cruising with toddlers

[hilbil]

We will be taking our 2 toddlers (3 years and 18 months) on our first DCL cruise and would love some tips to help our travel go smoothly. Are any of the shore excursions on the 4 day cruise appropriate for an 18-month-old? How is the fountain area by the Mickey pool? I've heard that kids in swim diapers are not allowed in the ship's pools, and wonder if the fountain will keep the kiddos entertained. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

 

[kristen821]

I was wondering the same thing I will be traveling with a hopefully potty trained 2 1/2 year old

 

[HappyMommy2]

Same here; will also be traveling with a hopefully potty trained 2.5-year-old (and a 4-year-old too). I'm especially wondering about Nassau. Thanks for asking this!

 

[jodifla]

Good questions!

When is everyone going? We're taking our DS, who'll be almost 3, on the 3-day Wonder Sept. 23.

 

[kristen821]

four night- Dec. 5th

 

[hilbil]

Wow, it sounds like there are lots of people with toddler questions. Hopefully we'll get some more answers
We're going Sept 12, 04

 

[CM_Mom]

I looked in the Passporter at the listing of shore excursions for Nassau and the youngest age listed was "3 & up". Maybe other posters can help.

 

[KennyK]

hello moms traveling with toddlers,

I suggest you read the thread " caution, Stateroom doors with young kids".

You should take note of this situation when planning your trip and packing.

Cindy_k's dad, Kennyk

 

[RDS912]

We are also taking an 18 month old in Oct, Please anyone out there help us with toddlers

 

[TiggerzFan]

Hilbil..... so glad to see someone else is going on the 9/12 cruise! I don't have any excursion suggestions for you - we didn't do any on our last cruise since our group had 2 little ones.
On this year's cruise, we're adding another toddler to our group so we'll have two 3-year olds (my nephew and a friend) and my DD who will be 2 1/2.
Donna

 

[maddiemom]

Well... we took our 10 month old DS recently and he would be considered at toddler because even then he was walking up a storm. It was our first cruise. We didn't do a specific excursion. Did catch a cab over to Atlantis. He really liked seeing the fish at the aquarium. You can see a part of the aquarium from the inside and outside of the hotel...without having to pay the $25.00.

He loved the fountains at the Mickey pool. He would have stayed there as long as we would have let him.

We found it easier to send him to Flounder's Reef nursery during dinner and the show. We tried it with him the first night and he was very grumpy. He goes to daycare all the time anyhow so it wasn't really all that far off from his normal routine (except it was night) He did pretty well over all.

Good luck with your two little ones and have a great trip!!

 

[lillygator]

I will be able to post as soon as we return...we are taking dd - almost 18 months in May.....

 

[moinab]

We went on the 3-night cruise last July with DS (almost 3 at the time) and DD (5 months at the time).

We didn't do any excursions in Nassau.

We used Flounders once, from 10 PM to midnight on the second night. It was nice, but we really didn't enjoy being away from our children.

We had the late dinner seating. DD slept in the stroller every night, next to the table. DD sleeping through dinner DS handled it very well. We got him pizza and ice cream from deck 9 every afternoon to help him make it through until dinner time. He enjoyed playing with the crayons and placemats, and we brought other diversions, such as Hot Wheels. When he got restless between courses, one of us would take him for a quick walk. DS at dinner If you look at the very bottom of the picture, you can see a die-cast toy of the ship that he absolutely loved (and still does).

We tried taking them to the Mickey ear "fountain," but they didn't like it. Personally, I found the pool area to be a little too crowded and crazy for little ones. There were a lot of unsupervised kids running wild. It probably wouldn't be bad before 9 or 10 AM. I did bring DS to the Oceaneers Club to play with the toys. You can bring your toddler, as long as you stay with them. He really loved that.

He didn't like the characters or the shows, so we spent a lot of time exploring the ship. He really loved the stairs and elevators. A great thing for toddlers is a small ball for them to chase. We found the hallways by the nightclubs to be a great place for this during the day.

We really had a great time just being together as a family, without having to deal with neverending housework and cooking. It wasn't as important to us to have things to do. We were more focused on just being together. I think most toddlers probably do enjoy the characters and shows, though.

Both of our kids loved CC. We had some empty yogurt containers (we use them for Cheerios and other snacks) that they used in the sand and water. playing in the water on CC

HTH

 

[kristen821]

Thank you for everyone's info. I will have a 6 year old son and a 2 1/2 daughter (hopefully potty trained for pools) If I didn't do any excursions would any of us feel like we don't have enough to do? Thanks!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

We really had a great time just being together as a family, without having to deal with neverending housework and cooking. It wasn't as important to us to have things to do. We were more focused on just being together.

Well said!

 

[kaykels]

I won't lie.... traveling with my 2 year old wasn't quite as relaxing as I thought it would be, but with that said, we all had an incredible time! We are also traveling on the Sept. 12 4 nighter. Skip the excursions. It's not worth it with the little guys. You will have so much fun just splashing around on the beaches. The 3 year old will have a ball in the kids clubs and there is so much to look at for the little ones. The staff bends over backwards to help. In fact, one night my son got really cranky and our waiter, (Matt from Australia) took my son around Animator's Palate and showed him the cartoons while I ate. They are amazing. My son had fun splashing around in the splash pool, eating ice cream and M&M's, watching the shows, seeing the characters, and mostly, playing on the beach & pools in Nassau and Castaway Cay.

 

[kristen821]

Thanks for the info. Kaykels