Have you thought about going on a cruise with your family that included children under the age of three? My family just returned from a 7-night Bermuda cruise on the Norwegian Gem out of Boston, MA, and I am going to share with you the good, bad, and ugly when traveling with a two-year-old and a 7-month-old.
Now, I am a seasoned cruiser. I have been on this ship before, embarked in Boston before, and been to Bermuda before. I had been looking forward to this tropical vacation for weeks! My husband had never been on a cruise before, so I made sure to get one of the larger cabin types so he wouldn't feel too congested in our room. I splurged and purchased the Club Suite Balcony. Another reason I was excited about this cabin category was that it included one free bag of laundry. With two little ones, I was definitely worried about running out of clothes between spit-ups, blow-outs, and my very messy eaters.
My first mistake: bringing my side-by-side double stroller. Boy, did I forget how narrow the doorways were for the cabins. The stroller itself fit on the elevator, in the restaurants, and in the hallways. But when it came time to stroll my two sleeping children to the cabin for nap time, disaster struck. They had just announced everyone was allowed to go to their staterooms, so it was a madhouse. The stroller didn't fit through the doorway, so we were holding up traffic. The kids obviously had to be transferred to the bed because we couldn't just leave them sleeping in the stroller in the hallway. This meant nap time was over. Both girls woke up immediately once they were taken out of the stroller. Needless to say, we did not use the stroller anymore on sea days, which meant our backs had no feeling in them by the time we disembarked the ship.
My second mistake: choosing a smaller ship with little to nothing for children under the age of three to do. Now don't get me wrong. I did do my research on the Guppies Play Room that the ship had on board, so I knew there was a safe and clean place I could bring the girls during the day to play with age-appropriate toys and have fun. I was naive in the fact that I assumed my terrible twos daughter and velcro baby would sit quietly during the shows and entertainment. Therefore, we couldn't enjoy them like I hoped. Thankfully, we had the grandparents, aunts, and uncles on board with us, so we did get help from them. For children three and up, the cruise ship had amazing daytime activities for them to participate in, and they were allowed to be dropped off at the onboard daycare service.
My third mistake: expecting it to be easy. I knew the cruise would be more difficult with children than my previous cruises. I just didn't realize how much more difficult. Between my first two mistakes and then just thinking my children would sit and be quiet angels when we went to dinner or were sitting in the atrium, it was tough.
My mistakes made me realize that if I want to take my children on another cruise anytime soon, I should pick a ship that has many more baby/toddler-friendly activities.
Don't let all the mistakes scare you away, though! There were also many wonderful parts to this vacation. While my husband took the girls back to the cabin for nap times during the day, I was able to enjoy some time at the ship's casino, experience a margarita tasting and a martini tasting, and enjoy some of the atrium games with other members of our family.
Choosing to do the girls' first cruise with their grandparents, aunts, and uncles was the smartest decision we made for this vacation. We had the help that would have been desperately needed otherwise. When we did our big family dinners at the specialty restaurants, the girls were able to eat for free and enjoy quality time with everyone. It did make the dinners go by much smoother. My husband and I were even able to use the spa for a few hours while the grandparents took the girls to the beach in Bermuda.
Bermuda is one of the most stunning islands I have visited. The Horseshoe Bay Beach (pink sand beach) is always worth going back to visit. The water is crystal clear, the sand is so soft, and the girls absolutely loved every minute of being there. My main reason for wanting to bring the girls to Bermuda was because of how safe the island is. We didn't take the cruise line's shore excursion transfer to the beach. We chose to walk off the ship and use the local taxis. Our taxi drivers were very nice, gave us a little history about the island on our rides, and did not cost an arm and a leg. We even just spent a day walking around the island (which we did bring the double stroller for). There is even the option to take the local ferries to their other islands where there is much more shopping out in Hamilton or more history to learn in St. George.
Overall, cruising with children under three is a lot of work. If you have the support and choose the right cruise ship and itinerary, it is worth every second of it. My husband will tell you he will never cruise again. Luckily, I make all our travel arrangements. But, I do know for next time, choose a larger ship or a cruise line that is targeted towards families with very young children.
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