Cruises

"My daughter is not a year yet, but when she was 8 months old, my mom and I took her on a Caribbean cruise. We got back at the end of October. It really was wonderful - you might miss out on some of the nightlife, but when your kiddo is getting up at 6 am every day, you might be ready to stay in. We took our vacation on Royal Caribbean (the ship was Mariner of the Seas). There is a children's playgroup that meets in the mornings - we went on the two days we were at sea. The all-day programs for kids starts with 3 year olds. I believe there is baby-sitting available for children over a year, but obviously I can't comment on that because my daughter was too young. The staff doted on the baby and, like most kids, she thrived on the attention and smiles. The waiter would arrive at our table each night with a highchair, several straws, cheerios and extra spoons (for playing). We always sat by a window because after she ate, the sills are the perfect height for standing and playing. I engineered a third nap late in the day, enabling her to be happy during our 6 pm dinner seating. My daughter woke up really early a couple of mornings and after some exploring, we found a lounge on the 14th floor where she could play and cruise. We watched a lot of sunrises that way.

We had to chose our off-shore excursions more carefully, not knowing what kind of a traveler the kiddo would be. We basically did beach, shopping, and an underwater boat tour of coral reefs and fish. I can attest that there are shady beaches in Labadee, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The pools on the ship all have signs stating that children who are not toilet trained cannot use the pools. However, this rule does not seem to be enforced. There were several shallow little "kiddie" pools and I put a swim suit with a built in diaper on my daughter and just got in - it was not an issue.

I dont' have any other week long vacations against which to compare the cruise, but I thought it was wonderful. My daughter's afternoon nap was more often than not on a lounge chair in the shade, but we always had the option of heading back to the ship for a nap. Take disposable bibs, an inflatable bathtub (most rooms have only a shower) a sun hat, umbrella stroller and lots of sunscreen."