{"id":38,"date":"2026-05-27T11:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toddlertravels.com\/wp\/?page_id=38"},"modified":"2026-09-12T10:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T10:26:24","slug":"caribbean","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.toddlertravels.com\/wp\/?page_id=38","title":{"rendered":"Caribbean Cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Now remember I am not a salesperson; I am a travelling Mum and brutally honest\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to most opinions: I hated <\/em>cruising with children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I would hate cruising without children. I think I would even hate cruising with Brad Pitt \u2013 I hated it that <\/em>much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I am also here to make all your travels with toddlers easier, so I do have plenty of tips on how to make your trip at sea less sufferable.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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First, I just want to explain why I hated my cruise so much. If you have booked a cruise with toddlers and are now checking the returns policy, remember this was my unique one-off experience and I have heard that cruising with young children is supposed to be brilliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We booked a 6 night Royal Caribbean cruise around the Caribbean on board the \u2018Allure of Seas\u2019. This was after a 3 week stint at Disney World<\/a> and was meant to be a relaxing week before returning home. Mistake number one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When my friends ask why I had such an awful time, it is hard to quantify. It was a mixture of lots of little inconveniences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also discovered, whilst staring at the horizon calculating how long it would take me to swim ashore, I am a huge control freak. You have very little control on a cruise ship, which I think is actually what appeals to cruise advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps we just booked the wrong cruise at the wrong time. It was out of school holidays, it felt very party vibe and one night our daughter was the only kid in kid\u2019s club. Or maybe Americans just enjoy spending time with their children more than we do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the reasons we chose Royal Caribbean is they provide \u2018Royal Babies\u2019 nursery, which is a paid service that looks after 6 month \u2013 3 year olds. It costs a reasonable $9-$12 per hour. Our 2-year-old son absolutely hated it but I think the main reason was because he didn\u2019t go to nursery at home so was not used to being left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing the right cruise cabin for toddlers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The main struggle with cruising with toddlers is the room\u2026 or lack of. Cabins are basically a small hotel room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We opted for a balcony room to give us that extra space, but this came with its own challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew I would lay awake all night imagining my 2-year-old has grown 3 foot, gained the strength of a gorilla and the knowledge to open a lock to jump into the sea. Rest assured, if you do want a balcony room, the lock was really tricky to open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For added reassurance, I also took a plastic door lock<\/a> and door alarm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lock was so good that we didn\u2019t use the extra door lock, though this is something we now take on all holidays for any doors leading outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The door alarm gave me extra piece of mind and also our cabin steward an extra surprise when we forgot to turn it off!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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When researching Royal Caribbean rooms, I noticed that about half the balcony rooms have the adult double bed next to the balcony instead of the children\u2019s pullout sofa bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I actually requested this configuration before we left as I think this would give any parent extra reassurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprise surprise, we did not get this layout but if you go to customer services before unpacking, I believe they can sort this out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A positive note about the room \u2013 when the pull-out bed is open it obviously takes up most of the floor space. Your cabin steward actually pulls out the bed at night and puts it away late morning. You can negotiate a time that works for you when you meet them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Packing for toddlers on a cruise<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The cabins are really small so organisation is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did a lot of research before our cruise and found storage systems like packing cubes, a collapsable washing basket, magnetic hooks and hanging bathroom organiser the most useful tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To entertain the children whilst in the room, I packed my usual compact toys <\/a>that I would for a hotel room stay.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this, magnets are your new best friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cabin walls are magnetic so whilst researching magnetic storage solutions I thought of packing some magnets for my children to play with and I did not regret it – it kept them occupied for ages!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activities for toddlers on a cruise<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t do any excursions with our children as really none appealed to us and it felt daunting to be on a 6 hour land excursion with no escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main activity for toddlers on cruise ships is the swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if your child is not potty trained, they are not permitted in the main pool or even children\u2019s splash pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On our ship, there was a tiny baby pool with fountains that swim nappies were permitted in but I don\u2019t think this is the case for all cruises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were also really strict on this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the theme of honesty, our 2-year-old was not potty trained so we just did not put a swim nappy on him. I would not recommend for children that can poonami at any given moment \u2013 our boy is \u2018regular\u2019 so I felt safe doing this.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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Plenty of cruises advertise play areas for toddlers. On Allure of the Seas, this felt like really wasted space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a brand new state of the art area for children to let off steam but in reality, it was a wooden ship in the middle of a big space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I often go to soft plays and think they have been designed by adolescent influencer that has never met a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, it was better than nothing, and my children enjoyed a bit of free play<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In addition to the kids club they also had a craft room that was open at certain times for you to supervise your child and help them colour or paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We never actually found any kid\u2019s evening entertainment. There was family karaoke one night which consisted of out of tune Taylor Swift songs but other than that we were a bit stuck what to do with them when the sun set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We attempted to take them to a few of the shows, which were incredible, but had to leave some as they were too long for them to sit through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Another strange little cult type tradition on cruises is passengers hide lots of different type ducks around the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We found plenty but even if you don’t (you will) my children enjoyed just looking for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now you know this before you go it could be nice to take some with you for your toddlers to hide also.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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Timings on a cruise ship<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One of my biggest frustrations with cruising was not being able to do what I want, when I want. Or more accurately \u2013 when my kids demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really recommend doing your research before you go on when areas open or when services are available. As I honestly believe the Royal Caribbean schedule was created by a twenty something partygoer, certainly not a parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t need to state the obvious: children are matutinal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some examples of these frustrations are going down to swimming after breakfast (around 8.30am) and finding out the pool did not open until 9.30am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both kids were in their swim gear ready to rumble and we had to occupy them for an hour before the pool opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another example of bad timing is telling the kids we can go and get an ice cream and nowhere actually being open for ice cream! And this was in the middle of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Dinner and shows were also really late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We luckily got the first dinner sitting at 17.15 \u2013 so make sure you chose this option before you leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough moaning – the positives of cruising with toddlers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n