Tips for cruising with an 18 month old

[HappyGilmore]

I haven't posted here for a long time as I can hardly find the time to read the boards as much as I did before my daughter was born.

We are considering a 3night cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary and would have our 18 mth old with us ( I couldn't bear to leave her home with Grandma -I would miss my baby too much!!!). I would appreciate any tips or feedback that anyone can give. We have sailed w/ DCL 6 times in the past (pre-parenthood ) and know this cruise would be a totally different experience. We were booked to go in 2003 but I was too far along in the pregnancy to be able to sail and had to cancel so I have had the cruise bug since then. We haven't used passports in the past so that we are thinking to try to go again before we have to speand the $$ to get them in order to go in the future. Thinking this may be our last cruise for a while.
When I called to get the quote trying to go as cheap as possible in cat11. We would be taking my Mom with us as well not as a back up caregiver but rather as a thank you since she has the responsibility of watching my daughter full time while I am working.
I was told by DCL that there wouldn't be space for a crib in the cat11 room but DCL was okay with that so I guess she would sleep in the bed with us??? HUH ??
I thought to myself... this must have come up for others in the past and how did they handle it?? Also it doesn't sound like she would be able to go in Mickey pool and after reading some of the threads I don't know if I would want her in it anyway yuk???
I am beginning to think I might be disappointed with the experience since she isn't really at an age that would make it a memorable trip for her ---- just a great deal of work for me -- and may cause a disruption to her routine.... she still drinks milk from a bottle at bedtime (warmed up).
I am starting to think we might do better spending a couple of night at our local beach instead -we are blessed with our location in sunny FL.

 

[CM_Mom]

See if you can book one of the "Sideways" Cat 11s near the front of the ship.(See 5001, 5513, 6003, 6521 and cabins like them on the deck plans above.) The pack and Play crib should fit between the bathroom and the closet since the door is on the "side" instead of the end. DD stored a 4 ft long "body bag" duffel there on our cruise. We stayed in 6011 and to us it felt more spacious that the regular Cat 11 that my mom and aunt had.

Also, she will be able to play in the "ear" of the Mickey pool reserved for kids in swim diapers. It has constantly recirculating water is is more of a water play area than a pool but is perfect for the 18 month set.

 

[drdelsol]

We had our 5 month old in our regular cat 11 last year and it was tight with the pacn-n-play. We took grandparents who ended up in a "sideways" 11-man it seemed liked more room. We booked their cabin for this year.

If your daughter likes people and the parks now, she'll have a good time. I was looking today at a picture we have of her reaching out and touching Mickey's face during a formal hot.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

We've taken DS on 4-Day in Cat 11 @ age 14months and a 14-Day in Cat 6 @ age 33 months.

At 14months, DW and DS shared the main bed while I slept on the "couch". We used to do some co-sleeping with all three of us in the same bed, but thats a King size at home. The Queens on board just don't have the room for all three of us.

If four of you are going to be in the same cabin, you'll have to be assigned to a room that has the bed that drops from the ceiling over the couch (for 4 people to be book in the room, the room has to sleep 4, and you can't count the pac-n-play). So it would be possible to mommy and baby in the main bed, husband in the top bunk, and grandma in the lower bunk. Other possibility is for mommy and grandma to swap places.

At age 33 months, the "couch" bed was low enough to the floor that DS slept there for the 14 day cruise.

Don't forget to budget for some nursary time ($6/hour, 2 hour min).

 

[PearlandPaige]

Carolyn,

My DS will be 18 months old when we cruise with him in October. We decided to take the cruise after speaking with friends who took a Disney cruise with their 18 month old DS and had the experience of a lifetime. They said it was perfect to travel with him at that age because he was just filled with wonder about everything about the ship and was never once bored. Their only advise was to be very flexible, but if you've traveled much with your child you already know that. The pace is just different with a little one, isn't it?

I am just beside myself with excitement about our cruise. If I were you, I wouldn't hesitate to book it! Oh, this may make the cruise more expensive than you want, but our friends also strongly recommended a room with a verandah so you can sit out there and read and enjoy the sun and sea air while your little one naps. If your child naps like mine, you'll be "stuck" in your room a couple of hours a day, so it would be nice to have a room you're happy with.