Have you ever taken your 2 little kids on a cruise? How did it go?

Question

My husband and I are taking our kids on a cruise for 9 days. My kids are 3 and 8 months. Do you recommend me bringing any certain thing for them? How did you keep them entertained for that long? I am worried about bringing enough stuff and just everything. If you have any advice I would love it.

Thank you!!

Answer 1

on some cruise lines there are day care centers you can drop your kids off at if you and your husband want some tome alone, but be sure to bring floaty toys for the pool and definately bring a portable playpen thing to lay your kids down if you are at the pool one day, so you and your husband dont have to split up all of the time.

Answer 2

Wow, I would have waited till they were a little bit older so that they would remember this special vacation.

We brought our 9 and12 three years ago, and my 9 yr old is starting to forget what a great time he had.  So, with that said, we are going on another one in April.

I would check with your cruise line website to see what they offer.  Some offer day camps, but I would assume that there is nothing for the 8 month old.

Be prepared to go back to the boat to give your kids a break from your shopping and adventures so that they can take a nap.  They will get very exhausted with all the running around.

:-)

Answer 3

You did not mention what cruise ship you will be going on but you should know that all cruise lines have kids programs with certain areas of the ship just for kids and professionally trained staff people to supervise them in activities most of the day every day.  Some ships have special shallow pools and play areas for kids. There will for certain be something to keep your 3 year old occupied.  Your 8 month old child may be too young for these programs.  The ships have the programs divided by age groups so your 3 year old will be with other in the 2 to 4 age group.  If you have selected a cruise line then just go to that cruise line's web site and click on the links that describe "on board activities" or search their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for kids or children's programs and you will find what the cruise and and ship offers.

So you are not likely to need to bring anything except your child one favorite toy.

Answer 4

We took our 18-month of niece along with us on a family reunion cruise.

Take your own playpen instead of using one of the cruise line's cribs.  The cribs are not very clean and not in the best condition.

Leave the big 4-wheel drive stroller at home.  Use one of those small umbrella type strollers.

Make sure you bring along some Tupperware containers to load up on Cheerios and other snack foods at the buffet for the little ones later in the day.

Take along a light jacket or sweater.  The theaters are cold.

Take along a nightlight.  The cabins are wicked dark.

Request the early dinner seating.

Answer 5

I have gone with an 15 month old (first cruise) a 4 1/2 year old and a six year old (second cruise) and a seven year old and a nine year old (third cruise).

For the 15 month old, everything was new and interesting, so all he needed was some supervision and a few of his favorite toys.

For the second cruise plenty of toys were brought, and never used.  Between all the activities and the children's program they didn't have the time or need for the toy bag.

For the third cruise all that was need was one Game Boy each.  This was on the Freedom of the Seas, and with its fantastic miniature water park, the two boys never went to the children's program.  However, another family was with us and had a four and seven year old.  They did go to the children's program (they called it the fun club - the real name is Adventure Ocean).  They had fun in the children's program and still had time to play at the mini water park (called the H2O Zone).  Here are some photos of the H2O Zone ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

In the second photo you will see four lounge chairs in the bottom left of the photo.  In front of these chairs is a special area just for really little kids.  The water in this area is about three inches deep.

Here are some more H2O Zone photos ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

So my recommendation is a few favorite toys.  As for entertainment, there is not much an eight month old can do except explore.  When they are that young everything is new, so entertainment should not be a problem.  The three year old can participate in the children's program and will have a ball.  Some programs require the child to be potty trained, some don't.  Check on this if it will be an issue for you.  The eight month old is too young to participate in the children's program.  The youngest I know about is two years old on Carnival (and they will change diapers).  Most cruise lines want the child to be three and up and potty trained.

If you go on one of the three Freedom class ships (Freedom, Liberty and Independence of the Seas - the Independence is still under construction and will begin sailing later in 2008) then you can let them run around in the H2O Zone, in which case all you need to do is provide supervision.