Cruising with 2-year-old! Are we crazy? Help!

[revjamesl]

My wife and I haven't been on a cruise since before the pandemic in part to having our first child that will be two, June 9--which also happens to be our 10th anniversary! We want to go on a cruise and we may not be able to leave our son with any family/friends.

 

Questions:

Have you cruised with a 2-year-old or a toddler of similar age? What was it like? How did it work for your particular family/situation? Benefits? Challenges? Recommendations?

 

Thank you for taking the time to help me as I figure this out!

[Cruise Girly 88]

We will be cruising this June with our son who will be just shy of two. We have done a great deal of traveling with him, but this will be his first cruise! Its not going to be the same as cruising pre child, but I cant wait to watch him experience it all 🙂 

 

My advise is go with the flow and don’t try to fit in too much and snack foods!

[Bound4Bermuda]

We brought my then 2.5 year old on a cruise. It actually encouraged her to get potty trained in time for the ‘big girl boat” so she could swim in the pool! Of course, then I spent most dinners bringing her to the bathroom 2-3 times because she was really impressed with the fancy bathroom lounge.  Since your child will just be turning 2, I suppose you won’t get that same opportunity of potty training bribery/rewards, lol. But I think it was a fantastic vacation. You might have to miss some shows (or split up and take turns with your wife) or alter your excursions—but maybe you have one of those kids who can sleep through anything and you can just cart him around in a stroller without worry. Let’s put it this way, I never once said what we’re we thinking?! Trip was enjoyed by all.

[revjamesl]

7 minutes ago, Cruise Girly 88 said:

We will be cruising this June with our son who will be just shy of two. We have done a great deal of traveling with him, but this will be his first cruise! Its not going to be the same as cruising pre child, but I cant wait to watch him experience it all 🙂 

 

My advise is go with the flow and don’t try to fit in too much and snack foods!

Did y'all take advantage of the ship's age-appropriate children's program?

[revjamesl]

5 minutes ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

We brought my then 2.5 year old on a cruise. It actually encouraged her to get potty trained in time for the ‘big girl boat” so she could swim in the pool! Of course, then I spent most dinners bringing her to the bathroom 2-3 times because she was really impressed with the fancy bathroom lounge.  Since your child will just be turning 2, I suppose you won’t get that same opportunity of potty training bribery/rewards, lol. But I think it was a fantastic vacation. You might have to miss some shows (or split up and take turns with your wife) or alter your excursions—but maybe you have one of those kids who can sleep through anything and you can just cart him around in a stroller without worry. Let’s put it this way, I never once said what we’re we thinking?! Trip was enjoyed by all.

Did y'all take advantage of the ship's age-appropriate children's program? How did y'all like it?

[twinmommy08]

Yes, my twins started cruising at 18 months. They are teenagers now 🙂 

 

At 2 they joined us on a 11 night southern Caribbean cruise. People thought we were nuts! We survived and had a great time. 
 

Consider the nursery or a private in cabin sitter as an additional expense you need. You want alone time. 
 

Keep the child on their normal schedule. Naps in the afternoon? Keep to it! Rotate the responsibility and allow one of you to go off and have some alone time. Bed time at 7? Keep it or use the nursery. Trust me, a child off schedule is a good way to ruin a vacation. The kid doesn’t know/care that you’re on vacation. 
 

Bring a smaller stroller. We had “umbrella” strollers. Perfect size and kept littles comfortable in port. 
 

We used the outside empty deck or the helipad to let the kids run and get their energy out. We of course made sure not to disrupt other passengers. 
 

We found the windjammer best suited for family dinners. The waitstaff love littles and brought my kids an endless supply of chocolate milk! 
 

Bring scented diaper trash bags 🙂 

 

if you go with the right expectations you will have a great time! 

[Bound4Bermuda]

4 minutes ago, revjamesl said:

Did y'all take advantage of the ship's age-appropriate children's program? How did y'all like it?

I think she was too young for Adventure Ocean, but there may have been a baby-sitting service? We didn’t use it. I neglected to add the detail that we also had 11- and 14-year-olds with us, so we did have extra hands to keep an eye on the toddler.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/ lots of great advice

 

https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a10635/traveling_with_children - also great advice for travel with kids in general

 

We left DS with the grandparents when we cruised at 9 months and 2 yo, but he started cruising with us at 3 (almost 4) when he was already potty trained (3.4 yo). Our life saver was a tablet with games and cartoons during meal times. With headphones, of course.

DS is not a social butterfly, and after trying the kid's club for 20 minutes on his first cruise, he refused to attend one again. He is 11 now and is still adamantly against it. He doesn't like kids he doesn't know and he doesn't want to "make new friends".

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[mia081081]

We have taken kids since they were 6 months and we always had a great time. Just know you’ll be going back to the room for nap time. And make sure you book a ship with a big splash away bay. I would recommend the Wonder because they also have a big outdoor playground that is perfect for a 2 year old. All of the oasis class ships also have a play structure inside the kids club which we spent a LOT of time in. And the carousel was also highly used.  We also dropped the kids off at the tot room a few nights for a couple of hours. They were used to daycare and didn’t complain at all but it was only a few times. 

If you want to party and hit the casino, I would say don’t take your toddler. But if you are looking for a family vacation, it will be great! Just make sure there’s a splash pad! Some ships don’t have one and they can’t go in the pool while in diapers. 
 

It’s not as relaxing as going alone, but it means that my kids (10 and 7) are now the BEST travelers. Can sit through 2-hour dinners, 10-hour plane rides and are always well-behaved. I think a lot of that was taking them out with us when they were younger. Meant more work for us then, but makes life so easy now. 

[Cruise Girly 88]

We are hoping to go to the nursery for parent supervised time but will let you know when we go! Also I bought a Zoe stroller that folds small and is light weight!

[Mapleleafforever]

We've cruised with our 9 month old and on our next one with our now 2.5 year old and newest 6 month old and had a blast both times (except for the 3 days when both were feverish and vomiting, Feb 2020 just before it hit the fan). Can be challenging for sure but we planned ahead and brought the Grandparents along in a connecting balcony room.  The kids are now 4.5 and 2.5 and we can't wait for the testing and vaccine protocols to end so we can go again. 

 

My advice is to book a balcony, the extra space for play is really necessary in my opinion. And bring a booklet of removable stickers, they have a blast putting them on the glass of the doors and panels under the railing. 

 

I wouldn't bother with adventure ocean, just a germ factory for the toddlers.

 

Bring Grandparents if you can, memories for all and the extra help is awesome. 

 

Depending on what ship you're on the pool/water options onboard can be really limited if not potty trained. 

 

Happy Anniversary and Have fun!!

 

 

 

 

[ditmar2007]

1 hour ago, revjamesl said:

My wife and I haven't been on a cruise since before the pandemic in part to having our first child that will be two, June 9--which also happens to be our 10th anniversary! We want to go on a cruise and we may not be able to leave our son with any family/friends.

 

Questions:

Have you cruised with a 2-year-old or a toddler of similar age? What was it like? How did it work for your particular family/situation? Benefits? Challenges? Recommendations?

 

Thank you for taking the time to help me as I figure this out!

If you can afford it have a balcony cabin. You can sit there with your SO and have a drink while baby sleeps inside.

 

[Djsmrs]

All of this!   We travelled with our kids almost from birth, and first cruise was at 9 months - and every age on up.   We had tempered expectations, downloaded movies to watch in the room and kept the boys on schedule as much as we could.

 

Evenings were cozy in our room or on our balcony - husband would fetch vino and snacks and we had some quality time together.   Afternoon nap times.. we just enjoyed quiet time and went with the flow.

 

Also - staff on the ships are typically so happy to see the littles and really fawn over them.  I can remember buffet staff holding my son and wandering around with him while we ate and he was loving flirting with everyone who would look at him (obviously it's different now in this specific respect), but we had really fun and positive experiences... and the kids are seasoned cruisers now.

 

I second the suggestion of a balcony cabin...   made a big difference to our trip.

[honeymooner16]

20 hours ago, revjamesl said:

My wife and I haven't been on a cruise since before the pandemic in part to having our first child that will be two, June 9--which also happens to be our 10th anniversary! We want to go on a cruise and we may not be able to leave our son with any family/friends.

 

Questions:

Have you cruised with a 2-year-old or a toddler of similar age? What was it like? How did it work for your particular family/situation? Benefits? Challenges? Recommendations?

 

Thank you for taking the time to help me as I figure this out!

We took our oldest on his first cruise when he was just over 1 to Hawaii (6 hour time change). Our youngest was on her first at 8 months. They have been on at least 5 since then (3 since cruising reopened). We are taking them both to Europe this June for our 10 year anniversary as well. All that to say: DO IT! 

 

It's not the same as cruising without kids, that's for sure, but the kids absolutely adore it and despite there being challenges (like walking a toddler around when dining time was well past his normal bedtime at home), we have only the good memories several years later. 

 

Take more diapers than you think you'll need. You're not cruising during peak hurricane season, but we ended up with 3 extra days on the ship due to a hurricane once and had to trade pull ups for diapers with another family. Take all the kiddie medicines that exist. They don't sell any on board and you will inevitably need the one thing you didn't bring.  The pack n plays are small - let them use the pull out couch and use a chair and pillows to block them in.  Our are always wired up the first night, so we thankfully no longer try to bother with bedtime that first night - by the second they are tired enough to sleep. Bring something to read if your still naps. Use the kids club - its the cheapest babysitting I've seen. If you can, potty train before you go. No diapers are allowed in the pool. If you're on a ship with splashaway bay they have one water slide area that does allow swim diapers. At that age, just climbing the stairs and the lights in the atrium are big hits. The mini golf course is also a great place to let them run if no one else is playing. Go in with the expectation of watching the kids experience the excitement and trying new things. I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have. Enjoy!

[pat1975]

We took our 2 year old daughter.  We had a great time.  We hung out all day and did the pool with her.  We had both sets of grandparents with us.  We would all go to dinner every night in the MDR and after that we would change her into pajamas and drop her off in the Adventure ocean nursery.  There was a charge of around $7 per hour but it was well worth it.  They would play with her and put her into a crib or small cot.  I would pick her up around midnight and bring her back to the room and into the pack and play (we brought one).  We had a junior suite which was awesome for the extra space and the bathtub.  

[candide]

Echoing the above, but our son's first cruise was when he was 11m, then 23m, and again at 2.5y. We are going on our next when he will be 1m shy of 5. We had a nanny until he started VPK last year so going to the daycare was probably a bit harder for us. We only used it after dinner. At 11m it was no problem of course. the 2 around 2yo was more challenging. Some nights he stayed, others he just cried. Staff kept worrying he was crying so hard he would vomit, which he's never done. 

 

The indoor play area and the kiddy pool was popular with him. I agree with the travel stroller, it was much easier to get around with than our big normal one was. We picked excursions that were beach or zoo like so he had a blast there. He loves music so we would just go anywhere people were playing. We travel with a decent sized group usually so he always had familiar faces, even if he is the youngest of the group. 

 

We are excited for the next one being almost 5 and used to VPK. I think he will be reluctant to go to the kids club at first but hopeful he will have fun. He's super outgoing and social.

 

Anyways, as you see plenty have done it and all had a great time 🙂

[PTC DAWG]

Yes, seek help.

 

Happy Anniversary whatever you decide.  🙂