RCL freedom of the seas with 11month old

[0430riser]

Hi guys, in a few weeks (8/31) we'll be boarding the freedom with our almost 11month old daughter. Hubby and I are seasoned cruisers but this is our 1st time vacationing with our daughter and especially on a cruise.

 

We're not too freaked out about how it'll go as we're expecting to just follow her routine and moods and expect it to be totally different than what we've done before.

 

Even though she can be slow to warm up to strangers we're hoping on being able to use the royal babies program in the nursery at least once so we can go have a nice dinner just the two of us.

 

 

Food wise, she still takes bottles and can eat most of what we eat ( sometimes needs it to be a bit smushy) as well as finger food.

 

We're looking for any advice and tips or useful whatnots about cruising with an infant this age. We're a bit lost with regards to any excursions to do in some of the ports ( Jamaica, grand cayman, Cozumel, labadee). She's a great little water baby and loves the beach so we know that can be an option.

 

Any great stories from you guys about previous cruises with your little ones around this age? Gotten sick of being told way too many times how "brave, crazy, unrealistic" we are for going with her!!

Edited August 9, 2014 by 0430riser

[cb at sea]

Labadee is the ship's private beach...so a simple beach day is in order! You can come and go from the ship anytime you want, so if a nap is calling, head back to the ship, freshen up, and return, if you want.

 

You will need to bring all the diapers and "baby specific" stuff you need...the ship sells little, if anything, for babies. Don't forget baby medications for any and all potential ailments...stuffy noses, tummyache, fever, etc....

A blow up tub will come in handy for bathing, if your cabin only has a shower! It's also useful for splashing on the pool deck, as diapered kids (or adults!) aren't allowed in the pools.

 

You aren't "crazy" for taking a family vacation! This is what families do!

Edited August 9, 2014 by cb at sea

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Royal Caribbean is an excellent choice for toddlers. They have babysitting available and the baby h20 zone for the little one to splash around in.

[kimmy_bos]

We travelled on liberty last year with a 7 month old so any q'a please let me know x

[0430riser]

Yeah, that's what I've said to people. It's still a family vacation regardless of it being on a ship ( it's no different than going to a hotel somewhere).

I think labadee will be a beach day :-) we can't figure out what to do with Grand cayman, Jamaica and Cozumel though. I'd love to throw caution to the wind and do something like stingray city but eeekkkk, that may be too much ha ha.

[0430riser]

Royal Caribbean is an excellent choice for toddlers. They have babysitting available and the baby h20 zone for the little one to splash around in.

 

That's some of the fab reasons we chose RCl :-)

She absolutely adores being in the water and splashing around so it's great that they have a baby splash pool.

[0430riser]

We travelled on liberty last year with a 7 month old so any q'a please let me know x

 

Any tips that you discovered during your cruise ? We were super lucky to get an extremely cheap upgrade from balcony to junior suite, so her bedtime routine of a bath and bottle can be pretty much kept. The extra space in the room will be fab as she crawling and trying to walk right now.

 

We've requested a PNP for her. Did you use the ships one or bring your own and did you use their high chairs? Are they readily available in the dining rooms, windjammer ?

 

Sorry for all the questions, my minds going a million miles a minute thinking of stuff

Edited August 9, 2014 by 0430riser

[kimmy_bos]

Any tips that you discovered during your cruise ? We were super lucky to get an extremely cheap upgrade from balcony to junior suite, so her bedtime routine io a bath can be pretty much kept. The extra space in the room will be fab as she crawling and trying to walk right now.

 

We've requested a PNP for her. Did you use the ships one or bring your own and did you use their high chairs? Are they readily available in the dining rooms, windjammer ?

 

Sorry for all the questions, my minds going a million miles a minute thinking of stuff

 

We were lucky enough to travel in a grand suite so it really did help with our bed / bath routine as I am sure your js will.

 

We used the ships pnp and it was fantastic definitely no beef to take your own. The cabin attendant had padded out the mattress with a duvet to make it softer for emilie and she slept amazingly.

 

High chairs were readily available in both the wj and mdr the staff would go out of their way to help you.

 

So much food for little ones to try too

 

Have an awesome time x

 

Anything else please shout x

[Faeton]

We went on the Indy of the Sea Jan 2014 w my then 18 month old son. He had a blast. The staff were awesome and the facilities top notch. RCI reserves the teen disco and puts down toys and mats for unsupervised play every day, so we had a "goto" spot if he WS bored. The ship library had a surprising amount of children's books, so that help supplement the few we brought along. The toy library came in handy for occupying my son while my wife and I dressed/packe/etc. We did the dining room every night, and the waiters were kind enough to bring everything on the dessert menu right after the main so we didn't have to wait. We did still skip dessert in the MDR for 2 nights and went to get it at the buffet instead, as they had a lot of fruit which my son loves. For sleeping you may want to forgo the crib/packnplay and use the couch instead, for the sake of space.

 

One thing in would recommend is doing the photo package. Its hard to get the whole family together in pics (selfies don't count!), and with the package we could get a lot of photos (we got 150+) and not worry about carrying my heavy SLR. The cost is reasonable and if you plan a little, you can easily get a lot of pictures n

 

I would also recommend picking up a waterproof/shockproof digital camera for the beach and everything else. The new ones are tough enough to withstand toddlers and great to take videos with.

 

We've also been on a Disney cruise when my son was 6 months, but we found RCI much better for the baby/toddler range since there was a lot more for him to do on RCI than Disney.

[FLCruiser25]

FYI: I was told by two Royal Staff that you must get a doctor's letter for a baby in order to bring bottle water, formula juice and snacks. The letter must have child's date of birth and full name and both parents name on the letter. Must be on letterhead and signed by the doctor.

 

I just got my letter last week and so happy, the staff told me that I can bring as much as I need now for us and they won't question us as long as we have that letter from the doctor.

 

Some people say you don't need a letter but I wouldn't risk it as some people have had stuff taken away. If the RCCL staff told me I need the letter for baby stuff than I'm am going to follow what they told me to do.

 

 

Bring as much disposable items as you can as well as a good umbrella stroller, baby carrier and backpack style diaper bag. :D

 

We are taking our baby on Oasis in a few months! :D

[phantomtales]

We had a great time with our

[phantomtales]

Whoops...1 year old on freedom. The only thing we weren't prepared for was how over stimulating the fun and crowds could be. She reverting back to two naps a day while on the ship.

[0430riser]

We went on the Indy of the Sea Jan 2014 w my then 18 month old son. He had a blast. The staff were awesome and the facilities top notch. RCI reserves the teen disco and puts down toys and mats for unsupervised play every day, so we had a "goto" spot if he WS bored. The ship library had a surprising amount of children's books, so that help supplement the few we brought along. The toy library came in handy for occupying my son while my wife and I dressed/packe/etc. We did the dining room every night, and the waiters were kind enough to bring everything on the dessert menu right after the main so we didn't have to wait. We did still skip dessert in the MDR for 2 nights and went to get it at the buffet instead, as they had a lot of fruit which my son loves. For sleeping you may want to forgo the crib/packnplay and use the couch instead, for the sake of space.

 

One thing in would recommend is doing the photo package. Its hard to get the whole family together in pics (selfies don't count!), and with the package we could get a lot of photos (we got 150+) and not worry about carrying my heavy SLR. The cost is reasonable and if you plan a little, you can easily get a lot of pictures n

 

I would also recommend picking up a waterproof/shockproof digital camera for the beach and everything else. The new ones are tough enough to withstand toddlers and great to take videos with.

 

We've also been on a Disney cruise when my son was 6 months, but we found RCI much better for the baby/toddler range since there was a lot more for him to do on RCI than Disney.

 

Thanks for the great tips, I didn't know that they had areas set up for little ones during the day, that's great !!! In the MDR did the high chairs have the tray attached? I'm trying to decide if I need to bring those disposable placemats or not.. Hhmmmm?!??

[0430riser]

Whoops...1 year old on freedom. The only thing we weren't prepared for was how over stimulating the fun and crowds could be. She reverting back to two naps a day while on the ship.

 

How did she do with naps? Did she freak out much with the noise, fun and crowds. Our little lady is as nosey as can be but isn't always too quick to warm up to strangers or a room full of noise.

 

What did you guys do during port days? We've realized there are pretty much no real excursions we can take her on so we're guessing beach days and explore the empty ship.

 

What did you do food wise with her? We're using the ready to go formula, bringing jarred food but going to give her some of the stuff on board as well.

[mdjohn5]

If she is drinking Whole milk, you want to scout out the places you can get it and when those locations close in the evening.

 

Our kids always like to have some milk just before they go to bed...and the windjammer was closing up or already closed at that point. Room service will bring it, but they are not always the most speedy...especialy when you need it right now :)

 

We tried to keep a carton or two in back up in the evenings, I think junior suites have a mini fridge...not sure... but you can keep it on ice in your cabin as long as you plan to use it fairly soon.

[mdjohn5]

I would also say, don't underestimate the value of just staying on the ship in a port. Especially with a 1 yo.

 

The ships clear out when they pull into port and you get some wide open spaces that the toddlers can roam with a lot less stress on you to keep them close and out of the way of others.

 

In port, we like to go up to the sport court and mini golf course..those are usualy empty while in port. Not sure if the Freedom has a splash area for kids in swim diapers...but that is a great time to do that and/or your own blow up pool without all of the older kids around.

 

In Grand Caymen we did do the Trolly Roger tour last time. It is just a few hour tour around the island where they give you some history, etc. That would work ok for a 1 yo.

[Ardona]

0430riser,

Please give us a little Review when you're back about your cruise :)

 

We were on FoS 2 times, but now the 3rd time will be with our 9month old in October.

I'm sooooo excited.

 

Wish you a great vacation

[0430riser]

She isn't onto milk just yet, but she does take full fat yogurt. Hopefully they have some if that. I'll be bringing her food on board as well but if I can feed her ship food instead that'll be good.

Are there diaper changing places in the bathrooms for them on the ship, other than the stateroom?

[sunset785]

We went to Red Stripe beach thru RCI with our toddler. It was awesome! They have large buses that leave every 30 mins to take you back to port.

 

 

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