Sailed Dec 2 Explorer of the Seas with 2.5 year old

[itsmecarrie]

I just got back from a 10 night cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. My DH and I travelled with our 2.5 year old son and had an amazing experience. If anyone has any questions regarding travelling with a toddler, feel free to ask and I will answer as best as I can.

Here's a pic of my cutie on formal night in the dining room.

 

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[laseiber]

I also was on this cruise, it was great. Glad your family had a great time as well.

[teddie]

Adorable picture of your son! Glad you had fun--love the Explorer!

 

Teddie

[LuVermont]

We sat near you in the dining room on this cruise and were very impressed by the way you and your husband parented your child. He was a delight to watch as you interacted with him and allowed him to try things on his own. You kept him occupied, he was well mannered and all passengers around your table marveled at his behavior. When he got fidgety, you were prepared to quiet him or took him out of the dining room. You were very conscientious of those around you. If you could simply pass on or model your exceptional parenting to the many others parents who do not have these skills that would be great! Thank you for making our dining experience so wonderful and for restoring our faith that young parents today are continuing to instill traditional positive manners and social values.

[itsmecarrie]

We sat near you in the dining room on this cruise and were very impressed by the way you and your husband parented your child. He was a delight to watch as you interacted with him and allowed him to try things on his own. You kept him occupied, he was well mannered and all passengers around your table marveled at his behavior. When he got fidgety, you were prepared to quiet him or took him out of the dining room. You were very conscientious of those around you. If you could simply pass on or model your exceptional parenting to the many others parents who do not have these skills that would be great! Thank you for making our dining experience so wonderful and for restoring our faith that young parents today are continuing to instill traditional positive manners and social values.

 

Thank you so much for your kind words! It really means a lot! Parenting a toddler is no easy task and while we parent the way we feel is best for our family, there are times where we doubt if our method is truly the right way. We actually had a few passengers approach us to tell us that our son was well mannered but wasn't sure if they were being sarcastic or not. Our son can definitely be a handful at times and we worried that he would be disruptive in the dining room. We could have restricted our dining to the windjammer but felt it was important for him to experience eating in a more formal setting so he could have the opportunity to learn proper table manners. I'm glad to hear that my little one didn't ruin anyone's dining experience :)

 

Thanks again for your feedback!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Glad you had such a good experience with your tot.

Edited December 15, 2013 by DragonOfTheSeas

[lakelorain]

Congratulations on a successful cruise with a toddler. That is a real accomplishment.

We are planning to take our granddaughter on a cruise next year. She will be about the same age. What did you do to keep your son busy? Did you attend the RC program? Did you go on excursions with him? Any info would be appreciated.

[itsmecarrie]

Congratulations on a successful cruise with a toddler. That is a real accomplishment.

We are planning to take our granddaughter on a cruise next year. She will be about the same age. What did you do to keep your son busy? Did you attend the RC program? Did you go on excursions with him? Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks! I'm glad to hear you're planning to take your granddaughter on a cruise next year.

 

We did make use of the fisher price program that is available for toddlers under 3 years. On the Explorer, it was basically a small area set up with toys for the kids to play. While it did occupy my son, I found the toys to be more appropriate for under 2 years.

 

There is a toy lending program where you can sign out a bag of toys. The bag can be exchanged for another one as often as you like.

 

We didn't do any excursions. We generally like to walk around and do some shopping in the stores near to the ports and spend a few hours at the beach. My son loved collecting sea shells.

 

We were able to go to the late shows. My son loved the shows that involved singing and dancing. He was bored when they were comedians so we put him to sleep in his stroller first and covered the stroller with a towel or blanket to muffle the sound a bit.

 

The Explorer has a kids swim area that includes a slide. My son made a friend who was the same age as him and luckily they were both potty trained and able to use the pools and hot tubs. If your granddaughter isn't potty trained by the time you go, you can look into ships that have an area for kids in swim diapers.

 

The staff are so friendly and accommodating and will help you out with whatever you may need.

 

Let me know if you have anymore questions :)

[seeshore]

So nice to hear that you had a great time on your cruise. We're cruising on Explorer to Bermuda in April with our 2 and 4 year old grandsons so we're trying to gather info and suggestions re: things for them to do around the ship. We plan to take advantage of the programs that you mentioned but we're also curious as to whether you found any special areas where you could hang out and just let them be boys. We also plan to give our daughter and hubby some down time so they can have a nice dinner alone or maybe attend a show or Quest. My daughter plans to pack plenty of toys since they have connecting staterooms and space isn't an issue.

 

If you could offer any suggestions for keeping them entertained around the ship I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks!

Edited December 18, 2013 by seeshore

[lakelorain]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear you're planning to take your granddaughter on a cruise next year.

 

We did make use of the fisher price program that is available for toddlers under 3 years. On the Explorer, it was basically a small area set up with toys for the kids to play. While it did occupy my son, I found the toys to be more appropriate for under 2 years.

 

There is a toy lending program where you can sign out a bag of toys. The bag can be exchanged for another one as often as you like.

 

We didn't do any excursions. We generally like to walk around and do some shopping in the stores near to the ports and spend a few hours at the beach. My son loved collecting sea shells.

 

We were able to go to the late shows. My son loved the shows that involved singing and dancing. He was bored when they were comedians so we put him to sleep in his stroller first and covered the stroller with a towel or blanket to muffle the sound a bit.

 

The Explorer has a kids swim area that includes a slide. My son made a friend who was the same age as him and luckily they were both potty trained and able to use the pools and hot tubs. If your granddaughter isn't potty trained by the time you go, you can look into ships that have an area for kids in swim diapers.

 

The staff are so friendly and accommodating and will help you out with whatever you may need.

 

Let me know if you have anymore questions :)

 

Thanks, so much, for the information. Sounds like we are making future cruise addicts out of the kids. Great idea to put your son in a stroller for the shows.