Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Hello! My parents, DH & ILs want to book a cruise for next Sept...the thing is, our son will just be turning 1 yo the week that they're looking at. I know that it's going to be hard, but I was wondering how hard. If you've cruised with a LO before can you please share your experience with me? The good, the bad and any tips that you might have would be very much appreciated. TIA

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

I went on a cruise with my 9 month old, and it was great. She loved it! We were limited in our choice of excursions with her, and it was obviously a lot of work, but she had a blast and so did we. I found it helpful to do a late dinner, so that she would sleep through dinner and we could have a bit of a relaxing dinner while she slept in her stroller. If you have family with you, even better because then someone can watch the baby for an hour or two and you and DH can have some adult time--whether it's going to the spa, the pool, the casino.

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Thank you so much - I was a bit unsure, so I needed to see something like this My parents have told us repeatedly that they'd take him a few nights so that we could go out alone every now and then so I think it might work.

If you don't mind my asking, how did you handle sleeping arrangements? My dh is checking with the cruise lines, but did they provide you with a crib or a pack n play? If so, were they sturdy or would you recommend bringing our own? Thanks

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

I haven't done it but I would TOTALLY take my DD on a cruise now if I could and she's just about 14 months. She is so good and so much fun I think she would love it! I would go if I were you and have a GREAT time!!!

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

My DS was 8 months old when we cruised.

Some of the things that went wrong for us were due to the fact we cruised the week between Christmas and New Year's and the ship was at FULL capacity (we were to have a crib, my aunt is our TA and booked it before DS was even born--lo and behold--a broken PNP ) and it was hard for me to manage the stroller, etc.

IMO, I would wait until DC was of the age that they could go to the kid's clubs (2 or 3 depending on the line), at the very least wait til DC was one because that is when the in room babysitting starts.

Trust me we had fun (who doesn't have fun on a free vacation ) but it would be SO much more fun now and DS is 2.5

Message edited 11/13/2009 10:19:16 AM.

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

I just went on a cruise with my 16 month old. It was fun but very hard. We went on Norwegian. He was not eligible for any kids programs, they start at 2. He was frustrated because he wanted to crawl around and there just wanted any space.
I personally would wait until they were eligible for the kids programs or take another cruise. This left out of NY so it was convenient. Plus Norwegian is one of the few that doesn't charge for a child under 3. They just charge taxes.

Plus, all cruise lines have posted that by accordance to the Heath Code no swimmies or diapers are allowed in any pools, including the kids pools.
Now it depends on the cruise if they really enforce it. I heard some cruise lines are really strict about this.

We also went just the three of us so it was hard to not have any babysitting. I think it would have been easier if we went with other people.

Good Luck!

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Thanks so much for the honest opinions ladies!

We did a cruise once when school was on break & we learned our lesson so we'll be going right after school goes back...we're going to enjoy that luxury while we still can

Thank you for mentioning the pool restrictions - that never even dawned on me...we'll be checking into that!

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

We just came back from a cruise with our almost 8 month old DD. We had a blast! I will not lie - it's more work than it is relaxation, but I would def do it again! As long as you have a lot of helping hands, you should be fine!

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

We recently got back with my dd who was 1 and my neice who was 6 months. It was great! We all had a really great trip, we went to the beach (I would recommend getting one of those tents for the beach) she loved all of the food.

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

To answer your question, we co sleep so we didn't use a pnp or crib but they should have one available for you

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Posted by jam11308

Thank you so much - I was a bit unsure, so I needed to see something like this My parents have told us repeatedly that they'd take him a few nights so that we could go out alone every now and then so I think it might work.

If you don't mind my asking, how did you handle sleeping arrangements? My dh is checking with the cruise lines, but did they provide you with a crib or a pack n play? If so, were they sturdy or would you recommend bringing our own? Thanks

Message edited 11/13/2009 4:40:15 PM.

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Thanks so much ladies! I was talking to my dh and we think we'll probably bring our own pnp. It'll be more to carry & pack, but it sounds like it would be worth it in the end just to make sure that we have something we know he'll be comfy in.

We were also considering spending the $$ on a sm. suite this time, but it sounds like we should do more than consider it. The thought of a regular cabin with a pnp in the middle of it sounds like a nightmare to me!

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

We are going on RC Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne in June with my 4 year old and 2 year old by that time..

WE got a junior suite which comes with a full bathroom ( with a tub) and my mother's room is right next door..

I hope to put Jacob into the camp but CHloe will be with us the camps don't start until 3. They do have mommy and me type of groups though..

Look into ships that cruise from NY or NJ. Then you don't have to deal with flying too..

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Thanks! We want to go to Bermuda, so we've already narrowed it down to 2 cruises...a 7 day NCL from NYC and a 7 day Celebrity from NJ. I want to do the NCL cruise, but my dh & ILs (who are all avid cruisers) want the Celebrity cruise so I think I'm going to be out-voted. I wanted to do a 5 day cruise to see how it goes (since it's also going to be my parents 1st cruise) but that was already vetoed

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

i did it with two one year olds in sept. it was hard. They did give us two pnps which worked out well.

the hallways were narrow and there were always cleaning carts or room service blocking the stroller from fitting through. the stroller didn't fit inside the room door. the staff and guests thougtht my children were there for their amusement and constantly were touching them or shoving things in their face. my husband and i got no alone time as we didnt have any help. the baby sitting doesnt take children less than 3. we had to be back in the room for naps and bed time. we tried to have them nap on the go and extend their bed time which only worked for a few days then their got over tired b.c they went gettign enough god sleep. some ppl were very rude saying things like children dont belong on vacation and old ppl tried to tell me i had nerve bringing children on vacation.

all that said we still had fun we loved watching the children explore and see new things and they had fun and so much new food to try. it was hard and very different form my usual vacations but i would still do it again. it was a good experience but not a vacation.

Message edited 11/14/2009 9:25:28 AM.

Re: Taking a cruise with a 1 year old

Posted by KateDevine

Posted by HillandRon

We are going on RC Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne in June with my 4 year old and 2 year old by that time..

WE got a junior suite which comes with a full bathroom ( with a tub) and my mother's room is right next door..

I hope to put Jacob into the camp but CHloe will be with us the camps don't start until 3. They do have mommy and me type of groups though..

Look into ships that cruise from NY or NJ. Then you don't have to deal with flying too..

Not to be Debbie Downer, we went on RCCL too and I was SO excited about the Mommy and Me programs, but they were at the WORST times. Like during breakfast and lunch

But I think at two, DC will hav ea great time anyway