Cruises and Kids??? Can someone talk to me about doing cruises with kids....

[Laney]

Mil has been on us to take a cruise with them for YEARS. We've used every excuse in the book about why we can't/won't take one. Some valid, some just selfish and they still beg & plead. Dh is now saying that we should look into it because he is worried about having regrets about saying no to this pretty simple thing if something happens to his parents. His new thought is if we hate we just never do it again.

Anyway things kind of line up that if we were do to do one it would work out best this year. We have planned to put off vacation this year while we save for the house and continue working on debt until later in the year and because we will hopefully be building starting next spring/summer we won't go at all next year taking a late fall cruise will work for us.

Mil has already found a cruise with low rates (Carnival, 5 day Bahamas) and has offered to pay for 2 of the kids (and sleep them in their room so we don't have to get a larger more expensive room). (She did that because we said taking 4 kids cost too much :lol:).

One of my big things is still safety of the kids on the ship. Little man is a handful, Little dd still has her moments and baby girl will be on the move by then :yikes: I'm worried about them monkeying over rails and into the water below.

What is cruising like with young kids? I might feel more at ease if we had cruised before but dh and I haven't.

[JDPudge]

We cruised Carnival for 12 days with 4 kids last October (see ages below) and the staff was AWESOME! The kids had a BLAST! I feared that they would find the "Camp Carnival" 'boring' or :whatever:, but they had a COMPLETE BLAST!

There are schedules of their activities and it changes every day. My kids are REALLY looking forward to doing it again... if we ever can afford it again.

We've taken 3 cruises without kids... and now one long one WITH kids... and, while obviously some things are a little different... I'd REALLY do it again in a heartbeat.

[tiffany]

DH and I took DD (5 years old) on a Princess Cruise last November. She had a blast. The kids club was great and she kept asking to go back. She now asks if she can go again. We talked with her about what to expect and what our "rules" were especially with standing on chairs and hanging on the balcony (that those were a no no).

It was an enjoyable experience.

[MommaK]

Babies have to be 6 months old to cruise (and youo have to prove their age).

[Laney]

When (IF) we go they'll be 8, 5, 3 & 17 mths. I wondered about doing Camp Carnival with them. I'm a nervous nellie about leaving them on the boat with people we don't know. Baby girl won't be old enough to do Camp Carnival. Is there a best way to keep up with kids on board? Stroller or Wearing?

[JDPudge]

When (IF) we go they'll be 8, 5, 3 & 17 mths. I wondered about doing Camp Carnival with them. I'm a nervous nellie about leaving them on the boat with people we don't know. Baby girl won't be old enough to do Camp Carnival. Is there a best way to keep up with kids on board? Stroller or Wearing?

Definitely wearing.

THere are LOTS of stairs. Elevators are fine... but stairs are usually faster (even with as many elevators as they have). I'd take a stroller for ports-of-call... but "on the ship" is LOTS LOTS easier if you just carry them.

Your 5 and 3 y.o. would be in the same room in CC :).

[Rebeccca01]

We have planned to put off vacation this year while we save for the house and continue working on debt until later in the year and because we will hopefully be building starting next spring/summer we won't go at all next year taking a late fall cruise will work for us.



Are you saying that you'll have to go deeper in debt to take the cruise? I understand wanting to please the in laws, but aren't there things you could do to bless them that won't require going further into debt?

:bighug:

[Laney]

Are you saying that you'll have to go deeper in debt to take the cruise? I understand wanting to please the in laws, but aren't there things you could do to bless them that won't require going further into debt?

:bighug:

Nope. We keep a vacation fund seperate from everything else and pay in cash. (As for the why we still vacation when we have debt because dh has a full time job (off farm) and he farms full time (2 different farms - 1 my dads with no help & ours) so for him to get a break we have to physically leave the farm. We take inexpensive vacations but we do go. The cruise will cost us less because the inlaws are covering 2 of the kids. Mil found rates (Early bird booking) for $249 pp for the 1st 2 cruisers and $149 for 3rd & 4th cruisers.

[Rebeccca01]

Nope. We keep a vacation fund seperate from everything else and pay in cash. (As for the why we still vacation when we have debt because dh has a full time job (off farm) and he farms full time (2 different farms - 1 my dads with no help & ours) so for him to get a break we have to physically leave the farm. We take inexpensive vacations but we do go. The cruise will cost us less because the inlaws are covering 2 of the kids. Mil found rates (Early bird booking) for $249 pp for the 1st 2 cruisers and $149 for 3rd & 4th cruisers.

Your husband works full time and farms 2 farms!?! :yikes:
Holy Smokes!

Keep us posted on what you decide to do! :D
Do you think your in-laws will babysit a little so that you and DH can spend some time doing things 'just you two'?

[Laney]

Your husband works full time and farms 2 farms!?! :yikes:
Holy Smokes!

Keep us posted on what you decide to do! :D
Do you think your in-laws will babysit a little so that you and DH can spend some time doing things 'just you two'?

Yep. That is why we leave for vacations. His day job avgs 45-47 hrs a week. He manages (and does all the work) for my dad's farm & as well as our own. Avgs another 30-35 hrs on farm work. My dad will only step up and do farm work when dh isn't here to do it.

So skipping vacation to pay off debt has always been non negoitable. We are going to skip next year though to build the house (only because dh has determined that he is going to do most of the labor :thud:)

I'm pretty sure our inlaws would babysit a little extra so that we could have some time to ourselves. They are really good about stuff like that.

[Binny]

Thefirst time I took my boys are a cruise with me I think they were 5 and 3. have never taken an infant. I worried a lot about it (we did a BIG RED BOAT) cruise which they nolonger have was a family cruise before the time of Disney Cruises. We talked a lot about the danger with them, and they were very cautious. There are ways to avoid going near the sides for the most part. They had a great time, and like other have said, liked the kids club at that age. i think they were like 10 when they started not liking kids clubs on cruises and at all inclusives.

[mommyof2monkeys+princess]

We are taking the kids on a cruise this year also. Therefore I haven't actually taken them but I have observed. The ship sidewalls and railings are very high. I have heard people say they think the balcony is worth it with kids so you can sit out there while the kids nap. I haven't had a balcony but I would be nervous about the kids figuring out how to open the door.

As for childcare if they are not 2 yrs old you have to pay extra.

Now I personally will pay extra especially with kids to have a higher deck room. We cruised twice one was on deck 8 or 9 and one was on deck 2. I would hate to deal with deck 2 with kids.

Tammy

[Laney]

Now I personally will pay extra especially with kids to have a higher deck room. We cruised twice one was on deck 8 or 9 and one was on deck 2. I would hate to deal with deck 2 with kids.

Tammy

What's the difference in decks?

[JDPudge]

The lower the deck, the closer to the water you are. And the "easier" the motion is on those with sensitive constitutions. If you're "really" sensitive you want to be "low" and in the middle of the ship (vs. forward or aft).

However, most "activities" (basically everything other than boarding and de-boarding) are done on the top 5 floors or so... so it means a lot of stairs and/or elevators... which is fine... but wearying after 3-4 days. There are quite a few elevators... but remember there are several THOUSAND people using them all the time.

The "kids place" is usually on the top deck (or near it).

We've always had an outside stateroom, and this last time we were blessed to have a "balcony" (the ship we were on had LOTS and LOTS of them) and while my youngest is 5, she's a VERY small 5 and we had no worries about the railing. It was VERY cool, actually.