To stroller or not to stroller. That is the question!

[Kara T]

I have a 3 and a 4 year old and don't usually use a stroller anymore. I was noticing that some people brought theirs. Wondering if it's worth it for when they're tired or cranky and sick of walking. Some ports can be a lot of walking for a toddler, I'd imagine.

I've heard you can rent them on the ship. Can you get a double stroller or just a regular? Do they do the job or are they pretty bad? I read that they weren't nice.

Any info would be great. I really don't want to have to store a stroller in the room if I don't have to though.

 

[coloradocutie]

We went with our 2 year old who does not use her stroller anymore and we found that we were fine without it. That being said, we planned accordingly and were reasonable with our expectations with how far we were going to go- and at some ports we didn't plan excursions as to not tire out the little ones. We were offered a single stroller by the concierge hosts… and the stroller that they had for us, they kept looking at funny. Finally they put a towel over the seat and told us not to look under the towel, as some previous child had made a mess on it. We thanked them and graciously declined their stroller.

FWIW, the port days were absolutely delightful days to hang out on the ship with our little ones because they had the pool/ship to themselves!

If your little ones are not used to using a stroller, I would not bother with the hassle of bringing one.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[ladypiph]

We always bring a stroller, my DS is now 4 and I plan to bring one on our next cruise as well. The ships are still pretty big and the ports require a lot of walking as well. We hardly used one while on the ship but we did have some nights when he would fall asleep at dinner and we were glad to have it versus having to hold him the entire time or worst having to go back to the room. While on CC we did just grab one of the strollers they offer since they are better on the sand than ours and on CC the have really nice wagons to roll the kids around on as well. If visiting Atlantis you will need one, the resort is huge and there is a lot of walking involved. We just bring an umbrella stroller for our DS the same one we use for the parks. There is a great amount of storage space in the cabins as well.

 

[Kara T]

Thanks guys. I think I will just see what we need when we get there and use what they offer....unless they look at it funny...cuz that's gross lol. If the child made a mess, why would they not clean and disinfect it? Eek.

I'm glad they have wagons on CC. My kids love their wagon.

 

[cdoc29]

We brought out City Mini for our 1.5 year old. We also had a 4 year old. What we learned was

1) The City mini was too big for the ship, not that it made a difference because we never used a stroller on the ship just when were in port but getting it into and out of our room was sometimes a challenge. it did fit under the bed no problem.

2) While our 4 year old didn’t have a stroller there were times we wish we had one for him, since we were in September the weather was incredibly hot and my 4 year old who is normally fine was worn out much faster than he is at home.

What I wish we had done was buy two sturdy umbrella strollers for when we were in port, it would have saved us lots of fussing and made life easier for us.

In Castaway Cay if you get off the boat early they have strollers and better yet wagons you pull that work better in the sand than anything you might bring. best of all they are free, just first come first serve.

 

[AFamily]

I found myself carrying my four year old a good bit on the ship, when we got real busy or had to be somewhere soon, so a stroller might be nice.

 

[Kara T]

Maybe I'll bring an umbrella stroller and we can just switch out kids

 

[JBanesBunch]

We took our umbrella stroller for our 2 year old when we went in March, and plan on taking it again in November. We never used it on the ship, but we did use it at the airport (gate checked), on port excursions, and waiting at customs.

 

[ubish00]

I have cruised annually with my niece since she was 2 and I take a stroller mainly for use in the airports. Never used it on the ships. I did use it last year in Cozumel as I knew we would be doing a lot of walking. If you have the room, I would say bring it. If you need it great, it's there otherwise just keep it stored under the bed.