Full price for a 20 month toddler really?

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Precious!

 

 

 

Gosh, he'll be Diamond before he's 5! LOL

 

Thanks for sharing your beautiful family with us. :)

.

 

 

Thanks. :)

 

He's inherited our Diamond status, but already has 15 points of Royal all his own ;)

 

Lucky kid... I had to earn my points myself!!

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I love this picture too! We are taking our kids (currently 1 & 4 years old) on their first cruise in November and I am pretty sure this is the face at least one of them will be making during the muster drill!!! Thank you for the glimpse into my future! :)

 

 

 

Okay, full disclosure: that is also the face I make when the cruise is over! :D

 

 

This is one of those "mean mommy and daddy" moments. Getting on a tender in Bar Harbor last October they made us put it on him. Clearly, he was not a fan of the life jacket. He perked up once they let us take it off him!

[wanderlust79]

This is one of those "mean mommy and daddy" moments. Getting on a tender in Bar Harbor last October they made us put it on him. Clearly, he was not a fan of the life jacket. He perked up once they let us take it off him!

 

 

Yeah, gotta love being the mean parents (especially since it happens oh so often when dealing with toddler logic!) [emoji5]️

 

I didn't even think of having to wear life jackets on a tender. Our cruise has only one port and it is of course a tender! Here's hoping either my little guy ends up liking the life jacket or the tender ride is a short one!! [emoji1]

[jenninlaca]

I get why there is not a discount. They are not trying to encourage everyone with toddlers (under 3) onboard because there is very very little for them to do. Once kids are 3 and up (if potty trained) they get all day access to the kids' club which is a huge benefit, essentially free babysitting and activities throughout the cruise, so that makes up in cruise fare what your child may not eat (compared to an adult).

 

We have cruised with our kids 5 times now. If anyone asked my advice I would tell them not to take a 20 month old on a cruise, to wait one more year until age 3 when they could get use out of the kids' club. Even a baby is easier on a cruise than 20 months where they want to be active and walk all over the place. You cannot use any of the pools at that age so the child is limited to just the splash area and the few times per day that the play room is open for younger kids (during which the parents have to be there). Not that you could not have a good time but cruising with kids who are slightly older is much better and you get more bang for your buck (both the child and the parents).

[Bowie MeMe]

My granddaughter will be going on her first cruise next week. She will be 6 months and 2 days old. Her brother went on his first cruise 6 years ago at YEP 6 months and 2 days old. He will be doing his 5th cruise and 3rd cruise line. My daughter and her husband manage their children very well and other passengers will not be bothered by them at all (I know I have cruised with them).

 

Cruise vacations are great for active families that want time together -- entertainment is very close at hand, kids clubs for older one if he and they choose (usually don't in that with 2 jobs and lots of responsibility time with the children is the best thing in life), lots of options for eating (they prefer MDR because they are served and don't have to manage all the plates/crowds/confusion of the buffet). MeMe and Grandaddy have cruised with all family (well 8 but not 9) but we would not take on keeping the children home while parents traveled. I raised my children and traveled with them early and now they are doing the same. Love It! Can't wait for next week.

 

They gave an award to P for being best cruiser on his first cruise -- maybe J will get one too -- she is a tiny beauty and will be the youngest on the ship.

(must show her passport to get on and must be 6 months old on first day!)

[Cel_cruise]

 

We have cruised with our kids 5 times now. If anyone asked my advice I would tell them not to take a 20 month old on a cruise, to wait one more year until age 3 when they could get use out of the kids' club. Even a baby is easier on a cruise than 20 months where they want to be active and walk all over the place. You cannot use any of the pools at that age so the child is limited to just the splash area and the few times per day that the play room is open for younger kids (during which the parents have to be there). Not that you could not have a good time but cruising with kids who are slightly older is much better and you get more bang for your buck (both the child and the parents).

 

 

We have young kids - now ages 5 and 8.5 - and have taken 2-3 vacations a year with them. I agree with this advice if asked - for cruises, I recommend infants not yet walking and then a break until old enough for the kids club (varies by ship). I also always recommend that all infants get their own seats on airplanes - it's far safer that your kids not become a projectile AND nothing ruins that vacation feeling more than having to sit for 3 hours with a squirming cranky kid on your lap! When belted into their own car seats they always know what that means and can sit rear facing with a pile of books and toys when they are awake and also they should feel safe and secure enough to go to sleep!

 

We travel to disneyworld quite frequently and there I often give different advice to go early and often while the children are still free admission (under 3). I have not found anywhere easier to have an infant/toddler and still enjoy a family vacation and make great memories! My kids LOVE looking at our photo books from the trips when they were babies! (My daughter was there 3 times between 4 months and 15 months old, my son at 11months and 23 months).

 

OP - if your family is going on the cruise have the best time - bring some things to keep the toddler busy and also some Tupperware to make sure you always have some kid snacks stored (fruit, dry cereal, cheese, etc) - we find that to be a necessity and it's hard to get kid friendly food between 3-5 in the afternoon after nap!

[A&L_Ont]

A 2 year old who has been on 5 cruises. I wholeheartedly agree that children should pay. We started cruising with our son when he was 10 months old.

 

 

-On his very first cruise he was eating food in the dining room (small bits of veggies, fruits, etc).

 

 

-His dirty diapers needed to be removed from our stateroom. They were in diaper trash bags, but it was still trash that was generated.

 

-His crib was turned down nightly just like our bed was.

 

 

I am sure some of you will say "my child won't use those services." That's the same logic as "I dont use the gym on the ship. " The cruise liens are fully justified in charging. And those "Kids Sail Free" sales... Yeah, they just bump up the prices of passengers 1 &2 to make up the difference. Disney is uber expensive for the first two people and cheap for the kids, it all balances out.

 

Our son loves cruising and we're happy to be able to include him on our adventures. He's cruising again in October! In past cruises we've never had anyone complain about our child. We deal with him appropriately. He's having a melt down? Back to the room to calm down. Won't sit for long meals? Eat at the Windjammer/ buffet. We adapt to what is best for our situation and we (DH, myself, and son) always have a great time!

 

For starters I love the turn down photo. I also love you philosophy to why kids should pay. We took our son on his first cruise at the age of 5, and he loves it. RC will have a fan for life, as we invasion him cruising long after he moves out.

 

The other point you hit that is the accumulation of points. Kids do pay the same price as adults, either be it the first, second, or third person rate. It is great your son has 15 points and is diamond. Our son is D+ at 8 with our help but has enough of his own that he is a Diamond member on his own accord. He gets sad when mom and dad go without him. We miss him but those 7 days fly by. :)

[Thoie]

What I don't get is the negativity from the childless couples who are so vocal about not wanting children around. While I can understand wanting a more released and quiet environment, careful selection of vacation plans is in order. ... If these people book themselves on a cruise such as this, and are upset simply because there are children present, they have no one to blame but themselves. That type of person should be looking at other options that do not offer such a family friendly environment.

 

That said, parents also need to keep their children under control and well mannered. The couples cruising without children, while they need to be accepting of the fact that there are children around, should not be subjected to rude behavior from unruly children, and I think that may be the root of most of the problem--that these people may have had to deal with unsupervised and ill-behaved children. This is a two way street for everyone involved and we all need to be mindful and respectful of others. Just because we are on vacation, it does not mean that manners, respect, and common courtesy are to be checked at the gangplank.

 

Bingo! I have no particular objection to generic children. The building I live in has a central courtyard where resident kids gather and play and run around and scream and draw hopscotch on the footpath and shoot each other with nerf guns and do cartwheels. It's a big courtyard - if I want to sit out and read a book, I can do that without getting in their way, and the noise is fine - it's a communal outdoor area. However, come bedtime, or on a rainy day, the kids are inside in their own apartments (condos). In general they're not running around screaming through the communal hallways. The only ones who sometimes do that are the ones whose parents are not supervising them properly. I don't care if your baby is at the table next to me, mushing food into his clothing, or grizzling a little, but if he goes into full on meltdown - take him elsewhere. If your child is running around the splash zone, squealing and having fun - that's great. If I'm in whirlpool, I expect you to stop her from dive bombing into it. If I'm smoking in the smoking area, don't plonk a 4 year old beside me and ask me to stop smoking.

 

Yes, it's unfair that so many lovely kids get tarred with the same brush as the horrible ones with horrible parents, but the excuse of "it's my holiday too" doesn't help much if your children are screaming outside my cabin door long after they should be in bed.

 

And I Just wish parents would think twice about holding their child in a plane. Arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence

 

Isn't that what the lap belts are for? Any time I've seen a "lap child" on a plane, they have a belt around their waist which itself is attached to the parent's belt to hold them in place. The parent usually puts their arms around the kid as well, but that's not the primary safety precaution :)

[maxsales]

The only way I could semi justify the toddler price is that she caused a lot of extra tidying and cleaning!

 

The toddler takes one place on the ship. The ship has a finite number of passengers Therefore everyone is charged.

[davekathy]

The toddler takes one place on the ship. The ship has a finite number of passengers Therefore everyone is charged.

 

As it should be.