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Worth it to cruise with a 1 year old
My mom's extended family (which is HUGE) is getting together a group trip. They are cruising with Royal Caribbean in January on the Allure of the Seas. My daughter would be a little over one.My mom asked if were interesed in going. She is going and said she would be happy to babysit if we want to go on excursions or do things on the ship after my daughter has gone to bed.
It looks like there is a lot to do on the ship...a skating show, one splash pool that my daughter could go in with a swim diaper, characters that walk around, a carousel, etc.
I wasn't sure if it is worth it to try to take her now or just wait until she is older. What has your experience been? I don't think they offer any kind of discount in price for a child, so I wasn't sure if it is worth the money or not.
Re: Worth it to cruise with a 1 year old
I don't have kids, but have many friends who cruise who do. They've always had a great time and no issues bringing their kids. All the better if you have someone you trust to help take care of dd if you want to have a special dinner or something.
On the cruises I've been on, the crew has always been really great with kids (since they don't get to see their own that often).
I went on a cruise with my (now ex) bf's family (there were almost 40 of us!!) and we had a great time!! There was one baby and several toddlers with us and it worked out fine for everyone. Even with the kids, people were able to hang out, have nice dinners, go to shows, a few of us had a girls afternoon at the spa... I was definitely glad I went (especially since I broke up with him a few months later!! LOL!)
Seems like a fun experience...even though she won't remember it, it would be a shame for you not to get to.
My son was 15 months old on his first cruise and we were fine. The staff onboard were wonderful with my son, and he loved exploring the ship. We've now cruised twice with him and considering a 3rd cruise this year. He'll be 3 for this one.
It helped a lot that we were traveling with a group of friends. We didn't ask anyone to babysit in the evenings, but we took turns going out with our friends with one of us back in the room after baby's bedtime, and they were helpful in keeping him entertained through meals and while we were all out by the pool or on the beach. It sounds like you'll have family willing to lend a hand and babysit occasionally which will make a big difference since there aren't a lot of programs for the littlest ones. I think Allure will have a nursery though so you'll also have paid babysitting options available. It's also one of the few ships I think that have a swim-diaper-friendly water area (kiddie pools and adult pools usually are not but some ships have a sprayground with separate filtration).
The main thing to keep in mind when cruising with a baby/toddler is to be flexible and know your child's tendencies. Mine had to have a mid-day nap or he will be a holy terror later in the day, so we worked around making sure he still napped and planned some time back in the room for his nap (and often we'd end up napping as well). We were flexible with meal times and found we did best on cruises where you had options for meals other than 6pm or 8pm formal dinner. We were ready to take unhappy toddler out of the diningroom or whatever activity if needed though luckily we didn't really need to. We didn't schedule a lot of activities or excursions and just explored ports on our own and mostly on foot. We did book an excursion in which we arranged ahead of time for a car seat. Some kids can sleep through anything and you could still go out w/ sleeping baby in the stroller. Some adjust to the vacation schedule just fine, which is what mine did on his second cruise, staying up or gonig to bed depending on what we all were doing. If you go into the trip with the thought that you're staying on a floating resort to spend time with your extended family where a lot of your activities and food are in one place, and not having your heart set on i must do x,y, and z on this vacation, traveling with the baby will be fine.
My husband and I will be sailing with a 13 month old for the first time in the fall on the Allure. This will be our 4th cruise, but first with a baby. We sailed the Oasis in 2010 (Allure's sister ship) so we are familiar with the ships amenities. I have been doing a lot of research (and still am) about what to bring, what to expect, things to do, etc.
There will be so much for the baby to do! Allure is partnered with Dreamworks, so they have characters, they show 3D movies, the aqua and ice shows should entertain them, there is a nursery (AND in-room babysitting), a toy sharing program, story times, fisher price play times, the carousel as well as parades and things geared towards kids.
I highly recommend a balcony room, so you can have some nice time during nap time.
Here is just some insight into some tips I have found worthwhile. Feel free to contact me if you have more questions or anything!
- Arrive a day earlier. Flying in, getting bags, getting on a shuttle, waiting to board, boarding the ship and waiting for your room to be ready makes for a long day. Arrive in Florida the day before and stay in a hotel that offers shuttle service to and from the airport and cruise port. This will allow your little one to run around a bit and get over the hoopla of flying for the first time.
- On that same note, go shopping in Florida. Plan to purchase disposable things that will take up valuable luggage space there. Locate a hotel near shopping, or one that offers shuttle service to shopping and plan to buy things like diapers, wipes, sun screen, etc. there. I always travel with an extra beach type bag to bring home souvenirs in. It takes up no space and comes in handy.. pack one and then use it for these items, by the end of the trip you will have used everything and you have your empty bag again for souvenirs.
- Bring a small blow up pool. Non-potty trained kids are NOT allowed in any of the pools.There is a small splash pool but I recommend bring the pool to put next to your lounge chairs on the lido deck so the baby has something to do. You can ask the waitress to bring you a pitcher so you can snag some water from the pool.. or consider picking up a cheap plastic sand bucket (at your pre-cruise FL shopping trip) to do so.. and then it doubles as a toy for them when you actually go to a beach.
- Consider buying disposable bibs. Again, one less thing taking up space in the luggage.
- Don't overpack clothes (this goes for YOU guys and the baby). I remember our first cruise we had 5 pieces of luggage, 5! (thank goodness they didn't charge for it back then!) and we wore maybe 20% of the things we brought. i figured 3 outfits a day.. hah. I was lucky to wear 2. There is also a day on the ship about mid-week, where they do laundry services and dry cleaning for half price. Or there are machines on board that you can do your own laundry in. Pick up a small bottle of detergent (add it to your pre-cruise FL shopping list!) and make sure you have some quarters. We know kids go through a couple outfits a day, so save yourself from packing a whole wardrobe, go with interchangeable things and plan to do a little wash there.
- Pack a package of large ziploc baggies! These will come in handy to put dirty diapers in, snacks, etc.
- Grab extras from the buffet to have snacks on hand. Little boxes of cereal and fresh fruit are easy to throw in your diaper bag for shore days. Also, if your room has a fridge, grab some extra milk so you have it for late at night or early morning.
- If you baby wear, I recommend bringing a carrier as well as an umbrella stroller.
- Bring one of these for dinner for easy clean-up. Your waiters and stewards will love you for it.
I hope this helps!