At the beginning of 2014, Hubby and I decided that we wanted to take our children on a vacation this year. He and I have traveled on several cruises together in the past and we think that it is completely worth the money. I will cover what we do and do not love about cruising in a separate post.
Since our teenage daughter is in public school and we were not wanting to pull her out of school to go on vacation, that left our options fairly slim. Cruising during the summer can be very expensive so we decided on a cruise at the tail end of summer out of New Orleans to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. We have been to Cozumel several times and knew what to expect but neither of us had ever cruised to Progreso, so we were excited for a bit of a change.
We would have two toddlers and a teenager traveling with us, so I was in full planning mode from the time that I booked the cruise until the day that we boarded the boat. This was our first big vacation since the younger ones were born and I was nervous about what they would enjoy, how they would react, etc. On top of all of that, I was dealing with anxiety about them falling overboard. If you want to look up all of the research on google, let me save you some time. It is almost impossible to fall overboard a cruise ship unless you are trying, i.e. climbing over the railing, standing on top of the tables near the edge in a 'Hold my beer and watch this' style moment, etc. And as far as I could tell, there has never been a child fall overboard a cruise ship... but that didn't stop me from worrying that we would be the first. With that fear aside, I plunged forth into planning and executing a vacation that we would all be happy with.
The following are my 6 tips for happy traveling with kids on a cruise:
Know your food options.
Anyone with children can tell you that a single moment can go from perfect to ruined if your child, or husband for that matter, is hungry or thirsty. One of the positive parts of a Carnival cruise is that you can get something to eat and drink 24 hours a day. This is perfect for people traveling with kids. Weeks before boarding, I had already viewed the deck plans of the floors of the ship provided on the company's website to find out how close we were to the different eating areas. Carnival will provide tea, water and lemonade during the day, and juice during the morning hours for free to all patrons. Sodas and alcoholic drinks are available for purchase throughout the day and night at any bar throughout the ship. I will review the Bottomless Bubbles soda and will talk about the alcohol program in a later blog.
If you don't find anything that squelches your child's hunger pangs, there is always free room service. A small selection of sandwiches, snacks and beverages is available for delivery for free to your stateroom. Just remember to tip!
There is a formal dining room option on every ship. Prior to the cruise, your stateroom gets placed at a table. Sometimes this is alone, sometimes this is with strangers. In the past, we have been sat with our fair share of interesting people. On this cruise, we were sat with a very nice family from Canada with three lovely daughters. They were pleasant to speak with and it was good to get to know someone over a nice meal. This dining room serves more fancy type foods than the other dining areas, think lobster, shrimp cocktail, escargot, etc. I wanted our family to eat in this dining room everyday just for the experience, but hubby was not so sure. We made plans for both situations and ended up eating in there every night. The kids enjoyed it and we got to have our nice dinners. If you kids are not used to dining out and behaving simultaneously, I would refrain from eating in this type of a dining room. Ideally, this is not the place for loud children, children throwing food or screaming tantrums at the top of their lungs. The waiters and other patrons understand a small disturbance but be respectful of other's trying to enjoy their meal.
Typically on 'sea days' - where you don't stop at a port, they will offer a brunch in the formal dining room. If you can manage to wake up in time and find yourself some decent clothes, you should definitely partake in this. They offer kid friendly items, like chocolate chip pancakes, but also grown up fare such as heuvos rancheros. We went to brunch one morning because we had a coupon for a free drink and it was much nicer and more enjoyable than we anticipated and worth the line that we had to wait in to be seated. The kids enjoyed their pancakes and juice and we got to have a decent breakfast. The day before they will place a menu outside of the dining room for both the brunch and the regular dinner so you can see what you will be offered before you get all gussied up for a meal. There was also at least one vegetarian item per day offered in that dining room.
The casual dining area serves different food options at regular intervals throughout the day. They typically serve some of the same cuisine as the nice dining room but also more casual fare in a buffet style setting. This area provides salad bars, soft serve ice cream, pizza, hot sandwiches, drinks, and a bar - a yay for mommy after a long day! There were several days that after the children went to bed, Hubby and I snuck up here for an ice cream cone and an adult beverage. On our boat this time was also a Mongolian grill and an outdoor grill area serving burgers, hot dogs, fries, chips, queso, and a few small desserts. During breakfast, there will typically be an egg/omelet/quiche station. This is the place to go with rowdy kids. This is also the place to go to watch the drunks stumble around, as there was plenty of that. Our casual dining was at the very rear of the boat, so it was neat to go in there and enjoy the view of the open water. You can also eat outdoors next to the dining room. This sounds nice and is good for someone without kids, but it is very windy out there and that isn't always conducive to being able to enjoy a meal.
In the casual dining area for breakfast, they will have individually packaged dry cereals. Typically, I would grab at least one extra for the kids to have at a moment's notice. We usually carried one bag around the boat and I would keep them in there. That way if we were walking around and someone started acting up, they could eat a little something to hold them over until the next meal.
Keep some "normal".
If your children are young enough, like two of mine, to still need a daily nap, don't forget that they will still need to nap on board. As a matter of fact, they will need a nap more because they are out of their routine and constantly being stimulated by new people, new sights and new activities. This nap during the day was also good for the rest of us because it enabled us to chill out and relax while they were resting. Also, one of the days, Hubby and I snuck away and played Bingo and walked around. It was nice. If your children don't need a nap, then don't be afraid to keep them on their regular schedule from at home. If you typically eat at 7 and are in bed by 10, why change that because you are on vacation?
There is a higher chance that your children will be well behaved and enjoy their vacation more if they have something familiar like their schedule when they are surrounded by a lot of unfamiliar things. I packed the pillowcases from their beds and one of their toys that they sleep with to have on board to give them some comfort since they would be sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. It worked very well as they didn't seem to have any problems going to sleep during the day or at night. Have them help you pick an item out to put in their suitcase and they will feel more involved in the process.
We also chose to bring our own re-usable water bottles, so we could keep the kids hydrated throughout the day. These came in handy on the boat as well as in the ports, since you don't always want to drink the water in Mexico. We would fill them up several times per day with ice and lemonade or tea. Since they were our own water bottles, the kids were familiar with them and thought nothing of drinking the same amount of water that they would at home, where if we would not have had them, the kids might not have stayed as hydrated as they did. This is important since getting overheated while swimming on the upper decks or at a port can be very dangerous.
Don't be afraid to try new things.
This is for kids and adults alike on a cruise. In the formal dining room they will offer items like escargots, lobster, etc. If you have never tried any of these items, what are you waiting on? Encourage your kids to try items from the menu that they never would. Isabella ate a seafood pasta and a mushroom pasta at the dining room one day and loved both of them.
There are also 2-3 nights during a 5 night cruise that they will have their performers put on a show. This might not be every one's cup of tea but it is really cool. Dancing and singing and sometimes audience participation - what could be better? Of course, at home, we have never taken our toddlers to see a show like this. Our teenager might have seen a show like this but never with us. They loved it on board! Silas was SO enamored by the sights and sounds that he looked like he was in a trance. Isabella enjoyed it because she got to dance around and sing with the people. She now acts out shows like this in our living room every day. Take your kids and if they don't enjoy it, you can always leave and find something else to do. They will put a flyer everyday in your stateroom that will detail all the activities for the following day so you will be in the know.
We did not participate in a lot of other activities but on the boat there is literally something to do all day and most of the night. They have competitions out by the pool, such as the hairy chest competition, Bingo, dance classes, art shows, etc. No matter what you like to do, they have something for everyone to enjoy. There is a casino aboard every ship and they are always busy. I usually have decent luck with the slot machines and always spend a small amount of money in there during each cruise. The casino is a nice place to go to indulge in some alone adult time since no children are allowed in, sneak a cigarette and an adult beverage. Plus there are plenty of deck chairs for anyone who likes to sit out by the pool and relax in the sun. Since three of the five people in my party are almost transparent they have such fair skin and red hair, it is impossible for us to be in the sun for very long without super sun protection.
Utilize the childcare.
During the week, my children are watched by my mother. If hubby and I want to go somewhere, they are always watched by our teenager, or another member of my family. There is never a time that they are being supervised by someone that they don't know personally, so the thought of using the daycare program on board was terrifying. Camp Carnival is a children's area for children that are 2-17 years old. The children get separated into appropriate age groups and different age-appropriate activities are conducted in each group. Some of the older groups even roam around the ship, can swim, etc. The younger group that my toddlers fell into stayed in the area where we dropped them off. There were tons of toys, Legos, books, etc. in this area for them to play with.
My daughter was immediately fascinated and as a child who is mostly out of that 'stranger danger' mindset, she was excited to go and play with other children her age. Plus the person that she was going to be left with was a woman and she has a tendency to be a lot more comfortable with women strangers than men strangers. Not sure why... it's just the way that it is. Silas, on the other hand, did not approve of this plan from the get-go. He was determined that he would not be left there and I was determined to give it a go for a bit. On our boat, they gave us a phone for the duration of the cruise that they would call if something went awry with your children during their stay in Camp Carnival.
I dropped them both off one morning. Silas cried at the door and Isabella ran off to play. The woman told me that he would be fine and they would distract him and I took off with hubby for some time by ourselves to walk around, etc. I am glossing over the part where I was also crying leaving him there. As a mother who is lucky enough to not have to leave my children while they are crying like that ever, I don't know how you parents do it if that happens to your child at a daycare. That was honestly one of the hardest moments of the trip. Little did I know that we would be back to pick them up about an hour later. Grace had gone back to have them call us and find out where we were and this upset both of the younger kids and they called us to come retrieve our three upset children. It was a small break though.
I fully believe that if your children are used to being around a daycare type environment or old enough to walk around by themselves, that the Camp Carnival atmosphere is awesome. Grace's age group had ice cream socials, towel animal folding demonstrations, swimming, their own formal night, etc. They plan lots of fun activities and the people who work with the children seem really invested in ensuring that the children of all ages have a great time.
Child containment devices are your friend.
The two most important items that we brought on our cruise were our Ergo carriers. In the planning stages of our cruise, I was very overwhelmed with the idea of getting my children through the long lines that you have to wait in to get on the ship, metal detectors, etc. At that time, we had one Ergo carrier and I would comfortably wear either one of the children on my back anytime that we needed to go on a walk in the mall, around town, etc. I knew that we had to get another one for this cruise.
Now that they are older, the stroller is less and less a good idea. Plus our stroller that will hold both of them is so bulky and heavy and I knew that we would be stressed for space in our room making that a less than awesome option. These Ergo carriers were the best item ever and I would recommend them to anyone traveling on a cruise with toddlers and babies. Being able to wear the kids when getting on and off the ship saved us time and energy wondering where they were, getting them to walk up the gangway to get on board, etc. You just strapped them on your back and away you went. They are fast and efficient and the staff even let us through the metal detectors with them on and allowed the kids to take a picture for their ID while still strapped to us.
And last, but certainly not least... let your kids be kids. A vacation is a time for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves. This should not be limited to just adults, but should go for teenagers and kids alike. There are so many activities available to people on board, there is no excuse to not have fun on a cruise. If my kids wanted to dance and sing with the many performers singing and playing music around the ship, I let them. If they wanted to swim at night and have an extra ice cream cone before bed, I let them. I know that when they grow up, they probably won't remember a cruise that they took when they were 2, but if they do, I want them to remember that they had fun and enjoyed themselves. These times don't last forever and we should try to preserve them as best as we can and allow our children to experience joy in anything that they are doing.
What are your tips for cruising with kids?
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