Cruise - where does a 2 yo sleep?

[momma_boo]

We're going on a cruise next month. My older DD can sleep in a bed fine, so I'm not worried about her (even got her used to sleeping in her bed w/o the guard rails now).

I'm not sure what to do with the 2 yo. She's still in a crib at home. I wonder if the pack and play would be uncomfortable for her? She's 26 lbs and 34 inches right now.

Do I just try to put her in the bed? We actually splurged and got connecting cabins so I could theoretically put each of them in a twin sized bed. Won't she just freak out, though?

Is it really worthwhile for me to buy a toddler aerobed?

[Momof3Labs]

My DS slept in a PNP when he was almost 40" tall. It's doable, though it doesn't mean that she'll like sleeping in there. I wouldn't put one that little in a twin bed without bedrails, although my DS did fine in a full-size bed in hotels long before he gave up his crib at home.

[table4three]

My DS is in a toddler bed now, and we bought the toddler aerobed that Right Start sells. It worked well for our hotel stay last month.

http://b2.lilypie.com/K-PVm6/.png[/img][/url]

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev230pr___.png[/img][/url]

[emilyf]

Did you check to see if the cruise ship has cribs? It seems like they might. I've never been on a cruise though!
Emily mom of Charlie born 11/02 and Zoe born 9/05

[surpriseimamom]

IMHO she will be fine in a twin sized bed. You can always bring a portable/collapsible bed rail with you. One side goes against the wall and you use the bed rail against the bed. On our first two cruises we did this with the sofabed in our stateroom. We just had the sofa made up with sheets and a pillow and placed the bedrail under the cushions. DD slept just fine and would even manage to get up and get herself down and into our bed in the middle of the night.

Just remember you need to have one adult listed in each room.

[geochick]

We've got a cruise planned too. Our 3 year old will sleep in a twin and our 16 month old will sleep in a port a crib. Just let your travel agent know you need one on your reservation. Some cruise lines use port a cribs (Carnival) and some use pack n plays (Royal Caribbean). I've been reading a lot on the family cruising section of Cruise Critic and have learned a lot of tricks. You should check them out. Some people have turned the couch in the cabin around to face the wall (other couches don't budge - check with the cruiseline). The room steward makes a little bed on that couch and the kid is surrounded on 4 sides. Others take the portable bed rails.

Here are some shots:
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1097138697050830847rSjSKH
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1097141774050830847uCAoTc

Here's the family section of cruise critic:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

Have a great trip!

[Marisa6826]

Esther-

I have a kid Aero bed, and also a Peapod. You're welcome to borrow either/both of them.

http://www.amazon.com/Aero-40020-AeroBed-for-Kids/dp/B0000V19MC


http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Peapod-Portable-Travel-Bed/dp/B000A6J7P8

Email me :)

-m

[bunnisa]

I'd bring the P & P in order to "contain" her if she'll be sleeping in the other room. I'd be concerned about her getting out of bed, "exploring" and getting hurt when I'm not in the room.

...blessed wife and mama to two & one due this summer!

"And children are always a good thing, devoutly to be wished for and fiercely to be fought for."
-Justin Torres

[MichelleRC]

Have you seen the Ready Beds? Costco had them a while back, not sure if they still do. They come in all sorts of character designs (Dora, Sesame Street, Thomas, etc)The are like a cross between a mini aerobed with a built in "headboard" and a sleeping bag. My kids LOVE them. Great for travelling since they pack flat, or sleepover guests at home.

HTH!

[pb&j]

Marisa -

How do you like the Peapod? We're thinking about getting the Peapod Plus, since DS is busting out of the PNP.


-Ry,
mom to Max the one year old
and my girl in heaven

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/37124.gif

[Marisa6826]

Well, the girls have only played in it - haven't had an opportunity to put it to the 'real' test. They think it's a cool fort - and it is (I would totally play in one!).

I think it would depend on how much Max likes to stretch out when he sleeps.

Sophie can fit in it (she's probably about 37"), and she goes in and curls up. Mia can still stretch out completely.

The one thing about it is that it's a multistep process to set it up/break it down. You have to inflate/deflate the little mattress, stuff it in the bottom of the frame, then put the little cover over the base of the Peapod.

I guess compared to the kid Aerobed, it has a pretty short lifespan, since I have the original Peapod - not the 'plus' version. I got mine off of kidsurplus.com

-m

[HallsofVA]

We took a Disney cruise when my son was 22 months old. We'd requested a crib, before finding out that they were PnPs. He's never slept well in a PnP, so a month or two before the cruise we moved him from his crib to a twin bed on the ground with bed rails. We were lucky enough to upgrade to a suite at the port. On the ship he slept on the sleeper sofa with bed rails installed. During the day, he slept in the master bedroom so we could watch TV and come and go from the room without disturbing him. We didn't have any problems with him getting enough sleep.

For more recent travel we have a Toddler ReddyBed, which is a lot cheaper than the aerobed, comes with an attached blanket, and is in toddler-friendly patterns.

[momma_boo]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Marisa - thanks for the offer. Once I decide what to do, I may take you up on that! I'm so out of touch with the gear that's out there, that I don't think I've seen a peapod before.

Now a new idea - if the twin beds are pushed together, could I try to put the girls together? I'm not sure if they would actually sleep, though. I'm thinking that if one side is pushed against the wall and put my older DD on the exposed side, the little one would be more likely to be contained.

I thought about using the couch turned around, but based on the pictures, it doesn't look like a normal "couch" - it looks like a padded bench that's attached. I'll give them a call and find out.

On the other hand, I found out that my little one is still napping in a pack and play at daycare, so maybe it would be fine to just do that for the cruise. Perhaps I'm just overanalyzing things!

Now if you can help me with my stroller dilemma, please look at my post in the Stroller Forum!

[Marisa6826]

Esther-

One thing you might want to do is call the cruise line. I don't know that you will be able to move the furniture. I suspect that a lot of it is bolted down in case of bad storms/loss of stabilisation.

-m

[bunnisa]

You can move the two twins to form a king, at least that's always been my experience.

...blessed wife and mama to two & one due this summer!

"And children are always a good thing, devoutly to be wished for and fiercely to be fought for."
-Justin Torres

[Tondi G]

If your little one is napping fine in a P&P then I would just invest in maybe one or two of those quilted more padded sheets they sell. I got one that is a polar fleece type material from Target (Eddie Bauer brand) and it worked really well in the pack and play and made it MUCH more comfy for DS! At this point he is pretty big and the last time we tried to use the pack and play he would turn over and bump the sides and end up waking up!

Personally I would push the two twins together OR bring a folding bed rail. My little guy clmibed out of the crib at 20 months and transitioned to a twin bed quite easily. Only drawback could be that she will decide she likes sleeping in a bed and won't want the crib or pack and play when she gets home!!!!

Good luck and have a fabulous trip! You gotta come and give us a review of how it went with two little ones!!!!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01 and Aidan 5/4/05