• Blog
  • Contact
  • About
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

1+1+1=1 logo

Never planned to homeschool, now wouldn't trade it for the world

  • 1+1+1=1 logo
  • HOME
  • FREE PRINTABLES
    • MONTESSORI
    • READ FOR A REASON
    • THEME BASED
    • JUST COLOR!
    • CALENDAR CONNECTIONS
    • ALPHABET
    • NUMBERS
    • SCIENCE
  • CURRICULUM BY 1+1+1=1
    • COUNTRY BY COUNTRY
    • ANIMAL ABCS
    • TOT SCHOOL PRINTABLES
    • KINDERGARTEN @ HOME
    • KINDERGARTEN LITERATURE UNITS
    • YOU CAN READ SIGHT WORDS
    • YOU CAN READ WORD FAMILIES
    • RAISING ROCK STARS PRESCHOOL
    • RAISING ROCK STARS KINDERGARTEN
    • RAISING LIL’ ROCK STARS THROUGH THE BIBLE A-Z
  • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews

Cruising with Young Kids ~ Tips and Tricks

Cruising with Young Kids

It is true – we have been on quite a few cruises, and we realize what an amazing blessing this is.  We could never afford to do this on our own and are spoiled by grandparents.  Recently real life friends asked me for advice about cruising with tots, and I figured they probably weren’t the only ones with questions!  Because of our cruising experience, I thought I would share some things I have learned along the way for those of you who might be thinking of taking a cruise in the future, with young kids. It really is a great experience and way more affordable for us homeschoolers who can easily go during the off season.  All of our cruises have been purposely planned {by my mom} during the absolute cheapest times of the year {usually Feb-Mar}.

We have cruised multiple times {with young kids and without}, but with the young kids we have been on Royal Caribbean {once ~ Freedom of the Seas} and Holland America {more than once ~ Nieuw Amsterdam, Westerdam, Eurodam}.  The youngest we have taken a child cruising with us was age 1 {Ladybug}.

Our favorite…

Holland America for sure!  Here’s why…

  • Holland America ships are smaller ships with less to do.  This may seem like a bad thing with kids, but we personally think it is a great thing.  The Royal Caribbean ship was so big {we weren’t even on their biggest one!} and had so much to do {rock climbing, putt putt, ice skating, etc.} we felt like we were always trying to fit in something else. It was honestly exhausting!
  • HEATED POOL…need I say more?  Oh yeah and it has a glass “ceiling” that closes if it rains or is chilly!  The pool wasn’t huge and is “deep” even at the shallow end, but this didn’t bother us-the heat made up for it! Royal’s pool was freezing and it was chilly the week we went so we were in the pool very little. Sure they had an awesome kiddie pool and spray park but my kids were shaking and blue because they were so cold!
  • The service…amazing!  Although Royal Caribbean had awesome service too, Holland America steps it up a notch.  Honestly it is just in the genuine kindness you feel from just about everyone on board.
  • The food…awesome!  Again, Royal had great food too, but Holland America steps it up, especially with their breakfast/lunch buffet options.
  • HAL Kids Program…wonderful!  It begins for age 3 and goes up.  Each night, we had a late dinner seating {8pm} but HAL opened at 7pm, so the boys could just eat at the buffet {Lido deck} and head up to their club. Other ships have amazing kids’ programs too.  Be sure you know ages, most are potty trained 3 years old and up only.

But, you might not be like us!

Many people would disagree with us for choosing an “older people” ship as our favorite with young kids, but we like to relax, not be so busy.  If you enjoy constant activity, have lot of energy, love crowds and tons of kids, I definitely recommend choosing Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Disney or one of the more kid activity based ships.

 

Packing Tips…

Cruising with a Tot

  • clothespins {to hang up wet suits everywhere!}
  • power strip {there are usually only 1-2 outlets and taking things in and out is a pain}
  • DVDs {check beforehand, all of our rooms had DVD players in room, if not-bring a small one}
  • noise machine, the hallways get loud
  • night light
  • wet bag {or plastic store bags, to tote wet items}
  • lanyard/hole punch {to use for your key cards, wear them as necklaces}
  • bandaids
  • more sunscreen than you would ever think you’d need, oh and sunscreen chapstick!
  • hats for everyone, swim shirts too-the sun at sea is brutal
  • wind breakers/sweatshirts
  • blow up ducky pool {many rooms have showers only, and if you have a kid who only takes baths, you don’t want the fight in a tiny cruise ship bathroom}
  • umbrella stroller {yup, even for kids a bit too old for one} We brought one on a whim when Ladybug was almost 4 and used it at every port and are so glad we brought it at the last minute.
  • baby carrier {Ergo recommended} for non-walking babies. We used this a LOT when Ladybug was 1.
  • small toys {Littlest Pet Shops, play doh, cars, squinkies, crayons, coloring books, etc.} They are easy to pack and bring to dinner to occupy kids when the wait is long.
  • small purse for little girls, or bag for boys {to carry those tiny toys you brought}.  We brought a tiny bag with tiny toys to dinner on the nights when she came with us and it helped tremendously for multiple course meals!  iPads/iPhones aren’t a bad distraction either!

      A few other things to think about when planning…

    Potty Trained?

Many cruise ships have a potty-trained only rule about their pools.  This means no swim diapers of any sort. Be prepared if you aren’t going on a ship with kiddie pools {no Holland America ships had kiddie pools}. I have heard people bring small blow up pools to let babies sit in on deck.

Sleep Arrangements

All cruises we have been on provided a pack and play free of charge and we used that, be sure to ask, I am not sure all cruise lines provide one.  When Ladybug was almost 4 she slept in the loft bed for the first time, with a nice pillow border we created.  She LOVED it!

Floaties

Bring your own blow up rings/floaty devices, even for your older kids.  They are fun and every child wants one, we regretted the year we only brought one for Ladybug and not the boys.  Last year was much more peaceful, we brought 4 {in case one popped}. Also-goggles, swim socks/shoes for young tots {decks can be slippery}, swim shirts, hats {our favorite}, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc.

You Don’t Have to Get Off the Boat!

Some of our favorite times are when we stay on the ship when others get off at a port!  We have a few ports we don’t care for {with kids} and we love to enjoy the empty pool. Once our kids are older this may change, but while we have a young one, some ports just aren’t worth the trouble of lugging them all around, especially if you’ve already seen it once.

Balcony or Not?

We have only sailed with a balcony one time, the others have mostly been the cheapest inside staterooms, and once we had a window.  We got the balcony this past time and although it was nice, I don’t think I would pay extra for it, since we didn’t use it nearly as much as I thought we might. Some would disagree, but I vote for saving money!

Room Service Breakfast

It took a few cruises for us to figure out what a gem this service was to us.  You see, I am not a morning person and neither is Ladybug. Having to get dressed and look decent just to go get breakfast was a bummer to us.  Cruises offer free 24 hour room service, just fill out the card and hang it on the door with the time you want it delivered.  This also made sure we didn’t oversleep and miss the day!

Tot Food and Drinks

If you have a younger tot still using a sippy cup, be sure to bring a stash of disposable sippy cups and a small bottle of dish soap. I just rinsed them out all week long in our sink and we always had a cup of water, juice or milk in the little room fridge for her. Also, we would snag tot snacks for her to keep in the room too {yogurt, cereal, crackers, bananas}, all from the buffet or from room service.

 

Have you cruised with young kids?  Any advice to add to my list?

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin4
4 Shares

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes Tagged with: Behind the Scenes

Newer Post
Tot School Gathering Place ~ week 30
Older Post
Following her lead…

Primary Sidebar

oneplusone300x150
ABC Crafts for Uppercase Letters-300x250

Recent Posts

Black History Flashcards

Peek & Find Heart Theme Game for Kids

Christmas Theme Kindergarten No-Prep Activity Pack

8th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Picks, Round 3

Thanksgiving Theme Kindergarten No-Prep Activity Pack

Ivy Kids Kit Review – Love From Giraffes Can’t Dance

Footer

1plus1plus1

Carisa Hinson
Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabul Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabulous teacher. Not distracting at all. 

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #iew
Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel ev Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel even posed for the picture. Our other cats go in the stroller sometimes too, Mabel is the frequent stroller-er.

#calicocats #fluffycalico #catsinstrollers
Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of m Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of middle grade books last summer (many reviews are on my blog, I linked them in the “2022 Books” highlight above). Did you read any of these? See my ratings on my goodreads profile! I will link in my stories, I am Carisa Hinson on goodreads.

#middlegradebooks #middleschoolbooks #mglit #middlegradebooksuggestions #readinginthemiddlegrades #2022goodreadschallenge #2022yearinbooks
It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, happiness, excitement, surprise, sadness, longing, and a bit of emptiness. 

We celebrated with my parents on the 24th, and that was a very joyous celebration. We enjoyed church, gifts, food, and mostly one another. 

On the 25th we celebrated with my husband’s family and sadly we are missing our beloved Nana who went to be with Jesus a few weeks ago. We all did our best to honor her love for fun last night. We played games, we laughed, we ate well, but it was all mixed with a longing sadness, wishing we had her with us. 

The next to last photo is it Kyler and my father in law, who lost his very best friend. We just love him so much and pray for his continued healing as he grieves this horrible loss and emptiness. 

The final photo is of Nana’s grandkids each holding their collage of photos of them and their Nana. This gift brought some tears, but we can tell will be treasured by each of them. She was one of a kind, and so special to all six of them.
Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see what he bought his little sis! She was SO surprised! He loves giving gifts and having a job the enables him to do surprises like this is a gift to him. Sweet moments. ❤️
Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself i Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself in the perfect spot! See more of her and her sister Holly here: @crazy_foster_kitten_lady Merry Christmas Eve! 

#hollyandjolly2022fosterkittens #orphankittens
#kittenseason2022 #fosterkittens #fosterkittens4thehinsons #fosterkittensofinstagram #fosterkittenlove #kittenfostering #kittenfostermom #kittenfoster #fosterkittenlove #kittenseason #tinybutmighty #fostercatsandkittens
Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids. Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids.
I know many of you don’t know many of the people I know many of you don’t know many of the people in this photo, but I know many of you pray. The beautiful woman on the far left of the couch is my bonus-momma, my husband’s mom. She has stopped all treatment for her cancer and is going home to be with Jesus soon. We prayed for her to feel well enough to be with us at Thanksgiving, and though she felt pretty crappy, she was there. 

If you know her, you know what I mean when I say this is one of the kindest, most joyful, selfless people I have ever known. The world won’t be the same without her. We are devastated and hurting. We pray for her peace, her comfort, her pain, and for God to relieve her of the suffering. 

Last night was a huge mixture of pure joy and devastating sadness. We celebrated and hugged, and laughed, and we cried. It’s just so hard. Thanks for praying for our family. ❤️
We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year. ❤️ 

#🐶baxter❤️ #pitmix #pitmixes #sleepydogs #marshmellie🐶 #greatpyrenees  #greatpyreneesofinstagram  #greatpyr  #greatpyreneeslovers #greatpyreneesfamily #doggo #rescuedog #adoptdontshop #doglife #pyreneesofinstagram #dogsofinsta #doglover #instadog #gentlegiant
Webby and the lizard. Swipe for the video version Webby and the lizard. Swipe for  the video version. 🐱 🦎
I love my Christmas birds. We love having the deco I love my Christmas birds. We love having the decorations complete before Thanksgiving so we can relax and enjoy our home with our favorite decor of the year! I got started today, not close to done, but enjoying my adorable birds. A lot. Do you decorate early?
Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining c Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining cat we have ever had. She is sweet and sassy, mischievous and marvelous. Equal parts of each. She annoys all of our other animals just like a little sister should and keeps the humans on our toes too. She LOVES Lili, and is still BFF with Pebbles (Lili’s cat). So glad we decided to add this rambunctious ball of fluff to our crew!
Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and tr Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and trick or treating in her neighborhood with Lili and her friends! The gum ball machine costume made it back for another year!
My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is f My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is feeling good today so we met for lunch. She hasn’t had many good days lately so we take the moments when they come!

She has cancer and chemo is making her sick, it’s been a long hard road as any of you who have dealt with there horrible C word know. We don’t know what the future holds, so we cling to today! I loved sitting by her and laughing together. I am so blessed to have her as my mother in law! ❤️

Sadly since it was last minute, my boys couldn’t make it to lunch.
Every year they drive up to the mountains for the Every year they drive up to the mountains for the day and just spend time together. It’s their thing and I love it. Today they hiked, that’s Lili laying on the rock! She’s not much of a hiker but she loves the mountains, the leaves and her Daddy!
Goodness they are cute. Love them so much! 🧡🧡🧡
Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that b Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that bad. Reading it for chemistry this year, and I have to admit I am learning a LOT, and it is interesting! 

We are using @guesthollow Chemistry in the Kitchen, this is one of the many books we are reading and will read.

#homeschoolchemistry #napoleonsbuttons #guesthollowchemistry #homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #homeschoolhighschool
Beautiful Fern on my beautiful new fall cat blanke Beautiful Fern on my beautiful new fall cat blanket. 🧡🧡🧡 

Thanks to my momma for the new blanket!
Link in profile to see answers and share your answ Link in profile to see answers and share your answer on my Facebook page! Not on FB? Share in a comment below! 

I have been homeschooling for a long time, one of my kids is graduated, one is a junior, and the other is in 8th - homeschooled the entire time. I am still a curious homeschooler and love to know what is working or hasn't worked for others. I have a series of these posts planned and hope that many of you will share!

First up - MATH! What curriculum are you using? Do you like it? Did you switch from something else? Any thoughts you're willing to share - good or bad! 

If you have a blog or Youtube and want to link to a specific post/video about math, feel free! 

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #homeschoolmath
Remember them? We don’t see much of my oldest no Remember them? We don’t see much of my oldest now since he’s been living on his own (renting a house with friends), but we love when we do! That’s his dog, Melody, who is temp. living with us due to not getting along with a roommates dog. She’s smiling in this pic because he came over to visit her and she ADORES him. 

Paxton is 20 and doing great, I know many of you have watched him grow up on my blog! He works for a robotics company that contracts with Amazon, so he runs the robotics portion of an Amazon warehouse (did I explain that kinda right @paxtoroni ?) he’s VERY into cars, and has been for years, this is his car account in case you’re into cars too: @paxgt 😬 I don’t love cars but I LOVE him.

#marshmellie🐶
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Terms of Use & Copyright Info

The content (including photos) within this blog are not to be used without my permission. You ARE allowed to pin photos on Pinterest with a link back to the post. I appreciate pins!

I am honored when others post about my blog with links back to it, please leave a comment and link back to where you did this, I'd love to see your blog or website!

If you have questions about copyright in terms of my printables, please see a more detailed Terms of Use here!

Disclaimer & Privacy Policy

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links.

1+1+1=1 is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Occasionally I receive products in exchange for a review or giveaway post. These posts are always labeled as reviews and/or giveaways. I never feature a product we don't use and enjoy ourselves.

Any advertisers I feature as sponsors are also only companies I stand behind.

All opinions expressed on 1+1+1=1 are solely mine.

Please see our Privacy Policy here!

Copyright © 2023 · Darling theme by Restored 316

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT