Cruising with a toddler

[tsundet]

Hi everyone,

I've put together a few videoclips of our 9 night cruise on Anthem with our then 15 m/o son,
if anyone's interested to see the open play area in adventure ocean, splash pool etc. to satisfy some curiosity 🙂
 

 

[Gelynia80]

Thank you. Our next cruise after this one coming up we will be traveling with younger kids so this is helpful!

[JohnnyThinwallet]

This is greatly appreciated!! We are in the process of planning our 1st cruise with our infant, and our little one will be about 15 months old at the time of the sailing.  This really helped us visualize what our experience is going to be like at the time of our trip.  Thanks so much for sharing!

 

Also, any tips for parents traveling with a child of that age on RCCL?  Did you bring your own pack & play, or did you use a crib provided by RCCL?  Also, did you use the nursery for babysitting at all?   What did you learn that you wish you knew in advance?  Any insight would be helpful!

[Miggsoo3]

When we traveled with our 18 month old we used the pack & play provided by Royal. The nursery was good they had cribs so if you brought the kids in for night sitting they will put them to bed and they give you a deck phone to get in touch with you in case of emergency. The nursery always has less kids than the full blown adventure ocean club that they transition to once they turn 3 years old and are potty trained. We learned the splash area isn't very large depending on the ship and the kids need to be completely out of diapers before you can bring them in any pool with you.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Miggsoo3
content

[rockon391]

Cruising with toddlers is great as long as you are on a newer ship that has a sizable toddler area. All kids with diapers can only access the areas and based on my guesstimations...some of these are tiny itty bitty triangles of about 10 sq ft and some are quite sufficient. Research before you book for sure!

[tsundet]

5 hours ago, JohnnyThinwallet said:

This is greatly appreciated!! We are in the process of planning our 1st cruise with our infant, and our little one will be about 15 months old at the time of the sailing.  This really helped us visualize what our experience is going to be like at the time of our trip.  Thanks so much for sharing!

 

Also, any tips for parents traveling with a child of that age on RCCL?  Did you bring your own pack & play, or did you use a crib provided by RCCL?  Also, did you use the nursery for babysitting at all?   What did you learn that you wish you knew in advance?  Any insight would be helpful!

 

We didn’t use the crib provided and rather had him between us in bed. Road of less restistance.... we also tried the babysitting, for a few hours, but it didn’t work very well as he’ not used to being babysat by others than his grandparents. Since our cruise he’s started kindergarden, thinking that should make a difference in that respect. We’ll try again on our next cruise :) Nursery staff was very friendly and professional tho. He just wasn’t prepared to be left with them. 

 

we took way too much clothes for him. Guess we prepared for any eventualities, but in the end he used only a fraction of what we brought.... 

 

 

[Tee & Chilli]

Seems young for kindergarten.

[tsundet]

34 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Seems young for kindergarten.

Yes. He started kindergarten two months after this cruise.

[GalwayGirl03]

We have taken 4 cruises with my youngest ranging from 19 months until just before 3 ( a week shy).  When he was 19 months we used the pack and play and the last cruise when he was almost 3 we let him sleep in between us.  The nursery was always great for him and I was happy he wasn't 3 yet b/c we were on the new navigator and he would of been in with all ages.  The diaper only pool areas are really a pain, I mean I get why they do it but it is really hard to keep a stubborn toddler in the little areas when his older siblings are having fun elsewhere....I am so happy to say he is fully potty trained for our upcoming cruise in 45 days!!!!!  

[mjkacmom]

5 hours ago, tsundet said:

Yes. He started kindergarten two months after this cruise.

In the US preschool usually starts at 3, kindergarten 5.

[BNBR]

Just something helpful for those cruising with toddlers.  When the child is between 2 - 3 years old, Carnival is the only mainstream line I'm aware of that has full camp starting at 2 - and includes diaper changes.  Royal starts at 3 and must be potty trained, before that it's pay-extra nursery which is a far cry from the camp experience.  When our kids were 2, it was Carnival strictly just for the camp.  Worth it.

[Danijela]

Thanks for sharing this tsundet! Looks like your son had a great time. We will be on Anthem next month (Thanksgiving week) and bringing a 21-month old. The toddler splash area does look pretty blah. I wish they at least made it a bit colorful/cutsey. 

 

 

[Reader0108598]

On 10/16/2019 at 2:50 PM, tsundet said:

Hi everyone,

I've put together a few videoclips of our 9 night cruise on Anthem with our then 15 m/o son,
if anyone's interested to see the open play area in adventure ocean, splash pool etc. to satisfy some curiosity 🙂
 

 

He is adorable!!