2 - 5 year olds never leave the area designated as Camp Carnival. We took our first ever cruise when our youngest was 25 months, and I was very impressed with how well the camp was run. You will get a cell phone/beeper (depends on the ship) which works only on board - they'll be able to reach you immediately if the need should occur.

I've never been on that particular ship, but of the ones I have been on - seriously, a child can not "accidently" fall overboard. Even standing on a chaise on the Lido deck, IMHO, it would not happen.

I understand your concern, but try not to worry too mach about it in advance, and I think once you're on board you'll feel better. :)

Enjoy your cruise! :D

1 - Do the beds on the Inspiration have storage room underneath them?

 

I was able to fit suitcases under the bed on both Conquest and Celebration. Our stroller did NOT fit under the bed on Celebration, but it's thicker than the 5" you mentioned (it lived under the table in the corner). A thought, if by some chance the beds you mentioned don't fit under the bed, maybe you could stand them up in the shower? When nobody's using the shower, obviously! :rolleyes: Climbing was more of an issue, but I made it very clear that climbing on the rails was not going to be tolerated!!

 

2 - My next questions has to do with safety for little ones. While I don't plan on letting my chilren run amok on the ship, I have had recurring nightmares of them falling overboard by fitting through the railings. I know.....freaky mommy dreams. How safe is the railing area? Is the horizontal area between the railings small? Is there plexiglass? Is there some sort of netting? I have mommy brain and can't remember anything about the rails from the 5 cruises I've been on. I want my boys to be able to be on deck and watch as the ship sets sail, but I want to do so without having a valium I.V. drip. Somebody set my mind at ease. Post some pics of the rails!!

 

There were no rails anywhere on Celebration (or I think Conquest, that was longer ago...) that my 3 year olds (one on each) could fit through -- and my DS would have found them on Celebration if they existed! :eek: Now there were rails that were solid all the way up, making them want to climb/be lifted up so they could see at which point they wanted to hang over!! :eek: At which point my inner panic mom button was pushed and we went to find see through rails!! See pic below of rails on Celebration.

 

3 - Camp Carnival - I intend to spend time with my children while cruising, but also want a little alone time with my hubby. This question goes along with the railing question. Do the counselors at CC take the kids out on deck at all? For outside play or swimming?

 

Camp Carnival does NOT take the 2-5 year olds out of the Camp Carnival room. Definitely not to the kiddie pool, and last I heard, not even to the outdoor play area (on ships that have one). Celebration's Camp Carnival space is really pitiful, though, so there may be differences to this on other ships.

Thanks for the info. In the pic it actually looks like there is some sort of netting near / behind the railing. Someone on another thread posted pics of the rails for me and I really think it's just a mommy-fear thing more than anything else. I'm pretty confident in my 3 year old (he'll be nearly 4 when we go), but my 1 year old (he'll be 2.5 at the time) is part daredevil, part monkey. HE'S the one I worry about!!

In the pic it actually looks like there is some sort of netting near / behind the railing.

Yes, there was a net behind the rail on that deck -- both were taken next to the kiddie pool. I don't remember exactly what all the other railing were like, but I was never worried about DS going through them...over them was another issue. But it was my issue more than his, he never tried (he was 3 weeks shy of 3yo on that cruise) and he also is a crazy, fearless monkey, so... Take a deep breath, relax, and look forward to this cruise!! Believe me, I understand, I have nightmares about my kids falling from high places and this was something that really freaked me out before our first cruise (DD was 21 mos). That was on Sovereign of the Seas, and at least back then there was one deck where I was worried about her going under the railing. But it was only one deck, the others were fine, and I just always held her or her hand on that deck.

They do have rails for those upper bunks. My 3 yr. old was able to do a top bunk with a rail and never fell out of it once. Just a thought.

While the mattresses may fit under the beds, I think the bigger issue is going to be if there will be floor space to accomodate those mattresses when you pull them out. It depends on the cabin category you have. If you have 185 sq ft. cabin - good luck with that (as in - fat chance - no way - it's a pipe dream). If you have a 220 sq. ft. cabin it probably will work, but I hope your spouse and you don't need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

We have taken our 2 yr-old on the Inspiration twice. Lets see, most of the lido deck does have plexiglass and you would have to go out seprarate doors to get to the area with open rails. Even that area had netting or bars on the lower parts of the rails. It would not be easy to fall off. My daughter walked around (with me of course) and never came close to any railings or areas I thought were potentially unsafe. There is storage underneath the beds about as high as a suitcase. There are plenty of cabinets and storage areas in the room. There will be a couch that makes into a bed and another top bunk. We only have one child so we just used the couch for her. You could probably put one child on the couch and the other on the floor next to the couch. As for Camp Carnival, they do not take the 2-5yr olds out of the camp so you dont have to worry. They will give you a cell phone for the length of the cruise. Your only worry will be that your kids actually will want to stay in there. They make you come get them if they are crying. Unfortunately mine didnt want to stay and she is very used to daycare. I guess it was just the new environment. The counselors seem very good and you will have to sign them in and out with id. Your kids will LOVE the new waterpark area on the back of the ship. Its fantastic, all the squirty things and fountains. Its perfect for that age group. We have been on a ton of Carnival ships and to be honest, the Inspiration is our favorite. Its not too big and crowded and the lines arent too long. Its really nice since the renovations. You will have a great time. Enjoy.

Julie

I see you have gotten all of your questions answered but I just wanted to add and reassure you that you will have a fabulous time with the little ones! Carnival is a great ship for that age.

My (just turned 4 houdini child) has been on 4 cruises and lived to tell the tale. :D

I am with ya on the overprotective nervous mom thing. I am a card carrying member. :D Never have I ever felt my kids were in any danger when walking around the ship. Generally you won't be walking around the areas where your climber can just break lose and run for the rail if you know what I mean.

The top outside decks where the child would be able to do that are soooo windy that you wouldn't even want to stay there for more than a few minutes. When walking on the top decks it's like walking in a wind tunnel at times. Not very pleasant. ;)

I know Inspiration did refurbish and have the water works on a top deck. So that would another place that you may be concerned about. So far everyone coming back from that ship has had glowing reviews and no concerns.

So enjoy your cruise. And try not to worry. ;)

I posted this on the Carnival site too, but I have some questions that maybe some of you can answer for me.

 

It's been 5 years since we last cruised and I'M GOING CRAZY!! I need a vacation!!!

 

Life has given us two precious ones since our last cruise and I have some questions about cruising with them. We are looking at the Inspiration 5 day out of Tampa for Jan 31, 2009 sailing. Our first choice would be a Spirit-class ship....LOVE that class, but for cost purposes, we chose the Inspiration over the Legend 7 day. Because of kenneling our dogs, we must have a port within driving distance and Tampa is about 6 hours away. But, you really didn't care about any of that, did you? On with my point......

 

1 - Do the beds on the Inspiration have storage room underneath them? I've been on her twice (honeymooned on her in 1996 when she was an 8 week old babe and again in 2001) and for the life of me, I can't remember. We cruised on the Pride in 2002 (did I mention I love the Spirit-class?) and was AMAZED at the storage room under the bed. Suitcases, everything fit under there.

 

The reason I ask is that our boys are only 3 and 2 and I don't feel that they will be ready for upper bunks. So, I plan to have them sleep under the bed. LOL. Actually, we have portable beds that are about 53" long and 5" high that we would like to store under the bed during the day and pull out for sleeping at night and naps. Just need to know if there is room under the beds for them.

 

2 - My next questions has to do with safety for little ones. While I don't plan on letting my chilren run amok on the ship, I have had recurring nightmares of them falling overboard by fitting through the railings. I know.....freaky mommy dreams. How safe is the railing area? Is the horizontal area between the railings small? Is there plexiglass? Is there some sort of netting? I have mommy brain and can't remember anything about the rails from the 5 cruises I've been on. I want my boys to be able to be on deck and watch as the ship sets sail, but I want to do so without having a valium I.V. drip. Somebody set my mind at ease. Post some pics of the rails!!

 

3 - Camp Carnival - I intend to spend time with my children while cruising, but also want a little alone time with my hubby. This question goes along with the railing question. Do the counselors at CC take the kids out on deck at all? For outside play or swimming?

 

Yes, I have turned from a carefree cruiser to an over anxious mom. Help alleviate my fears, please. I NEED this vacation!!!! I'll be going on one in April 2009 with a shipful of my friends (I assume privately chartered...cool), but I want to cruise with my family as well.

where do you get these portable beds? (sorry to be off topic but i was curious :) )

where do you get these portable beds? (sorry to be off topic but i was curious :) )

I don't have one but I know many others that do....most are using one called a "ready bed". Under $30...comes in cartoon characters

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5913520&sourceid=1500000000000003260370&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=5913520