What to pack for 2.5 year old ?

[iaae4]

We are taking out little girl to 7 nights Caribbean cruise in November.

Now I know she will not be able to go to kids club yet and that is fine with us.

I also know what I need to take for her (toys, blanket, sun block, BS...). But I am having problem with her clothes. Can some one please help me with those questions?

 

1. For formal night - short or long sleeve dress?

 

2. Would she need worm clothes for evenings?

 

3. How good is air condition works (does it get cold inside the ship)

 

Thanks,

Irene

[MERED1TH]

Dress can be short or long sleeve, bring a sweater if she gets chilly. It can get cold in the Dining Room. If you are sailing RCCL bring xtra clothing for her as there is no self serve laundry. Carnival and Pricess have machines located around the ship. Little kids can go through a lot of clothes, but they are small so packing extra shorts an t-shirts is no biggie.

 

Bring swim diapers if your child is not potty trained. Bring floaties either the arm type or the vest type. If you can buy her a small Rash Guard top or one piece (Body Glove makes them) they are invaluable for sun protection and you will need alot less sunscreen. Pack a seperate medicine bag with all the basic stuff you use at home, childrens tylenol, sudafed etc. this way you won't need it. (what ever you forget is what you will need lol).

[PattyW]

1. For formal night - short or long sleeve dress?

 

I would bring a short sleeve dress. It's hot in the Carribbean, so even though a fall/winter dress might seem fine at home, when it's 80 degrees during the day, you'll think otherwise. To cover all your bases, you could bring a neutral colored (like white) cardigan sweater that she could wear along with the dress if you think the a/c is too cold.

 

2. Would she need warm clothes for evenings?

 

No. Although, I always pack long sleeved/long pants pj's for my daughter (not one of those dead-of-winter sleeping blankets, just something with a little more fabric than summer pjs). She's not good at keeping a blanket on at night and, while it's not freezing in the rooms, it can be a little cold.

 

3. How good is air condition works (does it get cold inside the ship). It definitely works very well. Some people on these boards say that they are always chilled in the dining room. I'm not, but that's just me. Think about it like any restaurant - are you often cold in restaurants in the summer? If so, then you'll probably be cold on the ship, too. Honestly, I think if you bring one cardigan, you'll be set. It's not so cold that she'll need another seven outfits for evening.

[iaae4]

Thank you for the information.

[dianelevene]

We took our two little girls on a cruise last March and they LOVED it. I packed tons of extra clothes, especially shirts. My younger daughter tends to be a messy eater. After meals we could change her shirt but her shorts were usually fine. This way she still looked clean enough. I took all summer clothes plus a light weight white sweater to wear on cooler evenings. For the formal nights I packed summer dresser. We are going on a cruise in January and I just bought clothes for the formal night last month. I got a great deal on some beautiful summer dresses on the end of the season sales. I buy them some really pretty dresses because we like to get a nice family portrait done on the formal evenings.

 

The big problem we had last March was sandals and flipflops for the beach. The girls had outgrown their things from last summer but most stores were not carrying any sandals yet. I was very lucky and two days before we left I found sandals (as the clerk was putting them on the shelf) at our local Target. For the cruise this winter I bought sandals at the end of the season in one size bigger than my girls are wearing now. I figured they should fit by the time we go on the cruise. If they don't fit at least I did not spend a ton of money on them. Of course, I have no idea where I will find sandals in January (EBAY????) The other thing to think about is bathing suits. Will the ones she has left from the summer still fit her in November? Kids that age can have such growth spurts! We were lucky because my girls had some bikinis that still fit them.

 

Anyhow, have a great cruise! It will be a blast even if your daughter can't go into the kids' program.

 

Diane

[merela]

We are taking out little girl to 7 nights Caribbean cruise in November.

Now I know she will not be able to go to kids club yet and that is fine with us.

I also know what I need to take for her (toys, blanket, sun block, BS...). But I am having problem with her clothes. Can some one please help me with those questions?

 

1. For formal night - short or long sleeve dress?

 

short sleeved dress with a long-sleeved cotton sweater/light cotton jacket to wear in case the air conditioning in the dining room gets too cold. Take a family portrait on board on formal nights and you can use that photo as your Xmas family photo for greeting cards (if you want to do that for Xmas).

 

2. Would she need worm clothes for evenings?

 

Not really, unless you take her outside on the deck at night. The light cotton jacket or sweater would do the job if you think the night air is a little chilly or if you take her to one of the restaurants or movie theatre on board and find that the air conditioning is too high.

 

3. How good is air condition works (does it get cold inside the ship)

 

Yes and no. I was on Star Princess to Mexico and the air con was on high and I brought a light cotton jacket for my kids. But on our Diamond Princess to Alaskan, even the dining room and the movie theatre were on the warm side. But DD and DS had their sweatshirts with zippers on at all times.

 

So I think on a Caribbean cruise, the air con will be on.

 

Depending on which cruise line you are going on, you can choose to do laundry on board. All Princess cruises have self-service laundry on their ships. I believe it's a $1 for wash and $1 for drying. I would bring your own laundry detergent in ziploc bags. Otherwise it'll be another $1. I know Royal Caribbean does not have self-service laundry so you'll need to handwash or bring enough children's clothes.

 

If you plan to do laundry on board, bring 4 sets of clothing per day. Bring lots of t-shirts. I like Hanes underwear (white t-shirt with sleeves). You can buy them in the toddler's or boy department. 2T would be the size for your DD. Even though these t-shirts are for boys, I think they work well with girls too. I used them to put over their swimsuits on really hot and sunny days on the beach. Even SPF44 sometimes wear off when you stay in water too long. I apply a layer of sunscreen, then I put a t-shirt over their swimsuit--just another layer of sun protection. So their shoulders don't get burned playing in the sun/sand.

 

I would bring some Aloe Vera cream in case sun burn occurs.

 

I would bring 2-3 swim suits in case the one you used didn't dry in time for the next wear....that is if you plan to go swimming everyday.

 

A good pair of sandals will do the trick for the whole trip. Then just bring another pair of shoes to wear on formal nights and/or dinners.

 

If you are on a Princess ship, you can take your 2.5YO into the kids club and enjoy the facility there. You just can't leave your child there. You can go into the ball pit, play with playdoh, and joining the fun with other kids. You need to be there to supervise your child. But Royal Caribbean won't allow kids under 3 to enter their facility even if you accompany them into the facility. In this regard, Princess is a better ship for kids under 3.

 

Email me if you have any questions. I've had kids from 6M-5YO travelled with me, but all on Princess and once on the Explorer of the Seas (RCCL).

 

 

Jennifer (jtsaila@excite.com)

[iaae4]

We will be on Explorer of the Seas (RCCL).

[merela]

We will be on Explorer of the Seas (RCCL).

 

I'm sorry to say that you have to either handwash your kids' clothes or bring enough outfits for the whole trip. I think it would be too expensive to send them out for professional cleaning on the ship. I would bring a few kids' hangers (plastic ones from Target or other stores) and hang the washed clothes to dry in the closet. With the airconditioning on, it'll be dried in no time, especially kids' clothes. Bring liquid laundry detergent for easier handwashing of your kids' clothes (if that's what you decide to do).

 

Also, bring several sleeved bibs to wear during meal time. Just wash the bib,

not the clothes.

 

I would pack 1 pair of shoes (for formal night), 1 pair of sandal, 7 t-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 4 pairs of pants (I personally prefer my kids in light pants so they don't scrape their knees easily if they fall, even in hot weather), 1 light jacket, and underwear if your child is potty-trained.

 

HTH.

 

Jennifer