Toddler travel tips

[Tessiemutt]

We will be traveling with a 2 yr old. What suggestions do you have to make the cruise more enjoyable for us all? How did you deal with the stroller issue? We need one for day trips, but they can be cumbersome to tote around otherwise.

She is pretty much potty trained, but there is still the occasional accident. Will she be allowed in the pool with swim diaper under her suit just in case?

 

[triniprincess76]

We will be traveling with a 2 yr old. What suggestions do you have to make the cruise more enjoyable for us all? How did you deal with the stroller issue? We need one for day trips, but they can be cumbersome to tote around otherwise.

She is pretty much potty trained, but there is still the occasional accident. Will she be allowed in the pool with swim diaper under her suit just in case?

The nursery is available for a fee. It's so nice in there. Take activities for dinner. It can be quite long, and the kids can get restless.

My BFF took a stroller on our last cruise, and it wasn't a bother at all. If you decide that you don't want it while on the ship, the beds are raise, so there's a lot of storage space under the bed.

Swim diapers are not allowed in the pools at all.

 

[micheledb49]

We traveled with our little guy when he was 17 months (here is the review: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3084466) and again when he was 25 months. Our next one he'll be 36 months. We took our stroller and had no issues with it. We have a city mini, so it's not a small one. But it was important to us that he had that big shade coverage. He will sleep in his stroller anywhere at nap time, so this was essential. He would often sleep next to the pool with blaring music for 2 hours. On the 17 month trip, we used the stroller a lot throughout the ship and it didn't really bother us. On the 2nd trip, we only used it for naps & excursions.

The biggest key for us was making sure the naps were on schedule (easy for us, b/c he'll nap in his stroller) and patience. The disney staff is amazing and so patient. We had a lot of milk spilling and tantrums the 2nd trip and we just had to slow the pace a little, know that we didn't need to fit everything in.

He really really loved the shows at night, loved watching a movie under the stars, and loved the splash pad. He was not potty trained, so no pools for us. Honestly, the pools are so crowded, I could care less about bringing him in the pool (if you have an older child plus the toddler, I can see where this would be an issue).

We very much disliked cruising before we went on our first Disney cruise. Now we are hooked. For me, it is definitely one of the best options with a toddler.

I hope you'll love it as much as we do. We are totally hooked now

 

[WifEmily]

My girl was 17 months old on our last cruise. We scheduled our dinner time and her time in the nursery at the same time. Our 5 year old went to the kids club during this time.

She enjoyed the splash pad area.

We used a small fold up umbrella stroller to get her from point A to point B at all times. It worked out fine. The nursery has strolling parking.

At breakfast, I would grab an extra banana & chocolate milk for later snack to keep in the cabin fridge. She loved to eat off my plate during breakfast & lunch. The food near the pools had fruit (like grapes). She liked that too.

I did have to take her to run around in more open areas during down times (less crowded times). Hallways near restaurants and the main lobby were her favorites. She also liked sitting in the portholes.

She was not a fan of any characters up close, but loved them from about 10 feet away.

I never made it to a movie with her (well, I saw part of one while she slept in her stroller).

The nursery also had extra play time posted in the navigator...that were FREE, but parents had to stay with the child. This was on a 7 day cruise. I don't know if all of them do this. We didn't take advantage of this, but thought later we should have.

She will be 2 years old on our next trip next month. I hope she does well.

 

[pepe3penelope]

On our last cruise our son was 23 months old. We only used our umbrella stroller for excursions. Mealtimes were sometimes a challenge because he would get so restless. We are on west coast time so the time change really threw him off. He usually wouldn't eat his dinner and more than half the time he fell asleep. The dining staff was excellent. They would cut up my food cuz I was holding him. If he wanted to walk around they'd cover my food til I got back. He loved Nemo's Reef and eating by the pool. Where are you cruising and which cruise ship? We are from Los Angeles and my kids (DD was 5 1/2 at the time) were absolutely miserable and cranky with the hot humidity when we went late June to the western caribbean.

 

[Lauriem624]

We will be traveling with a 2 yr old. What suggestions do you have to make the cruise more enjoyable for us all? How did you deal with the stroller issue? We need one for day trips, but they can be cumbersome to tote around otherwise.

She is pretty much potty trained, but there is still the occasional accident. Will she be allowed in the pool with swim diaper under her suit just in case?

I dont' think swim diapers are allowed in the pool but the splash pads are nice.

 

[Lauriem624]

We will be traveling with a 2 yr old. What suggestions do you have to make the cruise more enjoyable for us all? How did you deal with the stroller issue? We need one for day trips, but they can be cumbersome to tote around otherwise.

She is pretty much potty trained, but there is still the occasional accident. Will she be allowed in the pool with swim diaper under her suit just in case?

Take time for a nap, they will really need it. Take a collapsible umbrella stroller, but one that is still comfortable just for excursions. Participate in the fish extender group if you have one, it will be nice to get little treats each night.

 

[Lauriem624]

We will be traveling with a 2 yr old. What suggestions do you have to make the cruise more enjoyable for us all? How did you deal with the stroller issue? We need one for day trips, but they can be cumbersome to tote around otherwise.

She is pretty much potty trained, but there is still the occasional accident. Will she be allowed in the pool with swim diaper under her suit just in case?

Also, consider foregoing the islands or ports besides Castaway Cay. Staying on the cruise while the boat is in port is wonderful. You have the entire ship to yourselves!

 

[BowMom]

Our youngest will be 22 months when we cruise in September. I too was wondering about taking a stroller. I think the only reason we would take one is if we decide to do the Atlantis tour in Nassau. She really doesn't ride in it unless we have a lot of walking to do.

 

[lawyergirl]

We cruised with DS who was 13 months old last December and we loved it! I totally agree that it is the best vacation for a toddler. We took full advantage of the nursery in order to do Palo (Brunch and Dinner). The only problem with that was the fact that DS wasn't going to daycare yet so there were some... minor crises when we dropped him off.

That being said, the splash pad was great (swim diapers are NOT allowed in the pools) and he loved dinner! The servers were so attentive, brought him his favourite food (at the time - bananas) as an appetizer...

... and then he would eat most of his food and some of mine!! Granted, we've taken him out to restaurants a fair bit, but I was really impressed by how good he was during dinner.

We also brought our Britax B-Agile. Aside from the fact that it didn't fit through the stateroom door (although, mercifully, it did fit under the bed), it was very useful to have our stroller from home for excursions. We didn't use it around the ship.

HAVE FUN!!

 

[wallskm]

We were just on the Wonder with our just turned 2 year old. It was a blast! My one tip is try the Nursery...my son LOVED it, he never wanted to be picked up! The staff was great, knew him by name, and taught him to say g'day mate . He was a disaster at the first dinner so after that he got nursery play time during our dinner seating (we fed him before dropping him off). Everyone was happier that way. As soon as we would walk in to drop him off he'd want to get down and go play. We also used it during the day a couple times so mom and dad could lay out in peace!

He is potty trained so he could do the pools and we didn't use a swim diaper, but I did see them ask parents to remove kids that were wearing swim diapers. To be honest he preferred the splash area. We had a lifeguard ask us once if he was potty trained and we said yes and that was it. He is small for his age so he looks younger than 2.

We didn't bring a stroller and we did end up carrying him a good bit. We stayed on the ship when in Cozumel and only got off on Castaway Cay.

Also if the 2 year old is going to sleep on the sofa bed you can ask for a bed rail for that.

Also he is the only one in our party who got sea sick. We had to give him Dramamine and that made him super sleepy. We ended up giving it to him at night in hopes he wouldn't wake up sea sick. He was only sea sick the first sea day. Double check with your doctor on an appropriate dose for your kid but we gave 12.5-25 mg.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Our son was 22 months when we cruised over Nov/Dec 2013.

We did not bring a stroller. On board...well, the hallways and such it's really not needed. He wanted to walk everywhere anyways and otherwise we'd carry him or pop him on our shoulders. For excursions we'd bring the Ergo but he really only went in that when he napped.

On ship, we stuck as close as possible to our regular nap routine though he stayed up much later for the shows. It worked out great. I'd sit on the balcony and read while he napped and he Loved the shows at night.

We brought him to the nursery about 45 min after dinner started for about an hour. This gave him time to eat his meal and then allowed us time to eat ours. I'm a stay-at-home mom so this was new for us all and he did okay so long as one of the workers let him sit on their lap, which they did, bless them.

He Loved the splash pad. They have, on the navigator, times where the people from the nursery would be there with some toys and they'd sit and play with them in there. I still stayed with him, lol, but it was cool.

I tried my best to do things for all 3 of us: things for my husband, things for me, things for us as a family, things for the adults, and things for Sebastian. In fact, I think our last sea day I made "Sebastian Day". I just looked for Everything that was intended for the littles and we went to as many as possible. So fun!

 

[hardis5]

Our youngest will be 22 months when we cruise in September. I too was wondering about taking a stroller. I think the only reason we would take one is if we decide to do the Atlantis tour in Nassau. She really doesn't ride in it unless we have a lot of walking to do.

Our first time in Nassau (when youngest was 18 mos old) we used an throw-away umbrella stroller to just get us to the end of the dock where the tours all met up (and it help with the overstuffed diaper bag filled with all the beach accessories and toys). He didn't want to sit in it till walking no more than 50 feet from the gang plank and then quietly did so till the end of the long dock walk. On the way back to the ship, he was zonked and slept while being pushed. For that one long walk out and him asleep on the way back onto the boat alone, worth every penny of the $10 the stroller cost. As PP have said, shove it under the bed until (and if) needed. Used the same stroller doing a self guided tour of the old city in San Juan another time.

 

[dsneygirl]

I'll be the dissenter we did NOT stick to a nap schedule. He would have nothing to do with his 12:30 nap time so I let him go until he was ready to drop, plopped him in the stroller and started walking Deck 4. He usually slept from 3-5 and then was on the go until 9 or 10pm. We didn't enforce anytime of "bedtime" either.

We fed him first then booked the nursery for 6:30 and one of us ran him up. Worked out great and the rest of us could enjoy our entrees and dessert.

He really wanted to be in the pool with his brother which was hard, he was not a fan of the splash pad like I thought he would be. I think it was too loud and chaotic for him. he loved CC though, could have stayed on that beach all week.

My DS turned 2 just a week before we went.

 

[wl1117]

We've sailed when our eldest daughter was 17 months (Wonder), then again when our youngest daughter was 5 months (Fantasy), again when she was 10 months (Magic) and most recently when she was 22 months (Dream). Hopefully she'll be 3 and potty trained for the next trip!

As previous posters mentioned, no swim diapers in the pools. This is a health code violation. Which ship will you be on? The splash pad on the Wonder is much smaller than the one on the Dream or Fantasy. I haven't seen the Magic's new splash pad, but I think it's been expanded.

Take an umbrella stroller. You want something small enough to navigate the hallways easily. Also, you'll be waiting around on elevators with a stroller and you'll want to be as small as possible since so many people cannot seem to walk a flight of stairs.

Something we learned over time was that you can leave your child onboard in the Nursery when in port, so if there's a shore excursion you want to do or just some shopping they'll be taken care of. We usually pick a really short excursion or shop for an hour or two if we get off in port. We actually have a harder time prying our 5 year old out of the clubs to go on an excursion than we do the 2 yr old.

Another tip is to book some nursery time during dinner time. You can find quick serve items to feed the baby before taking them to the nursery and then you can have a quiet adult dinner. We also tend to request a private table, since we don't like trying to carry on polite conversation with strangers while trying to get the kids to eat. We like to be able to concentrate on keeping down the mess and the choking hazards.

We also played nap time by ear. They were usually too busy and excited to want to sleep on schedule, but if it works for you its easier to transition back into real life later.

My husband also likes to get up early and push the stroller around the Promenade Deck for a few laps while letting me sleep in.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

My #1 suggestion to parents of Toddlers is to get the veranda if you can. Since your wee one probably naps, someone will have to be in the room during nap time. My husband and I took turns. The veranda was so nice because I could bring a book and sit out there watching the water go by as I read. Sooooooooo nice!

 

[dpswift]

My #1 suggestion to parents of Toddlers is to get the veranda if you can. Since your wee one probably naps, someone will have to be in the room during nap time. My husband and I took turns. The veranda was so nice because I could bring a book and sit out there watching the water go by as I read. Sooooooooo nice!

This is a great tip. Unfortunately on our our first cruise and I did not know that you could get keys to other cabins. Since we had 2 cabins across the hall from each other I had to sit inside in case one of my older boys needed to come in.

I also must say that DS hated the nursery and after the first time he would not go back. The water area for the kids that were not potty trained was always full.

 

[Tessiemutt]

I have received so many great tips from you guys that I have one more question to add.
Car seats. We need it for the plane ride, for traveling from the airport to the cruise ship (Dream), and for any trips we make off the ship. What do we do with it while we are playing on the beach and such?

This is our first cruise, so I am probably asking dumb questions, but I just want this to go as smoothly as possible.

 

[dsneygirl]

My #1 suggestion to parents of Toddlers is to get the veranda if you can. Since your wee one probably naps, someone will have to be in the room during nap time. My husband and I took turns. The veranda was so nice because I could bring a book and sit out there watching the water go by as I read. Sooooooooo nice!

We had the exact opposite experience. This is the way I envisioned it my DS had other ideas. He would not sleep in the room so we walked the deck and then I read in a chair while he slept in the stroller.

We only used the stroller for nap times. It's a citi mini and was too big to have around all the time.

 

[calimom951]

We had the exact opposite experience. This is the way I envisioned it my DS had other ideas. He would not sleep in the room so we walked the deck and then I read in a chair while he slept in the stroller.

We only used the stroller for nap times. It's a citi mini and was too big to have around all the time.

My 2 year old son prefers to be walked to sleep in the stroller too (on vacation). We have had so many vacations where my DH is seen walking our son up and down the hotel lobby at 10 PM to lullabye him to slumber. Glad to know we are not the only ones.