What to Bring for a 9 Day Cruise with 2 Kids

[matthewsmom]

Our family is finally going on a big vacation. It's our first time on a cruise and we are really excited. We decided on 2 ocean view rooms with an adjoining door. Our kids are almost 4 years old and 15 months. We are heading to the Carribeans. I am so excited but alittle nervous. So I am trying to see what we need to bring for both the kids. We are not flying so I had thought that we wouldn't need our carseats. But DH just told me that we might need it for the excursions. What have others done? I would love to hear from you guys.


Thanks.

[hillview]

I have not done a cruise before but here is what I found when I took DS to Mexico take:
- all the diapers and swim diapers you need (either they are not available or they are $$$ or you feel like an idiot b/c they have them in your size and they aren't $$$)
- enough sun block
- thermometer and tylenol etc
- clothes including for cooler weather (got cold at night)
- new toys they haven't seen before
- re car seats depends on what you plan to do for excursions maybe ask the cruise line? I found seatbelts to be hit or miss in vans in the carribean and mexico with LONG waits for a van with a seatbelt (we did wait ... but just something to think about) seems like for the 4 month old you might be bringing a carseat anyway for dinners etc?

Have a great time!
/hillary

[jeminaal]

We recently went on a seven-day cruise in the Caribbean. The one thing I recommend you bring with you on the cruise is an over-the-door shoe organizer with see-through pockets (preferably with see-through pockets). Here's an example of what I brought:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14141537

Mine was a mesh material and had 42 pockets. Because there's limited shelf and storage space in a stateroom, the organizer became the place to store most of our small items. Things like brushes, makeup, DH's shaver, first aid kit, camera batteries, sunglasses and sunscreen were very easy to find. We installed it on the outside of our bathroom door and had no trouble closing the door. It was so helpful and DH said that we should bring it everytime we travel and I think we will. Since you'll have two rooms, bring two of these and you'll double your storage space. :)

Have a great time!

Jeanette
(formerly known as jeanmick, member since Feb 2003)

DD Born Christmas Eve
DS Born Valentine's Day

[Fairy]

Valium.

[momma_boo]

We just went on a cruise a few weeks ago w/ our two kids. We also had the two adjoining rooms and it was worth every cent.

One thing you must bring is dramamine and a pill cutter (since a 4 yo would only get half a pill). Our cruise left from NY during that really bad Nor'easter and oh boy were the seas rough (18-30 foot waves when it was at its worst). My poor 2 yo started throwing up after a few hours and then I got really sick. Amazingly, the 4 yo was completely fine, although a little scared at bedtime (the ship was rocking so hard that sometimes it would make you lose your balance).

In terms of carseats, it depends on what excursions you are planning to do. But like someone else pointed out, you may not even have transportation w/seat belts to begin with.

We did not bring carseats with us. The only real excursion we did was take a coach bus to Disneyworld when we docked at Port Canaveral. I knew the bus wouldn't have seatbelts.

Bring at least 2 packs of small water bottles to keep in the cabin with you. Our cruise line had bottles of sparkling water and evian (but the evian was like 4.50 for a bottle!).

Make sure to bring enough small bills for tips. I know it's included, but we needed to tip the porter for luggage at the beginning and end of the cruise. Also, we had to call for housekeeping after the 2 yo threw up on the bed and the bathroom, so we gave them a little extra when they were done cleaning that all up.

I can't think of anything else right now that would be different than any other vacation but let me know if you have any other questions. Oh, we went on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Their kids program was great. They accept kids starting at 2 yo, so we were able to leave both of our kids with them, which we did almost every night so that we could have a quiet dinner. (They had activities from 7 to 10 every night. You know my 4 yo is still annoyed that we picked them up at 9:30 on the last night b/c they weren't done yet.)

Have a great time!!

[fortato]

Valium and a nanny.

[amyff]

Hi! We went on a 7 day Disney Caribbean cruise with two kiddos (4 and 18 months) in January and we had an absolute blast! We had two connecting rooms and it was the best money I have ever spent!

I have to say that my older daughter is not a great traveler (she is a highly spirited, home-body) and flying cross country was quite difficult. If you don't have to fly anywhere...half the battle is over! We have never had a fun, relaxing vacation before taking the cruise! The baby did not like the childcare (loves her Mama) so she hung out with Mom and Dad while our shy 4 year old had to be begged to leave the kids club. It was an amazing vacation!

Though we were warned not to...we brought a sit-n-stroll for the baby and a booster for our older daughter and had no problem using them on the islands. (I was even able to hire a driver in St. Thomas...great guy! In St. Martin all of the vans had seatbelts...it was perfect). We saved a ton of money not doing the big bus cruise tours and we went to two amazing beaches in the morning and headed back to the ship for afternoon naps. I learned a ton from the family cruise board on CruiseCritic.com. If you want to ask any specific questions...just e-mail me!

[trumansmom]

LOL! That's exactly what I was thinking! :P

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04