Hi, everyone. We're just on our way back from an 11-night cruise around the Canary Islands,
and I thought I would do a quick video about tips for cruising with children. I'll put
the details down below of where we actually went if anyone's interested, and I hope these
are useful. We have had a fantastic time, but obviously
any holiday with children can be a bit tricky and nothing like the holidays that you've
had pre-children. So I hope these tips might help you.
If you haven't already booked your cruise, research the operators that are most family-friendly.
P & O, Royal Caribbean, and of course Disney are known for catering well to families. We
actually went on a cruise with Celebrity, and we chose the most family-friendly ship,
which was called The Eclipse. These companies and ships have things like crashes, kids clubs,
kids pools, and even some have launderettes, which is perfect for families. So it's worth
doing your research before you book. There are even some special activities for teenagers
if you have older children. Check out what is and isn't allowed on your
ship. The ship that we actually went with doesn't allow children in swimming nappies
or non-potty trained children in the swimming pool. This could have been an absolute nightmare
for us, but luckily our baby Caleb charmed the pool security and he let the baby in the
pool. Obviously, our baby saw his older brother having so much fun in the pool, so it would
have been really difficult if he couldn't have got in and if they were stricter.
Take single buggies rather than double buggies on your cruise. The hallways on a cruise ship
are narrow, and there's often cleaning caddies in the hallways. So if you had a double buggy,
it would make it very difficult to get past. We just about made it with our single buggies.
And also, it's worth taking a buggy for slightly older children if they don't like walking
or they tire easily. Our eldest son is nearly four and at home he never uses a buggy. He
always walks. But on the ship, it's so, so long and you do so much walking, we found
that taking a second buggy was so useful for him.
Just about get it through. There you go. The food on board the ship was amazing, and
the chefs were excellent at offering to mash and puree food for our baby. But I did bring
one savory packet per day and one fruit packet per day. I think this was the perfect amount.
If we were at the beach or by the pool and the rest of us didn't want to go to the buffet
yet, it was easy to give our baby a packet of food. One thing I wish I'd brought more
of is dry baby snacks. I really missed having baby rice cakes, baby crisps, and crackers
and things like that. There was plenty of breadsticks and cookies and everything, but
I did really miss having the dry snack. There's also plenty of veg, fruit, and yogurt on board.
On the topic of food, I would recommend taking at least two baby cups. I brought just one
cup per child, and I found that I kept having to wash them and lose them. So I wish I'd
actually brought more of these. It also might be worth bringing some Tupperware so that
when you're at the buffet you can fill them up and have them for snacks throughout the
day on excursions or by the pool. Your ship will no doubt stop in lots of lovely
places, but sometimes it's easier not to get off the ship. Obviously, if you have your
heart set on seeing somewhere, get off and see it. We had to make the choice of dealing
with having two children and two buggies and going through security checks et cetera. We
had to weight up if it was going to be worth it and fun for them. It was great getting
off in Gran Canaria and going to the beach. But in other places that were more hilly,
we made a decision not to get off. Our children were really happiest by the pool. And on land
days when everyone gets off, the pool is nice and quiet. So we took advantage of that.
We stopped in Lisben and we wanted to see their famous aquarium. So rather than go on
the planned trip that had set times, we ended up just getting off, hopping in a taxi, and
going to the aquarium and then coming back when it suited us. This meant it was a lot
cheaper and it also suited the children better because we could go at time when they weren't
napping. I brought all the medication that you could
need for a trip, teething medicines, Calpol, band aids, antibacterial cream, Dioralyte,
everything you can think of. Did look into getting sea sickness tablets for our children,
but apparently children under the age of four can't take the tablets and shouldn't really
feel the motion sickness. We had a room right at the front of the boat, and it was quite
rocky when we went through something called the Bay of Biscay. It was really quite rocky,
but our children didn't seem to feel it. Also, if you are worried about sea sickness,
I would recommend that you get a midship room on a middle deck. If you're in the center
of the ship, you should feel the movement less.
There are a few products that I brought on the cruise with us that were lifesavers. Our
ship didn't have a launderette facility and our baby is really, really messy when he eats.
So I brought this travel vanish bar, which was great for getting out stains in clothes
in the sink. Also, I brought a few of these little concentrated travel squashes. They're
Robinsons and they're no added sugar and natural ingredients. I find that both my boys don't
really love drinking water. A little bit of squash can just make them drink more. And
I always worry about their hydration in the heat, so bringing these really concentrated
squashes was great. The ship that we went on was American and
the juice tasted really, really sugary and was unnatural colors. So even watered down,
I was worried about the ingredients. I felt much better buying water and putting a little
bit of this squash in it and having my boys drink that for the duration of the trip.
In terms of toys, we really didn't bring too much. We brought their two comforter toys
like their bunny and their Mickey Mouse. We brought their bath Disney toys and we brought
some new bath toys that were squirty so that they could play with these at the pool. We
also brought a bowl and some balloons that were great. And for our eldest son, we brought
the iPad, which is loaded up with games and movies, so that if we were out having a meal
at night he could play on that. And also, it was a lifesaver in getting him out of the
sun just for half an hour, letting him have some shade time.
If you are traveling with very young children, make sure you have a cabin that has a bath.
We had a lovely family room, but it only had a shower. And for the first couple of days,
the boys loved it. But the novelty seemed to wear off after a couple of days and bath
time became a real struggle, which was strange because our boys really love bath time and
look forward to it. So I would recommend that you get a bath. Or if that's really expensive,
it might even be worth bringing a blowup bath or something.
I would really, really recommend getting one of these Snooze Shades for any holiday use
or for everyday use. They're brilliant. I got this on Amazon. They're a complete blackout
and they're also breathable. Obviously, if you wanted to make a buggy darker, you could
use put any old blanket or towel over it. But in the heat, you obviously worry that
they're getting enough air. And with this, a breeze and wind could still reach your baby
and it really does make it dark. This was perfect for naps by the pool, also for meals
out at night. So I can't recommend this enough. We also brought our Maclaren buggy, which
lays completely flat. We would normally put our baby down for bed in the buggy and then
go out for a meal. And because it was flat, it meant that Caleb could sleep ... it meant
our baby could sleep on his side or on his front, which he actually prefers.
One of the best things about cruising for us with children was that there was no luggage
limit. We just drove two hours to Southampton and got on the ship, went around the Canary
Islands and back again. So we could bring as much stuff as we wanted to. So we just
got three huge cases and filled them with everything. They were so heavy, but it didn't
matter. I would recommend bringing fewer, large cases rather than lots of little cases.
All in all, we really loved our cruise. I do think that it might be suited to children
that are slightly older, maybe three or four and up. I just found it quite difficult with
our baby. He's just started walking, which probably didn't help. And I spent a lot of
time walking with his hands, and it did my back in a little bit. But saying that we had
such a lovely time, there was so much to do on the ship for kids and adults. The food
is amazing. It's better than any all-inclusive hotel we've ever stayed in. And the staff
couldn't do enough for you. While we were on board, it was our baby Caleb's
first birthday and they sent him a present, they sent him a card, they arranged a cake.
They even called us and let us know a time that we could meet the captain for his first
birthday. So make sure you let them know of any celebrations on board as well.
And yes, there are a lot of older people on a cruise, but the majority of them love children.
So they spent a lot of cooing over our boys, which they really, really liked.
Okay. I hope these tips have been helpful. If they have, please give me a thumbs up.
And if you only just found me and you like what you see, thank you for subscribing. And
I will see you soon.