Panama Canal cruise with a 2 yr old

[daisygirl902]

Hello - we're considering the August/September 2016 Panama Canal cruise with our (then) two year old. Has anyone done a long cruise with a toddler? Reviews or tips please!?! We've always wanted to do the canal as we visited Gatun Locks on a different cruise and were fascinated! He's a fairly easy baby so far (and I know, a lot can change, but personality wise he sort of goes with the flow so far).

We're doing a 7 night on the Fantasy next month with him and trying to figure out a good re-book option prior to sailing. We're in a balcony stateroom for the extra space for the 7 nighter since it's our first cruise with baby, but if we do the canal we may have to do an inside stateroom (it's a difference of $2500 for the upgrade).

On the long sailings, do the menus change each night or are there lots of repeats? What about the entertainment?

 

[jtba]

bump

 

[turtle27]

I can only answer the menu and entertainment, on long cruises, no repeat menus from what I will have read and also no repeat performances. I can let you know for sure after my EBPC cruise this October.

You know your child the best, so not sure anyone else can answer whether it is a good idea.

 

[OKW Lover]

No experience traveling with a 2YO so I can't help on that part. However, why not go ahead a book the PC cruise while on board. You can still change your mind up to final payment date (check those dates when you book) without penalty. Once you've seen how well your child takes to being on a 7-night cruise you may have a better feel for a 14 night.

We did the WBPC cruise 3 years ago and really enjoyed it. The menus change nightly so you won't get bored with the food. Entertainment is swapped out regularly as well. We had new acts joining the ship at several ports.

 

[Quellman]

You can see the rotational menu for the long sailings at the DCLBlog run by Scott. If I remember there is a new menu each night. You may see a few things repeat but those are generally in the "lighter side" section.

In addition, I would be weary of how much stuff you can pack aboard. I thought I packed enough diapers for our 7 day Fantasy. Had to get off after the first 2 sea days in St. Maarten to restock since our guy's tummy did not take kindly to the change. Sure we could have bought more on board, but not at those prices. Also, at age 2 you'll be paying dearly for the nursery time at $9 per hour for 14 days. There are fewer kids on those types of cruises. We made ample use of the open house time. As I mentioned, you can only pack so much, and this includes, toys and books. Kids love to play with things and explore, so not having their "things" they are used to can lead to a lot of pent up energy. But Disney does a great job trying to schedule open houses and play times for the younger crowds. Don't forget you'll likely also need a flight at some point either before or after the cruise, maybe both.

 

[jdb in AZ]

After you take your baby on the Fantasy, you'll have a better idea of what to expect. Will he sleep in the pack-N-play or will it be a battle every night?

On the longer cruises DCL brings in special performers. We had Susan Egan, the original Belle on Broadway, and the voice of Megara in Hercules. For the inaugural Hawaiian cruise, DCL brought in a hula school to entertain one evening. IIRC the performers were ages 4-18, so they ranged from cutesy to elegant.

Our Panama Canal cruise was just before DCL cruised Alaska for the first time, and the chef was experimenting with different menus. We had a lot of crab, and also two lobster nights. If you don't care for sea food, there's lots of other options.

 

[jrabbit]

I think traveling with a toddler on the PC cruises would be good. You unpack once and you're good to go. and there are not that many shore days so you don't have to lug all of the stuff that comes with a toddler off of the ship with you.

Menus are different every night
Special activities
Lots of different entertainers. You might see them a time or two more than on shorter sailings but they try to change it up for each show.
Can spend time by the pool or in movies - where on shorter trips it's hard to do everything you want to do.

Our 2 PC trips have been great. and no, 14 nights onboard the Wonder is not too many.

 

[mmouse37]

We just did the EBTA in May (15 days) with an 18 mos. old. Was not our child but our traveling group's child. I was not the same for them as when they cruised before they had a child but they still enjoyed the cruise. We had late dinner and some nights the child stayed with us the whole meal, other nights the parents brought her to the club. She LOVED seeing the characters, had no real problems with the pack n play, took naps, etc. She loved toddling up and down Deck 4.

All in all I think she (and her parents) had a great time. It was definitely different than non kid cruise but of course it would be!!! We were told there were only 259 kids from the ages of 6 mos to 17 years onboard that cruise. Plenty of free time in the nursery.

MJ

 

[daisygirl902]

Thanks folks - I think we'll likely book it just in case...I just can't seem to get through one cruise without booking another! I don't think (fingers crossed) that we'll have any sleep issues - he's a great sleeper and will nap and sleep just about anywhere. We've traveled with him a bit already - we want him to be a great traveler when he's older and our thought is if we take him through his entire life he'll have no choice We were crazy enough to take him to WDW at 10 weeks old! I appreciate the advice. Hopefully somehow between now and then I can justify the extra $$ for a balcony - I've always said I'd never do the Panama Canal without...but things change I guess, so if I have to spend the whole day on deck 4, so be it!

 

[daisygirl902]

Plus it's GREAT incentive to have him fully potty trained by 2, which is one of my "mom goals"!

 

[MunFam]

We were just on the WBPC in May with a 4 year old. A few things to keep in mind...the 2014 EBPC missed both Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas Ports and our cruise missed the Puerto Vallrta Port. This made for a REALLLLLLY long time at sea. If you wait one more year, til your little guy is 3, you will have free run of the clubs and childcare. On canal day, you will have to pay for childcare, or have him up on deck with you. I cannot imagine trying to keep a 2 year old out of the heat and sun for 8 hours.

The other thing we noticed was the most of the evening entertainment was geared towards adults only and not families...so if our daughter did not want to go to the club, we were out. That was a bummer.

The great things were that there were less than 300 people under the age of 18 on board, so the characters were super interactive with our daughter. The menus changed daily, so that was great too. They run their same Broadway style shows (one time each) and the rest are concerts or comedy acts or whatever.

We were planning to sail in an inside room on the WBPC cruise but in the end, a midship deck 2 ocean view room is what we ended up with. I would have died in an inside cabin. The waters are notoriously rough near Cuba and being able to see the horizon helped a ton. We had rough seas a few days and lots of people were very sick...most of the people that we talked to that were sick had inside rooms. I do not think that I would have wanted/needed a verandah for the added cost though.

It was a long cruise, and I was definitely looking forward to jumping off the ship when we pulled in to San Diego. We are considering doing a trans Atlantic at some point in the future. They had so many extra activities because of all the sea days, I cannot imagine going on a short cruise...ever. BUT...having a small child would mean that you pay for child care to participate in those activities...or one adult misses out...which is why I feel that for the longer cruises, 3 is the magic number. Its important to our family to do more than just sit around and relax, we like to keep busy.

 

[daisygirl902]

We were just on the WBPC in May with a 4 year old. A few things to keep in mind...the 2014 EBPC missed both Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas Ports and our cruise missed the Puerto Vallrta Port. This made for a REALLLLLLY long time at sea. If you wait one more year, til your little guy is 3, you will have free run of the clubs and childcare. On canal day, you will have to pay for childcare, or have him up on deck with you. I cannot imagine trying to keep a 2 year old out of the heat and sun for 8 hours.

The other thing we noticed was the most of the evening entertainment was geared towards adults only and not families...so if our daughter did not want to go to the club, we were out. That was a bummer.

The great things were that there were less than 300 people under the age of 18 on board, so the characters were super interactive with our daughter. The menus changed daily, so that was great too. They run their same Broadway style shows (one time each) and the rest are concerts or comedy acts or whatever.

We were planning to sail in an inside room on the WBPC cruise but in the end, a midship deck 2 ocean view room is what we ended up with. I would have died in an inside cabin. The waters are notoriously rough near Cuba and being able to see the horizon helped a ton. We had rough seas a few days and lots of people were very sick...most of the people that we talked to that were sick had inside rooms. I do not think that I would have wanted/needed a verandah for the added cost though.

It was a long cruise, and I was definitely looking forward to jumping off the ship when we pulled in to San Diego. We are considering doing a trans Atlantic at some point in the future. They had so many extra activities because of all the sea days, I cannot imagine going on a short cruise...ever. BUT...having a small child would mean that you pay for child care to participate in those activities...or one adult misses out...which is why I feel that for the longer cruises, 3 is the magic number. Its important to our family to do more than just sit around and relax, we like to keep busy.

Thanks for that perspective! I appreciate it and will consider that for sure.

 

[ctnurse]

We just returned from the 12 night Baltic cruise with our 2 and 11 year old, and we had a wonderful time. DD spend time in the nursery during most dinners, our Mixology classes, Palo dinner and brunch, and one day when we toured for 10 hours in Copenhagen. We ordered room service for her or went up to deck 9 to grab her dinner, the nights she didn't have dinner in the nursery. We only took her to one show, and she did fairly well once the show started. DH and I only went to one other show, we rather take the child-free time having a pre dinner drink or walking around the ship alone.

She is a great traveler, she has been traveling since she was 2 months old. She slept in her stroller, at the nursery, and all night in the pack and play. The CM went out of their ways to talk to DD, since so many of them are parents and miss their own families.

DD first cruise was on the Fantasy when she was 18 months old, and both DH and I commented that she did so much better on this cruise, and she really enjoyed herself. We also have the Med and Greece cruise planned for next summer. She will be three, and we are really looking forward to her going to the clubs and utilizing the Dine and Play options, since we love 2nd seating for dinner.

If you have any other questions just ask, both our kids are seasoned world travelers.

 

[SailingScout]

We are taking our 1 year old on the EBPC in Oct. We previously cruised when our older son was 7 mos and 17 mos. (He's now 3.) We had a fantastic time. We go in with the mindset that the trip is for the parents, not the kids! Of course it's not going to be as relaxing as with an older child, but at this stage in our lives, it's all we know! I stay at home with my kids so I'm used to being with them a lot. The babysitting on the ship is an awesome break, and even though I'm still with them most of the day, the ship and ports beat any venue I'd take them to at home! My vote would be to go for it, I doubt you will regret it. More likely you will have a fantastic time!

 

[daisygirl902]

Thanks folks - little did I know the information I'd gain on here would just give me even more things to consider

Now we're in the debate about waiting a year until baby is 3 to go through the canal, and fitting in one more big WDW trip before we have to pay for his park tickets and dining instead of doing a cruise next year. I hadn't even considered that magic number of 3 until MunFam mentioned it in regards to the cruise. I hate to miss out on the savings by not booking the WBPC cruise while on board, but on the other hand we could likely stay in a balcony room if we put it off one more year. A trip to WDW is a far cheaper option since we have lots of points available for accommodations, and he's still little enough to travel free.

I do think we'll have a great trip either way, though. Luckily for me, there is simply no wrong answer when it comes to WDW/DCL!

On a side note - we upgraded our room on our upcoming 7 nighter to a 4A! So excited