Cruise with a 1 year old?

Christina_Diane · July 2012

Has anyone gone on a cruise with a 14-16 month old baby? Is it fun/worth it in terms of activities and excursions. So far Disney cruise lines or the royal Caribbean seem like the best, but I don't know yet.

Please share your experience. Tia!

belle785 · July 2012

We are going on the Oasis of the Seas when our LO is 18 months old. The family boards on cruise critic are VERY helpful and loaded with information.

DoIreallyWantToChangeMyName · July 2012

We took our LO when he was 7 months and we are going on another at 23 months. Royal Caribbean is really great to kids. Disney is supposed to be exceptional, but you pay a premium. Our upcoming trip is on Costa which is almost free if you are under 2. We just packed a carrier and the stroller, were mindful of scheduling activities around naptimes, etc.

lavet22 · July 2012

I know a woman who brought her 1yr old on a cruise. She said as much as she loved being with her child, she wishes she would have left her with her parents instead. I'm taking mine on a Disney cruise, but we are going when the youngest is 3yrs, that way she can do the onboard childrens activities with the older boys and DH and I can get an hour here and there of free time. We just went to Paris a few months ago and left DS2 with my parents. We were gone 5 nights and really missed DS2, but it was worth it. Not having to lug around a baby and get to focus on DH and DS1 was amazing.

PhantomPower · July 2012

We'll be taking our now 2 week old, then-16 month old on a cruise in January 2014. All of the cruise lines I've looked into don't accept kids into their children's programs until they're at least 2. (Carnival is 2, I believe RC is 3.) Most offer private babysitting services for a fee, but the policies vary depending on the cruise line.

We're planning on bringing a carrier and stroller. We'll also have several family members sailing with us (including both sets of grandparents) and they've already offered to help with babysitting once or twice.

I've heard that Disney is hands down the best. If we could afford a Disney cruise, we'd definitely be going that route!

cmp03 · July 2012

I am not sure if I would cruise with a child that young. For cruising, I like exploring the ports all day and so many of the excursions do not allow children that young. Then it appears that many cruises focus on their evening entertainment and with a young child, you would not be able to attend them. We went on a cruise when our daughter was 17 months old and we left her w/my parents. My toddler used to be awake by 6:00am, nothing on the ship seemed to open till closer to 8:00am so we would have just walked aimlessly around the boat or been cramped up in the room.

We did take her on two cruises this year (Carnival and Disney) but she is 5 so able to stay up later, participate in the kids programs, and participate in more excursions. I think cruising is great for families w/slightly older children.

As for Disney, I have been on it 3 times with another booked. If you book 1-2 years in advance you can get some good deals where it is not that much more then the other 'megaships'

snoopy5512 · August 2012

I know this is late, but I also dont believe they let LO's who are not potty trained in the pools.

Cruise with a 1 year old?

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