What kinds of things can an almost 2 year old do on board and in port?

[Jen516]

I have been on a ton of cruises, but never with a 2 year old. I went on one a few years ago when my older son had just turned 1 and he just went around with us whatever we did. But I can't imagine my younger son (will be almost 2) doing that.

 

So what can a 2 year old do on board and off? I know what he CAN'T do -- no kids club (my older 4 year old will be able to, so he is taken care of there), no swimming pools (except maybe the H20 baby zone... we are thinking the RCCL Liberty), he isn't old enough for many of the extras like ice skating, bingo, etc.

 

And for the ports, besides the private island (which is great!) what kinds of excursions can you take with little ones? (No snorkeling, etc) The cruise we are looking at goes to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel with Labadee. Any suggestions?

 

I know eating will be awesome, and I like RCCL for the in-room babysitting, but before we book, I am just trying to figure out if we will have enough to do and if it will be satisfying. (We are contemplating this cruise vs. an all-inclusive, which we have never done before)

 

Thanks for any advice!

[crusinmama06]

Beach and tours. That's what you have to look for. And on a tour, make sure it's not a long one.

 

And RCCL will have the daily 45 min sessions for the Under 3's. You just come with your son.

 

The H20 zone takes up ALOT of time.

[CeleBrat]

There's lots for an almost 2 year old to do:

 

1--Some of the Kids Clubs offer "family time", where the young ones can go with their parents to play.

 

2--Walk around on the spacious seaside decks. You know, the ones that wrap all the way around the ship and offer and ocean view all the way around.

 

3--Eat lots of interesting new things.

 

4--Play with some of their toys from home--poolside, or on the balcony, or wherever

 

As far as excursions, you will find that most of the cruiseline excursions have an age limit and won't allow your almost 2 DS to join. We found that INDEPENDENT excursion operators are very accomodating of young kids, even infants, and ensure you have a great day. We did the following private tours:

 

Ocho Rios--booked a tourguide w/van to take us to Dunn's River FAlls, which we DID NOT climb due to the kids' young age. Instead, we took the stairs all the way to the bottom of the Falls where we then splashed in the ocean, then climbed the stairs back up. Great view! Following that, we took a drive through Fern Gully (rainforest), and had a tour of a private garden (Marvin Garden?) It was fun.

 

Grand Cayman--booked a tourguide w/van for Island Tour that included stop at touristy HELL, Turtle Farm (great for young kids!), and other various sites. Then, onto a private boat for a trip to Stingray sandbar. MY 3 year old was in the water w/stingrays. We were holding her, mind you--but she did it!

 

Cozumel--Lots of fun beach/bar establishments where you can have a "free" chair in exchange for the price of buying a drink or two. Nice private beach with low waves and tons of sand.

 

So--don't be dismayed by the young age of your child. It is do-able! Our kids have been cruising since they were very young (infant).

 

CeleBrat

[CruizinMom2c]

good ideas celebrat. We did the dunnes falls and climbed up through the water fall..but I never thought about stairs...I bet you all had a great time.

 

 

You can do pretty much anything just have to modify it to your little ones abilities.

 

 

If your toddler will sit in a stroller....then part of the day you can explore on your own....i am not sure where the RCCL ports at cozumel..but we just went last april and our son was 11 months old...we ported right by a "strip" mall and were able to explore on our own. We opted not to take a taxi..since we had been there before and really just wanted to relax and do our own thing.

 

 

Our next cruise is in feb and we are going to two ports in the bahamas....so we are definitely looking into short tours ...since our son will be almost 2 also.

[mr. godfredo]

We did it with our son at about that age and though he had a blast, we were exhausted! It is amazing how many stairs a two year old can climb per day! It was still worth going however! I would bring as many of his toys as possible and make sure that you and your spouse take turns watching the child so you have some time to relax while on the ship! We did have a blast in the ports and found the days at the beach were great! We are taking our two sons (now 5 and 3) on a cruise for Thanksgiving to Mexico, but we are bringing the grandparents for some extra help and fun!

[The Queen]

You'll find that unless there is Bingo or some other event taking place in the show room, this is a good place to bring them during the day. The floor area below the stage and in front of the seats gives them plenty of room to burn off some energy without disturbing other passengers.

 

Some ships have a "top of the crown" style bar area that is empty or at least very quiet during the day also.

 

Keep an eye out for these types of spots...the little one can burn some energy in a fairly enclosed area and you won't be worried about disturbing others.