Toddler suggestions

[RebN]

We have a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise booked, 4 adults and a 20-month-old.  I'm looking for suggestions for equipment to bring and any other thoughts for this trip.

[TXCoastPatriot]

42 minutes ago, RebN said:

and a 20-month-old.  I'm looking for suggestions for equipment to bring and any other thoughts for this trip.

Here is my best recommendation, pack a very large suitcase of patience.

[Kayleigh]

7 hours ago, RebN said:

suggestions for equipment to bring and any other thoughts for this trip.

There is a group on Facebook called Royal Caribbean Moms at Sea: Cruising with Babies, Toddlers, Kids and Teens. I highly suggest joining this group! I feel like they will be more helpful than this board (no offense to this board or those that have traveled with children).

My husband and I were debating on cruising with our 15 month old so I joined this group (we opted not to for now) and I've found so much information!

Also, what ship are you sailing on? I just want to make sure you are aware that babies/children who are not potty trained cannot go into any of the pools on board (even if they wear swim diapers), but can use the splash pad.

[Momof4crazytocruise]

Check the cruise compass for the time each day they set up toys for toddlers - usually in the morning in the teen area. If your child won't be potty trained yet, the nursery is your only option  - so make sure you visit right upon boarding and get the paperwork filled out and make as many reservations as they will let you - usually 2 or 3 to start off (this does cost like $6/hr whereas Adventure Ocean has no cost). Bring bags to put dirty diapers in, and take those to the hallway or public restroom trash cans - those are emptied much more frequently. If your little likes specific dry snacks, take a good supply. Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. I recommend an entire box. If you're travelling to the port, have Amazon deliver a box to the hotel and then just check it with your luggage. You can get milk in the Windjammer and all sorts of fruits, etc. throughout the day. Call and and ask them to put a pack n play in your room. Children under 3 are not allowed to sleep in the berths. Do NOT bring your giant stroller on board, there will be no where to put it. Invest in a collapsible umbrella stroller. I never used the stroller on board, but utilized baby wearing everywhere because it was much easier to get around not having to wait for elevators or be a nuisance to other guests in hallways. Be prepared for interruptions in sleep patterns and pack a big bag of patience! We liked to order the free continental breakfast room service with fruits and pastries to let our littles get something while we got ready to go to breakfast - it bought us time and peace. Also, be prepared to be somewhat isolated from your group to manage nap times - I was caught off guard how isolating it can be to manage nap times and bed times and found that it usually fell to me to manage. Make sure y'all make agreements on expectations for coverage otherwise you'll find it always falls to mom, and it feels like everyone else gets to have all the fun while you're stuck in the cabin at nap time and in the evenings. If you're planning to go to the beach, I found packing some collapsible sand buckets and a few sand toys was useful.

[smokeybandit]

3 minutes ago, Momof4crazytocruise said:

Check the cruise compass for the time each day they set up toys for toddlers - usually in the morning in the teen area. If your child won't be potty trained yet, the nursery is your only option  - so make sure you visit right upon boarding and get the paperwork filled out and make as many reservations as they will let you - usually 2 or 3 to start off (this does cost like $6/hr whereas Adventure Ocean has no cost). Bring bags to put dirty diapers in, and take those to the hallway or public restroom trash cans - those are emptied much more frequently. If your little likes specific dry snacks, take a good supply. Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. I recommend an entire box. If you're travelling to the port, have Amazon deliver a box to the hotel and then just check it with your luggage. You can get milk in the Windjammer and all sorts of fruits, etc. throughout the day. Call and and ask them to put a pack n play in your room. Children under 3 are not allowed to sleep in the berths. Do NOT bring your giant stroller on board, there will be no where to put it. Invest in a collapsible umbrella stroller. I never used the stroller on board, but utilized baby wearing everywhere because it was much easier to get around not having to wait for elevators or be a nuisance to other guests in hallways. Be prepared for interruptions in sleep patterns and pack a big bag of patience! We liked to order the free continental breakfast room service with fruits and pastries to let our littles get something while we got ready to go to breakfast - it bought us time and peace. 

[Crown&AnchorEsq]

Things learned after cruising with a 1yo (alone), a 3.5yo +1yo and 4yo+18mo.  Mom of 4 covered many of the major points but a few additional considerations:

As a starting point, I would recommend verifying the ship you are on has a nursery and baby splash pad.  It is important to note that not all of the ships have the baby splash pad even if they have a splash pad.  Vision and Radiance Class ships plus Voyager, Explorer and Mariner are missing the baby diaper/splash pad.  With 4 adults the nursery may not be a necessity as long as everyone is willing to help with naps/bedtime.  If you anticipate wanting to do something with all 4 adults you will need the nursery which is not available on Jewel, Adventure and Explorer.  Make sure you use your nursery reservations to cover the time for your adult-only adventures, otherwise schedule for earlier in the week and try to add additional reservations as the week goes on.  

If your child absolutely will not shower also make sure you book a suite with a bathtub and/or bring an inflatable tub/pool.  If your child is not up to sleeping in a bed you can reserve a pack and play for your cabin ahead of time though you may want to bring your own pack and play sheet since they just use larger sheets for the packnplays

[RebN]

Many thanks for your thoughts on this.  We'll get on that facebook page and continue to watch for suggestions.

[RebN]

We're going to be on Harmony.

[Someone_else]

One thing I found great (that was on Brillance) is that we were able to borrow toys from the nursery to bring to our cabin. We could rotate as we pleased. We brought our own toys, but my youngest was more interested in the 'new' toys.

I always pack magnets. They are a big hit as it sticks to the walls of the cabin and it's easy to bring. 

My spouse and I rotate the naps/bed time schedule so we can both enjoy the ship and activities. I will admit that I love to nap so I don,'t mind staying in the cabin for my youngest's nap. If not tired, I have my Kobo to read. They are getting older now (3&6 years old) so we may be able to enjoy the evening shows and etc. as a family this time around. My youngest was about your LO's age when we first cruised with them and everything went very well! 

 

[AshCruises]

My last cruise I took my toddler and the best tip I can give is to take magnetic hooks and a dark curtain so you can "divide" the room. When my husband or I would come back to put him down at night we would put him down on one side of the curtain and still be able to watch TV/chat/etc on the other side. We plan to do this again on our next cruise this year.

Also, take an umbrella stroller. Much easier to store in your room and navigate the small spaces with than a large stroller. 

One other note - patience. It can be hard for a toddler to sit through dinner in the main dining room so opt for Windjammer some nights or all, and just be prepared if you do try to sit down for dinner somewhere that toddler may not be cooperative (and thats okay!) It is courteous to have a plan if that happens - so my husband or I would take turns taking the toddler out if he was having difficulty, so as not to disrupt other passengers during mealtimes.

[Bowen]

45 minutes ago, AshCruises said:

My last cruise I took my toddler and the best tip I can give is to take magnetic hooks and a dark curtain so you can "divide" the room. When my husband or I would come back to put him down at night we would put him down on one side of the curtain and still be able to watch TV/chat/etc on the other side. We plan to do this again on our next cruise this year.

Also, take an umbrella stroller. Much easier to store in your room and navigate the small spaces with than a large stroller. 

One other note - patience. It can be hard for a toddler to sit through dinner in the main dining room so opt for Windjammer some nights or all, and just be prepared if you do try to sit down for dinner somewhere that toddler may not be cooperative (and thats okay!) It is courteous to have a plan if that happens - so my husband or I would take turns taking the toddler out if he was having difficulty, so as not to disrupt other passengers during mealtimes.

Such a great tip regarding dinner, absolutely. My kids didn't sit through dinner, it was too much to ask when they were young, so we just ate in the WJ every night. We did it for years until we knew they'd sit through dinner. Way less stressful for everyone. 

[Bowen]

12 hours ago, Someone_else said:

One thing I found great (that was on Brillance) is that we were able to borrow toys from the nursery to bring to our cabin. We could rotate as we pleased. We brought our own toys, but my youngest was more interested in the 'new' toys.

I always pack magnets. They are a big hit as it sticks to the walls of the cabin and it's easy to bring. 

My spouse and I rotate the naps/bed time schedule so we can both enjoy the ship and activities. I will admit that I love to nap so I don,'t mind staying in the cabin for my youngest's nap. If not tired, I have my Kobo to read. They are getting older now (3&6 years old) so we may be able to enjoy the evening shows and etc. as a family this time around. My youngest was about your LO's age when we first cruised with them and everything went very well! 

 

The curtain is such a great tip! I loved that Disney had this as part of their room set up, and it is so easy to duplicate on any ship if you bring your own stuff.  Sorry, quoted the wrong post! 

[Cello56]

We cruised with our son, DIL and granddaughters 1.5 and 3.5 years old. We asked for a pack and play for their cabin and brought one of our own for our cabin. Worked out great when one of the little ones needed a nap and Grandma and Gramps were willing to take them back to our cabin. The 3.5 year old insisted on sleeping in the pack and play in our cabin for the entire cruise as she thought this was a great sleepover!