Cruising with a toddler

Has anyone done it? We just booked a cruise out of NY on NCL for Dec. Now I am having second thoughts. My DD will be 21 months at the time of the trip. How does it work with transportation in port? One of the stops is Port Canaveral and it would be an hour bus ride to Disney. Do I just have her on my lap? I am also thinking about cabs in the Bahamas and not being in a carseat. Also, I am reading that you can have little ones in diapers in the pool, is this true? We love cruises but I don't know if it's the best choice for a family vacation at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

Antoinette,

On the bus ride, your child would be on your lap and you're right about the cab rides in the Bahamas too - no car seats.

Children in diapers can't be in the swimming pools. Some ships have special splash areas for little ones though.

Enjoy!
- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008

Re: Cruising with a toddler

We just cruised NCL this past December and DS was 22 months. it was both good and bad. The ship did have a small splash pool and DS had a blast there. They also had a specific room for the little ones with some toys. We went to Cocoa Beach and DS sat on my lap. In the Bahamas we walked to the beach and skipped the cab. You can also take a water taxi if you prefer that over a cab. The bad part was any time at sea. It just wasn't relaxing. We were constantly walking DS around the ship because he wouldn't stay still. He wasn't old enough to go to camp, which would have made a world of a difference! It would have been so nice to drop him off with his brother for an hour or two just so DH and I could get some sun, or maybe even have a meal where we weren't catering to the kids. We like the specialty restaurants, but we spent mre time making sure the kids were entertained and behaving then enjoying ourselves. In retrospect, I wish we had waited until both kids were old enough for camp.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

We cruised on NCL when DD was a day over 2, so she will eligible for the kids club (NCL has since changed and now the traditonal club doesn't start until 3). We didn't use it a lot, but a few hours here and there.

Just one note about Port Canaveral - if you read reviews most people will tell you the Disney excursions are NOT worth it. You will spend a ton of time traveling and have minimal time in the parks themselves. Plus if the ship docks late, you will have even less time.

I strongly recommend you check out cruisecritic.com. It is a great site with a ton of information.

ETA: Which NCL ship will you be on? The Dawn didn't have a splash pool so your DD won't be able to be in the pools.

Message edited 6/8/2012 10:43:35 AM.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

We are booked on NCL Jewel. Does that one have a splash pool? If not, I think it may be a deal breaker for me.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

According to NCL.com, it looks like it just has a kids pool, which is different from a splash pool. Hard to tell from the website description though.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

There are a lot of parents over on cruisecritic who are helpful and would know the answers to your questions. Have you read or searched over on their boards. I'm sorry I sailed NCL many years ago on a ship they no longer use. I have never looked into NCL for us so I am not familiar with their ships.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

Looking over on Cruisecritic it looks like the jewel might not have one of those splash pools - since people who were sailing on the Jewel said they kids had to be potty trained. I would definitely look into it further since you said it was a deal breaker - one thing some people do when they have kids who aren't potty trained is that they bring a very small blow up pool instead.

Etd to add that the NCL's own website says that children have to be potty trained to go into their pools. Did you book through an agent? They should have looked into it or told you about this policy before hand. You should double check because my info might be wrong but it does appear that they have to be trained.

Message edited 6/9/2012 10:07:22 AM.

Re: Cruising with a toddler

NCL Jewel class ships *do* have toddler splash pools.