Advice Needed - JCCC5 with a toddler (18-24 month)
I just posted this on the JCCC5 Facebook page but I would like to get the widest audience so...
Looking for a veteran SeaMonkey that has attended a JCCC with
a baby/toddler (18-24 month old). My
husband and I are attending JCCC5 and we are bringing our son who will turn 2
on Feb 7. I have a lot of questions
specific to having a toddler on a cruise.
To add to my apprehension, not
only are we new to JCCC but this is our first cruise and our first family vacation
further than two hours from our home. I would love to discuss with someone who
has been there and done that. I’m open
to any advice. You can post here, PM or email me at [email protected]. I’ve RTFM as the wiki recommends however where
it answered some questions, it’s generated others!! Thank you in advance… Some
of my questions are:
- I’m pretty sure I have to travel with his car
seat, can anyone confirm? - Has anyone used Royal Caribbean’s Babies 2 Go
program or should I bring all my own diapers? - Should I bring a stroller for the shore excursions?
- We can bring my son to the JCCC event’s right? I
like the idea of the Toddler Pit as mentioned in Kevin Carey’s Primer. - Is the ship childcare a good option if we don’t
want to bring him to the JCCC events?
Especially during the formal evening events?
Comments
1) I think that technically, you do have to have a car seat for transit to/from the port. Depending on how you get there you may be on a shuttle bus that doesn't have seatbelts or a cab whose driver is really annoyed at you taking the time to get the car seat safely installed. The port is only about 15 minutes from the airport and hotels, so we risked it and came without a car seat. Our daughter is a pretty tall kid, so we strapped her into whatever seatbelts were available and held on tight. None of the shuttle or cab drivers batted an eye, and for three 15 min drives (airport -> hotel -> port -> airport) we weren't too worried. I would say, do whatever is most comfortable for you.
2) We did not use the Babies 2 Go program because, at the time, their diaper sizes didn't quite go high enough for us. I liked having diapers taking up space in the suitcase that I new would empty out and leave room for all the gift bag goodies and other souvenirs :-) There are only a couple of small, unlined trash cans in the rooms, so do consider bringing along some bags for sealing up stinky diapers. They do service the room twice a day, so dirty diapers don't stick around for long.
3) A little umbrella stroller can be useful both on and off the ship. Don't bring a big bulky stroller.
4) Yes, although the concerts can be very loud. I don't know if there will be as much toddler pit this year (we won't be there), but there was plenty of space at the back of the dance floor in Studio 9 (or whatever it was called) for supervised kid bouncing. The main auditorium is more of a sit still and watch the show place, but it was still easy to find a seat over on the side where a little toddler exuberance wasn't too much of a distraction.
5) We really liked the ship nursery although we didn't use it in the evening (our daughter doesn't transfer well from sleeping in one place to another). They have a rotating collection of toys to play with, cribs and cots for naps or bedtime, and were just really nice. Our daughter was used to daycare, so she was perfectly happy there. They give you a little totebag when you sign up the first night for you to bring diapers and a change of clothes each time. Then you get a phone to take with you so they can contact you if there is a problem. You can put in reservations the first day for the hours that you want to be in the nursury later in the week (then you can always call and cancel or add other hours later). Last year it was $6/hour during the day and $8/hour at night. We tended to bring our daughter to the beginning of the evening events and then trade off who when back to the room with her. With a toddler waking us up early every morning, there was really only so much late night stuff we could handle really.
Other things I can think of that you might find useful:
- There is a baby/toddler wading pool. Swim diapers are not allowed in the regular pools, but you can have them in the separate baby pool.
-They do have high chairs available if you ask. We only used them in the main dining room. We didn't do fixed seating, but we always tried to sit in the same waiter's area. After the first night or two, he had a high chair and kid's fruit plate waiting for us when we got there every night. The dining room does have kid's menu with the usual kid's menu stuff. We tended to do a mix of fruit plate (she was in a grapes phase at the time) and a kid entree or just a portion of our food.
-There are fridges in the rooms, but they are cool instead of cold. So milk is okay in them for a couple of hours but will go bad if you leave it in there all day. Thankfully we noticed that before our daughter drank any bad milk. You can ask your cabin steward for a bucket of ice if you need a colder storage option.
If you'd like me to scan and email our Royal Babies and Tots welcome brochure or the kid's menu or anything, let me know :-)
-Kim