Things to take and not to take on a cruise

[IsaacGioMommy]

I'm going on a cruise 4th of July weekend with my 4 year old and my 1 year old.  What do I need to bring and what should I leave at home? Do I need to bring water toys, floaties, etc or do they provide those there.  I know they have fun stuff for my 4 year old to do but my 1 year old is too young for the group day care they have there and I will probably need to hire an in cabin babysitter.  Any suggestions as what my 1year old and I could do? 

[TheTravelMama]

Hi there-

Which cruise line are you sailing?  Almost all lines have done away with in-cabin babysitting.  The only line that offers convenient group babysitting for kids under 2 is Disney (except maybe Cunard).  Carnival does watch babies for a couple hours a day when at sea (but only when the other kids can't be in camp, meaning you will always have one kid with you)  & then at night they have group babysitting for all ages from 10 PM - 4 AM but this seemed like a crazy thing to attempt!

Go ahead & pack the pool toys b/c those won't be provided. Also, no cruise lines allow un-potty-trained kids in the pools due to health regulations. Disney does provide a little splash area for babies though.  I suggest you pack a mini inflatable pool for your toddler to splash around in on the deck.  That is what we did with our son (8 months at the time) on a Carnival cruise & it worked out fabulously.

Shoot!  I thought I had a pic of our baby in his play pool on the cruise but it looks like we only took video of it.  I'm gonna go see if I can figure out how to post that.

Have a fabulous trip!

Quoting IsaacGioMommy:

I'm going on a cruise 4th of July weekend with my 4 year old and my 1 year old.  What do I need to bring and what should I leave at home? Do I need to bring water toys, floaties, etc or do they provide those there.  I know they have fun stuff for my 4 year old to do but my 1 year old is too young for the group day care they have there and I will probably need to hire an in cabin babysitter.  Any suggestions as what my 1year old and I could do? 

[IsaacGioMommy]

Yes we are going on a Carnival Cruise.  Thank you so much for the tips.  I hope I don't forget anything when I'm packing.  I want my boys to have as much fun as I will be having. 

[TheTravelMama]

Quoting IsaacGioMommy:

Yes we are going on a Carnival Cruise.  Thank you so much for the tips.  I hope I don't forget anything when I'm packing.  I want my boys to have as much fun as I will be having. 

Check out my printable packing lists to help you avoid forgetting all those crazy things you need when traveling with little ones: http://www.travelmamas.com/pages/packing_lists.html