Ideas ONLY! What to do with infants without the pool.

[belu]

Okay, my original post was asking for ideas of what to do with infants on the cruise who can not use the pool due to new rules. I am not interested in continuing a debate over the issue.

Please post here only if you have any ideas or past experiances that will help those of us who are cruising with children and need help planning our trips.

Please do not vent here or the moderator will be forced to close this thread.

Some of the ideas that have been mentioned include bringing a portable basin for small ones to splash with toys in the water and bringing a small inflatable pool to use while on the ship.

Any other ideas?

How did your infant children/toddlers enjoy their time on the ship, other than the pool?

Thanks Belu

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I have cruised threee times before, but not with a wee one. This will be our first experience with that. However, here are some thoughts that I've come up with.

1. Plan to go ashore at all the stops. There are beaches at each port of call so there can be swimming there. That will also break up a lot of the day.

2. Turn the lobby in front of Lumieres into a play yard by letting the wee ones crawl around and play there. It is a wide open space and inside so they are out of the sun. Be prepared to ignore the dirty looks you might get though! (Actually, the secret Deck 7 might work for this too for an outside option!)

3. Do what we are doing! Bring friends! We are cruising with another couple and they have a baby girl that is 5 months older than Katie. Instant Playmate! Don't have another baby going? Maybe meet up with other folks on the ship who do have wee ones.

4. Let them run around like crazy babies if you can actually catch the basketball court empty.

5. If they are walkers, let them play baby shuffleboard. They might not get the game, but they would probably have fun pushing the little shuffleboard pieces around (just make sure the pieces don't go overboard!)

6. Two words.....Play Dough on Deck 9. Gets'em outside and keeps'em entertained. Who doens't love play dough? Also small enough to fit in your bags.

7. Hit EVERY SINGLE character meet and greet that there is!

Okay. I am idea'd out. The tub is a good idea for little tiny ones, if DCL would approve of it, but the blow up pool is totally impractical. Where would you put it that would be out of the way and where would you get water to fill it up? Once it was filled, where would you put the water to take it down?

Kathy

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

These are some of the ideas I came up with on a similar thread...

My stepsister has a large wooden deck at her house..

Anyway, she and my neice would play "deck painting." She would take a bucket of water and spounge and let my niece make pictures with the water all over the deck. It just dawned on me that the pool deck is one HUGE wooden deck. Might be a fun activitiy for young kids to do on the pool deck, with water, while brother and sister are swimming.

You could spend some time exploring wind...
Take a walk around the deck and talk about wind, is the flag blowing around? is the wind blowing people's hair? Which way is the smoke blowing? Then maybe find a quiet spot and see how the wind blows items on the deck... a paper plate, a cup, a ping-pong ball, etc.

Then you could sit down at a table, and take a paper plate, crayons/markers (if you have them) some napkins, a little bit of string and some tape, and make a mini-kite and have your tot decorate the plate with colors and strips of napkins as streamers. Once it's done, tape on a small piece of string (hey, dental floss would probably work) and let your DD or DS run around on the deck to make their new kite fly!

I always liked to walk around and watch the crew at work, maybe your one year old would like it? You know, watching the scrub down the lifeboats, or do touch-up painting, washing decks...

You could also walk around the deck and practice the alphabet by naming all the things you see...

Maybe on Deck 4 in the Promenade lounge thats usually empty during the day you could hide stuff and have a scavenger hunt.. maybe a cruise egg hunt... if you can get your hands on any of those plastic easter eggs. Might find other tot mom's a DD's and DS's who would want to join in.

And if you do make tot buddies could maybe have a cruise parade, have the little ones dress up and take out their favorite stuffed animals and have a parade around the deck, and wave to people..

could snag some cups from the drink stand and set up bowling on the deck..

make a mini kite with a paper plate and go up to the sports deck and run around and "fly" it....

Take a hidden mickey tour... go hang out in the lab together...

fill up the bath tub and let them have their own "private" pool

During the day you could go to one of the empty entertainment venues (wavebands, studio seas, etc) and let them run around on the stage..

Dance with them when the band is playing music out on deck...

Bring a small paint brush or old tooth brush, fill a cup with water and let them paint the deck, the tables and the chairs etc..

Give them a disposable camera and let them be a photographer for the afternoon...

Save your cabit host/hostess's towel animals or create your own and take them for a walk in a stroller on the promenade deck...

go on the promenade deck in just your socks and "skate" around the deck... spin and twirl and watch them become the next gold metalist!

 

[akterrye]

Could you ask the club counselors if you could use the club while the older kids are at the movies, lunch or elsewhere on the ship?

 

[Tluvs2talk]

How about bringing several squirt bottles. You could put on your bathing suites and go up to the sun deck, fill the bottles with water at drink station. and squirt away!!!If child is to young to pull lever on squirt bottle you could buy one of the little fans that squirt water,easy to hold button down

 

[onemichelle]

Bring bubbles. Lots and lots of bubble. I love bubbles!! (So does dd2)

 

[strawberryblonde]

I don't know if there is room on the ship, but I would like to see them set up a little water play area for the under 3's. You know, with drainage below their feet and tables of water at waist level full of toys. Little ones love to get wet and I'm not sure how parents can provide that, hmmmm. I need to keep thinking.

 

[belu]

Amazing Ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am amazed! I am so glad I asked! I've got tons of new ideas. Thanks everyone. Just Amazing.


Belu