Just Off Celebrity 12 night Med Cruise with Toddler. Any Questions?

[larronry]

The problem with the kind of baby proofing for that type of knob is that it requires adhesive which I don't think is appropriate to do on a ship, hotel room, or anywhere but your own home. I do plan on bringing duct tape to keep him from opening a drawer or cabinet that may contain something that is dangerous (my charging plugs). I may try that on the door. Don't know what I will do about the power plug because I always am charging something. At home I have screwed on covers.

 

I'm assuming the plug is obvious but hoping it's hidden, but that probably varies from stateroom to stateroom. Every ship I've been on has a plug on top of the desk within easy reach of a toddler.

 

Oh man I have to remember to call and request dining downstairs and not upstairs. I can just see my son escaping down those stairs while we are trying to get set up for or cleaned up after dinner. I'd rather chase him up then down especially since we don't have stairs in our house so it's something he is having a hard time mastering.

[rachel0]

Larry,

 

Maybe I didn't read your earlier posts closely enough--what did y'all do in Santorini & Athens: excursions, etc? We're thinking of a Greek isles/med cruise for '08 with DS. Just wondering what others did with a toddler.

 

Thanks so much!

[Bababooey Land]

i checked at home and you are right..the handle requires a little adhesive. i agree, you cant put adhesive on the cabin..but maybe you can use something else to put it up, that wont wreck the door. just a thought. the duct tape works wonders! it sounds like you have all your bases covered though. the electrical plugs you are right on. there is a good chance your son will be able to reach a plug. you could always cover it when you are not using it.

your son will have a great time!

 

Larry

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for all of the great info and tips! We're working on our plans for the Italy ports - Naples, Civitavecchia and Livorno. Obviously there are a lot of options at each port and I'm curious as to how you handled them with your toddler. Seems to me that a full day tour in each port is going to be a lot to ask of my sons (age 4 & 6) but a lot of the sites are a fair distance from the port and I'm not sure a half day excursion would be worthwhile. Do you have any suggestions on what do in these ports? Did you have 3 long tour days or did you do some / all half days tours? Based on some other Cruise Critic research, I think we've decided not to leave our kids on board...just very (over?) cautious about leaving our kids for too long...

 

Thanks again for your help!

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

 

Lets try this again!

 

I think you are doing the right thing by not leaving your kids onboard. I don’t think you are being overly cautious, plus I have a feeling they will have a good time exploring the cities.

 

We had 3 long days at port. By the time you get to the city..you need a full day tour. Plus with kids, you have extra bathroom breaks, lunch breaks, snack, etc…I highly recommend if your finances allow it, to hire a private tour guide in those 3 ports. It will be a lot easier on you and your kids. And will allow you the flexibility you will need.

 

One suggestion is to bring along a portable dvd player, gameboy, etc for the long drives. Allow for plenty of time for breaks…I gave my son a lot of pizza and gelato! :) that always helps! But, I was able to keep him in the stroller most of the time..with some time during the day to run around. He napped in the stroller,etc. I assume your children are too old for a stroller.

 

Here is what we did in each port to give you an idea. I think everything we did is possible to do with your kids. But of course, I don’t know your kids like you do. What they can/cannot handle. We “tested” out our son before we left to see what he would be able to handle. i.e. no nap during the day, etc.

 

Rome: -Colosseum

-Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

-Pantheon

-Piazza Navona

-Fontana Trevi

-Spanish Steps

Lunch

Galleria Borghese and Villa Borghese

 

Florence:

Boboli Gardens

Ponte Vecchio

Il Duomo

Galleria dell’Accademia

San Lorenzo Market

Vivoli Gelato

Tempio Israelitico Synagogue

 

Naples:

Drove the Amalfi Coast

Town of Amalfi

Positano

Ravello

Pompeii

 

I hope I answered all your questions..but if you have any follow up questions, feel free to ask away! Have a great cruise!

 

Larry

[bhcruise]

I am so happy I found this thread. We are doing a 15 day Med cruise with Celebrity in Nov. with our 4 yr. old daughter and son who will be 11 months. I have been having a really hard time deciding what to do in Rome, Livorno, and Naplesl, I think we have decided to hire a private tour. I have been debating on whether or not to get a backpack carrier for my son instead of using a stroller. Has anyone else done this? I am really glad there are other parents out there who are doing long cruises with young kids, we are bringing our in-laws to help but I have still been told that I am crazy. Thanks everyone for all your tips.

 

bhcruise:o

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Rachel,

 

In santorini we booked a bus tour through Celebrity. first stop was a wine tasting "store". Then onto Oia for about a 45 min stay. Then it dropped us at the top of Fira (it was about a mile uphill walk to get to Fira). Fira is extremely easy to walk around with a stroller, Oia is a little more difficult but definitely doable. From Fira, you take a cable car down back to ship. santorini is a very relaxing port to do with a child.

 

Athens: We hired a private driver to take us around.

The Acropolis - carried the stroller up the steps..it was actually a little easier than i anticipated.

The National Archaeological Museum (and took a train ride)

The Greek and Roman Agora

The Olympic stadium

The Hill of Lycabetous

The Plaka

 

hope that helps!

 

Larry

[Bababooey Land]

I am so happy I found this thread. We are doing a 15 day Med cruise with Celebrity in Nov. with our 4 yr. old daughter and son who will be 11 months. I have been having a really hard time deciding what to do in Rome, Livorno, and Naplesl, I think we have decided to hire a private tour. I have been debating on whether or not to get a backpack carrier for my son instead of using a stroller. Has anyone else done this? I am really glad there are other parents out there who are doing long cruises with young kids, we are bringing our in-laws to help but I have still been told that I am crazy. Thanks everyone for all your tips.

 

bhcruise:o

hi BH.

 

we used a stroller and it worked out perfect for us. I have read on here that people do use Backpack carriers for babies & toddlers. My son was 30 pounds at the time, so a backpack carrier was not an option for us. what we did get was a backpack so we could load all his gear in there plus i could carry that on my back if need be. I would definitely bring a stroller on your trip..a backpack carrier in my opinion would be an extra. I think one positive with a backpack carrier would be when climbing up steps, i.e. acropolis, Dubrovnik, etc. however, i would lean towards just using a stroller personally.

 

Larry

[jorodriguez]

Hi Larry,

 

My husband and I are hoping to cruise on the Galaxy to Greece, Italy and Turkey departing November 3, 2008. We will be traveling with our son who will be 2 1/2 years old at the time of sailing and both of our mothers and my sister (so we will have plenty of hands to help keep him entertained). I understand it's a pretty good time to travel since it won't be too hot or crowded -- so we thought that would be good with a toddler in tow. We will be traveling from Rome to Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Ephesus, Istanbul, Athens, and Naples/Capri (where we are interested in visiting Sorrento, Positano, & Pompeii).

 

I wasn't terribly concerned about cruising with our son until I started looking into the shore excursions and saw that many of them have a minimum age requirement of at least 6 years old. We've traveled with our son several times -- we went to NYC when he was 6 mos old, Boston when he was 18 mos old and plan on going to San Diego when he will be 22 mos old. I understand that parents are best judges of how their kids will do -- but I think he'll do ok. He's fine and entertained as long as we are moving (which isn't an issue since we hope to sightsee and tour) and usually falls alseep in his stroller. We plan on taking our carseat and our Pliko stroller which I have found to be lightweight but comfortable enough for my son to nap in while we are on the go.

 

I feel like I have a million questions -- and you seem to be very thorough and considerate in responding to others questions. So, I'll set out the major questions I have and any insight/guidance you (or anyone else) can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

(1) Will the ship store the car seat or do you have to keep it in your cabin?

(2) We are planning to stay in a regular room with a window (not a suite), is there a fridge to store milk and snacks for the baby?

(3) How do you go about arranging for private tours/drivers at the ports? Do you have a ballpark figure on the cost? Will the driver keep the carseat in the car while you walk/tour the city/town/ruin?

(4) Will the ship provide you a highchair/guarantee it for dinner every night?

(5) Will they supply a pack-n-play?

 

Thank you so much for all of your help and willingness to provide insight on this!

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Jo,

 

i would be glad to try to help out. it sounds like you have given it alot of thought already..and that is a great itin you are taking. having your mothers and sister along will be a huge help for you! i will try to answer your questions the best i can. and of course, if you have anything else, please let me know.

 

1) usually it has to be stored in your cabin. we had a suite..so it wasnt a space issue. I have heard alot of people on here saying they store it in the shower stall. having said that, ask your stateroom attendant, you never know..they may have a place to put it. worst case, they will say no. We had a glass table in our room..and we asked the stateroom attendant to take it out, and he did. so you never know. one tip for the car seat, I bought a backpack case for the car seat..so i was able to put the car seat on my back, leaving my hands free for other items..it was a huge help getting on and off the ship.i would highly recommend it. plus you can use it to store the car seat so it doesnt get dirty (especially if you have to leave it in the shower stall), checking it on the plane, etc.

 

2) i dont believe there is a fridge in the room. but im not really sure. I would call Celebrity and ask. maybe they can put a portable one? im not sure. we had the stateroom attendant (butler) bring us cartons of fresh milk every night. if you ask, i am sure they will do the same for you. you can also order room service anytime for snacks, milk, etc. but yes, a fridge would be nice to have.

 

3) private tours....it made the trip possible for us. very expensive..but i really believe its worth every penny. you also have a few other people going, so it will spread the cost out better per person. i found all the tour guides on cruise critic. we were very satisfied with all of them, except for one just being OK. but they were all prompt and courteous with clean and newer vehicles. i would book them asap for nov. the good drivers book up quickly. the positive is you are going off season, so it will be easier to get the good drivers. the prices ranged from 250 euros in Athens to 500 euros in France. the avg was about 400 euros for a full day tour, around 10 hours. yes, the driver will keep the car seat in the car..he stays with you all day..and will do whatever, whenever you want. HUGE positive. we did 2x as much as the bus tours did, and we had a toddler with us. so its well worth the cost. if you are interested..i can tell you who we used in Athens, Rome and Naples.

 

4) on the millennium ship they had a highchair at every place we ate dinner. and if they didnt have one (i.e. one night they had a greek buffet by the pool, they got us one. ) the service on Celebrity is AMAZING. dont worry about high chairs..they will have them. whatever u need, snacks, milk, etc,etc..they will be happy to supply it to you. the have a great kids menu, pizza, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, fries...the usual basics.

 

5) YES..but since i was on a millennium, i would just call celebrity and double check about the Galaxy.

 

 

hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Larry

[jorodriguez]

Hi Larry,

 

Thank you sooooo much for all of your time and willingness to help!!! I really appreciate it. This is my first time on Cruise Critic, and I have to say -- it's GREAT!

 

If you won't mind proving the names of the tour operators you used -- that would be great!!!

 

Thanks again in advance.

 

Jennifer

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Jennifer,

 

im glad i can be of help...its a big trip to plan! i am one to have every detail done before we leave. and yes, cruise critic was extremely helpful in planning the cruise. people on here give very good recommendations.

 

one tip for booking private tours...make sure you book the Driver, not the company. each company has many drivers and some outsource as well. so while one driver might be great another driver may not be. the only catch is sometimes they switch drivers on you. so while you were promised X driver, Y driver shows up the port. nothing you can do about it. but at least try to get X driver.

 

Athens - We used Paul from athenstaxi@athenstaxi.org. He is very popular on cruise critic. Paul is the owner but we had Frank as our driver. Frank was GREAT. very nice guy. and he was excellent with our son. ultra clean car, gave us a cell phone to use. took us to my favorite restaurant on our entire trip, authentic greek. only negative, we were promised Paul and Frank showed up. I would still highly recommend Athens taxi, but i would ask for Frank as your driver.

 

Rome - We used Stefano from Rome Cabs, romecabs@yahoo.com. Again, Stefano is very popular on here. We had Marco as our driver..Marco is second in charge from what i was told. excellent tour..very clean car..marco is an extremely nice guy. good with our son. highly recommend. very flexible. We were promised Marco and got Marco.

 

Naples - We used Nello Russo from Drive Sorrento , info@drivesorrento.com.

we were promised Nello and got Frabrizio. Out of all our tours this was our least favorite even though this was one of our fav ports...the scenery is SPECTACULAR. Fabrizio was a nice guy..clean car...but aside from that, it was a bore. he was quiet the entire trip..(there is alot of driving in naples). didnt offer any information on the area. He would have been great for an airport transfer but not as a driver/tour guide. the restaurant he took us to was just OK. it was a very uneventful tour. didnt interact at all with us or my son. his english was OK. having said that, i would NOT recommend Nello.

 

Frank and Marco both spoke excellent English. Out of our 5 private tours, Frank was my fav, Marco was #2, Fabrizio was #5.

 

Hope this helps..i try to be honest as possible.

 

let me know how the planning goes! i am re-living my cruise through you! lol

 

Larry

[jorodriguez]

Hi Larry -- It's JO again. :-) I had let some of the planning go for a bit since I had a few other things going on -- but now I'm focusing on the cruise details in full force. One quick question on Santorini -- is this a port that you recommend a private tour or attempting to do the port on our own? Similar to you -- we will be traveling with our 2 1/2 year old son at the time. Thanks!! Jennifer :-)

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Jo! you must be getting excited about your cruise with only a few months to go! We are still trying to figure out where our next cruise will be to....but probably not for another couple years. the greek island part of our cruise was probably our favorite though! so relaxing and nice.

 

this was the only port we took a tour with Celebrity. We did a bus tour, i think it was probably a few hours in length total (thats enough). you leave from the ship.. we went to a winery (the wine was eh), then drove to Oia (spectacular) they let us walk around for about an hour...then the bus dropped us off close to Fira. only caution, the walk from the bus to the town of Fira was moderate to difficult. about 30 min walk with lots of uphills...so pushing a stroller with a 30-40 pound kid..intense! lol

 

Fira is extremely easy to walk around...nice shops, restaurants, great views, etc. we had awesome greek food on a hilltop overlooking the water (our son was sleeping at the time!). unbelievable experience.

 

then the funicular took us down the hill back to the ship (tender), very easy.

 

I read alot of people rent a car in Santorini...i thought about it, but just figured it was too much hassle. the bus tour was fine. the winery we could have skipped..but it was fine. Oia is very nice...if you can do Oia and Fira, you are done. Walking around Oia with a stroller is a little difficult, so i wouldnt say its a must do. You can do Fira in a 2-3 hours..and relax on the ship or at a restaurant for the rest of the time. I would either take a bus tour to Oia and Fira..or just do Fira.

 

This is one stop on the cruise that you need some downtime..alot of the other ports are very intensive and long days..so enjoy your time on Santorini.

 

A quick idea- At this port...we had a ship photographer take a 1 hour private session of photographs...the pictures came out spectacular..and the views from the ship are outstanding. this is a great port to take pics if you are thinking about doing that.

 

hope this is helpful...and if you have any other questions..im still around!

 

 

Larry

[WineDown17]

Larry-

Doing the 12 night on Summit in May.. Would relly love to hear about your tours, and if they were good, get names..

 

My 2 DS will be 2.5 and 12 when we sail.....

 

Thanks for all your comments. They were very helpful!

[Bababooey Land]

Hi there WineDown17,

 

Im glad my comments have been helpful in your planning so far. :) Yes we did take alot of private tours during our cruise. I have reviewed each tour in length before...i can copy and paste all my past comments for you. If you have any specific question about a tour or guide, id be happy to try to answer for you. its a great itinerary you are taking!

 

Athens - We used Paul from athenstaxi@athenstaxi.org. He is very popular on cruise critic. Paul is the owner but we had Frank as our driver. Frank was GREAT. very nice guy. and he was excellent with our son. ultra clean car, gave us a cell phone to use. took us to my favorite restaurant on our entire trip, authentic greek. only negative, we were promised Paul and Frank showed up. I would still highly recommend Athens taxi, but i would ask for Frank as your driver.

 

Rome - We used Stefano from Rome Cabs, romecabs@yahoo.com. Again, Stefano is very popular on here. We had Marco as our driver..Marco is second in charge from what i was told. excellent tour..very clean car..marco is an extremely nice guy. good with our son. highly recommend. very flexible. We were promised Marco and got Marco.

 

Naples - We used Nello Russo from Drive Sorrento , info@drivesorrento.com.

we were promised Nello and got Frabrizio. Out of all our tours this was our least favorite even though this was one of our fav ports...the scenery is SPECTACULAR. Fabrizio was a nice guy..clean car...but aside from that, it was a bore. he was quiet the entire trip..(there is alot of driving in naples). didnt offer any information on the area. He would have been great for an airport transfer but not as a driver/tour guide. the restaurant he took us to was just OK. it was a very uneventful tour. didnt interact at all with us or my son. his english was OK. having said that, i would NOT recommend Nello.

 

NICE - We used Eva Devemy from provencesightseeing.com or riviera-prestige-tours. i believe they are the same company. She is the owner of the company. We were very happy with her. i would recommend using her.

 

Livorno - we used him a couple weeks ago on our cruise. bottom line, he was very good and i would highly recommend him. extremely nice guy. he lives in Pisa and knows the area very well. http://www.unforgettabletuscany.com

Paolo (not Paola!)

 

 

Frank and Marco both spoke excellent English..they both went out of their way with the tours..they were both EXCELLENT. Out of our 5 private tours, Frank was my fav, Marco was #2, Fabrizio (nello) was #5.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions. good luck with your cruise planning!

 

Larry

[WineDown17]

Thanks larry. Sorry if I missed those posts. I am a bit overwhelmed right now! 9 months seemed like a long time to book all this stuff but I am finding out I really dont have that much time! Hotels have 0 availability, tours booking up. YIKES.

 

Appreciate your pateince and expertise. TRULY!!

 

Leeanne

[Bababooey Land]

Hi Leeanne,

 

i remember those days of panic!! lol...dont worry, it will all work out in the end. this is what i found when i was booking tours...all the super popular tour guides are booked up..you can ask if they are available, but most likely they are not. plus they usually like to take around 8-10 people in order to make more money! so dont worry if tour guides are booked up. There are alot of other tour guides who are available, they just arent as popular on here. i used tour guides that were not as "popular" on the boards and they all worked out very well. concentrate on booking a driver not necessarily a tour company. i.e. Rome Cabs..Stefano is the owner and who most people recommend..we used Marco from Rome Cabs..and he was excellent. personally, i wouldnt book a tour company unless they guarantee the driver you request. and even then you may not get the driver you requested when you get off the ship..but its worth the try.

 

i wouldnt stress about Hotels..there are plenty of them..plus the month of May is more off season for Europe..its a great month to go. great weather and not super crowded yet.

 

good luck!

 

Larry