Toddler on Reflection

[mek]

I hope you have a great time. Hopefully people who have traveled with young children will continue to post and give you helpful suggestions so you can have fun also.

[bigbeergut]

Good Luck if you decide to go on the ship, but I'm more concerned about the teenagers than your toddler. It may be pretty boring for them when it is too cold or windy to enjoy the pool deck. I'm also not a fan of the blow-up pool. Are you sure the balconies next to you or below you will enjoy it when you empty the pool?

[noelysmama]

I have to agree. A 14 day TA wouldn't be my choice for a first cruise, and I'd never take a 14 month old.

 

I feel the same way but here we are! The things we do to make our parents' happy, right? If you have any suggestions on how to make it as pleasant as possible, I'm all ears!

[noelysmama]

I hope you have a great time. Hopefully people who have traveled with young children will continue to post and give you helpful suggestions so you can have fun also.

 

Thank you! Open to any and all suggestions!

[noelysmama]

Good Luck if you decide to go on the ship, but I'm more concerned about the teenagers than your toddler. It may be pretty boring for them when it is too cold or windy to enjoy the pool deck. I'm also not a fan of the blow-up pool. Are you sure the balconies next to you or below you will enjoy it when you empty the pool?

 

Luckily, my nieces are incredibly easy-going and self-sufficient. They like to read and will probably join in some activities on the ship.

 

I didn't think bringing the pool on the balcony was a good idea either--based on folks below us. We have family on either side, but I was more thinking the blow up pool we would bring to the pool deck (and use it as a bath tub in our shower each night). Is that a bad idea?

[noelysmama]

I have done 4 trans-Atlantic cruise and I will be on that Reflection TA also. Seen toddlers on my earlier TAs (not a lot) and they did fine. So I wouldn't worry.

 

When we hit Tenerife, recommend taking your toddler to Loro Park, it's a animal park with lots of kids. Your toddler will have a fantastic time.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence!! This is a terrific suggestion, I'll add it to the list.

[Silkroad]

Since DancerOT was able to set up a small inflatable pool by their deck chairs (on the same ship) it certainly seems as though you should be able to do the same:). Another nice place is the Lawn Club, one deck above the pool deck. It’s a grassy area that’s mostly unused. I’ve seen kids play there, so it may be another good place to let your little one play. I hope you have a wonderful time!

[Ma Bell]

Luckily, my nieces are incredibly easy-going and self-sufficient. They like to read and will probably join in some activities on the ship.

 

I didn't think bringing the pool on the balcony was a good idea either--based on folks below us. We have family on either side, but I was more thinking the blow up pool we would bring to the pool deck (and use it as a bath tub in our shower each night). Is that a bad idea?

I think it's the same question I had before. What do you do with the water in the blow up pool after it's used? It kind of defeats the purpose of having no children who are not potty trained in the pool if it gets dumped back into the pool. I'm not paranoid about those things but many are.

[30scruiser]

The balcony is great because you could sit out there during naps or early bedtime.

 

I have a 14 month old now and he is obsessed with balls. I would recommend a beach ball that you could bring deflated and blow up on the ship. A lot of the bars are empty during the day and you could roll the ball or play it on the grass on the lawn club.

 

Thankfully kids this age like repetition so you may be able to get away with just a few well chosen toys.

 

You may also want to call ahead and see if they will let you sign toys out of the kids club so you could bring fewer things.

 

Good luck!

[noelysmama]

I think it's the same question I had before. What do you do with the water in the blow up pool after it's used? It kind of defeats the purpose of having no children who are not potty trained in the pool if it gets dumped back into the pool. I'm not paranoid about those things but many are.

 

Agree! I think I saw that someone said they set up near a drain so that they can dump it in the drain at the end of the day. I grew up with a pool, so I know that dumping it back in isn't sanitary--you're right to be bothered by that.

[noelysmama]

The balcony is great because you could sit out there during naps or early bedtime.

 

I have a 14 month old now and he is obsessed with balls. I would recommend a beach ball that you could bring deflated and blow up on the ship. A lot of the bars are empty during the day and you could roll the ball or play it on the grass on the lawn club.

 

Thankfully kids this age like repetition so you may be able to get away with just a few well chosen toys.

 

You may also want to call ahead and see if they will let you sign toys out of the kids club so you could bring fewer things.

 

Good luck!

 

These are terrific suggestions, thank you!

[waterbug123]

my understanding is that celebrity doesn't cater to children the way other cruise lines do.

 

It really depends on what you mean by "cater to." Clearly there are lines like Royal and Carnival that have a wide array of things that appeal to kids, what with the water slides, rock walls, ice rinks, bumper cars etc. On the other hand you have lines like Oceania that don't even offer a kids club program, nor any real kids menu at any of the restaurant. They make it clear that you're welcome to bring a child, but don't expect any sort of accommodation for them whatsoever. IMO, Celebrity is somewhere in between. They do have a kids club, but again- most lines (including super child-friendly lines) don't offer much for kids under 3 anyway. Celebrity doesn't have all the entertainment bells and whistles of Royal or Carnival, but a 14-month old wouldn't be able to do those things anyway, so the challenges for you won't be so much that you're on Celebrity as much as it is that you simply have a 14 month old.

 

 

As much as possible, plan your day around your toddler's normal schedule. Tag team with each other during nap times and such so you aren't both captive to your cabin all the time. Enlist your family to give you a couple of "date nights" when you can stay out later and/or a couple of "date afternoons" when you can enjoy the pool, solarium or spa (or whatever you might enjoy) sans child. Take an umbrella stroller instead of a full-size stroller--much easier to store in your cabin when not in use, and much easier to navigate either around the ship or in ports, including in cabs/shuttles. Hopefully your child is not one who needs absolute silence to sleep....it's so much easier if you can have soft music or a white noise app playing in the background to help mask the sounds from your own moving about in the cabin while he's sleeping/napping. There is usually a curtain you can use to separate the side of the cabin with the bed from the side with the sofa, which can give you a somewhat separate space in which to read or whatever while baby is sleeping.

[helen haywood]

I am only familiar with balcony and inside cabins on Reflection, but there are no curtains in those cabins save those over the balcony glass. The walls are metallic and I have read about someone who brought a thin curtain and magnets to fashion a curtained off area.

[Silkroad]

I am only familiar with balcony and inside cabins on Reflection, but there are no curtains in those cabins save those over the balcony glass. The walls are metallic and I have read about someone who brought a thin curtain and magnets to fashion a curtained off area.

 

I agree. The OP said she’d be in a Veranda cabin. There’s no curtain dividing the room.

 

The ceiling is also metallic, and I have seen a post (some time ago) in which someone used magnetic hooks on the ceiling and a lightweight shower curtain to divide a Veranda cabin for privacy.

[noelysmama]

I agree. The OP said she’d be in a Veranda cabin. There’s no curtain dividing the room.

 

The ceiling is also metallic, and I have seen a post (some time ago) in which someone used magnetic hooks on the ceiling and a lightweight shower curtain to divide a Veranda cabin for privacy.

 

 

That's a clever solution!!

[Silkroad]

If I can find the post, I’ll post the link here for you:).

 

BTW, here’s a link to a family forum, just in case you haven’t seen it. It’s not specific to Celebrity, but there are some interesting and informative posts. I hope you and your family have a great

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[Silkroad]

Here’s one. There are a lot of great ideas on this thread, but check out post #23 specifically:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2479488&highlight=Shower+curtain&page=2

[johnritt]

I think it will be fun. 2 weeks playing with the little one and no other significant responsibilities.

 

And think about the sea legs the little one will have when when it's over. I'd love to see that.

[waterbug123]

I agree. The OP said she’d be in a Veranda cabin. There’s no curtain dividing the room.

 

.

 

Sorry, my bad. We were just on a Royal cruise in a balcony with a curtain, and I incorrectly thought I recalled this as standard in Royal and Celebrity balcony cabins.