ISO Beach Shade Tent - Now or Wait?

[lisa928]

DH and I are going on a family cruise soon with our 18 month old twins. We would love to hit the beach and stay through the girls nap time, which means I need a place for them to crash. My thought is that a beach tent was the way to go. I do not need it until May so I have a little time and am wondering should I just buy it now or wait until we get into the warmer season and hopefully I can find it cheaper in a store like WalMart. I don't have one in mind, just the requirements that it fit two kids but also small enough for me to pack and lug on and off the ship.

[vball4all]

Post back with what you end up getting (or send me PM). I have 22 month twins. We went on a cruise at 10 months and one at 20 months. Both times, we didn't stay at the beach long enough to really warrant a tent. Although, I would have loved staying longer. You can also check out cruisecritic.com (http://boards.cruisecritic.com//) on the "family" forum to see what other tents folks have recommend. I ended up poking around on Amazon. I know that I ended up wanting one that pops up automatically rather than me having to put a bunch of poles together (knowing my DH's short level of patience, and having two small ones). I don't know that I've ever really seen them go on sale. You may want to scope out where you'll be going in case you don't need one. In Cozumel, we went to Mr. Sancho's (very touristy), and we got some chairs under a huge "umbrella" that provided nice shade for us. However, for nap time, and covered area might help them sleep better. I was looking at something similar to this tent ABO (http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-10115-Instent-Shelter/dp/B001GAPN78/ref=pd_sbs_sg_3). There are several similar tents, including one at One Step Ahead.

[pmama]

Seems like they have come up a number of times on the baby earth ga ga deals. You could keep your eye on it just in case. Good luck!
http://babyearth.com/baby-sale

[mimi2008]

I got this one
http://www.amazon.com/Pop-family-beach-tent-sunshelter/dp/B002970M1E/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1266215624&sr=1-6

pop up tent. it just unfolds and comes with stakes to secure it to the ground. very easy to use and put away.

[fattytuna]

I don't mean to hijack but I was reading some reviews on Amazon and there seems to be certain local "beach tent laws" and one reviewer was forced to take down her pop-up shade tent. I live in NorCal and it's been a while since I've gone to the beach to stay long enough to need a tent/shade. Is this something new?

[mimi2008]

I've only used my pop up tent in my backyard. I know my sister has used a similar tent in a SoCal beach and told me that there were several families using tents.