Cruise with one year old

[fishers_mommy]

We are considering a Disney cruise with a 12 month old baby, but I can't quite picture how the sleeping arrangements work with a baby in a tiny stateroom. (We have not gone on a trip with our son since he was 3 months old and sleeping in a Rock n Play.) Our son is a great sleeper, but I just can't picture how it will work logistically having him with us in a small stateroom. What is the noise level like if children in adjoining cabins are crying? If our son cries, are we going to have to panic thinking that it might wake up kids napping next door, etc? Any thoughts (or even pictures of the stateroom with a pack and play) would be appreciated!

[EliteQueen]

We have cruised NCL with our 1 yr old and 3 yr old. What we did was keep the pull out couch as a couch and the 3yr old slept on that. Then we had the playpen (pack and play) right beside the couch. This left us enough room to access the verandah when the kids were sleeping.

 

As for crying, disturbing other cabins....we never heard others and I don't suspect they heard my kids either. Unless the crying is prolonged and incredibly loud, I'm sure you will be fine. Plus, remember, your on a Disney cruise with lots of other families and kids....crying is bound to happen and comes with the territory.

[moki'smommy]

The cabins on DCL ships are 30-50% larger than on other comparable lines!

 

How sleeping will work is up to you. They are happy to put a Pack and Play in the cabin (and remove the table if you wish). You can have the couch kept as a couch or flipped to a bed. As a bed, you can have "double rails" placed on it which will run the entire length of the bed.

 

Crying....OK, on one cruise, we had a very fussy child next door to us on day 1. Interestingly, the CD walked by and greeted us as former cruisers and asked if everything was OK. I commented that if "that" kept up all night, it would be a problem. We were immediately offered the option of moving to another cabin; we declined saying that if it became a problem, we would move but at that point we would assume a stressed out child who likely missed a nap that day. We never heard the child again!

[pickle2010]

We went on a Royal cruise with our 16month old - he slept in the playpen. Our set up won't help you as we had a different cruiseline and room but if you play around a bit and move small furniture - coffee table, you should be fine. They may even move something like that right out of the room for you if you ask. I can't remember if they did that for us but it came up, was an option. I wouldn't worry about the crying - think it's a given on Disney. We never heard anything from other rooms, and as far as I know, no one complained about us.

[EliteQueen]

FishersMommy - if you google 'Disney stateroom with playpen', you can see a bunch of photos.

[cruisegirl99]

The staterooms are a lot bigger then other cruiselines. I know in ours there was a storage unit thing infront of the couch. I 'm sure if you ask they can remove that so you have more room for the play pin. And on our last cruise we had a little one crying next door but we were so exhausted that we slept through most of it and the mom apologized the next day but really when you go on a family cruiseline, you are going to have little ones and most people should be prepared for fussy little ones being around

[boulders]

The cabins on DCL ships are 30-50% larger than on other comparable lines!

 

 

The staterooms are a lot bigger then other cruiselines.

 

This is a myth. Disney shrunk their balcony staterooms by almost 10% on their new ships while other cruise lines have been increasing the size of their staterooms. The average stateroom on Disney's newer ships are about 10 sq ft smaller than the average stateroom on RCCL's newer ships. With Disney's split bathrooms, Disney's staterooms feel even smaller as 25% of the stateroom's square footage is in the bathroom. So, their staterooms have much less living space compared to RCCL.

[moki'smommy]

This is a myth. Disney shrunk their balcony staterooms by almost 10% on their new ships while other cruise lines have been increasing the size of their staterooms. The average stateroom on Disney's newer ships are about 10 sq ft smaller than the average stateroom on RCCL's newer ships. With Disney's split bathrooms, Disney's staterooms feel even smaller as 25% of the stateroom's square footage is in the bathroom. So, their staterooms have much less living space compared to RCCL.

 

I agree that the newer ships on other lines have been catching up. However, we cruised Celebrity about 2 years ago--same cabin level as our typical DCL choice. Celebrity was at least 1/3 smaller. There was no couch or coffee table (no room for them). There was a single "comfy" chair. There was amazing built in storage space. It depeds on both choice of line and ship.

 

At the time the Magic and Wonder were launched, it was totally true that the cabins were significantly larger and that DCL set a new standard in cruising for cabin size.

 

I am going to disagree with the concept that one should be prepared for fussy children because DCL is a "family cruise line." I agree with this concept in family events and areas. However, my cabin should be adequately soundproofed so that I don't have to deal with the noise from neighbors (whether children or adults), and adult areas of the ship should be maintained totally as adult only. As long as DCL continues to advertise the concept that there is something for everyone on a DCL ship, they need to follow thru with the images and concepts presented in those ads.

 

That said, I'm much more sympathetic to the mom who is working with the fussy child (we've all been there) than the parents who feel that vacation means a break from parenting and rules.