before i give my opinion let me start off with saying....BUY GLOW STICKS/GLOW WANDS!
this kept our daughter entertained at nights, and she was the cutest toddler wearing her bracelets during the sail away party and the pirate party.
we went on our first cruise with our 18th month old daughter on 10/10. heres what we did and suggest you do too:
1) flounders reef (for children under 3 and not potty trained). our daughter is anti-social and hates being without us. for her to have not fussed the second and third time we took her there, says too much! the staff really caters to your childs needs, and keeps them happy the whole time! i was impressed! (i wanted to bring them home) we dropped her off for 2 hours when we arrived at castaway cay (the sun was hot for her skin) so we went snorkeling
2)Oceanears Club. eventhough you cant drop your child off, you can still go in with your child as "guests" to give them some extra running/climbing space.
3) live shows. i didnt think my daughter would sit still, she proved me wrong. she sat glued to the show with a huge smile on her face....she was so still i too was enjoying the show so much, i had forgotten she was on my lap!!
3)the wonder has a splash zone...we were there for over an hour and lost track of time. she was enjoying herself so much, how could we disturb her happy time? DONT FORGET YOUR SWIMWAYS!!!!
4)character greetings? NEED I SAY MORE?
5)tv screen. for lunch time i recommend sitting farther from the led screen, it tends to get loud. we sat our daughter facing the led screen so we can enjoy a quiet meal while we all ate. (we dont watch too much tv at home, she was glued)
6) movies. we only had time to watch a 3d movie (toy story 3d) our daughter wouldnt wear the glasses...but ended up falling asleep....i wouldnt recommend 3d movies
7) deck partys. we had so much fun! our daughter is such a dancer! i will say this: EVERYBODY will be at the pirate party, we assumed it too. we got there right after dinner (second sitting) so we could have the front row....big mistake..not only was it hot, but everybody behind us was pushing. i recommend going to the top if you have a toddler.its cooler, less packed, and you still have a good view.
8)dinner. prior to our cruise we requested sitting alone. our daughter tends to get too disruptive and distracted to eat. this worked out well. we had our own space.
9) in the Bahamas we did the Atlantis Tour. it was both entertaining yet stress free for the whole family...be prepared though...theres alot of walking!
10) castaway cay. we went on a bike ride (they have seats for babys to ride along). we also rented a floating mat. she loved laying on this while in the ocean. i almost forgot! the splash area here is much bigger than the one on the cruise... we used it to rinse off.
even down time was great. our daughter had so much fun during the day,all we had to do was lay her in her pack n play! she was out!..
i would recommend giving yourself "mommy and daddy time" your toddlers will have so much fun in the nursery they wont want to leave!
DONT FORGET:
a stroller, and swim ways. i saw parents depending on strollers at castaway there werent enough to go round, plus its best to have your own stroller for when you move around the ship. the stroller makes it all easier...also i noticed that swim ways were expensive onboard, i think 2 swimways a day should be enough (just incase)
hope this helps! let me know if you have any other questions
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Our last cruise my DD was 2.5 - she was just in awe of everything. I second the glow sticks (usually can be found in any dollar store or even Target - Oriental Trading also has them on line).
