Just back from RCCL Majesty with a 12 month old

[Jen516]

We had a great cruise with our 12 month old. I am happy to answer any questions... but I put together a list of the top ten things that contributed to it being a success:

 

1. Bringing a mini-DVD player and my son's favorite CDs and DVD's helped a lot on the plane and in the cabin when he was cranky or just needed some down time.

2. Having a suite was amazing. There was a partition/curtain that allowed us to keep the crib in a separate area not within his view. It also gave us more room for him to crawl around and play. And it had a full-size tub!

3. Lots of disposable everything (bibs, sippy cups, trash bags, etc)

4. A small portable stroller makes a huge difference (easy to lug up steps, cruise around tight places in the ship, etc)

5. Socks or Robeez or other shoes for kids who are crawling is a must. Our son crawled around for a few minutes without them and his feet got all scraped up and were bleeding.

6. Medical kit -- bring one with everything you might need. Also, some of your child's favorite toys and books helps for when they get cranky.

7. Make friends with your cabin steward -- ours took our car seat and stored it for us, gave us a robe, mat for the bathtub, etc.

8. Get babysitting service if its available. We chose RCCL for this reason. We fed our son at the Windjammer (buffet) around 6 and then put him to bed by 8. Then our babysitter came at 8 and we went out and ate at the late seating. We still had adult time at night!

9. Bring lots of snacks and keep them on hand for when your kids get cranky. Also, if you have a fridge in your room, you can keep milk in there which is very convenient.

10. Go with the flow... this was a bit hard for me at first because we are so scheduled at home but I got used to the idea of letting him nap wherever, feeding him later than normal, etc and it worked out fine.

 

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Jen

[OsirisShotDown]

Thanks for posting this! We're cruising RCCL Mariner in March and our son will be 11 months at the time, so I've been curious what the RCCL experience is like for kids that age. I'm sure I'll think of some questions to fire at ya soon!

 

Heather

[ymann]

Thanks for the great advise. We are traveling with our 13 month old in Feb. Was your child aloud to swim in the pool? I have read some postings about diaper aged children not aloud in the pools even with swim diapers.