Cruising with Kids: Tips for a Great Family Cruise

Taking two little ones on a cruise isn’t easy, but it is so rewarding. I’ll admit that I yelled a few times (mostly things like “we are making these memories whether you like it or not!”). This trip was an amazing opportunity to see things as a family that we might never get to see again. The look on the kid’s faces as monkeys climbed on their heads made it all worth it. I won’t say that cruising with kids is easy, but it is a lot of fun.

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This is my experience cruising with kids aged 1 and (almost) 4. From this experience I have 10 crucial tips to help you have an awesome cruise with your kids. Make sure to read to the end to find a special bonus tip too!

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #1:

Do a lot of research before booking and before boarding your ship. Know what your cruise line and cruise ship offer and what they don’t. Figure out the dining schedule, activities offered and babysitting options and plan as much of the vacation beforehand as possible. Don’t over schedule yourself and know your limitations. If your children start to lose it after 4 hours of activity, DO NOT book at 6-8 hour excursion. These trips sometimes run over the time listed and so you don’t want to get stuck with a cranky baby on a bus (trust me).

Cruise Time!

We had a lot of help on this part of our first family vacation. After our 3 days in the Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida, we drove back up to Tampa and met up with all our extended family. Grandparents from both sides as well as our siblings all came together to go on a Royal Caribbean Cruise around the Western Caribbean. The kids were so excited to get on the “big boat” and we were excited to explore new countries and environments.

My son ready to board his first cruise ship!

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #2:

Pack EVERYTHING you think you might need and don’t be afraid to over pack clothing for little kids. While laundry is available on board, it is very expensive. I packed very light for myself and packed double for my kids. Even with that, I almost ran out of clothes for them! If kids are older, you should be fine with 1 outfit per day, but with a 1 and 4 year old, I needed more than that. We almost did run out of diapers and had to buy some in Mexico. Whatever you think you need, add to it. Pack a variety of outfits and make sure you have a good backpack to take on excursions. The last thing you want is to run out of something on a cruise.

Boarding the Ship

Since we were able to check in early, boarding the boat didn’t take long. We handed off our suitcases, showed our boarding passes and passports and got on board. The first thing we did was to go to the Windjammer (see below) for some lunch. The kids were hungry and that was the quickest spot to grab a bite to eat. Then, we went up to the top deck and look around. You get a unique view of the city form a cruise ship and it is really fun to watch everything when the ship pulls away from the dock.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #3:

Pack everything you will need for the first couple hours in a “carry on” bag. This can be the backpack that you plan to take on excursions. You will not get your suitcases in your room for a couple of hours so make sure you have diapers, wipes, sunscreen, bathing suits, a toy, motion sickness medication and cameras in your day pack. Food will be available on board immediately so don’t worry about that.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #4:

My kids would NOT take the oral motion sickness medication. Instead, we used Sea-Bands that go on their wrists and use a pressure point to reduce sickness. They work well if you put them on before you set sail. I also recommend getting the kids used to them before the cruise since there is a lot to take in that first day and so adding another thing to get used to might be too much.

We had asked the cruise line to provide a pack and play so that we didn’t have to bring our own which is helpful when traveling. However, it did take some time to get it in our room. This meant that our 16 month old ended up missing his nap for the day. I found out later that we could have called and gotten it earlier so if you travel with a baby I highly recommend calling because there is so much activity on the boat that there is no way our youngest son would nap unless he was in our cabin, sometimes only on our bed.

Our 16 month old sleeping on our bed in the cruise cabin

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #5:

Unpack as soon as you can. The cabins are not huge and things can get lost easily. Living out of a suitcase is not very feasible. Find a place for everything and make sure things are put away when you are done. Over-the-door organizers are very useful to keep you organized.

Our Cruise Ship

We sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas. It is a smaller cruise ship holding only about 2,000 guests plus staff. This allowed us to get into some smaller ports like Belize City but it did mean that there was less to do on the boat. They did still have a kid’s club and a nursery (kid’s club is for potty-trained children 3+ and is included, the nursery had a charge) but the kids were so clingy that we didn’t end up taking advantage. Next time we cruise with kids we will utilize these more since I was hearing from other parents about how much fun their kids had there.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #6:

Don’t do what we did and skip the kid’s clubs. Take full advantage of them. Especially with Royal Caribbean when it is included, there is no reason not to utilize them. If I did this trip over again I would force my kids to at least try it so that we could have enjoyed the ship a little more on our own. Bring walkie-talkies that have a long range if you are worried about being able to get in touch with them.

The Pool

We took full advantage of the pool. Our oldest son did NOT want to come out of it. We spent hours there. Kids do have to be out of diapers to be in the main pool for public health so our youngest, unfortunately, could not go in. Some of the other ships have specific baby pools so make sure to look into the ship you book to see what is available.

My sister and son at the cruise ship pool

Although we had packed a puddle jumper for our son, we didn’t end up using it on the ship since they had life vests that they provided for use in the pool. You may still want your own flotation for beach days at port, but there was no need to get it wet while on the ship which was a big help.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #7:

The lifeguard on duty told me on the first day that we could buy an inflatable kiddie pool to put on the deck and they would fill it for our son that was in diapers. I had planned on doing this but we had excursions planned for each day so we never had the time to find one. If the ship you are going on doesn’t have a kiddie pool this may be an option for you.

Activities for Adults

Another activity on our ship that was great was the rock wall. You had to be 6 to try so our kids were too young, but I had so much fun climbing it. It is much different than going to a rock climbing gym since it has an automatic belay and so no person is holding the rope. You have to jump and trust the machine. It also feels different while climbing so be prepared for that if you are an experienced climber and want to try it out.

Me, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend at the top of the rock climbing wall

Other fun activities included shows, Quest game show (and others), dancing, poolside movies and more. We saw plenty of kids at the shows but I definitely recommend avoiding anything that is labeled as “adult” since it will not be appropriate for young children.

The Food

The main dining room had a few issues in my opinion. Our first night, they were so busy that things moved very slowly. We were a big group, 11 of us including the kids, and had some special dietary restrictions as well. That first night our youngest (who, remember, didn’t nap at all) lost it. They had done a wonderful job getting the kid’s food out quickly, but ours took a long time. I paced outside with him in the stroller for 45 minutes before giving up and asking for my food to be sent up to the room. It was hard for me to miss out on enjoying that first dinner with the whole family, but things did improve from there.

Eating at the main dining room while cruising with kids

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #8:

Bring an umbrella stroller if you have a toddler. While my 16 month old is usually happy in his ergo carrier, I saved this for shore excursions. Also, sometimes when he was having trouble taking a nap, walking on the jogging track with him in the stroller was a lifesaver. They collapse to be very small and can be stored under the bed so they don’t take up room and are useful on board.

By the last night that we ate in the main dining room, they had bowls of fruit ready for my kids and were serving me my dinner quickly so that if I had to go, at least I had been fed. Also, they did a wonderful job helping us celebrate our son’s 4th birthday and my brother-in-law’s 30th!

Celebrating our son's 4th birthday while cruising with kids — Celebrating our son’s 4th birthday on the cruise ship.

The Windjammer

They also have a buffet-style restaurant called the Windjammer (this is the one I mentioned before). Next time we go on a cruise with kids we ill probably just eat there the whole time. The kids had more variety to choose from and we were in control of our portions so we all left more satisfied. I usually made a smorgasbord of whatever I thought our 16 month old would eat and allowed our oldest to pick what he wanted (which was typically the same thing: bread, cheese, fruit, a “little bit” of hot dog and a cookie). This is also where we went for breakfast and lunch for similar reasoning. I brought one silicone pocket bib that was easy to wipe off and use for every meal.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #9:

You are not supposed to bring any outside food on board, but you can bring food back to your room. I usually grabbed a few extra boxes of cereal in the mornings, fruit, and any other snacks that I could store either in the drawers or in the little fridge in our cabin. This made our life so much easier when the inevitable “I want a snack” statement came into the room.

Nights on the Ship

After full days of activity, the nights (and sometimes mid day) needed to be calm for our kids. Once we got them back into the cabin, we would set up our iPad with a movie (thank you Disney+) and get them to relax until they eventually fell asleep. We would have been stuck in the cabin after that if not the fact that we had grandparents that were willing to sit with the kids while my husband and I went out a little. Honestly, we still were back and in bed by 9 most nights since we were getting up early with the kids for excursions in port every day. As parents, you are just too tired to stay up late! This quiet time was much needed and so be prepared to spend a lot of time in the cabin with sleeping children.

The Drinks

We paid for deluxe drink packages. This meant that fresh-squeezed juice, premium coffees, soda, bottled water, and alcohol were all included. We made sure to take full advantage of this. I was living my best life with Bahama Mamas and lattes in the morning. It is worth it, in my opinion, to not have to worry about a bill coming up at the end. If you drink alcohol, I highly recommend getting the package even if you are on the cruise with kids. You will use it and be grateful that you did!

Date Night

We got one date night while on board. For this night we ate at the Izumi Japanese restaurant that was located on the very top of the ship. We don’t get good sushi where we live so we were excited about it and it did not disappoint. Since it was a specialty restaurant it did cost extra, but it was worth it in my opinion.

After dinner, we went for the adult Quest game show with my sister which was so much fun and hilarious to watch everyone finding 5 bras in the audience, among other quests. There are a lot of events like this that are a great way to spend evenings on a cruise ship.

CRUISING WITH KIDS TIP #10:

Go with the flow. Some days kids might want to be out and exploring all day, other days they might want to hide in the cabin. Having a room with a balcony was great because of those days that they got overwhelmed and needed the quiet of our room. On those days, my husband and I could hang out on the balcony and still enjoy the fresh air, sea, and sun. As long as we followed their lead the trip was great, but if we tried to push them, it got much more frustrating.

Daddy and son hanging out on the cruise deck

Cruising with kids is a lot of fun and can be so rewarding. Watching them explore and discover new things is one of my favorite things in the world. This is a great way to travel and find a balance between family time and “you” time.

Have any questions about cruising with kids? Ask in the comments!

Check out the first part of this vacation that we spent in the Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida before setting sail out of Tampa.

CRUISING WITH KIDS BONUS TIP:

Explore the ship. Look all around. You might find some hidden treasures. There are a lot of cruise traditions that I still don’t know about, but we learned about one when our son found a rubber duck. Apparently, it is a “thing” to decorate and hide “cruise ducks”. He was so excited to find it and now we have a unique memento from our trip.