Baby's first cruise, 3 or 4 nights?

[Raya]

The littlest member of our family will be 14 months old when we cruise. Would we be better off doing a 3 night or a 4 night? His brother will be 5, and we want the trip to be long enough to make some memories with him, so maybe 4 nights? but I'm worried that the baby might not take to cruising, so maybe 3 nights? Any suggestions from folks who have been there?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The littlest member of our family will be 14 months old when we cruise. Would we be better off doing a 3 night or a 4 night? His brother will be 5, and we want the trip to be long enough to make some memories with him, so maybe 4 nights? but I'm worried that the baby might not take to cruising, so maybe 3 nights? Any suggestions from folks who have been there?

Just my opinion, but I think a 4 night cruise is better than a 3 night.

On a 3 night cruise you only get 2 days of cruising. You board the first day (night) midday, so, only 1/2 day there. Two full days, with port stops, and allowing afternoon/evening for packing to leave, then off early the last morning.

4 night cruise you get that extra (sea) day. It just makes the trip a little more relaxed.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Definitely 4 nights!

 

[Lillebelle]

Have you traveled with baby much? Do you know how well he tends to do sleeping in a pack and play? My kids usually don't sleep great the first night we're somewhere; if you think it might be similar for you, I'd do the 4 night so that you can still have a decent amount of vacation left to enjoy once everyone adjusts. Of course, if your baby is a seasoned traveler, I'd also recommend the 4 night just because as mentioned, 3 nights doesn't allow a ton of time to do much. 4 nights would give your 5 year old more time to really enjoy making friends in the kids club, get adequate time at the pool, etc.

The *only* reason I'd consider 3 nights is if your baby tends to not ever adjust and you think you might end up with three nights of no sleep. I don't think there's anything different about sleeping on the cruise vs sleeping in a hotel though, so I don't think there's anything about cruising specifically that your baby is likely to struggle with. It's just the sleeping in an unfamiliar environment that I'd factor in.

 

[Marthasor]

Unfortunately, there is no great answer to this question. When my DS was that small, we called these "trips" and not "vacations". My DS did not take to cruising until he was 7, so his first cruise (at 3 1/2) was close to a nightmare - we had extra hands on that "trip" so it made it a little more bearable. As PPs have noted, longer cruises are less harried, but you may end up with one or even two children who are out-of-sorts. Unfortunately, you won't know until you get on the ship.

 

[o&smom]

Definitely 4! It will give you all time to adapt and enjoy things on the cruise.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

FOUR NIGHTS

I took little man at around your baby’s age he had the best time ever!