cruise with my one year old?

[sheelysmom]

Hi everyone! I am totally new here, scheming up my first cruise with Disney. I am concerned about my one year old - will he have a good time? Things for him to do? Or do I spent all my time chasing him down the halls? Thanks so much
Corinne in Maryland

 

[HooKooDooKu]

There isn't much to do except for what you make of it.

There is the Micky Ear where the little one can play in the water with Swimmer Diapers. There's the Flounder's child care so that you can get away from them for a while. And of course at that age it IS fun chasing them down the asle. Then there's the fun of the sand at the beaches.

We had some of the same toughts and questions you do about taking an infant onboard. So we decided to do a 4 day "test" cruise last October. We were having enough fun that we decided to book a 7-day for this year.

The only thing I can suggest you take your time thinking about is weither you can afford a room with a verandah. If you're travelling with a 1 year old, you may still be facing naps twice a day. That means you will most likely spend a lot of time in your cabin. I know that for us, a typical morning was that we slept late. We got everyone up and out for breakfast. Breakfast took so long (feeding our selves and a one year old starting to want to feed himself) that by the time we got back to the cabin from breakfast, it was time for a morning nap. After the morning nap, it was time for lunch. As by now you might have guessed that by the time lunch was over, it was time for the afternoon nap. So if you enjoy reading, grab a verandah room and spend your nap times reading and enjoying the sea air.

 

[sheelysmom]

That's really good advice - thanks! Especially the veranda part. I hadn't thought of that

 

[OurDogCisco]

We took our 15 month old on a 3 night cruise. She had a blast but I think it would depend on the child. We did Flounder's nursery every night at dinner time. We had late seating so, we did the show first with her which she loved. Then, we took her to the nursery. She loved the mickey's ear pool. Generally, our dd loves being with us so, she was pretty cooperative whereever we went. Now, she'll be almost 3 for our next cruise but she won't be potty trained. But she still has the same attitude. Oh, and I highly recommend the verandah. We used it all the time when she was napping....

 

[justcruisin]

Ditto on the balcony! I look forward to sleeping and reading when we vacation! Imagine room service breakfast .... We find crusing to be the perfect familly vacation.

diana

 

[flexsmom]

I can't think of a better vacation place than a cruise with a toddler. No matter what activity you choose to do, when it's time for a nap you're close to the bed. And when your toddler is ready to sleep, they're close to their bed, too! Seriously, in the event of an unfortunately meltdown, you're close to privacy and a stateroom. No long walks or serious requirements for a full day of baby supplies in a diaper bag unless you do an excursion. We don't want to give up vacations for years until the little one is ready for serious touring, so cruising is a great solution for us.

 

[CheapMom]

We are cruising with our baby (he will be 23 months) in December. I am definately going to be utilizing Flounders. We have got a balcony- planning on afternoon cocktails (BYOB! big savings) on the balcony while baby sleeps and the 2 big kids go to the club.
I am not planning excursions as we may need to keep our schedule flexible if baby is having bad day, etc...
We are going to do a little On-Our-Own exploring in Nassau and at CC we are going to relax on the beach- and put baby in Flounders for a short while so we can snorkel.
Hoping For The Best
Gotta ask- where in MD?

 

[sheelysmom]

Hyattsville, MD. Near College Park. Where is Sparks?

 

[CheapMom]

Sparks is in Northern Baltimore County in the middle of nowhere.
I work all around Washington and Baltimore so I have been to Hyattsville many times.
Good luck planning your trip!