Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 26
  1. #1
    daisy13 is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    356

    Default Going on a cruiseeeeeeeeee!!! please hit me with your tips

    We will be going on a cruise ( Royal Carri bean 7 night) this weekend ( dont ask! last minute!). We(DH/I) will be going with DD ( 3.25 YO), Bil/ Wife , FIl.

    I know food is included and always available. What should I take for my toddler apart from the usuals ( sunscreen , hats etc)? Should I carry a lot of snacks?

    Hit me with your tips pleaseeeee

  2. #2
    kaharris83 is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    2,234

    Default

    Have fun!! We love to cruise!! You can get food at pretty much anytime on a cruise so I wouldn't bring a lot of snacks, if any. We cruised with my 18 month old last year and I didn't pack any snacks. hope you have a great time!!
    DS1 July 2010
    DS2 November 2012

  3. #3
    bigpassport is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    1,326

    Default

    Yay for you! We did a 14 day transatlantic (Barcelona to New Orleans) on Royal Caribbean in November. DS was 3.5. Here are some ideas.

    A pool toy or two. DS played with plastic drinking cups. I wish we had had something else for him to play with in the pool. Also, it would have been nice to have a robe for DS. On RC, you check out towels at the pool and have to return them at the pool. It's easier not to take them back to your room then bring them up to the pool the next time. But DS would be cold after swimming, so we'd take the towel back down. A little robe would have been perfect.

    I didn't take a lot of snacks. There was plenty for DS to eat between the buffet, room service and cafe (cookies!). They have little boxes of cereal you can grab and throw in your bag for shore excursions. Take some empty ziploc bags so you can take snacks from the ship with you. Milk was a little bit of a challenge. I had to remember to get a little carton from the buffet before going down to our room each night.

    Something to make sleep easier/homier. Our cabin steward was awesome. He made up the sofa as a bed for DS every night and put towel animals on his bed. Sometimes he would put DS's toys around the animals. So cute!

    Can your DD pee/poop on the toilet? If there was one thing I wish I brought was a potty. It was unrealistic for us to bring one (flew to Barcelona), but that was the biggest problem on the ship. DS was constipated between traveling, different foods, and being scared to sit on the toilet. Speaking of pooping, maybe some Miralax. Or maybe 7 days isn't enough to have a serious problem.

    Like any vacation, I'd take tylenol, ibuprofen, bandaids, etc. just in case. Murphy's Law, if you bring it, you won't need it.

    We loaded some movies and his favorite shows onto my iPad. that made him much more comfortable in our cabin. Also entertained him in the dining room

    I read on my phone or iPad while DS was napping. It was great to be able to have the room dark for a nap, but still be able to read myself.

    I'm sure I'll think of more. I'm so jealous!
    Lee
    DS 06/09
    Expecting b/b twins via adoption, Summer 2013


    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

  4. #4
    Tondi G is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Nov 1999
    Location
    So. California, USA.
    Posts
    13,707

    Default

    Take Lysol or Clorox wipes ... wipe down your remote control in the stateroom and any other surface you feel could use a quick wipe down. Take childrens meds ... Tylenol, advil, benedryl, bonine, Sudafed, cough syrup, saline nasal spray neosporin. My DS2 ended up with a fever on the last night of our cruise and I was thankful to have a full bottle of childrens advil at the ready. lots of sunscreen (you will use more than you think). I wouldn't worry about too many snacks unless your kiddo is really picky.... you can grab dry cereal at breakfast to keep in your room for quick snacks ... oh and you can grab fruit too apples, bananas etc.

    I would bring some beach toys ... small pail/shovel, maybe a beach ball, inflatable swim ring(it's fun to have for the pool on the ship).

    take a couple of highlighter pens ... when you look at the activities for the day you can highlight the ones you don't want to miss .... they pack a ton on to those little sheets/booklets every day!

    Is your kiddo still using sippy cups or straw cups? You might consider bringing some take and toss style cups ... if they get lost or funky no biggie.

    We knew there would be soft serve ice cream up by the pool and my kids think root beer floats are the coolest treat so we brought our own root beer along and they were thrilled to have their special treats by the pool! We also brought some bottled water... big bottles with sports tops.

    Is your kiddo completely potty trained? They don't allow swim diapers in the pools on RCCL. They have to be completely potty trained for the pools and for the kids program.

    Hope you have a wonderful time! If you have some extra time I highly recommend checking out the family cruising board over on Cruise Critic! You can also check the boards for the ports you will be visiting.

  5. #5
    weech is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Silver Spring, MD
    Posts
    1,853

    Default

    Whenever we cruise, we bring a power strip because there's never enough outlets. Also consider bringing one of those over the door shoe organizers to organize all your toiletries and other odds and ends. There's never much storage space in the bathroom.

    Like a pp mentioned, grab fruit, boxes of cereal, etc at breakfast in the morning. Great (free!) beach snacks.
    Rachel
    Momma to my sweet little bubba
    04/2010

  6. #6
    ZeeBaby is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    2,354

    Default

    We did a 7 day cruise on Carnival last August. We brought snacks for the room. We brought the fruit squeezers and crackers. Not much because food is readily available, but our kids are big on snacking between meals and we wanted to make sure they would have snacks when the dining areas are closed.

    The kids club is great. We only used it once when we left the ship, but we used them pretty much everyday we were on the ship and they were having activities. Sometimes we would do a quick dinner with the kids and then drop them at the kids club for us to have dinner by ourselves. That worked really well.

    We also brought power strip. We used one that had a circuit breaker. Definitely check out Cruise Critic. They have tons of info. I was on them daily before we cruised.

  7. #7
    egoldber's Avatar
    egoldber is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    Northern VA, USA.
    Posts
    31,123

    Default

    Also consider bringing one of those over the door shoe organizers to organize all your toiletries and other odds and ends.
    Just FYI, at least Disney has recently banned these. Apparently the ones that hand from a hook or in a closet are still OK to bring.
    Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)

  8. #8
    weech is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Silver Spring, MD
    Posts
    1,853

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by egoldber View Post
    Just FYI, at least Disney has recently banned these. Apparently the ones that hand from a hook or in a closet are still OK to bring.
    Huh, good to know. Do you know why they were banned?
    Rachel
    Momma to my sweet little bubba
    04/2010

  9. #9
    daisy13 is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    356

    Default

    Ladies- all this is so useful.. I am taking notes . I also checked out cruise critics- such a wealth of information there!!


    Thanks a lot. She is completely potty trained ( thank God!)- so looking forward to enjoying the pool. She also drinks pretty well from a cup- so no sippies yeay!


    I will take minimum snacks - maybe for the flight and transit times only.

    Keep the tips coming! thanks again..

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central Coast, CA
    Posts
    2,290

    Default

    Room service! Our last cruise was before kids, but taking advantage of the room service when it was available was so much better than always having to deal with the buffet for food, especially in the morning, I think we did one breakfast buffet and room service every other morning.
    ~ Dawn
    Our little monkey (4/2011) & his early holiday present 12/12

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •