Just like the title says 
I've never been on a cruise and DH is hesitant, but just wondering what others with older LOs think...
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I've never been either but from what I understand that on most cruise lines kids aren't eligible for all day care/activities until they are 3 (not that you necessarily want to leave them all day everyday but I'm sure a few days would be mice!)
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I would do either/both! At 3 they probably are more with it and if they can do activities at 3, that's a big point in 3's favor. But my 2 yo would probably BE fun and HAVE fun on a cruise, too.
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We just went on a cruise with our 23 month old! It was a Disney Cruise so it was suited for kids of all ages, but that being said I would probably wait until M is 3. Only potty trained kids can use the pool so that was one drawback of our cruise. We struggled to make it to any shows or nightly activites because Owen was so wiped every night. I can definitely go into more details if you are interested! Don't get me wrong, I think you will enjoy going at any age but you might get more bang for your buck so to speak if you wait until she is 3ish.
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Wait till 3, better chance she is potty trained. They can't go to day care on the ship till out of diapers.
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I think it would be more fun once the kids are in the 5-6 age range...a little more independent and able to enjoy the amenities!
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@petunia354: That's the biggest reason I'm leaning towards 3. I can't believe they don't allow swim diapers (just learned that a few days ago).
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We just went on a cruise with LO who is 2.5 and she had a total blast - she had so much fun! So, I think either age would be fine. We went on Holland America and because LO was under 3, we didn't have to pay for her on the shore excursions we went on. That saved us probably $100 or more.
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@yoursilverlining: Oh awesome! Where did y'all cruise from/to?
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@lawbee11: we went from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and a private island owned by the cruise company in the Bahamas. The staff (and other cruise passengers) treated LO like ROYALTY! She couldn't go in the pools (not potty trained), but I just told her that pools were for "big kids" only and she accepted that (phew!) and never asked to go in, so it wasn't a big deal, but LO had never been in a pool so she doesn't know what she's missing.
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Disney has daycare for the under 3 age group, don't have to be potty trained! We saw both infants and toddlers there and the staff was amazing. It's nice to have that option if you and DH want a nice dinner alone or want to hit up the adult pool.
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I would say either would be fine but voted 3
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I don't care for cruises, but if I was going to go with a child, I'd prefer the independence of a three year old. Three is difficult in so many ways, but not for traveling!
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We had awesome travel experiences at three. I still had to do a lot of planning and preparing at two. Bibs. Food. Running to bathroom. (I can't speak from experience on cruises though.)
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@Petunia354: that's crazy re: swim diapers! I'd imagine this policy just encourages parents of semi-potty trained kids to just go for it, and leads to more accidents!! This rule would never have occurred to me; I'll definitely be checking policies at any future resorts we travel to!
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Either age sounds fine to me! We went when she was 15 months old and even though she was so young, she had a blast - she loved everything. We couldn't watch any shows or anything since she went to bed so early, but that will still be the case even when she's 3. Right now she's just a couple months shy of 3, and I feel like she would have the best time. Each age is so much fun to travel with - I don't think you can go wrong w/either
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I think I'd lean towards 3.
We took a cruise when LO was 8 months and it was fantastic. She was still super portable, and would just chill in her stroller, and go along with whatever.
I think about taking her on a cruise today and I just think it would be so hard. I think our babies were born the same day, and maybe a lot will change between now and 2... but she's just in this baby/toddler limbo right now that I'm finding so challenging, and I know a lot of common cruise things (watching a show, sitting nicely for dinner, going in the pools, etc) are either not allowed or she's just not capable of them at the moment. There's just not a lot on the ship targeted to small children, and I imagine it to be a lot of running around and telling her no to things. It might be better to hold off until she's 3 and can go to the kids clubs sometimes.
That said, we did RCI, and they had relatively affordable baby sitting available in a nursery that we used so we could have a couple adult nights and it was pretty good. And if you picked a port intensive trip, she loved swimming in the ocean and going to the beach and stuff.
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Friends of mine took their 3.5 year old and raved about it. E sees a body of water and wants to go in, so I couldn't torture her with a pool she couldn't play in
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Definitely 3 year old! Less naps make it easier, way more flexible (stay up late, late naps, no naps, etc), longer attn span, more communicative, a lot of negotiation but a lot of fun too.
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After I heard about the excellent childcare available on Disney Cruises, I'm all for it! Nothing too long, but man the thought of enjoying some pina coladas while LO is having a blast is priceless!
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@PinkElephant: I think it is a regulation in the entire cruise industry since it's much harder to clean a pool on a ship than on land. I've never seen a hotel with the same rule but definitely something to look into when traveling. Oh, and we definite saw a boy old enough to know better (think maybe 7 or 8 years old) pull down his trunks and pee in the kids pool, so gross. I hope it was heavily chlorinated.
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It depends on which line, as pp have said something like Disney is kid friendly and any age would be ok but I remember looking at rcl or celebrity and thinking there were more child-specific things on board for ages 3 and up.
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Can I go with a 21 year old?!
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I'd do either, but I think a three year old might remember the trip better! Plus, unless the ship sails from where you live, you also have to deal with a flight there and back. It's probably easier to do that with an older child.
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@Sapphiresun: My stepkids would be going with us so we'd have free babysitting
I think we've decided to wait til 3, though. @petunia354: I so wish we could do a Disney cruise! With my stepkids there will be 6 of us, though, so it'd cost as much as a new car
@Mama Bird: Luckily the departure port is only an hour from our house so no additional flight.
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I've always thought it would be fun to do a Disney cruise with a 2 year old because they do have babysitting for kids under 3, but I don't think you have to pay for them to go until they are 3, so it's a great savings. But I see what everyone is saying about the benefits of the child being older.
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