Cruising with a young child?

Question

How old does a child need to be before you can take her along on a cruise? Do ships generally have facilities, etc. that will make it easy to care for a young (under 3 years) child or are the tight quarters and schedule/activities such that it's better to just wait until the child is older?

Answer 1

from Carnivals FAQ

Can I sail with my infant?



Infants must be at least four (4) months old to be eligible to travel, due to their vulnerable health. This is a company policy which takes into consideration the safety and comfort of the infant as well as the other guests. Carnival has fully researched the legality of the policy and it is not discriminatory and does not violate any applicable law. Carnival will not make exceptions and do not allow for the signing of waivers or releases to make an exception to the policy.

Fly-Aweigh infants (4 to 23 months of age) will be charged the "Cruise-Only" rate as long as the infant sits on a parent's lap on the airplane. If an airline seat is requested by the parent, then the infant will be charged the standard Fly-Aweigh rate. When an infant reaches 24 months of age, an airline ticket is required by the airlines.  





Is Camp Carnival Available for Children Under 2?



Camp Carnival is unable to accept children Under 2 years during activity times but we do offer babysitting services for you within Camp Carnival.  Babysitting services for Under 2's are available each evening from 10pm-3am as well as our Family Play Times on Sea Days and during freeplay times on port days. All babysitting services for Under 2's are charged at babysitting price ($6.00 an hour). During Family Play Times on Sea Days parents with Under 2's are welcome to stay with their under 2's at no charge.

Answer 2

Some cruises lines have certain ages. I was just reading about this yesterday. Go to cruisecritic.com and they have some interesting articles. Some cruise lines wont let your child into the childrens facility if they are not 100% potty trained, and they have are requirements as well. Some are from 12 weeks on Disney to 3/4 months or older. It just depends on what type of cruise line you are interested in.

-This is a good information link. Check it out.

http://cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/art...

-This is another good link about the age requirements.

http://cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/art...

Answer 3

I was just on a the Royal Caribbean "Voyager of the Seas" with my parents and my brother, and there were tons of little children around. This particualr cruise has organized activites for certain age groups, and one of the age groups were for young children such as the one you're talking about. It might be better to wait until the child is older, because then you could all go ashore, and see the places you stop in, and do some of the pre-arranged activities the cruises have to offer. PLus, the activites don't run all day, so you will miss out on night-time shows, and other things you might not want to miss.

So, it's extremely possible to go on a cruise with a young child, and I bet it's very enjoyable. But in my opinion, it would be better to wait until the child is at least 5 years old.

Answer 4

I just returned from a Disney Mediterranean Cruise last week.  Disney had a written policy on their website that you can check.  However, there were families with small kids and they do have several day-care and Disney Quest events for small children while you're at one of the many more mature activities (adult area pool, lounges, seminars/lectures/ etc.).

They give you a pager to notify you if anything pops up that may need your attention.

Disney Cruise has a well run program from the moment you land to get you to the ship (or hotel if you arrive a day or two early) using ground transfers.  They were waiting for us when we landed.  Disney also had representatives at their approved hotels to get our luggage to/from the ships and ultimately back to the airport.

Their shipboard and shore excursions vary for families, couples, single parents, and they have over 70 counselors to help keep kids busy from about 7:00 AM to midnight.

It costs more when I compared it to other cruises but we decided to go with Disney more because it met my timeframes.

I honestly don't know if a young 3 year old would remember the cruise, but you certainly will and Disney photographers are everywhere on the ship and at Shore excursion points (Shutters is a section of the ship that they display your photos for purchase/pick-up).  

There were families with small kids next to us (ages 4 and 6).  The kids were apprensive at first about going to the Disney activities on the first day. After that, all I ever heard was "Bye Mom, see you later" as they ran off to the daily events.

Good luck and have fun.

Answer 5

You need to check with the various cruise line to see what their policies are. Also, with a 3 year old you might want to think of how much it might disrupt the other passengers.

Maybe Disney Cruise Lines would be a good start.

Answer 6

Ships generally have playroom for kids and and they have exciting games and activities for the kids to do. they can even do babysitting for you and it can be arrange onboard.  under three is ok to be in the cruise and the child already understands and will have fun.  Disney cruises, Princess cruises, Royal Carribean, Carnival, have facilities for kids to enjoy while onboard.