As a travel consultant, I often hear from clients asking what it's like to go on a cruise with small children aged 1-4 years. Is it doable? Is it fun for them? And can they be in the pool? Naturally, many questions arise about the smallest passengers in the family. This spring, I myself was on board Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas in the Caribbean with my boyfriend, Frederik, and my 3-year-old son, Emil. In this post, I will therefore share my experiences of travelling with a 3-year-old with you - all the way from Copenhagen Airport to the ship in the amazing Caribbean Sea.
First stop: The airport
With a Caribbean cruise, there's no escaping the fact that the journey starts at the airport, where a long flight to Miami awaits before boarding the cruise ship. To avoid more travel stress than necessary, it's always a good idea to arrive well in advance when travelling overseas. I recommend 3 hours so as not to rush around the airport with a small child, and there can be long queues during peak seasons.
If you are travelling with a stroller or pram that needs to be checked in, you should also be aware that these must be checked in at "oversized baggage", which is located in a different place in airports than where you check in your suitcases. Travelling with a stroller is free and no airlines charge extra for this.
On the other hand, buying food and snacks at the airport can be expensive, so I always pack a good, big bag for the plane filled with toys, iPad, various snacks, a change of clothes and nappies so that we are best prepared for the long flight with a toddler. When it comes to kids, you can actually bring all the food you want. You can even bring a water bottle with water in it. Often, you just need to take it out of your bag when you go through security at the airport.
On long flights, such as to Miami, there will of course be a few meals served on board the aircraft. So remember to book a children's menu via the airline's website before departure, otherwise your child will be served an adult menu that is less child-friendly.
Arriving to the cruise ship in Miami
After a successful flight, we landed in Miami, where we had planned a few days before our cruise. We had rented a car through Budget and made sure to book one with both air conditioning and a car seat to make it easier to get out and explore. Many hotels offer baby cots, but it is not always possible to book these from home. So ask at reception, and they are always happy to bring up a bed if it's not already in the room.
Check-in on the ship
After our days in Miami, we were more than ready to board Harmony of the Seas, one of the world's largest cruise ships. I was very excited to show it off to both Emil and my boyfriend Frederik, because there are endless cool activities to do on the ship - for both children and adults. So if you're taking children on a cruise, Royal Caribbean is definitely one of the cruise lines where you can be sure that your children will have fun!
When we checked in on the ship, Emil was immediately given a wristband with a barcode and the number of the muster station we belonged to in case of an emergency. If the barcode is scanned, the staff can see where the child belongs with the cabin number, which is wonderfully reassuring in case the child gets separated from their parents on the big ship.
Choosing a cabin
I had chosen to book a cabin with a balcony facing the Boardwalk, which is the outdoor promenade at one end of the ship. Here I had deliberately chosen to book a cabin at the far end where the Aqua Theatre is located for the simple reason that if Emil got tired and wanted to sleep early, we could still sit out on the balcony and watch the Aqua show from there. At the same time, there is generally a lot of life on the Boardwalk both during the day and in the evening, and Emil thought it was great fun to watch people either riding the carousel, playing or climbing, floating across the Boardwalk in the zip line or if the waiters from Johnny Rockets were putting on a show.
The balcony is high and I generally felt very safe having Emil out there. I would never leave him out there alone, but even if he climbed up on a chair and stood looking out, he wouldn't be able to fall over as it was still a good distance away. The balconies are about 1.14 metres high.
From the moment you arrive, you can request a cot in the cabin if needed, and it will be ready for you when you arrive. If you don't need a cot, you can get a sofa bed - however, we found that Emil was a bit too small to sleep on his own, so he laid between us in the bed, and that worked out great.
Entertainment and shows
As mentioned above, the activities and entertainment on Royal Caribbean's large cruise ships are almost endless, and although it takes a bit of adjusting with a toddler, it's possible to experience the ship's various shows. Instead of going to the late shows at 10pm, we chose to go to them in the afternoon, which is a really nice option to have when travelling with children. We got to see the Grease musical, the Aqua show and the ice skating show. We often chose to sit in the back for the shows, so we could quickly slip out again if Emil suddenly didn't want to sit there anymore, and so we didn't disturb other guests.
Children's clubs
On board the ship there are also children's clubs for the smallest passengers. In the Mini Club, children must be clean to join, and unfortunately Emil is not yet clean. Instead, he was welcomed in the Baby Club, which employs carers to look after the children. Here, however, parents must drop off their children and are not allowed to join in. Leaving the children in these clubs is generally very American, where the parents, for example, lie by the pool, go ashore or something else entirely. Personally, I would never go ashore without Emil, but we tried to take him to the Baby Club one day to see if he wanted to play with other kids, but he didn't want to be there without mum and dad, so we left.
Other fun facilities include a free-to-use carousel on the Boardwalk, a surfboard climbing wall that Emil had a lot of fun on with other kids, and there's mini golf - which Emil was still a little too young to try.
Pools for the little ones
When it comes to swimming in the ship's pools, there is a fun Splash Zone with water slides for the little ones, where swim nappies are allowed. So little ones can splash around even if they're not yet clean. Please note, however, that swimming with a nappy is not allowed in the large pools.
Always food at your fingertips
When it comes to food, there are plenty of options on board a ship as large as Harmony of the Seas. There is a large buffet available around 18 hours a day, so we could easily pick up some snacks for Emil more or less around the clock if he felt like eating. In addition, there is an "ice cream station" where we could pick up soft ice cream for free for a few hours during the afternoon.
In the evening, we ate in the ship's main restaurant, which offers children's menus where you can choose a starter, main course and dessert for your child. It's also possible to get highchairs for the kids if they need them. In addition, we tried two speciality restaurants, which cost extra. These are a little more intimate and perhaps a little fancier than the regular restaurants that are included in the price of the cruise. However, the staff are very friendly and fond of children, so you don't feel in the way or inconvenienced, as you sometimes can when it's that time of night and the little ones are hungry and tired.
The perfect day at CocoCay
Royal Caribbean is one of the many cruise lines that has its own island in the Caribbean, CocoCay, and this was one of the destinations for our trip. What a day and what an island! The ship docks early in the morning and then it's off to the island. Food, drinks and staff from the ship move onto the island, and it's all inclusive. This means that if you have a drinks package on board the ship, you will also have it on CocoCay. In addition, a large buffet is set up where you are free to go and grab food throughout the day.
We chose to get off the ship as some of the first to be sure to get a good spot on the island. However, this turned out not to be necessary as we were the only ship docked that day. A maximum of two ships can dock at a time, but we had the island to ourselves - and it was noticeable because it wasn't crowded at all, which was great!
We decided to moor in the bay, where we had a great view of the ship. It was low tide here, so Emil could easily run down and dip his feet or play in the water while we lay on the sun loungers right next to the water. Many of the other families with children had chosen the same solution, so there were more children for Emil to play in the sand with.
Get around the island easily
Speaking of sand, CocoCay is full of sand, and with your own "city" stroller, it can be a bit of a hassle to manoeuvre around. But on the island, there are strollers with special wheels for travelling in sand that you can borrow. It was really brilliant and made it much easier for us to get around and see the whole island. So, a clear recommendation from here: Make sure you get your hands on one of these when you come to the island!
One of the highlights for Emil was when we went to Splash-zone to try the water slides, which are reserved for smaller children. Emil was thrilled and wanted to go again and again! For older kids, there's an area called Thrill Island with wilder slides. Here, however, you have to pay for access.
So you can go on a cruise with a 3-year-old?
Yes indeed! All three of us had a fantastic holiday and although it's a long trip to go all the way to the Caribbean with a toddler, everything worked out really well. Cruise holidays with toddlers are perfect and we never felt unsafe as parents. At the same time, there were so many activities that even the little ones could enjoy when travelling with one of the more child-friendly cruise lines. The staff are always kind to small children and are generally very patient, so we never felt like we were being inconvenienced.
So if you're thinking of going on a cruise with the little ones in the family, all I can say is: Do it! Cruising is for the whole family, and if you put some thought and preparation into your holiday (just as you would when travelling with young children on other types of holidays), the odds are that you'll have a fantastic holiday experience!