Should We Take Our 2-Year Old Son on a Cruise?

I just got back from a cruise yesterday!!! Seriously! I have a 5 (almost 6 year old). I have only gone on Carnival cruises (three)... but I would highly suggest you take him with you. The children have many activites to enjoy. There are cribs available to use. On all three cruises, I have used the baby sitting service. The Camp Carnival staff is wonderful. They give you pagers to use on the boat if they need you or if your child is not happy. Depending how many people will be in your room depends on how much you will pay. Typically there are 2 normal price for the first and second person and the child being the third person is cheaper. Hope this helps.

My husband, my daughther, my step-daughter, and I went a Disney cruise last year. We left our 2 year old behind and I regreted it. They do have things and events for childern to do. We didn't take him because we thought that there wouldn't be anything fro him to do but we were wrong. I would say take him and enjoy your trip. During the hold trip I felt sad on the inside for leaving him behind so it was hard for me to have a good time with my husband and the other two kids we took.

My husband and I have been on a cruise together once and I have gone twice before being married. Our travel agent was so helpful with all the information on what we needed to know that it made it easy for us to navigate and prepare. I would highly suggest that if you book through a travel agent to take a cruise that is kid friendly since some are focused more on an adult attendance. If you have already picked a cruise line and ship you will definately need to find out if it's kid friendly. If not, I would make arrangements to have someone keep your child since the only thing for children to do on an adult cruise is a video game room and the pool. The kid friendly cruises have special people on board that do activities with them and watch them for periods of time during the day so the adults can enjoy themselves too. The agent can also answer all your questions and anything they do not know, which is rare they will make all the calls and arrangements for you.

We lived in Charlotte for 10 years and used Pam Smith with Mann Travels located in Davidson, NC. She is really knowledgeable and sweet. Hope this helps.

N., I have been on a Cruise but not with a 2 year old.. I am would be scared about taking him. With all the stuff that has been happening on these cruise ships. But if you do take him just keep him with us.. Let Always know where he is at all times. If you want to do something let one of your family members keep him. Not to scare you just to let you be aware of your surroundings. Write me back.. ____@____.com Becky G

I took my daughter on a cruise last year, when she was 3 1/2 - we were overseas, so took an Italian cruiseline (if you're going anywhere other than the Carribean (sp?) do NOT take an American cruiseship!). But anyway - she had a blast! The childcare staff were wonderful (even though they didn't speak English. The childcare,however, was not open all day. We only took her off the boat for 2 excursions and she seemed to look forward to the childcare and didn't mind staying behind!

Also, we went with a lot of family, which made my life easier because I had several sets of eyes to watch her (cruiseships aren't that big, but they cram a lot of people on them - a small child can be easily lost! My daughter and 6 year old sister actually did "disappear" on us at one point - the cruise personal instantly went on alert and had everyone searching for them - they were found in 10 min!). Be aware, too, that those pools are salt water and usually very deep - not toddler friendly!

The security measures were wonderful, as well - my daughter had a bracelet on the entire time that had a code - she was scanned randomly, every disembarkment, every time she entered/left the childcare, at meals, etc.

Last note - on most of the cruiseships I have been on, there are not enough elevators for the people (unless you have unlimited patience) so be prepared to climb stairs with your child in your arms!

Overall, it was a great experience - you really can't get any safer with any other vacation! Traveling with a child is always an added adventure, but the ship is an enclosed space with plenty of people on board to serve as extra "eyes" for the worst possible scenerios.

Good luck!

We are actually taking our 16 month with us on a cruise in December along with our 19 month nephew. We are going thru Carnival. We have several family members going with us and too were concerned on how our son would do. They do offer discounted prices for children and also will provide a crib for free if asked for one. Not sure what all he will be able to do since he is so young but figure with enough family members there, he would be fine. I have not checked into the babysitting and do not plan to. I have been on a couple cruise before and would not dare trusting the staff. If you have any questions. . . I went directly through Carnival Cruise Lines and they were very informative. Have a great time and good luck!!

My husband and I went on a carribean cruise when we did not have any children. I would recommend that you not take your child and maybe take him later in life on another one. You are going to miss out on so much. We got up everyday at 6 and did not go to sleep until well after midnight. There is so much to do. I would highly recommend taking your child later. A ship, unless geared towards children, is like a mini city and a lot of what is available to do once you go to shore is not geared towards children, such as jet ski's, etc... Think too that your child (and I know you really want to take him) isn't going to remember it anyway!!Take him when he is old enough to enjoy it and REMEMBER IT.

Hi N.!

My husband's VERY large family and friends of the family just went on a Disney cruise in August, (there were 73 of us total!) and they brought thier toddlers with them. The little kids have a blast, Disney has a club house for each grouping of kids, babies, toddlers, 3-5 year olds, 5 and up, you get the idea. These clubs are open most all the time, and you just sign your kids in and go enjoy yourself. You get a pager in case you are needed. There are also pools and slides on board for little ones, I saw a lot of young children in the toddler range. I would highly recommend bringing your little one! And if you havent chosen a cruise line yet - consider Disney, it is FANTASTIC!

Yes, but make sure you go on a Carnival cruise. I have been on three with my boys (7, 5, 2) They are the only ones who will take kids starting at 2 years old and will change diapers. You will have to pay for him as the 3rd person in your cabin (but on Carnival that includes "camp" for him all day long and into the night if you want it) which is generally about 1/2 price I think. Call the cruiseline and ask about cribs. You may want to bring a pack n play with you. You will have a fabulous time!

Here is what Carnival has to say about their staff:

Camp Carnival's friendly and experienced youth staff want to enhance your child's vacation experience.

Carnival knows the importance of providing your children with top-notch care and supervision, all of our youth counselors have to meet important educational and professional requirements, as well as pass an extensive background check. Every youth counselor is either college educated in education, child psychology or youth recreation, or has professional experience with children, such as teaching or daycare.

Our youth staff is international and all are professionally trained in CPR and are able to provide basic first aid for cuts and bruises. Additionally, should there be a medical emergency, all counselors are instructed to contact the parents immediately, as well as the shipboard infirmary.

and this is their blurb about Camp Carnival:

Camp Carnival's age-appropriate activities are sure to delight all toddlers ages 2-5. From finger painting to cartoon time, arts and crafts to puppet shows, your little ones are sure to have a blast! We even provide babysitting services in the evenings, so Mom and Dad can get in some "quiet time," too.

Toddlers do not have to be potty-trained in order to be part of Camp Carnival; parents simply need to provide the youth staff with diapers and toiletries for their child.

Children also get their very own menus, featuring all their favorite foods. Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza, macaroni & cheese and spaghetti & meatballs are all available on a Carnival cruise, so even our pint-size guests can feel pampered on their "Fun Ship" family vacation.

We are always looking for ways to make our guests' cruises more enjoyable, and now we've eliminated the need to bring a stroller by providing stroller rentals fleetwide, for a nominal fee.

Children under the age of 2 are not able to participate in all the regular programs we offer to the other age groups. We have designated times where children under 2 can participate in our Fun program. The following times are listed below:

Babysitting - From 10:00 pm - 3:00 am each evening of the cruise.
Port Days - From port arrival until 12:00 pm or if a late arrival then for the afternoon until 5:00 pm
Family Play Times - Sea days from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm or 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm - check Camp Carnival Capers
Parents and their under 2 child can come into the playroom and utilize the facilities that we have OR parents have the option of leaving their child under the supervision of a Youth Counselor, a babysitting fee applies to the second option.

The babysitting fee is $6.00 per hour and is charged to the guest's Sail & Sign Account. Please check the Camp Carnival Capers for specific days and times.

Other activities for toddlers include:

sing-a-longs
Play dough sculptures
picture bing
story time
talent shows
puppet shows
memory games
face painting
and more...






Our youngest Camp Carnival cruisers (ages 2-5) must be signed in at all times while attending. Our experienced youth staff will give them top-notch care and supervision. All parents with children 5 years old and under will receive a complementary beeper or phone on the first day of the cruise to be used throughout the voyage. This way, parents can be contacted in case a child is seriously unhappy, ill, misbehaving, continuously asking for their parents and, especially, in case of emergencies. Note: Children must be at least two years old to attend Camp Carnival.

ithink its a horrible idea to take a child that young on a cruise. the so called sitters they provide are complete strangers who do not have legit background checks...they are not even required to have experience with kids. so if you do take your 2 year old, make sure you or family is the only one providing care. also you have to consider the alcohol on ship as well. too many things go wrong and crew members are too quick to cover up every little thing to avoid trouble.